Lively language

Sir,
English is a living language, but it is living it up a shade too fast for some old codgers! In the same issue as another splendid piece by Jenks on “Honesty” (Motor Sport, September 1988), an advertisement proclaims: “The most exciting . . . ever offered for sale. . . was totally destroyed at Brands Hatch in 1966” (the emphasis is mine).

This absurdity raises the question that, sadly, has become increasingly important: it is far from new, of course. We all know of the old hammer with a new head and three new handles. How much of a car must remain from the original for it to be (honestly) described as that car?

The pity is that, with prices becoming sillier by the hour, it is no longer sufficient to speak only of the spirit in which a car is rebuilt or restored.

Alan Archer, Chief Registrar, AMOC, Chigwell, Essex