Automotive bull5hit facts thread

[fred]

Vauxhall stole the Ford Corsair name - but the designer was a chav with a wrongly positioned baseball cap and called his new Hatchback design Corsa - cos he was from 'darn sarf'

[LC Torana]

Maneuvering your car to the kerb was termed "parking" in honour of Park Kim, the Korean who first developed the technique.

 

Fun fact:  In Korea to this day, you cannot say you are going to "park" your car without paying royalties to the estate.

[Bear]

Up until 1967, reverse gear was an optional extra on cars sold in the UK.

[inconsistant]

Princess Anne owns 8 Reliant Scimitars.

[Noel Tidybeard]

up until the late 50's cars were driven in black and white

[Noel Tidybeard]

princess anne used to be a test driver for a small plastics company in tamworth in her spare time

[inconsistant]

Most people don't understand the off side rule but it's a handy way to remember which side of the car is which.

 

Off side = passenger side, the side you turn 'off' the road

Near side = driver side, the side 'near' the driver.

[castros_bro]

Most of the larger German cars with manual gearboxes have a rarely used feature which enables relaxed cursing at advanced autobahn speeds. The so called "Rapid" setting can be manually engaged at speeds over 150Km/h but as it is not useed often it can be difficult to engage. Accelerate to 160Km/h then -clutch in- engage gearbox setting "R"- get in there you basstaard - and relax....

[inconsistant]

  On 10/08/2015 at 07:16, castros_bro said:

 relaxed cursing at advanced autobahn speeds. 

 

LOL.

[rml2345]

The PSA four speed gearbox as used in the AX and others actually has thirteen speeds with range change and splitter. It allows the one litre models to attain speeds of up to 207mph and 157mpg at a steady 56mph. Sadly due to cost and weight concerns, the High/Low range and splitter controls were deleted at the eleventh hour leaving just control of the bottom four gears.

[DSdriver]

  On 10/08/2015 at 00:51, Frank Gallagher said:

up until the late 50's cars were driven in black and white

 

This was because a black and white driving licence was cheaper than a colour one.

[Felly Magic]

The DVLA in Swansea is an extremely well run, and efficient organisation that NEVER cocks anything up EVER

[quicksilver]

The MacPherson strut was invented by a young engineer and singer called Graham MacPherson. Music industry bosses felt that a background in automotive engineering wasn't appropriate for a member of a two-tone band, so when MacPherson hit the big time with his band Madness he adopted the nickname Suggs. His past as an engineer remained hidden until it was finally revealed when he became the presenter of the second series of 'Salvage Squad'.

 

Some say the strut's design was actually inspired by the famously long legs of supermodel Elle MacPherson, but this is just a myth and the above is the true story.

[DavidB]

^That's absolutely true.

Madness was a suspension component manufacturing business, before branching out into two-tone/ska-revival in the early 80's (and then completely abandoning the motor industry).

[Andrew353w]

A little-known E.U. directive, number 217/3842/1997/RTC states, inter alia, that:

 

All service stations operating in any country that is a member of the "European Union" are required to have a permanent supply of pasties and pork pies available during opening hours. In addition, those operating in the south-west of the United Kingdom are further required to stock ONLY Ginsters products, as these are a product with "regional status" (stilton cheese being another example.)

 

Worth quoting this piece of law when you find your favourite "mobile nibble" is unavailable.....

[quicksilver]

  On 10/08/2015 at 18:42, DavidB said:

^That's absolutely true.

Madness was a suspension component manufacturing business, before branching out into two-tone/ska-revival in the early 80's (and then completely abandoning the motor industry).

Of course, how could I have forgotten? That's how Madness got their reputation for being 'nutty boys' as they were always very particular in ensuring all the nuts in their suspension components were of the highest quality and torqued to the correct settings. It's less well known that the name 'Suggs' is actually an abbreviation of 'Suggestions' and came about when he installed a suggestion box on the production line in an effort to further improve the quality of the parts.

[Taff]

Brian Clough and Don Revie were joint silent partners in the first Lada dealership in Nottingham, in 1978

[Formula Autos]

Reliant and The Royal Family

 

In the mid-60s, Prince Philip was a design consultant for Reliant, resulting in this tasty vehicle:

It was known as the Scimitar Triplex GTS, and the design was credited to Ogle. However, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was very hand-on with the design, with the estate style rear end designed specifically with grouse shoots at Balmoral in mind.

 

When his young daughter Princess Anne complained of uncomfortably hot conditions when seated in the rear of the car, the Prince had the bright idea of asking for her help in designing the next prototype. This drawing, fashioned in a study at Windsor Castle, was drawn up by the pair, and sent to Reliant for evaluation. Apparently Princess Anne preferred the glass area reduced, but didn't want to sacrifice the practicality of an estate car.

 

Productionisation works started almost immediately on receipt of the sketch, and Reliant ended up producing this prototype, again with the help of the boffins at Triplex:

Thus, by 1969, the shape of the Scimitar GTE was starting to become a reality. Unfortunately the headlamp covers had to be deleted on cost grounds, resulting in the production model known as the SE5:

Here is Princess Anne sitting in the model given to her by Reliant as a thank-you for her efforts. The facelifted model was even called an SE5a - the a being for Anne.

 

However, her work was not yet done. Impressed by the newly released Triumph Stag, the young Princess proposed a convertible model with an integral roll bar. It was rumoured this was so that the vehicle could be deployed in times of need as an open top parade car for royal duties, with the rear seat dignitaries being able to lean on the roll bar behind the front seats. Initial tests with a Stag and modified SE5 met with mixed success - the distance to the roll bar from the front of the rear seat squab being insufficient to allow comfortable use whilst standing in position.  Further development was needed, including lengthening works to the chassis. Eventually the longer SE6 was released and, eventually, the GTC variant. It is shown here undergoing testing at Millbrook:

 

It is not known whether any GTCs were ever used for official duties.

 

After the demise of the original Scimitar line, and its replacement by the smaller SS1 series, Princess Anne became disillusioned with Reliant and formed the Middlebridge compant to take over production. She is pictured here with one of the few Middlebridge produced Scimitars:

The Princess's love of speed (see various speeding tickets) also saw Middlebridge briefly becoming owners of the Brabham Formula 1 team, after Bernie Ecclestone sold out.

 

Rumours also abound that the SS1 was in fact designed by Prince Edward, with Michelotti acting as a paid distraction, but this has never been proven. However, this sketch seen in one of the libraries in Buckingham Palace lends credence to the theory:

[Justin Case]

The Royal connection with Reliant as documented above is well known. It is also a fact that due to this family connection for several years the Scimitar was the best selling imported car in both Greece and Germany. Unfortunately sales in Spain were disappointing, in spite of Michael Portillo being Minister of Transport at the time.

[John F]

The Reliant Company own the rights to Princess Anne.

[Felly Magic]

The MG6 has taken the record for fastest selling car of all time, and has rock solid residual values. Source Austin Rover Online

[fred]

Like Princess Anne who cheered for the Scimitar, Princess Diana also caused an upsurge in Metro sales when she was seen in hers.

A certain Army Gent loved the Metro so much Diana met him, and thats why Prince Harry has red hair - and no bald spots ............

[Bear]

Before Renault experimented with the exotic "Monaco" and "Biarritz" limited editions, British Leyland customer trialled the Morris Marina Grimsby, with stylish brown paintwork and yellow sou'wester PVC seat trim, and the Austin Allegro Romford, of which no trace or memory remains.

[Bear]

Due to the complexity of applying new paint finishes in the 1960s and 70s, Vauxhall's Coppertone Starfire was actually a bottle of Coppertone sunscreen carefully rubbed into the bare metal, before a coating of saline solution with fine salt crystals was applied to add that additional sparkle.

[Noel Tidybeard]

  On 10/08/2015 at 15:05, DSdriver said:

This was because a black and white driving licence was cheaper than a colour one.

RED CARD that is an true fact and is therefore disallowed

[fred]

Elvis once took a fancy to a MK1 Ford Cortina - so bought one, and had nothing but trouble with it, he took it back to the dealers. But they gave him nothing but grief, so he put a hidden message in of his most famous tunes Suspicious minds, '' Cort ina trap'' 

[warren t claim]

  On 10/08/2015 at 20:53, Justin Case said:

The Royal connection with Reliant as documented above is well known. It is also a fact that due to this family connection for several years the Scimitar was the best selling imported car in both Greece and Germany. Unfortunately sales in Spain were disappointing, in spite of Michael Portillo being Minister of Transport at the time.

Don't forget that it was also the best selling car in Turkey as well but due to to fact that Scimitar sounds like the Turkish word for incest the car was renamed Anusol.

[Bear]

Chris DeBurgh's accent has resulted in many people thinking he sang about the M25, despite the obvious fact that London is a glorious enjoyable destination full of wonderful people.

 

He actually sang "This is the road... To Hull".

[Felly Magic]

That was Dire Rea that sung Road to Hull! BL planned in the 1970's to rename the MGB the Leyland Sherpa GT, but then realised the actual van handled better and was marginally faster, even with the diesel engine than the so called sports coupe

[rml2345]

What is less well known is that there was to be an MG version of the Sherpa, known as the MGV but the idea was dropped due to cost and complication.

The MG Rover vans were a silent tribute to the MG van idea.