M 147 Editorial
Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:29 pm
This morning I received the following from Mike Jones:
"Hi Ian,
Sue & I both heartily agree with your editorial in the latest mag.! I think that those of us who were lucky enough to use pre-war cars as everyday transport view them in a different light from those who buy them now as a hobby or plaything, or to indulge their restoration skills, and who never get round to driving them enough to become confident, or perhaps are dismayed to find that they don't behave like the latest offerings of the industry.
We should take a leaf out of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost fraternity's book - they seem to go off on Continental journeys of 2,000 or 3,000 miles regularly without a second thought!
Cheers, Mike"
I think Mike could be on to something here. In my younger years, there was a time when my scruffy and unoriginal 1932 2-seat Minor was my only transport and I got used to driving it all over the country and in all weather conditions. I recall a few breakdowns, but none that I couldn't fix or jury rig at the roadside and press on. I've had brakes bind on (and get very hot!), the dynamo stop charging and so on. I did run a big end bearing in Hyde Park early one Sunday morning while racing an Austin 7! And I had a half shaft go on me on the long hill out of High Wycombe on my way from Reading to Henlow - that was my first day in the RAF. My Drill Sergeant wasn't impressed, but had to admit that he had never heard a more original excuse for being AWOL! But the point is, I weathered all these minor conveniences and got the car to the point where it was perfectly reliable and I drove it hundreds - if not thousands of miles.
The question is - how can we persuade current-day owners, who have never experienced this sort of motoring, that our cars are perfectly up to being driven, if only they will push through the initial period of road-sorting and becoming trusting of their cars?
The Austin 7 fraternity has never suffered like the Minor does. They regularly hold runs to the continent. I'm not so familiar with what they get up to today, but I recall in years gone by that they always ran an annual rally to one or other of the Principalities. And I know in recent times, a number of Sevens have entered the Peking to Paris. And of course, the VSCC has become swamped with Sevens that turn out in droves for nav rallies and trials nearly every weekend.
The VMR was firmly founded on the principle of encouraging owners to use their cars, so I am extraordinarily keen to prevent it from becoming an enthusiasts club for owners of cars that are treated as anachronisms, curiosities and investments which appears to be what is happening - with a few very notable exceptions, of course.
What does the team think?
"Hi Ian,
Sue & I both heartily agree with your editorial in the latest mag.! I think that those of us who were lucky enough to use pre-war cars as everyday transport view them in a different light from those who buy them now as a hobby or plaything, or to indulge their restoration skills, and who never get round to driving them enough to become confident, or perhaps are dismayed to find that they don't behave like the latest offerings of the industry.
We should take a leaf out of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost fraternity's book - they seem to go off on Continental journeys of 2,000 or 3,000 miles regularly without a second thought!
Cheers, Mike"
I think Mike could be on to something here. In my younger years, there was a time when my scruffy and unoriginal 1932 2-seat Minor was my only transport and I got used to driving it all over the country and in all weather conditions. I recall a few breakdowns, but none that I couldn't fix or jury rig at the roadside and press on. I've had brakes bind on (and get very hot!), the dynamo stop charging and so on. I did run a big end bearing in Hyde Park early one Sunday morning while racing an Austin 7! And I had a half shaft go on me on the long hill out of High Wycombe on my way from Reading to Henlow - that was my first day in the RAF. My Drill Sergeant wasn't impressed, but had to admit that he had never heard a more original excuse for being AWOL! But the point is, I weathered all these minor conveniences and got the car to the point where it was perfectly reliable and I drove it hundreds - if not thousands of miles.
The question is - how can we persuade current-day owners, who have never experienced this sort of motoring, that our cars are perfectly up to being driven, if only they will push through the initial period of road-sorting and becoming trusting of their cars?
The Austin 7 fraternity has never suffered like the Minor does. They regularly hold runs to the continent. I'm not so familiar with what they get up to today, but I recall in years gone by that they always ran an annual rally to one or other of the Principalities. And I know in recent times, a number of Sevens have entered the Peking to Paris. And of course, the VSCC has become swamped with Sevens that turn out in droves for nav rallies and trials nearly every weekend.
The VMR was firmly founded on the principle of encouraging owners to use their cars, so I am extraordinarily keen to prevent it from becoming an enthusiasts club for owners of cars that are treated as anachronisms, curiosities and investments which appears to be what is happening - with a few very notable exceptions, of course.
What does the team think?