Practically Classics Forum

Hello

I have just sold my 1988 Volvo 740 for something a little more economical, and as i also have my Sherpa awaiting a top end rebuild i thought modern and cheap was the answer. So i have been driving a W reg Nissan micra CVT, its a great little car and i have put nearly 3000 miles on it in a matter of weeks, (something i have never attempted in any of my previous classics)
Admittedly the micra is not a classic, but possibly a future one, especially considering the 1.3 has the same power output as the mini cooper and has probably sold in similar numbers.
Anyway having always driven large cars or vans i have become very aware of other drivers and i have found i am being tail gated ALOT, i don’t drive slow, i drive at the speed limit and to the conditions.

Last week i was driving home through dense fog at night, on unlit very windy country roads around Suffolk i was driving a 40mph, visability was down to a foot or two and i had someone tail gating me all the way, i attempted to pull over and they waited behind me, even while i was indicating left. They continued to sit inches away from my bumper.

I have also had people over taking in 30mph areas while I’m doing 30mph. this never happend in the old Volvo, or in my wifes V70. even in the sherpa, which is auto and slow by any comparison, people seem to recognise it as an old van and give me time to manover and get up to speed.

I really don’t get it, i have never noticed it before but being in such a small car, it is very annoying, especially as there is hardly any crash protection in a K11 micra.
Is this something other people notice when driving small cars! or is it just a Nissan micra thing.
Ramble over

James.

its probably because you are in a small car that you notice it more...either that or they are trying to admire your car??

I get this a lot in the Rover P6. Dunno why, but some cars just bring out the worst in people. I initially thought it was just because it's an old car, but my Land Rover's a similar age and goes a lot slower yet drivers seem quite content to sit behind it for miles, even when they could overtake easily. People are plain daft, I'm afraid it's just something we have to put up with.

This is one reason I love driving miss Rusty's Metro- it's old, it 's most definately slow.......but as the prat in a Z4 who tried to have me on a roundabout found out, it will well seriously outperform yer average chunk of bloated hun iron when a sharp curve is involved......................driving the Metro I see the appeal that driving an A35 held for James Hunt

mr rusty wrote:but as the prat in a Z4 who tried to have me on a roundabout found out, it will well seriously outperform yer average chunk of bloated hun iron when a sharp curve is involved

There appear to be quite a few Brattmobile & Audi drivers, who seem to assume (Not think), that they can lord it over everyone else and doubtless their ego takes a knock when their ability lets them down (I remember embarrassing/annoying someone, who was in a Mercedes sport car, when I was at the wheel of a borrowed and very shabby Morris Minor…it was raining and the road was twisty). Whether it’s just the odd few, giving the rest a bad name, I can’t say but I’m certainly not the only one to notice this Blitzkrieg mentality behind the wheel (It's a shame.....I wouldn't mind a pre war BMW 328 ).

mr rusty wrote:I see the appeal that driving an A35 held for James Hunt

My father was only mentioning his late national service pal, who owned something over 70 cars during his life, from pre war Austin 7s to V12 E Types and a few Aston Martins (DB2/4 and DB5). He owned an A35 van and on one of his regular runs, somewhere in Lincolnshire, he used to often catch up with a Jaguar and I don’t think the Jaguar driver could quite believe it. My father’s friend was a pretty good driver, maybe not James Hunt but useful.

Again we mentioned another friend of my father’s, from his early hillclimbing days. This friend was a one time “Junior hillclimb champion” (Which is a bit like the Leaders championship of today; based on your class results, so that you don’t need a class 12 car to win it) and he once took an modified A35 saloon, in part ex against a Cooper single seater. My father remembers following the A35, on a road well known to it’s owner. My father was at the wheel of a Frazer Nash, which was just as well, as the A35 was being driven extremely well!!!

When the Mini came out in 1959, there were quite a lot of drivers of bigger cars, who resented/dismissed it. In those days, the road holding of the Mini was better than pretty well anything else on the road and when they started modifying them, there were a lot of red faced people in bigger cars. Some things don’t change. Again, based on what my father has said, about driving in the 1950s, there was less aggression on the roads and whilst you had a certain amount of people in bigger cars expecting people in smaller cars, to know their place, there were some benefits. For a time, my grandfather had an XK140 Jaguar (It’s still about) and my father used to drive it. He said that when you went out in the 140, nobody ever tried to mix it with you. With the Frazer Nash, which was if anything a tad quicker than the 140 (And certainly handled better), lots of people assumed it was some sort of Austin 7 special and they would “Have a go”, even if only very briefly!!

It’s not just a size issue. I think that people have a tendency to judge things based on their own standards. Because most people neglect cars, they deteriorate and become bangers. Judging by the scarcity of 51 plate cars, I think it’s fair to say that after ten years, a lot of cars are finished. Therefore to a lot of people, anything of thirty years old must be about to fall to pieces in front of them, because if they had owned it, it would have fallen to pieces long ago. As a result, they can’t bear to be behind an old car, big or small. There is also the assumption that unless you have a new car, you can't afford a car and in our society, if you have no money, you are a loser and you don't matter. I'm sure there are people in my street who see me as the "Poor b*sta>d, down the end, with the old bangers".

I think Martin pretty much nailed it, people do change their driving depending on what they see around them. Small cars are seen a s slow and will "hold you up" so must be overtaken or bullied off the road. Large cars must be quicker so lets stay behind them. I have had cars that fit these categories and can tell you how people react.
1. The wifes old car, Perodua Kelisa (the one Jezza smashed up with a baseball bat) - "small and slow therefore get past it", it was quick off the mark and could do 90mph so used to catch a lot of people out.
2. The wifes new car, Perodua Myvi. This one although similar in size has more road prescence due to large bumpers and higher profile, we don't get anywhere near as much hassle in it as the Kelisa.
3. My everyday car, Mercedes S320. Even Audi and BMW drivers get out of the way, its big and fast and everyone knows it! But at the lights boy racers think they can "have a go" Silly boys.
4. My toy, GT40 (replica). No one even tries, everyone knows it can have them without trying, so I'm left pretty much alone - except for people trying to take photos.

So there you have it, it doesn't matter what your driving style is, other people always judge you on what you drive.

By the way, I also tow a caravan - let's not go there eh?

And of course there's always the one about certaIn cars being driven by certain types of driver.

Many bikers will tell you tales of "Volvo drivers" trying to kill them. (Although in my case it was a Citroen BX estate).

Then there are "Micra drivers" - you'll find one at the front of every tailback.

And "Audi drivers" - you'll always find one trying to drive up your tailpipe.

White Van Man, etc, etc........

My top 'annoying driver' traits

1. drivers who do 30 in a 40 and 40 in a 30
2. People who brake going round a corner or change gear while cornering
3. drivers who don't know what a gearbox is for and ascend hills in fifth and get slower and slower
4. Cars with one headlight out so they put the fog lights on to compensate
5. Drivers who drive along the white line because they can't judge the width of their vehicle
6. People who stop an Islands even tho there is clearly nothing coming, then they look, then they wait a bit longer
7. The one that speeds up the second you try to overtake
8. Drivers who brake for no reason
9. When you stop at the lights and the driver next to you in picking his (or her) nose
10. Children standing between the seats and there is a 'Back off child on board sticker' in the window

Another annoying trait popped up yesterday- blue-light freezing syndrome! Queuing at the lights on Redbridge roundabout (a major East London intersection) there was an ambulance coming up the A12 behind, the lights change...front driver goes ten feet, spots blue lights in the mirror, and freezes! Everyone is now stopped, and some poor sod is probably breathing his last half a minute up the road......after a bit of hooting panic-pants finally moved, but I'm glad it wasn't me waiting for help, because there's a freezer in every queue according to Mrs Rusty's London paramedic cousin.

I was a paramedic until last year and its true, when I approached traffic on blues they would often go into panic mode rather than calmly move out of the way