The ladies' choice?

Sir,

The arguments in your correspondence columns as to which is really the Best Car in the World are very interesting but everyone seems to have overlooked the most important criterion.

The Best Car in the World is the one which will most impress the lady in the life of its owner. The Mercedes-Benz, although an excellent car, will not be the ultimate carriage for, say, a thrifty wife—she will prefer a Citroën Bijou. Similarly, a thrifty wife who is also fond of children will prefer a VW Microbus.

To illustrate my point further, here is a list of female types together with the car which will please them most and which is therefore the Best Car in the World for the aspiring suitor :—

Outdoor, sporty type—Morgan Plus Four; sophisticated secretary—Citroën DS; pretty teenager—Austin-Healey Sprite; Art School Beatnik—pre-war London taxicab; vivacious redhead— Vintage 8-litre Bentley; ambitious, attractive blonde—Rolls-Royce; ambitious, plain blonde—Rover 3-litre; ambitious, ugly blonde— Ford Consul; and so on.

Why does the Editor choose Mercedes-Benz? Whom is he trying to impress?

Personally, I never miss a film in which Elizabeth Taylor stars and I am therefore in sore need of a Ferrari Berlinetta.

R.D. Lancaster.
Yokohama, Japan.

[I’m not trying to impress anyone, except to impress upon them that engineering leadership and high-performance should be combined in the World’s Best Car.—Ed.]