I’m fascinated by friends’ reactions to whatever it is I’ve been up to at work during the week and when you casually mention that the previous few days have seen you driving both a classic Bentley and a 1983 Metro, it’s interesting to note that although plenty of people are impressed when they’re shown a photo of the Bentley, it’s only the real car nuts who draw a deep breath of amazement when they hear you’ve been photographing a 1983 Metro.

Of course that’s partly down to age and for most of my friends, the Metro was something either they learned to drive in or bought as their first car. Personally, the Metro was the car which taught me to weld as well as how to set the timing on an A-Series engine by ear alone. It’s a sobering thought that in its two most successful years, over 180,000 Metros annually left the Longbridge gates, but according to the DVLA just 2800 original A-Series-powered cars survive today.

Our photo shoot was the first time I’d ever seen the classic Mini, the Metro and the new Mini together in one place and although the new Mini may owe very little technically to either car, it was the pressing need to replace both the classic Mini and the Metro which eventually gave rise to the new Mini. Speaking of which, it may not be everyone’s idea of a classic, even as it celebrated a decade in production this year, but it must rank as a classic in marketing terms.

Meanwhile, thanks go to the staff of the 8Ball Diner near Chelmsford for giving us the space to photograph the cars together and if you’re looking for a venue for car club meetings in the area, the owners have a background in classic cars and will be keen to arrange something.

I’d just like to point out that all the skid marks you’ll find in the car park weren’t made by a 1300 Metro automatic...

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For all this and much more see the November 2011 issue of Classic Car Mart.