Missy Charm

Joan Didion.

Cumberford Martinique: An American neo-classic from 1982 which featured a BMW straight six engine and a Citroen CX hydropneumatic system for suspension and steering. The body and chassis were aluminium. Two were made and both still exist, appparently. Oh, and it's probably worth mentioning that the body, despite having an aluminium structure, was partially made of wood! The wings, cappings and minor details were made of mahogany. I like it. nb, the middle photograph would seem to depict car two, on the basis that it has subtle differences from the car in the other photos. nb again, it bears a striking resemblance to those varnished wooden model vintage cars that were all the rage in the eighties and nineties and now appear on the shelves of provincial charity shops, along with novelty clear Perspex paperweights filled with viscous liquid and coloured balls.

Sure looks like them, although the Greenwich trial suggests that particular vehicle is capable of rather more than the Heathrow shuttle function, which appears to be as a sort of trackless tram.

Starpod! As seen on telly's The Apprentice with Alan Sugar. There's one for sale on Ebay for £20,000, which seems rather steep for something that isn't road registered and probably doesn't run. Here's a photo of the workings: which look like the contents of a computer shop storeroom, but never mind. Interestingly, 'Starpod' was a name created for the vehicle for the purposes of the Apprentice episode by one of the teams. The rival team named their vehicle 'Beepure' and gave it a different livery: There are at least two of them, then, but what are they? Judging by the 'quality' of the workings, one might think the vehicles were props knocked up by the television company, but possibly not. The Ebay seller includes this photo: which suggests there are several of the things in existence. It might be the 'Beepure' car, but it looks to be a different colour. Anyway, the Starpod bears a strong resemblance to the TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) Greenwich GATEway vehicles from 2018: which were 'driverless taxis' made by a consortium of bodies including Westfield, the University of Greenwich, the aforementioned TRL and others. The vehicles were electric and drove themselves around the Greenwich peninsular for a short time. They were built for research purposes, with a focus on finding out how the general public would react to such things in the wild. The vehicles never performed revenue earning service and, presumably, became surplus to requirements when the trial ended. My guess is that they were sold on and later used in the BBC series. The Beeb then presumably disposed of the things and now our mystery seller is trying to hawk them to the general public. God only knows who would want one at any price, let alone £20,000. There seems to be some sort of remote control box in one of the shots; perhaps it's possible to fire one up and 'drive' it in some fashion manually? Otherwise they would be entirely immobile, the driverless systems having been decommissioned, and useless.

One for the 'cars you didn't know existed' thread. I'm going to nick it, sorry!

Nawf.

The best bit of the country, then! Aww, I'm in the South East too, albeit at the other end of the Dartford Tunnel!

Final thought: even if the Mini were not to be penalized as a result of the 'hole' in the monocoque, it would still need a 'Q' registration on the basis of a theoretical maximum score of seven on the DVLA's points table. If there is a score of five for the bodyshell, three additional points need to be scored to keep the original registration. Points can be gained for any item on the list. In the Mini's case, let's assume it gets five for the body. What then? Suspension - nothing, we know that's been altered; Axles (both) - nothing, the front 'axle' has been replaced with the electric motor mechanism; Transmission - nothing, for obvious reasons; Steering assembly - call that two points, Engine (original) - nothing, no. I can't see how the electric Mini can get any more than seven points, which means a 'Q' plate is required.

I don't wonder if the DVLA aren't having a clandestine clampdown on electric 'classics' on the basis that they are likely to be sold to a completely different sort of driver from the average car customizer. Someone who puts a 400 bhp V8 in a Ford Zephyr is likely to be the sort of person who will drive or trailer the car to a couple of rod and custom shows a year and leave it in the garage much of the rest of time. Someone buying a Morris Minor fitted with a 400 bhp electric motor, however, is more likely to want the thing as a 'toy' or even as a daily driver. That's going to mean taking it on the road regularly - which is more viable as it won't be necessary to go through the street rodder's rigmarole of fiddling with the engine before the journey and breaking down halfway through it - and potentially showing off with regards to acceleration and the like. Unfortunately such things may lead to dead soulless IT consultants from Surrey; old cars aren't great in crashes and old cars which have been butchered by amateurs in sheds are going to be even worse.

Is this not a misrepresentation of the facts by the Mini owner?* The fact of the matter is that he has radically altered his car and could, if he wished, have a test carried out for roadworthiness under the radically altered vehicles procedure. He doesn't wish to do that, on the basis that if a Q plate is issued - and nothing suggests one wouldn't be - his car will be worth less and become more difficult to insure. Why should an exception be made just for him? I suspect part of this relates to those wanting to provide 'electrified classics' as the latest toy for rich people, who don't want the things registered as Q plated kit cars. The bottom line is that they are. This isn't akin to a street machine or similar where a more powerful engine has been fitted, the whole nature of the vehicle has changed. *The Pistonheads discussion is somewhat illuminating. A computer generated drawing of the electric Mini's engine compartment is provided, which appears to show substantial alterations to the front subframe and structure, but no other photographs and the like. The complainant has also refused to provide scans of any DVLA correspondence on the basis that they 'won't give it to him', which leads me to suspect that the voiding of the registration may be for reasons other than the hole in the boot.

I'm on a ride and I want to get off* *No, I really do...

In Ford circles, it seems as if what was once desirable is now depreciating and yesterday's old rubbish is now worth a fortune. The old non-Cosworth XR series road burners used to cost pennies and are now changing hands for thousands, as are run of the mill Cortinas, Sierras, Capris and even Fiestas. The only bargains now seem to be Consuls and Corsairs and, comparatively, Z cars (obviously the Mark Two Lowline will go for more on the basis of being the best looking English Ford). Pilots are good value for money, I think, but are probably too old for most. Sidevalve cars, which were the business at one time, don't seem to excite anybody. For some reason, however, most things get cheaper if you cut off the roof. Real bargain? An Escort convertible. I know everyone hates them, but that's because most people seem to think they are sports cars when in reality they are fashion accessories.

There ya go... Oh and I get away with it on the basis that nobody seems to believe me capable of 'motoring enthusiasm', had I any to begin with. Just here for the fun of it, really. I'm an autoshiter more by accident than design, in that I've always believed in driving within my means - owning whatever the foetid heap of the day is outright - and my means are few. I do like a Ford, though.

me Micro Electric. Chinese thingy that seems to be a copy of the ill-fated G Whizz: https://www.siticars.com Why anyone would bother is beyond me...

Marcos Mantis, post 1997 version. They were powered by the Ford Modular V8, hence the Cobra transfer on the wing. I assume that one will have a Mustang Cobra engine in it. One of those cars that never quite 'worked', in that the target audience didn't seem to like them. I've never minded the things.

As predicted, the Marina is now SORN again and still showing as a 1.8 petrol on the records. Shame. Nothing seems to have been seen or heard of the car since late 2019/early 2020...

Channel 4's Somewhere Boy, broadcast late last year, had all sorts of old rubbish in it, despite a contemporary setting: There's also a mark one Laguna and various other old nineties cars. For old house hunters, too, there are all sorts of original features still present in the family's sixties semi. Perhaps the director was going for a sort of timeless feel.

My car is so unexceptional that it's too unexceptional for the Festival of the Unexceptional. I will not, therefore, be going...

Apparently the 'Addams Family Car' was built, owned and driven by the late Barry Pedder of Southport. I don't know if the car was ever a working hearse, but the late Mr Pedder was often seen driving it in the area. He was, apparently, a cabbie by trade rather than a funeral director and had form for doing funny things with cars. Pedder died circa 2018, which would explain the car's disappearance from the road. Here's the car taking part in a Halloween parade in 2014.

Free cremation with every battery failure?

Lada Tarzan: For some reason, Lada decided to put a Samara body on a Niva chassis to create a sort of car bodied, road going monster truck. The off road abilities would have been prodigious, but the on-road manners lacking, one assumes.

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is that a Gates filter?

Yes and no. I'd want a four door saloon as they're better looking. Still have a vinyl roof, though!

No, that's a misattribution. Blair came up with the phrase 'Sierra Man', i.e. a representation of solidly dull, middle-class England, in about 1992 - prior to the Mondeo's introduction. A journalist found the quote some years later, post 1994, and updated it to 'Mondeo Man' in an article. The alliteration was pleasing and the phrase became common parlance thanks to the newspaper. Blair had the idea, therefore, but didn't coin the exact phrase. 'Sierra Man' as an expression in its own right never really troubled the national consciousness.