Steve Cropley
SUNDAY
A pall of sadness hangs over our family. The battered red Hyundai i10 above, bought by my son 14 years and 140,000 miles ago in a spectacular scrappage deal, is heading for the great recycling centre in the sky. This, at least, is what the apologetic local MOT bloke believes, but the car’s owner, who lacks his family’s penchant for chucking too much money at cars, reckons he can squeeze another year from the i10’s dissolving floorpan.
When you drive the i10 you can see why he wants to. I haven’t driven the car for years, but because its owner tends to obstruct our other bolides whenever he comes to visit, I often need to move it out of the way – discovering (again) that the clutch, gearbox, steering and switchgear might have been made yesterday. If it’s really curtains for this i10, the owner already has his eye on a replacement. A slightly newer i10.
MONDAY
They have just launched a new Ariel I’m not likely to buy but probably should, even though it would set me back £10k. It’s called the Dash, an ultra-light, super-tech, titanium and carbon e-bike that weighs far less than standard bicycles without motors and batteries, and thrashes them for looks and specification. It’s the result of five years’ thought and experimentation by Simon Saunders and his band of Somerset engineers, builders of the famous Atom, Nomad and Ace.
With the Dash they have created a fitting modern history for a brand whose legendary founder, James Starley, built the first ‘penny-farthing’ 153 years ago, dubbing it the Ariel Ordinary and creating the world’s first series-production vehicle. Starley proceeded to develop safer, faster, diamond-framed bicycles. Saunders and his band are keen on Ariel’s early history: their collection includes early bicycles (including an Ordinary), motorcycles from the 1920s to the 1960s heyday, and a couple of early Ariel cars. Visit today and you will see a clear link between Starley’s and Saunders’ instinct for innovation. Just don’t expect a modern Ariel to be called Ordinary any time soon.
WEDNESDAY
If you’re wondering, owning the ex-Matt Prior Ford Ranger Raptor is turning out to be an almighty success. Today I overheard the Steering Committee telling a friend that riding in the mighty orange pick-up was “great” because it was comfortable, quiet and she could see the world extremely well. This, let me remind you, is why people b
