Automotive bull5hit facts thread

[MorrisItalSLX]

K.I.T.T. was supposed to be an MG Maestro, but due to importing difficulties a Pontiac Trans Am was used instead.

[martc]

  On 14/12/2019 at 19:39, Billy - Medhurst said:

When Ford USA were looking for a new name for their "Pony car" they came up with mustang.

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In the mid 70's Bert Hyundai, fed up with nailing together old Cortinas and wanting his brand to become both more upmarket and sporting, asked his design team to come up with their own equivalent to Ford's Pony car.

The rest, as they say, is history.

[ProgRocker]

Wanting to move away from using the titles of noblemen in their model names, in 1979 Vauxhall employed the services of the famous Astronomer Patrick Moore. He came up wirh the Astra and Nova names for their 1980s hatchbacks. 

The saloon version of the mark 2 Astra was going to be called 'Red Dwarf' but while the sitcom of the same name was in development, the BBC caught wind of it and forbode Vauxhall to use it, hence Belmont. 

[vulgalour]

An unfortunate quirk of Patrick Moore's involvement with Vauxhall is why so many are seen with only one headlight working, an homage to the great man's eyewear of choice.

[andy18s]

  On 17/12/2019 at 10:11, MorrisItalSLX said:

K.I.T.T. was supposed to be an MG Maestro, but due to importing difficulties a Pontiac Trans Am was used instead.

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Indeed,it was going to be named Austin Rovers Greatest Hero.

[Formula Autos]

The Asquith, a Ford Transit derived “retro” van from the early ‘80s was originally a movie prop, designed for a reboot of the “Confessions of” series of films which was to be called “Confessions of a Kit Car Builder”. The proposed star of the film, Robin Asquith, reprising earlier roles, stipulated the name of the vehicle in his contract. Although the film never materialised, canny old Robin received royalties on every Asquith produced. 

[martc]

  On 18/12/2019 at 08:48, Formula Autos said:

The Asquith, a Ford Transit derived “retro” van from the early ‘80s was originally a movie prop, designed for a reboot of the “Confessions of” series of films ...

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I'm fairly certain an Asquith van did appear in 'Confessions of a 1920's Hermes Driver'. It was kitted out with a bed and was used for the 'action' scenes. Unfortunately Robin snagged his bare arse once too often on exposed wood screws and had a mega strop. The Asquith was replaced with Corporal Jones' Butchers van from Dad's Army. The gun ports in the side allowed special 'voyeur' scenes to be filmed for the extras section of the 'Deluxe Gentleman's XL' Super8 print sold to selected Soho peepshows.

[JeeExEll]

General Motors wasn't a real person.

[quicksilver]

  On 15/12/2019 at 09:26, Billy - Medhurst said:

The  Dukes of hazard Dodge charger should have been a Morris Marina coupe but the suspension used to snap on landing after the jumps. So the unloved old two for a dollar Dodge charger was used instead.

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That's true and here's the proof

VEV 997L - 1972 Morris Marina 1.3 Super Deluxe Coupe by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[Parky]

Tone Loc’s classic song “Funky Cold Medina” was originally written about a Vauxhall Meriva with AirCon he found at Car Giant in Staines.  Sadly when he dictated the lyrics to his mate in Los Angeles, the phone line was a little crackly hence the slight name change.

 

[New POD]

Trains and trams and buses are going to be the future when cars are banned from all roads in 2020.  Electric-Cycling may be acceptable in the countryside. 

Tractors will become very sought after. 

[New POD]

  On 02/01/2020 at 10:05, JeeExEll said:

General Motors wasn't a real person.

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But General Stonewall Jackson was.  The inventor of the internal combustion engine in 1789. 

Unfortunately he used the engine to power the looms of Yorkshire. 

Eventually he made trousers which were advertised in the Liverpool Echo in 1975.

He had lived over 200 years. 

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1950-01-01/1999-12-31?basicsearch="stonewall jackson"&phrasesearch=stonewall jackson&retrievecountrycounts=false&sortorder=dayearly&newspapertitle=liverpool%2Becho&page=1

[Crackers]

  On 17/12/2019 at 10:01, New POD said:

I'm an accident. 

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And I'm David Coulthard.

[New POD]

  On 02/01/2020 at 22:19, Crackers said:

And I'm David Coulthard.

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And IN David's Cult-yard ? 

[Noel Tidybeard]

  On 02/01/2020 at 20:25, Parky said:

Tone Loc’s classic song “Funky Cold Medina” was originally written about a Vauxhall Meriva with AirCon he found at Car Giant in Staines.  Sadly when he dictated the lyrics to his mate in Los Angeles, the phone line was a little crackly hence the slight name change.

 

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no, no, no, it was written about a 1973 maurice marina in harvest gold with a fcuked heater matrix over the christmas period in the snow

[DoctorRetro]

I will keep my current car for at least six months. 

[New POD]

  On 03/01/2020 at 08:55, TheDoctor said:

I will keep my current car for at least six months. 

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Thread winner. All entries now closed. 

 

[DavidB]

Robin cars are so called because a friendly robin used to visit the factory daily on the look out for scraps of food from the workers. Such was the popularity of the little bird, the company owner named his company after it.

Unfortunately, the bird was crushed to death under the wheels of the first car that rolled out of the factory, a Robin Delboy.

[dozeydustman]

Austin motors weren’t named after Herbert Austin as commonly thought. They were named after the antipodean metal From which the very first car was made, hence AUS-tin

[Parky]

Countach is a Piedmontese expression of rude wonder, successfully applied to the seminal Lamborghini.

Matra attempted their own French version but sadly went under before the announcement of the revolutionary “Zut Alors” with five abreast seating, fibreglass chassis and steel panels.  

[dozeydustman]

The Horsey Horseless had a city delivery van version, named the Donkeyless

[PiperCub]

What was the favourite old one with the Citroen SM?

Something along the lines of if you put the A/C on with a combination of other things &/or circumstances then the engine blew up?

[PiperCub]

  On 02/01/2020 at 10:05, JeeExEll said:

General Motors wasn't a real person.

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But Major Disaster was.

Along with Captain Cockup but we were always told that we were never at home to the latter. 

[Parky]

  On 01/02/2020 at 17:12, PiperCub said:

What was the favourite old one with the Citroen SM?

Something along the lines of if you put the A/C on with a combination of other things &/or circumstances then the engine blew up?

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Was it the Lancia Thema that couldn’t be started with the wheels at full lock as it broke the camshaft that’s you are thinking of?
 

Another fact is putting a “Fake Taxi” sticker on your car makes women 2000% more likely to have sex with you in said vehicle
 

 

[PiperCub]

I think it was SM related. Not heard of the Lancia one. 

[dozeydustman]

  On 01/02/2020 at 17:57, PiperCub said:

I think it was SM related. Not heard of the Lancia one. 

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It applies to both the SM and the Thema as they were actually very very tough mechanically, but full Right lock plus the vibration of starting the engine managed to snap the brake pad wear wire on the front left wheel, the loom end of which would earth out on the inner wing and burn out all the engine electrics.

[DavidB]

The transit was originally designed as a metal box with a seat for transvestites to sit and contemplate their lifestyle. Only later did they add wheels and an engine.

[Craig the Princess]

The first ever AA man was actually an absolute arsehole.

[Tamworthbay]

  On 02/02/2020 at 15:55, Craig the Princess said:

The first ever AA man was actually an absolute arsehole.

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And an alcoholic, sadly his name has been lost to history......

[Craig the Princess]

  On 02/02/2020 at 16:07, Tamworthbay said:

And an alcoholic, sadly his name has been lost to history......

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He did invent a very useful battery though.