I don't always do reposts...but when I do they're worth it

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
12/10/2013 at 13:16 • Filed to: None

In 1993, CAR journalist Michael Kirsch was robbed at a military checkpoint in Bosnia during filming of a freelance TV documentary. He made it to the nearest town with just the clothes on his back, where his life was saved by three young people. In 1994, he bought a Ł190 Morris Marina and drove 3000 miles to rescue them from the warzone.

Sort of puts the supercar romp across the Alps into context doesn't it?

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DISCUSSION (23)

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 13:55

When I read it the previous time this was posted it suddenly became a bit dusty behind my computer.

AMC/Renauledge > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 14:21

Even a Morris Marina can be a hero. That's one thing I love about this place.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang
12/10/2013 at 15:17

You and me both.

QQXQXL123 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 18:13

The message I take home from this is that Wales has, per square meter, fully 1/40th of the anguish and pain of Bosnia during the most brutal civil war seen in Europe since the 1940s. And I used to live in Wales.

TheBaron2112 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 18:14

Why are you giving me a reason to like the Morris Marina?

TheBaron2112 > QQXQXL123
12/10/2013 at 18:34

HAHA! I SAW THAT TOO!

"Only 100x worse than Wales? Wales must be AWFUL"

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > QQXQXL123
12/10/2013 at 18:38

Bora da!

I went to university in Bath, so I've met a good few Welsh people. Not so many as you get further out towards the south though.

Where abouts in Wales?

DasWauto > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 18:43

This is a great story. I forgot to read it earlier but the repost reminded me. Cheers for sharing it.

QQXQXL123 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 19:05

Only Cardiff, and only then for University so it hardly counts. I actually live in Bath now! I did once go on a road trip to Merthyr Tydfil. It was during the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, so the town was surrounded by pyres of burning sheep carcasses. It was quite atmospheric.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > QQXQXL123
12/10/2013 at 19:16

Sweet :) I used to live in Oldfield Park, along with the vast majority of the student population. Great place to live.

That sounds fairly apocalyptic as well to be honest. I really want to go on a proper road trip to some of the more stunning scenery in Wales at some point, but I think I'll need a car that's fitting.

Maybe an RV8 Gilbern methinks.

fintail > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 19:45

Funny, I remember this issue, and I am pretty sure I still have it. CAR was really a great read - the "good bad ugly" reviews were hilarious, too.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > fintail
12/10/2013 at 19:50

Alas, I wasn't around when CAR was at its best. I should see if I can find any more, it looks excellent.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > AMC/Renauledge
12/10/2013 at 20:35

Kinja'd!!!

Not only can they save people in times of war, they can piss off F1 drivers too. Clearly an underrated classic.

will_kern > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 21:19

Once they were across the border, I can only imagine that the trip would be absolutely beautiful. Driving up and down the Dalmatian Coast was a sublime experience for me... I made the way from Zagreb to Split, Stayed in Hvar (pictured) and then kept going to Dubrovnik, and back. After finally tasting freedom, the drive for them must have been that much better

Kinja'd!!!

DarthDuster > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/10/2013 at 21:38

I've been a Car reader for a long time, and I would say late eighties up until the mid-nineties are the golden years - up until the first major revamp anyway.

I have access to a lot of the back issues in the Uni library, and re-reading them it's hard to imagine any magazine (Car included sad to say) being as critical and incisive these days.

fintail > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/11/2013 at 00:03

It was probably the best overall mainstream car magazine in the world at the time. The writing and production was excellent/ They were not afraid to tell it like it was. James May wrote for them in the early-mid 90s, too.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > will_kern
12/11/2013 at 07:42

I've heard how stunning the coastal areas of the Baltic are. Must have been fantastic.

Marek > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
12/11/2013 at 08:02

Baltic does have a nice coast line Adriatic is much nicer though

somebrit > will_kern
12/11/2013 at 08:04

Hvar is absurdly beautiful. That such a glorious part of the world has suffered such tragedies, so recently, is baffling in its sadness.

To drag this back to cars - my dad got to the bottom of the road to the right of the red tower (looking rather more handsome in that photo than it did in the days immediately after the fall of the Iron Curtain) only to discover that our Yugo's brake pedal had fallen off. Awkward. The next day we swapped it for the finest hire car Yugoslavia could offer - a Polish (IIRC) built Renault 5.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Marek
12/11/2013 at 08:07

Bugger. I knew it wasn't right when I typed 'Baltic'. Adriatic was what I was looking for. I've got a mate who goes out to the Croatian coast every couple of years and comes back raving about how stunning it is.

duurtlang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/20/2018 at 05:22

Oppo meet 2014 2019?

Nauraushaun > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/20/2018 at 07:11

Wow.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > duurtlang
08/20/2018 at 08:55

Now there's an idea ;)