Meet Peter Lee; the most dedicated Ford Transit fan in the world
Do you consider yourself to be a passionate fan of a particular brand or model of car? You've got nothing on Peter Lee from the UK.
Peter owned a Ford Transit growing up, with the popular van platform holding him under its spell for decades — with him now decades later undoubtedly the owner of the biggest collection of Ford Transit models and memorabilia.
This might all seem a bit silly, to hold a fixation over the equivalent of a Toyota Hiace. But remember that the Ford Transit is a van that's embedded in UK car culture. The US had the Volkswagen Kombi, and the UK had the Transit; loved by many thanks to its car-like agility, price, and practicality. They were the van of choice for young race drivers of the period, as well as ‘hippies’ as Peter calls them.
As something of a model car nerd myself (ladies, one at a time), I can appreciate the depth and breadth of what Peter's accomplished here. It's not all just mainstream Hot Wheels and Matchbox creations; there's all sorts of weird and wonderful models scattered all over the place. The icing on the cake is that it all lives in a loft; the traditional home for the weird suburban obsession.
Naturally, Peter's 1:1-scale collection of cars is also Transitcentric; no less than six depicted in the video. While I wouldn't exactly call myself a lover of the Transit by any stretch, that beautiful original first-generation van is adorable. I'd have it in a heartbeat.
What the story of the Transit tells us is that just because a car is made primarily for the purpose of utility, that doesn't mean that manufacturers have to render it empty of character and passion. And in today's dull line-up, the Transit still sticks out.