1950s

The Rover P4 was the dignified saloon Britain's professionals trusted for fourteen years, from the Cyclops-eyed 75 of 1949 through the 60, 90, 105 and the final 95 and 110. A guide to the Auntie Rovers, the numbers decoded, the gas-turbine connection, buying checks and values.

The Morris Minor was the first British car to sell a million, Issigonis's people's car built for twenty-three years as saloon, convertible, wood-framed Traveller and van. A guide to the Series MM, Series II and Minor 1000, the bodies decoded, why it remains the easiest classic to own, buying checks and values.

The Austin A30 was Longbridge's answer to the Morris Minor and its first unitary car, launched as the New Austin Seven; the improved A35 became one of the definitive small cars of the 1950s and, later, a giant-killing historic racer. A guide to both cars, the vans and Countrymen, the racing scene, buying checks and values.

The Morris Oxford name spanned the whole life of its maker, from the 1913 Bullnose that founded the company to the Farina saloons that became India's Hindustan Ambassador. A guide to the Bullnose, the MO, the Series cars and the Farinas, what to look for when buying, and what an Oxford costs today.

The Austin A40 badge covered twenty years of small Austins, the export-drive Devon, the rounded Somerset, the Jensen-bodied Sports and the Farina that quietly invented the modern hatchback shape. A guide to the whole family, buying checks and values.

The Riley RM series, RMA to RMF, was the final flowering of the true Riley, a twin-cam sports saloon with torsion-bar suspension and coachbuilt elegance, plus the rare RMC roadster and RMD drophead. A guide to every RM model, how to tell them apart, buying checks and values.

The Daimler Conquest was the grand old marque's mid-1950s bid for the professional classes, a dignified 2.4-litre saloon with Daimler's silken preselector transmission, plus the quicker Century and a startling roadster. A guide to the range, the famous name, what to check when buying, and what a Conquest costs today.

The Heinkel Kabine was the aircraft-maker's bubble car, lighter and nimbler than the rival Isetta, and from 1960 it became an honorary British classic as the Trojan 200, built under licence in Croydon. A guide to the Kabine and Trojan story, how it differs from an Isetta, what to check, and what one costs today.

The Jaguar XK140 took the sensational XK120 and fixed everything owners had grumbled about, rack-and-pinion steering, cabin room, cooling, without losing the looks or the pace. A guide to the roadster, drophead and fixed head coupe, the SE upgrades, what year XK to avoid and why, and what an XK140 is worth today.

The Jaguar XK150 closed the XK story with four-wheel disc brakes, a wider modern body and, in 3.8 S form, the pace that previewed the E-Type. A guide to the 3.4 and 3.8 cars, the S models, how the 150 differs from the XK140, what to check when buying, and what one costs today.

The Messerschmitt KR200 sat its two occupants in tandem under an aircraft-style bubble canopy, steered by handlebars and reversed by running its engine backwards. A guide to the Kabinenroller's story, the KR175 before it and the Tg500 Tiger above it, what to check when buying, and what one costs today.

The Standard Vanguard was post-war Britain's one-model gamble, a beetle-backed export machine whose wet-liner engine also powered the Ferguson tractor and the Triumph TR sports cars. A guide to the three phases, the Standard name's fate, the Triumph connection, what to check when buying, and what a Vanguard costs today.

The Hillman Minx was the Rootes Group's bread-and-butter family car for nearly forty years, from the sidevalve saloons of the 1930s through the crisp Loewy-styled Audax Series cars to the last New Minx of 1970. A guide to the generations, the Super Minx and the badge-engineered cousins, what to look for when buying, and what a Minx is worth today.

The Lotus Eleven was Colin Chapman's 1950s masterpiece, a featherweight, aerodynamic sports racer that took class honours at Le Mans and turned Lotus from a specials builder into a marque. A guide to the Eleven's engineering, its Le Mans record, Series 1 and 2, the replica question, and what genuine cars are worth.

The Reliant Regal put post-war Britain's motorcyclists and tradesmen on three weather-proof wheels, and its Supervan became the most famous van in the country in Only Fools and Horses. A guide to the Regal's twenty years, the alloy-engined 3/25 and 3/30, the Supervan and the television fame, what to check, and what a Regal costs.

The Sunbeam Alpine was the Rootes Group's proper sports car, a comfortable, well-equipped two-seat roadster that evolved through five Series from 1959 to 1968 and put James Bond behind its wheel before he ever drove an Aston. A guide to the Series I to V, the Harrington fastbacks, what to look for when buying, and what an Alpine is worth.

The Sunbeam Rapier was the Rootes Group's sporting saloon-coupe for two decades, first as the rally-winning two-door Series cars of 1955 to 1967, then as the sleek fastback of 1967 to 1976 with the Holbay-tuned H120 at its head. A guide to both generations, the competition record, what to look for, and what a Rapier costs today.

The Austin-Healey 100 is the car that started the marque, the original Big Healey, named for its 100 mph top speed. A guide to the four-cylinder 100/4 (BN1 and BN2), the high-performance 100M and the rare 100S, the six-cylinder 100-6, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Austin-Healey 3000, the "Big Healey", is the muscular six-cylinder sports car that defined the marque and built its rally reputation. A guide to the Mk I, II and III, the wind-up-window BJ7 and the prized Mk III BJ8, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Austin-Healey Sprite, and above all its bug-eyed first version the Frogeye, is one of the most loveable and affordable classic sports cars there is. A guide to the Frogeye Mk I, the later Spridget cars shared with the MG Midget, the Sebring racers, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Land Rover Series I is the spartan, aluminium-bodied original that started it all in 1948. A guide to the 80, 86 and 88 inch cars, the petrol and diesel engines, the early freewheel four-wheel drive, what to look for when buying, and why the earliest cars are now so valuable.

The Land Rover Series II and IIA gave the marque its enduring 2.25 engine and its familiar barrel-side shape, and the IIA is widely held to be the toughest Series of all. A guide to the 88 and 109 inch cars, the engines, the famous headlamp move to the wings, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

The Ford Anglia 105E put more than a million British families on the road, and is remembered for two things, its reverse-rake rear window and, decades later, its starring role as the flying car in Harry Potter. A guide to the 105E and 123E, the first of the Kent engines, what they are like to own, and what they are worth.

The Ford Consul was the four-cylinder base of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, and with its Zephyr sister it was the first British Ford built with modern unitary construction. A guide to the Mk1 and Mk2 Consul, the Three Graces, the later use of the Consul name, what to look for and what they are worth.

The Ford Prefect was Ford UK's upmarket small saloon for over two decades, from the upright "sit up and beg" pre-war cars to the modern 100E of the 1950s. Cheap, tough and built in huge numbers, it put Britain on the road, and lent its name to a Hitchhiker's Guide character. A guide to the models, owning one, and values.

The Ford Zephyr was the six-cylinder heart of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, quick and spacious for its day, and famous as the patrol car of the BBC series Z-Cars. A guide to the four generations from the finned Three Graces to the big V6 Mk4, how it relates to the Consul and Zodiac, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Ford Zodiac was the top of Ford of Britain's big-saloon range, the upmarket, six-cylinder flagship above the Consul and Zephyr. From the finned Mk2 to the huge V6-engined Mk4, it offered American-style space and brightwork at a British price. A guide to the four generations, what to look for, and what they are worth.

The Triumph TR2 launched the TR sports-car line in 1953 and made its name on a single claim, that it was the cheapest production car of its day able to top 100 mph. A rugged, basic, separate-chassis roadster with a torquey Standard four, it is now the rarest and most vintage-feeling of the side-screen TRs. A guide to the long-door and short-door cars, owning one, and values.

The Triumph TR3 was the rugged side-screen sports car that made Triumph's name in America, and in 1956 it became the first British series-production car fitted with front disc brakes. A guide to telling the TR3, TR3A and TR3B apart, what they are like to own, what to check when buying, and what they are worth.

The MG MGA was the sleek, aerodynamic sports car that swept away MG's upright pre-war look, sold over a hundred thousand almost entirely for export, and remains the prettiest of the affordable classic MGs. A guide to the 1500, 1600 and 1600 MkII pushrod cars, the rare and troubled Twin Cam, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.

Nuffield built bright orange tractors from 1948, made by the Morris car empire under Lord Nuffield himself. A guide to the old Nuffield tractors worth knowing, from the Universal M3 and M4 to the ten-speed 10/60 and the 4/65, the move to Bathgate, what to look for when buying, and what a vintage Nuffield is worth.

The XK120 was meant to be a low-volume showcase for Jaguar's new twin-cam engine and became a sensation, billed as the fastest production car in the world. The Jabbeke speed runs, the aluminium and steel cars, the body styles and the famous XK engine, and what to look for when buying one.

David Brown built well-engineered classic tractors at Meltham in Yorkshire from the 1936 Ferguson-Brown to the Selectamatic range, and the same company owned Aston Martin, giving the DB in DB5 its initials. The history, the Cropmaster, Implematic and Selectamatic models, the Aston Martin connection, what to look for when buying, and values.

The Ferguson TE20, the "little grey Fergie", is the tractor that brought Harry Ferguson's three-point hydraulic system to the world. Over half a million built in Coventry from 1946. Its history, the Ford handshake and the famous lawsuit, the petrol, TVO and diesel engines, what to check when buying, and what one is worth.

The Fordson Major is the heavyweight British classic tractor, built by Ford at Dagenham from the post-war E27N to the diesel New Major, Power Major and Super Major of 1952 to 1964. Its history, the engines, the difference between the E27N and the New Major, what to check when buying, and what one is worth.

The Vauxhall Victor ran for nineteen years and five generations, from the wraparound-windscreen F-type to the slant-four FE estate. A guide to the lineage, what to look for, what they're worth, and why so few survived.

The decade British sports cars went mainstream, the British cars of the 1950s running from the Jaguar XK120 and the Austin-Healey 100 to the Bentley R-Type Continental, the Land Rover Series I, and the export drive that built the American market.