Over 50 years of driving I've had the pleasure of driving a variety of vehicles. There was a time when I would think nothing of spending my weekends repairing cars that were hanging onto survival by the thinnest of metal. I still enjoy driving but the cars have become more reliable and faster.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Morris_Minor_1000_1960.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4814" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Morris_Minor_1000_1960-200x128.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="128" /></a>I bought my first car when I was at college - an ex police Morris Minor which had a dodgy clutch. I remember spending a Christmas break at my brother's house in Bedfordshire with the car rolled up on scaffolding boards and bricks whilst in freezing temperatures we removed the gearbox, replaced the clutch and thrust bearing. It was so cold our fingers stuck to the metal parts. Happy days! In the final months of college I had to wrestle it all the way to the scrap yard as the steering seized up and the wheel bearings rattled to bits.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/morris-mini-van.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4812" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/morris-mini-van.jpg" alt="" width="259" height="194" /></a>The replacement car was a Mini van that had more holes in the bodywork than a colander. The floor in the back of the van was becoming separated from the sides and had to be brazed together (the metal was too thin to weld) and the engine frequently overheated. I recall standing in a petrol station whilst it was being refueled and I scratched a bit of paint on the front wing only for my finger to go right through and get stuck. I filled the hole with a rubber grommet so it looked as though it had once been an aerial hole. It was a nightmare vehicle and didn't last long.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Triumph-Herald.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-4816 alignleft" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Triumph-Herald-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="223" height="167" /></a>We were both teaching so we could just afford the luxury of a Triumph Herald convertible.

It was easy to maintain and fun to drive even if the hood was a bit fiddly to take down and put back up again.

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<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Triumph_Spitfire.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-4817 alignright" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Triumph_Spitfire-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="172" /></a>The Triumph Spitfire was our first sports car. It had the same running gear as the Herald and so was an easy step to take but it was totally impractical in terms of one car between two people and giving lifts to friends. From what I can remember we didn't keep it very long.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/morris-minor-pickup.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-4813" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/morris-minor-pickup.jpg" alt="" width="264" height="176" /></a>Whatever possessed us to buy a Morris 1000 pickup is beyond me now and looking back made no sense at all but it seemed a good idea at the time.

It was rebuilt by someone we knew in Weedon, Northants. He did the major welding and body work; Jane and I painted it and cleaned up the engine. I can recall spending a Sunday afternoon replacing a half shaft that had broken. It was cold and wet but I needed it to get to work the following day.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/hilman-imp.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-4810 alignright" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/hilman-imp-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="235" height="176" /></a>The Hillman Imp was our first new car. Jane loved the colour and I think this is the car she learned to drive and passed her test.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Citroen2CV.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4804" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Citroen2CV.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="150" /></a>The 2CV was another new car. A crazy vehicle with a flap under the dashboard to allow air to flow and a gear stick that needed to be pulled and pushed in a most unnatural way. Jane loved the car but hated driving it. It was possible to easily remove the rear seats if you wanted to sit around for a picnic. The suspension was very soft and it wallowed around cars. The 2 cylinder engine barely accelerated so the idea of a 0 - 60 acceleration time was immaterial. A real character of a car - love it or hate it!

We went through a very boring phase of car ownership when we seemed to be purchasing Fords - An Escort, Orion and Fiesta Sport.

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They were practical, reliable and they allowed us to have a car each at a time when I was teaching in Daventry and Jane was Homeless Officer at South Northants Council.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/fiat-uno.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-4806" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/fiat-uno.jpg" alt="" width="203" height="152" /></a>For a while Jane had a Fiat Uno. I think she was influenced by the fact that it had an econometer on the dashboard so she could drive economically. In the end it proved to be such a pain (it drove me nuts) I stuck a bit of black tape over it so we could ignore it.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/bmw_318i.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-4803" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/bmw_318i-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="158" /></a>And then there was the BMW 318i. I loved this car for its raw power - it was the most powerful vehicle I had ever driven at this point in time. It did have its foibles such that if I accelerated too fast in the wet the back end would get very lively and I found myself driving sideways down a major road in the middle of Northampton. It also had this quirk of just stopping and then refused to start. I would have to wait an hour before it would start again. I only found this out when I called the RAC and by the time they arrived I just turned the key and it started - most embarrassing.
<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/suziki_vitara.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-4815" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/suziki_vitara-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="221" height="166" /></a>When we started ballooning we wanted a vehicle that could tow a trailer and be capable of off road activity.
The Suzuki Vitara filled the role very well and Jane loved it.
As my main crew person when I started to learn to fly she enjoyed following me and I was always pleased to see her and the Vitara bounce onto a field after a landing. Car and driver never failed me!

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/landrover-90-defender.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-4811" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/landrover-90-defender.jpg" alt="" width="213" height="160" /></a>Sadly the Vitara wasn't sufficiently chunky. We were used to driving the Ballooning Business Land Rover Defenders so we decided to buy a Land Rover Defender 90. It was uncomfortable and the fuel economy, even for a diesel, was terrible but it was great off road.
It towed our balloon trailer back and forth across Northamptonshire for a couple of years before we decided we needed a bit of comfort.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/freelander_2003-02-01_002.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-4798" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/freelander_2003-02-01_002-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="212" height="159" /></a>Sticking with the Land Rover theme we then purchased the Freelander. A good workhorse but very dull. It was sold before it gave us too many problems (Land Rovers were notoriously unreliable).

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/mazdamx306.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-4801" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/mazdamx306-300x240.jpg" alt="" width="228" height="182" /></a>At some point we owned a Mazda MX3 but the exact timing is a little vague (must have been when we lived in Rothersthorpe). It was Jane's car and she loved it. Amazingly zippy with a rev counter that when higher than any car we had owned.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/golf-gti.jpg"><img class="alignright  wp-image-4799" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/golf-gti-300x240.jpg" alt="" width="221" height="177" /></a>Nobody can have a real love of cars if they've never owned a Golf GTi. Our black rocket was our pride and joy for a few years.