I had always questioned their uncomfortable approach to motoring.But, returning home, my face worn to the leathery texture of a hardened mariner’s by windblast, I finally got it and savoured every second. The Morgan is driven by those who believe that the hood is not something to be optionally dropped, weather permitting, but something to be occasionally raised, weather necessitating.The Morgan is provided with a small canvas affair to be raised only in the event of hailstones as big as fists or rain you can’t breathe through, a roof to be used rarely and in case of dire need.I have tried a Morgan. But such child-like optimism is entirely un-British and not something with which we will ever feel truly comfortable.There is, though, a very British form of open-top motorist and to observe them we must turn to the Morgan. The convertible driver is a happy optimist, who believes that one day the sun will shine and they will be able to enjoy it and be happy.What is wrong with that? Far from being despised, the ragtop pilot should be applauded.

This week’s sunny spell brought every single soft-top out of the garage to be paraded and enjoyed.Sad then, that their proud owners were greeted by solemn-faced miseries eager to condemn them as show-offs and poseurs. To the Brit, therefore, the convertible car offers another opportunity to proffer our pinkening flesh to the sun.Equally unsurprising is the naked aggression that convertible cars engender in everyone not actually sitting in one on a sunny day in Britain. Why? It’s just not that surprising.
If you live in Spain, Italy, Southern France, anywhere in Europe but here, getting up to greet a dawn sky as free of stains as a newly boiled bed sheet is simply not something worthy of note Sunny days are just days over there. The sun comes out every morning with the dependability of a scholar’s reading light going on at night.In this country, the moment the great Sun god pokes its face from behind a cloud, it is forced to look down upon us prostrating our mostly pale, white bodies in parks and gardens, desperate to be the first to singe our hide to a lobster red. Toyota then set up the Lexus brand in Europe, where it has had a harder time over sales but still gained instant credibility.We have seen several LS generations, plus the sportier GS, the IS and the 4×4 RX, all badged as Toyotas in Japan.Defining model: The first LS400. It set the template.They say: Luxury and elegance.We say: Adored by Americans, ignored in Europe..

Every year, some bright spark announces that Britain is Europe’s second-biggest market for convertible cars And every year we are all surprised about it Why? It’s just not that surprising. The shiny wood was from Yamaha’s musical instruments division, the switches set new standards of accuracy, the luminous dials were fascinating. It was good to drive but — amazingly — some critics found it too quiet.The Americans loved it and bought hundreds. It looked a little Merc-like, had a V8 engine so smooth you could balance a coin on it at idle, and cosseted its occupants in luxury. The marque: Nowhere to Mercedes rival in one leap.
The history: Americans like big European cars with a quality feel. Toyota spotted this, knew all about quality, studied the competition and created its own luxury brand Out of nothing Just like that.The result, in 1989, was the Lexus LS400. In some cases the guide says it can’t recommend any treatment because there is no good evidence that anything works.Prostate cancer is the commonest male cancer and one of the fastest growing, affecting 27,000 men a year, but surgery to remove it may cause more harm than good, according to the guide.