Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  You'd have to be dead inside not to like Beetles!  Southern Tasmania has their fair share of them, many of which appear to be doing what they've done for well in excess of half a century:  providing reliable, unpretentious service, often, it seems, having stayed within a single family since new or nearly so.   Some of these daily drivers - often seen chugging about Hobart's inner suburbs - are in remarkable, unrestored condition, apparently having had the love and attention befitting a long-term family member lavished upon them.  Such examples are a testament to Beetles' quality and the affection with which many feel for the model.   Of course, there are also clubs dedicated to Beetles and the broader VW marque, as well as countless unaffiliated enthusiasts who own, drive and restore them.  The quality of today's example - a Super Bug that has nothing to do with penicillin resistance, photographed in inner-city Hobart - suggests t...

Whether you're a Mitsubishi, Mazda, Honda or Toyota person, it'd be hard to argue that the Datsun 240Z didn't mark Japan's arrival as a serious builder of sports cars.  Sure, Toyota's sublime  2000 GT was a shock and awe opening salvo, even managing to secure a starring role in James Bond's You Only Live Twice  but, magnificent as they were, they never quite captured the public imagination nor achieved the mega-sales of their Datsun cousin.     With early Z-cars (that's pronounced  zed , by the way!) now well into their early 50s, they still command a significant - cult-like, would be more accurate - following, with many, many clubs throughout the world dedicated to their preservation and enjoyment.  There are also several companies that specialise in rebuilding them to better than original spec, such as the UK's MZR Roadsports - who source relatively rust-free ex-Californian cars, convert them to right hand drive and totally resto-mod them t...

This month's Classics features lots and lots of Fords, not necessarily by design, but mainly because there were stacks of really good ones on the day.  For a start, there's John's amazing and genuinely original ZG Fairlane (above and below) - which we'll get to in a minute - as well as a ZD (?) Fairlane, a convertible LTD Landau, an XA GT Falcon hardtop, an XB Falcon ute, an F100 and a couple of Cortinas, one being a Lotus and the other a GT.   It'd be hard to imagine a better ZG Fairlane than John's 1973, 20,000 mile (yes, you read right!) example.  In fact, it'd be a challenge to find almost any forty eight year old car in such pristine condition, especially when you consider that other than a battery, some hoses, a set of brake lines and a reconditioned brake master cylinder, it is completely and utterly unrestored!  Even the brake slave cylinders are original and, yes, they're in great nick, too.  It also has all its original dealership papers and bo...