Classic Cars With Bob Gelber

I like small cars. Those of you who have been reading my columns for the last few years have probably figured that out. As I write this, all I read and hear in every form of news media is how expensive gasoline has gotten. If ever there was a reason to pare down what we drive, now is certainly the time. Mark my words, in less than two years, gasoline will be more than four dollars per gallon.

I've always liked small cars, not only because they are economical to run, but mainly because they are fun to drive. In an urban environment, because of their smaller dimensions, small cars are much easier to park. Economy certainly was not a key factor in the sixties, when gas was around forty cents per gallon, and yet this was the heyday of small imported sports cars and the famous sales record breaker, the air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle. In fact, VW, in most of the period VW ads, which by the way were considered some of the most clever ever written for an automobile, rarely mentioned fuel economy. The main theme behind the Volkswagen ads was that the car was just a fun ride.

My first real car was a high school graduation gift that I bought for myself with $800 that I had received. It was a second hand beautiful, black with red interior 1952 MG-TD. What a lovely shape, and delightful car to drive. It had a diminutive four cylinder engine with just fifty-two horsepower, and got over thirty miles per gallon. A year later I actually traded down to an even older car, a 1949 MG-TC, which had much more period appeal than the softer TD. Nonetheless, both cars, to this day, are the two cars that most represent the early days of imported sports cars.

In time, I became enamored with four cylinder Porsches. You have to understand, you didn't have to be rich to own a second hand Porsche in the sixties. I purchased a used 1955 Porsche Speedster whose first and only owner was the singer Leslie Uggums. Another $800 car. I used this car for several years. It really was nothing but a sexy looking souped-up Volkswagen, with a 1600 cc engine. The car got about thirty miles per gallon, but who cared, it was a Porsche.

During this period, I also discovered a very rare Porsche 550 Spyder racing car that, believe it or not, was hanging on a guy's garage wall in Queens. It was identical to the car owned and raced by James Dean, and I had to have it. After negations, I purchased the car for under $2,000. It had no engine, and I eventually installed a stock Porsche four-cylinder in it. I had it street licensed, just like Dean, and used it driving around Manhattan. Because of its light weight it was quite fast, but I never really liked its twitchy handling. For the record, it too got tremendously good gas mileage.

Compared to the Speedster and Spyder, my '65 Porsche Cabriolet was a Rolls Royce. With its fat padded convertible top, it was more quiet than a coupe at speed. I had the most expensive German version of a hot rod SC model, which meant it had a powerful ninety horsepower four-cylinder engine. The car was never really fast, but the build quality of these late series 356 Porsches was amazing, and yes, the car did get about thirty miles per gallon, but it was absolutely never a factor in purchasing a Porsche, just a bonus.

After the '65 Cabriolet, a '65 SC Coupe came along. Except for better all around visibility, it was identical in every way to the soft top. These Porsches were my only cars, driven daily. They were dependable, beautiful and very economical. By today's standards, they were mechanically very simple cars, not very fast, and yet a joy to drive.

But enough with my forays into semi-exotic iron. Over the years I've owned lesser small fun machines. My 1900cc 1955 Citroen ID 19 was bought just because it was so unique that I had to have it. Again, my third $800 car. The French wonder had the best highway ride in the world, and still does. It also handled. It would run 80 mph all day and still deliver incredibly good fuel mileage thanks to its small engine. The interesting thing is that it was really not that small a car, but one of the most comfortable cars I've ever been in.

The two original Minis I've owned were a 1965 Countryman and a 1968 Radford modified Mini-Cooper S with a 90 horsepower 1275cc engine, the same power as my old Porsche. My Cooper S had an interesting history in the sense that it was previously owned by a Greek shipping magnate who kept it on the fantail of his yacht. It was in virtually new condition when I purchased it and the little thing cost me all of $900. I used both of these cars for years. The were both the perfect city car. The only caveat was that NYC potholes played havoc with their ten-inch wheels. That early Cooper S was very fast, and as much fun as anyone could have with his clothes on. Both Mini's got over 35MPG.

I currently drive a spanking new Mini Cooper S, which is a blast to drive but unfortunately costs a lot more than $800. It looks like a blown up version of the old one. Even though it was expensive by small car standards, ($29,000) I figure I got it for free. Why? Because if you add up all the fuel saving I've gotten over the years by driving the small cars I've mentioned, plus the added fuel saving I'm still getting weekly by driving my new Mini, I've certainly saved a fortune in fuel. I like small cars.

Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist living in the Hamptons, appears regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at bobgelber@aol.com

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