My Wheels Through The Ages
During my lifetime I have had a number of modes of transport and here are some of the details. The photos are not necessarily of my actual vehicle, but of similar models. I have indicated when that is so. They are in chronological order. Where the photo is not of my actual vehicle the photo is copyright of the original owner and is displayed here as “fair use” and for illustrative purposes only.
My lovely red tricycle
I am obviously apprehensive of its capabilities. But it did have a telescoping wand attached to the back so that my Mother could stop me speeding! Had a boot (trunk) too if I recall.
Jeep Pedal Car
My first set of 4 wheels. A jeep hand-me-down from cousin Stewart. I don’t actually recall this vehicle but it’s pretty obvious I’m very proud of it!
Raleigh Blue Streak
Rode many miles on a bike just like this one, including trips around Devon and Cornwall, and Dorset, Surrey and Hampshire.
1960 BSA Bantam
Not my actual bike, but I had on just like it. A 125cc 2-stroke and a devil to start. The only bike I fell off – twice!
BSA 250cc OHV
Also not my actual bike. A 4-stroke and quite a nice bike. I didn’t keep it for long as I was headed to India for a while.
Lambretta 150cc
Not strictly my wheels but I spent a lot of time riding one just like this in India. It belonged to a friend but she always let me drive. Something of a deathtrap (the scooter not the girl)!
Ariel Countryman 500cc Twin
A lovely bike. Solid performer, although not fast. Sylish, and mine was just like this one from the front cover of a brochure.
BMW Isetta
250cc Single Cylinder 4-stroke. Not my actual vehicle but mine was left-hand drive like this. Which makes it a bit of an oddity in England. They made right-hand drive models but the government dictated that they had 2 rear wheels for “stability”. They were close together. But mine only had one, so it being left-hand drive suggests it was an import from Europe. As a result of only having 3 wheels I could drive it legally on a motobike license, but its controls were just like a car’s.
1960 Morris Mini Van
What a great design Alec Issigonis came up with! Front wheel drive, transverse engine with gearbox in the sump. Fully independent suspension all around. I had a lot of fun in this but it came to a sticky end. Fortunately I didn’t!
1957 Hillman Minx
One of my rides when at college. Pretty basic and give me lots of trouble, particularly associated with the rear-differential as I recall. A stop-gap car after the mini van was written off.
1957 Hillman Minx dashboard
The spartan cockpit of my Minx.
1964 Austin Healey Sprite Mk II
948cc 4 cylinder engine, rear wheel drive and 4 speed gearbox. A fun car, but a bit underpowered. The subsequent models had bigger engines. Its engine was small enough that I could stand in the engine bay and lift it manually, with the gearbox still attached! I installed a high lift cam to try to increase its power.
MGB, AH Sprite and Rover 2000
I only owned the Sprite, the other 2 belongs to my parents, but this is a nice line-up. I have driven all three. They made a 3.5 liter version of the Rover, which I have driven, and it was a quick car. All three are stick-shift of course.
1968 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
I went from a Austin Healey Sprite in the UK to this tank in the USA. I think the Sprite could fit in the back! With the rear seat down you could lay a 8’x4′ sheet of plywood down flat! A comfortable car for the long distances I had to drive.
1968 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
Front grill view of the car.
1968 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
A front view of the company car I had when we arrived in the USA in 1970. It was as big as it appears!
1966 Ford Mustang
A classic car, but not the best example of it. This was a 200ci (3.3Liter) straight 6 with an entirely inadequate 3 speed gear box. It was grey originally and we had it resprayed.
1972 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
Back in the day when cars were cars! This was also a company car. I did 50,000 miles a year in this car, and it only let me down once with a fault electronic ignition module. 360 cu in (5.9 L) LA-block V8 engine.
1974 Ford Torino
My first company car after joining Honeywell in Massachusetts.
1972 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon
We so liked this model of car when we lived in New Jersey that we bought a used one in Massachusetts. Great for carpooling into Boston but not in very good shape. Its fuel gauge did not work and so we ran out of gas on the turnpike in December. Too cold to walk to the service center 1 mile away, so we were rescued by a State Trooper.
1978 Toyota Celica GT
A very nice little car. “Tight” to drive and this is a stick-shift if I recall. Typical quality Japanese engineering. 2.2L 4-cylinder, front-wheel drive.
1970 Ford F150 Custom Truck
This was a second-hand piece of junk. No power anything and hard work to drive. Should not have bought it!
1980 Buick Century Limited
A plush and very comfortable car that lived up to the Buick name. Not our car here, but very similar. Ours was two-tone grey and silver. The wire wheels were a nice touch.
1981 Ford Fiesta
We paid $5000 dollars for a brand new one just like this. The epitomy of basic transportation. Quite fun to drive though.
1980 Pontiac LeMans
A company car that was a hand-me-down from a previous employee. It stank of cigarette smoke. Absolutely useless in the snow too. Glad to get rid of it.
1986 Pontiac 6000 LE
A company car that we eventually bought. Not a bad little car, quite basic, but developed a leaky head gasket so we traded it in quickly!
1987 Dodge Minivan Mark III
A nice van but the best photo I have of it. Had captain’s seats inside, and was converted by Mark III of Ocala, Florida. Its achilles heel was the brakes, which were useless. L-R: Kyle Schroeder, John Stearman. Sean Fitzpatrick, Jim Savacool and Gabe Govendo.
1987 Volvo 760 GLE Station Wagon
This was turbo-charged and still looks stylish even today. Was well-equipped but needed snow tires to deal with the New England winters.
1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
A good 4×4 vehicle with typical Jeep features like a low gear transfer case. Jeep was owned by Chrysler then. They seem to have forgotten some basics, as the brakes were awful, the rotors warped, and the cruise control was useless.
1989 Ford Ranger XLT 4×4
Not my actual truck but mine was just like this. A sharp-looking vehicle, but you had to get out to lock the front wheel hubs if you wanted 4 wheel drive!
1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse
A quick little car. 2 liter turocharged and all-wheel drive. I had a lot of fun driving this. I traded the Ford Ranger for this after I saw one leave me in the dust at the toll booth.
2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Loved this car. They dropped the turbo from the earlier model and put in a 3liter V6 instead. Lots of low-end “grunt”, and it was front wheel drive. Stick-shift of course!
2007 Honda Civic Si
My current wheels and super car to drive. 2 liter, inline 4, manual transmission and front wheel drive. Seriously quick! 6 speed gearbox and red-lined at 8000 rpm. VTEC variable valve system given it a turbo-like kick when pushed to over 5000 rpm. A deceptive sleeper of a car!
2007 Acura RDX
Our other current car. The first year of this model and a well-appointed, comfortable car. All wheel drive automatic with lots of bells and whistles. It could have used some more sound-proofing as road noise is intrusive for such a high-end model.
2010 Honda Accord
A basic model that we purchased down in Florida for use when we wintered down there. Ultumately given to our grandsons to make better use of it. Under 10,000 miles when we got it in 2018.
These are some of the more interesting vehicles I have rented over the years.
Hillman Minx
A British car that got us around Grand Bahama Island in the early ’70s when we were on vacation there. Pretty basic but was attractive enough to get stolen by the local hooligans!
1972 Ford Cortina Mark III GXL
Rented on a visit the UK. Quite a quick car for its day.
Honda Scooter
Rented to let us explore Long Island, Bahamas. Not the most comfortable ride ever.
Rolls Royce Convertible
Just kidding! Seen on Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, Florida. A beautiful car but well beyond my price range even to rent.
Jeep Wrangler
Rented to get around Oahu, Hawaii. A fun vehicle but we never went anywhere that really tested its capabilities. A PhD was need to remove the soft top!
Jeep Rubicon
We rented this beauty (the car) to spend the day in the Arizona desert. We did some serious off-roading and if it had a winch it would be capable of going anywhere. But even so, very capable. Lots of fun!
Jeep Rubicon
Shortly after this was taken we successfully navigated a boulder-strewn river bed. What fun!
2010 BMW 5 Series Diesel
Not a big BMW fan, but this car is like the one we rented in the UK in 2013 and was very nice and pretty quick. Took me 15 minutes to work out how to start it when I picked it up!
2018 Seat Ibiza
Rented in the UK in 2019. We liked this little car, even the color! It was comfortable and adequately powered. The only Seat I have even been in.
Toyota Tercel
A very basic Toyota that we rented to get us around Barbados, which it did without any trouble.
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