The Collectomaniac Corner

Back in the early 70s, my Dad had a Morris Marina, no wait, he had two, one after the other. One was a flat dark olive green, the other a flat classic BL salmon beige sort of colour. I thought they were awful — even as a 5/6-year-old kid, I thought these cars were awful. They looked dull with their flat paint compared to the Fords I would see with nice light metallic shades. And keep in mind, these were the base 1.3-litre models as well — the saloon, not even the coupe. So understandably, there was not an extra gadget in sight. My dad took his frugality through to motoring so drove fairly economically as well, which always made me think these cars were dull and slow. Having said all that, I also recall that those Marinas were pretty reliable. Or maybe it was how my dad drove them, as I don’t recall them breaking down. Ever.

I have strong memories of these cars despite the fact that I was very young and actually wished that he had bought more exciting models. However, given the chance, I would have one of these in my driveway now. They have the classic “three-box” saloon shape that I like. And I only discovered recently that the Marina was designed by Roy Haynes, the person who also designed my dream car, the Ford Cortina Mk2. And let’s be honest, who will yearn for today’s run-of-the-mill cars, anyway?!

I would love a Cortina, Capri, Granada, Viva, Firenza/Magnum, Avenger, Hunter or even a Marina now. To be honest, it extends to almost any model from that BL stable, actually. Allegro, Maxi, Princess etc., you name it, and I’ll want that. As you must have guessed by now, the current crop of cars — even those from the last 10-15 years — do not excite me, as they are anonymous and almost generic, especially most SUVs. Although probably the same was said of the 70s boxes by people who grew up in the 40s and 50s with curvy rounded car design. History repeats itself, eh?

I recall the disdain the first Ford Sierra received when it first arrived. The first modern, mainstream jelly-mould car? It replaced the long-lived Ford Cortina in its last truly boxy Mk5 guise. And people really took their sweet time to develop their liking for it. However, the Sierra blossomed, in my opinion, into a fine machine and although I have not owned many cars as I tend to keep them as long as I can, the 1992 2.0GLX Sierra Estate I had was one of the best cars I have owned. But due to scrappage schemes and rust, Sierras are now pretty rare and thankfully sought after, too. Still, I just can’t see that same yearning occurring in 20 years with an SUV which has been stretched upwards from a standard saloon.

When it comes to my die-cast collecting affliction, the “three-box” everyday cars from the 70s are the ones I want the most in my collection. I prefer the models which I saw in the street every day. Also, I was always non-plussed with a sports car or racing car models. I was also never a fan of manufacturers turning the standard car into a fire brigade model or police car though I can see why they released those, as kids always generally love police cars and fire engines etc. I have now on a few occasions returned emergency vehicles or taxi model cars to standard everyday drivers, just because I could.

After the Corgi Coupe version from years ago, more Marina models are becoming available on the second-hand market, and the teeny 1:76 Oxford Diecast Marina saloons are great value. Fair to say I might never own a full-size Marina, so it will have to be a die-cast model for me.

Here’s to collecting cars, large and small, real ones and models!

Footnote: When the second Morris Marina was sold my Dad redeemed himself by buying a nearly new metallic green MK2 Ford Capri. I loved THAT car.