Mitsubishi 'Shark' 
Actually a Mitsubishi Galant 2.0 GLS, but known affectionately in the motor trade as the 'shark' model as it bears an uncanny resemblance to the creature when viewed from certain angles.  I bought it in February 2004 to replace the Jeep which was simply costing far too much to run.  I was toying with the idea of getting a C class Mercedes, but after reading numerous used-car reviews I noticed this Mitsubishi kept popping up as a favoured alternative to the Merc, BMW 3 series and Jag X-type.  One reviewer even claimed it was better than an S-type Jag in almost every respect.  Not sure I'd go quite that far BUT it has been an excellent car so far.   Very reliable, good performance, economical, comfortable, reasonable insurance costs and it also looks pretty good and makes for an unusual alternative to the common Merc / BMW.  Also cheaper to buy in the first place.   

This particular car was bought from a dealer in Harrow and came with low mileage, full history, brand new Fox Racing alloy wheels and tyres and a £400 alarm system.  Also has lots of gadgets and creature comforts.

Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 Ltd - 
Bought this September 02 after selling the Mercedes coupe.  This has proved to be an excellent car so far, the only downside being the thirst (14MPG) from the 4.0 engine.  These come fully-loaded with luxury touches and gadgets such as climate control, electric / heated seats, electric roof, full leather interior etc.

Mercedes 280E Saloon, 1982
This has been in the family since almost new and is now in semi-retirement and used as a second car.  The 280E was the top-spec model of this body shape, hence the leather interior.

Mercedes 230CE Coupe 
These coupes are a bit of an extravagance really - they're about 4 times the price of the saloon version but under the skin they're essentially the same car.  Nonetheless it's a headturner - this one was in immaculate all-original condition in the rare Petrol Blue metallic.  Also available with a 2.8 6-cyl engine, this 4-cyl version is a bit slower but returns sensible MPG for everyday use.

Mercedes 230e 
After selling the Porsche we bought an unbelievably unreliable BMW 525i.  A 'modern' car for once, it cost loads of money but was totally crap.  It let us down a number of times so we started looking for an inexpensive runabout to keep me on the road whilst this damn BMW went back to the garage (again...).  This car was the result -  I liked it so much I sold the BMW and kept this as my daily driver until the coupe came along. 

Porsche 944 
My everyday driver for 5 years it proved fast, reliable and economical.  Breathtaking acceleration; had it up to 137mph on a trip to Herne Bay once.  Sold it when it started getting a bit tired and I was looking for a more 'sensible' car.  These cars are fantastic unless something goes wrong as parts are expensive - a reconditioned (not new) radiator cost £800.00... 

Cadillac Seville  
This was the top-of-the-range Cadillac in it's day and was competing with the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow in the '70s.  Laden with gadgets (which all still worked) this was a rare RHD conversion special edition 'Elegante' model (hence the wire wheels).  Electric seats, heated mirrors and a 5.7litre V8 under the hood... The interior was trimmed in light blue leather. 

Alfa 75 Veloce 
My daily driver for about 3 years.  Looked fantastic, great fun to drive, but very badly put together.  It never actually let me down but it was almost always in the garage for repairs.  Luckily I had the super-reliable Honda Dominator at the same time. 

Jaguar Sovereign S3 
This was the top-of-the-range spec XJ6 (apart from the V12 version).  I wasn't looking for one of these at the time but when I saw this for sale it was about £2000.00 less than the market price and looked like an absolute bargain.  I bought it expecting something major to go wrong and 18 months later I was still waiting !  Unusually reliable but like all these Jags, very thirsty.  It was replaced by the Alfa 75.

Daimler Sovereign Series 2 
My first XJ6, a late series 2 model.  It was an unreliable beast with it's blown head gasket and dodgy autobox that didn't like reverse... nonetheless it gave me a taste for these cars; it's redeeming feature was the fantastic leather interior which was in absolutely stunning condition (unlike the rest of the car).

Daimler Sovereign Series 1 
I bought this to replace the series 2.  In Old English Ivory it looked fantastic; it's the shorter wheelbase version, lighter and faster than later series.  Interior was grey leather and it had the original 'E-type-style' dash.   This was my daily driver and although costly to run was very reliable and of course comfortable. 

BMW 518 
I bought this in the late 80s when I needed ultra-reliable transport for commuting to and from work. Although it was the basic model and not particularly exciting, it proved a faithful workhorse for the couple of years I owned it. I replaced it with the Jaguar Sovereign Series 3 (see above). Many years later I was again looking for a sensible, reliable, 4-door saloon to replace the Porsche. I decided another 5-series BMW made sense (having had such positive experience with this one) and so bought the new shape 525i which sadly turned out to be nothing but trouble with loads of persistent problems.

Mercedes 220 
One owner from new, 90000 miles, LHD, imported from Greece.  It was full of dents and scratches when I bought it  but after a couple of weeks solid work including a half-respray it looked fantastic.  The bloke I sold it to came back 2 months later to tell me it was the best car he'd ever had.  Wish I'd kept it... 

Mercedes 250 
Twin carbs made this very difficult to keep in tune and this 6-cyl car drank almost as much fuel as a Jag but the 4-cyl versions make a better buy as an everyday car.  A nice feature of this particular car was the full-length webasto sunroof - fantastic in summer.   

Mercedes 280SE 
A strange one this.  Bizarre 1970's orange and brown checked pattern interior seemed at odds with the restrained white bodywork.  Quite nice to drive although not very exciting - looked fantastic however.  Sold it after a year or so - it was a second car and didn't get enough use to warrant the cost of keeping it insured etc. 

Mercury Monarch 
I bought this from the bass player of the 'Nashville Teens'.  Typical American-Car handling with screechy tyres and no liking for corners.  Passengers would slide across the front bench seat and join you on the driver's side when you negotiated a roundabout.  Not the fastest or most reliable car but great fun just the same... 
This was my third car.  Unfortunately I have no photos of the first 2:  A 1974 Vauxhall Victor 2300SL closely followed by a Vauxhall VX4/90 of the same year.

A Collection of Rover SD1s... 
Ferrari Daytona looks, V8 engine, loads of room (Hatchback) cheap insurance... Surely too good to be true?  Well almost... They weren't particularly well-built - that was the problem.  On my last count I'd had half a dozen of these things though, so something must have been right with them.  Ah yes, now I remember - they were cheap !  The blue V8S in these pictures was the best one - only 440 of this model were made - it was the top-of-the-range version (before the SE came out).  This particular car had been tuned to kingdom-come by the previous owner and with it's 'straight-through' exhaust was VERY loud

Ford Collection I don't feel great about these nowadays but they deserve a place here because they served as cheap 'first car' transport (as do the Sierra and Orion nowadays).  The blue Cortina Mk4 was my Dad's car which I learnt to drive in.

70's Big Bruisers
The Rover and Triumph competed head-to-head throughout the 60s and 70s.  The Crown was a somewhat different beast - very expensive in it's day but brimful of gadgets and goodies.  This one even had an original 8-track cartridge stereo system in it.  

Vincent Comet 
This photo was taken in the late 50s.  The Comet was the fastest 500cc bike you could buy at the time and used the same frame and running gear as the 1000cc Black Shadow, the fastest production bike of the day (130mph).  

XL250 Motorsport 
Something of a cult bike nowadays.  These weren't as fast as their 2-stroke compadres from Yamaha and Suzuki but they were solidly built and very tuneable.  Dad bought this one from Sid Moram's Motorcycles in Windsor around 1976. 

Suzuki Katana 
Normally silver, this is the much rarer red version and came with a 4 into 1 stainless noisy exhaust.  

Harley Davidson SST250
Reputedly the fastest 250 (faster than Yamaha RD250) in the 70's.   Bought this bike for looks however rather than speed.  It looked brilliant, handled superbly but the crappy Italian electrics made it a nightmare to keep on the road

Honda Dominator NX650
My most recent bike to date.  After another short break from biking, bought this beauty.  Fantastic all-rounder; a bit cumbersome for off-road use but fantastic on the road.  The best 'big trailie' for years (they still make these bikes today) and my only real criticism was the weight of the thing if you came off it and had to lift it... Probably go for something lighter next time - an XR400 or 600 maybe...     Marianne, can you pass me that 'AutoTrader'...