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Your storiesYou are in: North Yorkshire > People > Your stories > The British classic car with Italian style  Wolseley 16/60 The British classic car with Italian styleBy Alan Webber In the late 1950's the British Motor Corporation asked Italian Battista Farina to design a new range of cars. One of their biggest fans is a classic car enthusiast from North Yorkshire.  Steve Turner in his Wolseley 16/60 The Cambridge-Oxford Owners Club estimates that there are around 10,000 Farinas left out of the total production run of 1 million. The club, which was founded in 1980, has 1000 members across the world. The club secretary is Steve Turner, who lives near Malton. Steve owns four Farinas, a Morris Oxford Series VI, an MG Magnette, a rare Austin A55 MkII Countryman and a Wolseley 16/60. Good bossHis interest began at an early age. "My dad was a foreman in a BMC garage in York, Knavesmire Garage which was on Tadcaster Road. He didn't have a car of his own but more often than not he would come home in a Morris Oxford or a Wolseley 16/60. He had a really good boss who would let him borrow anything which was taxed on a weekend to take us out."
"They impressed me. They were so big and such comfortable cars. To me they were like a Rolls Royce. I always said I would have one, although I was about 20 before I owned my first one.鈥  Inside the Wolseley 16/60 MaintenanceSteve spends at least a couple of hours every day with his cars, driving them, maintaining them, and polishing them. He says he has an understanding wife! But they are worth the effort. "You can just get in them and go anywhere. Touch wood I have never had a serious breakdown in the 20 years I鈥檝e been running them and I have travelled the length and breadth of this country.鈥  Morris Oxford Series VI He doesn't own a modern car and uses his Morris Oxford for everyday motoring. Steve says it's fine "if you鈥檙e quite happy to drive around 50 or 60 miles an hour and accept that it isn鈥檛 going to be quite as economical as a modern car鈥.  Austin A55 Mk II Countryman EventsThe Cambridge/Oxford Owners Club has about a dozen events a year, including a national rally. Last year's Yorkshire gathering was at the Ryedale Folk Museum.听听In 2008 the event will take place at Burton Agnes Hall near Driffield. Steve says he has friends up and down the country, and the rallies are a great opportunity to "meet up with our friends with the same sort of cars, exchange tips, share experiences, and sometimes just have a general good time that has nothing to do with the cars." TaxiFarinas were often used as taxis in the 1960s and 1970s. A Wolseley 16/60 was still picking up fares in York as recently as the early 1990's.  Allan's taxi at York station in 1972 Allan Davies, from York, still owns the Austin A60 Cambridge which belonged to his father. 鈥淢y Dad bought it in 1967, when it was 3 years old, and used it as a taxi for the next 9 years, and when he finished with it he handed it on to me. It鈥檚 never been off the road.鈥 Allan, who is a taxi-driver himself, learned to drive in the car, and retains the original 'For Hire' sign. Starring roleAllan's Austin A60 has starred in the ITV hospital drama, 'The Royal' which is set in the 1960's.  Austin A60 Cambridge taxi 听鈥淚t鈥檚 appeared some of the time as an actual taxi, picking people up and bringing them to the hospital, on other occasions it鈥檚 been like a drive-by or parked up at the side of the road. It鈥檚 strange to see it on screen!鈥 Like Steve Turner, Allan Davies is a member of the Cambridge/Oxford Owners Club. He also owns a Morris Oxford Traveller and attends rallies across the UK. last updated: 28/04/2008 at 12:29 SEE ALSOYou are in: North Yorkshire > People > Your stories > The British classic car with Italian style FarinasJools Holland is a fan, he owns an Austin Westminster The last BMC Farina rolled off the Cowley production line in 1971 A Wolseley 16/60 was used as a taxi in York until the early 1990s
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