Voitures Anciennes

[RobertArthur]

The 1957 VW Beetle: it proved that reliability could be designed in, not hoped for. Keep it simple but don't skip on quality and make maintenance easy. Anybody listnening in Brussels, all electric, overload of high tech security (?) gadgets for these computers on wheels? Problems? We'll iron them out, wait for the next bug free software update...real soon now. Not included: mechanical problems.

Okay, I may be exaggerating a little. Of course, considerable progress has been made in terms of safety, just think of crash zones. My son's Ford Focus: roadholding, steering, picture perfect. Today's tyres are also much better. In the VW Beetle, the location of the fuel tank, just in front of the driver, was not ideal. But every now and then I get the feeling: lessons learned, lessons forgotten.

[Hotrodder]

A brilliant video. I lived through that era and saw the public reaction to the VW. I drove one in 1964 and hated it. I found the gear stick imprecise, as if it was attached to the gearbox by elastic bands, and the weight being biased to the rear gave a surprising result when I tried a sharp right turn at speed. Apart from feeling the windscreen was a bit to close to my face it was acceptable as basic transport. Admittedly it never promised to be anything more.
In the mid 70s my sister-in-law drove down from London to visit for the weekend in her Beetle. Asked if I could get a couple of 2nd hand tyres put on it. We trundled down to the local breaker to get some and as we reversed into a parking slot there was a bump. The right front suspension had collapsed. The trailing arm had sheared off. She was almost in a state of shock, having just been doing 70 on the M2. There wasn't a spare to be had at the breaker's so she made her way to the VW agent in town while I dismantled the front end in the car park (in the dark). She returned with the new part and I refitted it, having removed some bits of broken torsion spring ends. When I explained the state of affairs she vowed to put the car up for sale immediately when she got back to London!

[RobertArthur]

@ Hotrodder, it is hard to argue with facts, because I got my fair share of European car maintenance in the past. Not only of a Citroën 2CV, a Rover 2000 TC and all the others, also as owner of a so called " Nobelkarosse", with a star. I cannot deny that those cars on the other side of The Atlantic with V8 engines are part of what was once the American dream. Every time I see one, it makes me happy, summertime is here to stay. Looking at the past through rose-tinted glasses, putting all the misfortune aside for a moment, forgetting it. And at the same time, remembering in a flash what Ralph Nader wrote about "Unsafe at any speed". The VW Beetle was discussed in another study.

[RobertArthur]

Volkswagen again, now in The Los Angeles Times: A fire-scarred Volkswagen bus.

[Hotrodder]

I have no doubt there have been some notable snags in the beetle's history but the point that becomes so clear in the video is that every aspect of the car was designed for simplicity, durability, and economy. The only other car (in America) that had so much attention paid to it at the design stage was the Ford Model T, and that effort was dedicated to cutting production costs to make maximum profit for Henry. He never felt that front wheel brakes were necessary so why waste money fitting them.

[RobertArthur]

Well, both Citroën and VW have bid farewell to their bestsellers. Yet I cannot shake the feeling that everyone has also bid farewell, to a greater or lesser extent, to the design philosophy that underpinned both cars. Fortunately, the survivors are still on the road, gleaming in the sunshine. Reminding the authorities, who are busy building a giant with feet of clay by putting all their eggs in one basket in the digital casino, everything via the internet, and the all-electric lobby (blackout?) that there is still room for negotiation on the holy fire with which the combustion engine is being fought.

[Hotrodder]

And the sheeple don't give a damn that its all going downhill. Just now (the TV is on) and I saw an ad for an ugly electic car that costs more than I paid for my current house.

[RobertArthur]

A 1930s lorry in action transporting sacks of flour for a bread factory.





More action in this vdeo about Chevrolet trucks in the thirties.

[RobertArthur]

Make Land Rover Great Again? Classic roots, more rubber. Probably a member of this rather special family: "To celebrate Land Rover’s 70th anniversary, we’ve created the ultimate Classic Defender by combining enhanced performance with refined luxury. The Defender Works V8 70th Edition conversion will be applied to no more than 150 vehicles, each sourced, assembled and meticulously refinished by our specialist teams dedicated to creating Authentic Cars."

Not a car you see everyday, it did make quite an impression on me as you may have noticed. I thought: this must be something very special. That turns out not to be entirely the case. It is not one of the 70th Jubilee Defenders for the happy few, I checked the vehicle registration plate. Description: Land Rover 90 Soft Top, 18-2-1993.

[Hotrodder]

Hey, that's a great idea. The reputation of build quality, utility and classic timeless good looks with the modern technology that makes it just as unreliable as the weakest connector somewhere in the miles of wires.
My friend has a defender. Just as well his company owns it because it has had so much go wrong with it the maintenance costs would have ended the romance ages ago.