Kit,
"Accusation," "comment," whatever makes your day, fine with me.
Let me add my perspective about some of the differences on the two sides of
the pond. I lived in Vancouver, BC, in the 50s when a teenager's or young
adult's automobile of choice was some "Detroit Iron" that could be "worked
on." Flathead Ford and Merc engines were the engines of choice. Sportscars
(read MGs, Healeys and the occasional Porsche) were few and far between and
maybe that's what attracted me to my first car, a red 1953 MG TD. It was
rather rare, used little gas and was something I could afford on my meager
salary as an apprentice optician. The MG was superseded by a 1956 TR2 and it
lasted me through undergraduate school in Michigan. One summer, when the
battery died and I could not afford to replace it, I used to handcrank the
car. I bought my '52 +4 in Pennsylvania when I made enough money as a grad
student. It was my only transportation as well.
A year before graduating, I interviewed a headhunter for ICI who was looking
for research scientists to work near Liverpool. I don't remember what they
offered in the way of an annual salary, but I do remember that it was
roughly equal to the price of a new Triumph Spitfire. Guess who didn't take
that job! So much for the "not-quite dirt-poor" car owner in "Blighty!"
There are a lot of reasons for the apparent discrepancies in space and time:
currencies fluctuate, safety requirements make prices shoot up, and as we
age (mature?) our responsibilities change. Kids keep eating and wanting to
go to college. No wonder I can't afford a two-seater that retails for more
than my annual salary before the taxman takes his (her?) bite!
Chuck Vandergraaf
Pinawa, MB
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