Life is grand

I remember seeing photos of the Audi Q7 before it hit the roads and thinking it looked pretty good. It looked big but not monstrous. Sadly within 2 seconds of having seen one in the flesh I changed my mind and realised it was monstrous. The Audi Q7 is an ugly automobile.

Along comes the above design, a “concept” called the Audi Cross Coupe quattro, and I am thinking it looks terrible. Audi design in general has gone off the rails in the past few years. The A4 went backwards and the A6 just looks dull. The only car worth looking at in the Audi range is the A5.

More photos of the Cross Coupe quattro concept.

While I have always been a keen follower of cars, thanks to my dad, I have kept the passion largely between the sheets of magazines and show-room windows. While I can talk on exotic cars, hot hatches, touring machines and the beauty of Pininfarina I have never seriously considered putting down hard cash for anything desirable. My two cars have been reliable, efficient and cheap; a 1996 Toyota Tazz and a 2005 Ford Fiesta. As much as I have loved these two dependable children of mine I am fully aware they are hardly desirable tar huggers.

Ultimately a Mitsubishi EVO has long been my dream machine. More than a Ferrari, more than a Lambo or Lotus. I’ve thought of buying one but never quite convinced myself I really need it. Mainly because I don’t. Nobody except Gabriel Pozzo does.

And so it was strange to find myself looking at this new Alfa Romeo Spider thinking that it was a car I desire and would buy, had I the money. It is truly beautiful and while hardly practical, efficient or cheap, and probably not that dependable, I’d put down €52,000 for one.

The Petersons don’t drive. They haven’t since 1987. No one in the family has a driver’s license. At 17 and 20 years old, the Peterson kids have never been behind the wheel.

As the rest of the country frets over the highest gas prices in history, the Petersons carry on as usual, biking, walking and riding the bus wherever they need to go.

from A family of 4 — but no car.

For a few months I was without a car in Ireland. I cycled to work everyday* and walked to the shops. But not having the option of a car is tough. Something simple like going to the laundromat is a mission without a car. You have to plan your weeks a lot more carefully when what is a 5 minute pop-over in a car becomes a 30 minute cycle or walk.

Now that I have a car though I am working towards a balance. Trips that involve carrying a load require the car as do taking the girlfriend out for dinner or down to the beach. Otherwise the bicycle is brilliant. You skip traffic, get fit and feel good about doing your part for the world.

* In light of the article it is ironic that I have been slacking since I bought a car. I want to get back to cycling to work everyday.

Over the past few months I have been dependant on a bicycle for getting around. Through rain, mist, pot-holes, the cold and narrow country roads I have cycled to and from work. There have been a few hairy situations but all in all I enjoy the daily cycle and it is keeping me fit. What doesn’t work so well though is pretty much everything else. Shopping is a pain and I either end up walking for an hour laden down with groceries or I spend some money on a taxi. Popping around to a friend’s is a chore and any sights I want to see in the area have to be in cycling distance. Then there are those few days were I wake up and the last thing I feel like is a 10k cycle to work.

And so it is that last week I bought a car. A red 2005 Ford Fiesta with just 6000k on the clock. I bought it from Sheridan’s in Waterford for €14,200.

So far I am very pleased with it. It goes well, looks good, has all the mod-cons I could ask for and is in good condition. I made use of the sun-roof over this past long May weekend. The audio system is surprisingly good though I will be getting some 6×9s for the rear.

Irish roads are a bit insane. The further you get from large towns the crazier they get. A country road barely wide enough for one car has a speed limit of 80kph. The mad bit is that the Irish actually do 80kph.

Now that I have the car I’ll be able to see more of the country. I’ll get a bike-rack fitted which should make for some good cycling further afield over the weekends.