When I was a young NorCal proto-hoon yearning for my first set of internal-combustion wheels, my peers and I figured a clean 350 Chevelle was the best we could reasonably hope for, and a fine aspiration that was. Over in the UK, however, our English counterparts were jonesing for Yamaha FS1-E sports mopeds as their barely-obtainable dream vehicle (well, if Captain Slow is to be believed, that is). As Mr. May puts it in his column, the FS1-E was 'the world's best example of marketing opportunism in the face of a legislative loophole,' providing cheap, reasonably quick wheels to 16-year-olds, who were otherwise prohibited from riding motorcycles. Sadly, May never actually obtained his FS1-E, but he finally had a chance to ride one. Read all about it in his Telegraph column.
As seen on TV: All I want for Christmas 1977 [Telegraph.co.uk]
Related:
Captain Slow Goes 407.4 Kilometers Per Hour! [internal]