Tag Archive: Car and Driver

May
14

The Best Sports Car Of All Time ..The Triumph TR6 ..A 1970′s Hairy Chested British Roadster

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I know its hard to admit but the British invented the Sports Car. When American troops after World War II started to drive early sports cars like the MGTD a love affair started with British roadsters. In 1953 when Triumph first started sending the brash TR2 to the USA another love affair started with Triumph Sports Cars. The formula was simple. Ground hugging suspension, superb engine sounds, little or no creature comforts and bull dog like toughness that became a Triumph trademark. More and better TR’s would follow like the TR3,TR4 and the TR250. By 1968 the TR’s needed and update. British Leyland called on German design studio Karmann to do a hurry up restyle of the TR250 thus creating the TR6 for model year 1969. The TR6 was everything a brazen brutal sports car should be. Quick, agile, creaky, leaky and unforgiving. With its lusty wonderful sounding 2.5 liter six cylinder engine it made sounds that would make a Ferrari blush.

The Karmann restyle was crisp and he-man like. Interiors were typical English with a wood dash and full gauges. The TR6 sat low slung on it’s independent rear suspension and its four speed transmission shifted with a resounding thunk. As vehicle comforts improved in the 1970′s the TR6 made no excuses for its leaky top and buckboard ride. As Car and Driver Magazine said in a 1976 road test “It is the last of the hairy chested British roadsters“  Triumph made over 90,000 TR6′s from 1969-1976. It was replaced with the “Shape of things to come” tepid TR7 door stop. When production of the TR6 ended it was the last of its kind. A true sports car in the true sense of the term. Unforgiving, blunt and a drivers car. Having owned a red 1969 TR6 I can say that you either loved it or hated it. Mine was upgraded with Weber Carbs, Ansa four pipe exhaust, Pacesetter header, 72 spoke chrome wire wheels, roll bar and suspension mods. It was my favorite ride on a warm summer evening and it made the most glorious sounds. Despite the reputation for being ahhh ummm British my TR6 never let me down in fact gave me 9 years of thrilling service. The TR6 was full of greatness and flaws but it never went away from its mission. A bold hairy chested sports car. The last of its kind and that’s why Carlisle Johnny has named crowned it The Best Sports Car Of All Time.

Check out this classic Triumph TV commercial

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Mar
01

What Auto Is This? Econo Mopar Sports Coupe

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This “Not A Dodge” was produced from 1983-1987. It’s name stood for Tourism in Italian. Based on a very VW Rabbit looking sedan it was an early front wheel drive US sports coupe. Unlike other USA companies this car maker introduced a full range of smaller front wheel drive cars sharing common engines and platforms. By doing this they were able to cut costs. This cars platform and engines were used well into the 1990,s  The base engine was 1.6 liter OHC four cylinder built together with French car maker Peugeot. A decent engine it only put out tepid 64 horsepower.

Car and Driver magazine joked about the 1.6 liter engine “Would lose a drag race with a Model T” Most people went for the all new 2.2 liter OHC four cylinder upgrade. Rated at 96 horsepower it would become a mainstay and workhorse. In other models the 2.2 with turbo could reach 200 horsepower. Shifting this Econo Sports Coupe was either a rubbery shifting 5 speed manual or sluggish 3 speed auto. Despite its sedan roots with the performance package and 2.2 liter these coupes provided good handling and peppy acceleration times. Even economy was good with the 2.2 liter and a 5 speed give a good 32 MPG on the highway. This model would be dropped in 1987 never to return.  To see What Auto Is This?? … CLICK HERE 

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Aug
02

What Auto is This??..Aug 2nd 2011

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This “El Camino” wanna be was produced only one year 1983. This “Not a Dodge” was the USA first front wheel drive pickup. Following in the footsteps of the VW Rabbit Pickup it was short on hauling but long on style. Most pickups of the era were full frame this light hauler had uni-body construction. Oddly due to its 1145 lbs load rating it was considered a 1/2 ton pickup. Its owners manual would warn. “Loads over 800lbs could cause adverse handling” Now thats a comforting thought. In road test at the time Car and Driver magazine gave it a victory over the VW haul-ette in handling and performance but blasted its build quality as being “Assembled after happy hour” Powering this little truckette was the parent companies tried and true 2.2 liter engine.  This engine would see duty in a number of vehicles from cars to mini-vans. Frugal and trusty the engine was a little “farmlike” and “sounded like a bag of marbels” as Car and Driver would state but was peppy and economical. Only two transmissions were offered in 1983. A “slip-o-matic” 3 speed auto and a cable operated 5 speed manual. With all of its 1980′s style flaws this sudo truck in now starting to have an almost cult like following. What Auto is This??

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Mar
25

What Auto is This?? Uncle Lee Answers A Question Nobody Asked

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Car and Driver magazine declared “Its what Camaro and Firebird could of been” Sportcar Graphic called it ” Gutsy” Considering its stoggy family sedan roots it did have some guts compared to it wheezing stablemates. The first series  of this sporty hatchback was produced between 1984-1986. It was meant to be an answer to a question nobody asked. The top of the line performance model hosted a turbo putting out 142 horsepower. Considering its frugal roots the 2.2 liter engine proved to be spirited and tough. This engine would be a mainstay for this storied corporation. Suspension was upgraded for the turbo models. Wheels were a large at the time 16 inch with 4 lugs the first year(1984)and upgraded to 5 lugs and bigger brakes fr0m 1985-1986..Alas it still had rear drums.The standard 5 speed trans was up to the task but lacked crisp shifter feel. Car and Driver complained. “Its cable operated shifer feels like a rubber band attached to bunji cord” The interior suffered from its econo-car roots. Trying to go upscale with a digital display and cheezy velour seats as Ricky Ricardo would say was “El Cheapo” 1985 would see an increase in horsepower to 146. T-tops and a new 2.5 liter engine would be added to 1986′s option list. You could also get a “Competition Package” consisting of bigger brakes and upgraded suspension. Only 7704 people opted for the pricey upgrade. Still sales were good for this front wheel drive sports hatch. From 1984-1986 sales were 147,396. Not bad for a hot hatch intended a nitch model. As with most vehicles from this maker qaulity was Yugo like at times. But this GTI wanna be would be the basis for many future models. What Auto is This??

 To see the answer and other answers to What Auto is This?? Quiz  go to  www.carlislejohnny.com  or  www.appraisal.carlislejohnny.com 

 

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Jan
24

What Auto is This?? An American Car Company Tries To Go European

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CLICK Here To See What Auto Is This??

This Not-A-Ford first hit the streets in 1975. It was this car companies answer to the OPEC Gas Crisis of 1973. Meant to be a mid size car with full size luxury it was a sales hit. Over 560,000 were sold between 1975-1979. Trying to go European in theme and styling it had a very Mercedes Benz look. TV ads of the day joked how the parking attendant couldn’t tell this car from a Benz. Sounds like the parking dude was sipping some Boone’s Farm during his break.  You could order the very Euro sounding Ghia model. With the Ghia you got leather seats with very tacky fake wood dash, leather

wrapped steering wheel, vinyl roof and an LED clock. The Ghia also got rear disc brakes. This rear disc set up would become a favorite of street rodders for decades.  If you kept checking the option boxes you could get a fancy moonroof or 14 inch alloy wheels. Engines ranged from a 200 cubic inch six cylinder up to a smogafied 351 V8. According to Car and Driver magazine three of the five top execs of this company used the Ghia model as their personal transportation. What Auto is This??

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Nov
19

On The Road With Johnny B

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At an early age I fell in love with all kinds of cars. As long as I can remember I would wait for the mailman to deliver my monthly auto magazine fix. Road and Track,Motor Trend and mostly Car and Driver magazine. Car and Driver always had a rebel tone to it and my favorite writer was David E Davis Jr. It was his writings that turned me from just a car observer to a car nut. He has a way of making even an oil change seem like an adventure. During his years with C&D I call “The Golden Age of Car Magazines” C&Ds monthly articles about Cannonball Runs(thanks to Brock Yates also) and other assorted mayhem made for fuel in my teenage mind. David E Davis automotive career spanned from car salesman,race car driver and an ad writer for Road and Track. At age 25 he was in a horrible car wreck while racing that required extensive plastic surgery. He has said on many occasions  ”I suddenly understood with great clarity that nothing in life — except death itself — was ever going to kill me. No meeting could ever go that badly. No client would ever be that angry. No business error would ever bring me as close to the brink as I had already been.” He often describes the incident in speaking engagements and columns as thoroughly life-changing, and says he was “born again.” DED has a way of mixing the adventure of cars with the adventures of life. Fine cars,fine wine and food for me are always on the menu thanks to Davis. He went on to start Automobile magazine in 1985. Automobile magazine was classy and well writen. Even then his pen made me swoon for all kinds of automotive lust. The years passed and Im still car crazy. Davis wrote more and I read and enjoyed more. The July 2009 Car and Driver featured a new monthly column by DED. Now DED is back here he belongs. So like a kid I wait for my monthly fix. Thanks in no small part as the New York Times called him “dean of automotive journalists.”. See ya around the newstand David E…

Todays “What The Hell Was I Thinking?? 1984 AMC Eagle Station Wagon..AMC had a reputation for building “geekmobiles” but the Eagle was almost cool. I purchased this beauty for $100.00. So lets give it a little slack.  I’m not sure what was worse, the constant axle noise or the fact that the dashboard trim fell off at every bump. The engine threw a rod in Ohio on Interstate 75 causing a very NASCAR like oil explosion. As luck would have it I got stuck in front of the Greyhound bus station. I pulled the plates and the radio and took the bus home. That gives this car the “Left furthest away from home”award.

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