Musings on "viva voce": So what kind of car would a Vauxhall Viva-voce be? You're terrified of driving it, the first time you get in the journey lasts an indeterminate amount of time and the radio is stuck on one of those aggressive talk-radio programmes, shouting questions at you.

If you're lucky you reach your destination and never drive the car again. If you're unlucky the car breaks down, you have to make expensive repairs and then have to do the same journey again. For a time afterwards the car stays shiny & new but, after a while, begins to look really dated. Inexplicably you still hang on to it...