Moggy Minor cover star

Great Escape Classic Car Hire's cute 1962 Morris Minor convertible graces the cover of August's Practical Classics magazine as part of a major feature on 4 seater convertibles. The car is photographed alongside 3 other classics on the seafront in North Norfolk, a perfect setting for this most relaxing and sedate of open top tourers.
We work regularly with classic car magazines to provide cars for photoshoots. On this occasion we delivered the Morris to Peterborough using our dedicated transport facilities and then collected it a couple of days later from Kings Lynn.
The Practical Classics team were very complimentary about the car and the article mentions how the Morris consistently received the most attention throughout the shoot. Although the car didn't win the back-to-back road test, it did come second, pipped only by the larger Corsair.
"The feature looked at the best 4 seater family convertible for the summer," explains Graham Eason of Great Escape. "The Morris is a very good choice for anyone with a family because it is spacious, very easy to drive, easy to own and attracts huge amounts of attention. Our customers always report seeing the brighter side of life when they're behind the wheel."
Great Escape Classic Car Hire has three white Morris Minor convertibles available to hire in the UK, based in Worcestershire, Yorkshire and Suffolk. A red car is also available in Lincolnshire. The cars can be hired by the day, weekend or week and prices start at just £145 fully inclusive of insurance, breakdown cover and unlimited mileage.
For more details visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.
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Hire a 1950s classic Ford

The 1950s saw post-war austerity replaced with optimism and Baby Boomers. Our new Ford Consul convertible for hire from our site in Worcestershire sums up the times very well. Stylish but restrained, modern but not advanced, the Ford Consul brings to mind Grease and weekends on the south coast. We think it's a great addition to a wedding or as a weekend away classic car.

Our Ford Consul is finished in ivory with a cream and white interior and sits four people in comfort. The hood is easy to operate and finished in dark green, which goes well with the rest of the colour scheme.

Ford Consuls are a little before out time here at Great Escape and in fact recently we've been concentrating on adding 1980s classics like our Ford Capri 280 Brooklands. But when this Ford Consul became available for hire we couldn't resist - it just looks so good. And within a week of adding it on the fleet we have been taking bookings for it, so it seems that lots of people agree.

The Ford Consul from Great Escape Classic Car Hire can be hired by the day, week or weekend on a self drive basis. Or we can supply it chauffeur driven for weddings. Self drive hire prices include a full 24 hours use for every day you book, unlimited mileage, insurance for 1 driver and breakdown cover.

For more details visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.

Rovering around

Towards the end of MG Rover the Rover name was hastily superglued to virtually any model that John Towers and co could fit it on. But behind the proud Viking insignia lies an illustrious history of cars that were once the BMWs of their day. At Great Escape Classic Car Hire we think it's time to remember what it really meant to drive a Rover.

In the 1950s and 196s Rover developed a range of cars that were conservative and traditional but superbly well engineered and made. These cars, such as the Rover P4 and Rover P5, were popular with doctors, lawyers and bankers for whom a Jaguar was just a little too flash. This range of cars and this market was solid and worthy but not necessarily wide enough to keep Rover in business for ever.

The staple car for Rover through the 1960s was the Rover P5, launched in 1958 with a 3 litre straight six engine and developed through Mark 1, 2 and 3 versions with steadily improving aesthetics and comfort. The Rover P5 was available, unusually, as a saloon and four door coupe, the latter having a sloping rear roof and particularly pleasing lines.

In 1967 Rover had a flash of inspiration. Following the chance discovery of a lightweight V8 Buick engine during a trip to the USA, the Rover management secured the manufacturing rights and promptly dropped it into the Rover P5 to create the P5B (B for Buick). The P5B was a wolf in sheep's clothing, the lightweight 3.5 litre V8 engine producing a lovely throaty noise and remarkable performance. This old girl could really lift her skirts when the doctors and lawyers of Britain's shire counties fancied a walk on the wild side.

The Rover P5B in many respects saved Rover from oblivion. Plodding on making cars for Middle England was unsustainable in the rapidly changing Swinging Sixties. The Rover P5B changed that. It was equally at home chauffeuring a Head of State - Margarat Thatcher loved the Rover P5B - or the Managing Director of a newly successful engineering firm. Rover became about nouveau rich as well as olde worlde money.

Despite the opulence, style and capability of the Rover P5B, it has always been one of those cars that has hidden a little under the radar in the classic car fraternity. It seems to have been under the shadow of cars like the Jaguar Mk2 and later Rover P6. At Great Escape Classic Car Hire we've always loved them. And now we have two - a 1965 Rover P5 Mk3 with the 3 litre Rover engine and a Rover P5B coupe with the Buick engine. The Rover P5 is available to hire in Suffolk and the Rover P5B is available to hire from our Cotswolds base. Perfect for a day or weekend away with friends and family - just drop the picnic tables and enjoy some 1960s style. The Rover P5B is finished in white with a grey roof so it also looks good as a wedding car.

New Mercedes Classic Car Hire Fleet

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has teamed up with Classic Mercerdes Hire to create the largest fleet of Mercedes classic cars for hire in the UK. The classic cars are available to rent from the company's Worcestershire base and include classic convertibles, coupes and saloons from the 1960s to 1990s.
Great Escape now offers the widest choice of classic Mercedes to hire in the UK from its base in Worcestershire. the fleet of 10 classic Mercedes Benz coupes, convertibles and saloons is the result of a partnership with specialist Classic Mercedes Hire.
The cars range from the 1960s to 1990s and include the elegant Pagoda as well as examples of the company's best coupes, convertibles and saloons from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
The new Mercedes Benz hire fleet is ideal for a weekend away or a wedding. Many of the cars are 'modern classics' from the 1980s and 1990s and will appeal to customers who want the distinctive style of a classic car with the convenience of a modern car.
The new fleet is available to hire with Great Escape's fully transparent classic car hire package. This includes a full 24 hours use for every day booked, unlimited mileage, insurance and breakdown cover.
To find out more visit Great Escape Classic Car Hire or call 01527 893733.
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Won over to the charms of the MGB GT

I admit it. When I set up Great Escape Classic Car Hire I never expected to have a MG on the fleet. The plan was to feature cars not already widely available for hire and mainly from the late 1970s and 1980s. Now we have three - MGA, MGB convertible and MGB GT coupe. So what happened?

I was won over, pure and simple. I didn't grow up with MGAs and MGBs but now I realise what great cars they are. Familiarity has a habit of weakening charm but take a fresh look at a MGB convertible or roadster or the MGA and it would take a hard heart to argue that they don't look just great. The MGB to have of course is a chrome bumper model and now we have two of these lovely looking cars available for self drive hire - one in Worcestershire (a MGB GT) and one in Dorset (a MGB convertible). These are cars that are exactly what you expect from a classic - good fun to drive, easy to drive. Some old cars take a while to feel familiar but you can just jump into a MGB and drive. Which doesn't mean they're boring - just that you have more time to enjoy the experience of driving a great looking classic through some wonderful British scenery in the Cotswolds and Dorset.

For more information visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.

Capri is snow-perb

The snow hit quick and hard yesterday, rendering my everyday 1994 Jaguar XJR redundant - big tyres, loads of power and driver aids meant it surrendered in the snow. So it was back to the Great Escape Classic Car Hire unit in Inkberrow to choose a better car to escape back home in.

It had to be the Ford Capri. 1970s and 1980s Fords were rally car champions and a good dose of this snow and mud plugging capability passed into the genes of the company's everyday car range. The Great Escape Ford Capri is a Mark 3 2 litre S so it is lighter than a V6 but with plenty of power. This, plus rear drive and fairly narrow tyres, meant it made quick work of the hills and valleys that typify Worcestershire. In three trips around the local area it proved a hugely adept and very safe companion, quietly passing stranded modern cars in a whirr of wheelspin and power lock slides. The beauty of the Capri is that it is safe and predictable - slides are easy to correct and the car constantly tells you what the wheels are doing.

So there you have it - forget 4x4s and traction control, buy a Ford Capri. Or better still, give Great Escape a call on 01527 893733 and hire a Ford Capri. Prices start at £145 for 24 hours. And as added bonuses it has a great heater and good stereo.

Don’t let the chauffeur have all the fun on your wedding day

It’s the best day of your life and it’s all about you. So why is someone else driving that beautiful classic car on your wedding day? This is the question more and more couples ask as they ditch the chauffeur and switch to self drive wedding cars for their big day.

Great Escape Classic Car Hire, one of the largest self drive classic car rental companies in the UK, reports a significant increase in self drive wedding bookings compared to the same time last year. The company reports a 75% increase in this type of booking over 2008.

Self drive classic wedding car hire is the flexible and low cost alternative to hiring a chauffeur driven limousine and is proving increasing popular in these cash-strapped times. The credit crunch and the trend towards highly individual weddings appears to be behind the move towards self drive wedding car hire. Self drive gives couples the option of saloons, coupes and convertibles for transporting the Best Man and Groom and the family and bride to the church and on to the reception.

In a typical scenario the groom will hire a car like a white Jaguar E Type convertible to drive to the church with his Best Man and then whisk his wife away in it to the reception. Alongside the convertible the Bride and her Father hire a saloon, such as a Jaguar Mk2, which is driven by a family member or friend. This two-car arrangement would typically cost £700-800 with chauffeur hire but can be around half that with self drive hire. Self drive hire has the added bonus of being much more flexible because you don’t have to stick to strict waiting times. Companies like Great Escape hire their cars on a 24 hour basis so you also get plenty of time before the wedding to enjoy the cars.

“We are right at the start of the wedding booking season and already our self drive wedding bookings are much higher than the same time last year,” reports Graham Eason of Great Escape.

Great Escape operates a fleet of nearly 40 classic cars from locations in Suffolk, Worcestershire and Dorset. The company has developed its service for wedding couples to help make it even easier to build self drive hire into your big day. As well as a straightforward collection and return system from each base the company will also deliver and collect to local addresses or provide a low cost collection service after the wedding.

The Great Escape Classic Car Hire fleet includes classic cars from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Jensen, Triumph, Porsche, Rolls Royce, MG, Volkswagen, Ford, Mini and Morris. The cars range from the 1950s to 1990s and prices start at just £125.

For more information visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.