A practical sports car . . .
OWNER GERARD MORRISON LOVES THE NOISE AND POWER OF HIS RS6
You are driving a 2015 Audi RS6? It’s an eight- speed auto with tiptronic gears. Audi calls the colour “Daytona Grey” but to me it’s silver. I didn’t add anything extra but the black wheels are not standard issue; a great addition by the original owner. I have always wanted to own an RS6. It’s a “practical sports car”. This is my first Audi but probably not my last. How does it suit your personality? It’s fast, loud and aggressive when you want it to be . . . but practical and quiet when needed. And how does it fit in with your job? It doesn’t at all. I work for a shipping company. Wework with massive container ships that are slow and work best on the ocean. Is anyone else allowed to drive your car? My wife — but she doesn’t like driving it so it’s effectively “mine”. Wealso own an older Volvo stationwagon. I am not so worried about the kids and their food getting in that one. Your first car? A Mitsubishi Galant. It was terrible but it got me around Christchurch. I remember saving up for a stereo that was worth more than the car. Do you have a dream car? Aston Martin DB5 or a Porsche 918 but each has a price tag of more than a million dollars US, so they will most likely stay in my dreams for ever. What do you keep in your car? An umbrella — I live in Auckland. Who taught you to drive? My dad taught me and I remember being very upset that he insisted I learned in a manual car and not an automatic. Probably the best thing ever in terms of learning how to drive properly. Advice to young drivers? Get off your phone. How often do you clean your car? Every weekend when I am in the country and yes, I clean it myself. It takes me an hour or so. Your most memorable road trip? I haven’t had this car long, so no great road trips as yet but I recently did a fantastic trip in Western Australia, with my wife, in a rental car. Wedrove down the coast from Perth to Albany via Margaret River and got to see a part of Australia we hadn’t seen before. It was awesome. Favourite movie car scene? The car chase in the bond film
Casino Royale. Great to watch but sad to see that Aston Martin crash like that. Can you see yourself in a driverless car? Not likely. I love the noise and power of the RS6 so I reckon I will stick with a V8 for a while. I am way too much of a control freak to allow a computer to drive me around. One traffic rule you would change? I think the rules are pretty much right but it would be good if everyone obeyed them. I do like the idea of raising speed limits on safe roads. What bugs you most about other drivers? People who insist on trying to join a motorway at 50km/ h, and those who use the transit lane when they are alone in the car. Good day trip out of Auckland? Welove driving out to Piha with the kids and walking into the waterfalls and then heading to the beach. It’s a good, short drive, with loads to do when you get there. And your take on Auckland traffic? It’s a nightmare but after living in London, Tokyo and Sydney, it isn’t something that I get upset about. I try to leave early to beat it — but that’s getting harder to do. It would help if we could police the transit lanes ( or put cameras in them), build multistorey carparks at major bus stations and deliver on some public transport solutions that can help take some cars off the road.