CLASSIC and important CARS - open thread:

EJB said:
The British military used them. In a 3 month period I did very many miles in one....they were a real pain to start but always did..... just as the battery was about to give up! ;)
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Hi, from 1968 to 1971 I had a 1953 VW convertible. I always had to find a downhill parking position to get it started. The "heating" just let cold exhaust fumes in.

I had the feeling it was colder inside the car than outside. (But I also have fond memories of close personal contacts in the car, in the days when I lived with my parents ... ;),
(Tina Turner's steamy windows --- ))
 
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If only we were allowed to do similar at the moment!
 
Can only guess that it has just come out of the side road rather than getting a bit sideways...
 
Lucky for you he wasn't going too fast!
 
Although the Jaguar they have at Dartmoor Zoo quite enjoys playing in it!
 
Hi, another delivery van of the early 50s ... :

Belonged to Auto Union, later rebranded as AUDI :

L1002801_DxO-L50c-2.jpg



DKW was expanded as Das Kleine Wunder (the small miracle) by the company, Deutscher Kinder-Wagen by children ... :


L1002802_DxO-L50c-2-c.jpg


3=6 : A 3-cylinder two-stroke runs as vibration-free as a 6-cylinder four-stroke, which was somewhat true, taking manufacturing tolerances of the era into account ...



L1002803_DxO-L50c-4-c.jpg



L1002800_DxO-L50c-4-c.jpg
 
Shame it's not a bit cheaper!
 
Hybrids aren't (now) defined as E-cars unless they have a significant battery only range. The i-Pace is £64,625 compared to an XE at £32,815 (both figures taken from the front page of a Google search and are the cheapest price immediately visible.)
 
Nod said:
Hybrids aren't (now) defined as E-cars unless they have a significant battery only range. The i-Pace is £64,625 compared to an XE at £32,815 (both figures taken from the front page of a Google search and are the cheapest price immediately visible.)
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Hi, in Germany, there is the distinction between hybrid (former TOYOTA Prius) and plug-in hybrid, batteries being charged by external power.

Plug-in hybrids ike the E-Jag are also subsidised and enjoy the e-car benefits, such as free parking. Some people are said to buy the plug-ins and use them only with petrol ... ---

(If I were forced to buy an e-car, I would buy a plug-in. (I expect that soon the petrol-only running will be checked, and subsidies reclaimed ...))
 
The I-Pace is purely electric, not a hybrid of any sort. There are plug-in hybrid versions of the E and F pace SUVs as well as what Jaguar describe as "mild hybrid" versions of the E and F paces as well as the XE and XF.
 
Nod said:
The I-Pace is purely electric, not a hybrid of any sort. There are plug-in hybrid versions of the E and F pace SUVs as well as what Jaguar describe as "mild hybrid" versions of the E and F paces as well as the XE and XF.
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Oh, I have just shown how little interest I take in e-cars ... ---:sorry:
 
I have a foot in both camps. My car is an XF and my wife's city car is a Nissan Leaf.
 
Just occurred to me that AUSTIN Healey Sprites (I think that's a Mk 2*?) morphed into MORRIS Group Midgets. While both Austin and Morris had by that time been absorbed into the BMC (which later morphed into British Leyland), they had been competitors around a decade before then.


* Not 100% sure - the Mk 2 had sliding windows but no external door handles, the Mk 3 had wind up windows and external door handles. Can't quite make out whether the above example has sliding windows or the split is just the quarterlights of a Mk 3! 0-60 (MPH) took about 20 seconds...
 
Nod said:
Just occurred to me that AUSTIN Healey Sprites (I think that's a Mk 2*?) morphed into MORRIS Group Midgets. While both Austin and Morris had by that time been absorbed into the BMC (which later morphed into British Leyland), they had been competitors around a decade before then.


* Not 100% sure - the Mk 2 had sliding windows but no external door handles, the Mk 3 had wind up windows and external door handles. Can't quite make out whether the above example has sliding windows or the split is just the quarterlights of a Mk 3! 0-60 (MPH) took about 20 seconds...
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Hi, this is a Mk 3, as this (bad) picture from 2018 shows. (There are small triangular windows behind the front screen, matching the wind up windows.)


D80_2330-n70c.jpg



(This pic brings back memories from 1964, when I travelled to a racing weekend in Spa/Francorchamp as a passenger in one. German two seater sports cars were rare at the time,
and English sports cars were exotic. Those were the days, when 90 mph on the Autobahn was quite fast. VW beetles had a top speed of 70 mph.

I also remember that I paid my share of the petrol for the trip, 18 Deutsche Mark, it was, I think... )

Here is a better pic from 2017 :

D80_7434-n70c-tp.jpg
 
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Thanks for the extra pics, Immo. Definitely show them to be the quarterlights (small triangular windows in front of the main side windows.)
 
Well, a front wheel drive BMW, anyway! ;)
 
Nod said:
Well, a front wheel drive BMW, anyway! ;)
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Hi, three acquaintances had/have (BMW) Minis, and all were/are happy with them. - I find the retro-design much better than the VW Beetle's ... ---

But now a proper MINI!


D80_2236-n70.jpg
 
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No problem with the BMW effort, just with it being called a MINI (it's a fairly large car in comparison to the real Mini!) And that it was part of BMW's rape of the British car industry when they bought Rover, allegedly to keep it as a going concern but as it turns out, to get the MINI name and LandRover's 4x4 technology.
 
Nod said:
No problem with the BMW effort, just with it being called a MINI (it's a fairly large car in comparison to the real Mini!) And that it was part of BMW's rape of the British car industry when they bought Rover, allegedly to keep it as a going concern but as it turns out, to get the MINI name and LandRover's 4x4 technology.
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Hi, I was quite surprised when I looked up the Countryman's boot size. Making the MINI bigger could be explained by moving to a wider and more profitable customer base.

Small cars are not very profitable, and companies making them (in France and Italy) have their difficulties ...

I wouldn't say BMW raped the British car industry. These were take-overs, and then you try to make the most of the assets you bought. This is business-life.

And why did not any British car company take over BMW or Mercedes ?

Product names like MINI belong to the IP when you buy a company, and you may use it as an owner. The same goes for LandRover's 4x4 technology.

The (BMW) Mini is a better car now. - And I am not sure about LandRover quality. There are quite moving stories about new DEFENDERs on youtube ...
 
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