A 914 was my dream car for a long time, although I never actually owned one. I made do with a Fiat X1/9...anybody remember those? Low-powered, impractical, no cargo space, no headroom, no legroom...and an absolute blast to drive. One of the great unsung sports cars of that era, IMHO. My brother christened it "the horniest car ever made!"
Of course, at 6'2", cramming myself into the Fiat was sort of like squishing a giraffe into a phone booth (anybody remember those? lol). But, once I actually got inside, the thing cornered and handled like a slot car. I'm smiling just thinking about it.
I particularly recall that wonderful removeable targa top. I could really drive the car properly only with the top removed; it latched in place somewhat haphazardly and on more than one occasion, while driving with the top installed my head would smash into it and eject it from the moving car. This was an ever-present danger whenever I ran over some huge obstruction on the pavement, like a junebug or maybe a peanut, causing the almost-solid suspension to throw me against the targa top.
I never actually calculated my gas mileage, mainly because I ran that car at red-faced screaming maximum RPM almost continuously and I didn't want to lie to my father about how relatively poor the fuel economy probably was.
Lest you get the wrong idea about that car...let me clarify that I loved it and used it as my daily driver for several years!
