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British cars in the States........

Buddy of mine had a Spit in college...I remember my knuckles would drag the ground if I stuck my arm out & down when riding in it...I remember another time we went riding around in it just as it started snowing...We had the top down, of course, & it was kinda neat watching the snow come down like that. Of course, it also helped that we had consumed quite a bit of "Antifreeze" B4 we set off...
 
Currently owner of a '75 Triumph TR6, in great condition and original in most respects (with the exception of the ignition system, which was a "must do" mod). Lots of us LBC (little British car) aficionados in New England.

Due to the omnipresent danger of rust, she only comes out in dry weather.
 
I did advertising for Range Rover and Jaguar, and got to drive my share of them without having to pay for them, to, um know what to advertise. I really liked the Range Rover and the LR3. Wasn't as much of a fan of the Jags as I felt Ford's influence on them too much. Odd looking down in an 80,000 car and seeing the same window lift buttons you see in a Ford Taurus. We took the whole Land Rover fleet off-roading once, which was a site, crawling around rocks in a big fancy Range Rover. I tore the protective plastic under carriage cover off of "mine". Best part of the day was watching the little Discovery pull a big US-made pickup truck with huge tires out of a mud-bog, where it had been stuck for hours. The look on that truck driver's face was priceless. "You ain't gettin' us out". Our instructors were world champion off road drivers. It was a piece of cake for them. When they were running and not in the shop, the Land Rover fleet was a great bunch of vehicles.
 
In Canada my parents had a Ford Consul and I had the Zephyr, never understood why Ford built the two in-line sixes when they could have simply imported that engine. My last Ford was the Anglia 105E that y'all may have seen in the Harry Potter movie. Only mine was a lot quieter. Used to drive people nuts when I would down shift at 50 MPH to blow past them.
 
Ford Dearborn, Ford Dagenham, & Ford Koln were seemingly always 3 jealously independent companies...I can see why the 2 European branches would be independent of America, but they apparently didn't talk to each other too much, either..
 
Sandy G said:
Ford Dearborn, Ford Dagenham, & Ford Koln were seemingly always 3 jealously independent companies...I can see why the 2 European branches would be independent of America, but they apparently didn't talk to each other too much, either..
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This isn't unique to the auto industry. The different divisions of my company (40K employees, global) literally treat each other like separate companies.
 
1koolcat said:
Weird coincidence! I also owned an early CAPRI and a MERKUR!

In high school my first real car was a 1973 Koln-made FORD CAPRI with the 2.6L engine. It was BRIGHT yellow (respray) with matte black trim. EVERYBODY in my home town knew it when I drove through town. It had the cheap black vinyl seats (patched up with black duct tape) and a manually operated sunroof. I also had a ski rack so I could take 3 buddies plus our skis to the local ski areas.

I also had a 1989 MERKUR XR4Ti (red) in the early 1990s that was designed to do 90mph or better on the European AUTOBAHNs. That turbo 4 cylinder was gutsy and a blast to drive. A bit of a sleeper since most people weren't even aware of what a "MERKUR" was.

In the 1990s I owned a 1965 SUNBEAM TIGER that was imported from England, so it had right hand steering. That was a hoot to drive - another sleeper that most people didn't recognize on the road. (It had the FORD 260 cubic inch V-8, an early version of the venerable 289). It was British Racing Green with a removable hardtop AND a folding soft top. Very cool car, but needed a lot of maintenance.
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I had a '65 Sunbeam Tiger, too, in the '70's, which I still mourn, as my brother wrecked it while I was away in the Army. I grew up in LA, which was a "British" town for cars in those days. I remember drooling over the Sunday LA Times classifieds--hundred of exotics every week: Lotus, Morgan, Healy, MGs galore, and Mini's, Jensens, and Triumphs, not to mention hordes of Rolls and Bentley's. My neighbor had a Triumph Stag 8 cylinder and a Lotus Elan convertible. The little four banger in the Elite was so light you could almost lift it with two hands.

I still ride "British"--a '74 Norton Commando, and dream I'm T E Lawrence on one of his seven Brough Superiors. We have around 100 Norton's still running in the DC area. and many times that number of Triumphs, both classic and new. At classic meets one also sees BSAs, Enfields, and even a few Douglas' and Vincents soldiering away.
 
Thanks, guys! What a reply!! Its nice to know that our cars are cherished over in the States and Canada. I dont suppose ALL of our 70s and 80s cars were bad!

The Leyland Mini was made between 1959 and 2001 ! Now its the BMW Mini.........
The Melkur I recognise as a Sierra over here--very popular, but theyve all gone now.....

And that white 1970 Capri! Its the one with the bootlid before it was redesigned as a hatchback( still with the same shape body ) That would fetch LOTS of money back here now! It was available with a 1300 or 1600 cc 4 cyl engine here. They also did it with different tailamps-the very early cars had little lights taken off of the Escort model, and the slightly later cars in this body design had bigger lamps, around about this 1970 year, actually........


The Triumph Stag over here in the UK usually has a good modification; its original engine , for which parts are now scarce,is replaced with the Rover 3 1/2 V8, which is an American engine anyway, I think-Buick? Many "modded" Stags drive around like this.


I had no idea our cars were still so popular as cherished cars in the USA; all the major companies have folded here now--Leyland went years ago, and took Triumph, Austin, Rover, Morris, MG with it, Chrysler UK went and took Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam, and others with it, Jaguar is in desperate trouble and it looks like they are going to go, along with Aston Martin as well..........................Ford no longer build cas here, and Vauxhall ( Part of GM) are in trouble, though they are launching a new car presently......................

Rolls and Bentley are not British car makers now, of course; they have been sold abroad, and owners over here keep their "proper" models, and many of them do not "acknowledge" the new models, would you believe!!!

Nice to hear about the bikes as well- there has been a real resurgence in motorbikes here in the UK; and many classics are seen often--70s Triumphs, BSA'a, Nortons ( Our Police used these) and of course, Lotus are still going strong, along with Morgan, who as specialists, weather the recession easier, I suppose. The new Morgan model is £77, 000 Sterling...............................ianj
 
I took the Peugeot to a classic car meet on New Years Day up near me, heres acouple of the photos.............first up, the New 4 Litre Morgan , £77,000 list price, hand built to your measurements if required!

IMAG0297.jpg
 
I'm droolin'...They TRIED to sell some of these over here-I have seen a Super Snipe or 2 on our side of the pond... I even think they tried to sell "Aunties" over here...My next door neighbor had a Hillman Husky wagon back when...He wore it out, "Uncle" John was kinda tough on stuff, setting up a sales/service organisation in America was NOT for the faint-of-heart, as a LOT of Americans were/are "Tough" on stuff...
 
1koolcat said:
In high school my first real car was a 1973 Koln-made FORD CAPRI with the 2.6L engine. It was BRIGHT yellow (respray) with matte black trim. EVERYBODY in my home town knew it when I drove through town.
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You mean like this one?

tonicapria.jpg

tonicaprib.jpg

tonicapric.jpg
 
Yup, leesonic. That looks just like mine! :thmbsp:

Dang it. Now I'm going to have to dig for some photos for comparison. Mine had some cheap aftermarket "mag" wheels and a home made trailer hitch. I never did pull a trailer with it, but the hitch once took the brunt of a slow speed rear ender from another car. Not a bit of damage to the Capri, partly 'cuz the slippery snow condtions at the STOP sign. The "mag" wheels gave it more of a macho look.
 
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