My Life In Cars (and other vehicles)
Cars have always figured highly in my life. From being a small child I always loved my Dinky Toys and I knew all the cars that were around. My mother said that I only went with my first real girlfriend, Pamela Wilson, at the age of 12 / 13 because her father had a car. That wasn't the reason, but her father did have a car (and not many people did at that time) so it was great going out with her and her parents.
1959 - 1959
My first car was a Morris 8 - not the one in the photo but an ancient heap of a car. I don't know how I came to have this car, I'm sure it wasn't a legal transfer and it certainly wasn't roadworthy. It had no doors! The engine worked and I spent many happy hours just tinkering, stripping things down and (sometimes) putting them back together again.
The car was much, much older than I was and I guess I must have been about 15 at the time. It never got onto the road and was sold for scrap when my uncle got fed-up of looking at it.
1960 - 1961
I was 16 and got a provisional licence so wanted a scooter. I had a second hand Vespa bought - an old thing that kept breaking down, so, after only a week, my mum took it back and demanded our money back. So I bought this Lambretta 125 new - well my parents bought it for me but I had left school and was working now but didn't have any of my wages to spend. I had 5 bob a week spending money and another 5 bob for petrol to get me back and forth to work.
This scooter gave me a great freedom and I went everywhere on it - nobody knew where I was!
1961 - 1963
For my 17th birtday all I wanted was driving lessons. I had a course of 12 lessons with BSM - at the time it was the biggest, best and most expensive (at 18 shillings an hour) driving school in the country.
When I passed my car driving test (first time!) I somehow persuaded my parents to buy this car (well one like it) - the Austin A55 Cambridge. It was second-hand but only a year old - it must have cost them a packet and I still don't know how they managed to afford it. We traded in the Lambretta though.
I was the only one who could drive - spoilt or what! I had to teach my dad how to drive and I think it took him three or four attempts to pass. I remember getting really cross one day when he scraped it on the stone gate post bringing it into the yard at my Auntie's house - and that was after he passed his test!
1963 - 1965
Bought new from Mr. Ashworth at Dews in Halifax our Vauxhall Victor FB Estate was a mustard colour with a white roof. It had 3 gears with a column change and a bench seat in the front (great for courting!).
Me and my mate Edwin slept in this during a family holiday to the west country - plenty of room.
My dad parked it wrapped round the lamppost outside our house once - well, 'wrapped round' is a bit of an exageration but it was severely dented!
1965 - 1965
My dad traded in the Victor for a Vauxhall Viva HA - the one with a 'red engine'. Very nice motor. I was allowed to use it to go on honeymoon to East Anglia following my marriage to Christine.
1966 - 1967
The first vehicle I bought myself after I was married was an Austin Mini Van. We bought it second hand (again from Dews Garage) and I was a little green at the time because the salesman conned me a little. The Mini had a gear lever about a yard long and the salesman must have known to keep his foot against it to stop it from dropping out of gear. I soon picked up the knack, and it was fine in top.
Christine's parents were on holiday with some friends in Scotland and we decided to drive up in the van to surprise them. We planned on sleeping in the van to cut down on cost. The day we set off was throwing it down with rain and we had to stop every 50 miles or so to bail out the floor with a fag packet. You needed wellies to drive this car in the wet! We managed the journey though - and the sleeping in the back of the van!
1967 - 1969
When we could afford it we traded up to an Austin 1100. Again this was second hand, but it served us for a good few years and we went on many a touring holiday with it and my Auntie and Uncle.
1969 - 1972
I can't remember too much about the Morris Marina 1800 other than it was a great car to drive.
We were coming home from Christine's parents through Sowerby Bridge one day when a delivery van door flew open in the wind just as we passed. This caused quite a dent in the nearside!
1972 - 1974
Our first new car was a Vauxhall Viva HB Estate. We had this car when my son Mark was born and he used to travel in his carry cot in the boot area - he still complains about it to this day! Of course we didn't need all the safety equipment etc. that you need today so it was quite common practice.
1974 - 1975
When my father died he had a brown Ford Escort Mk1, and, because my mother could not drive, we had this car for a while also - a 'two car' family! It did not last long and I think we sold the Viva Estate and kept the Escort as it was a newer and lower mileage car.
1975 - 1978
The Vauxhall Victor FD was a fantastic car, and the biggest car I had had. It caused a lot of jealousy at work as I used to get the trips away as I had good transport. The car was quite powerful and I used to drive quite fast so I wore out a set of tyres in 10,000 miles. I replaced them with remoulds and it completely ruined the car - it just wasn't the same to drive anymore - and they seemed to last for ages! Isn't it always the case!
1978 - 1981
I bought the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1 from new in Bradford. I remember that I didn't tell the kids about it, I just went, on my own, to pick up the new car and you should have seen their faces when I got back.
We went on holiday to Spain one year in this car. The first time I had driven abroad. We went from Dover to Calais and I remember gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles when we disembarked in France.
We stopped overnight in France on the way down and, when we left in the morning, Christine was checking the bill and found that they had not charged us enough. She said we must go back and pay the difference otherwise something may go wrong with our journey. We went back, paid the difference and half an hour later the exhaust fell off the car! Not only that, but later in the holiday Christine had a fall and smashed her front teeth demanding several visits to the dentist in Spain.
1981 - 1986
A quirky car was the Austin Allegro with a 'square' steering wheel. This car always leaked a bit too.
We drove to Spain on holiday in this car also and I'm pleased to say that it was trouble free and we had a great holiday.
1985 - 1987
After Christine died and I met Denise she had this Mini Mk2 which she had had imported from the continent and changed over from Left Hand to Right Hand drive.
It was great until we got a Doberman dog! Trading the car in for her new one was interesting as we took the dog with us and the salesman asked for the keys to give the car a look over. We didn't tell him the dog was sat in the driver's seat. He never mentioned it when he came back!
. . . . and we were in a 'two car' family again!
1986 - 1990
Having the dog we traded in the Allegro for a Ford Escort Estate so that we could transport the dog more safely. In the other cars he had a habit of standing between the fron seats so he could see out of the front window. Rather dangerous really so we had to change both cars.
1987 - 1989
The dog also made us get rid of the Mini in favour of a Fiat Uno whch had room for the dog in the back.
This car was brilliant for an 1100cc car - it would reach 100mph easily as it was so light. However, the lightness itself was a problem when suddenly braking as it tended to spin around very easily. I did a full 360 one day going down a hill near home when someone stepped off the pavement suddenly. Luckily I didn't hit anything or anybody.
1989 - 1990
We traded in Denise's Fiat for a Ford Fiesta Mk3 but we found we were not using a second car enough to warrant the expense.
Denise was working for a Driving School at the time and the school bought this car 'in installments' when it was less than one year old.
Back to a one car family.
1990 - 1995
Denise was talking to a guy where she worked who had a Mazda 626 which she liked the look of. He said how much he liked it so we went to have a look at one in the showroom.
I have never bought a car before the way I bought this one. No test drive or anything. Just saw it and bought it.
This was the first Japanese car I had driven and it was great, and we kept it for 5 years - the only expenditure above normal was a new thermostat - brilliant!
1992 - 1995
In 1991 Denise said she fancied a little scooter to get around on. We bought one but she couldn't get used to it so I started using it for work and leaving Denise the car.
We got married in June 1992 and, not long after I persuaded Denise to let me trade the little scooter in for a Kawasaki GPZ500S. Great! We went all over on this bike and even did the 40 years rally for the Samaritans which took us all over the southern half of the country.
1995 - 1999
We went to Huddersfield one Saturday to buy a new sofa and cam back having bought a Hyundai Lantra as well as the sofa. It was a demonstration vehicle less than a year old so we had to make a quick decision.
We had never had a Korean car before but it was quite good apart from some of the internal plastics which soon became brittle.
The car had an immobiliser / alarm whic went funny one day when Denise was on her way home from work. She had to drive home with the headlights flashing and the horn sounding. Everyone thought she was a police car and moved out of the way. Not funny at the time but a laugh afterwards.
1995 - 2001
Time to trade in the bike and upgraded to a Suzuki GSX750F which was much quicker than the old one. 135hp and very little weight made it a bit lively!
We did more motorcycle rallies with this bike and competed in the English, Welsh and Scottish rallies doing around a thousand miles in 24 hours on each one. Another long story here but a great time on all of them.
1997 - 1999
When we went to Australia for work I was allocated a Holden Commodore saloon. A great 3 litre thing with an automatic gearbox. Actually it was great for getting about and showing our many visitors around. The automatic was really a must in the Sydney traffic. Denise used the car more than I did as she was doing 'meals on wheels' and other voluntary work as well as going to the beach most days. 15 months of fun!
1999 - 2000
When we came back to the UK in February 1999 I was allocated an old Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 as my company car. It was a first step on the ladder and we also still had the Hyundai so, no problem. It was great to carry on this fully expensed motoring even though the tax man took a big cut!
1999 - 2004
We sold the Hyundai and bought a Citroen Xara from Motorpoint in Derby. This was Denise's car as we still had the company car as our main vehicle. It was an Irish specification and very well appointed although a trifle thirsty when it came to fuel - or maybe it was just the way that it was driven.
We kept this car until a while after we had moved to Spain in September 2004 and drove it down there crammed full of things we needed to take with us.
2000 - 2002
My first new company car was a Volvo S40 which I chose myself over a Ford Mondeo. I remember being asked what colour I wanted and, when I said white they thought I was crazy. I've always preferred white cars though.
Only a few days after taking delivery of this car I very nearly wrote it off on a journey up to Glasgow in the worst rainstorm ever. Passing a lorry on the motorway I no idea where I was as the visibility was nil. All worked out OK though.
2002 - 2003
The personnel manager approached me one day and said that Vauxhall wanted us to evaluate a Vauxhall Vectra and would I like to take it on for 11 months. Of course I would!
This was the first diesel car I had had and it completely changed my views and I have always preferred diesel engines since this time.
2003 - 2004
When the Vectra had to go back I picked up this Ford Mondeo Estate from the car pool to last me until I took early retirement in March 2004. It was a huge load carrier. Not sure how old it was but it was fine for the rest of my working days.
2005 - 2012
We moved to Spain in September 2004 and, in December, we ordered a new Renault Megane Gran Tour in white for us to pick up in January 2005 as we were taking the Citroen Xara back to the UK to sell it.
This turned out to be a great car and we kept it until February 2012 when a friend bought it. It had completed over 285,000 kilometres without problem, and the friend who bought it thinks its great also.
2010 - 2018
We bought a new Renault Megane Berlina in 2010 as a second car and back up for the estate car as the mileage was getting quite high.
We were going to trade it in, but, because of the mileage, the dealer offered us a ridiculous figure. We went to another dealer and asked about a discount on a new car without exchange and the difference made it a better deal (for me) to keep the estate car as well as buy the new one.
I'm really glad we did as the next year was very busy for us and it was a great help having two cars again.
2012 - 2022
Having been used to having two cars we bought another Renault Megane Berlina when we sold the estate car in February 2012.
We went in to the Renault dealer to buy a new windscreen wiper for the estate car just before we handed it over and saw this car in the showroom. It was 10 months old and looked great. We had a test drive and, bought it a couple of days later.
2018 -
Several years back, when we bought the Renault Megane Estate, I thought it would be the last new car I ever bought - how wrong can you be.
Old age creeps up on you and suddenly you find that you need a "Shackletons High Seat Chair". Well this is it! The Ford Kuga - a little bigger than intended perhaps but nevertheless a car that I can get into and out of more easily - and the driving position is as described.
2022 -
At last I can have the Kuga all to myself.
This Ford Puma will probably be the last of the 2 car line. Only another few years driving left!