In Memory of the Punto

On Sunday our car died. It was perhaps a bit past it, and it clearly brought the house values down in our parking zone, but we loved it and it shall be missed.

My husband passed his driving test in May 2009, shortly after we became engaged. His dad had a hunt around and found him a red Fiat Punto with decent mileage for a reasonable price. We went to pick it up one fine spring day after work, and my husband nervously but proudly drove it the twenty odd miles home. There would now be no stopping our adventuring as we finally had the ability to zip up and down the country exploring.

We've had some good times and some bad times with the Punto, and it has survived much. I wanted to share some memories of particular note:

Wiltshire, Summer 2009
We went on our first holiday together, camping with my husband's family. Thanks to the car we were able to go on many adventures throughout the beautiful county of Wiltshire, the windows down, and the mix tape blaring; the Punto was a true aide to our relaxation.

Honeymoon, Summer 2010
We spent the first week of our honeymoon in Devon, where the Punto coped admirably with the many narrow and winding country lanes. Honourable mention must go to our trip to Tarr Steps, a Medieval clapper bridge across the River Barle in Exmoor. We had decided to take the scenic route and thus approached from the less travelled side of the river. We were close to our destination when we saw a sign warning us of a ford ahead. I confidently declared that it couldn't possibly be referring to the river, but it was... We had no choice but to press on, so we crossed it with lots of bouncing but thankfully no water seeping into the car. We were just about to make it out onto the bank when the engine conked out. My husband laughing, said, "Don't panic, I'll get us out!" But my heart stopped as I silently pleaded with the car, "Not on our honeymoon, please Punto, not on our honeymoon!" A few seconds passed and then the engine suddenly juddered back to life, and we successfully made it into the car park, from whence we hurried into the nearby pub for a much needed cup of tea.
We sat out in the garden overlooking Tarr Steps and the river. We were admiring some playful chaffinches flitting around us when we heard a horrible roaring and the crunching of stones under tyres. We ran to the edge of the garden to see a landrover stuck in the middle of the river. We laughed most heartily, beaming with pride that our clunky old Punto had made it through where a landrover could not.
However, when we returned to the car to retrieve our picnic we noticed something significant was missing - the front number plate! We turned to see it glistening on the riverbed.

Can you spot the number plate sitting on the bottom of the river?

My husband took off his socks and shoes, and waded out to rescue it. The water came to his knees and was very chilly but at least it was a warm day! He triumphantly held the number plate up - it looked brand new, which was pretty funny as an advisory on the last MOT was that the front number plate was becoming illegible through years of grime! When we returned it to the car we were quite confused to find the screws still in place - the sheer force of the water had lifted the plate off of the screws! At least it was easy to fix...

A Little Crash, Autumn 2010
We had a (thankfully) minor crash on the way back from the in-laws' one afternoon. We'd hit a slippery patch as we neared a bend and unfortunately caught the back of another car as we swerved. Although the other person's car had minimal damage, the front wing and headlight of the driver's side of the Punto were completely smashed up. We were able to drive it back to the in-laws' where my husband's dad took care of it for us. It looked good as new after Christmas, although it was now sporting a green patch. We've always been trendsetters you know...

Shropshire, Summer 2011
Another holiday, but again the Punto coped admirably with narrow and winding country lanes, taking us on more adventures, including traversing another ford. Thankfully there was no getting stuck or loss of number plates this time!

View of our gorgeous limo from the tower of Stokesay Castle, Shropshire

So, thank you Punto for being a good car, for enabling us to go on many adventures, for getting my husband to work, for helping us gallivant around the country for weddings and for family gatherings, for taking us to high up points where we've seen the most amazing views, for keeping us dry as we cross rivers, for offering our missionary friends a mode of transport when they were back here, and for being a great first car. Your green wing, your fake V8 sticker, and your distinctive engine roar will be the stuff of legends. And never has a National Trust membership sticker been on display in a cooler car. RIP Punto.

Photos my own.