All My Dad's Cars to 2006. A retrospective
i was having one of my epic lunches ( so claims my associate )at a road side restaurant in the west coast of singapore when up rolled a Fiat 131 mirafiori. in white. exactly like the one my dad had when i was about 7 or 8.
In fact the Fiat 131 is the first car i have ever remembered drawing. I distinctly remember my dad backing the fiat into our little ( i mean like properly small ) terrace house in siglap one evening and i was sitting on the floor in the living room with my drawing book and magic markers and i was so struck by the bloody rectilinear graphic of the rear light clusters that i said to myself. “ i can draw that “ and so i did , and the fiat was so full of flat surfaces, i think it might have been the first car that i drwe in 3 dimensions.
Anyway. I was happy to see the fiat and i feel it is about time that i try to list from memory all the cars that my dad has ever owned. Pointless you might muse, but you might find it an entertaining list.
Fiat 500
VW Beetle
Fiat 131
Fiat 131 Mirafiori 1800TC
Might have been more Fiats around here, I was too young
Opel Ascona ( Gold )
Another Opel Ascona ( Gold )
Opel Rekord ( Gold ) Belina Spec, but my dad rebadged it Luxus and stuck on some BMW 3 series look alike alloys that came with the E30
Another Opel Ascona (Gold ) but this was an SR model with.... RECARO seats.
Renault 25
Renault 21 (Silver) GTS spec 1.7 carb, manual
Renault 21 ( Gold ... goddammit ) GTX spec. 2.0 auto, alloy wheels
Renault 21 ( Green ) GTS 1.7 carb, auto
At this point i get my driving license.--- i’m 17 and eager.
Lanica Thema ( Silver ) 2.0, 16 valve, Variable Induction system, rose wood inlays, manual, crashed this one 3 times, beautiful engine, rubbish everything else.
Audi A6 ( Gold !!!!! ) 2.3, inline 5 cylinder, 4 speed auto, shiny wood inlays and proper leather. I pranged this ( not crashed ) one once. 133bhp, this was the first A6 which was a facelift of the Audi 100. It was audisih.
I left for the UK. My dad switched to a
Fiat Punto ( Yellow, which is not gold ) I never drove this one
Renault Scenic ( Grey ) 1.6, 4 speed donkey matic gear box. the front end lost grip so easily, and it was so slow i could work out the angle of entry into long sweeping turns while understeering with confidance.
Renault Scenic ( Irridicent Grey ) 1.6, 4 speed Moron-matic gear box, This was the face lifted model that really contributed to the global design phenomenon of huge bug eyed lamps. It had 115 bhp which made it just slightly faster that the other scenic, but god dammit was the transmission a pile of shit. and the cooler box which had the air con duct some air into it never chilled anything, ever.
Ford Focus ( Black ) 1.6, 4 speed Idiot-matic gearbox. horrible drive train, and then you turned the wheel and dammit... it was the finest handling car i had ever driven. It still is.
Volvo S60 2.0T ( Silver ) 2.0,180bhp, inline 5 cylinder, 5 Speed Aisin slurry gearbox, built in phone, ski hatch,
And Currently...
Volvo S60 T5 ( Silver ) 2.3 Turbo, 250bhp, inline 5 cylinder, 5 Speed auto. Xenon lamps, ski hatch, an electronic valet lock, baby seat built into the rear arm rests. and heated wing mirrors !
Mean while In the UK. I drove ( technically these are my dad’s cars as well ) some VW Boras, I bought them as ex-demos cos they were cheap cos the UK dislikes any small saloon unless it is a C/A4/3.
VW Bora V5 ( Blue ) 2.3 5 cylinder in Vee Configuration, 150bhp, 4 speed auto, sun roof. All MK 4 golf based cars are shit, and the bora was terrible, that heavy engine meant that the rear end went light while braking into the corner. It was a lumpen driving experience until you hit the M1 and cruised comfortably on a reasonable wave of torque as the wonderful off beat warble of the V5 kept you company
not learning my lesson i then bought a slightly used
VW Bora V6 4motion ( Green ) 2.8 6 cylinder in a Vee Configuration, 204bhp, Haldex 4 wheel drive, 6 speed manual. winter pack ( heated seats, washer jets, heated wing mirrors ) Sunroof, Leather. Another Mk 4 Nose heavy mess, the 4 WD meant that the car just gripped and then ran wide in corners, it felt lifeless everywhere, and haldex just clumbslily shunting power back and forth... the steering was lifeless, but then, you dropped into 3rd, put you foot down and ... it had a lovely engine that dominated the driving experience and vaguely saved the car. Drove to scotland 3 times in it. 6 speeds mean that it did not drink too much on the Motorways
I have lived with a MK 5 Golf Gti for about 2 weeks
I have rented 3 renault clios, a diesel Peugeot 306 which had telepathic steering and errmmmm a yellow VW Beetle. and in a shameful low point. a green toyota corolla. and a toyota van to move some stuff.
So what is the point of this list?
I. We have owned too many Gold cars. Calling it Champagne makes no difference.
2. I think we have owned a version of every volume production 5 cylinder petrol engine every produced in the last 15 years. I am waiting to be corrected on this.
3. we have owned some lovely engines attached to woeful cars
4. We have never owned a Japanese car
5. we have owned lots of square cars
6. We could never afford the European premium class cars, so we ended up with a bunch of odd ball european offerings ( for singapore that is ) which in a strange way makes you look at life differently.
7. We have never owned any “ bench mark” “ class leading” cars, maybe except for the focus ( handling ) , Scenic ( genre defining ) and the fiat 500 ( charming ). So that means i have honed my skills at making a case for “bad” things which requires more creativity than trying to make a case for “ good” things. Like a wanky BMW 3 Series.
Which really means that, when i have an opinion, i am rarely wrong and you must listen to me.
In fact the Fiat 131 is the first car i have ever remembered drawing. I distinctly remember my dad backing the fiat into our little ( i mean like properly small ) terrace house in siglap one evening and i was sitting on the floor in the living room with my drawing book and magic markers and i was so struck by the bloody rectilinear graphic of the rear light clusters that i said to myself. “ i can draw that “ and so i did , and the fiat was so full of flat surfaces, i think it might have been the first car that i drwe in 3 dimensions.
Anyway. I was happy to see the fiat and i feel it is about time that i try to list from memory all the cars that my dad has ever owned. Pointless you might muse, but you might find it an entertaining list.
Fiat 500
VW Beetle
Fiat 131
Fiat 131 Mirafiori 1800TC
Might have been more Fiats around here, I was too young
Opel Ascona ( Gold )
Another Opel Ascona ( Gold )
Opel Rekord ( Gold ) Belina Spec, but my dad rebadged it Luxus and stuck on some BMW 3 series look alike alloys that came with the E30
Another Opel Ascona (Gold ) but this was an SR model with.... RECARO seats.
Renault 25
Renault 21 (Silver) GTS spec 1.7 carb, manual
Renault 21 ( Gold ... goddammit ) GTX spec. 2.0 auto, alloy wheels
Renault 21 ( Green ) GTS 1.7 carb, auto
At this point i get my driving license.--- i’m 17 and eager.
Lanica Thema ( Silver ) 2.0, 16 valve, Variable Induction system, rose wood inlays, manual, crashed this one 3 times, beautiful engine, rubbish everything else.
Audi A6 ( Gold !!!!! ) 2.3, inline 5 cylinder, 4 speed auto, shiny wood inlays and proper leather. I pranged this ( not crashed ) one once. 133bhp, this was the first A6 which was a facelift of the Audi 100. It was audisih.
I left for the UK. My dad switched to a
Fiat Punto ( Yellow, which is not gold ) I never drove this one
Renault Scenic ( Grey ) 1.6, 4 speed donkey matic gear box. the front end lost grip so easily, and it was so slow i could work out the angle of entry into long sweeping turns while understeering with confidance.
Renault Scenic ( Irridicent Grey ) 1.6, 4 speed Moron-matic gear box, This was the face lifted model that really contributed to the global design phenomenon of huge bug eyed lamps. It had 115 bhp which made it just slightly faster that the other scenic, but god dammit was the transmission a pile of shit. and the cooler box which had the air con duct some air into it never chilled anything, ever.
Ford Focus ( Black ) 1.6, 4 speed Idiot-matic gearbox. horrible drive train, and then you turned the wheel and dammit... it was the finest handling car i had ever driven. It still is.
Volvo S60 2.0T ( Silver ) 2.0,180bhp, inline 5 cylinder, 5 Speed Aisin slurry gearbox, built in phone, ski hatch,
And Currently...
Volvo S60 T5 ( Silver ) 2.3 Turbo, 250bhp, inline 5 cylinder, 5 Speed auto. Xenon lamps, ski hatch, an electronic valet lock, baby seat built into the rear arm rests. and heated wing mirrors !
Mean while In the UK. I drove ( technically these are my dad’s cars as well ) some VW Boras, I bought them as ex-demos cos they were cheap cos the UK dislikes any small saloon unless it is a C/A4/3.
VW Bora V5 ( Blue ) 2.3 5 cylinder in Vee Configuration, 150bhp, 4 speed auto, sun roof. All MK 4 golf based cars are shit, and the bora was terrible, that heavy engine meant that the rear end went light while braking into the corner. It was a lumpen driving experience until you hit the M1 and cruised comfortably on a reasonable wave of torque as the wonderful off beat warble of the V5 kept you company
not learning my lesson i then bought a slightly used
VW Bora V6 4motion ( Green ) 2.8 6 cylinder in a Vee Configuration, 204bhp, Haldex 4 wheel drive, 6 speed manual. winter pack ( heated seats, washer jets, heated wing mirrors ) Sunroof, Leather. Another Mk 4 Nose heavy mess, the 4 WD meant that the car just gripped and then ran wide in corners, it felt lifeless everywhere, and haldex just clumbslily shunting power back and forth... the steering was lifeless, but then, you dropped into 3rd, put you foot down and ... it had a lovely engine that dominated the driving experience and vaguely saved the car. Drove to scotland 3 times in it. 6 speeds mean that it did not drink too much on the Motorways
I have lived with a MK 5 Golf Gti for about 2 weeks
I have rented 3 renault clios, a diesel Peugeot 306 which had telepathic steering and errmmmm a yellow VW Beetle. and in a shameful low point. a green toyota corolla. and a toyota van to move some stuff.
So what is the point of this list?
I. We have owned too many Gold cars. Calling it Champagne makes no difference.
2. I think we have owned a version of every volume production 5 cylinder petrol engine every produced in the last 15 years. I am waiting to be corrected on this.
3. we have owned some lovely engines attached to woeful cars
4. We have never owned a Japanese car
5. we have owned lots of square cars
6. We could never afford the European premium class cars, so we ended up with a bunch of odd ball european offerings ( for singapore that is ) which in a strange way makes you look at life differently.
7. We have never owned any “ bench mark” “ class leading” cars, maybe except for the focus ( handling ) , Scenic ( genre defining ) and the fiat 500 ( charming ). So that means i have honed my skills at making a case for “bad” things which requires more creativity than trying to make a case for “ good” things. Like a wanky BMW 3 Series.
Which really means that, when i have an opinion, i am rarely wrong and you must listen to me.
posted by Synth at 2:38 AM
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