Let me explain; some people have favourite songs or tunes and can remember what they were doing when certain records were in the charts, I however remember what type of car I had at certain times and that sparks my memories of events/happenings.
So please let me indulge myself with some of my memories over the last 40 years of car ownership, who knows perhaps you will find it interesting.
1981-84: Ford Escort Popular Plus
This was my first car and it was probably about 3 years old when I got it, it was white and had a 1.1 litre petrol engine.
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| With my Ford Escort near Braemar |
When I say it was white it also had reddish brown spots on it, particularly the front wings. Like most cars of the late seventies it rusted all too easily in the Scottish weather and many hours were spent sanding down the wings, filling the holes and repainting. It also did not like the cold winters and sometimes you had to keep the battery in the house overnight on charge to have some hope of it starting in the morning.
My abiding memories of this car are quite mixed; ranging from the joy of picking newborn Alan and his mum up from the hospital in the winter (praying that the baby pram would fit in) to the fear of driving through the Drumochter Pass in heavy snow in a rear-wheeled drive car that didn't like hills.
Overall this little car served me well for 3 years, even if it wasn't always my favourite it was still my "first car".
1984-87: Renault 18 TS
My second car was a completely different proposition, more comfortable, more efficient, more powerful, more reliable and a joy to own and drive. It was a couple of years old when I got it and it had a 1.7 litre petrol engine (which was inline rather than transverse, strange for a front-wheeled drive car):
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| Renault 18 TS (complete with mascot) |
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| Renault 18 TS under the Forth Road Bridge |
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| Outside my mum's house |
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| Baby Driver |
As you can see Alan loved this car as well, especially if he got to "drive" it.
We went everywhere in this car, Somerset, Cornwall, Dorset, Northumberland, Argyll, etc. It was a great motorway cruiser and never let me down............. well maybe with one exception............ when the water pump failed on a trip down to Cornwall. Oh the memories of changing a water pump at a caravan park in Looe, stuck under the car whilst a curious two year old played with all my oily spanners. (never did get the oil out of his clothes!)
This car remains one of my favourites, but after 3 years and many thousands of miles it was reluctantly time for a change and to embrace a more modern, more efficient car.
1987-89 Renault 9 GTL
With its metallic paint finish and more angular shape this little car looked like something from the late 80's, which it was! It was only about a year old when I got it and it just felt more modern; with a 1.4 litre petrol engine it was nippy enough but more efficient than my Renault 18.
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| Renault 9 GTL, Kilchrenan, Argyll |
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| Renault 9 GTL on shores of Loch Awe |
I was working away from home quite a lot during this time (and driving hire cars and vans) so probably didn't put a huge number of miles on this car. When I did drive it I found it very easy to drive, very reliable and surprisingly spacious for its size. At the time it was considered a very attractive car, but whether it would to appeal to people now I don't know (probably considered as 80's retro).
Memories of this car were as shown in the photos, trips to Argyll when I worked at Cruachan Power Station.
When I stopped working on sites away from home money got a bit tighter and I changed job to improve my career prospects. This meant I had to let this relatively new car go and buy myself an older car until my income picked up a bit. I reverted back to the model I could trust:
1989-91: Renault 18 GTL Estate
This was a 5 year old car with 80,000 miles on the clock which I got for £800. It had a problem with the carburetor, but as I already had the maintenance manual I soon remedied that and it became a trusty workhorse. My new job in the water industry meant visiting sites throughout Lothian Region and I always had a boot full of tools, PPE and other equipment, so the estate car proved to be ideal.
The car was navy blue and had a 1.7 litre engine just like my previous R18 (except it was mounted transversely and not in-line). I don't have any photos of my actual car but it looked a bit like the ones below:
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| Renault 18 Estate |
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| Renault 18 Estate & Saloon |
These cars above are left-hand drive and mine was right-hand drive but basically the same. It was a very comfy car and even had electric windows (that worked!).
It wasn't as economical as the R9 but I got paid for my work mileage so I lived with it for a couple of years. I just remember the huge boot space, but I also remember it was full of tools, wellies, waterproof jackets, etc. which I had to take out every time we went away somewhere with the car.
I then got a new job (with better money) in Fife, still within the water industry and my commute was longer. I needed a newer, more economical car, which could be smaller as I no longer needed to carry so much equipment for work.
I was pleased when I traded the R18 Estate in for £200 more than what I had paid for it 2 years earlier, and purchased my first diesel car.
1991-92 Renault 11 GTD
You will have sussed out by now that I like Renault cars, other brands were available but their design appealed to me and the represented good value for money (not the cheapest, but not the dearest).
This basically was the hatchback version of the R9 I owned previously, but a newer model. It was metallic silver with a 1.6 litre diesel engine and was very frugal. I don't have any photos of my car but it looked very much like the white one pictured below (but silver):
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| Renault 11 (like mine but cleaner) |
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| Renault 11 GTL (1989) |
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| Renault 11 GTL |
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| Renault 11 GTL |
The one above is a GTL (petrol) version and mine was a GTD (diesel) version, but basically looked the same.
I had fitted a roof rack to mine because we had bought a large frame tent for camping holidays and the tent plus all the equipment, clothes, food would not fit in the boot. This brings me to one of my "memories" of this car which was during a camping trip to Cornwall. On the last day of what had been a wet week in Cornwall (where it always rains in summer) Alan had woken up covered in spots and I had to take him and his mum to the local clinic. As they waited I had to go back and take down the tent, pack the car, put the tent on the roof rack, tie it all down on my own in the pouring rain, whilst the people waiting to get on our pitch sat in their car and did not offer any assistance. I didn't say it was a happy memory.
Alan had caught chicken pox and we were due to go to my sisters in Somerset, luckily my sister's girls had just had chicken pox so we were able to go (and relax!).
After a couple of years this car was having intermittent problems with its diesel injectors, and I was starting to feel it was too small for camping so I decided to go for something a bit bigger.
1992-94 Renault 21 Savannah
No shortage of space in this one, at 4.7 metres (15.5 feet) long it was huge compared to the R11. It could easily take all the camping equipment and it had integral roof bars which made made fitting a bike rack very easy, so we were good to go. The car I had was navy blue (just like my R18 estate) and I think it was the 1.8 litre (petrol) GTS version. Unfortunately I don't have any photos again, but here is a very similar maroon one:
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| Renault 21 Savannah |
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| Renault 21 Savannah |
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| Renault 21 Savannah |
Despite its length it was a very smooth ride, very little roll on winding roads and a great motorway cruiser. It took us to Germany and back, probably the furthest I have driven in a car on a single journey (We did use a ferry though).
I loved it, the only downside being the fuel consumption, pity it wasn't the diesel version. The diesel versions were very pricey and hard to get as most were the much-sought-after 7 seat models, which had a third set of folding rear seats.
After a couple years I decided to downsize again and look for better economy.
1994-96 Renault Clio RN
This little car was both economical and fun to drive. The 1.9 diesel engine was quite powerful for a relatively light car. The heavy engine and the short wheel base made this front wheel drive car great at handing corners.
The only photo I could find of my Clio was this one parked outside a gite (converted barn to you and me!) in northern France:
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| My Clio outside a gite in Sille-le-Guillaume, France |
Here as some pics of a very similar Clio to mine (maybe slightly posher):
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| Renault Clio (a bit like mine) |
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| 1994 Renault Clio (mine was a '92) |
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| Renault Clio Mk1 |
There are many memories associated with this little car, including the trip to France with my sister and her family. One that springs to mind is a bird-watching trip to County Durham with my friend Jim; driving through the pouring rain, down bendy roads with a set of front tyres that should have been changed a few months earlier (commonly known as 'slicks'). I thought it was great fun............ Jim might not agree!
With new tyres it was also a great little car in the snow, heavy engine in the front and plenty of torque at low revs, you could put it in second gear and it would climb up snow-covered hills just on tick-over!
I only had this little gem for two years, I got a new job and it came with a 'company car' which meant I could pick a brand-new car (a first for me).
No surprise that I picked a Renault.
1996-99 Renault Laguna 2.0 RXE
This new Laguna was more sophisticated than anything I had driven before, very comfortable, effortless driving, all mod-cons and no maintenance bills!
I only have a couple of photos of this car:
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| Renault Laguna at Hawes Pier, South Queensferry |
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| Renault Laguna at Coldingham Campsite |
It was such a pleasure to drive this car............ and drive it I did, with many trips throughout the UK. The photo above highlights a trip to the campsite at Coldingham (near St Abbs) with my friend Jim and his boys. We stayed in our big frame tent, which fitted easily in to the boot of the Laguna.
The other photo was when when Alan and I went out on a Puffin cruise, sailing from Hawes Pier out to the islands in the Forth Estuary.
After 3 years of ownership the rules changed with regards to company cars and I was given a mileage allowance instead. This allowed me to take on a 'private lease' car, but the value was less than that of the company car.
Yet again I chose another Renault (I know, how boring!).
2000-2003 Renault Megane Coupe
This car was GREEN and fitted with a 1.6 litre, 16 valve engine it was quite nippy.
For some reason I couldn't find any photos of my car, but it looked almost identical to the example below:
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| Renault Megane Coupe on the beach |
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| Renault Megane Coupe in Vertigo Green |
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| Renault Megane Coupe Couple |
Of course in the photos above the car is left hand drive and mine was right hand drive; however the couple featured bear a striking resemblance to Moira and I, don't know about the dog though?
Despite it being such a vivid colour, on two occasions someone ran in to the side of the car whilst it was parked (one of those times I was actually getting something out the boot, I couldn't believe it). For a two door, four seater coupe with a boot rather than a hatchback it was surprisingly practical. The rear seats could fold down and the boot opened reasonably wide so you could still pack a lot of stuff in to it.
I did many business miles in this little car but we also had plenty trips away, including a run down to Lyme Regis for a weeks holiday, over to Windsor for a few days to attend Jeff and Claire's wedding before heading home, marvelous.
After 3 years it was time to renew my lease and choose another new car; no prizes for guessing what type!
2003-06 Renault Megane Coupe
You might be thinking that I had got another car identical to the last one but you couldn't be further from the truth. Yes it was a two-door coupe, but this one could shake its ass!
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| Renault Megane Coupe 2.0 VVT |
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| Renault Megane Coupe near Aviemore |
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| On the Bridge at Findhorn |
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| Beside the Forth Bridge |
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| Above Chesil Beach |
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| In Cheddar Gorge |
This car ticked so many boxes: a great motorway cruiser; competent on winding B-roads; plenty of cabin space and a huge boot; comfortable seats and treated speed bumps with impunity; automatic everything (lights, window wipers, etc.); powerful but controlled. I loved it!
As you can see from the photos we went everywhere with this car, from the far north of Scotland to the deep south of England. It was a joy to drive, and when it was new it actually turned heads! The rear end was so different from anything else at the time, it really did shake its ass!
Now it might come as a shock, but my next car was not a Renault!!!!!!
2006-09 Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC
When my lease came up for renewal none of the Renaults available at the time appealed to me, so I began to look elsewhere. On a visit to a Honda showroom the salesperson showed me preliminary sketches of a new Honda Civic due to be launched shortly and it looked quite interesting. I had to wait a few weeks until it was launched but I bagged one of the early models of the new Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC.
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| Honda Civic at High Pike |
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| Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC, Lake District |
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| Heading up Seatoller Pass |
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| Honda Civic, Seatoller Pass |
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| Moira with Honda Civic, North of Helmsdale |
One of our first trips away with the Honda Civic was to the Lake District and as well as looking good it proved to be a very comfortable and practical car. It wasn't as powerful as the blue Megane Coupe but was pretty nippy (once you got the revs up) and handled really well.
The streamline shape together with the hidden rear door handles gave the car a look of a two-door coupe rather than a five-door hatchback. But a large boot and rear seats that could fold flat made it very spacious for luggage. A neat trick was that the rear seat squabs could also fold upwards allowing you to use the rear footwell space without going in the boot.
We also had trips to Inverness, Dunnet Head, Speyside, London and Yorkshire (as well as other places) and it was always an enjoyable driving experience, although for the first few weeks of ownership it was a bit scary as the oil warning light kept coming on. I contacted the dealership who advised me that I would have to top up the oil for the first month or two until it settled down (which it did). Never had that problem with my Renault cars.
Plenty of memories with this car, but one that sticks with me is packing it full of my son's stuff and driving down to London when he had moved down there for a new job. Really used every corner of the space this car afforded, but the biggest challenge was trying to get parked in a narrow London street on bin day, when the bin lorry was coming the other way!
After three years my car lease came up for renewal and it was time for a change, however the car I wanted wasn't available for another 4 months, so I had to extend my lease on the Honda Civic. Was it worth the wait?
2009-10 Volkswagen Scirocco 1.4 TSI
Yes it was worth the wait!!!
It was a stunner!............ it even looked fast when it was standing still............
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| VW Scirocco 1.4 TSI |
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| VW Scirocco (with 18 inch Interlagos Wheels) |
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| VW Scirroco near Alva |
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| VW Scirocco rear end |
It didn't just look sporty, it was sporty, in fact it was the fastest car I had ever owned. How they got 160bhp from a 1.4 litre engine I'll never know (with a turbocharger and a supercharger, that's how!) and it still easily returned 45 mpg.
With 18" wheels and wide, low profile tyres it also hugged the road really well ....................I loved it................. Moira on the other hand was not so taken with it.
There was however a downside, it didn't like the snow and ice one little bit!
When the snow came the wide tyres, combined with the lightweight engine and the hair-trigger accelerator made driving the car a nightmare. It always wanted to go straight on in the corners no matter how slow you were driving it. Roundabouts were particularly tricky, especially when you had an old diesel Skoda taxi breathing down your neck.
It was so scary that when we had a trip up to Speyside in the winter we took Moira's Seat Ibiza, which was much better behaved than this beast.
I only had the car for about six months when I left my job with Scottish Water under a voluntary redundancy scheme. This meant I had to either hand back the lease car or buy it from the lease company. As I would be without a car I negotiated a good deal with the lease company and bought the car using some of my redundancy money.
As I had planned a career change to work in the wildlife/environmental sector I knew that the Scirocco was not going to be the vehicle for hurtling up and down forestry tracks (and it didn't like the snow and ice!) I swapped it for a more appropriate vehicle.
2010-15 Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI
This was the 4x4 version of the Skoda Yeti and was just what I needed in my new role as a Wildlife Project Officer down in the Scottish Borders. I literally swapped it for the Scirocco, no extra money paid, even though a brand new Yeti like this was worth at least a £1,000 more than what I paid for the Scirocco (mainly because there was a six month waiting list for new Sciroccos).
It may not have been a stunner like the Scirocco, but it had a certain charm (at least I thought so:)
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| Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI 4x4 |
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| Skoda Yeti (all shiny and new) |
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| Skoda Yeti 4x4 |
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| Yeti at Pettycur Bay, Kinghorn |
I loved this car......... it was so practical........... you could bum down the motorway, take it up forestry tracks, drive in the snow and ice, you could just jump in and go! .............and I did. For work, for pleasure, it didn't matter I just loved to drive this car and it always returned 50mpg, what a bonus.
It even got me through the worst winter in decades (2010/11) regularly making its way through a foot of snow to take Moira to work and me to college.
It was also the car I photographed most, usually (but not always) in stunning scenery:
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| At St Abbs Head |
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| Winter at Humbie Reservoir |
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| Up the Trossachs |
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| Birdwatching at Megget Reservoir |
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| In the Sma' Glen |
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| Manor Valley View |
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| In a Yeti on a Jetty (Limekilns) |
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| Loch Earn, Southside |
The photo in Manor Valley was taken on a day we had to tow a Mercedes Coupe out of a ditch using the Yeti. The driver had tried to reverse in a small car park when he overshot and his expensive Mercedes slid down a steep and slippy embankment. try as he might he had no chance of getting out. We stopped to help, put all his passengers in the Yeti as it was extremely cold, borrowed a rope from a nearby crofter (who didn't want to use their 4x4 Suzuki) and then towed the Mercedes up the slippy embankment and back on to the forest track. They were most thankful.
I had this great car for over 4 years and in its last year I treated it to some new wheels:
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| New Black Alloys for my Yeti |
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| Newly Shod |
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| Back at Manor Valley, near Peebles |
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| Off Road!.......... only just |
I wanted to keep this car forever, but it was coming up for 5 year's old and starting to put on the miles, so when I spotted a newer Yeti at a bargain price I snapped it up (even got a decent trade-in for my one):
2015-16 Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI
This newer Yeti was in Pearlescent Black and featured a front-end facelift ............... so it looked slightly posher................ but underneath it was identical to my original navy blue one:
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| Skoda Yeti 4x4 (in black) |
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| Skoda Yeti on shores of Loch Earn |
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| Yeti near the Burn of Ample |
Once again I could take this Yeti anywhere in any weather without any problem. I even kept my black wheels and fitted them with winter tyres (but we never did get another winter like that of 2010/11)
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| Whoa! Black Yeti (bam-ba-lam) |
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| Yeti at Humbie |
I only had this car for just over a year but we did manage to have a few trips out in it:
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| Yeti on the Cockbridge to Tomintoul Road |
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| Yeti in the Cairngorms, near Braemar |
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| On the shores of the Gare Loch |
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| At a cottage near Loch Lomond |
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| Yeti Beside our Static Caravan in Peebles |
By the summer of 2016 we had sold our static caravan in Peebles and planned to invest in a motorhome.
In the Autumn of 2016 we bought Vannie:
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| Vannie for Sale |
The plan was that we would sell Moira's car and my Black Yeti, then downsize to a car that we could both drive (when we weren't away in the motorhome).
2016-18 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI
This attractive and practical little car was ideal for our situation. We had both retired hence no more clocking up work miles............. and most of our travel based holidays would be in the motorhome, so no need for a big car. It was a 1.2 petrol engine so very economical, but it was turbo-charged so could be quite nippy if need be.
As we did not do many holiday trips in this car I have very few photos:
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| VW Polo on shores of Loch Earn |
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| VW Polo at Cairngorm Car Park (aka Ice Rink) |
As I said this was a great little car for both of us to drive................ however the first time I picked up Alan, Laura and baby Graeme from the station when they came up from London for a visit I struggled to fit everybody and the luggage in the car!................ and Moira wasn't even with me. Things would have to change if we were hoping to see them all on a regular basis.
2018-Present Citreon C4 Picasso
This is a proper grandparents car; a big boot for all that kiddy stuff as well as luggage, five full size seats to accommodate 4 adults and a child seat, sturdy enough to withstand toddlers crawling all over it, jist the dab:
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| C4 Picasso (big boot) |
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| C4 Picasso (front end) |
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| C4 Picasso (reasonably stylish) |
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| C4 Picasso (a great package) |
What can I say?............... it's not too shabby, has plenty of room but is still easy enough to park, very economical if a bit under powered, handles well enough and is easy to drive......... it is growing on me.
It even comes with it's own mascot:
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| Stop Thief |
Most of our long journeys are done in Vannie now, although we did take a little trip up to a hotel on Loch Lochy for a few days last year in the Picasso:
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| C4 Picasso in Glen Spean |
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| On the road to Loch Lochy |
Well that was the last 40 years of motoring for me.
Do you have a favourite car I hear you ask?
Not really, I would struggle to pick one car as they all meant different things to me at different times. I can probably give you a 'best car' from each decade though, it would be a bit like this:
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| 1980's Renault 18 TS |
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| 1990's Renault Clio RN |
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| 2000's Renault Megane Coupe VVT |
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| Skoda Yeti 4x4 |
So there you have it!
What about the 2020's, who knows what will happen? most likely my favourite car (if I am still driving cars) will be all electric......... that's assuming we can generate all our requirements from sustainable sources!
Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane and that it wasn't too boring for you.
Take Care and Stay Safe
Teddyedward
