Some fellows are petrolheads but I am definitely not. "Top Gear" always had me looking for the remote control. I would rather watch a documentary about chocolate rabbits than a bunch of overgrown schoolboys racing around aerodromes, excitedly heehawing like donkeys.
No. To me a car is something to transport me safely from point A to point B. It is best when that car is efficient and resistant to breakdown. Fuel efficiency is also a desirable factor. Oh and I don't like black or white cars because they seem to become dirty too quickly between car washes.
All of this is just a preamble before the following news bulletin - We are getting a new car today! My current car is a Seat Ibiza in a rather nice shade of marine blue-green. I have had Bertie since 2009 and on the whole he has been a good servant. He recently carried us to The Isle of Man where he travelled up hill, down dale and on to the headland at Point of Ayre. See below:-
But today I shall say goodbye to Bertie. He had one or two issues and will soon need a couple of new front tyres and a cambelt as well as his annual service. It was time to get rid and besides I had been holding back a suitcase filled with cash ready to purchase his successor.
The new car is "sleek silver" and it's a Hyundai i20 with a 1.4 engine. I wasn't planning to get a brand new car but the deal on this one was a no-brainer as they say. He hasn't got a name yet. Hyundai is a South Korean company but I notice that the new car was manufactured in Turkey so I might call him Mustafa Kemal Atatürk after Turkey's first president... or possibly Clint in order to raise awareness of a certain little chocolate rabbit's ongoing predicament out in the colonies.
Better still, YP, your very own chocolate bunny hanging from the rear view mirror !
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the bunny melt in the sun CG? Perhaps I'd have to put him in a little car fridge!
DeleteDoesn't your new chariot have air-conditioning YP? You could get him a sunhat !
DeleteYes. It does have air conditioning! Thanks for your creative suggestions CG!
DeleteMy pleasure YP !
DeleteI do so agree about a certain chocolate bunny being your new car mascot.
ReplyDeleteAs to black cars getting very dirty - I agree about that too. Our Vauxhall is black and always seems to be dirty. I think though that the only car which doesn't show the dirt is a dirt-coloured one and they are a bit boring.
If I drove a dirt coloured car people might think I was in The Army! But on second thoughts... the name Major Pudding has a nice ring to it.
DeleteCongratulations on your new vehicle, Mr. and Mrs. Pudding! I always thought cars and ships were to be referred to as "she", not "he". Oh well, I just refer to mine as "car". Its only job is to get me from one place to another, as you say.
ReplyDeleteSome people do refer to their cars as "she" but I am a feminist. It would somehow demean women if I were to announce, "I am just going for a ride in Brenda!" or "Nancy needs a full service!"
DeleteOurs is called fanny
ReplyDeleteI know. It's a red Fanny. I hope you buff her every week and regularly insert your dipstick.
DeleteSounds like a good choice to me YP. I travelled from Napier to Tauranga and back and around Tauranga for a week in a Hyundai in New Zealand recently. It was very comfortable and on the occasions I drove it I was impressed. I hope it serves you well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the endorsement Graham.
DeleteI had a Hyundai years ago and it was a good little car. The one I had was a "little" Hyundai...it was an Excel 3-door. I gave it to my late brother Graham (another story for another day). It never gave me any trouble.
ReplyDeleteMy landlords each have a Hyundai, but he, the Lord of the Manor, I've been told, since selling their rental property (investment property) in Suffolk is waiting on delivery of his new Lexus Hybrid!
My Hyundia was white. And the car I followed it up with, a Ford Festiva was white; and my present car, another little one, a Toyota Echo is white. I like white cars. Clint does, too, but I never take him out driving. He suffers from claustrophobia. And the heat of summer just makes him melt.
Clint has given you the nod, though, if you decide to name your new chariot after him. It'd make him very hoppy.
I've always given my cars a name. "Lady" is the name of my Echo...in lieu of "Little Sir Echo"...the latter just didn't sit right with me, or my little Lady. "Bessie" was the name of my Festiva. "Remy" was the name of the MG-Magnette I had back in the 80s. Now, my male cat is called "Remy".
I do like "sleek silver", too...it would match my hair colour these days!
Hang on, hang on - you say that Clint suffers from claustrophobia and yet you keep him in a fridge! I can understand that white would be a sensible colour in a hot place like Queensland - deflecting some of the sunlight.
DeleteOops! Oops! I meant to say Clint suffers from "Agrophobia"! No need to get aggro on me!
DeleteWhat is "Aggro"? Sounds like a tough cleaning product. How could I pour "Aggro" on you when I am 10267 miles away? Not guilty your honour!
Delete"Aggro" aka "aggressive"! Get with the programme! ;)
Deletesilver is the right color! I don't know anything else about the cars,but I sure hate replacing timing belts.
ReplyDeleteAs well as being a teacher, you also know how to replace cambelts yourself? My admiration for you has just gone up a couple of notches Lord Red.
DeleteInteresting to learn how you feel about cars in general and your car in particular, YP. Some years ago, I wrote about that topic here.
ReplyDeleteMy sister got herself a Seat Leon last summer after her rattling old Fiat Punto of nearly 20 years had become unreliable. She is very happy about her new car, but two nights ago, a marten caused some damage underneath. The car (which has no name) is waiting for spare parts to be repaired, hopefully soon - once you get used to having a car, it is hard to get by without one.
I am glad you have a car - it would mean a lot less wonderful photos from your walks if you didn't have one!
I applaud you for living a modern life without a car and really, I could survive without one but as you suggest I am very used to having one and it gets me to places I wouldn't otherwise go. This car is a mobile memorial to my mother because I bought it with some of the money that came my way after the sale of her little house in East Yorkshire.
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