“Sentimental driving” (December, 27)

“Sentimental driving”

Yesterday, when I returned home and switched on the TV, there was a show named "Sentimental driving".

I was intrigued by the word "sentimental". Usually all shows about driving and  travelling are rather funny or just educative. I sat down with a cup of tea and started to watch.

The show was about old vintage cars and people who used to own them. A narrator (producers chose two famous actors for that role) goes to some used car store and finds an old car for sale, and the story begins. They chose very special brands of cars which were

very popular and expensive, but not later than 40 years ago. The first car was Isuzu 177 coupe, the second was Nissan Skyline GT.

Then the narrator reveals the timeline of all people who had owned this particular car, but names and adresses are hidden under the stickers. The narrator starts from the most recent owner, the name and address. Then he (or she) has to drive this car to its owner and go meet him. When the narrator gets there, the car should be hidden from the ex-owner, and ex-owner is asked for an interview, why he bought that car, how did he like it, what memories had he created with the car etc.

Finally, the narrator takes the ex-owner to the place where his car is parked and points at it without revealing the truth. Then it’s interesting to guess whether the ex-owner will recognize his car or not.

In the end the owner has a chance to take a picture with his old car and with the famous actor or actress, and the narrator opens the next owner's info and goes there.

It was exciting to watch  how people reacted to their old cars! Escpecially the primary owners, who bought those cars 40 years ago.

All of them remembered their cars and all the memories related to the ownership. And most of them cried, remembering good old times. That was the purpose of the show, I think, to get people sentimental.

It was fun to compare reaction of men and women to the car which was repainted and modified.

The male owner could exclaim, "Wow! They changed color and fenders!" while the owner's wife or doughter could only say calmly, "Oh, it almost looks like our car but the color is different". Yes, guys could easily distinguish their old car by some scratches, dents, the smell of salon and other small details, while ladies could care only about color and they weren't sure about the car, was it their own or different one?

It was nice to go back in time together with the old car and learn about its owners and their stories.

Most of the owners were glad to see the old car as if they met their own child who grew up and had changed.

It was a nice show to watch. Now I'm curious who was the first owner of my old Toyota Porte?