Jamie Orr: My Dad's Company Car was a Lotus Elise! Minis, Metros, Grandparents Scirocco Storm S4E8

[00:00:00] Welcome to My Dads Car, enjoy!

[00:00:12] Welcome to My Dads Car, a podcast discussing our personal relationship with automotive nostalgia.

[00:00:18] And you know what? It doesn't even have to be about your dad's car. It can be your mum's, your grand's, your parents, guardians or even a neighbour's.

[00:00:26] If it made an impression, let's talk about it.

[00:00:34] G'day. Hello. Can you hear me? I can hear you, yeah. Sorry, I was just scoffing a sandwich.

[00:00:39] Okay. I've sent Jamie a reminder just as a quick, all good for today. I've not heard back from him.

[00:00:44] Oh, okay.

[00:00:45] Aha! Here he is. How you doing, Jamie?

[00:00:49] Okay. Now, I just want to just jump in immediately and say, wait, have you been recording for 15, 20 minutes and I'm...

[00:00:55] No. Oh, yes, we have because I record everything, but we're just having a chat.

[00:00:59] So I record everything and then we just cut it in and there's nothing about you being late.

[00:01:03] Oh, in which case, oh, good morning. I'm so happy to be perfectly on time.

[00:01:08] Ha ha ha ha! Were you at the unit? Or were you at home?

[00:01:11] No, this is my warehouse.

[00:01:13] Oh, you're at the warehouse.

[00:01:14] Yeah, I can turn this around and of course everything's always a mess.

[00:01:18] No, there's a whole bunch of cars.

[00:01:21] Oh, there's an RS2.

[00:01:24] So, yeah. There we go.

[00:01:27] Perfect. Thank you for joining us.

[00:01:30] And, um...

[00:01:30] Perfectly punctually.

[00:01:32] Yeah, yeah.

[00:01:33] Sorry to chase you. I was like, I'll send you... I think I've got a number for you.

[00:01:36] I'll WhatsApp you and then... Yeah, I did. Here we are.

[00:01:39] I feel like you've had my number for 10 years and I think was the original one at 8.30?

[00:01:43] Because you push this back. Like you're a week late.

[00:01:46] I'm just five minutes late.

[00:01:47] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:01:48] That's my fault, unfortunately.

[00:01:52] So, um, yeah. Thank you very much for joining us.

[00:01:55] Um, it's, yeah, 8.30 or nine o'clock or something in the morning for you over in Potsdam.

[00:02:00] Yeah, it's not that early. I have no excuse.

[00:02:03] Um, yeah. Welcome to my dad's car. We start these with, um, a quick...

[00:02:08] We say for the benefit of the tape, basically, to give a bit of a backstory as to how or why we've kind of got a guest on.

[00:02:13] And I reckon we probably met each other 15 years ago, maybe, at Heritage.

[00:02:17] You were coming over, buying donor cars, right-hand drive cars, cutting them up and selling them to Americans who wanted right-hand drive conversions.

[00:02:25] Yeah, although that wasn't the point. I was getting parts, bumpers, etc.

[00:02:31] Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah.

[00:02:32] And then we had the right-hand drive parts left over and that was it.

[00:02:37] And so I brought one or two over and converted a car myself and people went, oh, this is cool.

[00:02:42] And it kind of... I'm not saying, like, we invented it or anything, but, like, it wasn't really a thing with Volkswagens.

[00:02:48] Yeah.

[00:02:49] Um, and yeah, they're just... everyone wants their cars to be different.

[00:02:53] Everyone wants their cars to have a story or be slightly unique or that's what modifications are.

[00:02:58] And, yeah, some modifications have performance gains and others are quite the opposite.

[00:03:07] So, um, yeah, that's how we, yeah, stumbled across each other.

[00:03:10] And then, yeah, we sort of bumped into each other every... probably every couple of years.

[00:03:14] Oh, you did fairly regular trips, didn't you? And then, um, sort of...

[00:03:17] Yes, that was the point you were making. Yes, we met many years ago through cars

[00:03:21] and we have been friends or know each other ever since.

[00:03:24] Indeed.

[00:03:25] And, um, oh yeah, I was telling John just before we were recording,

[00:03:29] you've ended up with some of my Nan's furniture in your house, which is just super cool that, um,

[00:03:34] some of her furniture is now the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

[00:03:37] Yeah, I think you posted it. You were like...

[00:03:40] I put it on Facebook, yeah.

[00:03:41] Does anyone want to buy this or it's available?

[00:03:43] And, uh, yeah, it's literally in the same house, uh, a sideboard, uh, a writing table,

[00:03:50] a writing desk that folds out. Is that the right way to describe it?

[00:03:54] Yeah, yeah, I think so. Oh yeah, bureau or something, yeah.

[00:03:56] Yes, there you go. A bureau and a glass curio cabinet.

[00:04:01] That's an insane, um, search radius that your, your partner has, Jamie.

[00:04:06] For, uh, it's a marketplace. It must just be the world.

[00:04:09] Mine's usually sort of 5k tops.

[00:04:12] This was probably pre-marketplace days.

[00:04:15] Yeah.

[00:04:15] Um, but, but yeah, I, I think I, yeah, you, you posted it on the Facebooks.

[00:04:20] Right. Okay.

[00:04:21] Yeah. And, um, I just so happened to be there and we, we shipped a container of parts every

[00:04:26] few months. And so, yeah, it's very, your Nan had good taste.

[00:04:32] Uh, it's now so old that it is mid-century modern age.

[00:04:36] Yeah, yeah.

[00:04:38] Um, so yeah, it has a whole bunch of little curials and things on display and it's lovingly stored.

[00:04:43] And then I have some of my own grandmother's mid-century furniture as well from Scotland.

[00:04:48] Yeah. Um, so thank you. Yeah.

[00:04:50] It's gone to good home.

[00:04:52] So yeah. Unusually, I think there's only been a few guests actually where I've met someone's

[00:04:56] dad or their parents and I've had the pleasure of meeting both your mom and your dad as well.

[00:05:00] So I'm sure they'll come up in conversation.

[00:05:02] Yeah.

[00:05:03] Yeah. What's your earliest motor memory or car memory?

[00:05:06] I can't believe we're straight into this. I thought we were just chatting and catching up on the fables.

[00:05:11] Um, so my dad worked for Philit Packard, but he kind of DIY it a lot.

[00:05:18] And my mom was driving minis like original, like 1970s, eighties minis.

[00:05:24] Okay.

[00:05:25] Um, so bombing around in the back of those and then the mini Metro.

[00:05:28] Yeah.

[00:05:29] Um, huge step up from an original mini.

[00:05:32] Americans have no idea what they are.

[00:05:34] Unbelievable.

[00:05:34] The non cult following that mini metros have ended up with globally.

[00:05:40] Um, for people that don't know British Leyland, just the pinnacle of 1980s Margaret Thatcher era British.

[00:05:49] It's brown with brown and brown, and it's kind of just square and it's so on hip.

[00:05:55] But now I look fondly back at them.

[00:05:57] And so, yeah, I remember my dad, you know, the motor would go or when we brought an unleaded petrol.

[00:06:02] Yeah.

[00:06:03] Changing the belt.

[00:06:04] I used to be four star, didn't it?

[00:06:06] Yep.

[00:06:07] Yep.

[00:06:08] We were just eating all that lead, walking down the high streets, worrying about the IRA or whatever.

[00:06:14] Um, and, uh, yeah, so that, that's my earliest memories.

[00:06:18] And then my grandparents as well.

[00:06:20] Um, my mom's mom and dad just had the coolest cars.

[00:06:23] Um, I have a aerial photo from, it must be the very early eighties in my office of my grandma's Mark one,

[00:06:30] in Chiraco, sitting outside their house.

[00:06:32] Oh, awesome.

[00:06:33] And my granddad always, always had silver Mercedes coupes.

[00:06:37] Nice.

[00:06:38] Which at the time was just, it was just grandpa.

[00:06:40] Um, and he didn't live a flamboyant lifestyle or anything, but like that was it.

[00:06:44] He just had his silver Mercedes coupe.

[00:06:47] That's, that's my memories.

[00:06:49] Fantastic.

[00:06:49] So your dad was driving minis and metros as well.

[00:06:52] Is that right?

[00:06:53] No, my dad had company cars.

[00:06:55] Okay.

[00:06:55] And you could kind of see his progression.

[00:06:57] He started, he went to university to be an engineer and came from like really humble beginnings and just kind of worked his butt off.

[00:07:06] And, um, I kind of remember he had a Sierra.

[00:07:09] Yeah.

[00:07:10] Which was a very company car and having a company car was still like a good thing, but it was in the UK.

[00:07:15] It was, it was a thing.

[00:07:17] And then he probably went up to a BMW 520, which was the lowest six cylinder.

[00:07:24] If I think about it right, it was probably a J plate.

[00:07:28] Yeah.

[00:07:28] So that would be 91, 92.

[00:07:31] A 34.

[00:07:32] Yes.

[00:07:33] Yep.

[00:07:33] That's a great car.

[00:07:34] I remember, you know, that that's when I start remembering the cars and yeah, he just kind of went with that.

[00:07:39] And then finally he went to work at IBM and they gave him an allowance instead of a company car.

[00:07:46] Okay.

[00:07:47] Cause in the UK it was kind of, you had a company car, but you had to kind of pick.

[00:07:50] Yeah.

[00:07:50] Like here's your choice that you're, you're lower level.

[00:07:53] So you can have a Sierra or you can have the Vauxhall Chevy equivalent and then you could go up and like, okay, you can have whatever else.

[00:08:00] And so he took the money and he bought a Lotus lease.

[00:08:06] Cause they weren't expensive particularly.

[00:08:09] So instead of, you know, your, your BMW three or five series, whatever.

[00:08:13] So he did that and he just drove to work every day with his laptop on the passenger seat.

[00:08:17] And I just love that about him.

[00:08:21] And he still owns it.

[00:08:22] Oh, really?

[00:08:23] It's a Mark one, an early series one.

[00:08:25] And he's got like a hundred some thousand miles on it.

[00:08:29] Wow.

[00:08:29] And of course he knew all the people.

[00:08:31] So there was the guy that developed them and he had the test one and he had higher mileage.

[00:08:36] My dad's like, no, it's really economical.

[00:08:38] It's very light.

[00:08:39] So it doesn't use brakes.

[00:08:41] It's got the K series engine.

[00:08:42] So oil filters and things are cheap.

[00:08:45] I'm like, this is great.

[00:08:46] I feel like you've, you've made your commute either fun or hellish.

[00:08:52] I'm trying to imagine if there's space for the, um, the suit jacket on the coat hanger.

[00:08:57] Exactly.

[00:08:58] Like normal, um, company cars.

[00:09:01] Yeah.

[00:09:01] That's exactly it.

[00:09:03] Just, just got the laptop briefcase, whatever.

[00:09:06] And just like you, you won that system.

[00:09:08] What color is it?

[00:09:09] Silver.

[00:09:10] Silver, dark blue roof, dark blue interior.

[00:09:14] Um, all right.

[00:09:16] While we're, we're talking about dads then I always said to him, look, when you want to sell

[00:09:20] it and once it's old enough to come to the U S I'd like first refusal, please.

[00:09:24] If I can, I'll pay, you know?

[00:09:26] Yeah.

[00:09:27] And they moved house and he's got, he's got a mark for golf.

[00:09:31] Really, really cool mark for a goal.

[00:09:33] Um, as a daily driver.

[00:09:34] So he's kept it the same.

[00:09:35] He was like, I don't want a car payment.

[00:09:37] So he just kind of took out the back seats.

[00:09:39] And, um, I've always said it.

[00:09:42] And I said it again this year, I went to visit and it was redoing the house himself,

[00:09:46] kind of DIY and it was, it had dust on it.

[00:09:50] And a cat had been sleeping on the roof or something.

[00:09:53] It's under a carport.

[00:09:54] I said, look, never it's time.

[00:09:57] And it's whatever that song is not counting crows.

[00:09:59] It was, or it's like, when you're coming home, son, I don't know when, you know, we'll

[00:10:03] have a, yeah.

[00:10:04] And he's like, yeah, I think it's time.

[00:10:07] You know, I'm, I'm getting on a little bit.

[00:10:08] I'm not really driving it so much.

[00:10:11] No, don't say that.

[00:10:14] Tell it to me because you want to buy something different.

[00:10:16] Not because you're like, yeah, maybe I'm getting on in days.

[00:10:20] I don't want to hear that.

[00:10:22] No.

[00:10:23] And I don't think he meant it that way, but I just took it as this like heartbreaking,

[00:10:27] like, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:10:29] You have to keep it now forever and just keep driving.

[00:10:32] Um, I'm actually going to tear up a tiny bit about it.

[00:10:35] So I will be buying it at some point, but it's, that's my dad's car.

[00:10:40] That's the one.

[00:10:41] Is it eligible for import now?

[00:10:43] It is.

[00:10:43] It's over 25 years old ish.

[00:10:45] I think just about, um, no, it must be.

[00:10:48] Cause I think they bought it maybe one model year after it came out or so.

[00:10:52] So yeah, definitely eligible.

[00:10:53] That wasn't the point.

[00:10:54] If it wasn't eligible for people don't know cars have to be 25 years to come into

[00:10:58] the USA permanently.

[00:10:59] It's a weird role, but that's the world we live in.

[00:11:03] And so, yeah, if it was 20 years old and he had to sell it or he was ready to get

[00:11:08] rid of it, I would store it somewhere.

[00:11:09] Yeah.

[00:11:10] Say to him, keep driving it for five years.

[00:11:12] He rebuilt, um, Lotus Elan, I think a series two or three, maybe a four.

[00:11:18] And he, when he retired, he moved to near Goodwood, which I thought was quite a coincidence

[00:11:23] that he was a couple of villages over.

[00:11:25] So he would go out to the breakfast meets.

[00:11:27] Yeah.

[00:11:28] And somehow the Elise would sneak him into a supercar.

[00:11:31] Okay.

[00:11:32] So he had it worked out that the Elan would get him into old timers.

[00:11:36] He has a Honda VFR.

[00:11:37] So that would get him into motorbikes and the Elise would sneak him in on supercar,

[00:11:43] which is total BS.

[00:11:44] But the guy at the gate, we see him.

[00:11:46] He's like, that's it.

[00:11:47] Every week he can qualify.

[00:11:48] And when they do nineties or whatever new cars, the Golf GTI got him in and that was

[00:11:54] it.

[00:11:55] Fantastic.

[00:11:55] I was just going to, sorry, before we move, I was just going to say, I didn't realize

[00:11:58] that's the rolling for 25 years, the import thing.

[00:12:01] It must be sort of hitting a real sweet spot now for stuff that was well made 25 years ago.

[00:12:07] Yeah.

[00:12:07] I think we've been there sort of five years now or so, cause we got into the, we went

[00:12:12] into the skylines and then the golf rallies.

[00:12:16] That was a big one.

[00:12:18] Um, and RS two's, we literally had, I think a customer, the first RS two we brought was on

[00:12:24] the boat during his birthday.

[00:12:26] Wow.

[00:12:27] It turned 25 on the boat because they don't care.

[00:12:31] It's, it's done by month.

[00:12:32] Yeah.

[00:12:33] And then this one here is I think a 95, but this is, you can kind of see the evolution.

[00:12:39] It was like, you kind of buy the one that's available.

[00:12:42] Whereas this one is arguably one of the very, very nicest on the market.

[00:12:46] Yeah.

[00:12:46] So yeah, no, it's been interesting.

[00:12:48] Delta integralities.

[00:12:49] I mean, we're just, we are in a golden era and you can see that with what's coming out

[00:12:54] of the shows.

[00:12:54] You can see that with yeah.

[00:12:56] Everyone being so excited for the nineties.

[00:12:58] I guess those cars weren't ever sold in the U S is that correct?

[00:13:01] Yeah.

[00:13:02] And that's, that's the appeal that I think is makes them the Holy grail.

[00:13:06] You can get the nicer versions.

[00:13:09] We've done a lot of, uh, somehow nine nine threes, um, where they're very similar to the

[00:13:16] European version.

[00:13:17] The bumpers or something are a little different, but so many Germans in that period were ordering,

[00:13:23] um, individual cars.

[00:13:24] Yeah.

[00:13:25] So they're getting purple paint, purple interior and just crazy upgrades and individual parts

[00:13:32] or finishings.

[00:13:33] They're not buying them because they're so different.

[00:13:36] Just really cool specs.

[00:13:37] Yeah.

[00:13:38] But things like E 36 BMW variants, the Tourings, we never got the station wagons or the estates.

[00:13:44] So those are different.

[00:13:46] And that's why it makes them desirable, I guess.

[00:13:49] Cool.

[00:13:49] But yes, to your point, 25 years is for safety regulations.

[00:13:54] Once you hit 25 years, America goes, Hey, remember all those rules about airbags, seat

[00:13:59] belts, big bumpers, forget it.

[00:14:01] It doesn't matter.

[00:14:02] Just do what you want.

[00:14:03] And then our emissions is 21 years to make it even weirder.

[00:14:08] So we can bring the engine in when it's 21 years old and we can bring the body in when

[00:14:13] it's 25 years old.

[00:14:14] So at that point you don't have an annual test or an MOT or something.

[00:14:17] Is that right?

[00:14:18] Or every state is different.

[00:14:20] Um, you have the MOT there, which is in our mind, ridiculously strict, uh, break bias

[00:14:28] testing.

[00:14:28] Whereas in my state, our emissions and safety testing is not, not strict relatively, but the

[00:14:35] brakes might involve pulling the car in and making sure it stopped before you drive over

[00:14:41] into the workshop wall.

[00:14:42] And then you put it up on the left and you look at pad depth and the same with tires that

[00:14:48] do a, maybe do a visual inspection of the sidewalls.

[00:14:51] Really they're checking tire depth for tread.

[00:14:54] And then emissions is, you really don't have this.

[00:14:57] Mm hmm.

[00:14:58] When we plug in a scan tool, it checks eight points and just says yes or no.

[00:15:02] Okay.

[00:15:03] That's it.

[00:15:03] So it checks to your, are your O2 sensors there?

[00:15:07] Is your catalytic converter by the manufacturer test?

[00:15:11] Okay.

[00:15:12] Um, secondary air injection.

[00:15:14] And so if you happen to have a tune on your car that happens to just set all of those to

[00:15:22] yes, then their computer just sees eight yeses and you're fine.

[00:15:27] And even funnier in our state, you can have one or two bad.

[00:15:32] They can fail on 10, 15% of it.

[00:15:35] And it doesn't matter.

[00:15:36] And then a lot of other states have nothing literally zero.

[00:15:40] Wow.

[00:15:40] So a different world.

[00:15:43] Maybe not all for the good, I guess, but, um, I mean, I'll sidetrack this.

[00:15:48] No one has some like sort of socioeconomical beliefs about it.

[00:15:52] Cause you will be driving in more rural states and you will see a front wing front fender

[00:15:57] that's rusted out in the bottom and they're driving on the motorway.

[00:16:00] And the, the, it's just flapping cause it's still bolted at the top, but it's flapping in

[00:16:05] the wind.

[00:16:05] And so I'm like, maybe they don't know when they stop, it probably falls down into a similar

[00:16:11] place.

[00:16:12] And they're just like, Oh, okay.

[00:16:14] But then it puts in, this is where I get slightly weird about it.

[00:16:17] Then it puts it up to the police to stop them.

[00:16:19] Okay.

[00:16:20] And that person will then get a ticket for not safe vehicle.

[00:16:24] Are they allowed to continue driving, et cetera.

[00:16:27] So now not only do they have to pay for a fine, but they have to pay for the repairs.

[00:16:32] Yeah.

[00:16:32] And I think that can maybe snowball.

[00:16:34] If you have a tire that's below, et cetera, if that's your only car to get to work, then

[00:16:39] there could be an avalanche of repercussions.

[00:16:42] Yeah.

[00:16:42] Yeah.

[00:16:42] Okay.

[00:16:43] Um, so now you see how my brain works.

[00:16:46] I'm thinking when I see someone driving that, and of course it's ridiculously unsafe for

[00:16:51] other road users, but that person may not be aware of that.

[00:16:55] A normal person doesn't think, Oh, how are my brake pad depth this year?

[00:17:00] Yeah.

[00:17:00] Or they don't walk around their car looking at all four tires.

[00:17:04] So anyway, that's the good and bad of America.

[00:17:07] And I just made this political.

[00:17:08] So I'm going to retreat from that quickly.

[00:17:12] Everyone start your engines and visit Birmingham's NEC from the 8th to the 10th of November.

[00:17:21] Yes.

[00:17:22] It's the UK's premier classic motor show.

[00:17:24] Imagine over 3000 cars to feast your eyes on, not to mention a record 330 vehicle clubs

[00:17:31] and hundreds of exhibiting companies shop for everything classic.

[00:17:34] You can even buy a car, meet motoring celebrities and experience all the action.

[00:17:39] Book your tickets at the NEC classic motor show.com and join our 40th celebrations.

[00:17:50] If we go back to you kind of being a kid in your parents' cars, are you an only child or have you got siblings?

[00:17:56] I have a younger brother in West London.

[00:17:59] Okay.

[00:18:00] And did your parents have music on in the car?

[00:18:02] Did they smoke?

[00:18:03] Did you do kind of a lot of road trips as kids or?

[00:18:05] Oh, all right.

[00:18:08] Yeah.

[00:18:08] The smoking, 80s in Britain, but no, I don't think in the car really.

[00:18:14] I don't know.

[00:18:14] It was just whatever.

[00:18:15] Not to call out one of my parents.

[00:18:17] I won't say which one because they would be flabbergasted.

[00:18:20] John's dad ran a news agent and had a fairly healthy habit or not healthy.

[00:18:25] Yeah.

[00:18:26] No, it's like a smoke machine in Dad's mark.

[00:18:29] It's amazing how that's changed in the UK.

[00:18:32] You really don't see kind of adults smoking so much.

[00:18:35] I feel like, whereas in Germany and places, it's just everywhere and in the taxes or whatever.

[00:18:42] But yes, music.

[00:18:44] I listen to headphones a lot.

[00:18:46] There was, oh wait, no.

[00:18:47] Now, basically my dad would listen to like the top gear soundtrack.

[00:18:52] Like there was a whole bunch of Dire Straits, et cetera, which was great.

[00:18:56] Genesis, things like that.

[00:18:59] I'm sure they're yelling at me.

[00:19:01] They're listening.

[00:19:03] No, we listened to all of this other stuff.

[00:19:07] And then, yeah, road trips.

[00:19:11] Somehow way back in the early 80s, mid 80s, my grandparents started going to Spain,

[00:19:16] which I think was way ahead of the time.

[00:19:18] I don't think Spain was even properly democracy.

[00:19:22] And so they went to like this little town, which now is, you know, it's on the east.

[00:19:27] Lots of British people go there.

[00:19:28] But we would drive there.

[00:19:30] From Scotland.

[00:19:31] From that would have been, yeah, Scotland or it would have been England.

[00:19:33] We'd fly sometimes.

[00:19:34] But I remember road tripping through France and my dad was very regimented about the driving in a really nice way.

[00:19:41] Looking back, I realized how hard my dad worked and how much they both sacrificed to give me and my brother time and things.

[00:19:53] Yeah.

[00:19:54] And you can ask for more out of two people than that.

[00:19:59] Yeah.

[00:20:00] And the way they would drive would be up first thing in the morning to drive until the hottest part of the day.

[00:20:06] No air conditioning, even when we're like, oh, my dad drove a BMW.

[00:20:09] Like it didn't have factory AC.

[00:20:12] I think I had lucky windrows, but like, you know, that was it.

[00:20:17] So and we drive to like a Novotel.

[00:20:21] That was it.

[00:20:22] Like going to swimming pool in the afternoon and the next day drive another six, seven hours and just take four days to get to Spain or something.

[00:20:30] And I would sit in the back listening to now.

[00:20:33] That's what I call music.

[00:20:34] Yeah.

[00:20:35] First on my cassette.

[00:20:36] Got to make myself sound old.

[00:20:37] And then my Discman.

[00:20:38] And so, yeah, there's some terrible nineties, mid nineties, just like British or Euro beat songs with a like powerful female singer that are just so memory inducing.

[00:20:53] And my brother saying he was melting because we'd be in the back in the southern French heat with no AC.

[00:21:00] Like, so, yeah, that's really fond memories.

[00:21:04] Awesome.

[00:21:04] Yeah.

[00:21:05] I like stories like that.

[00:21:06] But you sort of put those things the back of your mind, you forget about them.

[00:21:10] Hmm.

[00:21:10] But yeah, when we start kind of talking about this, you know, oh, yeah.

[00:21:13] And that and this.

[00:21:14] I think about those all the time.

[00:21:17] Like I did you tell from my storytelling that my brain just bounces every day.

[00:21:23] So I'll be walking outside and be like, oh, remember that road trip.

[00:21:26] So have you ended up owning any cars specifically because your parents or your grandparents had them?

[00:21:32] Is that was that what the Volkswagen thing was about?

[00:21:35] No, I owned a Mark three Ford Fiesta when I was in the UK.

[00:21:40] I had a Kawasaki AR 50.

[00:21:43] My dad loved motorbikes.

[00:21:45] And that's what he tinkered with.

[00:21:49] And then it was his side hustle when he was young, was rebuilding bikes.

[00:21:57] And then, okay, there's a dad story.

[00:21:59] All right.

[00:22:00] I'm going to sidetrack.

[00:22:00] Bring me back in a moment.

[00:22:03] So he lived in a Scottish Paisley, west of Glasgow high rise.

[00:22:09] Okay.

[00:22:11] And it was really not a lot of money in the family.

[00:22:15] So I got this, the stories of, well, I'd buy a broken motorbike, but I then had to take it upstairs.

[00:22:21] So I would take it apart and carry it.

[00:22:24] I don't know if there was a lift or not.

[00:22:26] And he would take it up to his bedroom and rebuild it there, then take it downstairs and reassemble it and then ride it and sell it.

[00:22:32] Jesus.

[00:22:33] And then finally, he did get a shared lockup.

[00:22:36] I don't know if he had a moped that would get him to there and then the motorbikes would be there.

[00:22:41] But either way, it was like, it was uphill both ways.

[00:22:45] And I was always like, oh, this is, you know, the stories when I was young never really made sense or excited me.

[00:22:52] And then a number of years ago, we were talking about my friend has a lathe and he was working on a part, but it's three phase, which he didn't have.

[00:23:01] So he put a drill on the end of it and his friend just held on this drill and whipped around by this lathe and it worked.

[00:23:10] And my dad said, oh yeah, I had a manual powered lathe.

[00:23:12] I'm like, what are you talking about?

[00:23:13] He's like, oh, it's from a submarine.

[00:23:15] What?

[00:23:16] And it was him and his brother.

[00:23:17] Scotland was building a lot of ships and submarines and everything apparently in a submarine had to be self-sustaining.

[00:23:25] So if you're in the middle of the ocean somewhere and the power goes out and you need to machine a part, you had to have no power machines.

[00:23:33] And so they would have lathes that could be human operated.

[00:23:37] Yeah.

[00:23:37] And so they went and bought one of these surplus lathes at the docks in Glasgow or governor or wherever.

[00:23:44] And they hooked up a motor from a washing machine to it.

[00:23:48] I'm like, dad, I wish no one when you're really young is like, I really appreciate these stories.

[00:23:54] And I really like you're, you're really cool, dad.

[00:23:56] And now I'm like, oh, that's really, really cool.

[00:23:59] My grandpa, just a quick diversion.

[00:24:01] He was an engineer.

[00:24:03] He used to teach people kind of how to do engineering, but in his garage, when we cleared that out, when he passed away, he had a treadle operated lathe.

[00:24:13] So it had like a pedal, like a, like an old fashioned sewing machine type thing.

[00:24:17] That was like the heaviest thing in the world.

[00:24:19] But yeah, my dad brought that back.

[00:24:21] I think he hooked some sort of motor up to it, but yeah, that was kind of, sorry, keep going.

[00:24:25] That's exactly it.

[00:24:26] That's literally it.

[00:24:27] Like they were human operated.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:30] While the things that we did not know about.

[00:24:32] And then, yeah.

[00:24:34] So I guess that really was a thing.

[00:24:36] Like if your granddad and my dad did it, like everyone's just finding these manual lathes.

[00:24:40] I can't believe your dad was lifting bits of motorbike up some stairs.

[00:24:44] He must have arms like Popeye or something.

[00:24:47] I mean, yeah, they were whatever, Bantams or whatever.

[00:24:50] I've no idea.

[00:24:51] Um, yeah.

[00:24:53] Whatever the coolest bikes were, the cafe racers, like that was what my dad was doing back in the sixties or whatever.

[00:24:59] Um, yeah, they're cool.

[00:25:02] Like, I think it's, you know, when you're young, you don't appreciate it.

[00:25:04] And I'm glad to kind of have a rekindled.

[00:25:07] Yeah.

[00:25:08] Appreciation for them while they're here and driving their Volkswagen's with BBS two piece wheels.

[00:25:15] Is that your influence back on that?

[00:25:17] You got them into cars, so to speak, rather than the other way around or.

[00:25:21] No, no, no, no.

[00:25:22] They got me into cars.

[00:25:24] They're both car people.

[00:25:25] Everyone in the family is kind of a car person, but it was, you know, go for a walk on a Sunday afternoon.

[00:25:32] Like, oh, there's a car show.

[00:25:33] We'll go to it.

[00:25:34] I grew up.

[00:25:35] Southern England and I learned to drive the TRL.

[00:25:39] Yeah.

[00:25:39] The transportation research laboratory because we lived in the village.

[00:25:44] And so they would let local kids go and learn how to drive because it's a whole town set up.

[00:25:50] And that was the home of inters.

[00:25:52] Yeah.

[00:25:53] So the GT international show.

[00:25:54] And I always remember my dad being like, oh, we should borrow the next door neighbors to sat and go drag race it because they'll let you in.

[00:26:01] But we never went.

[00:26:03] We never actually went to the show.

[00:26:04] So I remember all the modified cars and things coming into town once a year.

[00:26:08] But I was, you know, 12 or something, but we never went.

[00:26:11] But I grew up always going to Brooklands and going to museums and the same with my grandfather.

[00:26:18] So, you know, really big car people, but were never worked in the car industry or something.

[00:26:25] And so then jumping back for thoughts.

[00:26:28] No, I had a Ford Fiesta Kawasaki AR 50.

[00:26:31] The AR 50 got nicked because Britain.

[00:26:35] And then.

[00:26:37] But then I was back to the bus and back to my bicycle.

[00:26:40] Love riding my bike everywhere.

[00:26:43] Regretting life being 13 years old.

[00:26:45] I should have built up the trust to ask that I just going to ride my bike across France or Britain.

[00:26:51] Like, I just wish I'd ridden and ridden and ridden.

[00:26:54] So I bought a one liter Ford Fiesta, modified it, did a motor swap, which in the UK you need to register.

[00:27:02] Yeah.

[00:27:02] Because your tax changes or whatever.

[00:27:04] I never did.

[00:27:05] When I moved to America, I gave it to my brother and they scrapped it or they sold it for parts.

[00:27:10] Because I think my parents are like, this motor swap is not good.

[00:27:14] And, you know, I'd started gutting it.

[00:27:16] I don't think I had a back seat or anything.

[00:27:18] So they kept the steering wheel and the radio out of it, which I still have in my cars now.

[00:27:23] Okay.

[00:27:24] And I bought another one liter Mark three Fiesta base model, not an RS turbo, not an XR2i shipped it over.

[00:27:31] And it's got the original Fiesta head unit, the Kenwood mask sitting here in America, right hand drive, completely pointless.

[00:27:39] But when I first moved to America, Volkswagen's were the only cars I recognized.

[00:27:45] There was a Mark three Vauxhall Astra sold here as a Daewoo.

[00:27:51] Yeah, they did the same here.

[00:27:52] Yeah.

[00:27:53] But it's like a really bad, cheap knockoff, official knockoff.

[00:27:58] It's like a jelly mold, isn't it?

[00:27:59] Like they've rounded over every edge.

[00:28:01] A tiny bit, but it's, it's just like the, there was just a bad car.

[00:28:06] No offense to them.

[00:28:06] I don't know if anyone's doing whatever, but that, I think they sold it here as a Pontiac or something.

[00:28:14] Okay.

[00:28:14] Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure Pontiac Le Mans, I believe.

[00:28:19] Oh wow.

[00:28:19] But nothing to do with Opel or anyway.

[00:28:22] So I would have bought one of those if it found it.

[00:28:25] I didn't bought a Mark one golf instead broken few hundred dollars.

[00:28:28] And that was it for Volkswagen.

[00:28:31] And now my mom and dad regularly read PVW magazine.

[00:28:37] My mom has a beige on beige beetle convertible, like a 2007 ish.

[00:28:45] Yeah.

[00:28:45] On BBS RS two wheels.

[00:28:48] So she's got 18 inch split rims on it.

[00:28:51] And we got her color match center caps.

[00:28:54] So knock off, but like, you know, aftermarket made beige with the gold center cap.

[00:28:59] So my mom was like styling.

[00:29:02] Fantastic.

[00:29:03] Is there like a big thirst?

[00:29:05] Obviously there is because of what you do, Jamie, but is there a big thirst for like these cars that were never available in the US?

[00:29:12] Obviously they're not British belt cars.

[00:29:13] A lot of them, they're all from sort of different parts of Europe, but just intrigued as to how people are kind of finding out about, I guess, like the social media explosion.

[00:29:21] People were seeing all these vehicles on various things, but.

[00:29:24] Yes, there definitely is.

[00:29:26] Um, but to me going back to performance VW magazine before Instagram, you know, even before VW vortex PVW was such a trendsetter.

[00:29:37] And I mean, we had, we had the Brit look, you know, a Mark two golf with big bumpers, lowered wide wheels.

[00:29:45] Like we've always looked to the other cultures for that.

[00:29:49] And I think Britain has always been pretty up on that.

[00:29:52] And then the same with the car culture in the UK.

[00:29:55] So I think a lot of people, I mean, top gear, I mean, look at the exports, the trendsetting.

[00:30:00] Yeah.

[00:30:01] So I think people here have always been very aware and English as a first language helps a lot too.

[00:30:08] Yeah.

[00:30:09] Uh, but people always look to Britain.

[00:30:11] So a lot of those cars do have cult followings here.

[00:30:15] Sierra Cosworths, things like that escort Cosworths.

[00:30:18] Mm.

[00:30:19] They're dream cars in a lot of countries, but they're ones that Britain really kind of owned and took under itself.

[00:30:26] I mean, I'll, I'll shout out Britain.

[00:30:27] I guess we're spoiled a little bit here, aren't we?

[00:30:29] Because we grew up with it, but we've just seen them day to day.

[00:30:33] Sure.

[00:30:33] But then, you know, drive to survive.

[00:30:35] I mean, Formula One is British.

[00:30:37] Mm.

[00:30:37] Whether it is or not.

[00:30:39] I mean, FIA, et cetera, not, but most of the teams are based there and you're like, you're a German team.

[00:30:43] Why are you in middle England?

[00:30:46] So I think that, and then all the stories of Gordon Murray and everyone, all of these kind of heroes and things.

[00:30:52] Um, so no, there is definitely a thirst for it.

[00:30:54] And then there's, it's an easy way to get some of those really cool cars.

[00:30:58] Mm.

[00:30:58] Some people do or don't like right hand drive.

[00:31:01] I think right now, try not to get political.

[00:31:06] Your used car market is pretty depressed compared to the rest of Western Europe.

[00:31:12] I think Brexit kind of changed that.

[00:31:14] The value of the pound changed it.

[00:31:16] And then right hand drive people that are stereotypically buying up the cars, whether it was used to be Poland and now it's maybe more Romania, et cetera.

[00:31:26] Um, not being political.

[00:31:29] I think that is just economics, but they don't want right hand drive cars.

[00:31:32] Yeah.

[00:31:32] And people are no longer coming to Britain to work and taking cars home with them or going back at Christmas and driving a car and leaving it.

[00:31:41] Um, so I do think that your used car market pricing is depressed.

[00:31:46] Maybe not so as on purpose as Japan.

[00:31:49] I think Japan is built.

[00:31:51] Japanese exports are so famous, but it's a small place.

[00:31:54] Can't they only keep their cars for 10 years or something silly like that?

[00:31:57] Yeah.

[00:31:58] I mean, their, their tax goes up.

[00:31:59] You have to want to keep an old car and you've got to pay for it, but that's really built as, I mean, look at the parallel and differences between two island countries with not a very big population, love new cars.

[00:32:11] One of them has one of the biggest car industries on the globe.

[00:32:15] And the other one has nothing being, being polite.

[00:32:18] If you round to the nearest whole number.

[00:32:21] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:32:22] What went wrong?

[00:32:22] What did they do differently?

[00:32:23] Yeah.

[00:32:24] You've, you've got Lotus, which isn't owned by whatever you've got Bentley, which is owned by whatever you've got Jaguar.

[00:32:30] Like there's going back to Margaret Thatcher, et cetera.

[00:32:33] Britain's car industry literally died.

[00:32:37] Hmm.

[00:32:38] Okay.

[00:32:38] Again, rounding to the nearest whole point, you're 1% or 0.1% of what it was.

[00:32:44] Whereas Japan strength to strength.

[00:32:47] Yeah.

[00:32:47] And I think Japan is set up for exporting cars.

[00:32:51] Whereas the UK wasn't.

[00:32:53] So I can go into more thoughts on that, but so yes, we do definitely look at European cars and Britain's the easy one to look at.

[00:33:05] Hmm.

[00:33:06] Whereas other people look at JDM and they look at Japan and it's that simple.

[00:33:12] Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

[00:33:14] Do you recall kids from school having kind of cars of interest, like their parents driving stuff and you thinking that's really cool or equally, that's really,

[00:33:23] rubbish.

[00:33:25] So yeah.

[00:33:26] All right.

[00:33:26] In the neighborhood, you knew who had what cars.

[00:33:28] Hmm.

[00:33:29] Me and my friend were probably 12 or something.

[00:33:32] He had a wooden go car and we strapped his mom's vacuum cleaner on it.

[00:33:37] And we would go around door to door asking if you wanted your car cleaned.

[00:33:41] And that was how we made money as well.

[00:33:43] So we'd wash cars and you always kind of knew who have what.

[00:33:46] And I will never forget.

[00:33:48] I don't remember his name.

[00:33:48] My next door neighbor was a pilot and he always had BMW E30 M3s.

[00:33:54] Nice.

[00:33:55] And they're always on BBSs.

[00:33:56] I assume RSs, but I, I not that specific to remember, but I think they had the bolts.

[00:34:02] Yeah.

[00:34:02] And this was like, you know, early nineties.

[00:34:04] So these cars were maybe a year or two old.

[00:34:06] And the story we heard or that I remember was he would fly to Germany working by the car and drive at home because it was cheaper to import them from Europe than to buy it in the UK or they weren't available or whatever the reason was.

[00:34:20] Yeah.

[00:34:21] But I'll never forget.

[00:34:22] And I'm sitting here looking at a BBS RS sitting in my office.

[00:34:25] He wouldn't let me wash his cars.

[00:34:29] Why not?

[00:34:30] And now I'm like, oh, we were probably using the same grit from the previous car in the bottom of the bucket and going around.

[00:34:35] Yeah.

[00:34:36] And we would have this marketing thing of like pay is what you think it's worth because even how much you want, you're like a pound.

[00:34:43] You'd be like, oh, sure.

[00:34:44] You'd be like 10 pounds.

[00:34:45] Like, no way.

[00:34:46] So we do a good job and actually care about it because my dad would wash his cars, whatever I'd learned a little.

[00:34:53] And they'd be like, oh, you did an amazing job.

[00:34:56] Here's 15 pounds or whatever.

[00:34:57] We like, yeah, we're rich.

[00:35:01] But I remember him with his toothbrush and he would sit there and clean between the spokes of the wheels.

[00:35:08] And I just remember like, what a weirdo.

[00:35:11] Like, ah, and like, you don't let me wash your car either.

[00:35:14] You don't want to give the kid next door a pound or whatever.

[00:35:17] And now here I am with the BBSs and I sit there and I, if I'm traveling and there is a toothbrush in the hotel room, I'm like, oh, I'll take that from my wheels.

[00:35:28] Yeah.

[00:35:30] That guy must've had like a look into the future or something knowing about a 30 M3 has been desirable and swell marks with sponges and grit and that sort of thing.

[00:35:40] Yeah.

[00:35:41] He was on it and I did not appreciate it in the slightest.

[00:35:45] And now I want to be like, I don't know where you are.

[00:35:48] I don't know what you're doing, but like, you were super freaking cool.

[00:35:52] Like you were, you were out for cool or you were indeed a complete nerd and you have passed on the wheel nerd.

[00:36:02] So that's my earliest memory of like, oh, that guy's a car weirdo.

[00:36:07] And now I look in the mirror and I'm like, yeah, right, right there with you.

[00:36:12] I remember the garage that my dad used to use when I was a kid.

[00:36:16] Um, the garage was called VRV and the owner used to drive around a gray, a 30 M3.

[00:36:23] I think it's like an Evo one with like the full kit and a number plate was VRV one as a left hand drive.

[00:36:29] And you see it and just think even back then I wasn't sort of knowledgeable about cars, but you could just tell that's, that's a special car.

[00:36:36] Don't know what happened to it.

[00:36:37] I should punch that number plate into, uh, the old MOT checker and see what it's on nowadays.

[00:36:41] Probably on something that's worth less than the car.

[00:36:43] Do you ever see personal number plates and you go, that number plate's worth more than your car?

[00:36:47] And it's on like a, yeah, Ford Fiesta or something.

[00:36:50] It's a four digit plate and you're like, what?

[00:36:52] Exactly.

[00:36:53] Yeah.

[00:36:54] I tried to try down my grandparents' cars where they always had the same two number plates.

[00:36:59] And supposedly the rule was back in the day, you couldn't sell or transfer them.

[00:37:04] You had to own the car.

[00:37:06] So my granddad bought his initials with the number three after it on a Ford Anglia or something.

[00:37:12] Yeah.

[00:37:13] And he parked it out the back of the house in a field for the six months or whatever the requirement was to take the plate off of it.

[00:37:19] Yeah.

[00:37:19] The personal plates make it really hard to track down an individual car because you don't know when they sold it, what was reassigned.

[00:37:26] Um, for non UK people, car number plates stay with a car for the life of it, unless you transfer it off.

[00:37:34] So, and there's a great lookup website.

[00:37:37] So you can go and see of this car when it was last inspected, which is a phenomenal system.

[00:37:43] We do not have that here.

[00:37:45] And there's not many other places in the rest of the world that Holland's okay.

[00:37:50] Um, but yeah, that really is something really cool about the UK car scene.

[00:37:54] I've just punched in VR V1 into the MOT checker.

[00:37:57] And this is quite possibly the most disappointing thing I've ever seen, but it's on a Volkswagen Passat registered in 2012 diesel.

[00:38:06] And it's, that was a company car for sure.

[00:38:09] But that's the, that's the bummer that you can't now find the original car that you remember it on.

[00:38:14] Yeah.

[00:38:15] The other thing I guess with data protection is that you can't be put in touch with whoever's got that vehicle.

[00:38:20] It's probably the same over there, but if you then wanted to try and find that car, you're just clutching at straws.

[00:38:25] It could be anywhere.

[00:38:26] Yes.

[00:38:27] And no.

[00:38:28] So, all right.

[00:38:29] Going off the deep end in the UK, you don't have really ownership documents.

[00:38:33] You have a V5 document.

[00:38:34] Yeah.

[00:38:34] Which says on the front and really big letters, this is not proof of ownership.

[00:38:38] This is proof of the register keeper.

[00:38:40] What weirds me out is that you can just write in and get one.

[00:38:45] That's true.

[00:38:46] So I'm always like, so somebody could just take my car and just write in and be like, I guess so.

[00:38:53] I want the registered documents.

[00:38:55] I'm like, so then can't you work out by that who the previous owner was or something?

[00:39:00] I'm like that.

[00:39:01] The DVLA is a very mysterious and murky place, Jamie, with that weird address that it's got.

[00:39:08] It's DVLA postcard.

[00:39:10] Swansea.

[00:39:11] Off goes your letter and it gets there.

[00:39:13] Something like to Santa.

[00:39:14] That's the one, yeah.

[00:39:15] I don't know if I should bite on talking about it being in Wales, because you're like, it's in Swansea.

[00:39:20] So again, for people that don't know, it's in Southern Wales, which is a separate country, like Scotland, or I'm not even going to touch on Ireland.

[00:39:31] But it was really famous for coal mining, etc.

[00:39:35] And it kind of felt the DVLA that like we need to send some work there.

[00:39:40] And so the entire database of everything car related goes to a random town city in Wales.

[00:39:50] I don't know what else Swansea is famous for.

[00:39:52] Is that true?

[00:39:53] Was the DVLA started in Swansea or it was moved there?

[00:39:55] I've never heard that.

[00:39:56] I don't know.

[00:39:57] But an entire government office being moved to a fairly random place.

[00:40:03] I'm not trying to talk deep or negatively, but that was what I'd always kind of been told that.

[00:40:11] Yep.

[00:40:12] They needed some industry.

[00:40:13] Like again, bring up Margaret Thatcher three times.

[00:40:18] All right.

[00:40:19] So Maggie Thatcher went and shut that.

[00:40:21] Do you know, you're probably not owner.

[00:40:22] I vividly remember.

[00:40:24] And it was really, I must've been like two or three.

[00:40:26] So I don't know why I remember this when they shut down the coal mines and they are when they went on strike.

[00:40:31] I remember people driving food and clothing to the Welsh valleys, to the villages because they had no income anymore.

[00:40:39] Okay.

[00:40:40] And that they literally would send that over.

[00:40:43] Um, and the stories were, this came up with Ukraine, that a Ukrainian coal mine sent aid to the Welsh families.

[00:40:53] And then they returned the favor during the conflict, during the war.

[00:40:57] Now that Welsh village sent stuff over and said, we never forgot that we were like kind of the communists were sending us aid against our own government.

[00:41:08] Um, but going back to the DVLA, you know, this is big, everyone knows the address that it's just drive a vehicle licensing.

[00:41:17] A agency Swansea.

[00:41:20] And that's it.

[00:41:22] That was the rumor or story I've been told, but it was like, well, we took away their entire industry.

[00:41:26] So we're just going to give them an anonymous government office.

[00:41:31] And here's an agency for you to go run.

[00:41:36] Yeah.

[00:41:37] Yeah.

[00:41:37] So it's a mystery, isn't it?

[00:41:38] We need to try and get someone on from the DVLA thing.

[00:41:41] You can apply in writing, sir.

[00:41:43] Yeah.

[00:41:47] Well, I've off topic this quite enough.

[00:41:49] Yeah.

[00:41:50] Fantastic.

[00:41:51] Um, you know, a lot of people obviously doing what you do.

[00:41:54] Could you suggest someone who you think we should speak to anyone who's a bit nerdy about the cars they grew up with, or maybe isn't nerdy about it, but likes talking.

[00:42:03] Don't say Thatcher.

[00:42:06] She got a bit quiet recently.

[00:42:08] Yeah.

[00:42:09] Very quiet.

[00:42:10] Yes.

[00:42:10] I'm not making this political.

[00:42:12] I have nothing pro or negative.

[00:42:14] Like, um, I love to travel.

[00:42:18] I love to, yeah, meet people and to, yeah, learn about their backgrounds and stuff.

[00:42:24] So if I have to pass the baton, I would say somebody from South Africa.

[00:42:31] Okay.

[00:42:32] Or Australia or Poland.

[00:42:36] If you want a very enthusiastic, whereas I am like somewhat sarcastic or whatever.

[00:42:47] Um, Vic Cardell from South Africa.

[00:42:51] Um, we brought him up last year.

[00:42:53] We came up for my show.

[00:42:55] Um, and he does emceeing for VW camp fest down there.

[00:42:58] Okay.

[00:42:59] He is a energizer bunny of excitement and positivity and everything like that.

[00:43:07] So he's, he's really great.

[00:43:09] And he's very, you know, from humble beginnings and essay.

[00:43:14] Um, so he would be a good one.

[00:43:16] And then, yeah, there are just so many people.

[00:43:18] I'm going to go visit the guys from DSP and France.

[00:43:22] Okay.

[00:43:22] Yeah.

[00:43:22] Some wild PVW style cars back in the day.

[00:43:26] The gullwing gulf didn't they?

[00:43:28] Mark one speedster.

[00:43:29] And two and three, like going everything.

[00:43:33] Um, and it's, it's funny seeing how his brain works.

[00:43:36] So he brought his Mark three for my show here in the U S last year.

[00:43:40] And it's gullwing doors on a Mark three, but it's also got a portion nine, six, eight,

[00:43:46] maybe, maybe I'm wrong on that.

[00:43:48] Save it a model.

[00:43:50] Yeah.

[00:43:50] Nine, six, eight is.

[00:43:51] Yeah.

[00:43:51] I think it had nine, six, eight dashboard seats, everything nine, nine, six, four,

[00:43:56] whatever.

[00:43:57] I had full Porsche interior, like unbelievable.

[00:44:00] Um, so David is that guy.

[00:44:04] Um, and I, I, I'm sure just from his kind of quiet persona with sort of fewer words, I feel like he actually has some really cool stories.

[00:44:16] Um, but for entertainment and volume.

[00:44:20] Um, yeah, I'm, I'm really, I've been so lucky to go to South Africa so many times.

[00:44:26] And there's so many amazing, beautiful people there.

[00:44:29] Um, and such car culture, the rest of the world is sleeping on the special additions and things that South Africa has had over the years.

[00:44:37] They love factory hot rods.

[00:44:40] Um, so yeah, that would be my suggestion kind of head.

[00:44:43] Yeah.

[00:44:44] Further a few.

[00:44:45] Well, look him up.

[00:44:47] Fantastic.

[00:44:48] Um, yeah.

[00:44:49] Thank you very much for joining us, Jamie.

[00:44:50] I do really appreciate it.

[00:44:51] I'm not trying to get rid of you.

[00:44:53] We try and squeeze this into a lunch break.

[00:44:55] So, um,

[00:44:56] Oh, so my, by being late, which we did not talk about the beginning, we didn't know.

[00:45:00] Um, no, well, I've outed myself on that.

[00:45:02] Um, all right, well go work.

[00:45:04] Um, I will go and do the same.

[00:45:06] Yeah.

[00:45:06] Cool.

[00:45:06] I really appreciate it.

[00:45:07] Look after yourself, mate.

[00:45:08] Thank you.

[00:45:09] Take care.

[00:45:09] And I'll see you again.

[00:45:10] Um, yeah.

[00:45:11] So ish.

[00:45:12] Yeah.

[00:45:12] Thanks.

[00:45:13] Thanks.

[00:45:14] Cheers.

[00:45:14] Bye.

[00:45:16] Cool.

[00:45:17] Here we go.

[00:45:18] I think that was worth hanging on for.

[00:45:19] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:45:20] No, no, really interesting guy with an interesting day job.

[00:45:25] Yes, very much.

[00:45:26] So yeah, it's, it's not, it's not about his day job, but, um, you can see a bit like how

[00:45:31] he's ended up there.

[00:45:32] Yeah, certainly.

[00:45:33] Yeah.

[00:45:33] Yeah.

[00:45:34] And there's some cool, uh, previous cars that his dad was involved with.

[00:45:39] Oh yeah.

[00:45:39] It's fantastic.

[00:45:40] I didn't know his dad still had the Elise.

[00:45:42] No, that's a cool story.

[00:45:44] Can't be too many company car options that went down the, uh, Elise route.

[00:45:49] No, I can't imagine.

[00:45:50] So that's, um, yeah, a bit of a wild card, isn't it?

[00:45:53] Um, I have to go for kind of, yeah, your practical saloon.

[00:45:57] You like a Mondo or a four or an Elise.

[00:46:02] Yeah.

[00:46:04] Yeah.

[00:46:04] I think, yeah, it's nice that he's going to, um, yeah, he's going to take that on kind

[00:46:08] of when his dad's sort of finished with it.

[00:46:10] Yeah.

[00:46:10] Yeah.

[00:46:10] And, um, a bit of a touch, I guess, on mortality really for him kind of thinking that his dad's

[00:46:15] getting, obviously not getting any younger.

[00:46:17] Yeah.

[00:46:17] Yeah.

[00:46:18] And, um, yeah, I guess something we don't, yeah, we don't kind of have to worry about,

[00:46:21] so to speak, but, um, it is, it's refreshing, I guess, comforting in a way that people do

[00:46:26] kind of see that mortality in their parents because yeah, far rather that than, um, kind

[00:46:33] of people just take them for granted.

[00:46:34] Yeah.

[00:46:34] Cause yeah, they're not going to be there forever.

[00:46:36] Yeah.

[00:46:36] As we, as we found out.

[00:46:38] Yeah, exactly.

[00:46:38] Yeah.

[00:46:39] Yeah.

[00:46:39] That is kind of nice to see a little bit of emotion with that.

[00:46:42] Um, I guess there always comes a time with an Elise though.

[00:46:45] Yeah.

[00:46:46] You just can't get into it.

[00:46:47] I imagine I'd struggle now.

[00:46:49] I probably would have struggled when I was 21 cause I'm so sick.

[00:46:53] Yeah.

[00:46:54] I don't know whether I've ever been in one actually, but yeah, they're pretty small,

[00:46:57] aren't they?

[00:46:57] I think.

[00:46:58] Yeah.

[00:46:59] Joe who came on.

[00:46:59] Yes.

[00:47:00] Five.

[00:47:01] He had one for a bit.

[00:47:02] Yeah.

[00:47:02] And he sort of ended up going back to some sort of Mercedes coupe or Cabriolet.

[00:47:10] I think there's a bit more of a practical toy cause, um, yeah, as much as it's fun,

[00:47:15] I don't think it's that fun when it's raining or you're not on a racetrack.

[00:47:18] Exactly.

[00:47:19] Yeah.

[00:47:19] Um, and yeah, I'll look the chap up from South Africa.

[00:47:22] We'll see if we can get him on.

[00:47:23] Yeah.

[00:47:24] You're good to hit another continent.

[00:47:25] I was going to say, what's the time difference with, uh, it's not too bad, is it?

[00:47:29] I think they're fairly good cause they're sort of in line with it.

[00:47:32] Is it like one hour or so?

[00:47:34] Yeah.

[00:47:34] Yeah.

[00:47:34] Cause sort of up and down, I don't think changes does it?

[00:47:37] It's left and right.

[00:47:38] I think.

[00:47:39] Yeah.

[00:47:39] Yeah.

[00:47:39] No, I've really enjoyed it.

[00:47:40] It was good to get Jamie on and, um, oh yeah.

[00:47:43] Carrying motorbikes upstairs.

[00:47:44] Yeah.

[00:47:45] Fix them in a flat.

[00:47:46] That's kind of, yeah.

[00:47:47] Good fun.

[00:47:47] His grandparents, Mark one, Sirocco, um, minis and metros, obviously we touched on earlier.

[00:47:53] Yeah.

[00:47:54] It was good.

[00:47:54] I really enjoyed it.

[00:47:55] Definitely.

[00:47:56] Yeah.

[00:47:56] And, um, yeah, nice to get on and, um, yeah.

[00:47:59] Continue our, uh, international, uh, guest list, I suppose.

[00:48:03] Yeah.

[00:48:03] I think Jamie is definitely one of those where you could, you could just speak all day, couldn't

[00:48:07] you really?

[00:48:07] And go on and on.

[00:48:08] Yeah.

[00:48:08] Loads of tangents, wasn't it?

[00:48:10] 1980s politics.

[00:48:12] Yes.

[00:48:13] Cool.

[00:48:13] Thank you very much, John.

[00:48:14] Right.

[00:48:15] All right, mate.

[00:48:15] We'll wrap it up and yeah, roll the credits.

[00:48:19] Thank you for listening to my dance card.

[00:48:22] I hope you enjoyed the show.

[00:48:25] Please support us.

[00:48:28] Buy us a copy and subscribe.

[00:48:32] And tell us your friends.