Human nature. We take things for granted until they vanish. That is just how it is.
I learned this the hard way a few days back. Audi announced the Q2 is dead. A small, chunky machine that offered genuine value. It might have been a modern classic if we let it be. Luckily some stock remains. Starting at £29,531 for those who still want one. Don’t wait too long.
Then Nissan dealt another blow. They are shutting one line at the Sunderland plant. Two thoughts pop up. One. Sell the spare space. Chery wants UK manufacturing status bad enough to cry about it. Two. Why should Chery spend billions building a new factory when Nissan already has walls standing and workers sitting idle?
It feels wasteful. Especially since taxpayers bankrolled that plant originally. We own a piece of it. The government needs to step in and fix this disconnect.
Silver linings in rust
Sadness can turn to gold. If you look hard enough.
Naoko Nishimoto, aged 80, lost her Mazda RX-7. She owned it for 25 years. An immaculate friend. She assumed no one cared. She was wrong.
“Goodbye RX-7: Saying Farewell To A Dear Friend”
Her ten-minute video about selling the car won the Grand Prix at Tokyo’s International Auto Film Festa. Mazda bought it back from her too. Likely for a great price. Proof that someone, somewhere, still cherishes the old metal.
Giants gone
We lost others recently.
Geoff Whalen was 90. He ran Peugeot in the UK back in the ninities. A salesman’s salesman. Heartbroken in 2006. Not because he retired but because Ryton, his Coventry factory, died.
Then Alex Zanardi. Fifty-nine years young. I raced beside him at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. I interviewed him. A terrifyingly brilliant driver.
When racing took his legs in a horrific crash he did not stop. He adapted. Hand-cycled. Won Paralympic golds. World titles. Words like “legend” lose meaning after being overused but Alex earns every syllable. He shared a car with me. Brave. Determined.
Stirling Moss was tough. Alex was tougher.
We wait until the engine is off to respect the machine. Or the person inside it. Maybe we should just pay attention now. While they are still here. While the doors are open.
