Classic Car Buyer Magazine No.227 London Wont Ban Classics Back Issue

I’m pleased to report that
this year’s Drive It Day was
a success. Well, at least it
was in the area of Rutland I
was in. Having not attended the
Stilton Cheese Run before I was
amazed by its overall effect on
the general public. Classic cars
of all eras and nationalities (Drive
It Day is generally staged on the
Sunday closest to St. George’s
Day, though that doesn’t restrict
cars that were manufactured from
outside of England from taking
part) descended on the market
town of Uppingham, where the
on-street parking in the town
centre, along with the main car
park in the square, were reserved
exclusively for those taking
part in the Run. Although it’s a
Sunday and not all the shops
were open, there were still plenty
of people who found themselves
in Uppingham, surrounded by
classics cars and not expecting
it. It’s difficult to ‘people watch’
when there’s a Facel Vega
HK500 in front of you, a Series 1
Jaguar E-type beyond that and a
vintage Morris Minor tourer is just
puttering its way into view, but
doing so illustrates why Drive It
Day is so important to our hobby.
It engages the general public in all
sorts of cars.
Take the immaculate white
MkV Ford Escort XR3i that was
parked a little way down the main
street. One couple walked past
the car, the wife turning to her
husband and saying: “Is that really
a classic?”. With a cheeky grin
he replies: “Well if it is you must
be a classic too”. She hits him on
the arm but they both laugh as
they walk past. Seconds later a
younger couple walks past. The
lad says to his girlfriend: “Awwww.
Escort. That’s my kind of car!”.
“Really?” she replies, “how much
you reckon they’re worth?”. They’d
wandered out of ear shot before I
could hear his answer, but really it
doesn’t matter what he said next
– they were having a conversation
about an old car.
So many Drive It Day events
take part on extremely scenic, but
rarely frequented B-roads.