Vehicle terminology in the media

[Urko]

Just watched a BBC news reporter refer to a flatbed (tilt/slide) recovery lorry as a "pickup van".  

John Thompson on the Police Interceptor voice over calls an artic tractor unit "the cab".

I've seen what we used to call an Ice Cream van called an Ice cream truck.

Everyone under 40 seems to use windshield instead of windscreen

[lesapandre]

The BBCs insistence on using the phrase "watching on" for onlookers or spectators really annoys me. It's so clumsy and mangled - and also smacks of a smug 'we know better than you attitude'.

Sorry not car related - but the one that always annoys me.

No idea what under 40's call bits of cars - I don't think they have any idea either...😂

[reb]

  On 02/01/2025 at 10:51, Urko said:

under 40

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The only people I know under 40 who actually know anything at all about cars seem to be the ones who are perpetually dressed in grease stained jeans and scuffed boots and have several cars none of which work.

Basically I mean it seems to be impossible to just know how to look after a car without it becoming your whole thing these days.

I for one have cut several people out of my life because the only time they would ever make the effort to see me was when they needed help with their car. 

[Dabooka]

It’s minor, but spare tyre in place of spare wheel does my head in.

Or even worse, ‘tire’ 🤬

[chadders]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:24, reb said:

The only people I know under 40 who actually know anything at all about cars seem to be the ones who are perpetually dressed in grease stained jeans and scuffed boots and have several cars none of which work.

Basically I mean it seems to be impossible to just know how to look after a car without it becoming your whole thing these days.

I for one have cut several people out of my life because the only time they would ever make the effort to see me was when they needed help with their car. 

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My sons know nothing about cars apart from being able to check the tyre pressures etc.. They have no interest, they're white goods apart from our T2 camper that the eldest occasionally borrows to take a lass out to the beach.

[reb]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:40, Dabooka said:

It’s minor, but spare tyre in place of spare wheel does my head in.

Or even worse, ‘tire’ 🤬

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I say spare tyres... when I'm referring to the bare tyres I have in my unit.

[Wgl2019]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:40, Dabooka said:

It’s minor, but spare tyre in place of spare wheel does my head in.

Or even worse, ‘tire’ 🤬

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Tiresome even..... 🤔

[Peter C]

In an old Top Gear Christmas special, Freddie Flintoff said that the Citroen BX has pneumatic suspension.

That pissed me off.

[Barry Cade]

Rover SDi.   Grrrrrr.

 

Robin Reliant ...  off fuck.

[comfortablynumb]

Anything with 'through' as a date 

It's from the first to the twentieth, not first through twentieth.

Anything Americanism 🤬

[Lord Sterling]

The (established) media seem to have quietly adopted Americanisms over time.

This is possibly to appease Americans of whom they seem to think are more important. In fact, this is evident across the spectrum. 

Take for example some British car manufacturers. I'll take, for instance, the Rover 800 or the XJ6. Here in the UK, our top spec model were nice, just nice, not amazing, just 'nice'. The American top-spec models had absolutely everything thrown at them. In the Mk1 Rover Sterling for example, they got leather door cards, integrated phones etc... we got none of this and any extras we did get were fitted like an after thought.

There does seem to be this "Americans r cool" baseline that everything from the UK media, to car manufacturers and others have quietly adopted.

[comfortablynumb]

I did read something a while ago about how China will overtake America as the major influencer in attitudes and behaviours in the next few years (can't remember how long)

At least the Chinese I've met could speak English.

As said before, the Americans haven't spoken it for years 

[reb]

  On 02/01/2025 at 18:54, comfortablynumb said:

I did read something a while ago about how China will overtake America as the major influencer in attitudes and behaviours in the next few years (can't remember how long)

At least the Chinese I've met could speak English.

As said before, the Americans haven't spoken it for years 

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Given how much time the yoof spend on tiktok, which is chinese, I'd say this process is already well under way.

[CaptainBoom]

From the young ‘uns (twenty somethings) at work.

‘Gear 2’ as opposed to second gear.

‘Stick shift’

‘Gas’ as opposed to accelerator. (although I would say that might be driving instructors needing a quick word to say and the above mentioned Septic influence.

[High Jetter]

  On 02/01/2025 at 10:51, Urko said:

John Thompson on the Police Interceptor voice over calls an artic tractor unit "the cab".

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TBF, JT usually knows what he's on about, and I suspect the use of 'cab' makes sense to more viewers that tractor unit.

  On 02/01/2025 at 20:16, CaptainBoom said:

From the young ‘uns (twenty somethings) at work.

‘Gear 2’ as opposed to second gear.

‘Stick shift’

‘Gas’ as opposed to accelerator. (although I would say that might be driving instructors needing a quick word to say and the above mentioned Septic influence.

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'gear 2' - ok, fine - but only if you're now going to use 'lane 1, lane 2' etc rather then 'slow and fast'

'stick shift' an old yankism. Slightly preferred to 'levver'

My driving instructor used 'gas' for that very reason, late 70s, as did IAM in 2000's

[reb]

Stick shift is a daft term anyway, autos still have a gearstick.

[Urko]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:40, Dabooka said:

It’s minor, but spare tyre in place of spare wheel does my head in.

Or even worse, ‘tire’ 🤬

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That reminds me, the cops in the most recent episode said a crim had "lost a wheel" after they stung his car and a tyre came off the wheel. I thought it was just a slip but later he went back and said he would retrive the wheel.  He picked up the tyre carcass and casually tossed it onto the verge.

[Spiny Norman]

Suspect it may be a Scottish thing but the gutter press up here have an annoying tendency to use the term 'motor' when referring to a whole vehicle. 
"The motor was stolen between 6 and 10"
The electric sunroof motor?
 

[Laney]

I'm all across this thread.

Sorry, not car related but I'm all across it anyway.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Hoops for wheels, FFS a tyre is hoop shaped.

[Angrydicky]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:24, reb said:

The only people I know under 40 who actually know anything at all about cars seem to be the ones who are perpetually dressed in grease stained jeans and scuffed boots and have several cars none of which work.

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I resemble that remark.

[Spiny Norman]

  On 02/01/2025 at 22:02, sheffcortinacentre said:

Hoops for wheels, FFS a tyre is hoop shaped.

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Hoops are for dinner, everyone knows that...

[Urko]

1963 Ramblers could be had with two sticks 

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Hurst olds 3 or was it 4?

[Barry Cade]

  On 03/01/2025 at 00:21, Urko said:

1963 Ramblers could be had with two sticks 

 

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I'll take your 2 and raise you!

 

I love American terminology.. Six Pak, Torque Thrust, RamAir, Pistol Grip, Rim Blow ,Tic Toc Tach,  GoManGo, Sassy Grass, Plum Crazy..a whole language.. if you know,you know.

[Metal Guru]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:40, Dabooka said:

It’s minor, but spare tyre in place of spare wheel does my head in.

Or even worse, ‘tire’ 🤬

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Strictly speaking , neither spare wheel or spare tyre is correct since normally you have both together.

[reb]

  On 03/01/2025 at 03:41, Metal Guru said:

Strictly speaking , neither spare wheel or spare tyre is correct since normally you have both together.

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Spare apparatus for facilitation of transfer of force between road and axle

[PhilA]

  On 02/01/2025 at 18:46, Lord Sterling said:

The (established) media seem to have quietly adopted Americanisms over time.

This is possibly to appease Americans of whom they seem to think are more important. In fact, this is evident across the spectrum. 

Take for example some British car manufacturers. I'll take, for instance, the Rover 800 or the XJ6. Here in the UK, our top spec model were nice, just nice, not amazing, just 'nice'. The American top-spec models had absolutely everything thrown at them. In the Mk1 Rover Sterling for example, they got leather door cards, integrated phones etc... we got none of this and any extras we did get were fitted like an after thought.

There does seem to be this "Americans r cool" baseline that everything from the UK media, to car manufacturers and others have quietly adopted.

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Americans r awkward consumers, more like 

Using your example, any new vehicle trying to get a foothold here needs to have 400% extra things than the competition. Also, you look at it the wrong way, because it was sold as a technological marvel, better than average and you got tea and crumpets and a red pillar box to go with in your imagination if you bought one. 

However, get one tiny aspect wrong and the average American consumer will throw an inordinately large tantrum about it and demand recompense well in excess of the original purchase value, for the inconvenience. Particularly common amongst the giffers. Recent generations aren't so bad.

Note also there was once a drive to simplify American language, particularly English. It's where tire split from tyre etc and where the observation of Newspeak came about. 

Most American-isms arrive in the media due to the stubborn nature of the readers. It's all copied because the grass be greener and James Dean etc. 

 

Phil

[warch]

  On 02/01/2025 at 11:00, lesapandre said:

No idea what under 40's call bits of cars - I don't think they have any idea either...😂

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My experience is that most people, regardless of age are completely out of their depth with cars, and that being knowledgeable or mechanically competent is very uncommon. 

One issue for tv shows is overseas sales, lots of programming is made and scripted for international audiences so writers have to account for that in production. British viewers will know that a bonnet is a hood, a boot is a trunk etc from cultural osmosis, it only looks jarring from a UK perspective. 
 

Ironically American media tend to underestimate how much cultural reach the US has had in places like the UK. We are much more aware of American language and culture than is popularly assumed so you sometimes get nonsense about how they serve chips in McDonald’s over here or how we don’t know what a cookie is. 
 

My kids watch a lot of American media stuff especially online but quite frankly US culture was massive when I was a kid in the 80s so not much has changed really.

 

[Urko]

  On 03/01/2025 at 07:12, warch said:

Ironically American media tend to underestimate how much cultural reach the US has had in places like the UK. We are much more aware of American language and culture than is popularly assumed so you sometimes get nonsense about how they serve chips in McDonald’s over here or how we don’t know what a cookie is. 
My kids watch a lot of American media stuff especially online but quite frankly US culture was massive when I was a kid in the 80s so not much has changed really.

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My original point wasn't just about Americanisms, but I disagree that the pace of change is slow.  I could list aspects of British English that disappear almost daily.  I find it a little sad but there's no point moaning or trying to turn back the tide.

Some changes are so subtle no-one even seems to notice.  Almost everyone seems to have adopted transportation where we used to say transport.  

Where there used to be two ways to pronounce the word "the", this has been abolished and replaced with the single version from the USA.

Kerb for edge of a road has been abolished.

No-one under 40 knows what an articulated lorry is.

It isn't just US words and expressions,  language has been dumbed down and anyone with an extensive vocabulary is ridiculed.