Looking for classic car insurance

A couple of days back there was a story in the British press about a vintage Bugatti while had been found in a garage under piles of rubbish. Apparently the car is estimated to get about £100,000 in an auction. What is even more amazing is that the car is not even an authentic one but a good replica model Bugatti Type 51. This story shows the level of interest generated by some of these vintage models.

1931 Bugatti Type 51
Originally posted to Flickr by Brian Snelson

Some people collect really vintage models, spending time and money to maintain and keep them running. They even go to the extent of building new engines based on original plans as there are no one selling the replacement parts anymore.

However, the term "classic cars" can be very misleading. The AARP classic car insurance site defines these as those vehicles which are 10 or more years old and differentiates them from Antique auto which refer to autos more than 25 years old.

The great thing about driving cars more than five years old in the US is that you actually pay less car insurance as compared to newer cars.

So if you have 10 years or more old car, there are some great discounts out there and special offers which allows you to get even more affordable classic and antique Auto Insurance coverage.

Modified Mini at Antartica

Came across this interesting article in the Mini blog about a modified Mini - the Mini Trac at Wilkes Antarctic Base in 1965 .

Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday

I am starting this new meme called "Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday".

This meme is for auto enthusiasts, photographers, car owners - in fact everyone is welcome to join in. It's really simple. All you have to do is post up a picture of anything related to the auto industry that you feel tells a story on Wednesday.

Just leave a comment here or send me an email (ahoklah@gmail.com) with a link to your post and I will add you to the Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday blogroll.

I start the ball rolling with this photograph I took in Coventry. Calcott was a car manufacturer based in Coventry.

The 1937 Tatra T87

Check out the classic 1937 Tatra T87 at Jay Leno’s Garage. Designed by Hans Ledwinka, this streamlined, air-cooled, rear-engine car was built by Czechoslovakian manufacturer Tatra and was the favourite of German officers during World War II.



Check out the Wikipedia page of the Tatra T87.

Thanks for the link Michelle.

More classic cars at the Coventry Transport Museum

Nice curvy bodies


Did you know that the car chase scenes inside the sewers in the 1969 classic movie, 'The Italian Job' were NOT shot in Italy? They were filmed here in Coventry.


BP and Shell were one, once.


Triumph once produced cars


Looks like the Jag design hasn't changed much from the earlier models


The Thrust2. It held the World record for fastest Land Speed Record held the world between 1983 and 1997.

Other amazing and priceless classic cars:





Related posts:
- Classic cars at the Coventry Transport Museum
- Visit to Coventry Transport Museum

Classic cars at the Coventry Transport Museum

I was surprised at the number of car brands that once came out of Coventry. This include Alvis, Calcott, Daimler, Jaguar, Lea Francis, Humber, Hillman, Sunbeam, Standard, Swift and Triumph.

Out of all, only Jaguar remains and is still producing cars here.


Barbie's Jaguar.


A day out a long time ago.


The Lotus concept car. Designed by a Coventry University student.


Jaguar concept.


Classic motorbikes.


The Penny Farthing bike. It must have taken an effort to climb this bike even before riding it.


Do you recognise this futuristic looking car with a stainless steel body. Unfortunately it didn't sell and the company went bust.

Visit to Coventry Transport Museum

Coventry was once the home of many famous car manufacturers and I have always wanted to visit the Coventry Transport Museum. Unfortunately, my wife is not that keen on classic cars. I finally got the opportunity to visit the museum when my father-in-law (who's happens to be another car enthusiast) came to visit us.


The museum is situated in Millennium Place, Hales street CV1 1PN, just opposite the Pool Meadow Bus Station.




It was really interesting. Unlike other museums, entry is totally free and you are allowed to take photographs. Isn't that great.

Jay Leno's Garage

I know that Jay Leno is the host of NBC television's long-running talk show "The Tonight Show".

However, I didn't know that he's an avid collector of vehicles. He's actually more than a just a collector. He writes a regular column in the American automotive magazine - Popular Mechanics and he also restores classic cars. He has 84 cars. Yes! that's correct, 84 cars at last count plus 73 motorcycles.

Leno keeps his cars in his "Big Dog Garage" located in a Burbank industrial park, Southern California. It is spread across two low-slung buildings and covers about 17,000 square feet.

Check out footage of some rare cars and motorcycles owned by Jay Leno in the NBC site Jay Leno's Garage. The site also has some how-to videos for tweaking your car. Four new videos go up every week.

The latest includes a video of Jay’s Monteverdi High Speed 375, a how-to about stopping Corvettes from overheating from fan blockage, footage of Jay’s head mechanic working on the engine of his 1924 Ace Motorcycle and a video extra of the garage’s eco-friendly ultrasonic engine part cleaner.

The Hybrid Ecojet

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