I fully intended to do this right up to the point where the Formula 1 Qualifying was postponed until 2pm Sunday due to rain... From that point onward my weekend was dedicated to shouting for Lewis... really, shouting. I was sure if I shouted loud enough at the TV he would be able to hear me across the pond... Guess it worked!
So as I was caught up in the history that was being made on the TV, I thought I would talk a little about my car history.
I didn't sit my driving test until I finished University, and by that point I had fallen into bar management, which meant for my first car I didn't need to resort to buying a 1.0l Corsa with a 4" exhaust (you may need to be a Brit to get that reference...)
My first car was a Blob-eye Impreza. Don't get me wrong, it was not a WRX, and it certainly wasn't an STI, but as a first car in the UK where you have to give your left arm for an insurance policy.... (I'm surprised more of us don't drive automatics for this reason...) this was not a bad car. It was a 2.0l GX Sport, and without a WRX or STI badge, I cherished that word 'Sport' that emblazoned my rear bumper. It was still relatively quick for a first car, and with AWD it felt like a bit of tank. Unfortunately after 6 months or so the clutch went and I couldn't justify paying for a new one to be fit as someone offered to buy it for the same price I paid when I got it, so alas I had to let it go.
My second car was a Honda Civic Type R - an EP3. It was post-facelift model (2005) which loved to rev, and I loved to rev it! It saw off 0-60 in around 6.6 seconds. It had a fair chunk of power for a car that was so light, 200bhp, and it was enjoyable using that full rev range with the dash mounted gear stick. In all honesty I think that gear stick is probably the thing I miss most about the car... Vtec is good, but not as good as Honda fan boys make it out to be, and the engine could have used a good deal more torque to match its power.
My third car was another Subaru, and another Impreza, though this time it was 2.5l WRX Hawkeye.
With around 230bhp and AWD it did 0-60 in around 5.5 seconds, in all conditions.
Roads like this are why I love AWD. This car is the first car I did more than just normal service tasks on. It was mainly just service tasks, but I also upgraded the brake discs. It was enough to make me start thinking that one day I wanted a real project, that I didn't need any work completed in a day.
When my son was born I sold the car. This was a bit of a mistake. I got another hot hatch instead. I saved money on insurance and petrol but in every other sense the Impreza is the better family car. Its boot is huge and passengers get an acre of space, AWD is practical, especially in an area prone to bad winters. It had 4 doors to my current cars 2. I like my current daily drive, don't get me wrong I prefer it to my Honda, but it wasn't my Scooby... This car is why I got the Mitsubishi, I wanted a fast 4x4 and wanted a car that didn't matter if work was done in a day or not......
I will do a walk round of my daily and of the GTO in a separate entry.
In the mean time, if you want to keep up to date follow me on social sites:
Instagram @3ofdiamonds_GTO
Twitter @3ofdiamonds_GTO
Facebook @3ofdiamondsGTO
