The Crittenden Automotive Library

Kool Kars For Kidz

Kool Kars For Kidz

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
September 30, 2013

What do you think about the title eh? Here at DriveWrite we know how to be down with the vibe or whatever. This is especially true if you have teenage children. There comes a time in every parent’s life when you cease to have to concern yourself with the contents of a nappy and start to worry about what exactly it is that children do when they’re out and about. Actually, having been there yourself you know exactly what they are doing and that’s the worrying thing. As if school discos or boyfriend girlfriend sagas are not enough, the time comes when they say the dreaded words - ‘driving lessons’!

That’s parenthood for you; you’ve had your pleasures, you’ve had the bundle of joy and gone through the whole gamut of managing a childhood yet nothing prepares you for that frisson of fear when a child takes to the road.

All recent new drivers know what’s involved. The lessons, the theory and finally, the practical. In various continental countries new drivers aren’t allowed a licence until they can prove they are capable on motorways. In the UK there is no requirement to be trained for motorway circumstances. How bizarre is that? Anyone who can remember driving down a slip road onto a motorway for the first time to join traffic doing speeds a new driver may not yet have encountered will remember how nerve wracking it is. All the more reason then for a new young driver to have a safe and suitable car. Earlier this year the government released a ‘Green Paper’ on the subject of driver training - including motorways - so no doubt at some point things like this will be addressed.

This is a parent’s lot. To come up with a set of wheels that fits the bill from both points of view; i.e. A car that is built like a tank and yet offers some form of yoof credibility and doesn’t cost a fortune to buy and insure.

You might think that a small car with a tiny engine is the answer and it is certainly an option, but do you seriously want your beloved offspring roaring about the countryside in a little tin box that affords scant protection in the event of an accident? For some odd reason some of these cars have a bit of a reputation down at the insurance company offices. The Vauxhall Corsa, for example, seems to have a reputation for crashing, as does the older Citroen Saxo.

It is also strange that insurance companies can’t see the logic in letting young drivers have competitive quotes for one of the solid and safe big barges (cheap to buy as nobody wants them - running costs aside) which are much less ‘chuckable’ and may encourage a more sedate style of driving? That, by the way, is just a supposition, very much not a proven fact!

No, the answer is clear and it comes in the form of an old Landrover. It’s the solution you’ve all been looking for. If they don’t have a car of their own then they’ll want yours. This can never happen. You will need all your powers of persuasion. There may be tears. Why, the kid could even start crying. After their first pangs of social anxiety though a young driver will not be able to resist the thought of ferrying their mates around in a vehicle that is, in its own way cool, as any Defender enthusiast will tell you. You, meanwhile, will be content in the knowledge that your child is in a car that is as tough as old boots and that will soldier on regardless of the conditions. You could even fit a winch so that they could earn some pocket money pulling their mate’s Corsa out of the undergrowth!

In a similar story, an Austin Allegro was put up for auction after being found in a shed near Marlborough in Wiltshire. Nobody came. In fact, three families moved house because it lowered the tone. This may not have actually happened (as far as I know) but it makes the point - only in America.