Road trips in Europe in our own original 1942 Ford GPW Jeep and in our own classic Mini, a 1974 Mini Authi.
Our own Ford GPW Jeep was produced by the Ford Motor Company in April 1942. When the Allied forces invaded Normandy in June 1944 to liberate Nazi-occupied Europe, they used vehicles such as Jeeps. Our own Jeep was one of them. After landing at Juno Beach just a few weeks after D-Day in 1944, the Jeep followed the road to the liberation of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Jeep ended its military journey at Ypenburg Airfield in the Netherlands. The Jeep was used for a long time on a Dutch farm. We purchased the Ford Jeep long after the Second World War. The vehicle was a rusty wreck and many parts were missing. It took a lot of time, patience, perseverance and money to restore the Jeep to its former glory. It is painted in Royal Air Force blue. We use the Jeep for memorial tours, commemoration ceremonies, such as the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem, and celebration ceremonies, such as celebrations marking the end of the Second World War. We don't use the Jeep for reenacting. We have taken our Jeep on road trips across Europe with our three children on the back seat, as well as many day trips throughout the Netherlands. We also attended several D-Day commemorations in Normandy. We restored our Ford GPW Jeep as a tribute to and in memory of the veterans of the Second World War who fought for our freedom. Second World War Jeeps have a characteristic exhaust smell, sometimes people have negative comments about that, my answer is always: 'You are smelling the scent of Freedom'.
Our own Mini Authi was produced in 1974 at the plant of the British Leyland Motor Corporation in Spain, the Authi Works in Pamplona (Authi: Automoviles de Turismo Hispano Ingleses). The Mini Authi had a Spanish owner until 1994. Her Valencia tax disc remained on her windscreen until 2018; unfortunately, during our road trip through Portugal, this original 1974 windscreen was struck by a stone and had to be replaced. In November 1994, the Mini Authi was imported from Spain to the Netherlands. We purchased this iconic classic Mini in 2009, after which we completely stripped her down and carried out a full restoration. The restoration took five years to complete. The Mini Authi is painted in lavender blue, an official British Leyland colour. Our first major road trip in the Mini was from the Netherlands to Lithuania. Before we purchased the Mini Authi, we made a road trip to England in the Mini Monza of our eldest son. Several months later, this classic Mini Monza was written off after an irresponsible driver ignored a red traffic light and crashed into it. Fortunately, our son was unhurt and is now the proud owner of another classic Mini. In the meantime, our youngest son has also acquired a Mini; he drives a classic Mini Cooper.