Scott Fisher #1 reminisces Aston Martins:
> Yesterday, on the way to the garden center with Kim and the girls, I
> saw an Aston Martin V8. A sort of champagne color, subtle and lovely.
> I couldn't speak till it had slipped out of vision, ...
I am similarly in awe of this great marque...
Thanks to Scott for mentioning some of the reasons why it is my favourite.
> "Newport Pagnell?"
>
> "That's where they build Astons. I mean, Detroit, Gotheborg, even
> Stuttgart are pretty prosaic names as places for car factories when
> you compare them to Newport Pagnell. It might be even cooler than
> Abingdon-on-Thames, which is about as thoroughly British a name as
> it gets -- that or maybe Malvern Link, where they build Morgans."
On my recent business trip to England I drove right past Newport Pagnell
on a drive down the M1 to visit a client in Hampstead, North London.
As I saw the signs indicating the exit, I had this _incredible_ urge
to swing off the motorway to at least drive through it and seek out
this Mecca of motor cars. It is so close to the M1 too --- oh why,
oh why did I have to be working and have to be on schedule?
Well, I go back in August... so who knows?!!
> And it wasn't till much later that I realized I hadn't even once
> mentioned Sean Connery or Ian Fleming.
I forgot to mention in my recent England trip report that I bought
an Aston... actually, I bought two! The first was a Corgi James
Bond car for my son. I bought it on one of the M1 rest stops on
my way back from Hampstead -- unfortunately not the Newport Pagnell
rest stop! Damn! I should have thought of that... The second was
some obscure Japanese brand, much like a Corgi, of a Virage in BRG.
The James Bond car, the DB5, is silver, had the ejector seat, machine-guns
and extended front bumpers and the pop-up bullet-proof shield to protect
the rear window. It was much like the Corgi of years ago. Corgi must
be remaking them or something since I haven't seen new ones in years.
It cost me L7.50 sterling. I found one later at a toy shop for L6.95...
The Virage only cost me L1.00. That was for me. I picked up a modern
royal blue Lotus Elan and a silver Lotus Espirit for my two kids! They
were only one pound each -- I expected them to be cheap junk -- I was
impressed with the quality of build, detail and weight. The interiors were
very nice and the paint-work was exceptional. The metalwork had been trimmed
beautifully too. On cars that cheap there is usually a lot of flash. Anyway,
the Virage now sits on my special shelfs at home with allsorts of other
classic model cars.
You see, I always dream of owning an Aston Martin -- a real one of course.
These little models keep my dream alive.
Cheers!
Garry Archer Esq. archer@hsi.com
"Like a stately Aston Martin... With all her bravery on, and tackle trim..."
(With apologies to John Milton who said "ship" in his original quote)
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