[john.wigley]

I agree on the Suzuki, 'DaveNP'. I had a test drive in one in the early '80s with a view to replacing my '78 Mini with it. But then Linda and I decided to get married, and changing the car ceased to be a priority. Incidentally, the Mini was eventually sold for £600 in 1984 - how much would it be worth today? It was replaced by my first Volvo, a 1972 145E, purchased on a whim, on holiday, in Bournemouth for £650!

Regarding the Bentley; I once knew a chap who in the early '70s ran a '49 Mk 6 Standard Steel saloon as a daily driver. Appreciating even then, he claimed with some justification that the car was cheaper to run per mile than many much smaller cars - but he was very much the exception rather than the rule!

I think your point regarding nostalgia is also well made. I feel this may explain the record high prices currently being achieved at auction by cars from the '60s and '70s that must have been 'mothballed' immediately after purchase, so low are the mileages they have covered.

I do recall jokingly saying to Linda that we ought to buy one of the last original 'classic' Minis when they were discontinued and preserve it for maybe 20 years. But we could neither have justified the expense, nor had we the heated, humidity controlled garage in which to store it as an investment. Had we been able to do so, the £10K purchase price would probably show a three-fold return today - certainly much more than money in the bank would do!

But there's the rub; do the people who buy such cars then keep them in a museum to preserve their originality and value, or enjoy using them, which destroys it?

Regards, John.