One thing about the
British, for their so-called reputation for being staid, bland,
maybe even boring, they make some exciting and unusual cars.
These are cars with a real personality, and a character found
nowhere else. The Lotus Europa is such a car.
From the genius of Colin
Chapman has come some truly great automobiles. I loved the Europa
only a little less than the woman that I saw driving one (there
we go again with these women from my past!). Diana Riggs starred
as the ultra classy, oh so cool secret agent in the BBC
television series The Avengers. Her car (naturally) was
a red Lotus Europa. I am not sure I was ever in love with
"Emma Peel", but I was in lust for her car.
Europas look like little
street versions of Can-Am racers. Low, sleek, fast looking,
even at rest. Those high sills stress the mid-engine mystique
of the car--the only car before the stunning Esprit in their long
line of impressive cars. I always liked the look of
the high sills over the
cut-away lines of the Series 2 and John Player Specials. Like
any car, it is the little things that get you.
Another job I had in
High School was my favorite, but very short lived, as a "lot
boy" at Sabatini's British Cars on Mendocino Avenue in Santa
Rosa, California. Phil Sabatini was a gruf Italian-American
guy with thick grey hair who later got sent to jail for setting
odometers back (the car lot myth perpuated first-hand here folks),
but before then, he had the only Jaguar/MG/Austin dealership for
miles around in Northern California. This was my dream
come true! A car lot full of new and used
British cars that had to be lovingly washed, waxed moved
around the lot, and (occasionaly) driven somewhere. Oh man,
it was a hard job, and it only paid $1.35/hour (minimum wage
at that time in the USA).
I got to "drive" (well,
OK, "move around") a lot of British Cars. One day, a red 1970
came in on trade for an E-Type coupe with only 12,000 miles on
it. Naturally, I had to "prep" the car for the lot. It wasn't
exactly like giving Emma Thompson a massage, but it was close!
When things were quiet, I'd just sit in it. I really
wanted to drive that car! But how could I fanagle a way to do it?
Well, one of the benefits
of being a lowly lot boy (often the brunt of those arrogant
salesman) was that I had a little discretion over where cars
were parked on the lot. In fact, I got to be pretty good at
"laying out the lot" to market these
LBCs (Little British Cars). So one evening, I strategically
moved the Europa as the "blocker" car. That was the car that we
would use to block the driveway into the lot. The blocker car
was the default vehicle that I used when I was the "go-fer"
to get the guys coffee, donuts, or pizza pick-up for the night
sales crew. Well, they got hungry, gave me their list, and off
I was to Shakey's Pizza Parlor to get their dinner...in the
Europa of course.
You Know, that
back luggage tray behind the engine in the Europa
is good for two things. First, it's perfect for keeping pizza
boxes in place for agressive cornering, and second,
it's hot enough back there to keep it warm too! Although
I only had about 30 minutes behind the wheel of the Europa,
I was sold. This is a car I just had to have. Now you
know why it is in my top ten, and why pizza will always be one
of my favorite foods.....
Favorite
British
Cars
