I don't know to be honest my dads first car was a brand new 1963 Morris 1100 772KOP with heater extra, main requirement was he could get our fishing gear in the boot.He actually took a tape measure to the garage to check (not joking)times have changed and we had great times catching not very much.
Since my post I've done some web searching and it seems that the 1990s was the decade when chokes began to disappear on the majority of new cars, although some became 'chokeless' before that.

My first four-wheel vehicle, a 1958 model Ford 100E van (185 CHT - it's funny I can remember the reg of some of my vehicles down the years but not others) was equipped with a starting handle, manual choke of course and a starter ( think it was a pull starter but can't now remember) that functioned after the ignition was switched on. The starting handle could be useful on some cold mornings with a low battery where I lived in the country, but you had to be careful it did not 'kick' which could break your wrist. There was no heater and it wasn't uncommon on very cold days for the moisture on the inside of the windscreen to freeze.
 
Vehicles with no heater was a nightmare as there was as much ice on the inside as was on the outside. With no heater in vehicles would not be allowed now. You see some drivers now when we have a frost drive down the road with a frozen windscreen and a little hole to look out of,and if it gave these drivers a vehicle with no heater they would say im not going to drive that.The other main thing on a lot of vehicles was vacumn wipers,so the more revs you gave the engine the slower the wipers got. Think about the wiper system and in a way was a speed limiter as you had to slow down to get the wipers to work. Good old days or not.
 
Vehicles with no heater was a nightmare as there was as much ice on the inside as was on the outside. With no heater in vehicles would not be allowed now. You see some drivers now when we have a frost drive down the road with a frozen windscreen and a little hole to look out of,and if it gave these drivers a vehicle with no heater they would say im not going to drive that.The other main thing on a lot of vehicles was vacumn wipers,so the more revs you gave the engine the slower the wipers got. Think about the wiper system and in a way was a speed limiter as you had to slow down to get the wipers to work. Good old days or not.
I meant to mention the vacuum wipers on my Ford 100E van. It could certainly be a de facto speed limiter, as you point out. No power steering, nor modern-type brakes and the synchromesh was weak meaning double declutching was often required for smoothish gear changes. The oldest vehicle I have driven was a 1947 model Bedford M series lorry that certainly needed double declutching. I helped out a friend for a couple of months who was temporarily short of a driver. There was no requirement for HGV driving licences then.

At the time though I thought my five year-old 100E van was the bee's knees. Another thing with it was that because the rear windows were tiny you had to rely on external wing mirrors for reversing. On the van they were positioned either side of the front of the bonnet and vibration would move them around a bit with no internal means of correction. I've always used external mirrors when reversing ever since even with cars. I find it much easier and more accurate than looking back over your shoulder which some people seem to do.
 
I failed my first test because I did not look behind enough, I went on to earn my living driving vans with no rear Windows and consequently no rear view mirror. The irony was delicious. It was wing mirror or nothing, something the examiner could or would not consider especially as I had two wheel experience!
 
We have an imaginative bunch of folk around where I live. I took this picture at a local retail park some years back.

More recently, we've had a turfed car parked up nearby.

View attachment 23290

@JENNYJET I failed my first test. The examiner said the same, you're not using your mirrors properly. I was, he just didn't see me. For the second test I accentuated my mirror glances so it was blatantly obvious I was using them.
 
With the car decorated like it is ,you will never loose the car. Sense of humor to drive it thats for sure.
 
Imagine, if you dare, explaining to the insurance company it's condition and description!
You can just imagine at the point when the insurance company asks if there are any modifications to the vehicle. I'm sure the agent will quickly say actually, let's pass that question.
 
With the car decorated like it is ,you will never loose the car. Sense of humor to drive it thats for sure.
I bought a car that's hard to lose in the car park, although it's still possible when the usual Transit Van parks next to it after I parked in the furthest and emptiest part of the car park.

It's a yellow metallic new model Peugeot 208 GT (recommended!). It's the latest in a long line of cars since I passed my test in 1974. A Mini 1000 came first, then an Escort 1300XL, Mini Clubman, Escort 1300GL, Vauxhall Cavalier 1600GL, Opel Kadett 1.2 Special, Alfasud 1.5 TiS, Alfasud 1.5Ti, Alfasud Sprint Green Cloverleaf, Alfa 33 Gold Cloverleaf, Alfa 33 Green Cloverleaf, Nissan Sunny 1600GL (don't ask!!), Peugeot 405GL, Renault 19 TSE, Citroen ZX Avantage, Nissan Primera Si, Seat Leon 1.6S, Peugeot 307 TDI, Seat Leon SE, Seat Altea 1.9 TDi, Seat Altea 2.0Tdi, Seat Leon FR550 2.0 TDI, Alfa Romeo MiTo Cloverleaf, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sportiva, Alfa Romeo MiTo Sportiva, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Speciale, and now the Peugeot 208 GT. That's 27 cars and doesn't include two company lease cars, s Citroen Xantia 1.9 TDI and a Vauxhall Astra 1.7Tdi.

It's obvious where my heart lies as far as cars are concerned. Alfa Romeo. If they made a car I can afford I would still have one. That's 9 Alfas over a 15 year period, and zero break downs. Don't believe the anti Alfa nonsense about them being unreliable.
 
Crickey have you got a dealership ?
I was about to ask the same question. How long do you usually keep your cars, WH?
 
All bought new, lol. I used to change them mostly every two years, but the naff ones went as soon as I got fed up with them. Two were sold within 6 months. I used my car for my job so reliability was essential, and expenses covered a proportion of the cost to buy them.

Now I am retired I have to keep them longer. 2 5 years
 

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9 trips in 9 days done 70 miles walked and over 23-00 photos taken with a large number taken at 20mph or above. Heavy rain on 1 day only
5 trips done and 45 miles walked,. Also the RAF has had 4 F35B Lightning follow me yesterday and today....
My plans got altered slightly as one of the minibus companies had to cancel 3 trips and refunded me but will be getting nice discount when I rebook them.
wondering why on my "holidays" I choose to get up 2 hours earlier than when going to work. 6 trips in 6 days soon coming up with 3 more days to sort out

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