On Aug 27, 2005, at 9:12 AM, Mark Roberts wrote:
I used to have an MG Midget.
Best keep that under your hat Mark.
Too late, the word's out.
My next car was a Plymouth Reliant - given to me by my parents because
they got tired of paying the constant repair bills (they knew I
could at
least fix it myself). It made the MG look reliable by comparison.
You bring back a funny recollection...
One of my friends influenced his parents into buying a Plymouth Road
Runner ... yeah, the one with the big hemi-head V8 and all the funny
decals and such ... as his mother's car so that he could drive it. It
never broke, but his 17 year old driving in a hot car like that
rendered gas mileage in the range of 5 mpg. He used to love slamming
the gas pedal to the floor between stoplights to see the vacuum
actuated air scoop on the hood open. Even at 1969 prices of $0.40 per
gallon for premium, it was driving his father crazy. After a few
months of that, I remember going to the MG dealer with them and
seeing the entranced look on his father's face when the salesman
mentioned that an MGB-GT would get 26 mpg. He bought it for Rusty on
the spot, sold the Road Runner and got Rusty's mom a Valiant.
The MG never needed service. It got the 25 mpg his father dreamed of.
Unfortunately, it spent most of its (short) life in the collision
repair shop. I think he balled it up into a twisted mess for the last
time less than 9 months after he got it. He survived, but shortly
afterwards took a degree in accounting, moved into Manhattan, and has
never driven a car since.
Somehow, that seems fitting.
G
