CAR THREAD ( ..wheeee) :)

[Jeff]

1 hour ago, Martinnfb said:

Also a wildlife has to be taken to consideration as well. Pedestrians are soft , however elk or moose, that’s  a different story.

And that is why I try not to speed and keep my eyes on a swivel and ready to pounce on the brakes when driving my Corvette, they have a tendency to slide up the hood and into the cockpit, thrashing legs....

[MrFew]

37 minutes ago, Jeff said:

And that is why I try not to speed and keep my eyes on a swivel and ready to pounce on the brakes when driving my Corvette, they have a tendency to slide up the hood and into the cockpit, thrashing legs....

Yikes!  That is not a problem I have.  

[Clunkmeister]

12 hours ago, MrFew said:

It interesting to see people’s cars on the thread especially the enormous American types.  I have a car which is much more ‘European’ in style it could be said and would be considered to be very small in countries that are big - America, Canada and Australia.  Large engine capacity and big dimension are important when big distance needs to be covered. The inner city conurbation here in the UK is not a places for those big lads I am afraid.  

Hmmm, I remember returning from Germany in the early 80s, after driving an Opel Rekord for three years, wondering where in the hell you blokes park park these monstrous automobiles?!?

That being said, the Aussies drove a version of my 56 Ford for years. The Ford Customline V8 was sold there for many, many years, although theirs was a graft of the 1952-1954 body on to the 55-56 front clip.  

And Holden has produced some automobiles that aren’t lacking in stature..  somewhat gargantuan might  be a bit more direct, if I say so myself.

[Clunkmeister]

5 hours ago, Jeff said:

And that is why I try not to speed and keep my eyes on a swivel and ready to pounce on the brakes when driving my Corvette, they have a tendency to slide up the hood and into the cockpit, thrashing legs....

Jeff, you know the difference between a Corvette and a porcupine, don’t you?

[Jeff]

13 minutes ago, Clunkmeister said:

Jeff, you know the difference between a Corvette and a porcupine, don’t you?

...............................................................................................

[Martinnfb]

[Martinnfb]

[Wumm]

...or Kangaroo...

And the front suddenly goes down!

S

[Martinnfb]

Kangaroos are like, an Australian version of squirrels, on steroids . For some reason, everything in Australia is trying to kill you

[DocRob]

20 hours ago, MrFew said:

It interesting to see people’s cars on the thread especially the enormous American types.  I have a car which is much more ‘European’ in style it could be said and would be considered to be very small in countries that are big - America, Canada and Australia.  Large engine capacity and big dimension are important when big distance needs to be covered. The inner city conurbation here in the UK is not a places for those big lads I am afraid.

Interesting to see, how the surroundings define the type of cars used. Until I reached my tiny island, I wouldn't had believed that there could be such kind of automotive monoculture.
In the case of my island it is one third of Pickups, one third of Berlingos, Kangaroos, ... and the last third are others, but I think a third is overestimated here.
Most families have two cars, one of each of the first two groups in any given condition, because, well they are families and need a family car and nearly everybody has a patch of land or more and needs a 4 wheel driven Pickup for transport. 

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

10 hours ago, DocRob said:

Interesting to see, how the surroundings define the type of cars used. Until I reached my tiny island, I wouldn't had believed that there could be such kind of automotive monoculture.
In the case of my island it is one third of Pickups, one third of Berlingos, Kangaroos, ... and the last third are others, but I think a third is overestimated here.
Most families have two cars, one of each of the first two groups in any given condition, because, well they are families and need a family car and nearly everybody has a patch of land or more and needs a 4 wheel driven Pickup for transport. 

Cheers Rob

I am assuming you meant « Kangoo » rather than « Kangaroo », Rob... Anyway, a Kangoo is not a car, just some wheeled « thingy »   ...

And for those from far-off shores, here is what a Kangoo looks like  :

Hubert

[Artful69]

18 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

Hmmm, I remember returning from Germany in the early 80s, after driving an Opel Rekord for three years, wondering where in the hell you blokes park park these monstrous automobiles?!?

That being said, the Aussies drove a version of my 56 Ford for years. The Ford Customline V8 was sold there for many, many years, although theirs was a graft of the 1952-1954 body on to the 55-56 front clip.  

And Holden has produced some automobiles that aren’t lacking in stature..  somewhat gargantuan might  be a bit more direct, if I say so myself.

From my studies, long ago, into Am Muscle cars and Australia Muscle Cars ... most of our "Big" cars would have been classified as "Compact" in the USA.

I remember back in the 90's working on a 59 Cadillac some idiot imported here and clearly recall standing in the engine bay torquing up the intake manifold bolts, on a big block, with space between my butt and the radiator ... I was little thinner than now, of course ... and the fan was removed  ... but you get the idea. I recommended a licensed harbour pilot be hired to manoeuvre the thing through the suburbs.

Having said that ... the modern Commodores (Holden) and Falcons (Ford) are pretty decent sized. The VE SS Commodore (2006 - 2012) was exported to the USA as a Pontiac G8 in 2008/09 (I think??) ... I don't know how common those things are or if you've seen one. My VF SS Ute is 5.1m long and certainly takes up more room than its predecessor - The Fiesta ST.

Rog

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

I am assuming you meant « Kangoo » rather than « Kangaroo », Rob... Anyway, a Kangoo is not a car, just some wheeled « thingy »   ...

And for those from far-off shores, here is what a Kangoo looks like  :

Hubert

Seems I've been carried away, by all these Kangaroos running around on the Australian race track. You are absolutely right, I meant the Kangoo thingy .

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

1 hour ago, Artful69 said:

Having said that ... the modern Commodores (Holden) and Falcons (Ford) are pretty decent sized

I would love a '73 Ford Falcon. But not necessarily the one most people are familiar with. 

[Artful69]

On 8/13/2020 at 6:27 AM, BlrwestSiR said:

I would love a '73 Ford Falcon. But not necessarily the one most people are familiar with. 

Well now ... "The one most people are familiar with" could be any of them ...

The Falcon XB - 1973-1976 (manufactured as a slight variation on the XA design, which continued on through the XB and XC) was developed on 5 different body styles ... the standard 4 door sedan, the 2 door coupe hardtop, the 5 door wagon, the 2 door utility and the 2 door panel van ... depending on any given persons style preference and knowledge of model variants - familiarity could be any of them ... I know a dude who grew up in the late 60's early 70's that is totally obsessed with panel vans ... and has the Chrysler Drifter and Holden Sandman as well as the Ford variant of that era. Over here ... the GT is likely to be the focus of muscle car heads in either sedan or coupe format ... wagons are extremely rare and therefore pull some solid currency ... and then of course, there's the old Aussie Ute of which I am a fan.

Rog

[Wumm]

I think Carl's talking about...

The Interceptor.

S

[BlrwestSiR]

I wouldn't say no to this if it showed up in my driveway. 

The last of the V8s.

As much as I like it (okay, love it), for some reason I've always liked his first car in the movie just that bit more. 

Maybe because it reminds me a bit of my Dad's Cortina. 

[Clunkmeister]

4 hours ago, Artful69 said:

From my studies, long ago, into Am Muscle cars and Australia Muscle Cars ... most of our "Big" cars would have been classified as "Compact" in the USA.

I remember back in the 90's working on a 59 Cadillac some idiot imported here and clearly recall standing in the engine bay torquing up the intake manifold bolts, on a big block, with space between my butt and the radiator ... I was little thinner than now, of course ... and the fan was removed  ... but you get the idea. I recommended a licensed harbour pilot be hired to manoeuvre the thing through the suburbs.

Having said that ... the modern Commodores (Holden) and Falcons (Ford) are pretty decent sized. The VE SS Commodore (2006 - 2012) was exported to the USA as a Pontiac G8 in 2008/09 (I think??) ... I don't know how common those things are or if you've seen one. My VF SS Ute is 5.1m long and certainly takes up more room than its predecessor - The Fiesta ST.

Rog

A friend of mine has a G8 GXP that he bought new in the final year of Pontiac existence. That thing is just a rebadged Holden Commodore with left hand drive, huge tires and wheels, and a 6.2L monster V8.

That thing is an absolute pavement shredder, and suitably impressed me on a test drive to the point where I almost loaded my britches. 

 

[Clunkmeister]

1 hour ago, Wumm said:

I think Carl's talking about...

The Interceptor.

S

Now as cool as that is, my tastes fun more towards...

 

Or

 

What can I say, I’m just into COOL old Fords.

[GazzaS]

Hey, what was everyone's first car?  Mine was a 1970 Oldsmobile Delta 88' Royale with a 455 Rocket Engine.  Looked just like this one:

 

One night while camping, I  slept on the hood with my head resting on the windshield.  My feet didn't overhang the front end.  It had a huge bench seat and was the only car I've ever owned where my legs didn't have to bend.   (I'm 6'3") But, I got it in 1980...  when we worried about the amount of gas we used.  She got 17 MPG.  Loved that car.  But like many young idiots, I wrecked it.

[harv]

57 ford 4 door. Titty pink and white.....harv

[BlrwestSiR]

1988 Honda Civic DX hatchback in bright red. It was the first of six Civics I've owned over the years. My parents bought it for me so that they wouldn't have to drive my sisters to piano lessons or Chinese classes any more. I also had to help with the family business at the time making pickups and deliveries  Basically it freed up their time.  But I got a car out of it so more than a fair trade.

Took that car everywhere. Often full of friends and/or cargo too. Living 90 minutes from the Canada/US border, my friends and I started making trips to Buffalo for wings and other non-essential but fun things. Never got bothered by Immigration either even though we would cross over using just our driver's license as ID. Those were the days. 

I ended up getting rear ended by an unlicensed, uninsured tow truck driver one day. He was doing 60 and wasn't even looking at traffic when he slammed into me. My neck and back are still a mess to this day. 

I miss that car from time to time. A friend pointed out that our current car (2099 Honda Fit) is basically the same thing size wise, maybe a bit heavier but at least with more power. So maybe not. 

Carl

[GazzaS]

Sorry for your back, Carl!  Interesting story, tho.

[Jeff]

12 hours ago, harv said:

57 ford 4 door. Titty pink and white.....harv

"Titty -Pink" .??????????  You made my day Harv !!!

[Jeff]

My first ride, was almost exactly like this, different mag wheels though...