Monday, August 02, 2010

Pre-war cars

Pre-war cars.



Dey don' make 'em like dat anymoe.

26 comments:

TC [Girl] said...

Was thinking the Pebble Beach show, before seeing where these were from! Would be a VERY COOL show to go see!

LOVE that Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe (like the rear fender better than on the Talbot-Lago). Cool "color," too! :-)

Alex said...

Au contrare

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/sales/roadster_sport_2010/roadster_sport.html

Morgan still turn out their classic style roadster.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

... Don't mind if I do.

TC [Girl] said...

Alex said...
"http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/sales/roadster_sport_2010/roadster_sport.html"

WOW! GORGEOUS! :-P A stick, too...w/the steering wheel on the "right" side of the vehicle?! ;-) Now, *that* would be a BLAST to drive if that is the case! SWEET! :-D

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Yeah, for a long time after I moved to England, when I had to be a passenger in a car, I went first to the right side of the car...

TC [Girl] said...

Eolake said...
"...when I had to be a passenger in a car, I went first to the right side of the car..."

I spent a week doing that and was, often, asked if I wanted to drive! NO WAY in HELL!! ROFLAMO!! I don't think I have the stomach for that, anymore! :-/

Alex said...

"...when I had to be a passenger in a car, I went first to the left side of the car..."

I spent a week doing that and was, often, asked if I wanted to drive! HELL YES!! I was just itching to drive when I got to the US.

Funny, once in a while I will be in a situation where I go for the right side of the car. Another one that gets me is when I see an old American car I think, oh look an American car, how odd! Then I remember I'm in America, it's just that most people here drive Japanese cars or European derived American cars, to a big old 80's chunk of chrome stands out as something different.

Alex said...

Oh, and TC, I think Morgan are predominantly stick, there seems to be a inverse snobbery about automatics in the UK.

I wonder how many UK manufacturers exist now. A few years ago I got a Top Gear magazine and they listed no fewer than 40. That not only included Bentley and Rolls Royce, but outfits like Caterham, Lotus, Aston Martin, Morgan, TVR, and a whole passel of others making kit cars and Super 7's. Now there is an old car that'd be fun to drive.

Alex said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_cars

32 UK car companies before you include Jag, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Ford, Vauxhall, Mini

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

That's amazing. So far as I know, there's not a single Danish one. And Denmark has a couple of huge ship builders.

Alex said...
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Alex said...

Zenvo - limited production performance car

Hydrema - large military and construction vehicles

DAB - until 2002, coach builder/bus mfg.

TC [Girl] said...

Alex said...
"I spent a week doing that and was, often, asked if I wanted to drive! HELL YES!! I was just itching to drive when I got to the US."

Yeah...except for the usual commutes in the metropolises, driving around the states is great! :-)

"Oh, and TC, I think Morgan are predominantly stick, there seems to be a inverse snobbery about automatics in the UK."

Interesting and, yet...when I think of attempting to shift w/my left hand (even though I "favor" my left hand for steering), I think I would freak out trying to drive a stick shift in a UK vehicle! To me, that would almost seem as awkward as trying to sit backwards, behind the driver's seat and reach over to steer!! LOL!!

"That not only included Bentley and Rolls Royce, but outfits like Caterham, Lotus, Aston Martin, Morgan, TVR, and a whole passel of others making kit cars and Super 7's. Now there is an old car that'd be fun to drive."

Those top 2, you mention, are very cool but...I'd probably rather have a late 60's, early 70's model Chevy Corvette or some other "muscle" car like a Camaro or even a Dodge Challenger...something that you could hear the rumble and feel the power of, like you were about to take off flying...and you almost could! :-D

(LMAO when I saw that Found On Road Dead's were over there! What a SURPRISE!! :-)

Alex said...

Ford are global.

GM is Opel and Vauxhall in Europe, Chevy in E Europe and Holden in Aus.

Aston Martin and I believe Land Rover have both been parts of Ford at some point.

Bentley used to use Rolls Royce as the base vehicle, then add the performance enhancements. Now, however, they take the big VW (Quantum?) and use that as the base for Bentleys.

Royces have a sedate power, but Bentley were sports cars.

If I were to have a UK car now, I think I'd be torn between a Lotus Exige, Morgan plus 4 and a Nobel.


First driving LHD I quickly got used to the gear lever, but found I was reaching into the door pocket for the hand brake. The door mirrors were easy to find, follow the A pillar, but the center mirror was harder to find. As for automatics, I felt strangely out of control not having a proper gear lever, and foot actuated "parking brakes" were just something I never had to deal with before, I mean, how can you do a hand brake turn without a clutch and a hand brake?

Alex said...

As for a US car, contemporary Challenger or Charger, classic 67 Cougar or Mustang, '37 Packard or a '57 Chevy Bel Air.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, for a long time after I moved to England, when I had to be a passenger in a car, I went first to the right side of the car...

I did the same thing. Also, my first trip there, walking around London, I was lucky I didn't get hit by a car because I kept looking the wrong way before crossing the street.

TC [Girl] said...

Alex said...
"As for a US car, contemporary Challenger or Charger, classic 67 Cougar or Mustang, '37 Packard or a '57 Chevy Bel Air."

Forgot about the Cougar! Mustang's a "given"! ;-) How's about the Barracuda? That was a cool car! :-)

TC [Girl] said...

Dave Nielsen said...
"...I kept looking the wrong way before crossing the street."

Yup! Only takes ONCE! ;-) (I found that annoying as well!)

TC [Girl] said...

@Alex: Funny...I was looking for a cute little Sunbeam (turns out to be more of a challenge to find one that isn't "messed up" w/the steering wheel on the "wrong" side! lol! ;-) and so many variations. I just remember seeing a couple, in San Leandro, that I liked a lot. Bumped into this GORGEOUS little one! :-D 'Triumph' Another "cute" car! Another I have always liked...in the "little car" dept: Opel gt

Alex said...

Now come on, look at a late 60's Cougar, it's got those roll around headlights in that chrome grill.

I see your Hemi-Cuda (sublime green of course) and raise you a Superbird in white.

As for the Opel GT, isn't that the US name for a Manta, or is that a Rekord? I've long admired the Opel family. The Vaushall VX Lightening then VX220 became an Opel thingy, before hitting the US in the double guise of the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice.

That older Sundeam, you're right, wow. As for the Frog Eyed Sprite, any thoughts? Contemporary of the TR3 you mentioned.

I guess you never watched The Avengers just for the cars?

TC [Girl] said...

Alex said...
"...it's got those roll around headlights in that chrome grill."

You mean like this Cougar? Wild! I had never seen that, before! Cool!

"I see your Hemi-Cuda (sublime green of course) and raise you a Superbird in white."

Sorry; I thought that purple was DAMN FINE! :-D You can have another "slimey green" if you want! ;-)

D'ya know which one NEITHER of us thought of (and don't know how that happened!) so far? How about the AMAZING Pontiac Trans Am back when Pontiac could actually build a car!

"As for the Opel GT, isn't that the US name for a Manta, or is that a Rekord?"

Wikipedia mentions both in the "Classic GT's Today" section.

"The Vaushall VX Lightening then VX220 became an Opel thingy,"

Love what they say re: that one: "there is no replacement for the Vauxhall VX220." so, basically, if you have one of these, you'd better hang on to it and take good care of it! :-D

"before hitting the US in the double guise of the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice."

(Those 2 are so cute :-) Can't forget the BMW Z3's. That's a pretty cute little number, too! :-)

"As for the Frog Eyed Sprite, any thoughts?"

Kind of cute...in a "boxy" sort of way. I always think it's so funny how peeps say that men should like the curves of a vehicle...because they mimic a woman; but...as "straight as an arrow" as I am, I, as a woman, prefer the more curvy vehicle lines, myself! (Funny, though, 'cuz Austin Healey did enter my mind! How odd!)

One other that I've been admiring, for the past few years is the Dodge Viper. That thing is aptly named; it's even difficult to not look at it, from the rear-view mirror! :-P

"I guess you never watched The Avengers just for the cars?"

No. Are you meaning this?

And lookit what I found, whilst looking for the picture of the Trans Am: http://www.alienexperience.com/forum/index.php?topic=5526.0 So...that should be fun to go back and watch some of these. (I remember liking 'Canonnball Run.' :-)

TC [Girl] said...
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Alex said...

You thought I meant this Cougar? The one the was a re-bodied thunderbird? How could you ;-) The one you found is the one. Yes, the late 60's Cougars have much the look of a Mustang, just chromed up a bit. Oh and longer wheelbase. I don't like any of the interim Cougars, the latest has some style, but for modern Fords I tend to like Lincolns most (MkZ).

Yes, John Steed and Emma Peel used to both drive exotic cars, Steed favouring various Bentleys, and Emma having a variety of Lotus cars, including a Europa, an Elan and something else I forget. For one season every episode ended with them driving off to the sunset in a different car, including classic bone shakers adn Amphicars etc. The are sites dedicated to the cars.

Talking of Trans Am's, yes I like the 70's TransAm and I even liked the Knight Rider car when that show came out. One car I'd like to drive it the "Firebird II|", it was a 50's concept car.

I made a model of a 67 Camero for my MIL's husband, he had one in his youth, very much like the Firebird of that time. Lovely looking.

TC [Girl] said...

The car site was pretty cool. Can't believe how much documentation they did on those vehicles!

The Firebird III GM was a trip, too! Makes me think of an airplane w/the bubble tops! Would be WAY COOL on a drag strip! Mohave Desert would be FUN! :-D

Just saw this: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=1157199&icid=autos_1598&GT1=22026

TC [Girl] said...

Pontiac "died," on the 31st! Waaaa!! :-( ...

Timmy Radloff said...

Somehow, it kinda makes you wonder. Would cars have evolved differently if there were now wars? A thing or two would have been learned from developing tanks and other motorized vehicles. If they didn't exist, how would that change the cars?

Hm, well, it's a moot point. The pre-war cars look fabulous, and it's a shame that you see them rarely nowadays.