You see, that's where it gets tricky.
Rootes did running changes on most of their cars, there's no real
cutoff of "model year" as manufacturers do today. "Model year" of an
older car will depend upon the laws in the country and state it was
originally registered. I grew up in New Jersey, and it was common
practice to title foreign cars as the year of sale, rather than the year
of manufacture.
My Alpine, for instance, is registered as a 1966, however it was built
in early November of 1966. So it would have had to make it from the
factory in England to the dealer in New Jersey, USA in a very short time
in order to be sold in 1966. My car's chassis number is B395012436, so
is quite later than either of yours. So both of your cars were built in
1966, but most likely the later one didn't sell right away. There are
all sorts of reasons that could happen. Market tastes, for example - is
it an unusual color, or does it have any unusual options? A former
co-worker worked at a VW dealer in the 60's. Customers would go on a
waiting list for Beetles, selecting what color they wanted. When a load
of cars came in, the salesman would call and say "Sorry, no blue ones
yet, but we've got a nice grey one and a red one available." Sometimes
the customer would just run right down and buy what was available,
sometimes they'd wait. I know the reason I have a green Alpine - there
were only two available at the dealer when the original owner bought it.
One was red, with bolt-on wheels. This one was green, with wires. When I
bought the car from him, he told me he kind of liked the red, but he
really wanted those wire wheels.
Your '67 could have been a demonstrator - possibly the dealer made sure
to keep at least one car on the lot so that customers could test drive
one before placing an order. It was quite different buying a car in the
60's compared to today. The instant gratification that has pervaded our
society has changed that quite a lot. "No money down", or "Sign and
drive" are the way of things today.
As for me, I'll stick with my old Rootesmobiles. They may not be trendy,
and they may need a bit of work now and then, but I've never, ever been
left stranded by one.
Jon Arzt
Omaha, NE USA
Ohan . wrote:
> Hi Chuck,
>
> Thanks but that's not what I need.
>
> If an Alpine was built in 66... At what point was it considered a 67..
>
> You know how cars that are built the year previous are considered the
> current years model.
>
>
> "Keep the 'beam alive"
>
> Ohan Korlikian
> Vancouver, BC
> '64 Series IV Alpine GT B9405413 LRX
> '66 Series V Alpine B395007717 LRX
> '67 Series V Alpine B395009458 LRX
> www.sunbeamcanada.org
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