Dad cars: what's the best car your dad's ever had?
We dredge up our favourite dad cars from the dim and distant past
Morris Minor 1000
Pete Baiden – Web producer
My dad bought a Morris Minor 1000 in 1961 when he was just 18 years old. For its first proper road trip, he drove it around the UK with his best friend Dave, covering over 1,000 miles. Looking back at the 1000’s performance stats now – with a 0-60mph time of over 30 seconds and a top speed of 75mph – it must have taken him some time to cover those miles, although, as he still likes to point out, the roads were much quieter back then.
It was also the car he had when he met my mother, and he drove her home in it after their first ever date. Years later, it was tales like this that made me love that car, even though it never really left the garage when I was growing up – and often spent more time used as storage space than as a vehicle. I remember it being a magical occasion whenever he did take it out on the road, like we were stepping back in time.
But all good things must come to and end. My dad owned many other cars over the years, but the 1000 was always around until he finally sold it in 1997. It was a sad day.
BMW M3 CSL
Sean Carson – Chief reviewer
From a young age I was bitten by the bug when it comes to cars – mainly, due to my old man’s obsession that was impressed on to me. He enjoyed rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck in, so his formative years were spent fettling Lotuses. They invariably needed it.
A family arrived, so British sports cars made way for more practical hot hatches and super saloons, but everything conspired to create the perfect scenario for me in 2003: the perfect car at the perfect time.
He bought a BMW M3 CSL – the brand’s stripped out hardcore track car – a few years before I learnt to drive, so time spent in the passenger seat taking in the 3.2-litre straight-six’s hard-edged induction roar breathing through a carbon fibre airbox and the thump of the SMG II automated manual box’s vicious changes (paddle shift transmissions have come a long way) had me concocting notions of one day being able to get behind the wheel.
That day finally came – and it didn’t disappoint. The engine revved incredibly hard and the noise meant you always had it wound round the clock. The lightweight coupe clawed the tarmac with aggression, generating supercar levels of grip for the time – in the dry, at least. In the wet, for a wide-eyed young driver, the Michelin semi-click Cup tyres were sketchy to say the least…
Click onto page nine for more of the best cars our dads have owned...
