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Hey, who knew Mr. Ed, the talking horse, was sponsored by Studebaker? 

Let's welcome back Mike Renault and reflect on Studebaker’s innovations, including early hill-holder technology and the longevity of the Avanti. 

We move onto the quirky appeal of the Nash Metropolitan, and other British-built cars sold in America. 

Lastly, we indulge in some nostalgia for the cars on 70's kids' TV cartoons: Mystery Machine, Creepy Coupe, Great Grape Ape and Batman’s Batmobile.  We never quite understood why Hong Kong Phooey got changed in a filing cabinet, but what was his car?

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In September 2025, I called Andrew one evening and said, "Fancy doing a podcast with me?"  Surprisingly, he immediately agreed and, a year on, we've reached our 52nd episode!  

We'd like to say a very special thank you to all our podcast guests from the last 51 episodes and to our very many listeners too, who are not just in the UK but spread across the world.

And now, to celebrate this milestone, we are inviting you to feature as our guest on a future podcast recording.

Share your wonderful car and its history with us... Or perhaps you'd like to tell us about your amazing car club - and why you think others should be joining you there.  Maybe you, or someone you know, has an interesting personal car story that other listeners would love to hear?

Our objective is always to bring you what matters to you in the classic car world, so help make this your podcast by getting in touch and perhaps, next week, you'll find yourself being our guest!

And now, listen to this week's podcast looking back over our first year... 

Remember to like and subscribe and why not let us know what your favourite episode was?

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Imagine a long, straight road, devoid of traffic, with free fuel that never runs out?  An impossible scenario? Well, actually, it is a reality, right here and now. The Cambridge University Eco Racing team have made it happen. Our thanks to Emelia and Joe (also known as Mr Guest) for joining us today to share their incredible story of Helia, the 2019 World Solar Challenge race car built by the University's racing team to participate in a 3000 kms endurance race across Australia.  

Listen now to find out all about this unique car: what it is like to drive, if Andrew can fit in it, and how this showcase of engineering attracts much needed young minds to the industry.   

https://cuer.uk/

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Hey, The video podcast is here.

Where the car is the star: for our 50th episode of the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast, we meet the XJS Club on a video  podcast, recorded live from the 'Jaguars at Gaydon' day.

On the commanding bank overlooking the British Motor Museum car park, the largest collection of Jaguar XJS cars I have ever seen has come together, as the XJS Club, to celebrate these fantastic cars.

Here, we meet Ian Evans, club membership secretary, who introduces us to the club. Ian explains the concept of the XJS car itself, not its owner, being the club member, and so the car is always the star.

We take the opportunity to walk along the impressive line up of cars and find out more about the rare Monaco car, the TWR models and the Lister Jaguar cars, an early 1975 car and, of course, the last of the line celebration models.

Enjoy listening and watching now, and remember to Like and Subscribe for more episodes.

https://www.xjsclub.org/

Did you know that you can have your club or car featured on the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast, just get in touch 

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Where the car is the star: for our 50th episode of the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast, we meet the XJS Club podcast, recorded live from the 'Jaguars at Gaydon' day.

On the commanding bank overlooking the British Motor Museum car park, the largest collection of Jaguar XJS cars I have ever seen has come together, as the XJS Club, to celebrate these fantastic cars.

Here, we meet Ian Evans, club membership secretary, who introduces us to the club. Ian explains the concept of the XJS car itself, not its owner, being the club member, and so the car is always the star.

We take the opportunity to walk along the impressive line up of cars and find out more about the rare Monaco car, the TWR models and the Lister Jaguar cars, an early 1975 car and, of course, the last of the line celebration models.

Enjoy listening and watching now, and remember to Like and Subscribe for more episodes.

https://www.xjsclub.org/

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Where the car is the star: for our 50th episode of the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast, we meet the XJS Club podcast, recorded live from the 'Jaguars at Gaydon' day.

On the commanding bank overlooking the British Motor Museum car park, the largest collection of Jaguar XJS cars I have ever seen has come together, as the XJS Club, to celebrate these fantastic cars.

Here, we meet Ian Evans, club membership secretary, who introduces us to the club. Ian explains the concept of the XJS car itself, not its owner, being the club member, and so the car is always the star.

We take the opportunity to walk along the impressive line up of cars and find out more about the rare Monaco car, the TWR models and the Lister Jaguar cars, an early 1975 car and, of course, the last of the line celebration models.

Enjoy listening and watching now, and remember to Like and Subscribe for more episodes.

https://www.xjsclub.org/

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Following some of our listeners getting in touch with us to ask if it's possible to do an electric conversion on any classic car, Tim, our earlier guest with the electric TVR, re-joins us to help answer this, and talks us through other considerations, such as: 

Is an electric conversion easy to do as a DIY project? 

What are the potential pitfalls?

How do you choose what model to convert?

Are there any specialist companies out there offering model specific conversion kits?

As the cost of petrol rises yet again, Tim shares his conversion experience and talks us through some of the options now available.

Listen now and then for further help and advice...

https://www.electriccarconverts.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/581396559342117/

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Andrew and I might think we are 'bright (young!) sparks' when it comes to knowing about cars but, clearly, we are not nearly as bright, or as much of a live wire(!) as Tim Aylen, founder of Chargeheads, the YouTube channel and Car Club.

Tim has taken an unloved TVR 350i and brought it back from near death, with an electric heart transplant. Tim is a Petrolhead, as well as being a Chargehead, and his story proves that you can be both.

The question asked by Gary Numan, in 1979, was, "Are Friends Electric?" Well, Tim certainly is...

Listen to our podcast now and please remember to LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!

Then find Chargeheads on the links below: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuscmpjO0usLpF5_GO03LFQ 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuscmpjO0usLpF5_GO03LFQ

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If you've just listened to our podcast on the story of the Lotus Carlton, you may well be feeling inspired to buy one and the good news is that, in this podcast, Paul re-joins us to give us some pointers on finding the right car, what to look for and more importantly, what to run away from.

These can be good cars to buy and as the values are high and rising; the opportunity is there to spend some money and turn even a rough car into something very rewarding.  

Paul advises Leone at LA Motorsports as a good contact (see link below). Being a specialist in Lotus Carlton cars, they will even be able to inspect a potential vehicle for you.

https://www.lamotorsport.co.uk/ 

Plus, there are 2 great clubs to join that cater for these cars:

LOTUS Carlton/Omega enthusiasts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/566924167571036/

https://www.autobahnstormers.org.uk/

Remember to like and subscribe to 3 On The Column to hear more great podcasts like this.

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The Lotus Carlton is a legend. The press called for it to be banned and the matter was soon raised in Parliament: here was a 176mph Vauxhall family saloon that would outrun the fastest police cars of the time.  How could anyone drive it safely in a country where the speed limit was only 70 mph?

Joining us today is Paul Reece from the Lotus Carlton and Omega Enthusiasts Club, who brings us the true story of this car and also dispels a few myths that surround it.

Be in no doubt, this is one of the most focused luxury performance cars of all time and we may never see its like again.

Enjoy the podcast! 

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