On the Saturday, a burst of well-known warning lights and bongs alerted him to some mysterious malady. It was still upset on the Sunday morning when some unknown turmoil had managed to drain the battery and sound the alarm.
Aaron couldn’t get a response from jump leads on the boot-mounted battery. The local mechanic managed to find the positive terminal under the bonnet, but even he needed an extra battery to boost his Ford Transit to get the Alfa to turn over
Good news: the Alfa lived. Bad news: it was stuck in limp home mode, with only around 150bhp. Aaron battled through, and once the car was back into England, it cleared its error codes and allowed normal driving again.
My theory? The Alfa hates Wales. Perhaps it’s a huge rugby fan and wanted to hammer home the 24-21 win for Italy that resulted in Wales first Six Nations wooden spoon in 21 years. Perhaps it’s just bad luck. Or perhaps you actually can let a touch of national stereotypes cloud your judgements on cars.
Update 3
I bet you own, or have owned, a classic car. Or a weekend car. Or something along those lines. I certainly have. An NA MX-5. Eventually life got in the way and I got rid of it when in one year it accrued a measly 200 miles.
As I approach my mid-thirties, I seemingly have even less time to enjoy cars. But a few weeks ago something marvelous happened. Plans that had been in the diary for months disappeared. Whoosh. Just gone. A whole Saturday deleted with just a day’s notice.
In my mind’s to-do list there is a post-it note fluttering around, its adhesive quality slowly being lost over the two years since I moved into my flat and placed it there. It reads “find a good driving road near me”. And today, I am finally gripping that day-glow yellow square between my thumb and forefinger and putting it in the bin. Of my mind.
But I couldn’t just get into the Etna Red Quad, thumb the big starter switch, twist the drive selector to Dynamic and press the soft suspension button that is nestled between said twister. No, I, like any Millenial, had to consult Google first.
