This is very similar to the first car I remember; my grandfather's black car that was his pride and joy. Whenever we visited them we used it to go to the shops or to the pub for the regular Saturday lunch time visit. I used to love the visit to the pub. It's probably unthinkable these days but my parents and grandparents would go inside and bring me out an orange juice and a packet of crisps (the sort with a little blue waxed paper screw of salt that you had to add yourself and shake up) and I'd have the car to myself. I'd read my book and enjoy the peace and quiet and the smell of the old leather.

I was thinking yesterday about how life has changed since I was a little girl and thought about the advance in technology in cars in particular. We now have a Renault Megane Scenic; it's some years old and a bit battered, but it has so much more than my grandfather's old car.

Some of the changes include electric indicators - the old Ford had flip up indicators that came out of the side of the car; and you had to be prepared to use hand signals in the event that the indicators got stuck.

It never even occurred to us then that one day you might be able to have music in the car, but we went on to have a radio, then a CD player, and now we can play music from iPods through the stereo system. And some cars are now being produced with DAB radios.

My grandfather's car had a starter button, but it was more likely that he'd have to use the starter handle, getting it out from the boot, inserting it into the hold in the front of the engine and cranking away until it started. 

The old black Ford had a top speed of about 50mph, though I don't imagine that my grandfather ever drove it at above 30mph, and of course there were no motorways for him to race along.

And best of all was the clock; it was wind up and my grandfather never set off on a journey without first winding the clock up and checking it against his watch.