File talk:Standard Vanguard Phase 2 blue at Castle Hedingham photo 2008.JPG

is this a 1954 model

Is that a question or a statement of what you believe?

I do not know the answer, but here's some evidence from the British tax man who makes available on-line a slice of one of his enormous databases.

The car was first registered in England 13 April 1955.

The car was manufactured 1955

The car is blue, has an engine capacity of 2088cc and runs on petrol (and someone has paid car tax - set up as and misleadingly called the road fund licence - to be permitted to drive the car on the public roads till March 2012).

This database is not infallible. It shows, especially for the older cars, only the information that someone declared to the database when taxing the car. Even when people give the UK tax office (at least the UK car tax office, but it probably applies more widely) correct information, they often write it down incorrectly. Nevertheless, the information is "independent" and, in this case, plausible. If the owner comes with the chassis number and factory records indicating it came out of the factory in 1954, I will believe it. Otherwise, and in the absence of better information, I am content to go with the tax office data and say the car was made and first registered early in 1955. Which, whether you think in UK or US terms, would make it a 1955 model.

Sorry I'm no good at doing succinct. But thanks for making me think. Regards Charles01 (talk) 10:44, 6 May 2011 (UTC) (who took the photograph)