Curious About John Cavendish's Car

For me, trains have always been relegated to America's past. Perhaps things would be different if I lived on the East Coast. As it is, I grew up taking buses when a car wasn't available. The only times I took a train anywhere were at amusement parks like Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, where I got to see train robbers and dinosaurs. That was cool.

Trains such as the one above, that transports Captain Hastings to the station near Styles Court, aren't just a part of England's heritage. Every time we visit England, we take a train, whether it transports us from Heathrow Airport to London, across a big city like London above or below-ground, or across the beautiful English countryside from one city to another. England even has high-speed trains, like the one featured in the movie "Mission Impossible," in which secret agent Ethan Hunt hangs onto the rear carriage pursued by a helicopter firing volleys of gunfire his way. The helicopter even follows the train into an underground tunnel, where the pilot eventually discovers that underground train tunnels weren't designed with helicopters in mind. Someday I'd love to take a high-speed train across England. I wonder if there's anyway to ensure that a secret agent like Ethan Hunt isn't riding on it before I purchase my ticket?

I'm not a car-guy. I don't attend auto shows. I don't subscribe to car magazines. I don't lust over the horsepower numbers of Detroit's latest muscle cars. But somehow, when I watch a period show like "Agatha Christie's Poirot", the cars really draw my eye. I wonder about them, such as the one that John Cavendish drives when he picks up his friend Captain Hastings at the train station. This one looks real basic. It doesn't even have a trunk, so John Cavendish has to tie Hasting's suitcase down on the back. I don't know if it has a foot-pedal for a brake, but it has a lever that John yanks to stop the car. It's located outside the car, so he has to reach out over the door, grab the lever, and pull it toward him to come to a complete stop. I don't know about you, but that sounds like his hand and arm (not to mention his suit) would get soaked if he had to drive it in the rain.

Agatha Christie's no help in identifying what type of car John Cavendish likes, or why he bought that make and model. She simply calls it "a motor," and mentions that, as his step-mother uses the car to help out the community, the government gives the family authorization to buy a limited amount of petrol. (This is a big deal, as all resources are rationed during World War I). Still, I really like the looks of these old cars, and I wish the TV producers would include a list of what automobiles they used in their period productions. Maybe they would be forced to, if these old cars had a better union.

I don't know about you, but it'd be a way of making the credits more interesting to the viewer, instead of seeing a list of the person who supplied the vanilla shot for the tea latte of the third production assistant's secretary. Oh, and don't forget the person who supplied the pencils for the purchasing agent who authorized the hire company to supply three exact copies of the dress the actress below is wearing. That's essential information!

If there's any vintage car buffs out there, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what make and model of car you think John Cavendish drives. I'm not sure what I'd do with the knowledge, but I am curious.