Step up from a banger

been a big part of my life. But it was probably my farming cousins who piqued my interest in cars, through their incredibly mechanical wizardry ( they converted an old truck into a paddock racer) and by the fact that they let me drive whatever I wanted, whenever I liked around their South Canterbury farm. Dream car? Because of the great experience I’ve had with my current car, I’ve definitely become a big BMWfan. I’m also fascinated by EVs and hybrids. I drove a Tesla Model S for a story and was blown away by that. If I join those two interests together, my dream car would be a BMWi8. What do you always have in your car and why? A tow- rope and jumper leads. It’s a habit left over from when I regularly needed them for my own car breakdowns. Now it’s nice to be able to help others ( which happens surprisingly regularly). Who taught you to drive? I learnt to drive on my cousins’ farms when I was 10 and, for some reason, my father always encouraged us to drive as much as possible even before we had our licences. (“If anything happens to your mother or I, at least you can drive us to the hospital.”) I remember one trip where he let me drive from Balclutha to Dunedin when I was 14 — I don’t think I’ve ever sweated as much as on that trip. Needless to say I passed my licence on the first go a month after I turned 15. Favourite day drive out of Auckland? Tawharanui. It’s such a beautiful beach and a great drive getting there. Most memorable road trip? It was a summer holiday trip two years ago where my family of four, plus my 18- year- old niece from London, plus our dog and all our luggage somehow made it all the way to the West Coast of the South Island, through Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch and back to Auckland without a hitch. If you could go on a road trip anywhere with any person in the news? How about a drive through all 50 American states with Barack Obama in a Tesla Model X? Would you rather drive or be a passenger? I always prefer driving — although I might make an exception if I was on a road trip with Obama. Would you rather drive in Auckland, take public transport, walk or ride? I love walking, running and cycling around Auckland and do one of these every day. But when it comes to my work commute, I’m a driver. The need to listen to the radio, to be up with the day’s news, and to arrive fresh and onto- it . . . trump my natural desire to be more environmentally friendly. And your take on Auckland’s traffic? The solution is more one of town planning than traffic management. Weneed more decentralised business and entertainment centres on regional and national levels.