Why? and vanity plates

[Jonathan Wolff <jon@domain.elided>]

Sorry for getting into these threads so late, but I just spent about a week
camping in a valley, dancing to Techno, and watching some clouds go dark
then light again at an odd hour of the morning.  Then, when I got back to
work, I had to fix all the bugs I had checked in at 5 o'clock in the morning
of the day before my holiday...

Anyway, despite being tall-ish, blond-ish and half-Finnish, my story isn't
going to be anything like as interesting as Wille's, but since it originally
stems from head rather than heart it's a bit different to most...

Firstly, I've loved every car I've driven for any length of time, even the
Renault 12 TS I learned to drive in.  I really enjoy driving, and it's a
question of learning how to get the best out of a car - it can be curiously
rewarding to drive a bad car quicker than many people can drive a half
decent one, although the Nissan Micra I once had as a courtesy car defeated
me on that one.

I have to admit I never really expected to become an Alfa driver.  OK, I
used to quite fancy a GTV6, and when I've got the money and the well
appointed garage to look after classic cars properly I might find space for
one or two, but I couldn't really get excited over things like the 33, 75 or
155.

Anyway, the Alfa in question is my parents' 164 Cloverleaf (OK, I'm 29 and
currently living with my parents - you can laugh at me if you want but
that's how I can afford to drive nice cars).  When their previous car, a
Citroen BX 16 valve caught fire spontaneously in front of the BBC's
Broadcasting House, they decided they wanted something with a decent
reputation for reliability that they could expect to own for the reasonably
long term.  They (I should say my mother, my father being blind) looked at
various things - Mercedes 190E (nothing good available for the money),
Toyota Camry (seemed to be terrific value for money, they quite liked the V6
but they had to agree with the general consensus that the automatic box is
good, the manual box is lousy, and they weren't keen on an automatic), and
all manner of 164s.  This was the point at which I found time to go along
and help them look.

Originally we were looking at mainly pre-facelift 164s - 12 valve V6s and
TwinSparks.  The V6s were nice, but none turned up that we could feel
confident about.  For the money we found better TwinSparks.  I really liked
the engine, and the car was very driveable, but I personally thought that
the car felt like it ought to go a bit quicker.  I think my parents would
probably have gone for the TwinSpark, but...

Just for fun we looked at a 24 valve Cloverleaf.  Oops.  It was almost
double what they were intending to spend, but it would be an interesting
comparison point.  Wow!  The car was in better condition than any of the
others we had looked at, and boy did it go - and handle, for a big car.
That was pretty much it.  Since I was going to be borrowing it quite a bit
(my Lancia Volumex Coupe had been sitting with the engine out for longer
than I'm prepared to admit, and still is) I stumped up half the cash and we
bought it, expensive tyre habits and shock absorber worries notwithstanding.
So I guess ultimately it has turned out to be an affair of the heart,
although I've recently forsaken it to zip about in my latest purchase, a
Lancia Integrale - yeehaw!

Speaking of which, I only just realised what the 'vanity' plate that came
with that car (L1NTG) means.  It isn't a word, and it doesn't resemble the
names or initials or any of the previous owners.  I was stumped, until it
suddenly clicked.  L(ancia) 1NT(e)G(rale).  I feel so stupid for not
spotting that before.  I've never really thought much of personalised number
plates, and it seems pointless if it's not immediately apparent what they
mean, although I was a bit disappointed to find out that L4RCH has already
been sold (Monty Python reference, I'm afraid - "Number 1, The Larch").

Jonathan.

- -- 
Jonathan Wolff <jon@domain.elided>
Programmer
Argonaut Software Ltd.

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