Neat. Have you ever seen a real mini made by Moris? My mother used to race moris minis as well as her brother still owns a Moris Minor. Wonderful cars and its to bad they do not make them anymore.

Ray -- where are the "go faster" stripes!!

Rallies are huge down unda'. I'm from Kansas City and I've never seen as many as I have in the two years I've been here. While risky, I'd have to say the risks would warrant the drive. Hell when ya think about it, the true risks don't start til you're *at* the inlaws ;)

Jealousy building.... nice choice. Over the past month I have seriously considered trading in my truck on one. Congrats!

Ugh. Yep, that's what the world needs: more cars.

Car pollution is a drop in the bucket compared to that created by forest fires (carbon), volcanic eruptions (sulfur dioxide, amongst other things), and -- no joke -- cows (methane).

So maybe you should cut Ray some slack.

I don't want to start a full debate here, it's not the place. (Or is it? Part of my reason for expressing my objections here is that I read Ray's blog cos he's a good CF guy, intelligent and engaging - I really don't need to hear about his latest personal indulgences. But, given that we're leaving CF behind here, why not debate car culture?)

In short, burning wood (e.g. forest fires) is part of the planet's regular circulation of carbon. Burning fossil fuels isn't (that's carbon that's been locked away for aeons and artificially exhumed). Yes, volcanic eruptions can be disastrous for the atmosphere - but why add to this?! Let alone add to it for fun & vanity. Cows - see burning wood. It's a regular part of the cycle.

I'll stop short of getting into energy resources issues... Ray: no offence, I just think the general blinkered attitude people have to these issues shouldn't pass without comment.

Gyrus, I appreciate your opinion, however, one thing I have a problem with. Are you saying I should NOT talk about personal matters here? This is a blog after all - my blog - and I share what I share. If it _really_ bothers you, you can get the RSS feed just for the CF stuff. Just click on CF in the right hand menu, and _then_ use that RSS feed (or just book mark that filtered version).

Thanks, Ray, this is definitely an oversight on my part. Apologies for the bit about your personal blog posts, I've subscribed to the CF-only feed now.

A real man would have bought a Ford Excursion

:)

Ray, Next year you think your wife well let you buy a man's car? ;-)

Bah, you guys are jealous. :) You should drive one - it _really_ feels like a sports car.

Real men ride motorcycles! Fast ones!

:)

Small Cars :-)

My first car was a Triumph Spitfire. Only problem with it is that one day I had a real choice end parking space when I went to the movies. When I came out of the movie, somebody had moved my car over so they could park in my space, I think they just picked it up.<p>
I wonder what the weight difference is between a mini and spitfire :-)