I love that "Made up there" line. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_roll.gif
My dad did a similar thing with his BMW - putting his shoes on, put foot on bumper, laced up, dragged foot off.
Thing was, they were golf shoes, metal spikes and all - he wasn't happy.
I used to care least about my first car - a 1969 escort with brakes that were about 1/2 as effective as holding a plastic bag out of the window, suspension that was leaf-springs at the back (which went inverted and had to be replaced, requiring removal of fuel tank, etc) and front struts that almost burst their way through the bonnet. Most of what you saw under the bonnet was tarmac, and your own feet. The wiper jet was operated by hand (until the day it broke off and leaked over my feet), and it had the grip of a hockey puck. The exhaust rusted through, fell off (no idea where or when) and it sounded like a spitfire - revving made people get a move on much better than beeping the pathetic horn. Rear-wheel drive though, which was nice.
So to move from a car that took ages to go fast, even longer to stop, and that had a windscreen that froze up on the INside in the winter - to a car that demists in seconds, corners better than anything I've had before, is quick enough to get onto roundabouts and out of trouble, and is built well enough to save mine and my family's lives if there is an accident - it all makes me think the car's pretty damn good, clever enough to stop and prevent me driving it when something goes wrong, and that we should do more of what benS3 is doing - enjoy the cars while we have them - treating them with care is one thing, but not enjoying them in case something goes wrong is just wasting a great car.
Damn... my soap box broke
