Okay, here's a poser for you. First, a little background. I have a TR-250
stowed away for the winter and I live in the US. I suspect like many people
in the US, my concept of British non-sports cars was RRs, Bentleys and big
Jags. There were the occasional Austin Marinas, but not much else around
besides sports-variety British cars when I was a kid. (My folks had a
Swallow-Doretti.)
Ellen and I have a Honda Accord as well as the stowed TR. We just got rid
of our VW Vanagon people mover, and with three kids ages four to twelve, the
Honda's a bit of a tight fit.
Ellen floored me the other day when she said, "We need something you can
drive during the winter while you work on the Triumph, and work on during
the summer while you drive the Triumph." I'm open to suggestions. Ellen
has been scouting around for a Mercedes 300TD station wagon, but luckily
hasn't yet found one with the third seat. She did come across a '93 Audi
Quattro wagon with the third seat but that's way out of our price range. (I
said I'd spring for the Audi if the dealer would throw in one of the nice
356 Cabriolets they have for sale. My 12-year old son naively asked if that
would be a good deal. I said, "That would be such a good deal I'd be forced
to give you the Triumph.")
I'm looking for suggestions for a people mover that fits Ellen's
description. We want something more "interesting" than a minivan. One
reason for dumping the Vanagon was the cost of repairs. (It was a Synchro
which made matters worse.) I know Roger Garnett has an MG sedan of some
sort (a Magnette?), but that's kind of small for our needs. Last time I
checked (at the Brit car show in Schenectady last summer) Roger only had two
kids and they were considerably smaller than mine.
Things I've considered besides the Mercedes:
Older VW van - We used to have a '73, but without a gas heater they
would be unbearably cold in the winter. (I would like an old
Microbus with all the windows and the rag sunroof, but would feel
guilty driving it in the winter...)
Jag XJs - I'm worried about the maintenance headaches of older ones.
Newer ones (with the squarish lights) don't look as nice and
probably command too high a price tag.
Jag MkII - Very cool cars, but rust is a big problem and I'd hate to
ruin one driving it in the winter.
Other suggestions?
--
Skip Montanaro skip@automatrix.com (518)372-5791
Automatrix - World-Wide Computing Solutions http://www.automatrix.com/
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