I remember it well

The Austin A30 was a small family car produced by Austin from May 1952 to September 1956. It was launched at the 1951 Earls Court Motor Show as the "New Austin Seven" and was Austin's competitor with the Morris Minor. I was born in 1953 and well remember these little cars driving on the Ravenhill Road, close to my house in the late 1950s.

In 1956 they were replaced by the newer A35, in the main picture today. This was an improvement and included front and rear indicator lamps!

By today’s standards they are noisy, small, slow and unremarkable. This two-door de luxe saloon with the 948 cc engine was tested by the British Motor magazine in 1956 and was found to have a top speed of 71.9 mph (115.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 30.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of 41.5 miles per imperial gallon (6.81 L/100 km; 34.6 mpg‑US) was recorded.

One of my neighbours had one and a shop around the corner had the A60 van. Of such memories are childhood’s made.

So today I am simply giving a nod to innovation and that spirit that is willing to break barriers and create new things which improve our lives. Well done all!