I just returned from vacation in Iceland where I had the privilege of riding with a loose herd of 100 Icelandic horses on a five-day trip into the interior of the country. We each rode four horses per day and drove the herd to a fresh paddock each night. The entire experience was like something out of a very good dream.

Lots of people make unsubstantiated horsepower claims. This week, I can verify for absolute certainty there is 100 horsepower in the video below.

(Sorry about the bouncy video, shot hand-held on an iPhone while holding the reins in my other hand!)

Icelandic horses are small, cute, lovable, friendly and extremely stout, kinda like the Bugeyes that are part of my normal herd. Above is a video snippet from this most memorable (four-legged) ride.

If you like this sort of thing, we are discussing the possibility of bringing a group back for another herd ride next summer, so get in touch is you have some riding experience and are interested!

And, as always, thank you for joining me on one passionate ride after another!

The Bugeye Sprite was introduced in Monte Carlo (just before the Monaco Grand Prix) on May 20, 1958, which would have been after the NY Auto show held in April 1958. Thus we believe this to be the 1959 or 1960 New York auto show BMC show booth.

There are many nice things to notice about this period photo, like the featured Morris Minor rear end and the cardboard under the car to catch dripping oil.

I’m just back from a wonderful two week vacation in Iceland, and so this week we’re pushing hard to complete a number of jobs, so I’ll be brief. I did, however, want to share some pictures from the land of midnight sun.

I was shocked to see this MG logo on a cross-over SUV in Iceland. While it may look like somebody added their own badges to a generic late-model car, it’s actually an MG product! Its called the MG ZS (they call it the Zed-S over there) and you can Google to learn more about who makes it and how. I have never in my life seen a more inappropriate matchup between a brand name and a generic car with zero classic vehicle personality. It’s almost comic. 

[Read more…] about NG!