An Estate Car Named Desire: A Life on the Road

(Paperback)

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Description

This was a car with a voice: Its engine note, a deep, powerful burble, was as distinct to me as the voices of my parents and friends, but then a lot of other cars had voices too. Triumph Heralds purred, Rover 100s, the ones with St Bernard dog profiles, made a soft, almost musical whining sound when setting off sedately from traffic lights, Morris Minors blew flatulent raspberries when they slowed down. Id hear these things and assumed other people did too. As a car-obsessed child of the 1960s, Martin Gurdon lived in a lost world of bubble cars and Ford Anglias, a place where dads took spare gearboxes on holiday and cars were frequently fixed at the roadside. A 1970s family crisis saw him sent to relatives in rural Lancashire, before spending five dysfunctional years at a vegetarian boarding school, where cars were both his salvation and undoing, thanks to an illicitly acquired Triumph Herald. Hes since driven everything from supercars to 25 Morris Marinas and been stalked with murderous intent by Reliant Robins.As iconic, and sometimes spectacularly awful vehicles passed through his hands, Martin dreamed of owning an exotic Bristol 401 like his dads, and of writing about cars, but would anyone ever be mad enough to let him Car fans and car agnostics alike will love An Estate Car Named Desires eccentric cast of wheeled and human characters.

Reviews

Martin Gurdon is the undiscovered national treasure of British motoring journalism. His honest and heartfelt enthusiasm for cars radiates from every page. -- Jon Bentley
This is a charming and brilliantly funny group biography of the many eccentric cars belonging to the author and his family. I know very little about such traffic but I do know a bestseller when I see one. -- Michael Holroyd
Martin Gurdon's story proves that anyone can make it if they keep trying. But you'll drive a long way until you come across a funnier writer with such a sharp eye for the absurdity of human nature. -- Giles Chapman
A nostalgic drive through four decades of British weirdness, passing yellow Vauxhall Vivas, vegetarian boarding schools, brown corduroy flairs, Radio Rentals and colour TVs. Martin Gurdon has a keen eye for forgotten tiny details, which for those of a certain age mean so much to so many. -- Quentin Willson
The milestones in Martin Gurdon's life all have wheels, whether two, three or four. From bikes to BMWs he drives the highway from the 1950s to now with gusto, laughter and lyrical flair. He's the Betjeman of the London bus, the Larkin of the Triumph Herald, the McCartney of the Morris, the Vauxhall, the Austin. -- Gillian Reynolds
I read this book in a day... I love it! -- Tim Bentinck
Gurdon writes with familiarity, which draws the reader... even for those who aren't massive car fans, there is a thoroughly enjoyable tale to be told. Humourous and well-paced * Diesel Car *

Author Bio

Martin Gurdon has written about cars for the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard and Classic Cars magazine, as well as appearing on Top Gear and Radio 4's Home Truths. He is the author of Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance.