Beware the dreaded Nissan Leaf.  A couple of years ago I was driving my Esprit V8 in Vancouver, on an arterial road with a traffic light every four blocks or so. I was stopped at a light, with no-one in front of me, when a Leaf pulled in in the lane beside me. The driver gave a "Let's go" sign and floored his little Nissan as soon s the light turned green. Of course, with the instant torque of an electric he waxed me off the line. And stayed ahead until almost the other side of the intersection when I went roaring by. The same story repeated at the next red light. And the next, and the next. At that point the Leaf turned off, either because the driver was near his destination or his battery was nearly spent. Either way, we were both laughing our heads off by then. ... View more

Sounds like you got the real runaround, but I'm glad to hear you had the resolve to tell them to stick it. Politely, I assume.   I'll add the the general rants about HR departments. I spent most of my career in the corporate world and came to the view that the majority of HR types have the attitude that "we hire the brightest and we hire the best, but if you've been here more than five years you must be a bit of an idiot." I'm firmly of the view that if you want to understand most people's behavior in business you have to understand their incentives, or, more accurately, what they perceive to be their incentives. If you want to modify behavior, modify the incentives accordingly. This doesn't explain everything but it does explain a lot and I suspect that when the HR manager goes for her annual performance review she expects to to get more points for "we recruited the genius from out of town" than for "I agreed that Billy Bob in accounting was ready to take over." So they consistently shaft the in-house applicant. Not saying it happens every time but I've seen it more often than not. My rant is over.   Go for a drive. ... View more

I too am retired so the idea of driving to work is a bit academic.   But I did go out this afternoon and demonstrate that the week's grocery run for two people will easily fit in a Lotus Elise. ... View more

jonZ, I'm with you on the roadside assistance. The best way to deal with a flat is to watch someone else fix it on a dry, level concrete floor.   There are a bunch of things I did when young and broke that seemed reasonable,and even kind of fun, back in the day that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole now. I don't like to be foolish with my money but I have learned that there is a lot of truth in the observation that there's no substitute for cubic dollars. ... View more

Thanks for that, jonZ. It always helps  hear the voice of experience.    I'll keep on carrying a can of the stuff around in each of the cars just in case it's needed as a last resort. And try to remember to replace the can every few years since it won't have an indefinite shelf life.   The other thing that might help is that when I go on a long trip I usually leave the useless spare at home and use the space for my roadside repair kit. That includes a 12V air pump to adjust pressures but could be used to keep a tire up if it is losing air slowly. And I agree with your approach of leaving the nail, or whatever, in the tire until it can be fixed properly. Taking it out just leaves a bigger hole in the tire.   ... View more

Sajeev, if you're really stuck for a topic how about a question on something that might come up in a case of dire necessity. I'm talking about the relative merits (which I suspect are few) and drawbacks (likely more) of using a can of fix-a-flat compound.   I'll use my '97 Esprit as an example as the spare tire is basically symbolic. The spare is a 125 width mini that just fits in the nose of the car. A 245 width front tire won't fit there, much less a 285 width rear. A road tire should fit in the trunk but only if any and all luggage is jettisoned. That ain't happening, especially if my wife is on the trip, and she wouldn't be too happy with a grimy wheel & tire on her lap in the passenger seat. So a lot of the time the idea of replacing a flat with the donut spare is a non-starter. Plus, I wouldn't trust the donut anyway.   If I get a flat, plan A is to call Hagerty Plus. But if that isn't possible for some reason, e.g. in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception, I carry a can of fix-a-flat as plan B. Luckily, I have never had to use it.   So the issue is, do those things actually work. Can you drive on a tire with that "fix"? Can it inflate the tire on the ground or do you have to jack the car up anyway? Even with the simplifying assumption of even weight distribution and no extra luggage or passenger weight a rear wheel on the Esprit is holding up about 840 lb of car and I wonder if a can could overcome that weight or if it would just deposit a big ball of goo inside the valve stem. How much of a mess of the wheel and tire would it make if it did work?    I'd much rather have these questions answered in your column instead of in real life. ... View more

That's two Christmas greetings from the South, and now add one from the Great White North (even though it will be a green Christmas where I live). Merry Christmas to all and let's hope and pray that 2021 is a better year then 2020.   Of course, we'd have to work at it to make 2021 worse overall than 2020.  ... View more

As for the beer thing, I have to admit to some lack of patience so when a buddy and I went to a local brewpub on Friday I managed to choke down an extra brew just to wish Mr. Guitar74 a bit more luck. Here it is, a fine IPA that fit one of my personal rules for a happy life - don't drink a beer if you can p*ss stronger than it: ... View more

OK,let's go back to the dreaded SALT.    It's still the rainy season here on this part of the west coast so last week I took advantage of an occasional sunny day to take the car out for a drive. Sunny and cool but no danger of frost. Why those knuckleheads at the city engineering department decided to put brine down, I have no idea. Must be my tax dollars at work. Still, I was not pleased to find wet de-icing solution on the road with no way around it.    Now we're back to normal with a few days of rain to wash the crud off the road and today it is bucketing down. Perfect excuse to take the car out again and use Mother Nature's car wash to clean off the undercarriage. I guess my 3 year old granddaughter isn't the only one in the family who goes looking for puddles.  ... View more

Good to hear the interview went well. Let's hope its now a short wait for good news. Good luck with it, and it should turn out to be an excuse for a celebratory beer (like I need a new excuse). ... View more

Does this count? ... View more

How about a generic complaint about different makes that have done this on hubcaps or the wheels themselves. My issue is "directional" wheels or wheel covers - I guess they're supposed to look like turbine blades to draw in air to cool the brakes - that have the same orientation on both sides of the car so one side will only work backwards. My son just took a set wheels like that off his VW and it looks much better.    I know that one side could be pretending to draw cool air in while the other is pretending to draw hot air out, but it still looks dumb. ... View more

"Because we're in a one act play" ... View more

Canadian, more specifically Vancouver, group so not surprised you haven't heard it. May as well give them a plug anyway. And I'll add a couple of lines from another one of their songs even though not car related "We're here for a good time, Not a long time." ... View more

It's not a micro but it definitely is small and has an origin story that I'll get to shortly. But first, here is my '72 Lotus Europa Twin Cam   And to put the car's size in perspective, here is parked between a Nomad and an El Camino   My link to Lotus Europa goes back to the spring of 1968 when I was 14 years old in junior high. In the slack days at the end of the school year the powers that be decided that we young savages needed a dose of culture so the junior band class was loaded into a bus and taken to a cultural performance at another junior high school about 6 miles away. I have only a dim recollection of the concert but clearly remember the lavender Europa that one of the musicians had left parked outside. I knew what it was but hadn't actually seen one before and immediately decided that it was the coolest thing this side of a Miura. I resolved to have one some day.   What I didn't know at the time was that a girl attending the other school, and at the same concert, had also seen the little Europa and had come to the same conclusion (other than the Miura reference).   Fast forward two years to 1970 and she and I were now in the same high school and started dating. We broke up a few months before grad but got together again about a year later and have been together ever since. We had compared notes and knew we had both seen the same Europa back in '68.   Fast forward again to 1977. Married by now and I had just finished law school when the Europa (this time the one in the pictures) came on the market. It took a bit of creative financing since I'd only finished school two or three months before, but the Europa followed us home in July '77. We've had it ever since and it retains seniority over both of our two now adult kids, as I remind them from time to time.   In the years since then two other small cars, both Lotus, have joined the Europa. Here's the fleet   If I had to cut down to just one small car, the Europa would be my choice even if it is the least powerful and slowest of the three. And despite the fact that when I look at pictures from back in the day when we got it, there is some thin guy with hair wearing my old clothes.   ... View more

I'll go with the opening lines of the Trooper song "The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car" "Here they come, The boys in the bright white sports car. Wavin' their arms in the air, Who do they think they are? And where did they get that car?"   ... View more

I'd have to go with the JPS or Gulf liveries for recurring use, with honorable mention to the Jordan F1 "7Up Bottle"' The 917 pink pig remains a classic for limited use. ... View more

I agree with Sajeev's suggestion as a good way to check out the market for your brochure - not that I have he faintest idea of what it may be worth. Otherwise, I know someone in the automobilia business who deals in brochures and sales material, among other things. I cab send contact info by PM if you think it would be helpful.  ... View more

A Bizzarinni brochure is a cool piece of automobilia unto itself. Dare I ask if you have the car to match? It's not quite from Torino, but even so.. ... View more

A challenge to a duel raises some serious questions.   Will the two of your be wearing your exclusive, and oh-so-fashionable, Hagerty Duel at Dawn hats?   Will you be reliant on an old foreign car to transport you to the appointed field?   You have challenged a Cad to a duel. In a worst case that he merely sustains a serious wound, are you willing to administer the coupe de grace ville to a Cad?  ... View more

All good fun. The best part part will the next time I see the owner of the '67 Camaro and get to ask him why he drives an old foreign car.  ... View more

I don't know if I want to get back into this after the last exchange, but, @TeutonicScot , you have a point. The Lotus was the only trans-Atlantic vehicle it can be left aside for now. I'm not getting into a discussion of where the constituent parts were made other than to say that when I took the centre high-mount brake light out of the rear wing of the Lotus, I noticed that the plastic housing has "BUICK" embossed in it.    There were two Beaumonts on the trip so I guess that counts as domestic Canadian production.    That leaves 12 pieces of Detroit iron. Other than the three Corvettes, I don't know the history of North American car manufacturing well enough to hazard a guess as to which assembly plants put them together but let's accept them as having been made in the USA.   On that basis, the only mechanical problem that befell an "old foreign car" was a leaking heater core in a '67 Camaro.  ... View more

Like a whole lot of other, and generally more important, events this year a couple of good road trips that my wife and I had planned were cancelled. One was a group tour of the Cascade Mtns. in Washington State and the other was just us on our more-or-less annual trip south to spend a few days on the Oregon coast. Maybe next year.   We did get in one good some single day drives with our local Lotus club and also managed a four day group tour through BC (a couple of pics already in the Hagerty Lounge https://community.hagerty.com/t5/hagerty-lounge/when-driving-an-old-foreign-car/td-p/30216/page/2 ). The longer trips gave us a plan for a trip next spring – we stopped for lunch one day at a diner in Little Fort, BC (pop. approx. 350) where I had the best burger I’ve had in decades. It’s only about 4 ½ hours from home, so that’s not too far to drive for a good meal.   Anyway, the point here is road trip cars. We are fortunate enough to have a choice but usually use one of two cars, both Lotus, for road trips.   The primary road trip car is a 1997 Esprit V8.   Great road trip car – comfortable, lots of power and enough luggage space for an extended trip. At the risk of a slightly less than tasteful comment, and one that shows my vintage, it is one of few mid-engine cars I’ve seen that pass the “Jimmy Hoffa” test. You could fit an adult person in the trunk. Jimmy's not, and never has been in here. But he could have fit. The second road trip car is a supercharged 2010 Elise.     Just about as fast as the Esprit, at least to the point that they’ll be taking me away in cuffs, and surprisingly comfortable over distance. The trunk fails the Jimmy test but we can still cram a lot of stuff in there in small bags. A few years ago we used it to attend a wedding in San Francisco, about 1000 miles each way.   Next April we’ll have to decide which one to take for a burger. ... View more

I feel your pain, if not perhaps quite as acutely.   I'm in Canada, on the west coast where the winters are usually mild but wet. The weather here looks good for a few more days until the rainy season gets going so I guess it's time to go out for a drive. At least I'll be able to get the cars out from time to time during the coming months but it is about time to start thinking about the fixes and projects that inevitably pile up during the summer.   Stay warm, stay safe and make some progress. ... View more

It's a V8. Flat plane crank with dealer installed "sport" exhaust - one of the world's worst cars for sneaking up on people. ... View more

A quick follow up to my last post.    Got back today from a 4 day, 1600 km. (~1000 mile) tour around parts of BC driving the only foreign car in a group of 16 cars. It's a '97 Lotus Esprit so not exactly ancient but well out of warranty. I did pack up a basic kit of tools but the only time I had to use one was to remove a small stone that had become thoroughly wedged in one of the headlight pods of the pop-up lights.    A couple of pics just to show I was there.   ... View more

" We have a lot of them to mail out!"   I bet that's one part of Hagerty's promotional expense that will be going over budget.  ... View more

Yes, that is my reality. And I am quite aware that I have much to be thankful for and little, other than a facetious comment about bringing a Bond girl, to complain about. Not that anyone would listen to me anyway. The upcoming trip is a group drive (scaled back for the Covid world) where we don't get any route info for the day until we meet each morning. It's put on by a restoration shop that does mostly street rods and muscle cars so our European ride will be in the minority. I've been on their events before and expect lots of time for side trips. Looking forward to it and I might be tiresome and post a couple of pics when we get back. ... View more

One can but dream - and perhaps Barbara Bach as a suitable Bond girl riding shotgun in the Esprit.   To return to the original question about travelling in an older foreign car, I will be heading off on a four day car on Friday. Driving the Esprit, destination unknown. I will dutifully have a kit of basic tools and replacement fluids in the car and my wife in the passenger seat. Reality lands with a dull thud. ... View more

Sound advice. I will keep it in mind.   To be a bit pedantic, the Elise is named after the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was chairman of Bugatti Industries when it owned Group Lotus in the '90s. Bugatti sold Lotus to Malaysian interests before VW acquired Bugatti.   Elisa was only 2 when the car was introduced so an early production car was set aside and kept for her. Last I heard she still has it and now dries it around Berlin. ... View more

@Torino , answering your question isn't as simple as you think. The Europa has a twin cam engine with a "Big Valve" cam cover on it but the specific model is the Europa Twin Cam with the 4-speed transmission. Most sources say that the big valve engine didn't go into the Europa until the Europa Special with the 5-speed box. I wasn't astute enough to confirm the engine specifics when I bought the car way back in 1977 and I didn't keep actual specs from times the cylinder head has been off since then. The head will be coming off again some time this winter and I will be curious enough to confirm things then but I suspect it is a small valve engine with a fancy cam cover.     I like your suggestion of fitting a Lotus 7 into the garage but not likely to happen. I already have two Lotus companions for the Europa - an Esprit and an Elise and if another Lotus follows me home I'll have to factor in the cost of a divorce. Besides, I took the Europa back to its off-site parking this afternoon so now the Elise is parked beside the pile of junk.  ... View more

No danger to the car - just a carefully stacked pile of junk plus, at the top, a central vacuum canister that is firmly attached to the wall. But thanks for reminding me that I need to make a trip to the scrapyard to get rid of some stuff that has been sitting for so long that it kind of blends into the background and disappears. One of the advantages(?) of a very small car is that it allows more room for stuff to accumulate in the garage.   And to fess up, there is a bag of basic tools in the nose of the Europa. The good news is that it has been untouched for few years and might have rusted into a single lump of metal by now.   ... View more

Tools ? Rescue ? Piffle !  All one needs is a Drive at Dawn hat and a sense of adventure.   ... View more

Perhaps not quite as accurate, but I keep a bookcase garage with models of my Lotus plus a spare model Europa chassis. the colours aren't quite right on 2 cars but I don't have the ambition to undertake a 1:18 respray project. ... View more

@Sajeev , much better way of doing this!   To repeat, here is the one I started with - Lotus Europa reflected in the side of a very shiny '37 Packard. ... View more

@Sajeev , as requested here is a picture of the Merkur: Not the most artistic or imaginative shot but it will do. We've had this car long enough that most of the interesting pictures are on film and negative format rather than digital.   I started this thread after going through the pictures posted from the Drive at Dawn (still working my way through - there are a lot of great cars). I enjoy seeing the cars that others clearly cherish but started thinking that people must have a lot of other great shots that only come up on odd occasions, like getting the Europa reflected in the side of a Packard. So at the risk of duplicating another picture thread, let's see shots of members' cars in unique settings. As another example, here is another one of my favourite shots of the Europa taken quite a few years ago posed alog with a friend's Lotus 7: ... View more