Cars
Ive always considered myself a petrol head, even before I knew what petrol was!
I think it can be traced back to my (very) early childhood, when my best friend - Timoth Bray -
had two pedal cars, (a Jeep in camoflage colours with a white star on the bonnet and a red convertible) and I had didnt have one.
Then, whenI was a teenager I had a poster of Jochen Rindt (his car at least) on my bedroom wall.
I suspect maybe Ive over compensated over the years. Ive made some mistakes, but heres the
(incomplete) pantheon.
My first car - a hillman imp van… cost me £175 in 1975. It didnt have a headlining which caused a few problems in the wintertime, but (within weeks of my acquiring it) it had a stonking cassette player!
Somewhere in here I had a Mark One Ford Escort (Pale Blue with a matt black bonnet) and a Triumph 1500TC.
Then in 1979 I purchased a Mini.
The mini boasted a sharp radio cassette with autoreverse (leading edge in those days), wooden dashboard,
clubman air vents, air horns and all sorts of extras… Powered through a Fiat Miriafiori fuseboard in the glovebox. I loved that car! I sold the min in 1983, and used the funds to buy a Sinclair Spectrum (the big one, with a full 48k of RAM) and a colour TV to use with it – my first computer.
In 1985 we bought 1980 Ford Cortina Carousel. Bizarrely this had electric windows retro-fitted… our first car with leccy windows!
My first company car in 1987 - a Rover 820SE.
The Rover was an oyster silver colour, and was a nightmare, trashing three cylinder heads in four years. Not an easy thing to do with an automatic! I researched the history of the car with my local dealer, and learned that it was built on the Friday before an August Bank Holiday weekend!
That was replaced in 1991 by a Nissan Bluebird Executive, which in turn went back when I left HSBC (Midland Bank) in 1993, after some eighteen years.
The Nissan was such a classic (not) that I cant find a picture of one anywhere! Wikipedia notes ”the real pick of the crop from the Bluebird range were the Executive models. These had their own range of colours, leather interior, body kit, lattice alloy wheels, air-conditioning and a vast array of standard equipment”
I bought a Saab 900i in 1995.
Our first Mercedes - 1997 - 2000
Our Second Mercedes – 2000 – 2007
Our 3rd Mercedes – a 350SL – 2007-2008 – man I loved that car!
Our 4th Mercedes - another C Class - 2008 - date (still not got a picture yet).
Alongside the Mercedes, I had a Honda Civic Coupe (an IBM company car) 1n 2001.
Then after leaving IBM, a Toyota RAV4 between 2001 and 2006.
The RAV4 was in turn replaced by a PT Cruiser.
So at the moment (Summer 2009) our cars comprise a C Class Merc and a PT Cruiser.
I guess its just as well Ill never be invited to drive a reasonably priced car on Top Gear.
