30 Apr 07
Expect to see more of this
The lack of variety is an annoyance for Barker, the man who just ditched a six-cylinder coupe. 'The Golf could be faster. It's a bit gutless,' he says of the company's 1.4-litre cars.
Other companies have some variety. Newly arrived American-born entrant Zipcar gives you a choice between a Toyota Yaris, Mini Cooper, Honda Civic or BMW 318, the website map letting you know which model is parked where. It also gives each car a name, a mawkish affectation Streetcar also indulges in.
Alternatively CityCarClub, operating in Edinburgh, Bristol and Norwich, offer more prosaic Astras and Focuses, while Whizzgo (Manchester, York, Brighton and Liverpool, among others) operates most of the Citroen range.
His job over with, Sam Barker drops off the photo gear round his studio and drives back to Mayton Rd to park the car in its allocated bay. In crowded Holloway he says it's a relief to know there will be a free parking space with no warden worries (especially if Arsenal are playing at home).
He shuts the keys back in the glovebox, checks for new scratches that the next person could enter into the damage logbook, and make sure the lights are off (£100 fine for leaving them on).
He waves his card back over the screen reader, a red light flashes and the Golf locks. He doesn't even need to tell Streetcar what the new mileage is - the Golf's computer automatically does that for him.
