15 Dec 2015 – Driven To Write

Glazed C-pillars From the ’80s

Recently we discussed three examples of the glazed C-pillar phenomenon. We listed the Ford Granada, Olds Cutlass and Mitsubishi Lancer. How did we forget the 1987 Toyota Corolla Liftback?

1987 Toyota Corolla Liftback

We’d even mentioned it before. This example has been spending quality time under a tree. How long does it take for that green stuff to form? The Liftback is from 1987 and Ford’s similarly styled Granada is from 1985. That places the two designs so close together in time that Toyota can be exonerated from allegations of photocopying. So, where did Ford Continue reading “Glazed C-pillars From the ’80s”

Theme: Disappointment – Well, What Did You Expect?

Recent correspondence has hinted at the genre of car analogous to a band’s difficult second album.

Not the same, not very different: fordimages.net

Every one knows Kula Shaker’s second album was going to be a disappointment. It happens to a lot of bands. The musicians have a lifetime (say, 23 years) to work on the first album. Then they have about eight months to work on the second album, once the tour is done and the alcohol has been washed out of the system and the papers are signed on the Chiswick house they will have to sell a year or two later.

For some cars something similar applies. For various reasons, the manufacturer chances upon a hot new niche or just strikes it lucky with a particular formula of the same old thing. Then, with just six years to think it over, they launch a revised version that fails to Continue reading “Theme: Disappointment – Well, What Did You Expect?”

Our Cars: 2009 RenaultSport Clio 200 Cup

Part Two: Crunch Time. It was driving between two rows of terraced houses, windows wound down, when I first heard the noise. Graunch.

car_photo_448588 — The RenaultSport Clio 200 in its natural state: immobile. For insurance purposes I would like to clarify this is not my car. Image: Evo

I could hear it when changing into third or fourth gear; sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, but consistently those two gears. Graunch. As the journey wore on, I noticed that pedestrians were occasionally turning to look for the source of the sound assaulting their ears. Crunch. Graunch. Ouch.

For some reason, the Lotus Esprit’s notoriously flaky Renault-supplied gearbox came to mind. Gingerly, lest an expensive and vital part decided to grenade itself, I piloted the Clio home. Continue reading “Our Cars: 2009 RenaultSport Clio 200 Cup”