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Ask Goodwin
4 years ago
Is it impolite to charge your EV at a friend's house?
Dear Colin,
The popularity of places like Caffeine & Machine and the success of the Sunday Scrambles at Bicester Heritage suggest car culture is alive and well in the UK. But how long can that really go on given how concerned we all are about the environment and as cars become more and more homogenous (by which I mean less interesting). Isn’t it all about to go pop? PhilAlfa
Dear Phil,
Are we all really concerned about the environment? I suspect most of us are prepared to help in many ways. I, for example, have given up eating red meat and going on international car launches, but I’m not going to stop driving or riding. Also, I shall use sustainable fuel when it becomes readily available (which it will).
As for the second part of your question, there will be thousands of interesting cars in which one can visit Caffeine & Machine and Bicester for many years to come. Of course nobody is going to turn up to show off their Kia Sportage or VW Tiguan.
Driving on the road in the UK has become a chore so, as motorcyclists have been doing forever, car enthusiasts are looking for events and locations as an excuse to use their machines and meet with like-minded people. It’s something that’s only going to get bigger.
Carlos Tavares races a Lola T70 and I spent the whole of an interview during the launch of the Peugeot 208 asking him whether he preferred a small-block Chevy on carbs or on Hilborn fuel injection
Dear Colin,
I’m not trying to hack into the Goodwin millions, but do you use a lot of car related passwords? I certainly do. Ralph718
Dear Ralph,
Absolutely. I have a few aviation related passwords but otherwise every single one is car-related. I no longer use it but the engine number of a Laverda Jota that I once owned was my pin number for a debit card. Pantera351C was another one (of course you’ll know that the C stands for Cleveland). And no, none of my passwords are related to Formula 5000.
Dear Colin,
Who is the most interesting industry head that you’ve interviewed? Sadie Kemp
Dear Sadie,
I have interviewed very few in my time. That’s really the preserve of grown up journalists like Frankel, English and Robinson. On the occasions that I have done I tend to get side-tracked. For example, Carlos Tavares races a Lola T70 and I spent the whole of an interview during the launch of the Peugeot 208 asking him whether he preferred a small-block Chevy on carbs or on Hilborn fuel injection.
During the launch of the Chrysler Neon, the executive I was interviewing let slip that he’d worked on cars like the Plymouth Road Runner and ’Cuda in his youth. That was it for the Neon discussion. Same at a Renault Espace launch where the bigwig in question used to run the Matra F1 and sports car team. Somehow the workings of a Matra MS670 was of more interest than those of a people carrier.
But to answer your question more seriously, I’ve always concentrated on our homegrown garagisti like Peter Wheeler, Graham Nearn, Jem Marsh and Charles Morgan. I found all of them fascinating and great company. Especially Jem Marsh.
"As motorcyclists have been doing forever, car enthusiasts are looking for events and locations as an excuse to use their machines and meet with like-minded people. It’s something that’s only going to get bigger"
Dear Colin,
Have you seen Netflix’s Nordic crime drama Deadwind in which a detective drives a BMW 8 Series? The original one with pop-up headlamps? I now want to buy one. Simon Eddy
Dear Simon,
I certainly have. The original eight is one of those cars that wasn’t particularly loved by enthusiasts or journalists in its day, but compared to some of the boring white goods that we have today looks extremely attractive. A tidy original 850CSi or a new BMW X7? A no brainer.
Dear Colin,
I keep seeing information and publicity about the new Moke. I’m guessing you’re not much interested in an electric one but have you driven a petrol-powered Moke and did you like it? SaraJ
Dear Sara,
I’ve driven an original Moke and didn’t much rate it. Aside from misguided patriotism and a love of the A-Series engine, I don’t know why you would buy one over a Citroën Mehari which is a much more accomplished vehicle. My preferred minimalist Riviera transport would be a beach buggy. My pal James May has one and I love driving it. It’s almost as rubbish as a Moke but looks better and has a much more exciting engine.
Dear Colin,
How many miles do you think you have driven and how many words written during your career as a motoring journalist? Tom Scolpe
Dear Tom,
I find that a lot of people overestimate how many miles they’ve covered. One year when I was a motorcycle courier I did 65,000 miles and that was being in the saddle at least eight hours a day. I would guess that I’ve done about 750,000 miles since I joined Car magazine in 1987.
As for words, on average I write about 3500 words each week which is 156,000 per year. Roughly, I’d say I’ve scribbled somewhere between 4-5 million words. It probably feels like more than that for the readers, though.
Dear Colin,
I read recently on the BBC website that research carried out at Ohio State University revealed that on average a male thinks about sex 19 times a day. How often do you think about cars? Tim928
Dear Tim,
Almost all the time when I’m not thinking about flying, which itself is far more than 19 times a day. Essentially, if I’m awake I’m either indoors writing about cars or car people, or outside looking at cars. Or hanging out with people who also think about cars and engines most of the time. It’s been this way for my life from about seven years old and will carry on this way until I’m dead.
