Who are these people? And what is that odd-looking VW window van doing in the background? The new year should be about the future but this being a classic cars site, let's take a brief glance back to a long-ago and somewhat grainy photo. That pretty lady is my ex-wife Maggie, then pregnant with our son Philip, and the guy on the right is me. The van was loaned to us by Volkswagen Canada, sponsor of Wheelspin, a weekly TV car show that focussed on motor racing. Wheelspin was the first of its kind in Canada, possibly in all of North America. I was privileged to be writer and host. Volkswagen's ubiquitous vehicle (actually the original minivan) was here known as an "Office Van" and to my knowledge was the only example exported to North America. Years ahead of its time, the Office Van was equipped with a working desk with bench-style seating, storage areas, and a roof platform that was ideal for mounting a video camera. On more than one occasion we towed my racing Porsche behind. No hills!

Along with this bit of nostalgia I'd also like to make our regular viewers aware of a new Classical Drives development. Due to necessary adjustments by our host and good friends at Creative Weblogging, Classical Drives will now appear three times weekly rather than everyday. So look for new blogs every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Additional blogs will be added during special events, such as the 2008 Scottsdale auction week, where I'll be reporting live. I sincerely hope you'll continue to join us on those three-a-week days for the latest in classic and collector car news, which I promise to make both entertaining and fun to read.