Testimony to the Durability of (sort of) British Cars
All, (I had some time to type today)......
Back in 2003 maybe, my wife and I took a vacation to Scotland. Our first nite was in Glasgow, and once there we were pretty tired from the travel and needed a pint. We looked for a local, went in to the first one we saw and sat at the bar. Bartender comes over, looks at us quizzically, and I ask for two pints: he obliges, and we dig in to a well deserved beer. Not being the brightest light out there, it took me maybe ten minutes to realize that we were the only straight folks in a gay bar that was unaccustomed to serving non-regulars, and we began to draw looks of disdain from a few customers.
After paying up, we found a lovely place for dinner. On the walk home to our hotel, I was at a traffic light and was stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of a bright yellow Elise. I hadn't seen one in the flesh previously, as they weren't yet legal in Canada. It was then, and remains for me today, the purest expression of what a sports car should be. Elaine saw the look on my face, and mentioned (I suspect half jokingly) that should they ever get the Elise into Canada I should buy one. I think she says things like this sometimes expecting my regularly sieve-like memory to perform to its normal low efficiency, but that particular suggestion was permanently registered with me.
Two years later, the Elise was in Canada. I went down to Gentry Lane Motors in Toronto and met the owner, John Simoes. I had my pick of cars as the first shipment was only recently delivered. I selected the red over black Touring Pack model and came back the next day to pick up the car. John was happy to accept a cheque (a personal one, not even a bank draft was required!) which goes to show you what a great guy he was/is. I wrote a cheque for about C$63,000 and handed it to John, and I was off.
The factory manual was adamant that the revs were to be kept below 5,000 and that the motor was not to be held at any one speed for very long - this old school sort of break-in for a Toyota motor seemed a little archaic, but the next day was Saturday so by Sunday at noon I was good to let 'er rip. And I did.......
I owned the car for the next seven years, and of course drove it only in the summer - it was my daily commuter, and managed a couple of track days at Mosport on occasion. Purchasers HAD to take the factory hardtop with you (you couldn't get the car without it), but I had left it behind at the dealer for a "later pickup" - John ended up dropping it off at my house months later, thereby freeing up space in his shop while reducing space in mine! I never mounted it on the car, and in a pique of frustration listed it for sale on Kijiji. A nice fellow from Oakville came to pick it up as he was buying a slightly used Elise that for some reason had no hardtop (well, it probably didn't have one for the same reasons I got rid of mine!). We spoke for a few minutes, transacted, and he was on his way never to be seen again.....
He ended up buying a yellow one that came with a matching hardtop, and I noticed that my old top showed up again on Kijiji, beginning to resemble the proverbial village bicycle.... In 2012, with some concerns over a serious health issue at the time, I sold the car, something I regret to this day. (I also sold my one-of-three Merlyn MK21 F3 project at this time - Jody Schekter still has his! And a Hawke DL2 project. And some other junk))
What is the point of all this You ask? On last Friday evening, I needed to pick up some stuff at Home Depot. As I wheel into the lot, parked well away from every other car, i see a yellow Elise covered in salt and winter road grit. I walk over and the owner opens the window - it is the guy who bought my hardtop all those years ago! He drives the car as much as he can, and has well over 300,000km on it. Not a single thing has ever broken or fallen off in all those years. Just regular maintenance and consumables. I was blown away.....
bt
