[Bêthberry]

Yes indeed the ignoble beast was named 'Jo.' And that being the main question, why, I shall answer the rest myself, seeing as Squatter is not here to fulminate upon vehicles of the combustible engine kind.

Carpenter claimed that 'Jo' knocked down part of a dry-stone wall on a trip to visit Hilary Tolkien. Edith apparently refused to ride in Jo after that.

But the report I found the most illuminating was Carpenter's claim that, in order to make his way through busy main streets and onto side streets in Oxford, Tolkien would plough into the intersection crying heroicly to Jo, "Charge 'em and they scatter!"

Rather Rohirric of him, don't you think? Oxfordians should perhaps be thankful he decided to give up ownership of automobiles.

The driver's seat is now yours, Mariska Greenleaf.