Last weekend I had planned a busy but enjoyable schedule, visiting two sets of friends who live a distance away and then seeing my son, who is mad about cars. He lives in rural Yorkshire and has been crazy about any wheeled transport since he was very small. He started with a cycle, but has had the chance to drive off-road because he lives on a farm. He shares my interest in seeing car chases in movies and of course the best one ever was Steve McQueen’s chase through San Francisco in a classic popular Mustang. There is no dialogue during the chase, simply music and the roar of the engines as the Mustang is chased up and down the city’s steep streets. It ends with the baddies driving into a petrol station, where their car explodes in flames. Steve McQueen, ever cool and laconic, emerges without a scratch and returns to work as a detective.
Over here the Mustang is a rare thing, but it is possible to see the odd example nursed to health by a classic car enthusiast.
That night I had my own car experience when the door mirrors were stolen from my car while it was parked on the road overnight. It seems there is a lively market in second hand Mercedes parts, since these mirrors cost over £1500 from a dealer! Now I have to replace mine from a breaker’s yard: I wonder if I will be buying back my own mirrors? That would certainly be ironic.
