..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Discuss anything Morris Minor related.
Forum rules
By using this site, you agree to our rules. Please see: Terms of Use
Blaketon
Minor Legend
Posts: 2485
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 11:09 am
Location: South Wales
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Blaketon »

I wouldn't have thought Money Supermarket would know much about Morris Minors. Whoever wrote the articles clearly doesn't. It is typical of the kind of stereotyping and assumptions from which we suffer, except that as well as being in the way, we are now drunk too. I always say it's not the activity that causes stupidity; it the species. That said, I simply don't believe this report; most Minor owners I have met are pretty sensible, down to earth folk (Yes I recall when they were sometimes the choice of hippie types and perhaps then there may have been something more than tobacco ash in the ash tray). It's probably the work of of some misinformed twonk, who has it in for old cars. Perhaps they are looking for scapegoats to blame for global warming and haven't (Or don't want to) cottoned on to the fact that old cars are a good example of recycling.

Aside from the drink drive slur, I think a lot of it is to do with people judging things by their own standards. I ride a bicycle a lot and you find that lots of people dismiss you as some kind of seated pedestrian. Because they can't make a bike do more than 10mph, neither can anyone else (In point of fact, I have hit 60mph on a bicycle and can do over 30mph on the flat). Similarly, their experience of old cars, is of old bangers, so because their clapped out, 51 plate Focus would barely go, anything older is proportionately worse. I get it all the time, whether in the Morris, the Midget or MGB GT V8, which is still a pretty quick car (Mine is slightly warmed). Sometimes you will prove a point and one of the funniest was the driver of a Brattmobile (Or is that BrattMoWile?), who couldn't wait to pass me as we exited a 30 zone, en route to what becomes a twisty mountain road. As events proved, he couldn't even keep up, let alone pass. At one point, a car magazine were doing a photo shoot and the people looked round as the Traveller went past. It must have been quite funny when (At a guess 20 - 30 seconds later) the Brattmobile went by. I hope the next time he is behind a Morris Minor, he is a little less aggressive.
les
Minor Maniac
Posts: 8726
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2002 12:00 am
Location: kent
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by les »

True or false, who knows. Although if one were going to risk a pint or two, it could be thought by some to be the ideal decoy car (but after this news, maybe not now!)

BrianHawley
Minor Fan
Posts: 404
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:38 pm
Location: Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah, Saudi Arabia (temporary posting)
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by BrianHawley »

Blaketon wrote: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:58 pm ...hippie types and perhaps then there may have been something more than tobacco ash in the ash tray..,
VW bus mate.
Brian

Image "Jodie". '67 Traveller, 1275, discs, suspension mods etc.
Blaketon
Minor Legend
Posts: 2485
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 11:09 am
Location: South Wales
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Blaketon »

les wrote: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:37 pm True or false, who knows. Although if one were going to risk a pint or two, it could be thought by some to be the ideal decoy car (but after this news, maybe not now!)
I know of quite a few people who cycle to beat the breathalyser. I know of one person, who was killed whilst doing so (He was half cut and veered into the path of an oncoming car). He was about to or had just retired and lets just say that some of his colleagues would have attended the accident. It was so unnecessary.
Admin
Webmaster
Webmaster
Posts: 425
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2001 12:00 am
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Admin »

Just to demonstrate the lamentable journalism from the Daily Wail, here's this weeks story. So, if you live in Leicester, AND drive a Minor, I think the DM says you've just drowned a sackful of kittens and are on your way out to mug a granny for her pension money.
Alternatively, you could consider Disraeli's view on statistics :D :D :D

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... cence.html
Mike Dean
MMOC Webmaster
Image
Myrtles Man
Minor Legend
Posts: 1080
Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 10:49 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Myrtles Man »

"...Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, is recorded as the home of the country's safest road users, with a statistical 0.0 per cent of drivers being punished with points."

Unless, of course, the road offences brought before court in Ashfield are so extreme that they're the subject of immediate driving bans; that would also produce a nice statistically-neat zero-points return. beware of statistics!
philthehill
Minor Maniac
Posts: 10748
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Hampshire
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by philthehill »

Lies, Dam Lies and Statistics.

moggiethouable
Minor Legend
Posts: 1218
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:30 pm
Location: North East England
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by moggiethouable »

My dad owned a morris minor in 1963
He was banned for drink driving in 2003
When he owned a rover
Statistically he still counts.
Good ol' daily m.
Usual load of horse manure.
Where angels fear to tread
sparesman
Minor Fan
Posts: 326
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 7:40 pm
Location: norfolk
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by sparesman »

ALL 4 WERE IN NORFOLK ?
The local police have uncovered several cannabis factories in the last few weeks in houses and redundant farm buildings throughout Norfolk. Has Norfolk become the cannabis growing capital of the UK ?
I did hear of a local ex Minor owner who was done for growing cannabis several years back but that was after they had sold their Minor - next time I go to local branch meetings I will have to carry out a drugs test on the members present to see if about 0.1 of them is drug driving !!!
1934 Morris 10/4 in Dark Green / Black - BGO517
1953 S11 Traveller in Birch Grey - oldest survivor ? Export model now reg PPO924
1953 S11 Traveller in Black - 3rd oldest in UK PPX344
Myrtles Man
Minor Legend
Posts: 1080
Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 10:49 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Myrtles Man »

sparesman wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:16 pm
I did hear of a local ex Minor owner who was done for growing cannabis several years back but that was after they had sold their Minor - next time I go to local branch meetings I will have to carry out a drugs test on the members present to see if about 0.1 of them is drug driving !!!
Oh dear, you may need to rethink that plan; I'm guessing that, bearing in mind the 'typical' moggie driver profile, a drugs test might well yield significantly higher percentages than that, with maybe as high as 90% found to be driving whilst under the influence of drugs; beta blockers, warfarin etc being the probable drugs of choice! :o
BrianHawley
Minor Fan
Posts: 404
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:38 pm
Location: Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah, Saudi Arabia (temporary posting)
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by BrianHawley »

Myrtles Man wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 7:02 pm
sparesman wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:16 pm
I did hear of a local ex Minor owner who was done for growing cannabis several years back but that was after they had sold their Minor - next time I go to local branch meetings I will have to carry out a drugs test on the members present to see if about 0.1 of them is drug driving !!!
Oh dear, you may need to rethink that plan; I'm guessing that, bearing in mind the 'typical' moggie driver profile, a drugs test might well yield significantly higher percentages than that, with maybe as high as 90% found to be driving whilst under the influence of drugs; beta blockers, warfarin etc being the probable drugs of choice! :o
:)
Brian

Image "Jodie". '67 Traveller, 1275, discs, suspension mods etc.
irmscher
Minor Legend
Posts: 3773
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:53 am
Location: South Manchester
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by irmscher »

And Sanatogen fortifys the over fifties :o
firedrake1942
Minor Legend
Posts: 2941
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 6:07 pm
MMOC Member: No

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by firedrake1942 »

Minor drivers have a naturally stoned expression, it can derive from several sources

1) Medication as listed above.
2) inhaling exhaust fumes from the leaky joint between pipe and manifold /manifold gasket gone. (a variation on this from my student
days is that lovely burning smell from forgetting to take the now smouldering / burning ex-army blanket off the engine on a cold
morning.)
3) inhaling petrol vapour from perennially wafting fuel tank / sender unit / decaying orange rubber pipe.
4) general ecstasy / happiness at driving a Minor.

The symptoms are not to be confused with the general air of distraction caused by wondering what the latest noise is / which bit is going to fall off next!


Merry Christmas.
BrianHawley
Minor Fan
Posts: 404
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 1:38 pm
Location: Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah, Saudi Arabia (temporary posting)
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by BrianHawley »

Seriously though, most Morris Minor Owners tend to be at the older end of the age spectrum.

We should all do what we can to encourage more young people of both genders into the obsession. I mean hobby.
Brian

Image "Jodie". '67 Traveller, 1275, discs, suspension mods etc.
Myrtles Man
Minor Legend
Posts: 1080
Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 10:49 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Myrtles Man »

BrianHawley wrote: Sun Dec 23, 2018 9:42 am Seriously though, most Morris Minor Owners tend to be at the older end of the age spectrum.

We should all do what we can to encourage more young people of both genders into the obsession. I mean hobby.
I suspect that the only way this could be achieved would be for the existing moggie-owning wrinklies to prevail, as best they can, on their children and grandchildren to become involved as, without an existing familiarity with the cars, the vast majority of 'young people' would find no affinity whatsoever with 'em. Bearing in mind the relatively high cost of buying a sound, running car when compared to the cheap-as-chips alternative of ten to twenty year old modern cars - Corsas, Fiestas etc etc - and the underpowered, idiosyncratic driving characteristics of moggies which tends to make the day-to-day traffic battle with white van man etc a real no-no, you really have to be an 'enthusiast' to take one on. It might be illuminating to carry out a survey to establish what percentage of Morris Minors are actually being used as sole daily transport, rather than as a fine-weather-only second or hobby car.
ianmack
Minor Addict
Posts: 835
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 7:02 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by ianmack »

We baby boomers hold a position probably unique in the history of transport. As car ovnership took off in the fifties and sixties it was a major rite of passage for a youngster to pass the test and get their first rusty banger, which then needed maintenance if it was to be kept going. Nowadays owning a car is unremarkable and far less involving. When it breaks down with some unfathomable electronic gremlin at a few years old it is scrapped and replaced. Perhaps it’s just me but driving doesn’t seem so interesting or enjoyable any more.

Involving youngsters in our hobby isn’t easy and there are plenty of other calls on their attention. My son at 26 likes my old Land Rover and is taking over the maintenance as I get more arthritic. I haven’t been able to interest him in the Minors though.
burnham28
Minor Fan
Posts: 192
Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2016 5:01 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by burnham28 »

Having just read the post by Win regarding reading the Daily Mail at the family planning clinic reminded me of many years ago when the then Mrs B persuaded me to have a vasectomy. After many doubts I finally summoned up the courage and made an appointment for the procedure. This was duly carried out with instructions to return to the clinic after a few weeks with a sample to make sure the operation had been a success. I duly arrived with my sample and the nurse asked me when the sample had been obtained. I told her it was obtained the previous evening. She told me that was too long and would I go behind the screen to obtain another sample. After 10 minutes or so I emerged from the screen shame faced and said I couldn't manage it and with a large wink asked if she had something to read!! she said oh yes and gave me a copy of the Readers Digest it didn't work.
[img]jpg[/img]
Myrtles Man
Minor Legend
Posts: 1080
Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 10:49 pm
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Myrtles Man »

Ahem!
Blaketon
Minor Legend
Posts: 2485
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 11:09 am
Location: South Wales
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by Blaketon »

ianmack wrote: Sun Dec 23, 2018 10:33 am Involving youngsters in our hobby isn’t easy and there are plenty of other calls on their attention. My son at 26 likes my old Land Rover and is taking over the maintenance as I get more arthritic. I haven’t been able to interest him in the Minors though.
I was 38 before I began to consider a Minor, so he has time. I have said for a long time that I wish I had thought of a Minor Traveller when I first wanted a runabout (1985) but perhaps the experience of others things was beneficial. I have to confess that when I first attended a classic car event, I was surprised and even confused by the numbers of Minors, which I hadn't realised were considered collectable. My father toyed with the idea of a Minor in the early 1990s and I must say that (Even though I had no interest at the time) I thought Minor Matters was an excellent magazine, that somehow oozed enthusiasm. Perhaps subconsciously the seed was planted.
SteveClem
Minor Legend
Posts: 1904
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:37 am
Location: Near Belper
MMOC Member: Yes

Re: ..and I thought all Morris Minor drivers were nice chaps

Post by SteveClem »

burnham28 wrote: Sun Dec 23, 2018 11:27 am Having just read the post by Win regarding reading the Daily Mail at the family planning clinic reminded me of many years ago when the then Mrs B persuaded me to have a vasectomy. After many doubts I finally summoned up the courage and made an appointment for the procedure. This was duly carried out with instructions to return to the clinic after a few weeks with a sample to make sure the operation had been a success. I duly arrived with my sample and the nurse asked me when the sample had been obtained. I told her it was obtained the previous evening. She told me that was too long and would I go behind the screen to obtain another sample. After 10 minutes or so I emerged from the screen shame faced and said I couldn't manage it and with a large wink asked if she had something to read!! she said oh yes and gave me a copy of the Readers Digest it didn't work.
You needed a ginger bush mate!
Post Reply