Cars I have owned

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Although I have driven several hundred different cars in my career, I have owned but a few.

My first, in 1970, was the grey Wolseley 1500, a sort of upmarket Morris Minor. I think its top speed was 77 mph , 0-60 mph in over 20 seconds and a fuel consumption of around 32 mpg overall. Crude by today's standards but it got us around, including London to the very far NE tip of Scotland.
Next came the Riley 1.5 about 18 months later. This was a sportier version of the Wolseley and had better equipment. Twin SU carburettors meant that the top speed was 85 mph and that 0 - 60 could achieved in 18.9 secs but fuel consumption was poorer, think about 27 mph. It also had leather seats. This little baby went everywhere including several trips to the Frankfurt area in Germany. Bought it with 27,000 miles on the clock, gave it away at 88,000. I maintained it myself and it gave almost no trouble apart from a broken half shaft.

The next one was a Morris Marina Coupe in a deep shade of purple known as 'Black Tulip.' The Marina was mocked by many for its antique suspension and steering which were originally designed 25 years earlier. It had a 1.3 litre engine of similar pedigree. But it was simple and reliable and it got us and the young kids around well including those long runs to Germany. The boot was big, an essential factor with young kids. Remarkably for a car of that era, it simply never rusted. It was about a year old when I bought it and looked just as good when I sold it three years later.

Sadly the same cannot be said of its successor, a dirty grey Marina saloon, again with a 1.3 litre engine. It was mechanically reliable and I maintained it myself. However it was the most rust prone vehicle of my life. Blisters appeared everywhere and trails of them spread out across the bodywork much like a leaf miner attacks leaves; it seemed as if it had cancer. When I came to sell it, I swear that it was 50% fibreglass by then. That was a pity for I felt so guilty when I sold it to a lady. She obviously had little money and needed a car to get her to a new job in a bakery where she had to start work at 4 am. The car could not have lasted long and I am surprised that her husband did not come after me for selling them such a pile of shit.

On then to my first company car about 1981, a Princess 1700L. As the name suggests, a 1.7 litre engine but in a big barge such as this you'd hardly notice. Acceleration and fuel economy were crap but space and comfort were excellent. It had an appalling reputation for reliability but in my 65,000 miles of ownership, its faults were quite trivial.

Interesting that for in 1986, I had a new job and that included buying company cars, around 110 a year. My predecessor told me at the time that 'some people never have reliable cars, draw your own conclusions.' He was dead right.

On then to the Rover 216 Vitesse, a car based on the Honda Ballade of the day and a complete contrast to the Princess. It was much smaller and had a free revving 1.6 litre engine with a close ratio gearbox. The latter meant that acceleration through the box was excellent and overtaking on narrow roads was simple and safe. The downside was that the final drive ratio was low so the revs were very high even at 70 mph. Loved that little buzz box.

In 1989, I changed employers and moved to Cardiff where I got a dark blue Rover 820Si as a company car. It was big and fast and comfortable but uninspiring. I got it up to top speed once, 125 mph, and then saw blue flashing lights in my rear view mirror. Fortunately, they had never got an exact fix on the speed and they were driving a Rover 825. So I talked my way out of it.

In 1993 and despite my indifference with the last one, I got a silver grey Rover 820Si but this one was hatchback which felt more practical. It was an improvement in many respects but not on the power train side. In its three years with me, I had two engines and three gearboxes. Speed and relative economy were its only virtues.

In 1996, I got the MD's job and my predecessor handed me down his one year old Ford Scorpio with a 2.9 litre V6 engine, the biggest of all my cars. It was an awful shade of grey and stunningly ugly. The engine was antique and pulled no better than the Rover. Fuel economy was simply awful. It had three saving graces - it was an automatic (my first), it was very comfortable and it had a heated front screen. The latter is invaluable in winter.

In 1999, it was replaced by a Vauxhall (an Opel really) Omega 2.5CD. This had a pretty up to date 2.5 litre V6 but for all that it was a breathless engine and very uneconomical. My first car with aircon which had its idiosyncrasies like switching on at full blast at the most unlikely moments. What is more, it was never warm in winter. It had another serious flaw in that you could not open the boot when the engine was running. Now most times that is irritating but once it was a major inconvenience. I had gone to the USA and left my car to be valet parked. Upon my return, the driver said that the battery was flat and that they had had to jump start it. OK and off he went. Dimbo here switched off the engine to put the baggage in the boot and the battery, barely charged, would not crank the engine. I had to wait for almost an hour for assistance.

And so to my first diesel in 2004, a Volvo S60 SE with an inline 5, 2.4 litre turbocharged diesel. It had a lot going for it - fuel economy, first class audio system, leather seats, built like a brick shithouse and an automatic gearbox with full manual control if you wanted it. It accelerated pretty well once you got over the turbo lag but I never got used to that. I think it had what is euphemistically called a sports suspension which in laymen's speech means hard. The damn thing found every minor depression in the road and crossed them with a bang. Add to this, quite the worst turning circle of any car I have ever driven, let alone owned, it was a never ending source of embarrassment in car parks. Overall poor. The company has since abandoned them and gone to the Audi A6.

So I am retired now and I handed the Volvo in on April 4th, 2008. Bought myself a Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec and I love it. It's a manual and that took a bit of getting used to again. It will do 123mph, not that I have tried it and the 0-60 time is 10 seconds. Around town, I get about 30 mpg and on the open road more like 42 mpg. Manual aircon but who needs the automatic variety that has paid my wages for so many years. I know when I am warm and I know when I am cold and can adjust the wick accordingly. Some friends have commented that it's rather prosaic. Well it is, but by common consent among reviewers its a fine car by any standards. It's problem for many is I guess that its a Ford and the badge has no appeal. That's a shame for Ford of Europe have been making really good cars in this decade and their achievements have largely gone unsung.

And in the past, they have made some fine cars. I had a Ford Sierra Cosworth to play with over a weekend. Managed to get 154mph out of her on the motorway but she was as gentle as lamb in town which is unusual for a 'muscle car'.