https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP0jRiKOi9Y&ab_channel=JayLeno%27sGarage
It's the summer of '61...I'm still 17. Driving my '50 Ford over the South Santiam pass of the Cascades, I pull off on the side to recycle some fluid. I walked out from behind the tree to see a 1960 Austin Healy Sprite nosed in behind my Ford, it's driver asked if I was having car trouble. That's how a lifetime friendship with my buddy David began. Alas, his lifetime...David died in an industrial accident back in the early '90's. We roomed together during college...often swapped cars when he had a hot date...yep, my Ford had a back seat. But, oh the Sprite. o-60 took forever, top speed only a hair over 80...but a total gas to drive! Once, on a whim, we went to Sacramento to visit his older sister. Late night drive back...we made it from Sacramento to Alturas, California on a single 7 gallon tank of gas...more like 6 1/2 gallons of gas. Never so glad to see a service station in my life...I did the math...keeping it at a steady 4,000 RPM, we got 48 MPG... This only one of our road trips..
Damn, I miss David...always will. Still in touch with his widow and sons tho...
So, here's Jay Leno...trying to explain the charms of that car. Old cars are about memories...this video caused a flood of them for me.