John Le Forestier said:Actually it has a whole lot more in common with the classic Willy's version of the army jeep than anything else, if you look at the chassis of one then compare it with a classic Willy's jeep, the similarities are shockingly close, I think Suzuki simply copied one back the 1950s and had just been reworking the body style ever since. ;)
That's OK Victor. A Samurai always wanted to be a Land Rover when it grew up.
In the 80’s I really enjoyed reading weekly columns from ‘Satch’ Carlson in Autoweek. He wrote one ‘Love Takes A Back Seat’ that I liked so well, that I cut it out and still have it today.
Satch got in a bit of trouble for having sexual relations with a female student at the Anchorage High School where he taught Journalism. It cost him three jobs but the charges were dismissed in January 1990 because the student was above the age of 16, the age of legal consent in Alaska.
Anyhoo, the article starts off “It’s Spring, time for boys and girls to get together. Time for the snickering jokes about the back seat. To entice some nimble female into the back seat…Well jeez, you coulda been James Dean.”
A bit further, “Remember when an unsnapped brassiere was as close as you get to paradise? Well, I suspect that fumbling adventure happened in a car… and not in the back seat. No self respecting girl would let herself be led into the back seat.”
Near the end of the article, “Let’s admit it; cars impress women. They might not go out with you because you have a nice car but it’s unlikely she refuse to go out with you because you have a nice car.”
Edit: Damn! Forgot this part. "Which is why women like sports cars; No back seat. Wholesome! Couldn’t possibly be any purient connotations to this ride.
He ends with “It happened to me once. I had the loan of a very nice fast roadster. I gave a ride to a friend of mine of the female persuasion. I must admit I was showing off. I wrung it out on a few miles of twisty mountain road in the late summer California sunshine. The wind teased our hair as I played Sterling Moss in the corners, Eagles on the tape deck. The Webers burbled, the tires stuck, the gearbox sang (and so did I). And when I pulled off at a rest area, my passenger leaned over, wrapped her arms around me and gave me a genuine kiss… A kiss that sealed the day in amber ever after.”
Last line, “Ask me if I’ll ever buy a station wagon.”
walter sarapa said:
I'm with you John, only thing missing is the winch on the front bumper.Walt
edit: Oops, no front bumper.
Walt, you sure its not missing a wench?
Too bad Suzuki is leaving the American market.
The 4 wheel drive Grand Vitara (the replacement) wasn’t too bad nor the XL7 - until they moved them to Uni-body. I had both and had a lot of fun with them.
O.K Carnuts: QUIZ TIME.
In the spirit of the thing, no peeking or Googling is allowed.
Your challenge: To name, in order, the three most significant cars of the century, as chosen just before the Millennium, by a noted panel of automobile columnists and experts.
That’s all the instruction you get, BTW; you decide what ‘significant’ means in this case.
Post your guesses here, and we’ll have the Great Reveal in a couple of days.
Your prize, of course, will be bragging rights in perpetuity, God help us.
1… The Model T Made cars available to all…
2… The military Jeep. Got us off the highway and opened a new category of vehicles “Off Road”
3. The Mustang Started the Muscle car revolution.
Dave Taylor said:I like these choices except I would replace the Mustang with the GTO.
1.. The Model T Made cars available to all.. 2.. The military Jeep. Got us off the highway and opened a new category of vehicles "Off Road" 3. The Mustang Started the Muscle car revolution.
- Model T, first widely accessible mass produced car at an affordable price, it taught America to drive.
(http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/1908-1927-ford-model-t-1.jpg)
- 1916 Cadillac, it was the first car to feature the driver control arraignment we recognize today, gas-right, brake-center, clutch-left, shifter on floor between seats, and a keyed ignition starter. Before this model driving a car, including the model T, could be confusing, overtly complicated and downright lethally dangerous. Even Ford adopted it for the T’s replacement, the Model A
(http://www.imcdb.org/i141921.jpg)
- Austin Model 7, it was one of the first cars to copy Cadillac’s driver layout, and its variants, produced by license around the world (in Germany by BMW and Japan by Nissan for example) taught the rest of the World how to drive.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Austin_Seven_Saloon_1931.jpg)
Most of our vehicles have been jeeps or pickups.
My parents owned a 1963 utility wagon. Except for the engine, it was one of my favorites and the last of the utility wagons.
I still own my dad’s 1965 3/4-ton pickup that he bought new.
Hey Victor:
You were drooling over Olomana a couple of months ago. She’s made another appearance right here:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/LGB22130-Olomana-steam-loco-mint-/290831856114?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item43b6edf1f2
John Le Forestier said:But for me, at that price it might as well be a Ferrari 308GTB ;)
Hey Victor: You were drooling over Olomana a couple of months ago. She's made another appearance right here: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/LGB22130-Olomana-steam-loco-mint-/290831856114?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item43b6edf1f2
LAST CHANCE TODAY TO WIN LIFETIME BRAGGING RIGHTS !!!
John Le Forestier said:
O.K Carnuts: QUIZ TIME. In the spirit of the thing, no peeking or Googling is allowed.Your challenge: To name, in order, the three most significant cars of the century, as chosen just before the Millennium, by a noted panel of automobile columnists and experts.
That’s all the instruction you get, BTW; you decide what ‘significant’ means in this case.
Post your guesses here, and we’ll have the Great Reveal in a couple of days.
Your prize, of course, will be bragging rights in perpetuity, God help us.
So far, only three brave guys have had the brisket to take a shot at this. Give it a try folks, before the answer is revealed - this evening, CST, if I remember. If I forget, somebody please remind me! Remember - no Googling!
This whole top three cars-of-the-century thing kinda’ slipped my mind. My apologies.
The panel of car experts choosing these vehicles focused on the ways automobiles have influenced or altered the course of society during the 20th century. The three top cars of the century, according to these experts, are:
#3 The Volkswagen Beetle. Reasons were for the records this car held: More of them have been built than any other car. They were (and perhaps still are, in Mexico?) built continouously since their inception, a period of 50 years or more, admittedly, with some modifications from year to year. They brought cheap cars to a younger crowd than ever before. If you picked the Beetle for position three, give yourself 3 points. If you picked it at all, give yourself 2 points. Fill a glass.
#2 The Jeep. Not quite for the reasons that Dave mentioned, but pimarily because of the role it played during WW2, and as a result of its success, secondarily for its role in other military campaigns since. If you included the Jeep for any hair-brained reason at all, give yourself 2 points. If you think you were sorta’ thinking the same as the panel, pour yourself a second drink and take another point. If you were the first guy to mention the Jeep and you figure everybody else was just following your lead because they really don’t know as much as you, give yourself a bonus point.
#1 The Model “T”. It’s hardly necessary to restate the obvious, but I’ll do it anyway. This car ushered in affordable road transportation for the masses, and taught the whole world about the assembly line. From here on, the route to highways, suburbs, drive-in picture shows, weekend drives, shopping malls, urban decay, teenage pregnancies, and the demise of the passenger train was all pretty much a foregone conclusion. I think everybody got the “T”. Three points and another fillup.
By the way, who’s driving? 
2 out of three ain’t bad. I missed the Bug… God I loved my bugs… three of them… The best was a 62 Cabriolet… Great fun in So Cal in the 60’s… Had another one while stationed in Germany. If it weren’t raining or snowing then the top was down… Which is the reason the wife won’t let me get another drop top now… The Bug was being made in Mexico and Brazil, Mexico stopped and then Brazil was the last place, Now they have stopped being made forever.
My first car was a 66 Bug. I had adapters for 13" Chevy tires and wheels. That car went places 4wd trucks couldn’t even think about going
It kept about 4 inches of snow on the floorboard in the Winter and needed an ice scraper for the inside of the windshield :lol:
Ralph
My bug in Germany had an Aftermarket Gasoline fired heater that fit under the wheel well. When you ignited it it roared like a jet. BUT it would keep you warm in the front seat even with the top down. It was actually a bit scary, as it had an open flame come out of the exhaust at times, but it got HOT in about 2 minutes. I’m sure OSHA killed those things, or maybe the Insurance Co.
Dave Taylor said:Dave,
My bug in Germany had an Aftermarket Gasoline fired heater that fit under the wheel well. When you ignited it it roared like a jet. BUT it would keep you warm in the front seat even with the top down. It was actually a bit scary, as it had an open flame come out of the exhaust at times, but it got HOT in about 2 minutes. I'm sure OSHA killed those things, or maybe the Insurance Co.
I had a '67 VW bus with a Stewart Warner gas fired heater in the engine bay, and it would heat that bus interior in about 5 mins!
I also worked on S2’s in the U.S. NAVY ( a piston engined ASW aircraft) and they had such a gas fired heater in the nose section to heat the cabin.
My wife just got this!
Nobody but the British could do this ad!
Ralph Berg said:Oh, that happens with all sorts of vehicles ... had to scrape the inside of my Honda Odyssey's windshield this evening before I could set off homeward from this weekend's train show, and every other car I've owned over the past 40+ years has suffered the problem from time to time in winter.
My first car was a 66 Bug. ... and needed an ice scraper for the inside of the windshield :lol: Ralph
@Doug… I thought that it was very clever… Now how do you tune the horns to G#?
@Joe … It was probably the same unit, only they had no place up front for it. I had several very Looooong flights in a S2… And the heat in the back was not so great… Nor was the view… Luckily we never got very high.