Oh, what have I done? Why am I even asking that? I’ve done precisely what I do every time a seductive piece of old tin wanders into my cross-hairs. Here’s what’s happened.
A few years ago, I was skilful enough to write off The Speaker’s car while coming home from a mate’s wedding. Actually, to be more precise, I was driving the car down Glebe Point Road in Sydney, the day after the wedding when a cement truck parked on top of us. The addition of 20 tonnes of Western Star twin-steer and a further few tonnes of wet concrete, according to the insurance company, suddenly meant her VW hatchback was now worth less than the sum of its individual components. So they wrote us a cheque and she started driving the MBC parts chaser to the supermarket. Not ideal. Fast food, but not ideal.
Obviously, she needed a new car and it had to be a compact hatchback. Just as I have owned utes for the past 30-plus years, likewise The Speaker has been bombing around in a string of hatchbacks which suit her fine and actually carry more than a lot of my cars. But, armed with that lovely insurance cheque, which one to buy?
Just for a change, we tackled the question logically; she drew up a list of the cars that fit our budget and that she was prepared to drive (don’t forget, thanks to what I do for a living, she’s been exposed to just about everything on the market, so this was no blindfold-and-dart exercise). Meantime, I drew up a list of budget-friendly cars that I, as the mug who would have to service the bugger, was prepared to entertain.
This story is from the Issue 477 edition of Unique Cars.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 477 edition of Unique Cars.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
V8 MATES
THIS HOLDEN SL/R 5000 BUILD WAS THE CATALYST FOR A GREAT FRIENDSHIP
ICE ICE BABY
TAKE ONE VOLKSY FASTY AND ADD A SUBY FLAT FOUR ... SIMPLE
LOST & FOUND!
THEY THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE FOUND AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE...WE ALREADY HAVE HER CAR!
CAB CHARGE
WHEN IS AN EX-TAXI NOT AN EX-TAXI? WHEN IT'S A FORMER WEDDING-CAR. THIS RARE EBONY BLACK VG VALIANT WAS FOUND BY SHEER LUCK
CBX1000
HONDA'S BIG-SIX TOURER IS A COMPELLING RIDE
1967 FORD MUSTANG FLASHBACK
THIS 1967 MUSTANG MIGHT LOOK LIKE ANOTHER BULLITT TRIBUTE, BUT WHAT LIES UNDERNEATH IS NO ORDINARY MUSTANG
HONDA S2000 SPORTS
THERE ARE numerous contenders for the title of 'World's Best Four Cylinder Engine' and Honda's F20C, twin overhead cam powerhouse must be right near the top of the list.
FORD ESCORT 1970-80
FORD VERY nearly turned the Japanese small-car tide with its conservative but groundbreaking Escort.
ROLLING BACK THE FEARS
HYBRIDS AND EVS ARE BECOMMING MORE POPULAR, BUT A RECENT RETHINK SEES ICE ENGINES, THEREFORE CLASSIC CARS, SET TO ROLL ON FOR MANY YEARS TO COME
SUPERCAT ON THE PROWL
TWR HAS revealed its limited edition Supercat, with a price tag of $428,000 plus taxes, with deliveries to commence late 2024.