It might seem strange to talk about another mag as part of an Influx edition, but there’s no greater insight into the motoring world than a car sales magazine. At least it used to be, before the internet stole their Thunderbirds. As we look at the hot hatch craze which began to fly in the ’90s, it seemed a good excuse to get an old copy of Top Marques – this one from 1st May 1995 – and see what more affluent neighbourhoods’ roads looked like.

Cue a frenzy of in-office banter about missed opportunities and hindsight-induced fiscal regret as we looked at what was bringing in the big bucks, and what was floating greyly under the investors’ radars in May ’95.

Here are some picks from the magazine – some for monetary appreciation reasons, some for curiosity reasons:

1. 1960 Aston Martin DB4 £30,000 (value now £250-750k)
2. 1966 Jaguar MKII £3,950 (value now £20-30k for those in excellent condition)
3. 1979 Ford RS2000 custom £3,000 (value now £20-45k)
4. 1975 Ferrari (Dino) 308 GT4 £17,995 (value now £45-60k)
5. 1984 Hensen M30 £3,995 (value now ?)
6. 1981 Talbot Lotus Sunbeam £4,500 (value now £22-40k)
7. 1978 Lancia Montecarlo Spyder £3,500 (value now £18-25k)
8. Target 1800 Turbo £9,995 (value now ?)
9. 1966 Jaguar E Type S1 £11,250 (value now £40-200k)
10. 1989 Lister 7.0 £39,950 (value now £40-90k)
11. 1976 Aston Martin V8 S £19,995 (value now £70-125k)
12. And finally, Jeremy Clarkson’s review of what appears to be a Hawk HF Stratos replica, which he stated on Top Gear was “One of the best cars on the road. I am totally smitten.”

As tempting as it is to upload loads of images with the phone numbers still showing so that we could all call and ask whether they’re still available, that wouldn’t be very nice, so forgive the photoshopping.

We can admit, however, to having checked the MOT on a lot of the number plates for the cars for sale in 1995 and very few of those we checked are still on the road. And that’s a great shame; all that metal, plastic, cloth and fluids have all had to go somewhere, and although these cars aren’t necessarily the most fuel efficient it begs questions about the environmental sympathy of a ‘make do and mend’ attitude rather than ‘scrap car and upgrade’…

Let’s hope the rise of ‘chod’ and ‘survivor’ cars means we’ll see lots of cars, not just the desirable but also the simply immemorable, remain on our roads for longer, perhaps getting converted to alternative fuels to ensure their futures.