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Despite the title, you'll not need your glasses for this podcast since our guest, Keith James, is loud and clear.

When he shared the memory of the Vauxhall Albany with us recently, we knew straight away that we wanted to have Keith on the 3 On The Column Classic Car Podcast. For those who have forgotten the Albany, probably almost all of us, it was a luxury Vauxhall Midi minibus, which came from the factory with metallic paint, tinted glass and, bizarrely, seats from the Astra GTE.

Keith is an undercover motoring journalist, who reputedly knows everything, and has, over the years, collaborated with a diverse range of clients to provide bespoke car information packages.

As well as all the information stored in his head, Keith has a personal archive of over 50,000 sales brochures, price lists, books, motor show catalogues and magazines. With magazines, it is the smell, the patina and the tactility that make them special and, he reminds us, not all printed information and knowledge is available online.

We find out about the development of Autocar's road test over the years, referencing the fifth wheel, and discover how the world of driving and owning a car, as well as day-to-day life in general, has been reflected in the car magazines through time.

'The Autocar Road Test Record' is Keith's upcoming book about the magazine's first century of road tests. Join us now, as we learn more.

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From having his first XR3i aged just 19, an XR Ford has always been part of Dan's motoring life. Now his family have also grown up with XR Fords, and shared fun times with the XR Owners club.

And what is the ideal garage partner for a fast Ford? Well, Dan went for a Mondial, his first Ferrari and then traded up to a 360: see the stories of his Ferraris and the fast Fords @danferrariford

Are they easy to mend? Can you afford the parts? Can Dan fix it?

Make a Dash for a Fiesta and park it in your wardrobe? But will it go up the stairs and, talking of wardrobes and cars, whatever happened to the jacket and shirts on the coat hook of the business car?

When the Escort gave way to the Focus, there was a new class leader, and it was brilliant, an engineering triumph. Did we really know how good it was?

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With the prize for the 'Best Live Stand Demonstration' at "Practical Classics Restoration Show 2026" going to the Citroen Car Club for their live demonstration of the Citroen DS Hydropneumatic suspension, Andrew and I needed to find out more. The solution was to talk to legend of the club, Nigel Wild.

The key to a successful demonstration at the NEC is making it accessible to the audience. Nigel can get an explanation of the difference between constant spring rate and infinitely rising spring rate across to Andrew and myself so well that we will think we have an engineering degree!

We also discover the cars from other manufacturers that have been influenced by Citroen and find out what car Alex Moulton drove.

How about restoring a bus? Easier than you might think! We take a look at the Boris Routemaster and compare it to the original and learn about the design and engineering that made them so fit for purpose.

Do we need to fix Stellantis? Are there reminders of British Leyland? Should we be worried? And where do the Chinese fit in?

All will be revealed...

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