Family Car History

1946 Austin 10

The first car I remember. A 1946 Austin 10 — I fell out of it when I was 4 years old. We would have been travelling about 30 mph at the time.

Standard Vanguard 3

The second car that I remember. Dad driving the Vanguard and reaching 70 mph — that was fast in those days.

Rover 105R

I remember it was a great deal sportier than the 90. This is the car I had when I met Elizabeth.

Rover 3 Litre Coupe

This car had style — very comfortable and good to drive. I liked this car a lot.

Rover 90

This is the car I first drove after my test.

Morris Minor 1100 Van (white)

Ours was white with Michelin tyres and it was fast. Elizabeth and I did a lot of our courting in this van. I could get from my home to hers (33 miles) in 27 minutes on country roads.

Volvo 122S

This was a fast car for its time. The long gear stick was a bit unwieldy but it could go. We had this car when Elizabeth and I married and went on our honeymoon in it. We had a blue one after that too.

Volvo 144S

"Like a tank."

Reliant Scimitar SE5

My first Scimitar was silver, from Crossflag Motors, Dumfries. Elizabeth had a green automatic — that was an exceptional car. These cars were either very good or awful. They drove well and stuck to the road like glue.

Reliant Scimitar SE6

This was one of my favourites. White with blue leather upholstery, sun roof, electric windows — the works. If I hadn't fallen in love with my next car this would have been a long relationship.

Later I found one in pieces, had it rebuilt and sprayed blue.

Range Rover

A great farm vehicle. Very thirsty — we put an overdrive in which improved things somewhat. Something about a Range Rover gets to you. You miss them when you've had one and then don't have one. Had another later with an LPG conversion that improved the economy no end. Great for long distance driving.

Jensen Interceptor Mk3

This was what I fell in love with. Silver with black upholstery.

Jensen FF Mk2

A beautiful car with character and style. Drove fantastic. Charles blew the engine so we had it rebuilt. A car that felt right when driven.

Jensen FF Mk 3

One of only 15 ever made. One of the 15 was destroyed so only 14 left in the world. A joy to drive. Had a total body rebuild. Absolutely stunning. Circumstances unfortunately forced me to part with it. I understand it went to Australia.

BMW 628CSi Manual

Another great car — fast, sporty and reliable.

Rover 75

Comfortable car — underrated.

Jeep Cherokee 4lt LPG

Good to drive and sporty. Small gas tank — always refilling.

Volvo XC90 (present car)

Our current car.