Being a WW2 vet, would Higgins really drive an Audi?

[jimhalinda]

You could argue that the Audi was Robin's choice, not Higgins'.

Higgins' personal watch, however, is a Japanese Seiko.

[☨magnum.t]

You could argue that the Audi was Robin's choice, not Higgins'.

Higgins' personal watch, however, is a Japanese Seiko.

Higgins had great admiration and respect for the Japanese people. As exemplified in the episode "The Eighth Part of The Village"

[K Hale]

You could argue that the Audi was Robin's choice, not Higgins'.

Higgins' personal watch, however, is a Japanese Seiko.

Higgins had great admiration and respect for the Japanese people. As exemplified in the episode "The Eighth Part of The Village"

Yes, as well as "The Arrow That is Not Aimed."

[marlboro]

Maybe all these foreign made items are gifts from his various siblings.

[Reef monkey]

I figure first, the Audi was Robin Masters', not Higgins, but there for Higgins' use, so since Magnum always had the Ferrari, Higgins was left with the Audi (am I crazy, or was there also a Jeep Cherokee or Waggoner Higgins drove once or twice).

Second, Higgins served both in the European theatre and in Burma during WWII. The Japanese were much more savage when it came to how they waged war and how they treated POWs than the Germans, yet Higgins showed a respect for Japanese culture (and you almost have to, given how much it influences Hawaiian culture). If he was able to reconcile with the Japanese, surely he was able to do so with the Germans.

And I know it was very common for American WWII veterans of the ETO have a lifelong hatred (or at least disdain) for Germans, but you have to take the circumstances into account. In the 1930s, America was isolationist, separated from Europe by an entire ocean, except for recent immigrants most Americans had no connection to Europe and Europeans before the war, and no real need to have connections with them afterwards. But Higgins was British, just across the channel from Europe. Quite possibly his family had taken trips to Germany in the 20s and 30s. Then in the 50s an 60s, Europe was still right across the channel, and the West Germans were now our allies against the soviets, something Higgins, an MI6 operative, would have taken to heart. Perhaps he would have dealt with them. That all made his experience and outlook very different from that of the American who settled back into his job back home after the war.

[K Hale]

Great post, Reef monkey!

I figure first, the Audi was Robin Masters', not Higgins, but there for Higgins' use, so since Magnum always had the Ferrari, Higgins was left with the Audi (am I crazy, or was there also a Jeep Cherokee or Waggoner Higgins drove once or twice).

A GMC Jimmy. He never drove it off the estate as far as I know, though. I think it was a little beneath him, haha. "I can't conduct my business in a PICKUP!!"

[Reef monkey]

Great post, Reef monkey!

I figure first, the Audi was Robin Masters', not Higgins, but there for Higgins' use, so since Magnum always had the Ferrari, Higgins was left with the Audi (am I crazy, or was there also a Jeep Cherokee or Waggoner Higgins drove once or twice).

A GMC Jimmy. He never drove it off the estate as far as I know, though. I think it was a little beneath him, haha. "I can't conduct my business in a PICKUP!!"

A Jimmy, that's the one, thanks!

[Fr. Paddy McGuinness]

Great post, Reef monkey!

I figure first, the Audi was Robin Masters', not Higgins, but there for Higgins' use, so since Magnum always had the Ferrari, Higgins was left with the Audi (am I crazy, or was there also a Jeep Cherokee or Waggoner Higgins drove once or twice).

A GMC Jimmy. He never drove it off the estate as far as I know, though. I think it was a little beneath him, haha. "I can't conduct my business in a PICKUP!!"

A Jimmy, that's the one, thanks!

I believe at different times the 3rd vehicle was a Ram Charger, a Jeep Wagoneer and a GMC Jimmy.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

I always thought the third Robins Masters vehicle should have been a Jeep. It's more military-like and I'm sure Higgins would have been more comfortable in it - but I can see that it wouldn't have the cargo space needed for work on the estate. A Land Rover would have been good, but probably very hard to get in Hawaii. If only they had a 4 door Jeep back then...

I just got a 4 door Jeep - my "Robin 3" vehicle for my beach front estate. I've already got my "Robin 2" Audi-equivalent. Now I just need a "Robin 1" Ferrari. That could take some time.

[K Hale]

How long have Hummers been around? They have a lot of cargo space. Or an actual military surplus Humvee.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

A Hummer H1 would have been nice, but it didn't come out until 1992. The Humvee came out in 1985, but I don't think even Robin Masters could have got one. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the first civilian to get one and that was in 1991.

[K Hale]

Rats! I could totally see JQH tooling around town in one of those!

[Reef monkey]

I always thought the third Robins Masters vehicle should have been a Jeep. It's more military-like and I'm sure Higgins would have been more comfortable in it - but I can see that it wouldn't have the cargo space needed for work on the estate.

Or maybe an early 80s Range Rover Classic. About the same size as a Jimmy, but with a little more panache, and a Britishness befitting Higgins.

[TBOU]

This one is hard to say. If MPI were in the 60s and 70s, there were many UK options comparable to Audi. But in the 80s, not as much. The UK auto industry (and especially the export market) was largely dead by the 80s with the remains being Rolls Royce/Bentley at the top, then Jaguar, and Rover still hanging on. Land Rovers were still too rough to compare to a luxury sedan. A lot of the rest of the market was luxury sports cars, and dying economy sports cars and dying economy car brands. So available options was one reason.

I think the German car makers made inroads fast to the UK starting in the 60s. I think their progression from VW Bug to more upscale German products was successful because British car brands were going downhill. So the anti German vibe might have remained in the hearts of vets, but not the minds when pricing cars. I don’t know British culture of these decades, but one example from the early 2000s internet sticks out. There was this letter offering for the UK to take back the US. Item 9 was: “ All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.” https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/revoc ... ependence/. That’s 20 years after MPI started, but shows the general feeling. The UK culture must have been pro German cars by the 80s for that vibe to pop up in 2000. The comments about the closeness of the UK to Germany make a lot of sense too.

So Higgins might not have minded because he felt Audi was the best quality option available. But why not an XJ6? I don’t know. But I voted yes due to this thinking.

But, that said, the anti-German vibe from WWII might have lingered. I worked with some Airbus folks from Bristol 15 years ago. One story was they had some Germans from a continental Airbus office visiting. The Germans saw a plane doing acrobatics and asked what it was. Their boss merely replied, “that’s one of our spitfires, it’s what kicked your butt in the war.”

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

I am german, please keep in sensible. Thank you!