Liz Turner
  • Welcome
  • Woman Driver Blog
  • Top stories
    • Mario Andretti interview
    • WOMAC 2017
    • Getting connected in Melbourne
    • Fitting a baby seat
    • Haggling Academy
    • Men vs Women - the stats
    • First Mustang owner was a gal
    • Emma Peel vs Alice Morgan >
      • Jade shows me how it's done
    • Western Group Driving Day
    • Transport for four babies
    • Women lose advantage
    • Sam flies high
    • Jo Price beats the boys
    • They bought any car Dot Com
    • Fast women
    • E-types on film
    • In which I bought a car
  • Car Reviews
    • Mercedes B-Class
    • VW Golf SV GT 2014
    • Renault Twingo 2014
    • Audi A3 Cabriolet
    • Jaguar F-type
    • Fiat 500 Goes Large
    • Putting Paceman through its paces
    • Mazda6 and Concorde
    • Jaguar Land Rover Experience Day
    • VW up! - city car in the country
    • Joining the MX-5 Club
    • VW Driving Day
    • Face-lifted MX-5
    • Review: VW Golf 2013
    • SMMT Test Day 2012
  • Portfolio
    • Communications & PR
    • Beauty & the Dirt
    • UK newspapers
    • New York Post
    • Consumer magazines
    • Customer magazines
    • TV and radio
    • FortyOneSix Goodwood website
    • Books
    • Editorial Services >
      • Immediate Media Branded Content
      • Planet Sputnik
      • Tillergraph
      • Social Publishing Project
      • Paradigm People
  • Galleries
    • My cars >
      • Metropolitan
      • Volvo 1800 S
      • 1941 Chevrolet
      • Eunos Roadster (Mazda MX-5)
    • All-New Discovery at Gaydon
    • Silverstone Classic 2016 >
      • I-PACE launch
    • Hot rods at Pendine 2016
    • Hot rod heaven 2013
    • Classic Motor Show 2014
    • Goodwood Revival 2014
    • Beaulieu autojumble 2014
    • My favourite hotels
    • Bonhams Auction Goodwood 2014
    • Women in motoring history
    • Riding with BTCC Champ
    • Pink c'est chic!
    • Bond girls' cars
    • Women in Car Advertising
    • The woman driver onscreen
    • Disney without kids
    • Sweeney!
    • Geneva Show 2013 Gallery
    • Goodwood Revival 2012
  • Contact
  • Jaguar I-PACE launch
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My 1995 Eunos Roadster in the Cotswolds
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My tears were welling up!
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Martin Curtis from Project Merlot invited me to drop by
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Head warped, so it went from horsepower to manpower
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Reunited at the Classic Motor Show 2013
I really loved my 1995 Eunos Roadster in Brilliant Black. It put a smile on my face every time I set off around the country lanes. Sadly, I also had to thrash it halfway up the M4 twice a week, and one dark, fristy morning, I suddenly realised I was cold. That meant the car was hot, the coolant was all over the motorway.
   The car was towed to my parents' house in Buckinghamshire, but I knew the head would be warped and it would cost more than the car was worth to fix it.
   Meanwhile Project Merlot's car was suffering from rust. So they bought my car, put in their engine plus many other good bits, and carried on racing. Martin Curtis uses the Trigger's broom logic to say it's the same car.
   Project Merlot is a unique venture, these members of the Eastern Region of the Mazda MX-5 Owners' Club race cheaply, enjoy themselves and invite novices to have a go. So far around 100 people have driven their car, mostly people with no previous experience of motor sport.
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Robert March from Project Merlot says he'll take it
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It always did make a great noise
   The theme of the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show this year was classics reunited, so Martin invited me to drop by at the MX-5 Owners' Club stand to say hello to 'my' car.
   I thought I'd cry, but actually I was really pleased to see it looking so good. The paint is still shiny and it's only had one ding - expertly hammered out. I'm really proud of the car for the way it keeps on going and giving so much pleasure to so many people.
    Sitting in it felt very strange. I recoginised the switchgear and gearknob, but I was perched on some very fancy racing seats, and almost every other comfort had been stripped out. I didn't recognise the Merlot-coloured wing mirrors or that massive wing either.
   So thank you Martin and the rest of the team. One day I really must get to a test track and have a real go in it.
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