I was eight years old in the mid-1980s when my mom, dad, two brothers and I traveled to western Europe on a brief tour, including a stop in London. Paris had been our first stop, and then Bonn, (then-West) Germany. I was immediately fascinated with pretty much everything about both of those first, two cities: the surroundings, architecture, language, manners of dress, and especially the cars. I remember standing in the lobby of our very first hotel stop in Paris, looking out of the lobby onto the street, seeing a Ford Capri out there, and exclaiming something like, “Hey! We have those in America!” (Of course, I probably said “America” versus “United States” back then, as I was just a kid.) Regardless, I realized even at that young age that the world travel experience my parents had provided for my two brothers and me was not typical for many kids my age in our factory and college / university town of Flint, Michigan.
By the time we got to London as our third stop, though, I breathed a sigh of relief, as I could actually understand and speak the language, albeit in my Midwestern, U.S. accent. In my third grade year before this trip, our class had been learning some key phrases in German as taught by the Germany-born, expatriate mother of one of my classmates. While at a playground in Bonn, my attempt at introducing myself to another kid (“Ich heisse Josef…“) got my sandbox volcano destroyed, but that other kid had a genuinely friendly smile on his face as he made banter with (read: to) me that I didn’t understand, so I honestly didn’t think he was being mean. Also, both of our mothers were present. (A little knowledge can be dangerous.)
My point is that by the time my family got to London, I could understand pretty much everything that was being said, and the words, terms and expressions that were unfamiliar to me (i.e. “watercloset”) were easy enough to pick up using context clues. Like in Paris and Bonn, there were familiar Ford Capris and Fiestas, along with a few other cars and variants I had recognized from the States. There was McDonald’s, but there was this also-everywhere chain called Wimpy’s that I later came to understand had its roots in the United States! There was also mineral water (blech!) versus just regular, non-carbonated water, and my parents never allowed us kids pop / soda, so that type of water took some getting used to. (Mineral water is okay with me, nowadays.) Candy was another story.
Many of us had our favorite childhood candies. I can remember riding my bike up to the convenience store on our block in the East Village neighborhood of Flint and spending my weekly dollar on a pack of Bubble Yum (usually orange or fruit punch flavored), a snickers bar, a few packs of Now & Later taffy chews, and/or a bag of M&M’s. While a mouthful of tooth-colored fillings have since put the kibosh on my affinity for gum that’s not sugar-free, I still love an occasional chocolate bar or a bag of M&Ms. When I was eight, M&M’s ranked probably in my top-three of favorite candies. While on this European trip, my normally frugal parents would sometimes, in rare bursts of uncharacteristic fun, treat us kids to a little something. (As if the thousands of dollars they spent on this trip wasn’t generous, but you get the idea.)
Finding some actual M&M’s, for some reason, proved impossible in one particular instance, so I had to settle for these things called “Smarties”. These are not to be confused with the tart, chalky (and delicious) little wafers many of us remember getting in tiny rolls as Halloween handouts. These other Smarties are candy-shell covered chocolates much like M&M’s. You know how sometimes, when you know exactly how something tastes and you want to taste exactly that one thing, but one or more ingredients is just different or “off” enough to provide an experience that’s less than satisfying? I’m sure these U.K. Smarties tasted just fine and exactly how they were supposed to, but I suppose I was just salty enough that I couldn’t have actual M&M’s that I deliberately chose not to enjoy my chocolate Smarties as much as I probably wanted to. I was a brat sometimes.
I had photographed this final-generation Triumph Spitfire 1500 a couple of months ago on a main thoroughfare in my neighborhood here in Chicago. I was able to narrow down the model year to between 1974 and ’78, after which, for the final two model years, the Spitfire sported some giant, rubber bumpers that were even less artfully sculpted than those of the concurrent MGB. These little, English roadsters were really lightweight, weighing less than 1,800 pounds. The U.S. version of its 1493-c.c. engine had just 57 horsepower. With a standard four-speed manual, it could take up to almost sixteen seconds for one of these latter-day Spitfires to get to 60 mph. However, and as the adage goes, it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow(ly). There were about 96,000 of these final-generation Spitfire 1500s produced between 1974 and 1980, though I couldn’t find a reliable source to cite in terms of how many of those had originally made it to the United States as new cars.
As for all my talk of chocolate, this is what the color of this car’s finish reminded me of: one of the better milk chocolate candy bars at the local Aldi discount supermarket. In fact, Aldi might have been where I was headed to buy a few things when this car happened by. As far as brown as a car color goes, this is good brown. I certainly hope the gentleman behind the wheel has been able to enjoy many summer days of top-down motoring without too much trouble, once the warm weather had finally arrived in Chicago at the beginning of this July. (No one’s complaining.) I have written often of starting my own, personal “Curbside Classic” fund for my own collectible car, but after reminiscing about my childhood travels in Europe, and also my trip to Italy from almost two years ago, I think I might just prefer travel, if I could realistically afford either. (Please don’t revoke my CC Card.)
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Friday, May 24, 2019.
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Nice write up Joseph. I have nice memories of the Spitfire. One of my moms cousins, who lived on the lower Rhine (not so far away from Bonn), had one back in the 90s. It was bright red. I can´t remember the model year but I remember that he took me with him for a ride in his Spitfire. It was funny, and I think it was the first time driving for me in an open car.
I also remeber m&m´s and smarties, both were part of my childhood too, but I didn´t prefer either one to the other.
I didn´t know that Aldi exists in the States. What a surprise
Aldi has been here for a good thirty years if not more. In that time the number of stores has grown significantly, as has the general size of the stores and the quality of their food. Quality concerns disappeared long ago.
Despite this growth, they have kept their mission of simplicity and no-frills. And they still give people used boxes to carry their groceries home.
My son and I thought it was quite novel to shop at Aldi in Munich while there in 2007 for the Bauma construction equipment trade fair.
We don’t have Aldi in California, orfor that matter anywhere in the western US that I visit regularly. In New England where I have family it seems to be a low-end (or at least low-price) chain that belies any European roots.
Aldi has opened stores in CA as part of a big expansion plan that includes several new locations:
https://www.delimarketnews.com/buyside-news/aldi-expands-california-15-new-stores/kayla-webb/thu-04112019-1114/7602
Autobahnraser, thank you so much. I never shopped at Aldi until maybe five years ago, but I don’t remember seeing them until after I had lived in Chicago for years.
I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in a Spitfire, but riding in a friend’s 1980 MGB gave me an idea of just how tiny these cars are. That was a cool experience.
That´s the color I mean
That’s a great color – I like it especially with what looks like black/white checked / houndstooth seats.
Dont see too many Spitfires anymore years ago a workmate had a 75 model, it looked the sporty part but was slower and less top speed than a twin carb 1500 Singer Gazelle, but it looked the part, at least they cured most of the cornering issues for the later models.
How long has it been since I’ve seen a Spitfire? Quite a while. The intriguing and attractive shade of brown on this one makes it oddly appealing.
Thanks for the mention of soda and candy. As one often denied soda while a child, I’ve made up for lost time. Now you’ve got me feeling guilty. 🙂
Haha! Not intentionally, Jason. You should have seen all the not-good-for-me things I consumed this past weekend. Shockingly, I still have half a box of Aldi-knockoff “Lucky Charms” sitting on my kitchen counter. “Just one more bowl!”, I kept telling myself.
Count me as a Smartie fan, M&Ms just taste like sugar to me. My wife’s mother is American, so she prefers M&Ms and it has been a bone of contention our entire marriage. This never came up in pre-marital counselling!
I regularly see Spitfires in the summer, must be the England/Canada thing and in fact last year there was one just around the corner for sale at $5,000 which was bit bit tempting. Like our subject Spitfire, they are usually not in perfect condition but still providing enjoyment for the owner. Bloody good show!!
Come to think of it, I hardly ever see a Spitfire in perfect condition — and those Spitfires I remember seeing 20-30 years ago were in exactly the same not-perfect condition. I guess folks were are interested in owning an immaculate vehicle choose another car.
I actually have some shots of the most perfect Spitfire I have ever seen. I have just never gotten around to writing it up.
I hope you do write it up, JP! I’m trying to remember the nicest-condition Spit I’ve ever seen, and this brown one may just be that for me.
In ’74 a friend of my father’s was looking to trade his 72 Spitfire, and even though I had a 72 Vega Panel Express he agreed to a straight swap. Loved the car, but the only way I could get comfortable behind the wheel was to recline the seat as much as possible. Mine was even this same shade of brown.
I kept a ’79 Spit for 18 years. Once kids began populating our house it took on a hangar queen role, though it was always drivable.
Above, someone alluded to the fun of driving a slow car fast… the Spit was made for that philosophy. You could drive it like you were in a race while rarely risking a ticket. The low seating and doors also helped add to the sensation of speed.
Jeff, you described exactly why I still love racing go-karts in my forties!
Count me as another Spitfire fan. Oddly, the only time I was ever actually in one I was left temporarily stranded. The owner (who was driving) calmly remarked that if we let it sit and cool down for a few minutes it would restart and we could resume our drive. It was one of the late models with a catalytic converter, which the owner opinied was the cause of the periodic vapor lock.
I also like that brown paint. Those non-metallic milk-chocolate browns seemed common on Euro cars of the 70s. I recall seeing Mercedes in that shade, and knew a fellow with a 1971 Porsche 911 in a similar color. Volvos also, IIRC.
I cannot weigh in on the Smarties vs. M&Ms debate. If we start a plain vs. peanut M&M’s argument, however, count me firmly in the peanut camp.
JP, was that stalling thing due to vapor lock a regularly occurring? That would drive me nuts.
As far as M&M’s, I flip and flop between the regular variety and the peanut ones. It’s all win-win for me, as I don’t think I’ve ever eaten an M&M I didn’t like.
Yes, it was the kind of thing he planned on happening, but for a car he bought used as a toy it was bad but not catastrophic. The feeling was that it was an unsuccessful attempt at meeting US emissions regs, and I recall that there was a catalytic converter dumping heat in the area of the fuel system, but it has been a good number of years since I actually saw it. I have sometimes wondered if he found a mechanic who could solve the problem or if he just gave up and sold it.
That was a common problem, as I recall, with old designs (especially old foreign designs) that tried to meet the stringent emissions targets of the late 70s. I worked with a guy who bought a new 1980 Beetle convertible to replace a Karmann Ghia convertible he had bought new in the early 70s. He only kept it for a year or so because he said it never ran right.
I do love me some English Chocolate, but largely of the Cadbury variety. Smarties are alright and I used to prefer them to M&M’s back when I was exposed to more of the former than the latter. Nowadays Smarties just taste “off” to me as well, but I’m not a fan of the regular (not peanut) M&M’s either. Cadbury Flake though? Yeah, sign me up every day and twice on Sunday, especially stuck in an ice cream cone.
I’m not as big a fan of the Spitfire though, likely due to it being the cause of my first (only) serious motorcycle accident when one went through a red light and then stopped but far enough (a car length) out that my bike got hung up on one of those monstrously protruding black bumper pad Dagmar wanna-be thing perched on the front bumper during my unsuccessful evasive maneuver. But I’m still glad you caught one!
Jim, your accident you described would make me dislike Spitfires as well, solely due to that association!
Spitfires are thin on the ground in Vermont but they come from all over the Northeast (and Ontario and Quebec) for the annual British Invasion in Stowe. Seeing them lined up you can see that like their TR-6 cousins, there are no bad colors on a Spit. My own three were red, blue and yellow, and my GT6 was purple. Today’s go-to colors of white, black and silver are almost never seen.
I would guess that Spitfires are pretty thin on the ground everywhere by this time, what with 40+ years exposure to the tin worm and all. A good friends younger brother had one of these in the late seventies/early eighties. It was one of those cars that was fun to drive (albeit slowly) but seemed to require 8-10 hours of upkeep for every hour on the road. He eventually got tired of fiddling with the Spit and it was replaced with something more reliable; the last I knew it was slowly decomposing under a tarp in his mom’s back yard. For all I know it is still there although it would likely be just a pile of iron oxide by now.
I’m not really much of a chocolate eater but do like the occasional package of M&M’s, peanut of course.
I have a 1978 Spitfire. It was my only car from 2010-2017 in Austin, TX. I did some minor engine tweaks like twin carbs and electronic ignition, better exhaust, and a better radiator. 0-60 is just over 9 seconds now. 112,000 miles since 2010 attests to the ease of owning one of these. Heck I’ve even won numerous autocross titles with it. I need to paint it, but it is a solid, fast car.
Fantastic. I had to re-read your comment to understand that you still have that car – it’s just not your only car, anymore.
While the heavy duty bumpers thoroughly destroyed the appearance of the MGB & MG Midget,, the Spitfire did a good job of accommodating the new equipment.
Go Triumph!
A great bite-sized characterful car, I’m not sure about using it in the city, soooo low and vulnerable, PS, I’ve always loved a brown car, it’s my 70’s thang showing..
Joseph, I can relate to much of your story, albeit on an earlier time frame. 1971, and I was 11 when we left New Guinea and spent 6 months in Europe and the UK. Since New Guinea had a diverse automotive market, I wasn’t too surprised with the cars I saw. I was surprised to see what I thought was a Holden Torana, only to discover it was it’s very close relation, a Vauxhall Viva.
Thank you for an entertaining article
Thanks, Chris. On this particular trip in the ’80s, the two makes that had me confused were Vauxhall and Opel. I imagine this might have been similar to someone not from the U.S. seeing a J-Body Buick Skyhawk and a Pontiac Sunbird of the ’80s and having trouble differentiating them.
I’ve owned one for 15 years. Great fun!
In a kinda-CC effect with a spin on it, my German teacher in high school had a Spitfire. Red, and it wasn’t perfect either, being the early low-bumper model with a few dents and a faded top.
Thanks, everyone. I realize that my added comments are late, but I was busy seeing my mom off for back home yesterday and have only now had a chance to read everyone’s thoughtful weigh-ins.
And now, I must fight the temptation to find some M&M’s on my evening walk. Cheers.