article_snippet.sent: All the most memorable moments in my life feature the internal combustion engine.
article_snippet.sent: When I was four, we emigrated to Italy and the Mini was sold.
article_snippet.sent: In the end it was all right, though, because it was soon replaced by a far more exciting prospect: an orange Alfasud — an Alfa Romeo for poor people
article_snippet.sent: It wasn’t until my father landed a job with Fiat, however, that the motor car really became central to my life.
article_snippet.sent: Here they made everything you can possibly imagine on wheels, from the great Iveco trucks to flashy Ferraris.
article_snippet.sent: So you see, dear Lord Tony, to me, the motor car is so much more than a set of gears and an engine.
article_snippet.sent: And I’m no car snob either:
article_snippet.sent: over the years I owned cars of all pedigrees and prices, from my first, a burgundy mini van bought for £500, through various follies to a 1967 Karmann Ghia that burnt more oil than a burgundy mini van ever did petrol.
article_snippet.sent: We have a family car, too: a tragically dull Nissan.