I'd better hurry or I'll miss the boat (pardon the pun)

Do you have prejudices, at least subliminally, against certain countries?  I remember my dad would not buy a German or Japanese car, saying "I fought those bastards in WWII, and I'm NOT going to drive one of their cars today!"  His reaction was obviously a generational thing as my generation loves both German and Japanese cars.  I've had Audi's and Honda's and Mazda's and loved them all.

It's hard to imagine that one of the worlds absolute finest luxury SUV's...

...and most iconic sports car marques are both owned by an Indian company, Tata Motors (even though they are designed, engineered, and built in the UK).

My generation seems to have a problem with Vietnam and China.  I cringe when I pick up a coat, for example, and see the tag that says it was made in Vietnam.  And now I subliminally rule out Volvo as it is owned by a Chinese company, even though they are still Swedish in origin.  As we all know (?), most Chinese companies have their strings pulled by the Chinese government, the Chinese COMMUNIST government.  Ewwwww!

A few years ago I was given a private tour of the Boeing complex in Renton, Washington.  We were on the back loading dock where my guide asked, "See anything unusual about those shipping crates" (each the size of a small house)?  Turns out they were made of bamboo plywood, because they contained the empennage for a 737 (in this case the horizontal tail assembly) which was made in China...COMMUNIST China.  Aren't these the same folks that gave us kids toys made pretty by lead paint?  Ouch!  

Today I read the Chinese company, Haier, is buying the appliance division of General Electric for $5.9B.  It's hard enough trying to understand the customer service rep in India.  I shudder to think...

Now more than ever, it looks like the old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" holds true. The terms "old"  "mature" and "change" sometimes are hard to reconcile.  *sigh*

S



 

And not even a door ding? How is that possible?

This is one lucky guy.  Irv Gordon hasn't had a car payment since 1969.  I'm guessing at that because his car is a 1966 Volvo P-1800, so with a 36 month auto loan, that would mean 44 years payment free.  WooHoo!

And it gets better....he's a celebrity, or at least his car is, because it will very shortly surpass the 3,000,000 mile mark.  I wonder if he can pull in to a Volvo dealer and get a free oil change, and maybe a latte?  Considering all the free publicity he's getting for Volvo, I should think they'd at least comp him an oil change.

And it's actually a pretty cool car.  Not that it was ever a hot rod, but as sports cars are usually rather fragile, this one was built like a tank.  And it has a silver screen....actually a "small screen"....pedigree, too. 

It was the mount (don't go there 007 fans!) of TV's The Saint.

Vic seems to think his 3,000,000 mile record will stand forever.  Can you imagine a car today, ANY car made today with all it's electronics and super-sophisticated bits, still going strong after 3,000,000 miles?  Forty seven years, yes, if it's a Garage Queen.  But what's the fun of having a cool car if you can't drive it?

So lemme think....my 'lil car has 107K miles on it in 6 1/2 years....that's about 16,500 miles per year....3,000,000 miles would take me....another 181 years.  

Vic...I agree.  I think your record is safe.  ;)

S

More cars....Let the good times roll! With EDIT

Last Sunday I trekked to White Rock Lake Park in east Dallas for The All British and European Car Day show.  I had frankly forgotten about it until my friend Robert mentioned it the day before.  If it wasn't for his chance comment I would have missed it.  *Oh, the horror*

The weather was nice, the scenery beautiful.

As the event name implies, most of the cars on display were British. Austin Healey and Triumph both were very well represented:

The first car that caught my attention was this gorgeous 1959 Austin Healey 100.  

But alas, I had to two-time the 100 for this 1970 Austin Healey 3000.  Nice, huh?

The owner of this 1963 Triumph TR3 almost lost it....to ME!  (Yes, Grand Theft Auto briefly crossed my mind.)

I'm sure this little Triumph GT6 was quite a screamer back in its day.  I'd love to have it, although I really don't think the white shows it off to its fullest.

Nice Spitfire.  (OK, I hate to get picky, but see those two torpedoes sticking out front?  That's what happens when the government gets involved in car design.  Shame on them!  (Robert....think the owner will take the hint?  :)

My two favorite Jaguar's being shown were this XK150....

....and this XK140.  I think I prefer the older 140.

Lots of nice MG's present too, like this pre government-rubber-bumper-mandated MGB....

....and this fine MGA, complete with iguana hood ornament.  (A factory option?)

And of course, everyone loves Mini's.

A couple of nice ones, despite the non-stock wheels.

I had never seen an original Mini Countryman before this.  Interesting.

At the extreme other end of the spectrum were the Rolls Royce's.

Join me for a picnic?  I'll bring the bubbly.  ;)

I'm a fan of Morgan's.

This one in British Racing Green would look much nicer if my name was on the title.

And don't forget, the show title mentioned European cars, too.

I fully expected to see The Saint jump in this Volvo P1800 and fly away, Mrs. Peel at his side.  (Look it up.)

This was a show-stopper for me:  A 1938 Peugeot 402.  I've never seen one before, and probably never will again.

French cars are....how should I say this?....odd.  Example:  The headlight placement on the 402.

Of course, the British have had their eccentric moments, too, such as with this 3-wheel Reliant Rialto.

Car people do have a sense of humor!

This Nash Metropolitan was of interest to me only because it's the type car I learned to drive in. It was so small, at 9-years old I could still see over the steering wheel, reach the pedals, and shift the 3-on-the-tree.  *good times*

Oh, yes....Italian.  Alfa Romeo Spyder.  :)  And....

SURPRISE!

You knew I'd somehow slip in a Fiat 500, didn't you?  (Pay attention Joan Perry  :)

And finally, another in the obscure category:

A 40's era (?) Rover.

I'm hoping this was a "one-of-a-kind".

This is enough for now.  I'm burning daylight.  Hope you enjoyed.  :)

S

Late edit for JoeH:

There was an MG TF there, too.  (Oops...the license plate says TD.  My bad.)

SCORE!......and car pics, too.

Grandson Parker scored twice yesterday.  Once was on the field where he scored his first soccer goal.  The other was on the sideline where he romanced this little girl:

Looks like Parker is a player!  

He loves baseball, but so far has shown no interest at all in soccer.  (At one point during the game he just walked off the field to go to the bathroom!)  Later we watched as he literally escorted this young lady to the sideline and set them both up a chair.  They were inseparable the rest of the game.  Did I mention he's THREE!  (I'm with him.  Gimme a choice between soccer or the ladies....I'd take the ladies every time, too.)

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Oklahoma spanked my Red Raiders pretty hard yesterday, 41-20.  Bummer.  :( 

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I understand Cranky Old Man and maybe a few others are going through withdrawal because I missed Cars and Coffee yesterday and have no new photos to offer.  Always aiming to please, I've gone into my old car photo archive and can share these from past events:

A really sweet classic Maserati 3500....

....and it's contemporary, a MGA.

As long as we're doing sports cars, how about a Triumph TR-6?  Nice, huh?

My weekend Rolls Royce.  *dream on*  "It doesn't cost any more to go first class.  You just can't afford to go quite as often."

While much maligned, this is one of the few BMW's I like....a Z4M Coupe.

Here's the other....a Z8.

A "quirky" Citroen 2CV.  (Think French VW Beetle....a post-war "people's car".)

Another oddity I'd love to own....a Volvo P1800.  (Remember The Avengers?)

An achingly beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C.

A 1968 (?) Camaro SS....in my yoot it was what every 17-year-old boy in America wanted, except for a 17-year-old girl, that is.  ;)

OK, that's enough for now.  I've gotta save a few for later.  Hope you're all having a good weekend.

S

Our weather could get ugly....and more car pics, too

You've heard it said that animals can sense something bad coming, such as an earthquake?  My dog Emma Belle does NOT like to go outside and "do her business" in the rain.  She just refuses, period.  This afternoon when I came home from work I took her out as usual and she...er...well, let's just say her "business" was impressive, if you know what I mean.  The weatherguessers are again predicting an atmospheric "perfect storm" is brewing for us here, and based on Emma's "now or never" bathroom behavior, I think they might be right. Emma Belle, Weather Dog  *has a nice ring to it*

And now for something more pleasant....here are some more cool/unique cars I saw last weekend at the British and European Car Day in Dallas: 

A couple of nice Alfa Romeo's ^

A well-worn Saab rally car  ^

A TVR (British)  ^

A Morgan (also British) ^

A Volvo P1800 (I almost bought one of these many years ago) ^

A "Bug-eye" Sprite (see where it gets its name?) 

A Lancia Beta (Italian) ^

(You can click on any picture to enlarge it)

Hope you're safe tonight, wherever you are.

S

EDIT:  Plano was spared the big storms last night.  Most went south of us, and some went north, but here we just got a little rain.