What did you consider a luxury growing up?

A car seat. And by that, I mean an actual seat, not the thing people put in for kids these days. My dad would have samples in cases, fill the back of the car up, so took the bench of the back seat out most days. So if we needed to go out he'd take the cases out, and we'd be sat on the floor of a Morris Marina. Then if the bench was refitted and it was summer, your legs would be scorched by the hot seat.

Your description is so similar to my experiences. Old man was a rep for a commercial refrigeration co. His company car was also his office - full of paperwork, stationery, tons of brochures, catalogues, briefcases, etc, etc. Only the drivers seat was clear of clutter. Being driven in his car meant having to hold a pile of brochures, etc on your lap.

My first memories were of Mk 2 and 3 Cortinas, then he changed to a company that was an offshoot of BL. All reps cars were naturally BL products which meant no end of complaining from Old Man. There were a succession of Harvest Gold Marinas, then a white one, then a white Ital before he started out on his own.

Because of my childhood privations, I'm a bit OCD about clutter in my own cars and they have to be kept tidy. Any clutter > in the boot.
 
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During WW2, we would visit my gran and grandads on a Saturday about once a month. They lived around 7 miles out of town and had a small holding with a horse, a cow and lots of hens. While we were there my grandad would pick out a hen for us to take home for a meal the next day. Sounds awful now, but my grandad would thraw the hens neck and gran would pluck it. At Xmas, I think we got 2 hens and had a real feast. Of course we got our potatoes and veg from our grandparents too. Those were the days!
 
My first memories were of Mk 2 and 3 Cortinas, then he changed to a company that was an offshoot of BL. All reps cars were naturally BL products which meant no end of complaining from Old Man. There were a succession of Harvest Gold Marinas, then a white one, then a white Ital before he started out on his own.

The company I worked for at that time favoured Ford, so we all were provided with Fords which suited me fine. Then they got some work from BL and part of the agreement was to buy Marinas, mine was due for replacement and I had to drive to Glasgow to swap the faithful Ford for a brand new Marina. It was fine at first, but by 45K miles it was leaving a trail of burning oil behind it, the bores were worn out after 18 months.
 
The company I worked for at that time favoured Ford, so we all were provided with Fords which suited me fine. Then they got some work from BL and part of the agreement was to buy Marinas, mine was due for replacement and I had to drive to Glasgow to swap the faithful Ford for a brand new Marina. It was fine at first, but by 45K miles it was leaving a trail of burning oil behind it, the bores were worn out after 18 months.

Sounds about right. Don't remember any smoke, but at least one got whiney early on, maybe box or diff. Or maybe it was just us kids.
 
Marina. It was fine at first, but by 45K miles it was leaving a trail of burning oil behind it, the bores were worn out after 18 months.
Can't have been a 1300, they were absolutely bombproof.

I have done in excess of 300K in cars with A series engines and they just go and go.
 
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