frank theriault wrote: > WRT the last photo, it makes me recall that when I was a kid > growing up in Montreal in the late 50's/early 60's, most > imports into Canada were British. Other than the Volkswagen, > if one wanted a smallish car, British was about the only > option. In fact, we owned a Hillman Minx and a Vauxhall > Victor. Each car only lasted a couple of years. > We didn't even bother to try to drive them in the winter - > hell, they had enough problems going more than a couple of > hundred trouble-free miles in the summer! <g> We stored them > from about December to March at a local garage, and it seems > that many other people did the same thing. I don't think we > bought snowtires and used a car through the winter until we > bought our first North American car, a 1963 Rambler 660 Classic. > > "Built for Canadian Climate" indeed! <LOL>
They weren't much good for Winter in the UK either! Sadly, I have no photos I can find of the early to late 60s where I remember the Mk 1 Vauxhall Viva we had was more or less expected to have a breakdown getting to Scotland and back, a longer trip than today before the myriad of motorways and by-passes. That was normal. Today, I would expect to stop once in either direction for fuel and consider the journey as demanding as going to the local supermarket. How far reliability and expectations from your car have moved on in 40 years or so. The only thing which is getting worse is the condition of the roads on which we drive; I need the L/Rover as much on road as I do off. Malcolm
