Jump to content

Automotive bull5hit facts thread


Taff

Recommended Posts

June Whitfield and Terry Scott still hold the record for the furthest distance travelled around MIRA in 24 hours.  Achieved in a Princess 1700HL in standard spec they were aided by slipstream created by James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi towing caravans behind their Formula One cars.  

Scott, a promising F3 star was once described by Jim Clark as “The only man I ever feared” said after the event that  “the slipstream instantly added  500 revs onto the B series engine at which point is was as silent as a fish“.

After the event they celebrated by having Terrys boss round for dinner (although it didn’t go well apparently)

 

1BAB7775-B4DA-4045-B6F0-4AFA7C8A2F81.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shortly after commercial television began Associated Rediffusion poached Barry Bucknell from the BBC. Barry Bucknell's Banger Bonanza was cancelled after only three weeks because viewers felt that his attempt to poularise the catch phrase "Hold out your hand" was in poor taste given the number of people who were crippled by polio.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Parky said:

June Whitfield and Terry Scott still hold the record for the furthest distance travelled around MIRA in 24 hours.  Achieved in a Princess 1700HL in standard spec they were aided by slipstream created by James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi towing caravans behind their Formula One cars.  

Scott, a promising F3 star was once described by Jim Clark as “The only man I ever feared” said after the event that  “the slipstream instantly added  500 revs onto the B series engine at which point is was as silent as a fish“.

After the event they celebrated by having Terrys boss round for dinner (although it didn’t go well apparently)

 

1BAB7775-B4DA-4045-B6F0-4AFA7C8A2F81.jpeg

1700 would be an "O" series ( pedant mode off).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 From 1963 to the late 80's, my dad worked as a manager at Fords in Halewood. He single handedly was responsible for intructing his shift workers to grind away a small lip of metal from the rear wheel arch pressings for Escorts and Orions. He realised that these extra bits  of bare metal were being missed by the paint shop robots and led to corrosion forming in the rear arches.  So if you ever saw an Escort or Orion with solid rear arches, that was solely down to my dad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Austin 1100 was originally called the Austin 1098.  However a bean counter realised that 1100 only used two numbers, whereas 1098 was four different ones.  The saving in toolmaking costs for the rear badging amounted to  savings which Donald Stokes used to buy a new hat for his wife.

The car itself was originally intended to be slightly smaller as demonstrated by Alec Issigonis In this early press photo.  However this prototype was used by the construction industry (and is still in use today!) as the benchmark for garage dimensions in the U.K.

4EE17CEE-E438-4839-9FF8-6690C28EBE06.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many people believe that the Dockers' excesses at Daimler were an isolated incident. Few are aware of  the behaviour of Pehr Gyllenhammar and his wife Christina at Volvo. When shadows lengthen in Sweden the older men sit round the fire and talk of the "Gyllenhammar 300s" - a series of show cars created by Christina for various motor shows. Few who saw one could forget the opulence ofthe 340 GL Blue Line show car. The pinstriping alone cost as much as a Volvo line worker earned in eight minutes.

The Volvo board tolerated the ridiculous expenditure but when they repeated the stunt with the 340 GL Red Line strike action by assembly line workers disgruntled about the tinted glass forced a boardroom showdown and Pehr was voted out. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/26/2021 at 1:07 PM, dozeydustman said:

The Citroen Visa got its name after the designer needed a stamp on his passport to bring his design drawings to the board of Group PSA

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Those who have read the small print of the recently signed treaty between the UK and EU need read no further, but everyone else please note that from 1/1/21 all visitors to France must have a fully stamped Citroen Visa to enter the country.

VAG have recently copyrighted the following model names  - Pasaporte (for SEAT),  Cestovni Pas (for Skoda), Reisepass (for VW and Audi) and Shove Your Bally Paperwork Up Your Arse, Johnny Foreigner (for Bentley); just in case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Large bottomed Renault Megane was voted the most reliable car in Europe by JD Power four years running.  Particular mention was made of the reliability of the Turbodiesel models and the quality electrics which “never gave trouble”.

They were difficult years for Honda, Toyota, and Lexus who saw their cars firmly planted right at the bottom of the tables.

Hang on, I’m reading it upside down

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good news if you own a Diesel car !

I was once told by a Manager at a company i worked for years ago, " Diesels don't have Cambelts or Chains or even Camshafts or Valves because they use Direct Injection"

So next time you go to Kwikfit for a Service and they advise you that your cambelt is due on your Diesel car, tell them to f@@k @ff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John Deere was a small, sinewy man who worked in an office.  He hated farms, and dirt, and machinery.  He also hated the colours green and yellow.  Unfortunately for John, the local tractor collective also hated him and sarcastically named and coloured their machinery as a massive wind up 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/28/2021 at 12:38 AM, sloth said:

Vauxhall Nova in Spanish means joyriders wet dream. 

 

ford escorts are so names after the designers of the mk1 got shit faced and had an office party worth copious coke and hookers. it was originally called the ford overpriced scentax wankmobile. 

True story.

Locally we have a brass house called Minx Escorts. 

I have no idea whether the ladies are familiar with Roots 1725 and Ford crossflow motors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few little titbits about the Alfa Romeo Montreal for you.  The vents on the bodywork behind the door were always intended to be an external graphic equalizer, hooked up to the sound system inside the car, with a company in Montreal, Quebec, contracted to provide the oversized LEDs that were to fill the holes.  People would have you believe it was regulations that Alfa refused to meet that led to the Montreal not being sold in Canada, in actual fact it was because the LED contract fell through so they decided to not sell the car there, but keep the name, purely out of spite.  Additionally, the headlights were always intended to be much smaller, copying the treatment on the Peugeot 504 with its rectangular units, but to meet Canadian regulations the larger round lights were used and the grilles hastily designed to meet the requirement.  In typical Italian fashion, the original body pressings were not altered, instead each grille was cut out from the original panel and then fabricated by a small traditional coachbuilder.  This is why the headlight grilles on Montreals are not interchangable between cars.

1072445-1536.thumb.jpg.61f7848ec89ae9b2d21340f0a7702516.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Perodua Kenari was never offered in Finland on account of its name meaning “Moth Fucker” in the local language. It was instead offered as a four door saloon renamed the Karhutikkari which also failed to sell owing to the name translating as Bear Sucker.

Perodua withdrew from Finland shortly after when it was pointed out their company name had no “K”s in it which is technically illegal in Finland

Spoiler
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Alfa 90’s removable briefcase was described as a cheese transportation solution in French and Italian brochures.  Spanish brochures boasted that it could contain up to fifty two mice. Many thought this was down to the Spaniards’ attitudes towards the treatment of animals but Alfa Romeo claimed that it was a simple translation error.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rml2345 said:

Contrary to popular belief you could have a Model-T in colours other than black. Choices included charcoal, midnight anthracite and very very very dark grey. 

Ford can therefore be credited with inventing the current Audi colour palette. 

image.png.ef823fa5f03a4d2e46e0ee2b4fd2bc92.png

A conversation being held in Ingolstadt, now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just reading the thread on limited edition cars reminded me that, following the success of VW in naming cars after famous rock bands, New Holland tried it.

Unfortunately their Wurzel Combine Harvester was a failure, as they hadn't taken into account that farmers would be too tight to pay any extra, even if the special model did have a cider chilling cabinet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

toyotas land cruiser colorado is sold as the prado in australia and the pradonkadonk in ghetto areas of the USA.

Alec Issigonis was directly responsible for BL australia going tits oop. he saw the designs for the P76  -realised it wasnt FWD and was vastly superior to the shit he was peddling through BL's design dept in blighty and promptly ordered an attack by angry clamidya riddled koalas also known as Red Robbo. He suceeded but was forced out of BL by Donny Stokes and his merry men, as he was, quote " a total and utter strangle-wanker" - Lord Stokes autobiography "Me an them shitty fucken cars" penguin press. 1978

PSA designed the 106/AX range to be driven by gammy footed midgets with a hip issue. to this end Motability bought 3000 in a dashing duck egg blue to replace the utter wheeled abortion that is the Invacar.  thus the Motability scheme was born. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David Bache was once fined £25 for climbing into the monkey cage at Chessington and decking a Bonobo during a BL off-site team building day.  

He had the last laugh though  as both Harris Mann and Roy Haynes had bet £25 each that he wouldn’t do it so even after the fine he was up on the deal.  
 


 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, sloth said:

 

PSA designed the 106/AX range to be driven by gammy footed midgets with a hip issue. to this end Motability bought 3000 in a dashing duck egg blue to replace the utter wheeled abortion that is the Invacar.  thus the Motability scheme was born. 

There's no bullshit there.  All is truth. 

Invacars,  are what you say. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The engines also lasted a long time if the owner was an average sized man as normal sized feet never achieved full throttle pedal travel.  However clutches went with alarming regularity for the same reason and 106’s were the most likely car to rear end you in traffic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...