August 12: Merry Old England

 One guess. Just one guess where this pic was taken, while I was away the past couple of weeks. Who said, New York? Well, friendo, you are dead wrong. Is there anyone else, anywhere, who wouldn't ID this as a London taxi, taken of course, in London, England? Iconic and for some reason they seem to have found favour in this one great city. Another blog for another time, perhaps. I love England. The sights, the sounds, the history and for moi, your car guy blogger, the cars. Why else would you take a trans Atlantic trip? There are brands and models that we ain't ever going to see on our shores, so sit back and see what got my attention in London town........

My constant rant is that we in Canada and the US are stuck on suvs, while our friends in most other places know the allure of a station wagon. This police car Ford was typical of most of the police cars, in that they were practical and great looking station wagons (along with BMW X5 suvs!). But normal folk also know about the goodness of wagons, like this VW Passat.........

 How about an Audi Allroad type of version for us, like what VW has done with the Golf wagon?

Other good lookers in descending order, the Mazda6 (Mazda initially teased us with this model but got cold feet), a Kia Optima and a Hyundai Sonata.......

Is there a bad line on any of these?

Enough already with the wagons, Barry, so let's move on. Seen on one of London's upscale streets, this is an uncommon Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale, sold from 1959 until 1966.........

Rare? Well, for that info you'd have to speak to an Alfa aficionado and God knows that's not me, but I've never seen one before.

Walking thru the embassy area was a visual treat, both in the lovely old buildings and the lovely new cars. When was the last time you saw a Lamborghini Aventador roadster? When was the last time you saw two in a five minute period? Ok, so you get my point? These cars stand out in a big way, but if they are that common in this area, what can one do to differentiate yours from your neighbour's? Here's an idea.......

Chrome wrap it, like this one parked on Mayfair. Hard on the eyes on those sunny London days (yes, there are a few), but a pair of ultra costly shades should do the trick. One more thing that made this particular Lambo stand out........

Spot that detail? Yep, this chrome dream ride was packing a Kuwaiti licence plate. No surprise there, folks. Nice to know, that all the profits from the money you are spending on gasoline for your humble ride is being spent wisely.

 Merry old England and especially London town. Cars are but a small part of the appeal and a very small part of the hundreds of pics that came back with me. Memories in full colour. Now stay tuned for the really good stuff coming in my next epistle.

Until next time......