STEVE HOLE tells the story of British Racing Partnership and Yeoman Credit, who pioneered sponsorship in motorsport, being the first team to give up the identity of the team and cars in return for sponsorship money, who became the YEOMAN CREDIT RACING TEAM.

One of the pioneers of motorsport sponsorship came from Joseph Samengo-Turner’s Yeoman Credit operation, founded in 1955. By 1959, Joseph’s sons – Paul, William and Fabian – were running Yeoman. In a nutshell, Yeoman was one of the earliest exponents of car finance and many of the country’s major – and minor – car dealerships offered their HP policies.

The More >

STEVE HOLE tells the story of the brilliant ‘Commuter City Car’, the TiCi

The TiCi was created by Anthony Hill, Design RCA, a 34-year-old (in 1971) design consultant and lecturer based in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Hill was a talented chap with a Royal College of Art pedigree. He’d previously designed a motorcycle and several domestic and industrial appliances and had also done consultancy work for the likes of Ford Motor Company and Hawker Siddeley. Clearly, a clever man.

There were also things as diverse as wheelchairs, locomotives and even a trimaran on his CV. He also had a desire to create his own ‘commuter city More >

We were very sad to hear about the death of legendary designer, Marcelo Gandini this week, aged 85.

Marcelo Gandini photographed in 1976, while working for Nuccio Bertone (unknown photographer – Wikipedia).

STEVE HOLE gives a potted career rundown of one of the greatest designers to pick up a pencil.

Gandini was the son of an orchestral conductor and working as an interior designer, when he approached another great designer, Nuccio Bertone, for a job in 1963. Bertone was impressed but was dissuaded from giving young Marcelo a job by his then chief designer (yet another great), Giorgetto Giugiaro who didn’t like him.

Lancia More >

STEVE HOLE TELLS THE STORY OF TRIPLEX SAFETY GLASS & PILKINGTON GLASS

Founded in 1912 by Reginald Delpech who was based in Kent. He devised a method of producing toughened and laminated glass for aviation, rail and automotive uses. He was ahead of the game and a real pioneer.

If you’ve ever suffered a broken windscreen, did you ever wonder how the broken glass seems to hold itself together like a windscreen-shaped jigsaw puzzle? That is what Triplex invented and the so-called ‘triplex’ adhesives which is the result of bonding more than one sheet of glass together. usually via polyvinylbutyric (PVB) membranes. The glazing More >

MEET THE ‘BEETLES’ – CARTUNE TEESSIDE by STEVE HOLE

Photos from www.cartunevw.co.uk – Apal Corsa image from totalkitcar archive

Although only having a limited impact on the UK’s kitcar industry (they marketed the Belgium-made Apal models, Buggy and Corsa, in the UK in 1971-72), Cartune was once the UK’s leading Volkswagen Beetle specialists, which means they would have supplied many thousands of parts to owners/builders of Beetle-based kitcars.

Indeed, the company still exists, today.

Mike Griifin (centre),Leeds & England footballer Jackie Charlton (left) and Cartune (Teesside) branch manager, Peter Raybould

Let’s wind right back and trace the company’s history, though. The Cartune name was first registered More >