Cars … Who needs them?

I used to own a car. I used to own several cars in fact.

For many years now we’ve been a one car family. Pauline has the car most of the time and I do most of my travelling and all pretty much all my commuting by bicycle. I much prefer being on my bike to being in a car. Even on a rainy day life seems better from the saddle of a bike.

Our current car is a ’99 Toyota Camry. It’s actually in Pauline’s name so it’s really her car. She owns a car and I own two bikes. I was thinking the other day about all the cars I’ve owned in my life. The list is below.

1972 Ford Cortina Sedan
1974 Ford Transit Van
1978 Ford Falcon Sedan
1980 Ford Transit Van
1976 Ford Escort Sedan
1980 Ford Fairmont Sedan
1992 Ford Falcon Sedan

Do you see a certain pattern? You’d never guess that I grew up in a dedicated Holden family. Even up to the age of 17 when I got my license (I passed first time on my 17th birthday) I was a Holden fan, with the T-Shirts to prove it. Thankfully I was cured of that with the purchase of my first Ford.

These days I reckon that a car is just a car. I still prefer Fords to others but I’m even happier being a cyclist rather than a motorist.

Posted by Rodney Olsen



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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8 Comments

  • 1) Mazda Bongo van 2) 1976 Holden Gemini 3) 1984 Mitsubishi Sigma 4) Holden Commodore 1984 VK (Lemon) 5) 1998 Kia Sportage 6) 2002 Subaru Forester (which we plan to keep for Years!)

  • For this ignorant American (US), what is a Holden? Are they made in Australia?

    BTW I loved Fords too till I owned my first one–a 1975 Pinto. I found out much too late that PINTO stands for Put In New Transmission Often. I replaced the clutch two or three times. Now we own Chevys and Toyotas.

  • A Holden is a General Motors car. So it’s pretty much an American company making unsuspecting buyers think they’re buying an Australian product. 🙂

  • In my experience, loyalty to any car maker is over rated… I used to be loyal to Holden, then Ford, then Holden again, but each time – I went out and purchased one of the maker’s products and it was enough to change my mind… Now, I prefer only jobs where I’m provided a vehicle for the work. That way I don’t have to make the decision on which brand. 🙂
    Rodney, you helped me buy my first car – a 1972 Ford Cortina. I even bought one after you & I were nearly burnt to the ground on a remote road in South Australia by a loose fuel line and a smoking RAC bloke. Then Greg talked me into Holdens and I traded to a Kingswood Station Wagon. That served me for a few years but because of the angle on the fuel tank filler, one had to carefully and slowly refuel it. That was so annoying! After than, I got company cars and have never looked back…

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