OldFord

OldFord, that's been my Geocaching name for as long as, and an appropriate description for this very tidy yellow Model A, found sitting in Oxford's Main Street this weekend. A busy Sunday Main Street hardly provides a great background, especially with an all-encompassing fish-eye lens but, dialing back the realism into the interpretative zone, produced something that I found quite pleasing in an illustrative, comic-booky sort of way.

The more things change ...

Sometimes I look back and marvel at the way things have changed in my lifetime. Take mobile phones for example - they have woven themselves into the fabric of how we do life. With a short text message, we can tell others why we aren't where we were supposed to be or arrange an impromptu meet-up across the other side of town. As a result, our social arrangements have become more spontaneous and tentative in a way that would have been unimaginable half my life ago. I like it.

So, there we were having lunch when Annette says, "why don't we check out a Suzuki Splash while we are in town?". So, I pull up Trademe on the phone and sift through the list of Splashes for sale. "Here's one that looks interesting," I say, showing her the pictures of a low mileage metallic black Splash. "Let's go and look," she says, so off we trot to the car yard.

This is the point where I complete the title with "... the more they stay the same." Second-hand car salesmen. Yes, they are nearly all still 'men' and they are just the same type of men as they have always been; jovial, instantly friendly, ready to rattle off the exemplary merits of  any car you happen to be looking at, all the while assuring you that it will be perfect for your needs and the price is the keenest it's ever been. We will, of course, be lucky if the car is still on the lot after the weekend - even though I've seen it listed for at least two weeks now!

It's been quite a few years since I last danced the car-yard tango and today it just fills me with amusement at its predictability. I'm not going to play or try to trip the guy up; it's not sporting and, in any case, I quite like this young chap doing his car salesman spiel with a broad Mancunian accent in a car yard half a world away from his birthplace.

The car checks out and we return to talk about a trade. He makes a call on his mobile and, without seeing the trade, offers me a price that sounds fair. We shake (yes, they still do that) and the deal is done.

For all the changes I've seen in this wonderful, wild, world that we live in, some things really do remain the same, like second-hand car salesmen and the excitement of getting a new set of wheels.

Spring into Oxford

Last year it was was called the 'Spring Cruise', this year it was 'Spring into Oxford' - a good family day out including a fete on the rugby oval and, of course, the regular vintage car rally. Here's one of my favourite cars - the Austin Healey 100-6. It was for sale but I dare not ask the price.

There was the usual turnout of American iron but many old British beauties including; an Austin A55, a Vauxhall Cresta, Singers (Gazelle and Vogue), Triumph (Stag, 2000 TC and a TR3), Morris Minor (split screen and 1000 convertible), Austin Healey 100-6, Jaguar 420, Rover 90,  and Jowett  Javelin (with working traficators!). Here's the Morris 1000 convertible:

Not a cloud in the sky today; tomorrow its back to rain and possibly snow.

Another classic ...

Another classic car from the late 1950's early 1960's; a Sunbeam Rapier III seen this morning in Oxford. A beautiful example; pity about the mags.

 Oh, and the first uploaded picture taken with the D600 - not that you can tell at web resolution :-)

Car of my dreams

Spotted this last weekend in Oxford; an Austin Healey 3000. When I was kid this car was included in a set of cigarette cards that I collected (from other people's cigarettes of course!). I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen and I wanted one when I grew up. "By the time you can afford one of those" said my Father, "it will have long been replaced by something better."

I never did afford one of these and at current prices never will but, whenever I see one, that childhood longing comes right back. Over 50 years later I still think that it is one of the most lust-worthy vehicles ever made and this was a lovely example. For more info see the Wikipedia article.

Old timer

I think this is a Ford model 46 sedan from the early 1930's. Looks in really nice condition and probably a similar vintage the the house it was driving past ...

 Update: it turns out that this is a Model 40, not a 46 as stated above. Apologies for the mistake.