If you remember "Johnny Quest", "Thunderbirds" and "Tom Slicks" you might get a kick outta this. If you remember "The Cisco Kid", "Hopalong Cassidy" and "Howdy Doody", this stuff is definitely for you.
Universal Motoring History has turned its comprehensive film archive into a free online motoring history resource for all serious car enthusiasts.
The archive consists of more than 500 classic films from around the world from the 1890s onwards and can now be enjoyed for free 24 hours a day at www.auto-history.tv.
The complete collection covers everything from the start of mass production to world land speed record runs, car commercials, motor shows, new car launches, the evolution of car design, experimental cars, flying cars, famous drivers, stunt driving, unusual military machines and much more. There's also extensive racing footage from the "golden age" of motor racing from circuits such as Le Mans, Indianapolis and Monte Carlo, as well as films featuring bygone hill climbs and stock car racing.
The archive has been accumulated over many years from numerous sources, including motor manufacturers, government departments, military organizations, film and TV production companies and elsewhere. A significant number of the films, most of which are between two and 10 minutes in length, have largely remained unseen for more than 50 years and were previously thought to have been lost or destroyed.
Although the quality of some of the older films is inevitably not of the standard that most people are used to today, modern digital technology has been deployed to improve the viewing experience and this enables contemporary car enthusiasts to get a rare insight to life on the road from earlier times.
The recently revamped web site also includes other useful free resources such as a comprehensive timeline of motoring history, as well as photographic display. The site also contains an extensively stocked online shop selling a huge range of products geared to anyone with an interest in motor cars, past and present.