The Brown Baroque Barge Comes out of storage

Last week Kerry and I just brought the Newport back home from the storage lot. The first time we went I opened the hood of the car only to realise that I had removed the battery last year. Meaning we had to go all the way home. It ended up being a blessing in disguise as the car wasn’t insured. I only remembered to check because of the battery. How do I manage to put my pants on everyday I will never know

Oh yeah in case you guys didn’t know I haven’t sold this car yet, I wasn’t religiously renewing the ad last year as I was kind of busy. In any case driving the car again really reminded me how wonderful it is. This car has been around the block and is not in good enough shape to really be a collectible piece, its just a driver, and that really takes the edge off from worrying about where you park it or enjoying it for what it is.

I went back with a battery and it fired up immediately. I did a few panic stops and drifting in the lot to make sure everything was working before taking it on the road and it checked out bigtime. I don’t think you could park alot of newer cars for 6 months and have them start. I got the car home, moved all my boxes to the Valiant and brought the car for a thorough washdown. It didn’t even look too bad when I had it all cleaned up.

After driving the Valiant all summer slipping into the Newport feels like tucking yourself into a soft bed with a cup of cocoa on your nightstand. It’s not obscenely luxuriant but the power steering and brakes make a big difference, not to mention the pillowy soft seats. I love the Valiant and they have a certain dependable firmess all around them which is their charm. The Newport is also firm and dependable but with a soft surrounding, not bony, maybe a spare tire you can grab onto. Driving the Newport on the highway you can lose a sense of how fast you’re going as your speed drifts up steadily. The 360 V8 being the largest engine option in this not extremely heavy car certainly contributes to that. In the Valiant you never forget how fast you’re going!

All of this aside I will still be relisting the car and I really hope whoever buys it will enjoy the ride as much as I have. Until then I still get to have my fun with it. Drive on Mr.Newport! Drive on!