Love driving. Have a nice long weekend

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Purchasing classics there

Sometimes you, as an editor and enthusiast, are right on target. Take this past weekend. Photographer Spijker and I are making a report with two DAF 66 derivatives: a 1300 Marathon Coupé and a Volvo 66 GL Combi. On Sunday, I'll be driving a friend's new acquisition, the 318 BMW 2013i Touring, and on Monday, I'll be making my debut in a Ford Mach-E. 

In the run-up to the report, I am having coffee with Frans. You know, at the moment he is quietly building a 2000 Nordmotor for his son's Giulia 1300 Super. Frans taught me new technical classics again Alfa tricks. I'm following that process for a report, and it's going to be very interesting. After this I drive to Leeuwarden, where Bart arrives with his Rover P5B Coupé and where two very proud 66 owners immerse us in their enthusiasm. Great stories, a special genesis of sympathy for products from the South of the Netherlands and the exchange of knowledge about the DAF models cannot possibly not make enthusiasts enthusiastic. And you will notice that elation yourself while driving the 66 versions from Dutch soil. That remains something special.

Along the way you notice that patriotism has gained a lot of ground in an era of globalization. Everyone is happy with this. We were able to do this before. We used to think of this. That idea. Countless messages of sympathy are yours, and people want to know everything about the cars. Take a big step back in time yourself, because a classic in everything recalls the well-organized streetscape of yesteryear. And of course you no longer see a classic DAF on every street corner. Even the people who used to look bitterly at it love it. Because a DAF always told its own story. And a symbol is from a distant past. And that takes it to the modern today, in which the past oh so is popular. Whether you consciously experienced that past or not.

The Rover P5B Coupé by photographer Bart also breathes a lot of history. The Brit is a beautiful right-hand drive ode to an era when the world could still build the most beautiful cars in the world. This is one of them, the Rover V8 is a permanent resident of my top 10. This is civilization at the highest historical level. In addition, the Rover was the protagonist in a report for AMK in 2019. The “66” owners Cor and Ane are in for a great surprise when Bart asks them to take it for a spin. This rare car makes for a rare experience. Cor and Ane can credit him, and the fun just explodes. The realization that you have gained a driving impression in a rare classic of stature ensures that you have something beautiful to say and can share an experience that no one can take away from you. He's on the list. I can talk about it. So beautiful.

And then the day after. Two BMWs with two active drivers cut through the Frisian landscape. I am one of the drivers. And I feel like a cat in a strange warehouse. Within this category of cars my Alfa heart emphatically. Also now. But I'm also an editor, so sentiments like these shouldn't be a hindrance. You take the black one my comrade Folkert says before the ride and so I drive a bit with the 318 i from 2013, a very late E91. No turbo, 143 purely atmospheric horsepower and a chassis that constantly whips you up. At the same time, the engine gives the idea that you have to keep the gas on, a peak torque of 190 Nm at 4.250 rpm requires that. The construction and the power development, however, are beautifully dosed with the excellent six-speed manual transmission. The thought that the first copies are now youngtimers strengthens my sympathy. This is still a pretty straightforward enthusiast's car with the modern options of today, but with the feeling of driving a real car. He is purer than any successor.

With that thought in mind, I wake up the next day, and I don't know yet that someone is going to fulfill a promise made to me. “We would still drive a bit with the Mach-E, right?” Yes, we would. And that happens. Welcome to the world of which I find the reporting and lobbying selective, the world of battery electric cars is not mine. But I'm too much of a steering wheel enthusiast to pass up this offer. Because of course I am curious about One Pedal Drive, 350 DIN-PK and the speed development that shoots up in one straight line. From zero to one hundred in five seconds. The Mach-E delivers on its promise.

I can tell you: this drives sensationally, the speed development is unbelievable with the Ford, which feels heavy, but drives less unwieldy than its curb weight of 2100 kilos suggests. Pressing the pedal also means that you accelerate proportionally and at lightning speed. And yet I miss that tangible torque build-up, the challenge of getting the most out of the engine capacity, adjusting the gear changes to the torque and speed, getting to know the gear ratios. Or play with it by depressing or lifting the pedal a little deeper, as in a DAF. Those are things that partly determine the character of a car for me.

But I enjoy being in the Ford, this car is impressive. Yet he excludes the feeling that you are in control. He takes a lot from you. He does that great. But this is an electric car. He communicates excellently, shows what he is doing. But I want to feel an engine. No clinical drivetrain to take over from you, I want to work with it. I want to notice that a car has been developed with love for design and mechanical engineering. I want to discover the character behind the historical character. That's why I love driving. And of cars, especially if they are classic or young timer. As great as the driving experience in the Mustang Mach-E is. Because there is no doubt that they will never take them from me again.

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5 comments

  1. The main subject = happy here ; DAF.
    One of the most beautiful brands of the last 8 decades! And luckily a good parts supply so that this mastodon continues to live. But what 2013 BMW is doing in this story? Classic?! AMK right?!

  2. 2100kg and a lot of power that makes it go fast, with (partly because of that) crazy large batteries to be able to cover a little distance. For me that just sums up the major disadvantage of most electric cars today. Has nothing to do with sustainability at all (where all the electric driving hype has just started), but everything with status. Not so long ago, the climate crazies screamed bloody murder about the many “PC Hooft tractors”, but when the same “tractor” is equipped with an electric drive, it is suddenly no longer a problem. Meanwhile, everyone who drives a fuel-fired B-segmenter is practically put in a corner, while all those oversized electric cars with a demonstrably larger carbon footprint should give you a nice “green” feeling. No, I really don't fall for that "everything electric" propaganda anymore. Renault Zoë, Peugeot e208, Corsa-e, Honda-e, those are cars that we need in terms of electric driving (if it's really necessary), we'd rather get rid of those Mach-e's than be rich.

  3. Erik, you have described “my driving feeling” perfectly with this piece. It feels so good to “meet” a kindred spirit with the same passion for cars. Searching for exactly what that passion is. What it isn't is clear: I don't think we're attracted to a car at all because of its monetary value. Although that goes both ways: there are beautiful cars that cost a lot of money…but there are also ones with tons of character that cost no money.
    Yes, of course you fall back when you hear the sums that are paid for a Bugatti, but that is not a car… it is a work of art that also drives. No, I like the very broad love you have with almost every car, without forgetting the qualities of one over the other, but in itself every car has a quality… just because it is a car ;)! As a garage owner, I enjoy every time I can drive a customer's car to the car inspection. Just to "discover" the feeling of driving that particular car.
    I drive as a daily car with a banal Nissan Almera from 2002, a 1.5DCi and I really enjoy driving it. As a hobby I have a wonderful '33 Alfa 1.7… go-kart with sound check, a photogenic white Spitfire MK2 '66, a pinnacle of out-of-the-box thinking 2hp from '60, two Alfa Spiders: the 2.0TS and the 3.0 24V busso… that sound… that view through that windshield… (Feels like watching an old western movie, you know: that wide but narrow screen), then a perfectly lined MK1 166 V6 , two T3 vans (syncrocamper and normal), a Rover 827Si V6, a yellow English Renault Megane Convertible with many faults (But the previous English owner is such a nice guy that it “lifts” that car) and a green Audi A6 break V6 '96… that green refers to the moss that the car has collected in the meantime. I can't say goodbye to it because of the exciting times experienced in it with a fantastic woman. Yes, cars are great, there are so many "sides" to them that are attractive.
    Enjoy it to the fullest for a while. I know: I'm crazy :)!
    And Erik, I'm taking out a subscription today especially for you! I've been thinking about it for a long time, usually don't have the time to read anything, but such a short story of yours about some car-with-dreaming owner is always a joy to read. So, have fun!

  4. such an electric starter is already electric enough.
    a real car has an engine that sucks, compresses, burns and exhausts….
    from a small 20 hp pleasure guaranteed

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