THERE was little to separate our old car spotters from the teaser set in Memories 359 in The Northern Echo and here online.

Parked in Darlington Market Place in 1964 were, from left to right, a Humber Super Snipe, a Vauxhall Cresta E type which people agreed had been supplied by Sherwoods as it was Darlington-registered, and a Ford Thames 5cwt van.

Peter Daniels in Bishop Auckland added: “Of more interest is the Hillman Super Minx in the picture’s foreground, with its half-moon side lamps situated above the headlamps. The Rootes Group also made a Humber with the same body shell, but I can’t remember its name: nice cars but not particularly popular.”

The Northern Echo:

A scooter parked in Wooler Street, Darlington, in 1964

Also in Memories 359, we learned that woe betide anyone who mistook a moped for a scooter. We learned that, technically, a moped has an engine of under 50cc whereas a scooter has engine of between 50cc and 150cc.

But John Biggs of Etherley Grange added: “A moped was actually a pedal cycle to which a small engine had been attached.

“They were cheaper than a scooter or motorbike.”

Only a slip of the finger made our scooter extremely expensive. We should have said that in 1958, an Excelsior Monarch Mk 1 would have cost £158 – not £1,958.

“The scooter carries a Darlington registration number, so it was probably bought new from Duplex Motors on Grange Road,” said Peter Tarn of Forcett, Honorary mentions to John Middlemiss, Noel Stokoe, John Collins and Mark Cooper.