Time to change my 11 year old Skoda for a new car.
Naturally, as a 21st century serf, my choice is limited to the cheapest ones that money can buy.
I try a number of far eastern made city cars for size. The common factor on these vehicles is the lower calf slit that passes for rear seat legroom. No good for my tall children.
The larger Skoda Fabia would have been a nice logical replacement for my old clunker, but these start at 9K GBP - if I had that much to spend I would be spending it on something else plus a UCE Bullet. Get real with those Skodas, Volkswagen.
Anyhow, I am on the point of giving up as I look in at the local VW dealer. It turns out that a basic VW Fox is within my budget and is one foot longer in the wheelbase than any of the city cars that I looked at. It's a no-brainer and I sign up for a scrappage trade in.
So, I used to buy eastern bloc Skodas because I couldn't afford a VW. Now, I finish up with a Volkwagen because I can't afford a Volkswagenised Skoda.
Then I go home and Google up the Volkswagen Fox. Turns out that the monocoque is the same as the Skoda Fabia and the engine is a Skoda manufactured triple.
So, I pretty much got my Fabia anyway - and I can pretend its a Triumph T160 Trident.
Does this story have any relevance to A Royal Enfield forum? Well, it makes me appreciate the transparent pedigree and straightforward origins of RE products. They are not into badge engineering or wrapping one thing up as another.
And long may it remain so.