""I almost forgot the Austin Princess... Nice looking... Not too sure about dependability but seein' as lots of them were used as taxi cabs they must have been pretty reliable...""

They were too bloody thirsty for most cabbies in the UK. Even the 1700cc ran at 20-23mpg average.

Their advantage was that they had immensely wide rear seats, which enabled private hire companies to get HMP contracts (H.M. Prisons), transporting individual prisoners to the Old Bailey or the Appeal Courts.

I did quite a lot of those jobs in the 70s and 80s, and drove a Princess.

The point was that you could get two hefty warders with a prisoner handcuffed between them into that back seat. Granadas were also popular for the same reason.

The only trip that stands out in my memory is the one when the clutch suddenly resigned, pumping clouds of blue smoke into the car. I pulled up and hurriedly alighted, then looked back to see two warders getting out of opposite rear doors in a blind panic, while the poor little sod shackled between them gave the most amazingly good impression of a Royal Navy Destroyer entering harbour. "Whhoooop, whhhooooooooop, whhhhhoooooooooop........

Don T.