I have owned several cars in my life though unlike one of my best mates, I haven't got photographs of them all.
It all began with a Morris 1000 Traveller that was over ten years old when it came into my possession. That's a car that I should have died in but the gods were looking down on me that particular night. Go here.
The first car I ever bought with my own money was a dark green Hillman Avenger. I needed it to get to work out in the sticks of South Yorkshire. At the time, it felt as though I was driving to work to earn money to pay for the maintenance of that knackered vehicle with its rusting belly.
When Shirley and I first got together we drove around in her old cream coloured Mini. Then my brother Paul sold us his "reliable" light blue FIat 127 that turned out to be not so "reliable" after all. It inspired us to splash out on a half decent motor - a five year old red Ford Fiesta that never let us down.
We upgraded to a Ford Escort - the first of three. It was red, followed by blue and then silver. We tended to keep them for four or five years. They were great cars and generally trustworthy. You didn't put the ignition key in its slot thinking, "I wonder if this bastard will start today?"
It was probably around 1995 that we bought our first "new" car - a dark blue 1.6 Fiat Brava that had been what they call a "demo" or "showroom" model. I loved that car but its time ran out and we moved on with a silvery blue Ford Focus that was broken into at least three times by scumbags in search of Ford CD/radio players. Only for that reason, it was a relief to part exchange that car for a metallic light green Seat Ibiza.
Finally in March 2016 I bought Clint the sleek silver Hyundai i20. He was new at the time but I only paid £10,500 for him. Car prices have gone up a lot in the past seven years. The Brexit Disaster has not helped in that regard. However, my instincts are now telling me that it is nigh time to part ways with Clint and put him up for adoption.
For environmental reasons and because the western world is moving that way, I fancy an electric vehicle. We could have a charging point set up on our little driveway and we would probably be able to acquire a car that can manage 200 miles on a full charge. However, in the north of England the charging infrastructure is very limited and there would surely be occasions when we would be panicking.
Another negative is that electric cars are all very pricey. Even for the most basic KIA you are looking at £24,000.And yet another negative is that the technology behind electric cars is advancing all the time. The vehicle that you buy for £24,000 today could be very undesirable in five years time, overtaken by the improved technology and range of fresher models.
The dilemma I find myself in is one that thousands of car owners must be experiencing right now. We accept that electric vehicles are the way forward but is this the right time to make that move? I am not convinced.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/gMLcwjd