Still The World's Least Influential Motoring Site
This micropost is about the biggest door handles I have ever seen.
This is a personal import, as far as I know, a 2002 Ford Explorer. It is noted for its use of independent suspension and transmission failure at 100,000 miles. Continue reading “Even the door handles are big”
What did the first front wheel drive Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Peugeot, and Renault have in common?
Confession time: I said there was no chain involved in this teaser, but there is one. And a couple of shafts. And one absolutely enormous toothed belt.
The answer is that the engines of all four cars were also used in motorcycles. It’s a rarer peculiarity than might be expected, particularly as I applied a self-denying ordinance which excluded tricycles, sidecar haulers (even the Borgward-Goliath-Kröger), and one-offs. All four two-wheelers here were on public sale as complete, series-produced entities. Continue reading “Connect the dots #3: The Answer”
A substantial proportion of DTW readers celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December.
We hope that however you celebrate your day it is peaceful and pleasant. If you have had enough jollity, we have another item coming up later in the day.
After I tried my hand at formulating a little quiz, I had a go at another one.
This time the link is a little simpler. The three cars are the 1981 De Lorean DMC12, the 1981 Triumph Acclaim and the 1981 Bitter SC. The year of launch is not the required answer. Continue reading “Connect the Dots : 2”
The readers spotted quickly what our Big Ask involved and other mystery cars remained mysteries only for a short time.
How about this one?
Selling The Dream or Flogging The Nightmare.
Many of us have to do ‘selling’ of some sort as part of our lives. It’s a branch of social negotiation. You have something you want someone else to do, and you need to present a case to them as to why they should do it. So, if you’ve ever had to persuade your kids to go to bed, you know how difficult it is to sell things. Continue reading “Shifting Metal”
What are they worth now? Read on to find out.
Quentin Willson, writing in Buying Cars (March 1992) offered his “dealer’s choice” of the best 50 cars. It would be a work of enormous tedium to examine the fate of his entire listing. I’ll focus on his first choice in each group. Which car turned out to hold its value most? Continue reading “Theme: Values – Quentin Willson’s 1992 Used-Car Tips”
Who can say what this car might be? The image is courtesy of Mick and forms a tiny detail of our exciting Photoseries For Sunday, coming very, very soon.
…as they like to say in the world of automotive print journalism.
We covered a lot of ground in our theme of the month, Japan, and the response from our clique of readers has been heartening. Most of what I read this month from our readers and contributors was new to me, as was the material I waded through when researching my own items.
Dealing with the Japan theme first, Sean Patrick and others handled the origins of Japan’s post-war development. The general theme is that Japan watched closely what Europe did but its selection of references showed its special set of values and interests. We dealt with notable examples of Japanese concept car design, production design. and the state of the product ranges. Under the production cars, the kei car phenomenon came under scrutiny from several angles such as this and this along with a few apparently randomly chosen examples of neglected classics and unloved daily drivers. Continue reading “What A Month It Has Been!!”
Even Ford’s middle-spec Granadas came with a lot of appeal included as part of the reasonable purchase price, writes Myles Gorfe (chief assistant classics sub-editor).
Take this stunning Mk2 2.0 L model, for example (for sale here). There’s nothing wrong with this and a lot that’s totally 100% right. As standard you get the Granada’s effortless mile-munching ability, sharp looks, acres of room front and back, a huge boot and among the best interior fabrics the industry had on offer. It looks like it could stop bullets but is a soft as Kate Moss’s left cheek. Most buyers went for more upmarket trim than the original owner of this sky-blue stunner. However, some wanted to spend a bit less and did not go away unhappy with their purchase. While most manufacturers skimped on niceties like rear centre armrests and the quality of the cloth, Ford went the extra mile and a half to keep their loyal customers happy. And it shows. This is pure class. Continue reading “Gorfe’s Granadas: 1985 Mk 2 Ford Granada 2.0 L”
…is nearing its conclusion. Check in tomorrow to see how I unanimously decided.
A short round-up of some of the main items of interest that were brought to your attention in the four weeks just past with reference to news, comments and opinions.
We adopted Evolution as theme of the month and some interesting things emerged such as a thoughtful contemplation of evolution versus revolution. We also explored Murat Gunak’s interest in certain shapes. On the news front Alfa Romeo showed us a few pictures of a red sport saloon they may one day make. Luc Donckerwolke has left Bentley and there were discussions of Citroen design and marketing too. DTW has been driving real cars. A Nissan Cube joined the fleet along with a Mazda 3 and we had some mass-market rental fodder out on the road too.
Continue reading “That Was June”
Our editor sets out his stall.
“May You Live In Interesting Times” is an apocryphal Chinese curse popularised by Bobby Kennedy and it would have to be said that, for the motor industry at least, these are indeed Interesting Times. For much of the World, the single, most relevant, life-changing invention of the late 19th Century was personal propelled transport. The freedom granted by the ability to move reasonable distances, affordably and independently, might be summed up crudely by the British politician, Norman Tebbit’s infamous, so-called ‘Get On Your Bike’ speech but, for Western Society, the vehicle for change was generally the motor car. Continue reading “Welcome to Driven To Write”
