My life as a car
Inspired by cuboz's reminiscing of his old pash wagon, and partly spurred by the acquisition of my new car a couple of weeks ago (yayayay!), I thought I'd throw up (not literally mind you) a chronology of Clarkie's life on four wheels.
Mini Cooper (left)
Starting with my first car - an old Mini Cooper - it was actually an ex-rally car so I felt suitably butch LOL. I learnt to drive in this car and treated it like royalty. I loved it so much that one month after passing my test I drove it into the side of a bus. What's more embarrassing was there were only two cars on the road - me and the bus. So how I managed to miss the big red moving box of metal is beyond me. Anyway, that was the end of that.
Mini Metro (right)
Truly a sickbag of a car. After writing off my Mini, my folks were adamant that I get on the roads again quickly so persuaded me to drive this complete shit-bucket (it was all I could afford back then) which I did for 4 stinking years. Hated, hated, hated it because it did nothing for my burgeoning ego. I remember driving friends round London to a bar one evening. Stopping at some lights in Soho Town, some arse stuck his head through the window and said "Oooooh quality wheels man hahahaha". Mortification set in. I looked for another car the next day.
Ford Ka (left)
And I bought this car... :S Actually to give it its dues it was a great runabout city car, especially in London. I had just come out and had started seeing my first BF and he'd just bought a blue Ford Ka. So I thought I'd buy a silver one (as you do...a bit of "hers 'n' hers"...tres gay looking back on it) but I loved this little car :)
Mini Cooper One (right)
I've always liked the fun and outgoing personalities of the Mini's since they relaunched so after working my furry ass off for a couple of years, I decided to splash out on my second Mini...lipstick red! On the lowest rung of the ladder (ie the entry point) - but when you're in love, you're in love right boys?
Grand Jeep Cherokee, limited edition (left) and BMW Z3 (right)
A few years later I moved to the Channel Islands for work which is an ENTIRELY different story for another time (bookmark that). The Channel Islands (a group of British-dependent islands a few miles off the coast of France) is popular with businessmen because it's also a tax haven. So I was lucky enough to put aside quite a bit of money which I used to buy two cars (yes at the same time) which I completely didn't need LOL. To be fair, I was seeing a shit of a guy (I found out the shit part later down the track) who I was happy enough to buy a second car for...yes, it's true, love can be blind. Anyways, I did love owning these cars. The Z3 was (and still is to be honest) my dream car so I was gutted when I sold it (to put the aforementioned shit through a fake university degree!).
Mini Cooper S
Finally returning to London, I realised the Jeep Cherokee was an expensive, gas-guzzling nightmare to keep in the city, so I switched back to the latest Mini Cooper S. Once again, perfect for the city - and with lots of bells and whistles this time :) I had this car all the way up until I made the decision to move to Australia. I "think" my kid brother still drives it...
VW Golf 2.0 TDI Comfortline (aka Bruno!)
Which brings us up to date - the new baby! I've always loved VW Golfs (ok so my Mum bought Golfs for more than 20 years...but this doesn't mean I'm turning into a middle-aged woman ok?!), and we were looking around for a good car that suits our lifestyle and my commuting across Sydney. It's a real marvel to drive, being 2.0 fuel-injected it packs a real punch when you put your foot down, plus being diesel it's stunningly fuel-efficient. On a good stretch, I can get it down to just 5litres/100kms. It's got all the added extras including the "sports package", 17" alloys, automatic everything just short of giving me a blowjob on the way to work. Must look into that optional extra...
Mini Cooper (left)
Starting with my first car - an old Mini Cooper - it was actually an ex-rally car so I felt suitably butch LOL. I learnt to drive in this car and treated it like royalty. I loved it so much that one month after passing my test I drove it into the side of a bus. What's more embarrassing was there were only two cars on the road - me and the bus. So how I managed to miss the big red moving box of metal is beyond me. Anyway, that was the end of that.
Mini Metro (right)
Truly a sickbag of a car. After writing off my Mini, my folks were adamant that I get on the roads again quickly so persuaded me to drive this complete shit-bucket (it was all I could afford back then) which I did for 4 stinking years. Hated, hated, hated it because it did nothing for my burgeoning ego. I remember driving friends round London to a bar one evening. Stopping at some lights in Soho Town, some arse stuck his head through the window and said "Oooooh quality wheels man hahahaha". Mortification set in. I looked for another car the next day.
Ford Ka (left)
And I bought this car... :S Actually to give it its dues it was a great runabout city car, especially in London. I had just come out and had started seeing my first BF and he'd just bought a blue Ford Ka. So I thought I'd buy a silver one (as you do...a bit of "hers 'n' hers"...tres gay looking back on it) but I loved this little car :)
Mini Cooper One (right)
I've always liked the fun and outgoing personalities of the Mini's since they relaunched so after working my furry ass off for a couple of years, I decided to splash out on my second Mini...lipstick red! On the lowest rung of the ladder (ie the entry point) - but when you're in love, you're in love right boys?
Grand Jeep Cherokee, limited edition (left) and BMW Z3 (right)
A few years later I moved to the Channel Islands for work which is an ENTIRELY different story for another time (bookmark that). The Channel Islands (a group of British-dependent islands a few miles off the coast of France) is popular with businessmen because it's also a tax haven. So I was lucky enough to put aside quite a bit of money which I used to buy two cars (yes at the same time) which I completely didn't need LOL. To be fair, I was seeing a shit of a guy (I found out the shit part later down the track) who I was happy enough to buy a second car for...yes, it's true, love can be blind. Anyways, I did love owning these cars. The Z3 was (and still is to be honest) my dream car so I was gutted when I sold it (to put the aforementioned shit through a fake university degree!).
Mini Cooper S
Finally returning to London, I realised the Jeep Cherokee was an expensive, gas-guzzling nightmare to keep in the city, so I switched back to the latest Mini Cooper S. Once again, perfect for the city - and with lots of bells and whistles this time :) I had this car all the way up until I made the decision to move to Australia. I "think" my kid brother still drives it...
VW Golf 2.0 TDI Comfortline (aka Bruno!)
Which brings us up to date - the new baby! I've always loved VW Golfs (ok so my Mum bought Golfs for more than 20 years...but this doesn't mean I'm turning into a middle-aged woman ok?!), and we were looking around for a good car that suits our lifestyle and my commuting across Sydney. It's a real marvel to drive, being 2.0 fuel-injected it packs a real punch when you put your foot down, plus being diesel it's stunningly fuel-efficient. On a good stretch, I can get it down to just 5litres/100kms. It's got all the added extras including the "sports package", 17" alloys, automatic everything just short of giving me a blowjob on the way to work. Must look into that optional extra...