
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stars' cars in their drives
ANGELA EPSTEIN
2659 words
14 July 2000
Daily Mail
1ST
45
English
(c) 2000 Associated Newspapers. All rights reserved
TONY BLAIR'S family car, a Chrysler Grand Voyager people carrier, was recently put up for sale for Pounds 30,000 - Pounds 13,000 more than the going rate. The new owner will drive away a vehicle with an intriguing political history, but what becomes of other cars once owned by celebrities? ANGELA EPSTEIN tracked down eight drivers who own cars which once belonged to the stars . . .
EVE GREENER (above), 24, drives a Volvo 360 GLE which was once owned by the actor Sir Alec Guinness (inset).
The 17-year-old car is valued at Pounds 500. Eve, who is single and lives in Portsmouth, is a sales promotions assistant at Fort Nelson museum in Fareham.
She says: THIS is my first car and I'm very fond of it. After so many years on the road and 84,000 miles on the clock, it's just an old banger really, but it's reliable and I'm proud to have it.
I haven't got a garage so I'm hoping that bad weather won't affect it. I couldn't afford a lot of repairs and I would hate to see it get into bad condition.
It was a present from Diana Mackay, a friend and colleague at the museum.
She had owned it for a couple of years and she wanted it to go to a good home. She knew I would appreciate the car's special history.
She's always been so proud of the Alec Guinness connection and loves to recount how she came to own it. As the story goes, Sir Alec, who owned the car from new, sold it to a vicar from the South-East of England 11 years ago, who then passed it on to the son-in-law of another colleague of Diana's. She bought the car from him.
I must admit I love showing off the log book with Sir Alec's name in it.
Also, there's a flap in the back seat just above the arm rest which Sir Alec apparently had put in so he could fit his skis in the car. Diana learned this from the previous owner and it always tickles me.