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sold out and came back to the corporate side of the industry? is a very British thing.
business with Nissan. While I enjoyed my 30 years
However this mind set was at the roots of the
with Nissan, I enjoy retirement more!
industrial revolution and there is no reason why
Q. I know that you still retain your British passport. the UK will not continue to contribute beyond
Have you continued to connect or make contacts with its size.
the ex pat community here in the United States?
Q. How did you discover the NBCC ? How many
A. I briefly joined an EX PAT club, via a friend at years have you been a member? What about the
Nissan, but didn't find their activities that club keeps you coming back each year?
interesting. My social contacts are those in my
A. I Joined NBCC when I came to TN in 2008. I
community, NBCC related, and with Nissan people
will be a lifetime member and I was a founding
some of whom I have known for more than 30
member of the CT MG Club, where I will also be
years.
a lifetime member. The cars are connected by
I stay active , aside from the cars, working outdoors people, that?s why I stay in car clubs.
and fishing
Q. Do you do your own hands-on work with your
Q. How did you first get interested in taking care of cars cars or depend on professionals to keep the cars
and what was your first British car? on the road? Do you have ?secret? sources for
parts or shops that you can recommend because
A. My dad taught me how to work on cars and my
they have unique capabilities in maintaining
first British car was a 1976 MG Midget that I drove
British cars?
during college. Why the Midget? It was the cheapest
sports car I could find. A. It takes a village to maintain any vintage car,
British cars are no different in this regard. I do
Q. What cars do you currently have in your personal
some work myself, hire the pro?s for more
collection? Is there one that you favor over the others
t
difficult, often source parts myself. I don?
and is there a car that has eluded you?
currently belong to any British based clubs, but I
A. I have several Midgets and Sprites, a have in the past. I?m a 20+ year member of the
MGB-GT, an Austin Marina, a Morris Minor, a British Saloon Car Club of Canada.
Triumph Spitfire, and then a couple of Q. So your advice for anyone who is considering
none-British cars. No favorites, I love them buying a vintage British car would be?
all. A. Rule #1, join this club (NBCC) and a marque
The one car I'd love to own is an E-type Jaguar, series specific club.
one , coupe. Q. What sort of person buys a vintage British car?
Q. What do you think of the recent innovations and new Do you think there is a certain personality type?
start -ups coming out of businesses owned by people A. Personality type = eccentric !
from the UK and based there, like the ones featured in
Q. If you could only name three things about a
this month's issue of Motoring , after years of seeing
British car that makes you a fan for life, what
older British marques gobbled up by companies from
would those three attributes be? And, conversely, if
other countries even though the manufacturing end
you could name three qualities of a British car that
may have remained in the UK?
would exasperate people once they become
A. Hitler once said Britain was nothing more than a owners what would those traits be?
nation of shop keepers and tinkerers. He was
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essentially correct, as the concept of a ?cottage
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