Honda Chevy - Revcounter 410
Why buy one, when two will do?
Dammit! there is never enough money and, when you do get close, there isn’t enough shed space. Ever noticed that? This month I can blame Torrens for the latest source of frustration – the urgent need to own a soft-top car.
It’s not as though the idea of wandering out to buy a roadster is a new one. On the all-too-rare occasions I’ve borrowed them, they’ve been an absolute joy. Though, as a mate recently reminded me, they’re nowhere near as popular in Australia as people overseas might imagine, because our summer sun is just too savage to have the top down for a lot of the year. That said, on the right winter or spring day, it’s a real kick to ditch the roof.
Truth be told I could scratch up the money for one, though it would mean selling something else, which ain’t gonna happen. Why? First, I hate selling vehicles. Yours etc gets grumpy and is notorious for hanging up on people. Then, if by some bloody miracle I do swap an actual vehicle for cash, muggins spends the rest of the year mourning the loss.
The inevitable result is we now have no room, certainly by the time the next project car arrives in our driveway, hopefully in six months time. That will take up the last available parking space on the property. And yes, I know there are car storage services, I just haven’t quite developed the emotional maturity to cope with the idea of renting a parking space.
Now if you asked me what my top choice for an affordable roadster would be – at least if I was paying for it – I’d go Honda S2000. Apparently the later second-gen is the one to have, and the whole motorcycle connection has some appeal. They’ve got a good reputation for their handling, and the high-revving powerplant is supposed to be a bit of a gem. I’ve never driven one, and must address that...
Now in the interests of curiosity (or a short attention span – take your pick) I don’t reckon one convertible is enough. Nope, you need two. Something sharp and sporty and then, for those times you want to cruise, a full-sized American land yacht. Preferably something with a movie or literary connection.
That obviously leads us to the late Hunter S Thompson’s book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, where he terrorises the planet in a Caddy Eldorado ragtop, in the company of his Samoan lawyer. The movie version, starring Johnny Depp, featured a Chevy Impala, and I reckon I could settle for either brand. Really, what you’re after here is acreage rather than technical sophistication, so the marque doesn’t matter too much. It just needs a few key features: a giant gas-guzzling V8 in the snout, a bonnet large enough to land a Cessna on, and a boot big enough to live in when the inevitable happens and you get chucked out of home.
That really would be perfect and would round out the fleet quite nicely. Well, for the time being...
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