Ha!! Just a little old thing I've owned since 2002.. I knew I wanted a MINI in 2001 when I first saw magazine pics of the MINI, but I had no intention of buying a first year car. Didnt even go to look at them when they were first released in March 2002. Friend of mine worked at an associated Mercedes dealership so every week I'd ask him how the MINI sales were going. One weekend in early April he forgot his wallet at our usual Sunday morning motorcycle get-together.. Told him I'd cover his b-fast, no-problem.. The next Sunday he shows up in a dealer MCS, throws the keys at me and says take it out for a 1/2 hour.. It was amazing!! afterwards my 16 year old Honda CRX felt like a piece of crap.. it didnt brake/accelerate or steer nearly as well, so a couple weeks later I crawled into the MINI dealership begging to order a new car. The wait from the beginning of May till it was delivered in mid-August was brutal for me (I am almost over it now, but not quite), but while trolling the MINI websites online I met some other local people who eventually formed the Chicago MINI Motoring Club, and the rest is history..
This is a 1959 Hillman Minx. It was a pleasant car but not really exceptional. It reminded me of a shrunken down early 1950's American car. It did have a 4 speed column shifter, which worked ok. It did offer a moment of excitement on a drive when the brakes failed as I was pulling into a car show. Fortunately I was moving slowly at the time and there was nothing directly in front of me.. Issue was fixed after the brake fluid was topped off. The owner did not keep the car much longer after that incident.
Interesting cars for sure. I had a Hillman Husky that I think was a 60. I took my Mom shopping in it just once. The brakes failed while driving home and I had to slow down to a stop by grinding the right side wheels against the curb. After we got home she proclaimed she wouldn't ride in my death trap again. Spent the weekend bending up new brake lines to replace the crusty failing ones.
I was expecting an emergency brake horror story of being locked up after use and not having tools to remove rusted emergency cable …… not that EVER happened to me.
When in high school I had a friend who had a early sixties Simca that also had 4 speed column shifter
Our 67 SAAB 2 stroke had 4 on the tree shifting. I'd have pulled the handbrake on the Hillman, but it was rusted solid.
In the mid sixties I had a Saab dealership on my paper route and I completely forgot about them having the column shifter.
Today's car is a 1934 Austin 7 Touring car.. It is the oldest car I have ever driven. It is right hand drive and feels more like a toy than a car. you sit very high and sight lines are great. There isnt much power but it feels pretty zippy once you get moving for around town speeds.. It tops out at about 50 miles per hour but 45-ish is more comfortable. The pedals are pretty narrow and there isnt much feel to them.. the clutch engagement point is super narrow so it makes for tricky starting.. the gear throws are long but the shifter action is actually very nice. It makes for a really fun around town car as long as there isnt much traffic or stop and go activity. Here is a pic of the owner in the Austin 7 not long after the car was bought and picking it up from the initial service.
This is a Lotus Elise (2007 I think) and I've had the pleasure of driving it several times over the years. The door sills are incredibly wide with a several inch drop to the thinly padded seats which makes for a difficult ingress/egress.. especially when the top is on. Once you are buckled in there is plenty of room as long as you arent too wide around the middle. The cockpit is all business and the pedals are narrow but manageable. The driving experience is incredible. Acceleration is very strong, and the owner has an aftermarket intake which opens a baffle at around 6000 rpms, and it lets out an additional wail behind your ears that sounds like a supercharger whine. The steering wheel is small and steering is right-now direct. You can feel everything going on with the front wheels on turns. This is the most thrilling/exciting car I have ever driven.
That sure is a sweet car. I came close to buying one, but my chief financial adviser nixed that plan.
I would have not even called about the Exige if my wife had not kept telling me to. Maybe she was trying reverse physiological on me, not sure if it was that or a trap. It still worries me to tell the truth. They have long memory’s you never know when the trap could be sprung. At least you know your safe!
Hey Lee- Pretty sure my sweetie saved me from myself. Right now if I climbed in an Elise I'd need the fire department to winch me out. Arthritis and old age, it's a birch for sure... These days I'm looking at CUV things to make getting in and out easier. Must be small and must be fast. Thinking Mazda CX30 Turbo....
This is a 1953 Sunbeam Talbot. It is a larger sized 4 seater with a 2 liter 4 cylinder engine. It is fitted with a replacement floor shifter that is fully synchronized and shifts like a modern car. All his other cars have non-synchro first gears, which means you wait till you come to a full stop before shifting to first, or else the gears will crunch when engaging. There is no power assist for the steering, so it is very heavy at parking lot speeds, but feels good once you get rolling. The car has nice low/mid-range torque and is comfortable at low expressway speeds and is generally a pleasant car for cruising around.