Since I have sent a few threads wildly off-track by discussing cars I thought I’d set up a dedicated thread.
What cars, bikes, trucks do you like to drive? What do you love or hate about driving? What do you think the future of cars are (and do they have one)?
As a starter, here’s a few of my automotive landmarks:
First family car as a kid: Austin A40
Car I learned to drive in: Datsun Bluebird
First car I owned: VW Polo Mk II
Best car I owned: VW Golf VI
Worst car I owned: Mazda Premacy
Fastest car I’ve driven: Lamborghini Diablo (neighbours car that actually worked on one occasion)
Slowest car I’ve driven: Mercedes 200D (0-60 time: eventually)
Dream car: For the looks I’d say an Aston Martin DB5. Unfortunately, I’ve been in one - better to have the dream!
First family car as a kid: 1976 Monte Carlo
Car I learned to drive in: 1988 Grand Voyager
First car I owned: 1973 MGB
Best car I owned: 2003 Mazda Protege5
Worst car I owned: 1973 MGB
Fastest car I’ve driven: 1983 Porsche 944 Turbo
Slowest car I’ve driven: 1973 MGB
Dream car: 1963 289 AC Cobra
Interestingly, this is prohibited in stretches on the German motorway network. The result is that convoys can form which is OK until you think you are overtaking a couple of HGVs only to discover that it is a couple of km worth. And you are supposed to overtake as fast as safely possible. And your exit is coming up…
Well, they have a limited number of hours that they can drive. It could be all the difference between making and missing a deadline. I do try to give the guys some slack. I think the bigger problem I’ve noticed in Britain is drivers who never pull back into lane 1.
Random question for the Brits. How long do you think it would take to retake your learner’s if you had to?
Had my Australian licence but never changed it over when I moved, and let it expire, so with heading back to Aus for Xmas, I want to get my UK licence - do you think 6 months would be enough time to get learners, take lessons (haven’t driven in nearly 20 years, so would need to get the rust out) and pass the theory and prac tests?
When you sit in a car as a passenger, are you watching for pedestrians, cyclists, badgers, the woman in the car heading towards you, the load on the lorry in the inside lane, the speed limit, the conditions etc etc etc? If you are, you’ll walk it. If you’re looking at the scenery and no longer know what the handbrake does, call an Uber.
I’d say that you would probably pick up controlling the vehicle again very quickly. That’s one of those “riding a bike” things that you don’t really lose. However, actually driving it and being aware of the road and so on takes longer.
TBH, I passed my test before there was a written exam and I didn’t even have to do things like parking on the test so if I took a test now there are likely to be things that I was never formal taught and tested on. And yes, I am lousy at parallel parking - particularly in a RHD car.
my neighbor’s late husband made an AC Cobra replica from scratch in his garage. spent 5 years building it, died from ALS a year or two after completion. it’s stunning, has a 454ci Chev motor in it.
I hate the love / hate the complicated nature of newer cars and I absolutely loathe the deliberate limitef design life of them. But they come with such comfort but the idea of signing up for debt on a tin box that blows money out the tail pipe grates.
I own two vehicles. One is a wrecker of a VW MK4 golf that I’ll run until the MOT runs out. I doubt it’ll get another. That car is over 20 years old.
My other is a 32 year old VW T4 van that I’m guilty of over customising and I’m not done. It is quick, real quick thanks to uprated Audi A3 engine installed in it. But it’s old and while solid needs a bit of bodywork and paint.
Lastly to continue with the theme, if it were financially possible (it’s not) when the Golf is done I’d have a Peugeot 205 GTi in a heartbeat. I had one many moons ago and selling that was a massive regret.
Awesome. There’s a local guy I used to play rugby with owns one here. He managed to stick that into a stone wall. I don’t think I could own one now, being second in the area etc. Can’t be doing that.
