Editor's Welcome: Good & Bad News

The start of 2010 initially offered the American automotive community some good news in terms of figures: The economy appears to have turned a corner and American manufacturers, after a very bleak 2009, finally seem to be finding their way out of a financial quagmire that at one stage seemed to engulf them and threaten their very existence.

It’s not all been good news though, as news reached us here in the Classic American office that the European commission were once again looking at introducing draconian laws on importing new American cars into the European Community.

Having fought off similarly damaging legislation almost 10 years ago when SVA was introduced, it should come as no surprise again to find the Brussels bureaucrats once again threatening the American car scene. There isn’t the space in this column to go into the specifics, however it is the lead story in our News section this month (page 6) where we explain this proposed damaging legislation and how you can make your voice heard against it - there’s also a letter and list of MEPs on our website (www.classic-american.com) which I’d urge all readers to fill out and send.

Even if you don’t feel that legislation regarding new cars is of any interest to you, I’d still urge you to act, as there is a suggestion that this legislation may eventually rolled out to American vehicles of any age, not just new ones.

Despite it still being deepest, darkest winter, the odd crisp, clear and dry day does make an appearance and what could be more perfect than taking your classic out of the garage, barn or wherever you store it and going for a blast? We had one such day recently and luckily it had rained the whole night previously, meaning all the salt had washed away - perfect. The hardest bit was calling it a day and putting the damn thing back into storage!

Apart from being giving one a real lift, it’s also great for cars, which don’t particularly benefit from being stood for six months at a time doing nothing. If you’ve not been able to get your car out of the garage and take it for a run, fear not, we’ve got a magazine packed with great cars this month which you can vicariously take for a spin as you read the features... Enjoy!

Ben Klemenzson
Editor

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