I may live to regret this post but I’m of the opinion that honesty is an integral part of what I do so I’m spilling the beans on some of the behind the scenes action that goes on Chez Caroline, the less than perfect stuff that reminds me that I’m not as smart as I think I am.
1. I first came across MacPherson struts when I started reading car magazines in the early 2000s. At the time, these magazines were my only source of information on cars, with no access to Internet, Google searches or even a well-informed family member. And in this vacuum I genuinely believed for a while that the reviewer was trying to be funny and was somehow making a connection between Elle Macpherson and the suspension dynamics of a car.
2. On my first ever press launch I stalled the car in front of the other journos and PR people, just in case there was any doubt that I wasn’t an amateur. In my defence, I hadn’t driven many cars before going on my first launch so I was still a bit mystified by the whole stop-start technology trick. I’m a bit more professional now; I do my stalling in private.
3. Like yesterday morning. I was driving an automatic car all last week, so when I hopped back into my 5 speed manual this week, I got lazy and forgot that I needed to change gear myself and just using the foot brake when coming to a stop in traffic wouldn’t cut it. Who knew it could be so difficult to go from an automatic to a manual in just a week?
4. I once had to hoover the canvas roof of a test car before dropping it back because my cat had left a furry, white rug on it. It was the strangest activity I’ve ever done.
5. The first time I sat into a test car with electric seats I spent a panicky few minutes trying to work out how to move the seat forward. I fumbled for a lever under the seat and I seriously thought I was going to have to ask someone to show me how to adjust the seat. How embarrassing would that be? And then I found the magic buttons on the side of the seat and that was the day I was initiated into the luxury car experience.
6. I’ve never changed a tyre.
Though I’ve never had a puncture so that kind of excuses me, right?
7. And I’m not a car repairs and maintenance guru. I check the oil level, the tyre pressures, top up my car with water and oil, keep it clean – but that’s as far as it goes.
I do know where to find the chassis number though.
So that’s all the embarrassing stuff I can think of for now.
Now it’s your turn. Any car-related confessions you would like to make?
Caroline Kidd