Automotive bull5hit facts thread

[davehedgehog31]

The Ford Aerostar was penned by Ford's head of design as a tribute to Simple Minds' Charlie Burchill 

A striking resemblance, I'm sure you'll agree. 

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, davehedgehog31 said:

The Ford Aerostar was penned by Ford's head of design as a tribute to Simple Minds' Charlie Burchill 

A striking resemblance, I'm sure you'll agree. 

I think a thread of cars that look like people might be fun.

[Dobloseven]

MINI are planning a new variant aimed at " permanently running late school run mums." It'll have cereal bowl holders, slots for toast and tiny desks for last minute homework. The MINI Onesie. 

[Dobloseven]

To celebrate 10 years of the dour Northern crime drama,Land rover are planning a "Vera" special edition based on a SWB Defender, with faded blue paint and off white roof with discoloured steel wheels. Production will be strictly limited to 500,or how many they can sell, whichever is the greater. The lucky buyers will be entered into a prize draw with the winner getting a" Vera Experience Day". This comprises of driving round the north east on a cold and rainy day dining on petrol station sandwiches and coffee in paper cups. Culminating in a showdown in a windswept derelict farmyard where Vera confronts you. "You murdered him/her in cold blood didn't you pet, because you couldn't bear the thought of him/her being with anyone else". This is your cue to run away, straight into the arms of Veras sidekick who's been in something else on the telly as well, but you can't think what. As an alternative, you can opt to blow your brains out with a shotgun, with Vera shouting "Give yourself up, pet, it's not worth it!". Five runners up will receive a Land rover branded raincoat and hat worth £875.

[twosmoke300]

Don’t forget the trousers with the waterproofed right leg only . 
 

[Metal Guru]

15 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

To celebrate 10 years of the dour Northern crime drama,Land rover are planning a "Vera" special edition based on a SWB Defender, with faded blue paint and off white roof with discoloured steel wheels. Production will be strictly limited to 500,or how many they can sell, whichever is the greater. The lucky buyers will be entered into a prize draw with the winner getting a" Vera Experience Day". This comprises of driving round the north east on a cold and rainy day dining on petrol station sandwiches and coffee in paper cups. Culminating in a showdown in a windswept derelict farmyard where Vera confronts you. "You murdered him/her in cold blood didn't you pet, because you couldn't bear the thought of him/her being with anyone else". This is your cue to run away, straight into the arms of Veras sidekick who's been in something else on the telly as well, but you can't think what. As an alternative, you can opt to blow your brains out with a shotgun, with Vera shouting "Give yourself up, pet, it's not worth it!". Five runners up will receive a Land rover branded raincoat and hat worth £875.

I’d rather go on a Sweeney or Professionals experience day, driving round disused industrial sites in 70s fast Fords would be brilliant. 

[ProgRocker]

In the early 1970s Hillman's marketing bods were devising a trim level for the Avenger. The 'Gay Look' edition - in tribute to the 1950s  Minx. However, a recent graduate advised them that meaning of the word had developed during that time and the plans were shelved. 

[MikeR]

Like the forgotten rifle ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgotten_Winchester

Many car parts litter the countryside ,going undiscovered for years , like this long lost gear box and rod  ..

Lying undisturbed and forgotten untill a as member walks past , and clocks it ..

Where it's image is displayed to the hive mind in an attempt to I'd it , whilst it quietly rots away in the middle of a forest , far from any other remains ..

[Dobloseven]

Isn't that a steering box? 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Contrary to popular belief, the Ford Cortina was not named after an Italian ski resort, it was named after one of the paintshop boys got lucky with a girl from the trim shop.

[MikeR]

4 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

Isn't that a steering box? 

I suspect so ...

in many back wood places , cars would be stripped to make weapons , with the steering columm being a faourite for making rifles ,

this one  may have escaped that fate only to be left rusting in some back wood ....

[vulgalour]

The K11 Micra has a sealed-for-life engine, which is why you shouldn't ever change the oil.

[anonymous user]

On 9/24/2022 at 1:09 PM, Metal Guru said:

I’d rather go on a Sweeney or Professionals experience day, driving round disused industrial sites in 70s fast Fords would be brilliant. 

With cardboard boxes and fruit and veg stalls to drive through, count me in

[DavidB]

On 30/08/2022 at 22:51, davehedgehog31 said:

The Ford Aerostar was penned by Ford's head of design as a tribute to Simple Minds' Charlie Burchill 

A striking resemblance, I'm sure you'll agree. 

 

[62 Austin]

Open Jeeps will float as well as Volkswagen Beetles.

I saw a graphic demonstration of this in 1974, when a drunk couple ran a Jeep CJ-5 into Otto Lake, Alaska at 30 mph when a $100 bet was made that Jeeps would float as well as VWs.  The Jeep sank and ruined it's engine and the GF  beat the driver over his head with her purse, but.........
a) the Jeep did float for about 11 seconds

b) to be fair, there should have been a VW in the test for comparison

 

 

[62 Austin]

The imbedded wires in a Yugo rear window were added when customers requested heating elements there to warm their hands when pushing it.

[Metal Guru]

In the 60s , the pencil factory in Keswick had a bespoke version of the Bedford HA built for them, the HB.

[Metal Guru]

When Skoda originally came up with the Octavia name , they intended using it on top of the range models with V8s (Oct), akin to the Audi RS models. However , VAG bosses thought it encroached too much on Audi territory , the plan was ditched and the name assigned to the mid range erm range?

Anyway, Skoda needed a new name for their top of the range model, and held an in-house competition. The winner was “Fan-dabby-dozy” due to the Krankies being enormous stars in the Czech Republic. However, this wouldn’t fit on the boot lid , so management over ruled it and came up with the terminally bland “Superb”.

 

[Dobloseven]

4 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

In the 60s , the pencil factory in Keswick had a bespoke version of the Bedford HA built for them, the HB.

It still exists and has been converted to run on unleaded. 

[Motown]

Crab sticks dont actually contain any crab and from 1993 manufacturers have been legally obliged to label them 'Crab Flavoured Sticks'

[Metal Guru]

8 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

It still exists and has been converted to run on unleaded. 

The factory has been moved to Workington but the museum remains on the same site.

[martc]

20 hours ago, Motown said:

Crab sticks dont actually contain any crab and from 1993 manufacturers have been legally obliged to label them 'Crab Flavoured Sticks'

Crab sticks are a lucky spin-out from the research carried out by BMC, in the '60's, on bio-degradable underseal for their new range of 1800 saloons. BMC used fish parts from the Longbridge canteen swill bins.

Jaguar and Panther were partners in the research but found their cars turning themselves inside out looking for where the smell of fishy goodness was coming from.

[Blunderguts]

[MiniMinorMk3]

Scratchwood services name was changed to London Gateway by Dictator Khan. He intends to put a toll gate on the motorway and charge £20 to get into London. Luckily it will be free to leave.

[Blunderguts]

British Leyland cars were equipped with a sound system that constantly played the Rice Krispies noise. This, now rare, fitment was used to hide the noise of the car going rusty.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 09/12/2022 at 15:02, Blunderguts said:

British Leyland cars were equipped with a sound system that constantly played the Rice Krispies noise. This, now rare, fitment was used to hide the noise of the car going rusty.

this was actually a Lucas Audio unit and was available for all 70's cars but Frod were on strike so often not many Tinacorners got fitted with one 😁

[Dobloseven]

80sTV comedy"The Gaffer", was originally going to be a factual programme, called"The Giffer". Each week Bill Maynard would aquire an old car and improve it bodily and mechanically, hoping to increase its value. At a late stage TV executives decided no one would actually ever watch such a show and hastily rewrote it into a sitcom where Bill definitely didn't look after his car. 40 years later modern TV execs decided it wasn't such a daft idea after all....... 

[Dobloseven]

On April 1st 2023 filming will start on a new TV period police drama set in the early seventies . Invacop. In it Harry Styles plays a policeman left for dead by some bad guys when a stake out goes badly wrong. Miraculously he survives, but is left severely disabled. Determined to carry on crimefighting, he is given an AC Invacar(sic) modified by the police workshops with a Shorrocks supercharger and SU HS 4 carburettor. Props buyers will start searching for suitable cars in the new year. Which will be difficult as racing driver Graham Hill crushed them all after he tipped one over whilst competing in the British Grand Prix. However there's an elusive fellow on the internet who apparently  knows where there are some. They're hoping to buy about twenty as some will be destroyed in car chases, being blown up, jumping over humpback bridges and crashing into market stalls. 

[High Jetter]

Re-imagining of Ironside?

[Dobloseven]

13 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Re-imagining of Ironside?

Was thinking more of Ashes to Ashes. "Fire up the Model 70!"