My life in cars

Thirteen might be unlucky for some but it wasn’t for me as that’s the age I started to learn to drive and I haven’t looked back, including having more than one favourite car, one which I drive now in my role as graphic designer for Red Marlin.

Of course, at that young age I wasn’t driving on the open road but was honing my skills competing in stock car and grass track competitions which I loved after being encouraged to give it a go by a family member.

The cars had to be under 1,300cc and I enjoyed plenty of wheel-to-wheel action including in a restored 1967 Mini Cooper and a handful of Ford Mk1 Escorts, now highly collectable but which I bought for about £30 each at the time!

As you’d expect, the cars didn’t last that long in the heat of the battle, in which I gave it my all, winning a few trophies and a “Driver of the Year” accolade.

I gave up my motorsport adventure to concentrate on my GCSEs but it taught me so much about cars and how to drive, meaning I passed my driving test just 13 days after my seventeenth birthday.

I still love rallying and attending events, rally days and the like, but my days of glory back in the mid 1980s will always hold a special place in my heart.

On the road and freedom behind the wheel

The late 1980s and 1990s also bring back fond driving memories, starting with my first proper car, a 1976 Mini Mk3 1000, which I used to get to college.

I was usually the designated driver on evenings and trips out, which I didn’t mind as I love driving, as I was among the first to pass the driving test.

The green Mini had a lively engine and I kept it for three years before replacing it with a metallic green Ford Fiesta Ghia 1.3.

I call the Ghia my ‘magnet’ car because everything stuck to it, by which I mean I was unlucky enough to be involved in five non-fault accidents during the five years I had it, including when I was studying marketing at university in Southampton.

Iconic hot hatches and lots of fun

Next up were a couple of unmistakable Golfs, starting with a bright red Mk2 and quickly followed by a metallic grey GTi Mk2 which remains one of my favourite cars. I only sold it because of commuting commitments and I still think it’s the one that got away.

I had a brief spell with a Peugeot 306 but in 2003 returned to the German manufacturer with a black 1996 Golf GTi Mk3. It was another great car which I bought at a really good price because the couple selling it were emigrating.

New and old make an impression

My next ‘modern’ cars came from Germany, but this time the manufacturer was Audi, and included an A4 saloon and an A4 estate.

A 2007 Audi A4 S Line Estate was the first car I bought as new, which felt fantastic, and I kept it for seven years.

Just a few years earlier in 2004, I dipped my toes in the classic car market and what a great decision that has been.

The car of choice was a stylish mineral blue 1969 MGB GT which I still own, and enjoy regularly, to this day for road trips and the like.

It’s a lovely motor, a barn find with lots of originality and still has only 25,000 miles on the clock. It’s also quite reliable, attracts lots of attention from admirers, so as you can guess, I’ve absolutely no plans to get rid of it.

Little and large take to the road

Perhaps it was owning a classic, but my next everyday runabout was a 1989 Mini Cooper S 60’s rally replica, complete with upgraded engine and interior.

It looked great with its red paintwork and black roof, but after enjoying it for a couple of years it failed its MOT but by that time I felt I had got my Mini urge out of my system!

My next car was slightly larger, as VW T5 Campervan which was used for a mix of commuting and camping, including trips to the Cotswolds and Yorkshire.

Italian styling and buckets of smiles

My first Italian car was a Fiat Abarth 595 which I bought in 2021. It was dark grey and I loved it, to the extent that my next car was a black Abarth 500e, one of only 10 in the UK at the time.

It was only when I sat and drove an electric car that I realised it was what I needed. It only costs £3 to charge up at home and I would say my monthly motoring costs add up to about £10 or £11. I’ve still got it and I love it.

So what are my favourites?

That’s an easy one, or should I say that’s an easy three. They are the GTi Mk2, my classic MGB GT and 500E.

All very different and all special in their own way, perhaps only fitting with Red Marlin’s automotive PR and marketing heritage.