Favourite car your dad had
Discussion
Hello chaps,
I had a flashback this morning of being in my dad's Civic Aerodeck VTI, and it got me thinking - surely we all have fond memories of motors our dads had?
My dad used to be pretty keen on Hondas, started out with an N reg Accord 2.0 then moved on to a T reg Aerodeck. I was only 12 at the time he ordered that, but was already completely obsessed with cars, and I remember trawling through the list of potential options for his next company car. It came down to a Primera GT or the Aerodeck, the Primera was really good and had a nice woofle from the exhaust, but when we test-drove the Civic we were instantly addicted to the noise of that VTEC lump, so it got the nod.
That car took an absolute pounding, commuting every day, family duties on weekends and a trip to France that saw some pretty shocking speeds achieved despite being 5-up with luggage. I will never forget the smell of leather when it was new, the pattern on the seat fabric, the tuneful engine note and my dad taking great delight in launching it from 0-60 while 12-year-old me eagerly timed the acceleration with my watch's stopwatch. I think the best we ever did was 8.1.
I had a flashback this morning of being in my dad's Civic Aerodeck VTI, and it got me thinking - surely we all have fond memories of motors our dads had?
My dad used to be pretty keen on Hondas, started out with an N reg Accord 2.0 then moved on to a T reg Aerodeck. I was only 12 at the time he ordered that, but was already completely obsessed with cars, and I remember trawling through the list of potential options for his next company car. It came down to a Primera GT or the Aerodeck, the Primera was really good and had a nice woofle from the exhaust, but when we test-drove the Civic we were instantly addicted to the noise of that VTEC lump, so it got the nod.
That car took an absolute pounding, commuting every day, family duties on weekends and a trip to France that saw some pretty shocking speeds achieved despite being 5-up with luggage. I will never forget the smell of leather when it was new, the pattern on the seat fabric, the tuneful engine note and my dad taking great delight in launching it from 0-60 while 12-year-old me eagerly timed the acceleration with my watch's stopwatch. I think the best we ever did was 8.1.
Wow, what a great response! Thanks for all of your stories, I've enjoyed reading all of them.
Although I most fondly remember the Aerodeck, I had plenty of memorable experiences in his older motors too. In his Accord he took my brother and I to Sellafield Visitors Centre along all sorts of single-track roads that went up, down and sideways, sometimes having to stop to open gates to continue the journey. As well as the excitement from all of the g-forces going on from my seat in the back, we must've got through the entire Simply Red discography, which I'm sure he still listens to nearly 20 years later in his MX-5! That and Dark Side of the Moon... Those albums are permanently etched into my consciousness from so many journeys listening to the same songs.
Before the Accord there was the Sierra. That's the car he had when my car lust took hold, and I had a couple of toy racing Sierras, one with black and red Texaco livery. I had an innate love of the Sierra but was too young to understand why, I just did. In that car, which he was really quite fond of, I managed to launch the contents of my Mars drink by giving it a serious shake without realising the lid was not screwed on tightly. Dad was not at all amused.
Then there was the time I was near the car while it was parked up on the drive and noticed a lot of water had beaded on the bonnet, so I 'cleaned' it using a few leaves I found. Dad was not at all amused by that, either. Probably not as bad as what a mate did, though - he 'polished' his dad's new Celica with a brick!
While the Sierra was in action my mum had a bright red E reg 2CV, that got attention wherever it went.
I never had the pleasure of meeting my granddad but he seemed to be big on VWs, owning a string of brightly coloured Beetles. In his early driving career my dad was a Mini man and played about with them a bit.
I hope when the time comes for me to buy a car for family duties I'll at least get something that makes nice noises and is memorable - but I suppose the best memories aren't so much of the cars themselves but what you got up to in them.
Although I most fondly remember the Aerodeck, I had plenty of memorable experiences in his older motors too. In his Accord he took my brother and I to Sellafield Visitors Centre along all sorts of single-track roads that went up, down and sideways, sometimes having to stop to open gates to continue the journey. As well as the excitement from all of the g-forces going on from my seat in the back, we must've got through the entire Simply Red discography, which I'm sure he still listens to nearly 20 years later in his MX-5! That and Dark Side of the Moon... Those albums are permanently etched into my consciousness from so many journeys listening to the same songs.
Before the Accord there was the Sierra. That's the car he had when my car lust took hold, and I had a couple of toy racing Sierras, one with black and red Texaco livery. I had an innate love of the Sierra but was too young to understand why, I just did. In that car, which he was really quite fond of, I managed to launch the contents of my Mars drink by giving it a serious shake without realising the lid was not screwed on tightly. Dad was not at all amused.
Then there was the time I was near the car while it was parked up on the drive and noticed a lot of water had beaded on the bonnet, so I 'cleaned' it using a few leaves I found. Dad was not at all amused by that, either. Probably not as bad as what a mate did, though - he 'polished' his dad's new Celica with a brick!
While the Sierra was in action my mum had a bright red E reg 2CV, that got attention wherever it went.
I never had the pleasure of meeting my granddad but he seemed to be big on VWs, owning a string of brightly coloured Beetles. In his early driving career my dad was a Mini man and played about with them a bit.
I hope when the time comes for me to buy a car for family duties I'll at least get something that makes nice noises and is memorable - but I suppose the best memories aren't so much of the cars themselves but what you got up to in them.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff