Interesting thread...
First of all, I drove my mums panda, but dad only let me do it once because i decided the best course of action was to rev the nuts off the effer and he didn't want it to blow (no rev limiter if memory serves). So he had to lift my little legs off the pedals (...i was about 7 years old
). Fool let me have a go with his cavvy too on a disused runway and had to repeat the process.
After that.... well... a series of bikes that either couldn't stand up to the power of my legs (I swear some of them must have had gears/chains made out of tin) or my tendancy to fall off on grass. Best being a 15-speed green Apollo that must have cost my folks all of about £49 quid, was really heavy, but stood up to a lot of abuse. Finally died when I bent the chainwheel - the only bit I still haven't learned how to replace. Used the wheels to resurrect an old 10-speed with bent spokes...
Then splashed out on another Apollo, purple with front suspension, that thing was the shiznit... once I fitted some decent brakes. And some welsh scally waste of oxygen went and bloody stole it from Uni 6 months later. Gutted. Off the insurance I got some "Scott" piece of w*nk that I can barely stand to ride any more, especially with a motor alternative (the gears are duff, the brakes are duff, the tyres i had to replace after 3 months, the seating position and saddle are nasty - destroyed my faith in "quality" bike brands just a little...)
In the meantime, I learnt in a Fiesta with a small driving school. Car *looked* nice, but was awful. No feel through the steering, seats that cut off the circulation in your legs, less poke than the Polo even though it was a 1.2...
Day that I passed my test (and not a minute sooner!) I got access to mum's Punto for trucking around to school, ferrying my brother about, visiting Dad etc. Nice blue colour, handsome looking vehicle, five doors very handy, comfy seats and a good stereo. Good engine (75hp) - would do 115 with a bit of encouragement (rarely dared go past 99 tho
, could pull from idle in (21/1000) top on a quarter throttle, and I once even cursed it for not being able to beat 90 in a headwind... oh, happy days.
A few faults though.... the handling was a bit dodgy, not a good thing for a new driver who sometimes gets lead footed. Overcooked quite a few roundabouts when it suddenly had a weight shift on entering or exiting and I had to play dodge-the-truck. Twisties were a bit more enjoyable (where that sort of behaviour is more usable) but it still felt stodgy and "fat" even though being lightweight. The ECU was flippin' mental, at least when it came to injectors - it thought they were cooked on a regular basis (they always checked out fine) and would shut off a cylinder for a half mile or limit you to about half throttle until you stopped the engine and started it again. That blinking little red light was the reason it got sold.
Oh yeah, and the clutch self destructed. It was my fault for sure, but it gave a stunningly small amount of warning. A yellow card when it didnt so much slip as let the engine run free on entering an A-road, then working fine for the rest of the trip. Two days later it suddenly upped and imploded completely when mum was at the wheel - turning right across a dual carriageway.
Then I went to uni, she sold it the week before and got a Rover, for which a student on the insurance was insanely expensive. So back to the bikes. Til the next summer, when I briefly borrowed a Mini cooper (for a day - *fantastic* fun to drive but impractical) off one of Dads friends, and then their Clio for three weeks. Which was very, very similar to the Punto, but 3 door, a bit flimsier in the metalwork, less torquey - and handled *much* better. It was almost impossible to make a mistake in it. Were the insurance to have been more affordable, I might have ended up on a Renault forum.
Comments: Nick, HALF a GT engine?
Matt.. you should have tuned up that 126! Stock versions are awful, but wider tyres (like... 135s
), a blower or whatever bigger engine you can squeeze in, remove the rear bench, they go zoom zoom. Like a boil-washed Cooper or a squared-off 500 abarth. (your coupe looks very shiny btw)
Dub envy.... ohhhh.... i just hope you didnt do such evil things to the Metro as are going on round my way
...still waiting for my kodama keychain to come thru the post
...
(but i got that NTSC copy of P.M. at last, featurettes and literal subs (and french vocals) rock my world)
Oh my God! I've never had as much fun in my life. What an awesome car.
(2 down loads to go)
