An 84-year-old customer of a Snows Motor Group dealership in Portsmouth has won recognition for a long and distinguished motoring career during which he’s owned more than 100 cars!
Since taking delivery of his first new automotive purchase, a Morris Oxford in 1963, George, from Hampshire, has owned cars from a large range of manufacturers, such as Jensen, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and at least 15 others.
BMW has been a favourite over the decades – and George recently took delivery of a BMW M2, a high-performance, rear-wheel-drive coupe and an interesting choice perhaps, given his age!
He collected the car from Snows BMW in Eastern Road – where directors of the Hampshire-based dealer group were waiting to greet him with a couple of special surprises.
To mark his loyalty to both Snows and BMW, George was presented with £350 to spend on a day out with his family, and a miniature replica of one of his favourite models.
The special day gave George the chance to reflect on his long driving career, and the passion for motoring he shared with his late wife Ann, who passed away in 2022.
George had a long and successful career travelling the world as a Government Technical Officer whilst Ann was a Senior Chartered Librarian with Hampshire County Council and a part-time motor cycle training instructor. Despite their busy working lives, they had plenty of time to pursue their automotive interests.
George said: ‘‘It’s certainly been an interesting life! Both myself and Ann were always into cars and motorsport. From about the mid-1960s, we had two cars each.
‘‘Between us, we have bought 115 new cars since 1963 – and most of the time, there were four in the household: one each that we were using for motor club competitions, and one for knocking about in. I’m still a keen motorcyclist – and Ann always rode a motorbike to work.’’
As well as being a confirmed petrol head, George has enjoyed a number of other hobbies and interests over the years. He’s flown model aircraft all his life, run model boats, and constructed an impressive miniature railway. He’s also flown full-size gliders, joking: ‘‘Anything you can do sitting down, I’ve done it!’’
He’s a keen cyclist too, still riding at least six miles a day.
Not every pastime George has tried has been a hit, however. He admits he stopped going sailing after a two-year spell – and he doesn’t class himself as a football fan. The most recent game he attended was on Boxing Day in 1948!
After owning such a large number of vehicles over the years, George’s drive has just two cars on it these days – hiseye-catchingM2 and a Skoda Kodiaq– the latter being used for trips to the supermarket and to take his dogs out.
Snows have supplied George and Ann with a total of 14 BMWs since 1978 – 11 of which were Ann’s. Aside from his new M2, George has owned an X5 family SUV and an M2 Competition – a high-performance version of the standard M2.
He’s full of praise for the the helpful team at the dealership. The sales executive he has been dealing with lately is Neil McGrath who he says is extremely professional and has the ability to make the purchase of a car ‘‘a most enjoyable experience’’.
The delicious coffee available would appear to be something of a draw as well!
George seems to think the ‘‘golden age’’ of motoring is behind us now and has fond memories of hitting the road in days gone by.
He said: ‘‘I consider myself very lucky to be my age. The period from 1960 to about 1980 was the best time for motoring. Ann and I enjoyed National Level rally driving, autocross, auto point, auto tests and production car trials.
‘‘The technology in modern cars is wonderful but they’re not designed for older motorists– they’re built for the PlayStation generation. That said, the performance levels of cars today are incredible.’’
Stephen Snow, Chairman and CEO of Snows Motor Group, said: ‘‘It’s always a pleasure to welcome George to our BMW dealership in Portsmouth. He’s a highly valued customer and it’s great that he returns to us time and again, demonstrating confidence both in Snows as a dealer group and BMW as a manufacturer.
‘‘On behalf of everyone at Snows BMW Portsmouth, I wish George many years of happy motoring in his stunning new M2 and we look forward to seeing him again soon.’’
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