[asagaai]

When a Uni student in Melbourne my Dad said I could not buy a 6 or V8, had to be a 4 cylinder even though I worked for it and saved and bought it.

Anyway, I bought a Mk 11 1600 GT Cortina, which had a suspension built for rally car racing. The engine was only mildly worked though. Bought a rally shop built 1600 with double side draft webbers, big cam, ported head and bigger valves, swapped engines, fun times. That shut the old man up when I took him for a blast one morning.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, ever kept up with me on dirt roads. Anyway me looking at a pretty well endowed blonde bending over in the garden instead of the road ended up in that car being totalled.

Marriage meant driving fridges like Camrys, and then a Honda Euro, but nothing was like the visceral rawness of the Corty GT.

Then got the Falcon FGX and it had the visceral rawness, but still does not have the fun factor of the Corty GT.

When my Falcon was in for a service the dealer gave me a Ford Focus for the day, it was auto but it was a blast, and then I discovered it only have a 1.5 turbo- was amazed it produced such torque.

Anyway that got me thinking, and I realised I could get that 1.5 litre with higher spec tune and manual in smaller car- the Mk8 Fiesta ST. This car has the same fun puppy dog playfulness of the Corty GT, just a lot more comfortable and refined.

This morning was sitting having a coffee with my partner at the best coffee Cafe in Speers Point, and a red corvette C8 pulled up right outside. And I was amazed how big it is- its a really big car.

And -this may sound wacky, I had no feelings of envy, happy with my Fiesta ST, I like the small size, amazing handling, feeling inside you are driving a solid "bigger" car, and on the go torque pull-just a fun small go kart.

Yes- a big car with massive power has a place, but so does a small punchy go kart.

Sad day for me as a huge part of Ford to me means great small go karts with punch, handling and fun factor. NOTHING in the Ford stable interests me in the slightest now.