I only ever knew 2 people who had them, one was family, and one through work. Coventry Climax had varied experience with all sorts of engines - (fork lifts, etc) and their experience with stationary plant (fire pumps etc) meant they had to design compact, light power plants; which led them to racing engines and the Imp. There is an odd poster with a racing car, forklift, etc (!) When I first joined the military (early 70's) we were based at the apprentice school in the Eastern suburbs (Quakers hill, now a Tafe/school training campus). The cars the apprentices could afford were a real mish mash of weird and wonderful. And the cars they would drive home interstate in were just as bizarre. We had a guy from Goondiwindi in Qld and he drove home on leave in his Imp. It is close to 700 kms. No one would drive that far in a car like that now - but that is what we did. (We had a couple of guys drive home to Perth in a mini - turned the passenger seat around so they could sleep across it and back seat while the other drove.) Anyway, the Imp guy from Goondiwindi - The story goes that he was halfway home and his accelerator cable/linkage broke....... so he idled to a stop. All he had in the "boot" (at the front) was his clothes, and his Navy toolbox - but in that was a roll of hook up wire. So he ran that from the carby lever, out the rear cover/grille, up the side of the car and in through the window. Arm on the window sill, Pulling it like "Casey Jones pulling a steam whistle" - off he went. He'd pull up at a garage - revving the engine with the cord and yell "got an accelerator cable for this? No?" (to incredulous looks) and then take off. He even said "wasn't so bad - if I jammed the wire in the quarter window - cruise control!!!!" He made it home........... So the story goes. That's the only "imp experience" I ever had. Edit; from reading the comments it appears that these cars had a "pneumatic" throttle? Sorry - the "warrie" (Navy term for "story" :P ) just assumed it was a cable - he probably said "my accelerator died; so I jury rigged it with wire......" - and people assumed (like all other cars) it was a linkage / cable failed. My mistake/assumption - but it WAS in 1974 :P Great comments here from blokes who have had them; worked at the dealers. That is where you find out many things that really happened. There are far too many "pub lore" things about cars in Australia; most of them are dodgy, but get propagated. Everyone blames the British cars as being "crap design" - and while they have had their doozies - manufacturing and bad practice let them down. Two examples; 1. I found a service bulletin for Triumphs mid 70's. "Due to the shortage of radiator treatment/anti freeze, it is accepted to reuse fluid removed from cooling systems during servicing........." So - you have mechanics used to cast iron heads - no inhibitor, go forever - and you are trying to ween people onto alloy heads and the care that needs to be taken with them = use old inhibitor. I never even do that with MY old c*** cars :P 2. Triumph Stag engine designed with a steel crank designed to be made to high spec so as to rev high. Nup - BL took over - and hence forbid sending out to machine - as they had "in house" machining etc. When the engineers said that the "in house" was Leyland trucks and while ok for "truck like" stuff - they needed to send them out for the nitriding/finishing tolerance that a high revving engine required = over ridden - so kept in house, and tolerances "vague". Then there were the castings that were often porous or not flat/true. I have a 74 Trident. If that isn't leaking oil - it's empty :P So it wasn't all design - poor component quality/practice let them down. Obvious corner cutting - as some of the earlier stuff was brilliantly made. Very sad.