Sunday means it’s Cobra time
PETER TASI, AUDIO ENGINEER AND SECONDROW PLAYER WITH PONSONBY PONIES LEAGUE TEAM
You’re driving an automatic 1974 Ford Mustang Cobra? Yes it’s been four years since I bought it from a mate who bought it from Hamilton Why this Cobra? I like American muscles, especially Mustangs. I got it for $ 12,000, it was a pretty good deal, I have given it a paint job and fixed the radiator, there was a leak in there, and I fixed a hole in the fuel tank. It needs some more work but the outside looks nice. How does it handle? It’s easy to drive. It’s a V8 and it has that beautiful V8 sound. How do you think your car fits your personality? Because I am a classic man. Is it just for road use or have you raced it? It’s just for cruising in. How often do you clean your car? I get it groomed and polished once a fortnight. Who else is allowed to drive your car? Just me and my wife, Celia. Do you own any other vehicles? I have a Jeep Commander as well, that’s what I use every day, I keep the classic one for Sunday drives, taking the kids around . . . and when I play for the Ponies. What was the first car you owned? A Ford Mondeo, that was back in 2006. It took me from A to B and then to Z. Your dream car . . . It would be a Ford Shelby Mustang, like the one they call Eleanor. Favourite car colour? I like the colour grey but I have no idea why. Who taught you to drive? My dad and then my older brother but then I got used to driving myself. They tried to teach me but I couldn’t really get that groove. I got my first licence when I was probably 19. I had my learner’s, and then six years later I got my full licence. I was too lazy to get my full licence before that. Any tips for young drivers? Don’t speed. Do you prefer manual or automatic? Manual, it’s what you can do with a manual. It makes you feel like you are really driving a car. Most memorable road trip? The furthest I have been in this car was to Whangarei. That was with the kids, me and my wife and two kids, but we have four kids now. It was a good drive. If you could go on a road trip anywhere in the world with any famous person … It would probably be with Arnold ( Schwarzenegger) in a classic car, any Ford Mustang, to drive around one of the Pacific islands. Do you have a favourite movie car scene?
with the Shelby Mustang and Nicolas Cage. I’ve seen one in New Zealand, I don’t know who owned it but it came next to the Cobra and made my Cobra look like a little baby. I fell in love! Do you enjoy driving or would you rather be a passenger? Driving, being in control. What do you listen to in the car? Easy listening, like the Eagles. What’s a great day trip? Any of the beaches on the North Shore and Whangaparaoa — Army Bay, Long Bay — have a picnic, take the kids for a swim. Do you judge people by what they drive? I don’t think I judge people in general. What annoys you most about other drivers? The drivers who don’t know how to drive, they cut you off, or they don’t see you. And speedsters.