Possibly not interesting enough but!

Marian some interesting facts about Land Rover. Of all the ones made, the first came off the line in 1948, 75% are still on the road somewhere in the world. In many of the islands such as Nomea they are as common as Ford in other countries. There is a Green series One in UK stil on the road, a 1954 model with over half a million on the clock and never had the head off. All models are now diesel only.

Here in Oz with the local manufacturers closing by 2017, the lasyt of what was 5, we will have to rely on imports, as do I believe NZ. Hyundai are now taking over from Toyota as the prefered vehicle for many families with Great wall and Chery not far behind.

Land Rover and Jaguar now owned by TATA of India. Jaffa cakes have just been bought out by a Turkish firm, HP sauce is already owned by the Dutch, Cunard by the Americans, Water companies by the French, Nuclear Power Stations by the French, etc etc.

My first car was an Austin A40, brought for £40 from a farmer who had used it for transporting sheep, hay bales, feed etc. Stunk of sheep poo and had to scrub the thing out. Rust was rampant to such an extent that you could see the road through the rear wheel arch's but fibre glass matting and filer cured that. The day I passed my test, that night in the local pub I met an od girl friend from school who wanted a lift to a party in a nearby town, I offered to take her my trusty motor thinking I was on a promise. On the way to the party I took a corner at bit to fast and ended up scraping the passenger side of my car along a wall at the road side. Being pizzed had not helped my driving skills. She was screaming that I should stop and examine the damage and that I could have killed her. Told her to shut up. Got to the house where the party was and she leapt out and when I asked her if she was inviting me into the party was told in no uncertain terms to go and have sex and travel. That little motor I had for a number of years and never failed to start when I came home on leave even after leaving it standing on the drive for 4 to 6 months at a time. Eventually sold it on for £20 and brought a Rover P60 for £80 quid. It had air in the braking system and you had to pump the brake pedal like crazy to get them to work. After that one went to the scrapyard I had a 50's Beetle that never let me down. These were brought whilst I was taking my tickets at Shields and they faithfully got me to college every day from digs in Sunderland and Ponteland along with weekend trips back home to the Lake District.
After these I did a month trip, saved like crazy and brought my favourite car of all times, Alfa Romeo. Had two of them and never had any trouble with them, not even a speck of rust on them as it got them rust protected at new. Wife learnt to drive in one of them. After that came a Nissan Primera {excellent}, Mitsibushi, then Skoda, X Trail, Quashqui, and now Ford Focus. The Skoda and X Trail were my favourites. My pal from the village I grew up in is an Range Rover enthusiast had has owned a number of them that have never let him down and he travels thousands of miles monthly on them in his business as a cabinet maker and house builder. He uses them as his office and also as a delivery truck hauling cement, cabinets, you name it in them.
rgds
JA
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JA

john my first was a standard 10 with a starting handle as well as electric ignition engine was the size of a sewing machine how times have changed?jp

Hi JP- I owned a standard 10, well before i actually had a driving licence.so obviously no insurance, I used it for the school run sometimes with as many kids that would fit in from up and down the street. The rear doors would not close so i jury rigged them simply by looping a rope athwart to the two handles. Driving along one day the steering wheel virtually came off in my hand. ( i wasn't travelling very fast fortunately, the thing never did more than 40)I got out and left it where it was. Never saw it again.

When I shot through and went to my late brother Jim (12 years my senior) just around the end of WWII where he was trapping rabbits down in Kangaroo Valley. He had a shorter left leg but was as tough and hard working as they come and expected no less from anyone he was feeding. After a while I asked him if he was going to give me any money for my work. He thought long and hard and came up with an idea. He had an old 1931 Whippet in the shed at home and said that he would help me tizzy it up and as it was worth five quid I could work it off and the whippet would be mine. After a few months in the tent in Kangaroo Valley rounding the traps in the dawn mist and with a hurricane lantern at night, skinning bucks and gutting doe rabbits for the meat in the day, which we took up to Fitzroy Falls where the buyer met us every week I still hadn't seen the car being paid off. So bugger the car - I shot through and not too long after was very pleased to replace some pommy fellah who had jumped ship in Newcastle, NSW.

Over a decade later as the old lass upstairs and I were off from the wedding reception in my Holden Ute for a trip to Cairns, North Queensland on what I must say was a wow of a honeymoon, Jim grabbed my arm and put his hand in my coat pocket. As I pulled the keys out to unlock the Ute I found a wad of 35 quid. Just days before his 80th birthday my brother Jim died in a nursing home in Bowral, NSW. My sister in law, Lucy called me and I raced up from Katoomba. Lucy had just gone out when he recognised me. I kissed him on the forehead and said "I love you, Jim". I looked down at him. He had gone.

Jim taught me how I should grow up.

Richard

My firt car was a Morris 14 , 1937, I was homew on leave in 1956, I was in the alehouse a little bit bevied at closing time. I heard a voice shouting, "Who wants to buy a car." I heard myself shouting "Me. how much"
He says £10 . me I only have £7 . Him, `That will do, heres the log book and key, its outside.
I finished my pint closing time. went outside and this ancient car awaited its new owner. DTO 576.
I had Never driven a car in my life, I knew you wound up the handle and it started so had a go and it really did start. I climbed in and I knew you had to pull a lever, I did, it shot down the road in 1st gear, and I drove all the way home like that in bottom gear.
I eventually got used to driving a mate showed me that you had to use gears and you go faster.
There was a hole between my feet and could see the road underneath. The door was hanging with string holding it on. Clouds of smoke followed me. A policeman stopped me, opened my door, the string snapped and it fell into the road."Where are going in this" he said, So quick as a flash I said " To the scrap yard" `Good thats where it belongs.`
I kept it for a few months , driving with no licence, Then I went out for one last drink, I was sailing early next day to OZ on a Star boat. I awoke , no car, didnt remember coming home, I must have left it in town. Dad said I came home in a taxi. So five months later I paid off but could never find my car. Never saw it again.
I found two shillings under the back seat when I cleaned it so it cost me £6.18shillings. no insurance or tax,
Crazy days.
Brian

Brian, sounds like my brother Jim's Bull Nosed Morris with a tray on the back to carry the rabbits and the exhaust pipe sticking straight out of the engine underneath our feet.
Richard

My father never owned a car, well he did once for a week but he was such a terrible driver that my mother actually jumped out of it whist he was underway in it and refused to get back in. She said that he couldn't even steer a straight course and this was a man who had been a Blue Star cadet and Master as well as commanding rescue tugs in WW2.
My mothers brother was a mechanic and he owned a number of Standards that required a starting handle to get them going. They were always spic and span with him being a mechanic and ran like sewing machines. Even the ones that had a starter motor he would still hand crank to start them, saying it saved on battery life.
My other uncle had Wolsey's which were a posher version of Morris's I believe.
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JA

I owned a 1970 Rover P5B 3.5 Litre Saloon model. It was powered by a V8 engine which was really a copy of an American Buick V8 engine. It had power steering and automatic transmission. This paricular model was nicknamed the "The Buick Rover". The B in the model's name stood for Buick. Another nickname for the car was "The Poor Man's Rolls-Royce".

FOURO.