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Vauxhall Midi has a lot to answer for. If hadn't
Page 52
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existed, we might not have had the highly successful Vauxhall Vivaro, Renault Trak and Nissan Primastar, which are built in Luton today.That's because the Midi was the first GM panel van in the UK since the Bedford CF, and was developed by the now-familiar expedient of putting local badges on a locally assembled product; in this case an Isuzu. It was eventually joined by the Bedford Rascal (allegedly an acronym for Really A Suzuki, Constructed At Luton).
But back to today, and the CM Desperate Midi. It was a £480 one-owner/low-mileage model that had been used to transport wedding cakes.This cake connection seemed to create amusement among my emaciated rivals, for some reason — and without foundation, because I'd far prefer a nice pork pie(s— Ed) to any Victoria sponge.
Yet there's little doubt that,whatever its virtues, the Midi carried one of the worst paint jobs ever, thanks to the first owner ordering a red van which turned up in white. Not only was the maroon overcoat badly applied, but some parts of the roof were barely covered in overspray, as not enough was available. Add a few bits of rust here and there, plus a front panel assaulted by an errant reversing truck at the NEC wedding-cake show (yes, really), and the overall appearance belied the actual condition.
The cockpit had loads of space for two (just enough for three) and the loadspace floor was ply lined and carpeted. It drove well, handled sort of and even braked fairly predictably.all despite wearing a (nearly new) set of tyres sourced from some obscure part of the planet.
Using the column shift proved to be a bit of a black art for those youngsters used to more conventional devices but a suitable technique for changing from second to third was developed which required moving right down through neutral as if going for fifth, then coming back half way. LogicaLeh?
The real eyebrow-raiser was the petrol engine.but it proved capable of 30mpg and it's doubtful if a diesel version could do much better. On the plus side, it was livelier and quieter than the oil burner would be. It would probably be possible to hear the radio,had one been fitted in the hole provided for the purpose.
Starting the Midi proved a bit of a lottery, thanks to a dodgy automatic choke (almost certainly a broken bi-metallic spring; a known fault). If you managed to catch the engine on the first turn it would continue all day. But if you were a bit heavy footed, you'd spend a fair bit of the day waiting for it to co-operate again. Fortunately, a long-forgotten can of Aerostart in the old roadtest toolbox came to the rescue. The only other issue was a broken key in one of the locks.a fiddly but straightforward DIYjob.
There's not much else to criticise but, at the time of writing, the winning eBay bidder who got a bargain for £355 seems to have vanished, having failed to turn up for the collection.
As the tables show, the Midi was the quietest and fastest van of the group, and will surely find another buyer if necessary —one who might restore it to its deserved glory.