Q. What vehicle do you drive?

A. I drive a red MG BRoadster (pre 1972 – so chrome bumper, locally made!) Q. How long have you had it?

A. Well, the truth is I don’t have it, it’s officially my mother’s, but she finds it too temperamental, so I have it on long loan!

Q. How much did it cost?

A. £8,000 apparently, plus double that in maintenance costs!

Q. What work have you done to the vehicle? How much did it cost to repair?

A. I misunderstood (typical boy word!) that the oil gauge was a direct link to the actual amount of oil in the engine, so seized the engine a year ago.

It cost me in excess of £3,000 and continues to not be ‘quite right’, but we share a temperamental love affair. Other than that, she’s an amazing car because she’s a classic that can still be used daily. I even use it to restock the restaurant on occasion’.

Q. Why did you get this particular vehicle?

A. Because life isn’t about what’s easy.

Life should be about what is stylish, whatever the fatigue that goes with it!

I have to admit that it can be the most exhausting vehicle to maintain, but so are the most fantastic women. If I ever end up with a woman as ordinary as a Ford Focus, I’d invite anyone to punch me. Although the British summer is all too short, just having a couple of days a year with the roof down makes life worthwhile.

Q. What do you like most about it?

A. The fact that every time she’s cold, miserable, damp or just a little temperamental, you really need to work hard to get her started. She really makes you work hard for her affection. However, once she’s started she’s (most commonly!) an amazing mate, sounding just right when you need her to, accelerating just dangerously enough to make it slightly exciting and allowing just enough wind into your hair to make you realise you’re alive.

Q. What irritates you most about it?

A. It should be the maintenance, but in all honesty, I allow her that. It’s the space that bothers me. But then, it encourages you to put a big wicker basket on her chrome back rack, which only adds to the style. I have to admit, there’s very little that irritates me about my little red baby, she’s fast enough, she looks amazing and she gives me just enough of a headache to make me realise she’s worthwhile.

Q. Is it good value for money?

A. Ridiculously, but only because when you look cool, it actually doesn’t matter what it costs. My father always assures me that when it becomes time to ‘check out’ at the end of life, the only currency that will have ever mattered is the currency of style.

Q. Does it have a name?

A. Moog, or Echo Beach, simply because of her number plate EKB and in honour of Martha and The Muffins.

Q. What is your favourite memory of the vehicle?

A. I once broke down on the M4 at junction 28 heading east and proposed to a young lady who I was currently dating – she duly accepted. Our engagement drinks were a bottle of warm rosé from a motorway service station, sitting in the back of an AA van, eating a Chicken Royale and being escorted back to Oxford for another repair. The relationship has since died, but the car has survived to live another day.

Q. And your worst?

A. I’d almost say it was the same one. She always manages to break down at the most irritating times, when traffic is busiest, or in the fastest lane of the motorway. The problem with MGs, and I know because I had an MG(F) once too, is that they perpetually have their own agenda.

Q. If you could own any vehicle what would it be?

A. I’d own a 1972 red MG Roadster, or perhaps the Classic Mercedes Benz 1960 300 SL. If money was no object then the Mayer Weinermobile – the vehicle is a sausage on wheels!

Q. What was your first car? How much did it cost and how long did you own it?

A. My very first was a Peugeot 205 Junior – with denim seats. Quite hideous, but it had a sunroof which could be totally removed and obviously the seats had a coolness all of their own. Since then, I have regularly been a Saab man, but not the modern stuff, always the classics.

Tell us about your vehicle. Do you drive an old banger which you can’t live without? A reliable motor that gets you from A to B? Do you drive something unusual or extravagant? If you drive a car, motorbike, van or truck and want to tell us about it email chris.walker@oxfordmail.co.uk