Motors and Me

My life, pt 1: It all started with Bo and Luke. When I was a kid, I used to love the crazy jumps they did on the Dukes of Hazzard. I wanted to be a stuntman when I grew up. I would gather my Blue Peter annuals and such like on the landing and make ramps for my Lego cars to bound over. I lusted after a TR7 on my best friend’s street. That was pretty much the limit of my automotive interests, though. Motorsport, for example, was barely on the radar. Sure, I’d always got excited at the sound of The Chain and loved watching Tony Pond rallying on TV, but it was far from a religion and no-one else in the family shared my passing interest. By the age of 14, I still wasn’t much into motorsport, but I still loved cars. I was quite the artist and would draw them at every opportunity. I even had a monochrome rendition of a Ford Capri Laser exhibited at county level. It was ace and I truly regret throwing it out a few years back. Sadly, by the age of 15, my artist skills vanished and I scr

You’ve got to feel for Heikki Kovalainen . Watching the Australian GP in the wee small hours of Sunday morning, I was beginning to wonder whether I’d drifted off to sleep and somehow found myself in someone else’s nightmare. Time and again he’d have an off. To be honest, were it not for Kovalainen’s antics, Coulthard’s rush of blood and the possibility of Lewis Hamilton winning his debut GP — well, it seemed possible until Alonso passed him at the second pit stop — this would have been another seriously dull race. As it was, it was merely dull. So, once again, I question my sanity for watching F1. I used to feel like this when I had my Newcastle United season ticket in the Souness era. In that case, however, I was able to tear myself away and I gave up the seat. With F1, I’ve never been able to give it up and I doubt I ever will. One glimmer of hope for the season ahead: Raikkonen. I really hope he storms away this season. He’s long overdue a smile. :)

What’s more important: a cousin’s wedding; or the chance to drive a Gallardo? These days, pretty much any time I find myself spending a weekend South of, say, Manchester, I have to consider the possibility of squeezing in a bit of track time while I’m there. When you live so far out of reach of most UK race circuits, you’ve got to take the opportunities as and when they arise. This time, one of my cousins is getting married in July. :) Her parents are from the Warwick area, so I promptly got onto BMRC.co.uk and then Google Maps to check out the local venues. Looks like Silverstone and Mallory Park are the closest, at 35 miles and 38 miles respectively. Silverstone, as you’d expect, is hosting a race that weekend (for BARC). Mallory, on the other hand, looks like a possibility, as it’s booked out by Everyman Racing, a driving experience specialist. Sadly, they’re not a trackday company at all, but they do have a Gallardo experience in their brochure. A snip at £99 for 7 miles o

I really should learn not to speak in absolute terms. Although I’ve kept quiet about it here, my endeavours to swap the Mini for a Honda S2000 have rattled on since my last post on the topic. One minute it was off, the next it was back on. Rinse and repeat. Today, finally, I got to see the car and take it for a drive. That, however, is where the story ends. In short, it wasn’t good enough. In the end, it was a combination of factors that put me off: Rust was developing on the underside of the driver’s door, behind both rear wheel arches and had taken a strong hold on various mounting points in the engine bay. The wind noise when the roof was up was something to behold. Far noisier than any other soft-top I’ve been in. At least one of the wheels was badly kerbed and they all needed a bit of love. The hood had a small tear just behind the driver’s ear. The inside of the car was in need of a hoover. Nothing major, but it’s a sign of neglect/laziness. Last, but not lea

My life’s goal has just been redefined. Ever since it was launched, I’ve been a great admirer of the Lamborghini Gallardo’s style. No, scratch that — I’ve lusted after it. Drooled over it. Just wished I were so rich I could afford one. For me, it’s the embodiment of childhood visions of the perfect supercar; visions inspired primarily by videogames and wild imaginations. It’s... just... perfect. Or, at least, I thought it was. I now realise that perfection is, in fact, the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (that’s “superlight” to you and me). By god, it’s beautiful. Seriously, it’s a wet dream of a car. To think I used to dream of owning a Ford Capri Laser when I was 14 — I even had a piece of Capri-based GCSE artwork showcased at county level once — I clearly wasn’t aiming high enough. Seriously though, it’s nice to dream, but I can be pretty sure that cars like this will always be beyond my reach. At least in terms of ownership. I can also be pretty certain that requests fo

Looks like I’m not getting a Honda S2000. In the end, the seller was looking for a bigger lump of cash than I was willing to offer. I can’t say I’m too upset. Sure, it would’ve been nice, but other factors are starting to determine my next-car policy. I’ve just had an offer accepted on a house I’m looking to buy and had to offer £4k more than I’d hoped. Suddenly, cars worth about £4k less than the Mini are starting to look interesting. :) In fact, I even stopped off at a Ford garage on the way home to check out a SportKa last night. There’s no way I’d buy from a dealership, but the car was very nice. It was the SE model with Imperial Blue paint — the same colour as a Ford Racing Puma (he says, drooling). They’d clearly raided the Puma parts bin for it too, but it’s still a reasonably attractive option. Not least with evo continuing to rate it. You might think that a Ka is a major step backwards, but I would expect it to be a short-term thing. And, for once, it would probably tur

That Honda’s slipping through my fingers, you know. Turns out the guy selling it hadn’t considered a Mini until I contacted him and, at first, was quite keen to hear more. I supplied all of the relevant information, but made the mistake of not double-checking the market value of my car first. Had I done so, I could have made a far better offer than a near-swap. Mine’s worth about a grand less than I thought, if you look privately i.e. ignoring stupid dealer prices. He might have even bitten at the first contact. As it is, the opportunity’s almost dead now. Now, I could go back to him and tell him, “Actually, I could drop my car’s price by a grand,” but that might appear a little too desperate — too big a first move. The bargaining power would be firmly back with him. That said, since I enquired, he’s dropped the price of the S2000 by another £250, so he must be getting twitchy too. God, it’s a delicate business, this. In fact, I think I’m gonna have to sleep on it before I send t

Would you swap a Honda S2000 for a Mini Cooper S? Well, I’m pinning my hopes on someone doing just that. Recently, at work, a friend has been considering what car she can get to replace her Suzuki Swift . She’s got a £10k limit and a wishlist that pretty much reads “Must be cute. Preferably a soft-top.” After desperate attempts to dissuade her from getting a Daihatsu Copen , I called in the big guns and suggested a second-hand Honda S2000 . Thing is, it kind of got me thinking about them again. A year or so back, I decided it was time for my next car. Yeah, well, best laid plans and all that. Anyway, one of the cars that made the shortlist was the S2000. While my eventual decision looked to be heading towards a 350Z , circumstances change. I’m currently looking to buy my first house and am hoping to be able to upgrade from the Mini soon after. The S2000’s cheaper second-hand values are now increasingly attractive. Out of curiosity, I went for a quick surf on Pistonheads . Lo and