I had looked at both of the above prior to your putting them up here. I actually like that odd mini-based car
, it's probably something of a Marmite object but it's odd and chances are, your neighbours won't own one, so it appeals to me and had someone not already bagged it, I would have given that some consideration, given that mini automatic engine/gearbox lumps are relatively cheap on account of everybody removing them from project cars in favour of the preferred manual. Whether I'd have fitted into the thing is something I'll never know but cheers for posting that one, your taste is clearly just as left field as mine, not that it's taken me this long to work that out.
I like that Volvo too, its proportions are quite good for a stretched car, the fact that it's an estate is a bonus.. Why own a Volvo that can only carry one wardrobe home from the auction when you can carry two, or add a pop top and have the most distinctive camper van on the site when you go off on your hols. I'm not so fond of the way that the 740/760/940/960 handles though. The 120 through 240 all came with a perfectly acceptable live axle on coils, held in place by just the right amount of scaffold poles to endow the older cars with safe, predictable characteristics that could be entertaining without ever causing someone's death at the hint of a bend in the road. These newer, even better looking (IMHO) Volvos however, came with a different rear suspension setup that undeniably makes them more like a posher, more expensive car in terms of comfort, but they're twitchy bloody things that have a mind of their own when a corner comes out of nowhere, forcing a sudden change of direction. That's fine with a car that's short enough to hold in a sideways attitude on a single track road without wiping out the passing traffic, wildlife and cyclists, but something that long could be a handful and who knows, may be an even better way to have a near-death experience than drinking a pint of absinthe followed by a ride on the world's biggest roller coaster. I like it, but its length is roughly that of my pair of small, semi-modern Japanese daily drivers combined and besides; most furniture auctions will deliver.
And on Japanese stuff that appeals, I thought about trading the Pajero MIni onwards for this exceptionally well kept thing:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-MITSUBI ... SwLNpbnO3K , which has never been even a little rusty where it matters, is soaked in rust preventative measures, has been treated with respect so hasn't yet succumbed to the breed's tendency to crack its cylinder head and is generally rather a bonny car whose performance and handling will be much more conventionally good that the frankly rather scary habits the Pajero Mini exhibits when I take a liberty with it, but this train of thought soon evaporated as I took the "tiny w4nk3r" out into town to buy a newspaper earlier today and was reminded that it's actually a lovely, easy thing to drive, is comfortable in a way that very few 4x4s of such compact dimensions can manage to be and that mad noise it makes! I need to make a video some time that explains that one as it's a phenomenon which needs to be heard to be believed.
An erstwhile gaffer of mine from the shop floor days once told me that my habit of forming emotional bonds with cars was neither healthy nor productive. He may have had a point, but he has dementia these days and, when I go to the care home in which he now stays to visit him, guess what we talk about by way of finding common ground so that - for the typical hour long visit - he doesn't need to worry about remembering names and other such trivia. Yep, he's suddenly remembering the cars that he enjoyed back in the day.
Conclusion: Cars could prove to be the cure for dementia. I hope they are or I'm f***ed!