Nobody’s Perfect (1968)

My Most Memorable Cars -1968 to 1995

Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Ogden

My first car was a Mini, which despite it’s size was terrific for large people like me. It was passed on to me by my mother in 1968 after she retired from being a Health Visitor. I had it until 1970 when I was sent overseas to work.

On my first overseas assignment in Oman (1970-71), I drove a LWB Mark1 Landrover and it’s successor the Mark 2, both of which had plenty of headroom. It was terrific on gravel roads at 60mph. The downside was that it was in the workshop a lot.

Then onto Hong Kong in 1971, where I bought my very first car, admittedly second-hand, a Triumph Herald Convertible which had a super turning circle. I traded that in for a VW Beetle but it was not as memorable as the Triumph. In 1973 to 1975 I was in Indonesia, but did not own a car there, They were provided. However, I was introduced to the Toyota Corolla of which we had a number as office cars. A terrific car. We also had a Holden Kingswood which was terrific to drive.

In 1975, I went to work in Qatar, where I purchased my very first new car for £1,500. It was the only new car in Qatar and it was a Subaru hatchback. It was memorable because I asked if I could have a test drive and the salesman said “Just sit in it, it’s the same” It proved to be troublesome and costly as the cylinder head gasket kept blowing. I managed to sell it a couple of months before I left in July 1978 and borrowed for two months a Chevrolet Camaro, which was simply fantastic. It had everything including a very powerful engine.

1978 found me back in Hong Kong & there started a love affair with the Honda Accord which I bought new. Even then it has Power Assisted Steering, Air Conditioning and it was automatic. Due to a downturn in the car market in 1980 coupled with an adverse exchange rate, I shipped the car home for my 6 month leave and sold it at the end in April 1981 for £2,700.

I was in Indonesia from 1981 to 1983 but did not own a car there. I was provided again with a car, a Toyota which again was very reliable and I did a trip to Surabaya and back (2000kms)

I was in Hong Kong again from 1983 to 1987 and owned two more Honda Accords although these had to be bought second-hand.

In 1992, I was working in Swaziland and needed a cheap reliable car as I could not afford a Mercedes. So I bought a 3 year old Toyota Cressida Estate with a 2.4 litre petrol engine. It was perfect for the mountain roads in Swaziland. Mbabane where I worked is at 3,500 feet above sea level and even driving down into the Ezulwini valley was a drop on 2000 metres. It has Air Conditioning, Power Steering and Cruise Control. It was totally reliable and took me safely on a trip to Capetown (6,000 kms) and to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe to go fishing there for a week(4,000 kms).I also did many trips to the Eastern Transvaal and the Kruger National Park when it wasn’t unusual to do 1000 kms in 2 days. It was a real cracker and I sold it for only £1,000 less than I paid for it three years earlier.

About the Author

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