Missy Charm

Thanks for the memories @warren t claim! Great set of reminiscences. Anyway, I've been a passenger in plenty of black cabs, both classic and Metrocab type, and can't tell you anything much about either. Used to be fun getting a coloured one, rather than the standard issue though.

I can remember that too: XR Fords sounding gruff and raspy and VW Beetles possessing a metallic clatter and pop. The Volvo whoosh you refer to came from the cooling fan rather than the exhaust. We had one in the family for a time and it had an enormous engine driven fan behind the radiator that looked like it came off a bus. It used to suck inordinate amounts of air in and make the characteristic roaring whoosh as it did so. Accelerating made it sound like a jet taking off.

Not sure. Hot X-Flow, Slot-Mags, jack up, paint job and Dralon would turn that into a neat little street machine. The small Fords will forever be associated with the rod and kustom scene and, perhaps, are a little too rock and roll to be stodge - at least these days.

Have also enjoyed reading about your various exploits! Did you ever get to the bottom of the problem with the Lexus headlights? I had a similar issue with my car which was caused by the bulbs, of all things. Replacing them fixed it entirely.

Could it have been as simple as the battery not having enough juice to spin the starter and spark the plugs at the same time? Glad the car is fixed.

Don't know where you saw it, but those Proton Impians were strangely popular amongst the retired residents of the Essex seaside - Southend, Clacton and beyond. I suppose it was the combination of buyers old enough to want a 'new Cortina' type car, and the urge to have the latest number plate, regardless of what it was attached to; a year old second-hand Mondeo or similar would have been better, but it wouldn't have been new...

Certain Mark Ones with bigger engines had a truly freakish exhaust arrangement with two silencer boxes at the rear of the car. The exhaust pipe fed the one on the nearside, which was connected to the one on the offside by means of a transverse link pipe. The offside silencer box then fed the tailpipe, which allowed exit of the exhaust gases. I had trouble with the exhaust on my old Mondeo, so got to see underneath once! Said arrangement was in place under there. God knows why, it must be one of the oddest exhaust pipe designs fitted to a production car. The car in the photo has a broken exhaust hanger, which is allowing the flow reverse and silencer feed box to hang beneath the bumper.

I queried the registration plate with the term 'and Fiesta' on a search engine and found an image. I've certainly never heard of it before. Lovely looking car, though.

It's not from anywhere; it's a faked photo (sorry) Here's the real car: Unbelievably it's still alive, taxed and on the road according to the plate checker. Hooray! Looks absolutely gorgeous and something I'd have in a heartbeat, but comes with the regulation three doors.

That sort of thing? A catering highloader, apparently.

The second hand car garage at Capel-St-Mary, visible from the A12, has had a Turbo 130 one of those for sale since the dawn of time. Apparently all the turbo ones are automatic, which substantially reduces the appeal. Perhaps that's why nobody wants it.

Parked next to a car with a Churchill tyre today. One from the 'choose something from a list of vaguely trustworthy sounding generic names and hope people make the right associations' school of marketing.

On second thoughts this possibly happened more than fifteen years ago. I'm getting old 🥲

I've owned one within the last fifteen years if that counts. Mine was a silver Mark Two one with the rounded front and was equipped with a diesel engine. I never quite got to grips with it as a car because it was destroyed in a crash about a month after coming into my ownership. A curate's egg of a car from memory: nice handling; unrefined and clunky engine; lovely to look at inside and out; possessor of a really weird fault whereby the car didn't know if the driver's door was open or closed, which would send the electronics haywire at random.

I used to work with someone who had one of those. He was forever going on about how good it was, however he was also a right weirdo and not one whose opinions could be trusted. The Croma shall remain a mystery to many and driven by few...

Different from, and yet similar to, the 'Cars you didn't know existed' discussion. Every so often you'll come across a reference to some model or special edition or oddity that you were perfectly aware of in period, but have subsequently forgotten about entirely. Seeing said reference will jog the memory, and then you'll forget about it again! Let's collect examples, starting with the Nissan Almera Tino: In production until 2006, apparently, but entirely forgotten by me until today!

Thai Rung Union Car Adventure: The sharp eyed amongst you will notice the 'Isuzu' badge on the front grille which is there because it's, well, an Isuzu. The shape will be familiar from that period's Isuzu Rodeo pickup truck, which was sold here in both Isuzu and Bedford/Vauxhall Brava guises. Thai Rung Union Car's work involved converting the truck body, from the original extended cab backwards, to an SUV. The result isn't bad, all things considered. I imagine they will be fairly tough, rugged vehicles that are decent off road but lacking on. There was also a Mark 2 Adventure Master, based on the later Rodeo truck:

Automatic climate control. To wit: it's cold outside so I am cold. I get in the car and, shivering, desire an interior hotter than the chilli con carne on spicy Friday in Hell's canteen. I set the heater to maximum and wait. After a while the car is like a furnace inside and I am happier so turn the heating down to an intermediate level. Later I fancy a bit of fresh air, open the window and turn up the heater to compensate. I am a human being and my temperature goes up and down. I decide whether I want the car to be cold or hot inside and adjust the heater accordingly. All those naff computer nerd types who whine nasally about the fact that 'it's set to exactly 15.567803878743847923892874217939128397438 degrees centigrade in my car and that's the optimum temperature for all conditions so you're not allowed to touch it you stupid woman' can jump in the nearest bin and have the local teenagers tip leftover kebabs on them.

That's more like it. Escort cabriolet, please.

A taxi to the nearest Ford dealer...

Whatever these things are: There are loads in Essex (I know it's a Mercedes of some description); look at the running boards! Or in particular, look at how the door bottoms reflect an image of the running boards. They are all like that, or the dark coloured ones are anyway. It looks rubbish! Merc ought to have put a little bit of non-reflective trim along the lower parts of the doors.

Yes, definitely stick with the red! It's a much warmer and more pleasing colour than the blue.

No, more like Bon Marche or Peacocks given a slightly fuddy-duddy makeover. They were town clothes got up to look a little bit countrified, rather than the bona fide rural pretender getup of riding boots, skinny jeans, check blouse/rugby shirt and bodywarmer favoured by office workers who live in new builds in villages.

You could get a front wheel drive version of the MX5 1.8 engine in the old 323F. I used to have one. It wasn't very fast.

'Country Casuals' are/were a women's clothing brand famed for conservative styling; think knitwear, sensible skirts, modest frocks and the like. I've probably still got something of theirs knocking about the house; they were quite good for semi-formal workwear. There were Country Casuals shops at one time, but the company were subsumed into the Edinburgh Woollen Mill and downgraded to a separate line within EWM. I don't know if Country Casuals are still on sale within the Edinburgh Woollen Mill as I rarely go there. Might have a look next time I'm in town. Quite what that has to do with an old Mazda I don't know.