1979 White Volvo 343DL
Owned: Mid-Nineties
My first car. Previously belonged to my Gran who gave it to my Mum, who then sold it to me (helping teach me the value of money...) Built like a tank but pig ugly - white with red fabric interior. Still, got me to University and back reliably. Did not impress the girls, particularly annoying when a blossoming relationship with a one-time Page 3 girl ground to a halt when she saw what I was driving...eventually sold to my next door neighbour mechanic and replaced with:
1989 White Renault 11 (1.7)
Owned: Late Nineties
Actually quite a good sprightly car which was fine apart from regularly cutting through its clutch cable (too sharp an angle at the top of the clutch pedal apparently). Unfortunately T-boned by a female driver when she drove out of a side road without looking. The Renault was written off and unusually because I kept the salvage, I was allowed to drive around for another six months because it was still MoT'd (certified) etc - just couldn't get in and out the passenger side. Again didn't particularly impress the girls when they had to sit on the back seat. Sold to a mate down the pub for £50 who had intended to transplant the engine into another Renault 11, but following a knock on my door from the Police had obviously decided to spray pink dots on it and go for a joy-ride a few weeks later.
1993 Red Vauxhall Astra SRi
Owned: Turn of the century
One of my Mum's friends was unhappy about the very low trade-in values she was being offered for her immaculate Astra SRi. I helpfully offered another £500 on top...Nice car for a twenty something to cruise around in, though a bit thirsty on fuel. Sold to my brother (whereupon it quickly fell apart) when taking on my next car:
1991 Charcoal Saab 900S
Owned: 2002-2003
My Mum's old car. A nice quality vehicle, it had its own idiosyncracies and was a bit heavy and thirsty. Before it started falling apart, traded it in for:
1999 Silver Honda Insight (import)
Owned: 2003-2005
When looking for a replacement vehicle, I knew I had to get something different and fell in love with the Honda Insight at first sight. The technology and fuel economy really appealed. Got fed up with the poor attitude from dealers towards a Jap import so bought:
2001 Citrus Honda Insight (UK spec)
Owned: 2004-2005
With a UK spec I got headlight levellers, immobiliser and in-built rear fog lamp. Very happy with this car (apart from love it or hate it comments about the colour) but then spotted on eBay:
2000 Red Honda Insight (CVT import)
Owned: 2005-2006
This car was going on eBay and I loved the red (it was my little Ferrari). In addition, the idea was that my wife would be able to learn to drive in this CVT automatic so that I wouldn't have to chauffeur her around anymore. Didn't happen. Anyway six months later the hybrid batteries failed (no warranty being an import), so sold to a fellow Insight enthusiast.
2002 Blue Audi A2 1.4 TDI
Owned: 2006 - Present
I had real difficulty getting a replacement Insight, so decided to get the highest MPG, good quality car I could find - the A2. Happy with this car, actually getting similarish MPG to the Insight. Also has four seats, so no more avoiding giving the mother-in-law a lift... I intend to run the A2 until I find a 2003 or younger UK spec Insight (Honda UK only warranty the hybrid batteries for those age Insights) or Honda bring out the Insight II...
What was your long and winding road to Insight ownership?
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2005 Insight, UK Spec Silver 5 speed with Alpine stereo, subwoofer & speakers with iPod link, IMA C&C, Shark Fin Aerial, Garmin EcoRoute HD, Skinz sound deadened rear shelf, 'InsightCentral' number plates, 19" rear wiper, Osram nightbreaker plus bulbs
Previous owner of 1999 Japanese Silver 5sp, 2001 UK Citrus 5sp & 2000 Japanese Red CVT Honda Insight - An extraordinary car for ordinary people
A short note to apprise those younger than I, which is most people, of particular Joys of Motoring in the 1950’s. For the first time, the average working class man could have a car, just. Being poor, and everybody I knew was poor, the cars we had were worn out. I was aware of another minority world of different cars because there were many good new cars in the fifties. Austin A30 through 90. Rover 75. Vauxhall Cresta. Jag 2.4 Morris Oxford and Standard Vanguard. Etc. These phenomena were seen about but were as far from our intimate acquaintance as caviar and smoked bavarian cheese. We also knew them all from well worn editions of ‘Autocar’ and ‘Motoring’ passed on to us from somewhere better off. The road tests in these books were super un-critical. ‘This two litre car achieved it’s maximum of forty miles an hour with incredible smoothness, the only sounds you could hear were the engine, gearbox, and back axle, this formed a reassuring background to your progress, signifying that everything was working in audible harmony.’ We knew a Herald from a Mayflower and their specifications, but we only saw them, our vehicles were very different. In my motoring youth, from age seventeen to twenties I don’t think I ever rode in a post-war car.
What were our cars then? They were twenty years old or so, from about 1930 to the War. Nothing Post-War was within our purchasing power as the war had only been over five years in 1950. We had Ford Eights, Morris Eights, some Standards, the odd Hillman Minx, I recall a Vauxhall and one brave soul had a huge straight eight Packard left behind by the Americans. I remember it going along our road only twice, with a hissing noise like a flock of geese as it sucked in petrol by the gallon, and it’s front wheels pattered up and own independently like pogo sticks. It remained on the verge, where all our cars lived, for years.
In the beginning these cars belonged to our parents, not us, and lucky ones like me got to drive them when we had passed the test, and until we got our own worn out car.
My Dad’s car was perhaps typical. A Ford Eight Y type, about 1932 I think. Black, four door, brown rexine seats, one dial, a tall wobbly gear lever and a memorable curved bakelite demister stuck on the windscreen. Six volt battery. We could not afford good batteries, so starting was by the handle. We could also only afford a big can of Spitfire oil to put in the engine. There were no multigrades. This oil, when cold, was like refrigerated treacle. The starting procedure was not as it is with a modern car. It was as follows:- You got up about an hour before normal to start the car. If it is frosty, say an hour and a half. You go out and remove the small paraffin stove kept alight under the sump all night. You remove the two old coats over the engine. You fill the radiator with kettles of boiling water and start turning the starting handle. When you can jerk it reasonably over compression on an upstroke of the starting handle then you wedge out the choke five eighths of an inch, exactly, with a spring clothes peg, switch on the ignition and run out to the front to jerk up the handle some more. The handle and crankshaft dogs were pretty worn and it was possible to pull it up with no resistance sometimes and fall back and generally hurt yourself. If the dogs are in and the jerking is sufficiently smart the engine will sometimes cough encouragingly. It has not started but it has 'fired'. This is an encouraging sign. Switch off a minute to let the battery liven up, check the clothes peg and back to the handle. A few more coughs and it carries on and the engine runs. Runs is an overstatement, it coughs sufficient times to keep going round, then you dive inside, snatch off the clothes peg, pull the choke right out then nearly right in, performing a ballet with your foot on the accelerator. This starting choreography is different for all cars and has to be learnt the hard way. If we are not expert enough then the engine goes dug-aluggle-dug-dug-aluggle-stop, disaster, it is ‘flooded’. In this case you have to go indoors and wait half an hour then try the same procedure all over again. In obdurate cases the plugs have to come out and the electrodes bent nearly shut so there is a spark. We also used to scrape pencil lead over the plug points as an aid to super sparking. Dug-aluggle-dug-aluggle-pobble-obble-obble...... Success. We can go to work and you can see that all that extra time was necessary.
Now we drive it. Inside the car is bitter cold. We switch on the bakelite demister and in time, much time, a thin line of clear screen appears above it, through which we can peer. Steering in imprecise, it has to be concentrated on all the time and much depends on the camber of the road. If the road is cambered on the left then the wheel has to be turned to the right about a quarter of a turn to counteract it. If to the right, the opposite applies. If the road is flat, the wheel has to be continuously sawed from side to side to keep the wheels straight. We knew about the merits of ‘slick’ tyres long before Formula One. If minute examination revealed any trace of tread at all then the tyre was fine.
We are now in progress and by holding it in second gear, to prevent it jumping out with a 'spang', have reached top and are bowling along. Our eyes are staring a long way ahead to reserve a similar stopping distance, in the event of obstruction, as that of a fully laden freight train.
So what with being virtually unable to stop or start it, peering through the demisted slit like a tank driver, holding it in gear, and working the steering wheel like a kid on a fairground roundabout, it was a complete nightmare compared to today. Fortunately we didn't know that at the time.
Now a bit more recently I have owned,
Riley 1.5
Hillman Imp
Ford Escort 1.4l
Vauxhall Chevette 1.3
Citroen ZX1.9 TD
Saab 9000 Aero
Electric Rascal Van
and last but by no means least,
UK Spec Honda Insight x2
Fiat 500 - shared with my brother. We cut out and attached a small bib spoiler which made the car more stable in cross winds but even slower on the freeway (if that seems possible with a Fiat 500). The car had an occasional misfire that we never sorted. Use of the hand throttle allowed driving with your head stuck through the fabric sun roof.
Vauxhall Viva - (also shared with my brother) A forgettable little car
Mini Cooper - (998 I think). Again shared with my brother. He drove it too hard and it broke (often) (He later did the same with an Escort Sport and then an Alfa.)
1964 Morris Oxford with floor shift. A wonderful car which I had for six years. I treated it with love and respect and got repaid in kind - when I bought it the seller said it would need rings and bearings soon but I never did the job. It still ran well when I sold it. The golden age of British motoring.
A succession of P6 Rovers (a 2000TC then two V8's one after the other.) Lovely exhaust note but hot and cramped when the family began to grow.
1988 Range Rover - brilliant idea dreadfully built. Endless quality issues and niggly faults.
1985 BMW 525 - Much better build than the RR but still disappointing for such a "quality" car. It had a chronic vibration problem. I was advised that the drive shaft cv's had siezed and needed to be replaced - in a car only ten years old. I did it and it didn't solve the problem. The best improvement I got was by replacing the tyres but even then it was below "acceptable".
1981 Porsche 911 - I made a mistake and got a targa. The bloody roof never sat properly. I had it rebuilt for an arm and a leg and it was fine for 9 months then began to "pop" again. The car had a lsd and "sprint" final drive. Huge fun for coming out of side roads and merging with the traffic. Tyres didn't last long though. Cost heaps to run.
1993 Lexus LS400 - a quality revelation. Elegant and refined. Apart from the Prius of course it is the only car I've owned where you didn't feel the aircon cycling on and off. But I began to feel that its petrol consumption was greater than I was prepared to accept in a world subject to excessive CO2 emissions - so to.....
2004 (MkII) Prius - excellent family car in a great package. Less than a third of the Lexus fuel consumption under very similar driving conditions (5 litres/100km). I expect to have this car until the next gen Prius is available. The Prius turned me on to hybrid cars and so to.....
2001 Red Insight. One of only 45 sold in Australia. Average fuel consumption of 3.3 litres/100km. It's nippy, its fun, I can fit a lawn mower under the back hatch - and my kids think it's cool
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Ghillie
2001 red mt Insight - 55,000km
2001 citrus mt Insight - 97,000km
2004 silver Prius - 115,000km
1964 Landrover Series 2A - unknown
1986 Mazda RX-7 ("Tina")
Owned: Late 1999 to present
I purchased this car as my first vehicle against the advice of every person around me, and in a way they were right. But how I found the car was a complete accident. While searching for a late '80s Nissan 300ZX I came across an add for the RX-7. At the dealer it was sitting amid a row of "well worn" used cars. Aside from a bit of rear quarter rust, the RX-7 was in generally good shape. After taking the car for a test drive, I was hooked. There is no other way to describe the smooth power and sound of the rotary besides "ethereal". Once again the adults in my life attempted to convince me not to purchase the car but at that point I was acting on instinct and later that week I was driving the car to work. Over the next year I replaced the stereo, horrid factory exhaust, fixed all the little problems, and spent 6 months painting it a spectacular metallic crimson. The it was promptly sideswiped by a (female) driver. The good thing about buying the highest coverage insurance is that they will fix the car almost no matter what, so in another month I was back on the road...Only to be rear ended by another (female) driver. A few thousand more from the insurance company and the car was mine again. That winter I decided to turbocharge the naturally aspirated engine. This was something that most said couldn't be done but of course that spring I was driving one of the few turbo-NA RX-7s around. Wanting more, 4 years ago I parked the car to begin a massive project. I rebuilt and ported the engine, cleaned up the engine bay, fabricated an intake manifold from scratch, built new exhaust from the turbo back, fabricated a new intercooler system, rewired the engine with an aftermarket EFI system, and a host of other details. After so long the car as finally back on the road for a month this year just before the snow. Plans over the winter are to upgrade the tiny turbo with a decently sized GT40 dual ball-bearing unit, fab a new exhaust manifold for the new turbo, restore the interior with some modern touches and then deal with the suspension in the spring.
1978 Mazda RX-7 ("The Beater")
Owned: 2001-2003
This car was purchased as a winter beater and it's a shame that it was already 90% rust when I bought it. With only 10,000KM on the odometer it was stored in the previous owner's back yard where the underside quickly rotted. Regardless it served it's purpose and I put 50,000KM on it with only a few oil changes and a set of clutch cylinders. The car met it's demise when it lost a front wheel bearing on the highway and I was forced to basically part it out. It's engine now lives on and is in the process of becoming a 400HP peripheral ported monster.
1986 RX-7 GX (parts car)
Owned: 2001-2002
Nothing much to say here. It was a parts car that I purchased for the transmission and to part out via eBay. Was stripped of it's valuables and then crushed into a tiny cube...
2000 Honda Insight
Owned: 2003 - Present
I'm not sure what to say about the Insight since we all probably know already. After all it's why we're here. It's my first non-rotary car and is every bit as fun as the RX-7 but for different reasons. Technologically advanced, fun to drive, interesting in every way and of course efficient. In my life it's the perfect daily driver and aside from the ugliness with the LAF sensor and London Honda, it has been perfectly reliable. In the beginning a lot of RX-7 friends made fun of the car but that stopped the moment I showed up at a meet with the MPG trip-meter reading 90 MPG. Plans for the Insight are a new paint job (same colour as the RX-7), stereo upgrade, in car computer, air suspension, MIMA and a few other details.
1984 RX-7 GSL-SE
Owned: 2005 - Present
This car was given to me by a business associate who decide to buy a Porsche (talk about a downgrade...). It's in storage right now waiting for me to get some time to deal with the minor rust issues. Plans are to build a naturally aspirated peripheral port engine, maybe back half or tube frame, and just generally have fun.
1995-6- Hand me down Accord (1989) Brother totalled it
moved to Boston and did not need a car until 2000
In 2000 I REALLY wanted an Insight. REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted one. But i was young and poor. I got a 2000 Civic.
2000 Civic totaled about 2 weeks after my husband and i moved to PA in 2003.
2004 Civic purchased. Last year in the summer of 2005 I decided it was FINALLY time to get me my Insight. I went back to my Honda dealer and told him. He tried to talk me into a Civic, but i said, "NO! this is my dream car!!"
March 2006, my little blue baby arrived.
(i did not include my husband's cars- he had an SUV when i met him, then he bought a pickup, now he has an Acura sports car)
1989 Ram conversion van - I learned to drive on this and I feel comfortable driving any large truck now.
1989 honda accord 5-Spd - hand me down in the early 2000s - I lived in NYC so I didn't need to drive, but once the family car chain started bumping cars my way I took'em. There was a matress fire next to my car (it was street parking in spanish harlem) and the front passenger side was scortched, but I talked insurance into paying for the fix instead of totalling the car. Drove it for about 2 years until the head gaskets went at about 195K. my brother and exbeau tried to fix it and ended up cracking the engine block (nice!)
[[short lived 1986 nissan sentra or something - my brother traded a pair of speakers for it, and it lasted long enough for me to pay for registration and insurance before it broke. thank goodness for pro-rated refunds.]]
1994 honda civic 5-spd. when my stepsister moved to london my parents asked if I wanted to driver her car around. also, it "wasn't safe" for rachel to drive it. They have a high opinion of my car-break-down resourcefulness! "special features" include non-working dash lights (they worked with a well placed thump at the beginning), non-working speedometer (also, worked at the beginning), non-working odometer, and a check engine light that came on after the distributer cap went that wouldn't turn off again (grandfathered in, luckily). drove for 3 years or so. it served well as a weekend car when I lived in NYC and as a highway car when I moved to pittsburgh and drove back to the east coast every couple of months. I assume it was around 225K when I donated it to charity.
2006 insight 5-spd - actually, I got this when the civic was still driveable. first new car! (associated first new car payment.)
I also have a 1986 chevy diesel camper van currently. it's stored, but I have big plans to use it next summer. it was a gift from a friend.
Began with a Honda CT70 - would go 36 mph with no wind.
First car -
1982-1987 Mercury Capri II - this car taught me how to turn wrenches. Also soured me to ever buying American cars. I've seen each and every American car ('80 Citation, Corvairs, Gremlin's, Buick Rendevous, Olds something or other all piles of junk after very few miles).
1987-1988 - Civic SI. Put @40K miles on it. As a usual Honda it was perfect. Sold it to buy property
1898-2006 Acura Intergra. I finally gave it to my girlfriend's ex-husband a couple months ago w/ 290K miles. It still runs perfect and gets over 30mpg.
While married the wife's cars were a few new Mercedes and such + a Honda Accord (put over 200K miles and sold it running fine).
2001 - 2003 Porsche Boxster. Greatest handling car I've ever driven (this includes Ferrari 355 and Acura NSX). Gave it back to Porsche after doing legal battle, won a lemon law judgment against them.
2004 BMW M3 conv - totaled it, got back everything +$3K from Insurance
2005- present - another BMW M3 Conv. Wanted conv and some torque.
Aug 2006 - present - Insight (MY2000 w/32K miles). After a trip to Vegas (300 miles each way) and this ran me over $65 each way... I said, out loud, f-this! My next call was to purchase the Insight. Now it runs me @$30 total both ways. I was happy to give up ego for being frugal!
To this day I've never been in a car with more comfortable seats (I'm 6'3" @200lbs). The day I bought it I drove it 300 miles that evening then some 1400 miles the next day and had never sat inside one previously. I was sure this would kill me but happily found this to be a pleasure
1989-1991:
1982 VW Golf "Formel E" (German version of the VW Rabbit), 50 hp
Was a predecessor to the "Eco Golf" with a larger front spoiler and covers on the A-pillars to reduce drag. It had a special 4-speed gearbox to reduce fuel-consumption. More of an "anti-GTI" and not many were sold...
1991-1994:
1987 Rover 213 ("pre-Acura" version of the Honda Ballade), 73hp
A nice small Honda with all the comfort (wood, tasteful upholstery, power windows and locks) but more economical as the VW.
1994-1995
1990 Honda Civic 4-Door, 90 hp
Nice and quiet drive. At last, a car without a choke and with fuel-injection !
1995-1996
1995 Suzuki Swift (aka GEO Metro), 55hp
My first "new" car and with air-con and even had heated seats !!
1996-1997
1990 Honda CRX (import from US), 90hp
Nice runabout but somehow missed the air-con
1997-1998
1989 Honda CRX Si (import from US), 109 hp
Hey, at least it had air-con. I bought it with 120,000 miles on the clock and sold it with 190,000 miles....
2000-2006
2000 Honda Insight with white side indicators and S-2000 leather wheel.
My best car ever. Without it I would have never met all you nice people here.
I miss you, no. 166, wherever you are !!!!
2006-2006
2001 Opel Omega 2.2 DTi Executive (aka Cadillac Catera and Holden Commodore) 120hp
My first and last venture for a Diesel and verrrryy last German-built vehicle. Very unreliable but yet soooooo comfortable.
2006-date
2003 Toyota Prius II Executive
My second hybrid. Not too pleased at the moment as it is becoming as unreliable as the Opel-Cadillac-Holden thingy from before. As if someone wants to tell me "With a Honda it wouldn't have happened !"......
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".....anyone 'll tell you it's a prisoner island,
hidden in the summer for a million years,
Great Southern Land......"
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The long and winding road to Insight ownership...
