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29/10/2026

Next Tuesday, 3 November, is the 307th day of the year. And we all know what that means: it’s 2026!

Those of you who have been following me for a while may recognize these images: I’ve used them before. I had no choice, as I couldn’t find a nice in time for this year’s World 307 Day. Which is an alarming fact. The #307 is disappearing very quickly. I checked what happened to the 307s I have posted here over the last few years. All of them have either been scrapped or exported.

In 2025, there were still around 26,000 Peugeot 307s on our roads, which is about 23% of the total number (111,000) once sold in the Netherlands. During the year, around 20% of the 307 population—4,300 cars—was scrapped. It is likely that this number will increase rather than decrease, as the cars are getting older. Let’s assume another 5,000 cars will be scrapped during 2026. That would mean the 307 population decreases by 25% in a single year (I’ll be able to confirm this assumption early next year).

Long story short, the 307 has entered the danger zone. Especially the early Phase 1 models are on the brink of extinction. World 307 Day once started as a joke, but things are getting serious. So I need you all to do your part and post a selfie with a Peugeot 307 next Tuesday!

Peugeot 307 1.6-16V XS. Registered 14-11-2002, suspended 8-10-2025

Peugeot 307 1.6-16V Gentry. Registered 6-11-2002, exported 9-8-2025

Peugeot 307 1.6-16V XS. Registered 10-01-2002, scrapped 4-3-2026

Peugeot 307 1.4 XR. Registered 10-10-2002, suspended 10-11-2025

Peugeot 307 CC 2.0-16V. Registered 11-03-2004, exported 18-5-2026

28/10/2026

This fine piece of automotive design is the the sedan version of the hatchback. It was launched in 2007, built in Argentina and mainly aimed at South America and China, and came to eastern European and Spanish markets in 2008.

Converting a hatchback into a sedan is not an easy task, but it can be done. Especially by Citroën: the Chinese-built ZX-based sedan from the 90s, the ZX Fukang, which is one of the or maybe even the best-looking hatchback-based sedan of its generation. Then again, the ZX was a better base to start with. The C4 hatchback has the typical proportions from the early noughties, when many (European) cars were heavily influenced by the all-conquering MPV. Which means the C4 has a short bonnet and A-pillars that have been placed as far forward as possible. This is all fine and dandy on a hatchback, but when you add a boot, it makes for incredibly unfortunate proportions. Trying to please Chinese customers (the replaced the ZX Fukang) it was lengthened by some 50 cm, 10 cm of which can be found between the front and rear wheels. Citroën’s designers tried to hide those extra centimetres with lengthened rear doors and an extra rear window, but that only seems to make things worse. Otherwise, If you have a lot of imagination, you can see a bit of C6 around the rear, especially in the boomerang-shaped taillights.

Citroën didn’t stop with the C Triomphe. In 2009 another C4-based sedan arrived, the . It looks similar, but it uses the regular C4 wheelbase, which makes it just a bit less awkward. Meanwhile, this C4 Triomphe may be the ugliest thing since the SsangYong Rodius, but it is my absolute car-spotting highlight of 2026!

26/10/2026

Underestimated: the boxy little . These are incredibly cute and I like them much better than the 500, 126, Seicento (talking about missed opportunities …) or the current 500. With Fiat returning to retro-futuristic boxiness, I wonder whether their new small EV will be inspired by the .

22/10/2026

Opel and Vauxhall were rather late to the supermini party. The and arrived in 1982, 10 years after the segment-defining Renault 5 and Fiat 127. That doesn’t mean Opel and Vauxhall had been sleeping. During the early 1970s, both Opel and Vauxhall worked on proposals.

Vauxhall developed a compact front-wheel-drive supermini concept influenced by the packaging philosophy of the Mini. The proposal was intended to provide GM with a modern entry-level car below the Viva and Chevette.
At roughly the same time, Opel was working on a separate small-car project known internally as the S-Car. This proposal was more ambitious and was planned around a rotary engine, a technology that attracted significant industry interest in the early 1970s. Neither project was approved. General Motors’ management in Detroit remained unconvinced that small cars could generate sufficient profit and preferred to focus on larger, higher-margin vehicles. The Opel project fell victim to the oil crisis, which suddenly shifted priorities towards fuel economy, making a rotary-powered supermini far less attractive. After the two projects were cancelled, GM approved an all-new programme, coded S83, that combined lessons learned from the earlier abandoned proposals. The new car adopted a conventional front-wheel-drive layout with proven four-cylinder engines. S83 ultimately became the Corsa, launched in 1982.

If you want to know more, I can ecommend the vauxpedia site (5,6) which is an infinite source of detailed background stories!

19/10/2026

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that I’m obsessed with the Renault E-Space concept that was launched at the Paris Motor Show last week. The E-Space doesn’t look far from production-ready, just like the 5 and Twingo did when they were first shown as concepts. Which means the is coming back, something I have been wishing for for quite a while now. The is the most logical evolution of the passenger car: they carry many people and lots of stuff within a limited footprint, while offering excellent aerodynamics. In this era of electrification, that shape makes even more sense, doesn’t it?

Renault’s chief designer, Alexandre Malval, recently hinted at a production version of the E-Space. Malval wants Renault to return to the Voitures à Vivre era, the period in which the Espace and its smaller brother, the , were born. The E-Space is a clear signal of what Malval has in mind. Renault seems to be picking up where both the industry and Renault itself left off around 2015, when everyone had become fed up with MPVs. Given the enthusiastic reaction to the E-Space concept, I think Renault may have another winner on its hands. When the new Twingo arrived, interest in the original model went through the roof. That can only mean people will soon be looking for old Espaces and Scénics as well, so you’d better be quick. Please bear in mind that, while I’m slipping a note under the wiper of this very early , you read it at first!

Renault Scénic 1.6 16V Dynamique Comfort, 6 January 2004.

15/10/2026

Upon turning 50 this year, the is entering the classic car hall of fame. Many people believe the was the first hot hatchback, but that honour actually belongs to the Simca 1100 TI, which was launched three years earlier, in the autumn of 1973. Volkswagen, however, perfected the concept. By the early 1980s, the Golf GTI had become a phenomenon. It became a status symbol for a new kind of motorist: the power-suited yuppie who fell in love with an understated car that delivered both performance and driving excitement, rather than a big luxury barge. Competitors quickly followed, and the golden era of the European hot hatch was born. The Golf II arrived at exactly the right moment. Just as most competitors had launched their own hot hatches, such as the Es**rt XR3, Kadett GTE and 205 GTI, Volkswagen introduced a new and improved GTI.

I still struggle a bit with Herbert Schäffer’s interpretation of Giugiaro’s original Golf design, but I have to admit I was wrong about not liking the Golf II. This is a very, very capable car. The build quality is exceptional. Yes, ours was a low-mileage example from the Volkswagen Classic collection, and yes, it was a GTI 16V, but in everything the Golf II radiates, it feels as though it was built to last. I’m pretty sure a mundane Golf C feels just as indestructible as ‘our’ GTI did. I was genuinely impressed by the lack of noise, vibration and harshness - the Golf is miles ahead of what the French and Italians were doing in that era. Having experienced the Golf II first-hand, I now fully understand why people bought this car in such large numbers: it simply is a very good car.

Could the Golf II GTI be the ultimate Golf GTI? Possibly. The subsequent generations are known to be less well built (III) or heavier (IV), requiring ever-larger engines. The II is solid but light, it’s a hoot to drive, and I now secretly want one. If only I had realised this ten years ago...

14/10/2026

An original has become quite a rarity, hasn’t it? To me, it still looks every bit as strange as it did twenty-five years ago. The is not an easy car to love. It’s an acquired taste, with its ‘flame surfacing’ lines that are anything but sleek and elegant. BMW loaded it with new technology. The E65 could be considered one of the first ‘digital cars’, but owning one today is like trying to keep a Compaq Presario computer from 2001 running. On top of that, this particular E65 isn’t just any 7 Series, but the scariest of them all: the range-topping with a - the world’s first production V12 to use direct injection.

BMW enthusiasts seem to steer clear of the Bangle Seven. Prices are remarkably low considering the status this car once had. Of course, I like the E65. It was a breakthrough model that BMW needed to move beyond the design classicism cul-de-sac into which it had led itself. How do you feel about the E65? Is it a future classic or should we just forget about it?

BMW 760i, 20 June 2003.

12/10/2026

It’s time once again for a good old-fashioned scandal.

In the autumn of 1993, SEAT introduced the , a four-door sedan intended to replace the aging Seat Malaga. The Cordoba was little more than the sedan version of the , which had been launched in June 1993, but SEAT did its utmost to conceal that fact by giving the car a different name and placing all the emphasis on its newly designed rear end.

In January 1994, SEAT launched a teaser campaign featuring nothing but people’s rear ends, accompanied by the payoff “Enséñalo” (show it). Only at the end of the campaign were the human behinds replaced by the rear end of the new Seat Cordoba. One of the advertisements featured the backside of a young woman in a short dress alongside the word “provocative.” The ad immediately sparked outrage among feminist organizations. The controversy became so big that even Spain’s Minister of Social Affairs got involved.
SEAT did not withdraw the advertisement. Instead, it created a new version, this time showing the backside of a man in tight cycling shorts alongside the word “potenza.” The criticism stopped almost immediately. In reality, the ad was every bit as sexist as the one featuring the woman, but because there were no organizations protesting the objectification of men, SEAT got away with it.

Much to my frustration, I have not been able to find the advertisement featuring the man in the tight cycling shorts (not me turning the entire internet upside down to find it). So you will have to make do with a poor-quality image from a Spanish automotive magazine from 1994, that gives an idea of the campaign (3). In the meantime, I have developed a slightly unhealthy fascination with the Seat Cordoba, so expect to see more about this (here, at least) SEAT before long.

10/10/2026

In case someone is visiting Tenerife soon: this abandoned needs to be saved. Unfortunately I did not have any space left in my ha d luggage, otherwise I would have brought it back to Amsterdam myself. The basic spec with black bumpers and the white paint is everything I need.

I can see this is the pre-1999 model, but I can’t see whether this is a pre-1997 model which had a . Let’s just imagine it is, which makes this ‘the one to have’.

06/10/2026

During our Creme21 adventure, one of the other cars participating on behalf of Volkswagen Classic was this absolute beauty: the ‘White Cat’.
It is a limited-edition version of the second-generation coupé from 1985.
The White Cat features an entirely color-matched exterior finished in Alpine White (Alpinweiss L90E if you please), including the bumpers, body kit, side mirrors, and even color-coded Avus alloy wheels. The interior features sports seats upholstered in a unique grey-and-white striped fabric. Standard factory equipment includes a Zender Version 2 rear spoiler, green heat-insulating glass, and a roof aerial. But the best feature of all must be the white horizontal stripes on the rear taillights, which make even the lights appear white. They prompted kekkekarren to call it ‘a car wearing make-up’. This instantly made it my favorite car in the entire Volkswagen Classic fleet. A car wearing make-up: what’s not to love?

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