Everyone goes through classic car phases – one year it's all about small engined sports car, the next year's obsession is big-engined GTs.
Recently I have been experiencing a new (to me at least) phase, a worrying weakening of the knees whenever I see an upright(ish) pre-war baby saloon.
I have never particularly lusted after this 'genre' of car before beyond a quick "Ahhhh, that's sweet, but I bet it doesn't go much."
Now that is developing into a full-blown "Want, must have... and don't care how it drives."
Of course, when I say 'baby' I am giving myself a huge amount of leeway because all cars were either tiny or huge before the war, and the majority were small.
The only criterion my brain appears to be applying to this is that they need to be everso slightly aerodynamic. Not a full-on Paul Jaray experiment, but just paying lip service to Deco themes and a roofline that doesn't stand up in the air like a windsurf sail.
Thinking about it, and what appeals to me most, I guess what I am really lusting after is not a small car per se, but a small car that looks like a scaled-down version of one of those big cars that has tipped its hat in the vaguest acknowledgement of the principles of streamlining while still presenting the sort of bluff front that you could abseil down.
Imagine the more rakish coachbuilt versions of Rolls-Royce 20/25s and Bentley saloons and miniaturise them and that's what I need. I just like the concept of it, the compact merging of class and thrift.
A couple of right charmers that fit the bill include the Hillman Aero Minx that we all swooned over at the NEC last year and especially the pretty little pillarless Talbot 10 Airline Coupé that I needed smelling salts after seeing this year (main image).