Saturday afternoon, I put Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on for the kids. I don’t think I’d seen it more than twice, and certainly not in the last 30+ years. But I did remember scene after scene, burned into my memory. And both the older kids were enchanted immediately. This is a movie which has aged extremely well. Highly recommended.
An interesting post (especially following up “toyota forever”). CCBB is def a chapter in my youthful emergence as a certified motorhead. The magic of the old race car more influential than the wings and propellers. We have watched it as well, along with old school Speed Racer ands new school “Cars”. I think my kids will long be interested in wheels.
Its not (now) of course about impressing anyone. Its about fun. Drop the Mini Cooper into second gear and bend it around a posted 25 mph turn at twice that speed and we’re talking ear to ear fun. Yeah it burns up expensive tires… the price we pay.
regarding your toyota lasting until your 70 its imp. to note that cars age just from sitting. Hydraulic lines, fluids, linkages even electrical gizmos and the stuffing in your seat will not last the years without proper attention and replacement when due. If you haven’t already go to cartalk.com and find a good mechanic in your area. Taking it in regularly will help get you at least close to your goal.
Yes, the best part of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the beginning, with the old racing cars. We’ll probably watch it again next week.
I don’t seriously think I’ll keep the Toyota until I’m 70. If it’s still here in ten years, it will become Dan-dan’s car, and at that point the wear-and-tear will really start!
But that math works out that way for the moment, which I find interesting. Who would have ever imagined someone could drive that little and still be a functioning adult?
Let me add here, since the point was dropped. Yes, your Mini Cooper is fun. And there is a price tag. How much is it?
I bought the Toyota for $12,000 in 2001. Insurance costs $180 a year. It gets 35 mpg. Four tires, fully installed, cost $291. I don’t have to see a BMW service consultant when I take the car in for service. The least I ever paid for my BMW service was $800 when I owned one five years ago.
I think this comes to $11k to $12k in initial costs, with about $1.5k per year in operating cost difference. Over 5 years, you’re looking at almost $20k extra that you have paid, over and above the basic cost of a car, which could have gone to something really fun. A summer in Chile? Or two? Our seven months in Hungary came to much less than this.