If there’s a phrase to make my hackles raise and my blood boil, it’s the old chestnut of a car being ‘the motorshow car’. Why is it that so many classics on offer have this claim – basically unverifiable – attached to them? Is it because there is some notional kudos attached to the car you’re looking at having been gawped at by the public back in the day? Pawed over, sat in and prodded, pulled and pushed? It would seem moot because of the lack of a unique identifier such as a number plate while the car was in this type of manufacturer display.What I do know is this: there are many thousands more classics in Britain that have genuine ‘motor show’ history. How do I know? Because we feature them here on Classic Cars for Sale week in and week out. You’ll see these cherished cars in our sister title Classic Car Weekly in show and event reports too. And isn’t that more reassuring to know? That these classics have recent ‘motor show history’ and are being actively campaigned within the classic movement? It seems more significant than a car’s presence on a static commercial display all those years ago, and a better reflection of how we enthusiasts love and cherish our cars.
DAVE RICHARDS
EDITOR
