The Classic Connection

There can’t be too many opportunities in life to successfully combine true passion with business – but it works here.

 

When I say passion, what I really mean is: heart and soul, life blood congealing with Castrol Oil under Band Aid Plasters, a place where the office becomes an extension of boyhood dreams - somewhere to never properly grow-up. Boys and their toys? Yeah - but so what?

And Charlie Ramsey’s story is something quite unique. The Classic Connection sells cars, but pretty much like anything else in life ‘it Ain't what you do, it’s the way that you do it’ or so the song goes.

From the moment you first step onto the lino of the Classic Connection’s reception area, you get a sense of what is happening here, Charlie has thought this through and wants his customers to enjoy the experience. 

But not by design – this is real.

And what the Classic Connection is not, and this is important, is that it's not a Veneer, it’s not a made-up concoction dressed-up to impress and beguile like a franchise pub or cafe, no, what Charlie has created is part working museum, part private collection, part library and part business.

But, the best part is that the sum of these gleaming and eclectic parts all morph into an Aladdin’s Cave, of which, once the door is opened, you long to stay - because your boyhood dreams demand it.

I'm given free-reign to go where ever I choose, but like a kid in a sweet shop, I want it all. I bound around like a pin-ball taking pictures wherever I can - Charlie has nothing to hide.

I'm even privy to a preview of some gems that have yet to hit the show room. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better Charlie opens up another cave and inside are two rows of cars that have been snapped up from motor jumbles or from trawling the Internet.

One new aspect of the Classic Connection that Charlie is keen to promote is the realisation that he is now in a strong position to attract new Jaguar customers. Charlie's latest recruit is a mechanic with so much Jaguar history he should have his own V5.

But this is the depth that Charlie is willing to go to, to to the job correctly you need the right tools, and definately the right people. I hope that's not to chliche'd, it's just that these cars can be expensive and are people's pride and joy's, and just like people - they need to be treated right.

Sure, there are bargains out there, you just need the time and the experience to know what you're looking for. A large garage bedecked with quality tools, a ramp, and at least one mechanic who has spent his entire working life working on classic cars will help too.

Even the kitchen-cum-staff room has more than a whiff of London's Ace Cafe about it. I'm relieved to find the toilets are gleaming too. 

In the corner of the corridor that leads from the cafe (sorry, kitchen) a stack of new tyres have a film set edge about them; should I duck for cover? It would be fun ...

'I don't expect you to talk, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!'

A very big thank you to Charlie and his staff for a fabulous few hours where I could pretend it was all mine. www.classicconnection.co.uk