CARS

 

To my mind there are two kinds of car owners. One likes fancy, good-looking cars that are probably expensive, and the others want a reliable vehicle that will start without fail, go from A to B inexpensively, and not caring too much about its looks or attractiveness to thieves.

Margreet and I have reached a third kind - people who live in town, have the good fortune of access to excellent public transport and have no need of a car with its many related expenses.

As a child I was lucky that my family owned a Bullnose Morris with a dicky seat. From this open-air position behind the driver’s front seat, we children could enjoy the flowing air and the interesting countryside. But OT70 did need a push up a hill occasionally. From this open-air position we could invent many games to keep us happy - like Beavers (beards). The first to see a beard got a point, a big beard two points and a woman with a beard, game set and match. The points score would be very much higher today. 

Caps were worn back to front, petrol was added to the tank through a funnel containing a fine metal filter to prevent foreign bodies from entering the carburettor. Batteries had to be topped up and punctures were commonplace.

Engine temperature was watched by observing a simple dial on the bonnet, and oil levels were carefully checked. Most cars seemed to leak oil and left their mark when parked. Cars were not easy when I was a youth, but they were fun for us children. Then I remember we owned a streamlined Ford 10 and an Airflow Chrysler, the latter handed down to us by rich relations who would buy the latest. 

My own first car was a post-war sporting affair. This was an open two-seater with an outside exhaust. It was a fun car, but girls could burn themselves on the exhaust and get wet in the rain. It was made for me by a mechanic at Toton, near Southampton, who constructed cars out of spare parts. Mine was mostly Austin 7. But those Austins never had good brakes, so they were a bit dangerous to drive at speed, when mine might also become unstable. 

I belonged to an Austin 7 racing club. At one meeting I asked Collin Chapman (the founder of Lotus) why my car could misbehave at speed. He could find nothing wrong with it. 

I sold it to a City man who, when telephoning me, possibly to complain about some mechanical matter, told me that he had not taken it above 30 miles an hour.  

Then I owned a Citroen 2CV, an Ami 8 and lastly a VW Cabriolet. This open-topped car was lovely. It could reach 115 mph when going slightly downhill on a straight road, but conked out if driven through a large puddle at speed.

I once used it with the roof down to show a Russian colleague of my ex wife some thatched houses in the country owned by wealthy people. He wondered why they had roofs of straw.

But the 2CV and the Ami 8 cars did me proud. They were mechanically much the same, but the Ami 8 had a station wagon body. They were simple cars made by a genius who understood mechanical simplicity.  As long as the two spark plugs were thrown away in the autumn and replaced by new ones, starting them up in any weather was never difficult. Mine also had the centrifugal clutch - genius again - as was the suspension. 

Cars, to me, are now generally much more comfortable, very reliable, but far too complicated electrically - and much more expensive accordingly. But they are often necessary.

For me - no thanks. It’s  lovely to be without one.