The Crittenden Automotive Library

The Cars We Really Want To Drive

The Cars We Really Want To Drive

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
November 5, 2013

A few weeks ago I missed the chance to drive this…

…the Chevrolet Camaro and I haven’t forgiven myself.

Over time I have driven some fantastic cars. To date my favourite is the Jaguar XFR-S, closely followed by the Jaguar XKR-S. Not even biased a bit. I have luxuriated in a Bentley Continental GT Speed and hurtled around in a Mini JCW Paceman; great cars all - yet there is a list as long as Erin O’Connor’s leg that have passed me by and that’s a shame.

The Ford Mustang is an icon of USA muscle yet the opportunity has never arisen. The same goes for all of those iconic American pony cars of yesteryear, or the Aston Martin DB5 or - especially - the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint 1600 GTA Stradale. I could go - so I will. Any Maserati, any Rolls Royce, a 1965 Ford Thunderbird, any Mercedes. I think you get the message. This is the problem with the world of cars. So many motors, so little time. I expect that most petrol heads feel the same way.

Of course, when you look at the gallery on the site you’ll be wondering to yourself what the chuff is he complaining about; and that’s true. The trouble is, it’s like a drug. The more you take, the more you want - each hit must be better than the last. That’s the thing about cars. We can own some great vehicles but, after the initial lust has worn off, we start looking around like a randy spouse with the seven year itch. But of course, it’s all smoke and mirrors, because it doesn’t matter one jot what you drive as long as it’s driven.

We might well get the chance to drive some of this outstanding machinery but ownership would be a different matter. To run some of this exotic ironmongery it isn’t enough to be rich, you’ve got to have money.

So, as our American cousins insist on saying without any regard for grammar or spelling: ‘run what ya brung.’ Make do. The cars outside our homes are the cars we own, for better or worse. They may not be the latest and the greatest but they belong to us. That’s the important thing.