COOL CLASSIC CAR SPOTTERS POST!!! Vol 2

[OLDBENZ]

Dapster said:

lucido grigio said:

They'd run out of exotic wind based names by then.
Mistrial etc.

Er, the Quattroporte was launched in 1963, and therefore pre-dates every "named" Maserati. Everything before that was a number!

I think you have overlooked the Maserati Sebring which was launched in 1962.

[Dapster]

OLDBENZ said:

I think you have overlooked the Maserati Sebring which was launched in 1962.

You're right. And the Mistral was launched at the same time as the Quattroporte, so technically not "every" named Maserati....

[Dapster]

All on the same street!

[Horsetan]

^^
The architecture looks very Islington.

[Dapster]

Horsetan said:

^^
The architecture looks very Islington.

Spot sir. Indeed, near Colebrooke Row.

[4rephill]

DickyC said:

That's not the most imaginative car naming regime, is it? The two door has a name but the four door is called the Four Door in Italian.

Two things spring to mind:

First, as often mentioned by many, calling a car "Four door" in English sounds crap, but in Italian, it just sounds cool!: "Quattroporte"

In the same way, calling a car: "Little Boat" in English sounds a bit stupid: "The Ferrari Little Boat"

In Italian though, again it sounds cool: "The Ferrari Barchetta"


So the second thing that springs to mind is: Why does it need a fancy name when "Quattroporte" works perfectly well?

Would calling the four door the: "Maserati Samoon"* sound better than the: "Maserati Quattroporte"?, and would it sell more cars? - I don't think so.

(*Samoon: A hot, whirling wind in the Sahara and Arabian Desert that plays a role in reshaping dunes; it can move vast quantities of sand. From the Arabic for “poison.” )

[Blown2CV]

Ferrari 308 "quattrovalvole" too. Four valves! wow.

[LarJammer]

Blown2CV said:

Ferrari 308 "quattrovalvole" too. Four valves! wow.

I used to own a Fiat Tipo Sedicivalvole. Thats a whole 16 of em.

[Doofus]

Blown2CV said:

Ferrari 308 "quattrovalvole" too. Four valves! wow.

Turbo. Wow. Injection. Wow.

Four valves per cylinder was a thing once, you know. How many cars were around in the 80's with "16v" slapped on the bootlid? It's just the same.

[LotusOmega375D]

Seems like the Ferrari market's gone crazy for Italianate sayings:

308 "Veteroresina"
Testarossa "Monospecchio"

These weren't even a thing when they were new.

[lucido grigio]

Goodwood today.






Well travelled,Sweden to Italy to England.





Fake 500 ,clues to it being "just"a 3 door.


Wrong front bumper.
D reg plate etched on Windows,probably not RS500.

[Roy C]

lucido grigio said:

Nice early J2.

[Cold]

Spotted those two down the road in sunny Bosham a little earlier.

[lucido grigio]

I forgot about Marty turning up.

[BlueHave]

lucido grigio said:

I forgot about Marty turning up.

The Deloreon has heavier steering feel than a Dennis Fire Engine and about the same cornering ability

[Cliftonite]

BlueHave said:

The Deloreon has heavier steering feel than a Dennis Fire Engine and about the same cornering ability

But looks nice! ☺

[Yertis]

BlueHave said:

The Deloreon has heavier steering feel than a Dennis Fire Engine and about the same cornering ability

Are they really that bad? Even after Lotus involvement?

I must admit I quite like them (having never driven one).

[Horsetan]

Yertis said:

Are they really that bad? Even after Lotus involvement?

I must admit I quite like them (having never driven one).

I think there is a lively industry (US-based, obviously) dedicated to improving the DeLorean into something half-decent. It could have been a really good car but it took a film franchise to make people wake up to its value.

[Isimmo]

Horsetan said:

Yertis said:

Are they really that bad? Even after Lotus involvement?

I must admit I quite like them (having never driven one).

I think there is a lively industry (US-based, obviously) dedicated to improving the DeLorean into something half-decent. It could have been a really good car but it took a film franchise to make people wake up to its value.

I drove one several times back in the early 2000's. Compared to today's offerings on basic performance and handling they are probably still left wanting, as are most cars 35+ years old. Performance was never groundbreaking, neither was handling or stopping... All of which are completely missing the point. It is an iconic car, regardless. Film/drug baron/Regional development funding fraud aside, the car has a rightful place in the motoring hall of fame, if nothing else, for its brushed aluminium, gull wing and raked design.

[BlueHave]

Isimmo said:

Horsetan said:

Yertis said:

Are they really that bad? Even after Lotus involvement?

I must admit I quite like them (having never driven one).

I think there is a lively industry (US-based, obviously) dedicated to improving the DeLorean into something half-decent. It could have been a really good car but it took a film franchise to make people wake up to its value.

I drove one several times back in the early 2000's. Compared to today's offerings on basic performance and handling they are probably still left wanting, as are most cars 35+ years old. Performance was never groundbreaking, neither was handling or stopping... All of which are completely missing the point. It is an iconic car, regardless. Film/drug baron/Regional development funding fraud aside, the car has a rightful place in the motoring hall of fame, if nothing else, for its brushed aluminium, gull wing and raked design.

Sales weren't that great either they could have offered a complimentary bag of nose candy courtesy of John Delorean himself and it wouldn't have increased sales.

The build quality wasn't up to scratch either. Apparently at the factory in Belfast they gave priority to people who were long term unemployed and with zero engineering experience. They put them on a government funded training course to teach them how to assemble the cars in a few weeks.