NZV8 — February 2018

can be seen on thousands of homes across the
country. The only odd thing is that it’s attached to
another internal-access double garage. However,
even that is likely to fly under the radar, because
there is no outward indication that it was not
meant to be so.
The explanation is easy. Michael builds homes for
a living, for Ascension Homes, and when it came
time to build a new house for the family, he simply
worked all of the family requirements into the
blueprints, along with a nicely integrated area for
the ‘man cave’ — a space that comfortably houses
three vehicles, a kitchen area in the style of a retro
American diner, and a whole load of memorabilia.
The guided tour leads us through the first double
garage, which houses a late-model Mustang
convertible and a brand-new Mini Cooper S,
before we are presented with a sight that we
definitely wouldn’t have expected — if we weren’t
already expecting it!
“I’ve been with my wife for 11 years and had what
she called ‘The disease’ — well, she has it now, and
the [Mercury] Cougar is the 40th car we’ve owned
together,” Michael says.
The 1969 Mercury Cougar was picked up only a
few months back. It’s by no means a common car,
and Michael explains that he’d never planned to
own one until he did.
“I’d bought a ’37 Ford about 18 months ago
through recommendation, but hot rodding just
wasn’t for me. The car wasn’t very roomy, and
I’d made up my mind that I was a muscle car guy
through and through.”