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The Mini is 50 years old today

  Today - 08/05/2009 - is the 50th anniversary of the first Mini rolling off the production line. To celebrate, and for a bit of free publicity (see, we’re playing the game) BMW has shipped the first Mini to roll of the production line back to Cowley to celebrate (picture at the bottom). 621 AOK, a Mini Minor, in Old English White, looks as fresh as the day it rolled off the production line half a century ago (although I wouldn’t mind betting it doesn’t have it’s original sills – they always rusted through – or copes with its original distributor and leads – one splash of rain and the car ground to a halt!).

Skoda Octavia vRS to hit 200mph at Bonneville

The Skoda Octavia vRS - Bonneville bound. Skoda has come a very long way since Volkswagen rescued it from the ignominy of the communist era, and restored the pride to the Czech car maker. But even though the Skoda of today is now a mainstream maker of quality cars, things haven’t changed so much that they are about to launch a 200mph Skoda, or at least not one you can pop to your local Skoda dealers and get a VAT-free deal on.

Mercury lives--on the auction circuit

James Dean famously drove one in Rebel Without a Cause, and perhaps Mercurys have never been cooler. That was more than 50 years ago and the brand is now on the verge of extinction. But as Plymouth, Pontiac and even Edsel have shown, some brands have legs that stretch long after new cars are gone from dealerships.