As a momentary diversion from dreary politics, terrorism or violent crime, I thought I might discuss with you, some of your more memorable 'rides' !

My first car which I purchased for 125 quid in 1958, was a 1946 Wolseley 6cyl, mod. 18/85, twin carburettor sedan. A typical English thoroughbred. It had a superstructure entirely of timber, with all leather seats, and a lousy electric fuel pump which necessitated a firm tap with a spanner or similar,during hot weather in order to keep it 'ticking over' thus keeping the engine running !

My current 'ride' is an unremarkable but totally reliable 2014 VW Golf. The forth such vehicle we've owned, because, for our needs at least, they're unbeatable.

My 'Dream Car' is a Maserati any model really. Preferably the 4 door sedan 'thingo', sorry I don't know the intricacies of all their specific models ? Alternatively the Porsche 911. I'd really enjoy taking either vehicle through a dozen laps or so, of the Mount Panorama track at Bathurst.

My ideal car would be some 1970's or 1980's model, but NEW. It would obviously be reliable because in those years they knew how to make cars that last. It would need to be manual, mechanical, no air-bags and most importantly - no electronics on board!

" and a lousy electric fuel pump which necessitated a firm tap with a spanner or similar"

Doubtless made by Mr Lucas, the Prince of Darkness, who contributed to the failings of many a British car but especially Leyland and LandRovers. Although as far as LandRovers are concerned, there are so many other issues that the electrics faded :) into the background.

Which reminds me, there must have been as many student engineers at university restoring Jaguars as there were working on Citroens. Did any of them ever get on the road except for on a car trailer?

An MGA was my youthful joy. Girls loved it. They all had long legs and a sense of adventure/fun those days. The early Mini was OK for taller owners. Even though mine was substantially worked over it was reliable. The fun 'pants' car of all times for me. Yay!

A number of other new cars in between. BMWs are for people who love driving. But you must be able to afford to turn them over regularly. Allowing an Oz 'mechanic' to service a BMW or Mercedes is fraught with danger, as in, "What's a torque spanner?", "Whaddaya mean, tighten in sequence?" and "Oil? Nine times out of ten we just bung in what we have available".

Dream car? If I can keep my auto LandCruiser GXL TD, which is only run-in @ a little over 100K kms and a delight to own and drive, I would dearly like to give a home to a double-cab diesel LandCruiser 70. Anyone who has even owned a Troopy would know the lifestyle and best friend. Got to stop, eyes misting over.

Hi o sung, My father actually had one of those Wolseleys which was his pride & joy, but cost a bit to keep working. The transmissions were not really up to my dads driving & the weight of the car.

My choice is my 1980 Triumph TR7. I bought 2 semi wrecks about 15 years ago for $1200 the pair, & built one from the pair. It cost me about $4000 & was my only car at times, & my main car for about 10 years. About 5 years ago I spent a year looking for something modern I could live with, even bought a couple, & got rid of them quickly before deciding the most sensible thing was to do up my Triumph properly.

About $14,000 later I have my ideal car, with a beautiful paint job, & modern air conditioning, but everything else mint condition 1980 vintage. It really is a joy to drive.

Only one problem, after a couple of dings in supermarket car parks, I had to buy a Ford Capri, [local 2+2 convertible] for shopping trolley duties. A 1994 model, it is a bit gutless, but still nicer to drive than the string of new hatches my lady has driven over the last few years, I just can't stand modern ultra light electric steering & fly by wire throttles.

Do you think I may be becoming a reactionary old git?

Oh I forgot to mention my first car. A 1934 Morris 8/40 tourer. It was really slow, particularly when I had my mates in it. It had nice holes in the floor, with a bit of ply wood over them. This was great in my surfing period. Just pull the ply out, & you could sweep the sand out the bottom.

I had it with me at Uranquinty doing my flying training. I was the only one of the 6 navy types on course with a car, so we would all pile in Saturday nights for the run into Romano's hotel in Wagga. You should have seen the poor overloaded little thing wallowing around the corners onto & off the railway bridge outside Kapooka army recruit base, you know the one.

The cars were cheap & simple, as was life back then. We didn't have much, but needed no more, it's a pity our kids can't have it so good.

Well my first was a 74 Toyota Corona, I wanted a Celica but my dad said it was too sporty for a learning driver.

Since then I've had more cars than I can remember, from a mini moke (awsume little ride) to F Trucks, even a few 911's and I now drive a very average ford ranger ute.I've also had a Fat Boy just for something different.

My dream car, which I'm waiting until next year, is a Holden Maloo with a supercharged 6.2 lt with a Wlkinshaw 570KW upgrade. I was going to buy this years model but I thought I'd wait for the last one made in Oz. It also gives me a chance to see what comes out if the states.

BTW, I not a lead foot, I just love the note only a worked V8 can deliver.