The Blog

Christmas got us thinking about toys, and when car people think about toys, a few things are bound to come up. Hot Wheels, Micro Machines, Vanguard, Maisto or Bburago models, Lego… but for a certain set of kids,the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe might have been the first car in their life. Maybe it was the first car in yours.

Its iconic shape isn't merely friendly and aesthetically pleasing, it's also much more clever than it would first appear. The original Cozy Coupe prototype was the brainchild of Jim Mariol, a designer who had a stint in car design.

The most clever part was the overall conception: a pedal-car-like experience without the pedals, called a foot-to-floor toy. Something kids too little for pedal cars could also enjoy without excluding older kids who could also fit inside. Mariol was inspired scooting around on a wheeled office chair, using his feet—something within the power of an average little tyke. The design was more than just cute: The roof made it, indeed, cozy and more like a real car than a typical roofless pedal car. And the larger rear wheels and bulkier rear end meant it would be harder to tip over backwards. Add in the long, swoopy door, which of course opens, and you have a primeval car experience, delivered to Little Tikes for consideration in 1979.

Mariol said he did more than merely design the car, also performing all the engineering involved in the prototype. But there was one big change to be made before production: The black roof had to go. While it might have been more true to the vinyl-clad roofs of its era, it lacked a certain whimsy. Little Tikes accepted the overall design enthusiastically, but for production a yellow roof took the place of a black one. A classic was born.

The original Cozy Coupe features slender A-pillars in black, a decal emulating square sealed-beam headlights, and a little "trunk" out back. It's no sports car, but the visibility afforded by its ample greenhouse is peerless. By the early 1990s, the Cozy Coupe was selling briskly enough to be called "the bestselling car in America." More than 10 million units have been sold worldwide.

Not that the Cozy Coupe hasn't changed with the times. In 1991, it was tweaked slightly—the A-pillars changed to yellow, the molded seat design was altered, and the black wheels became white. The fundamental Cozy Coupe idea didn't get a serious revision until 2003, when its roof shrank while the A-pillars grew significantly. The proportions changed, too, with larger front wheels hoisting that end higher off the ground. Round headlight decals gave it a friendlier, almost anthropomorphic face, a foreshadowing of what was to come.

In 2009, the Cozy Coupe sprouted eyes. At first, they were conjoined before being separated a few years later. A response to a certain 2006 Pixar film involving anthropomorphic cars, perhaps?

Both the 2009 and the 2017+ versions are certainly friendly and fun, but they represent a different idea of a toy than the original. This is a friendly companion rather than an adorable conveyance. Not better or worse, but a new approach. Exactly what decade in its 40-odd-year history the Cozy Coupe imprinted itself on your consciousness may determine how divergent the current model is from your ideal, but every iteration is an icon.

Lyons Garages named ‘Clare Micro Business of the Year’ at Clare Business Excellence Awards

What a night! Clare Business Excellence Awards confirmed its status as the best business event in Clare. Hosted by Ennis Chamber with Clare County Council as lead sponsor, and Clare Echo as its media partner, the glittering occasion held at the Inn at Dromoland on November 27, was a night of celebration for businesses from all corners of the Banner County.

Outstanding businesses large and small, plus a voluntary community group were announced winners of their individual categories, by event MC, RTE Radio1 Reporter John Cooke, while the mantle of ‘Clare Micro Business of the Year’ went to Lyons Garages, the Classic and Sports Car business based in the beautiful West Clare setting of Spanish Point.

 Congratulating all winners and finalists on the night, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Cllr. Alan O’Callaghan said, “The diversity and innovation of your businesses is a positive reflection of a vibrant and sustainable local economy. Your success is a testament to the resilience and determination many of you have demonstrated in recent years – overcoming many challenges. The tenacity, endurance and entrepreneurship you have shown leaves me in no doubt that this county’s economy will continue to grow and prosper thanks in no small way to each of you and your hard work. You carry the pride of ‘The Banner’ in all that you do.”

Sheila Lynch, President Ennis Chamber said, “The finalists in the room represent a very wide and diverse range of sectors and businesses. From multi-nationals to independent retailers, from our world-famous tourism businesses to our excellent hospitality and food providers, from traditional long-established businesses to new businesses based on futuristic cutting-edge technology – County Clare has it all in abundance. We can all feel very proud. I congratulate all finalists and category winners”

It was a fantastic evening out with our great team of Clive, Mark, Keelan and John joining us to celebrate. We're thrilled to win, it's fantastic to receive recognition for all our hard work over the past number of years, and it's great to see such a niche business in West Clare be recognised as a leader in business. 

BEST MICRO BUSINESS (employing 10 people or less) – Sponsored by Local Enterprise Office, Clare

Winner: Lyons Garages Classic Car Restorations

The suspense is over for the 2024 entrants to Clare Business Excellence Awards, as hosts Ennis Chamber, together with main sponsor Clare County Council, announce this year’s finalists.

The team of independent adjudicators covered hundreds of miles, as they zig-zagged across County Clare, judging the bumper crop of fantastic and worthy entries for Clare Business Excellence Awards 2024.

The quality was exceptionally high, giving the adjudicators a tough task when it came to choosing category finalists.

Clare Business Excellence Awards Finalists 2024

Best Micro Business (Sponsored by LEO Clare)

• Berka Solutions (Ennis)
• Indigo Visual (Shannon)
• Lyons Garages Classic Car Restoration (Miltown Malbay)
• Wix and Wax (Ennis)

The winners of each category will be announced at a Gala Awards Dinner, on Wednesday November 27th. The overall ‘Clare Business of the Year’ sponsored by Clare County Council will also be revealed on that date.

For more details, please see: https://www.ennischamber.ie/introducing-clare-business-excellence-awards-finalists-2024/

We’ve been quiet of late, but that’s only because there’s been a lot happening. But now that my letter to Santa is finished, I can give time over to the garage.

Now I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there won’t be much ado, we’re going to just dive right in.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 2023 “Almost year-end review with a view towards 2024 and beyond” meeting.

This is also being combined with the 2023 ‘Garage Owner’s Address To Stakeholders’, or ‘Two Thousand and Twenty Three GOATS’ for shortness and ease of use. Having the same acronym as Greatest Of All Time is purely a coincidence.

Thank you all for coming.

2023 has been a very good year so far for Lyons Garages. The bank have called numerous times to say our account is outstanding which really is a testament to our company’s 2D strategy. As a reminder, here are those ‘D’s: Dedication, Design, and David Lyons. The 3^rd D is silent, much like the manual labour I put it.

Where were we and what did we do? Always an important part of a review I suppose. Beaulieu was ticked off the list, we visited Bicester a couple of times, the NEC Restoration Show, and we even said hello to the lads in the cars at the F1 in Hungary. Visits to car shows were down about 345% this year, so we’re promising to do more in 2024. More in 2024… there’s definitely a slogan in there we can work on…

Output from the garage continues to go in the good direction – the up one. Despite this, we still get phone calls from people wondering how long more it will take to finish their car. We don’t like to dwell on that negativity, and so we try to look forward towards what we can, and probably will do. Maybe.

We got a new website, remembered the password to our LinkedIn page, and even managed to become influencers on TikTok. Well, more like community influencers. Where the community is around a hundred people. Meh, a win is a win.

The longer-term, full-size projects like the BMW 2002 and Mini Clubman are coming to an end, while earlier in the year saw a convertible Morris Minor, MG B GT, B Roadster, Mini, Boxster, and Pagoda all leave following huge restorations. Not to mention the numerous smaller jobs like servicing and mechanical work on Escorts, Corvettes, Mercedes-Benz, Minis, MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars… I’d be here all day if I kept going!

But enough about me. Let’s hear more about myself.

2024 is just around the corner, if you’d like to get your car booked in for a service, or some mechanical work, or would like to talk to us about a larger project, you know what to do! But for those who don’t, pick up the phone and give us a call, or send an email toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with details of the car and a number that we can contact you on. We’re very sound and will do our best to help you out. We’re not a charity though wink wink.

We have a couple of projects for sale, so where better to tell you than here?

• MG B Roadster - We have a rubber bumper B that, as they say in the industry, is an ideal restoration candidate.
• A Mini shell or two, one of which is de-seamed and in primer
• Another MG B roadster, but this time it's a shell - great shell with potential for engine transplant or complete restoration
• Morris Minor
• VW Beetle Karmann Convertible

We also have a lot… like, A LOT of second-hand parts for Minis and MG Bs in particular, so give us a call and we’ll see if we can help!

As is the tradition, we’ll keep treating you to amazing photos of the amazing work carried out by our amazing team. You’ll find said photos on all the social medias. Amazing. Also, Cooper, the cat is doing well, thanks for asking.

Finally, let us say that as the world’s greatest sports car restoration team here in the Malibu of Ireland, we welcome your feedback. We don’t take it, but we welcome it all the same.

Pedal safe, mind yourself, and do me one small favour - save yourself all the time and hassle, and just come to us first. We know what we're doing and have been at this longer than everyone. Probably. But more importantly, you'd make my life easier if we didn't have to clean up the mess left by others. Ok thanks, bye.

2024 - a new year of classic driving awaits my pals! Here at Lyons Garages, the world's greatest classic car garages, we're now taking bookings for mechanical and servicing work for 2024 and beyond.

Is your classic in need of a little mechanical TLC to get it up and running for the new year? Are there leaks staining your driveway? Car not driving or stopping as well as it should? Is it time for a service? Or maybe you've decided it's time to do some upgrades - better suspension, electronic ignition, stronger brakes, or even a shiny new interior. Well, fear not because we're here to help.

A short and sweet post today as we've a lot to be doing. Big year ahead, you know yourself.

Anyway, give us a call, and let's see what we can do for you and your car. We're based in Spanish Point, Co. Clare, but we can help with transportation if needed.

Just to note, we are currently fully booked for full restorations but do get in touch if you would like to learn more.

As is now the tradition, you'll find all the latest information, photos, and videos on our social channels - just search for Lyons Garages. 

Hi.
Sorry, it’s been so long. That’s it, that’s my apology! To be fair, it’s a two-way street and it’s not like you bothered to write to me so let’s agree to move on and talk about some cars now. It was an email during the week asking about a Cars and Coffee event which made me realise I hadn’t updated the blog in almost a year. Mad.

Where have you been? What have you been up to? Many news? No? Ok. Us on the other hand, I mean wow, what haven’t we done! Well, not much. You’d be surprised how long it takes to restore some cars. The time really doth fly.

Just looking at what I wrote the last time… “The country is almost back” – I wasn’t completely wrong, it’s just now it’s a little bit more like the country is almost backwards. (I’m very good with words amn’t I? “Write more things” you say, “I don’t get paid enough” I reply.

Is it just me or has the service industry in Ireland gone to the dogs? I’m convinced that the poor levels of customer service around the place is a side effect of all the vaccinations. But that’s someone else’s problem to solve and I’ll get over waiting 5 hours for someone to take my food order. My main problem is with the car industry – it’s an absolute nightmare when it comes to hiring skilled people. Where have they all gone?

Here at LG HQ on the Spanish Point Riviera where we have a waiting list of over 6 months – 1 year for restorations, the demand for quality classic cars has never been higher. However, the availability of quality skilled people needed to be able to carry out the necessary work has never been smaller.

“The heritage skills required to maintain these vehicles, which in the past have gone down from one generation to the next, are at risk of being lost. Not enough of the necessary knowledge and skills are being passed on to the young enthusiasts coming through.

The historic vehicle industry has grown significantly and is now worth more than £5.5billion in the UK, and although staff numbers have risen to 34,900, their average age is 42. Estimates suggest the sector needs at least 150 new apprentices a year for the next five years to survive, with 40 per cent of employers saying they’re struggling to find qualified staff.” https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/102958/classic-car-restoration-new-course-teaches-the-art-of-caring-for-classics

“FIVA, the international federation dedicated to historic vehicles, is warning of a global skills shortage that could see some of the most iconic vehicles in history lost unless new blood is introduced to the restoration industry, with specialist training urgently needed to avoid vital skills dying out.

That was the main conclusion reached at a FIVA-supported international symposium in Bucharest on July 24th 2021.” https://classicsworld.co.uk/news/classic-skills-shortage/

While the problem of a lack of skilled people to work on classic cars has been something we’ve seen for a few years now, it seems like garages and main dealers that deal with the more modren (modren, not modern) cars are starting to struggle as well. The young ‘uns just aren’t going down the route of apprenticeships anymore. Hard to blame them, the pay is shocking, I think electricians get paid more for their apprenticeship? This is even more shocking (heh, puns) when you realise that very soon most cars being serviced will be all-electric.

Is the drive there to encourage people to get into motor mechanics and panel beating, I’m not sure, to be honest. (Is the drive there… did you see what I did there?) This time last year we embarked on a journey with some government agencies to set up a Classic Car Training Academy here in the west of Ireland, but alas it was not to be. The course book is now just gathering dust on the shelf here… which reminds me, the cleaner is due in.

Anyway, that's our sad story – it is, in the words of myself, very sad. If you want to read some more about how what the UK is doing to solve this problem, I’ll copy and paste the article below.

Right, apart from all that, we have been up to plenty! A Porsche Boxster S was added to the team, and my pockets are suddenly lighter from all the parts bought… the price of a Porsche keyring is scandalous, to be honest with you, scandalous. New BC Racing coil overs, new brakes, suspension refresh, lights, full service, a door lock, and hours upon hours of polishing have left this car looking fantastic. It will be for sale soon, so if you’re interested in a 2001 Boxster (priest’s car, nobody ever sat in the back, non-smoker, etc) get in touch!

A Sunbeam has come and gone, as have a few MG Bs and Midgets. There’s a BMW 2002 here at the minute - we can finally see some light at the end of the welding tunnel TG. MG As, Morris Minors, Mercs, and some more have all passed through the doors in the last while. Even more exciting is that parts have begun to arrive for a Datsun Z resto-mod we’re going to be building.

Ok pals, with all this talk of the rising costs of living and people having less disposable income to spend, it looks like I’m going to have to actually do some work now.

BuY sOmE cOfFeE

It’s about time you supported your local business, people are beginning to talk and they’re saying you’re awful tight altogether. And the beans will be going out of date soon so we’ll have to flog them before that. Lel.

If you’ve any thoughts, feedback, ideas, or anything at all, give us a shout on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and we're winging it on TikTok as well.

Gotta go, finishing off plans for a classic car centre / hub here and need to concentrate to keep the colouring between the lines.
K thanks see you later bye.

FIVA Warns of Global Skills Shortage
Article from Classics World, August 2021.

FIVA, the international federation dedicated to historic vehicles, is warning of a global skills shortage that could see some of the most iconic vehicles in history lost unless new blood is introduced to the restoration industry, with specialist training urgently needed to avoid vital skills dying out.

That was the main conclusion reached at a FIVA-supported international symposium in Bucharest on July 24. Hosted by Retromobil Club Romania, ‘Restoration – Art or Science?’ saw a succession of world-renowned authorities address guests from 10 countries, with the event also streamed online to thousands worldwide.

Speakers included Stéphane Guarato and Arthur Morault, who explained how a lack of skilled labour means some car enthusiasts are waiting three years for work to begin on their classics. The pair run the Conservatoire National des Véhicules Anciens near Paris, where students gain experience in basic restoration techniques before going on to specialist training. Stéphane and Arthur feel that the increasing gap between the skills needed for modern car repairs and those needed for historic restoration is part of the problem, as is the difficulty to attract young people to the industry, Currently, half of their 150 students are around 60 years old.

In addition, Michel Lamoureux, principal advisor for a historic vehicle restoration training programme that is set to begin in Canada from September 2022, warned that the next generation of fledgling specialists remains alarmingly small given the urgent need for their skills in a worldwide industry worth billions of dollars.

FIVA president Tiddo Bresters described the skills shortage as an “existential challenge” for the future of classic motoring: “This is one of FIVA’s primary objectives – to foster the preservation of historic vehicles and pass them on in working condition to future generations,” he stated.

UK leading the way

Critics will no doubt feel that FIVA’s call to action has come rather late. In the UK, the classic car community has long been concerned about a lack of suitably skilled mechanics and restorers entering the sector, and has been very positive in doing something about it.

Until recently, the industry relied on the legacy of engineers and craftspeople trained in the 50s, 60s and 70s, meaning it fell off the radar for potential new blood and any training available was of little relevance.

Realising this, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs’ Karl Carter and Francis Galashan of the FBHVC-backed Federation Skills Trust were instrumental in introducing a classic vehicle restoration course in 2014, and in 2015 Rolls-Royce specialist P&A Wood selected the then-new Heritage Skills Academy (HSA) to recruit eight apprentices and deliver a bespoke training programme. This all led to the FBHVC and HSA joining forces to develop a Classic Vehicle Training Academy at Bicester Heritage in 2017, which has since gone from strength to strength.

Very few countries can boast a state-funded scheme for this kind of apprenticeship, but the UK has been able to take significant advantage. Growth was inevitably blunted slightly by the pandemic but there has been an impressive rise from 70 apprentices last year to 110 currently, with another 36 starting in September and more to come as a number of employers already involved look to take on a second or even a third apprentice. Ages range from 16-59, but the major are aged 19-25.
What’s more, there’s been an expansion into a second premises at Brooklands Museum this year, with four groups based at the Surrey venue and seven at Bicester. Three groups are currently on the new coachbuilding course launched last year, with the remainder on the mechanical course.

The HSA’s success lies in having a structured, consistent model that is proven to work. “We’ve identified the problem, we’ve convinced the industry we’ve got a solution, we’ve developed a programme that they have had input into, we’ve delivered it and we’ve gained the confidence of all the big players in the UK industry,” said HSA Managing Director, John Pitchforth. “We’ve also attracted notice from America, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway, all of whom have come over to look at what we do. We welcome working with anybody.

“The UK is pretty much a world leader in what we do, but we’re not just about the historic side; we also about adopting modern technologies and green technologies. We want to be part of the green solution, not part of the problem.”

Momentum has built steadily elsewhere in the UK too. The Association of Heritage Engineers (AoHE) was founded by Dominic Taylor-Lane three-and-a-half years ago to promote, support and facilitate a cascading of skills and experience from across the heritage sector to a new generation. It has recently broadened that aim with the creation of its Sustainable Skills Network, which aims to demonstrate how the industry has the transferable skills to go beyond the historic vehicle sector and create a genuinely sustainable repair-based future.

We also look forward to seeing what the newly-formed Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance (HCVA) can achieve in its aim to preserve skills by encouraging the sector to reach out to younger people and excite them about the prospects of joining the industry.

While there is still a long way to go to ensure vital skills are not lost, there are a host of positive signs. As the likes of the HSA have proven, we’re doing a very good of fostering a new culture around restoration skills, and if that can extend globally, it can only be good for keeping our treasured classics on the road.