Nice essay Scott.
I imagine that this is sort of like a preacher in his home church, an
old, close little brick building with no AC down in the Tidewater region
somewhere, giving a sermon on a miserably hot Sunday.
This man is preaching to the truly converted.
Amen Brother, Say it Again.
(I think you're on the West Coast, so for your info, the Tidewater region
is the southern Chesapeake bay coastal area. Notoriously hot and humid
(double 90's) about this time of year. I love it.
I, softhead that I am, really like the TR7 a lot. I think that it is
only in the past 2 or 3 years that automobile styling has finally advanced
beyond the TR7 into new ground. A lot of times when a late model Probe
catches up to me from the rear I think its a TR7, because the hood and
light shape is the same. As for mechanicals, a blueprinted TR8 is
a pretty good argument for the actual sportscar value of the model - the
need to disassemble and reassemble the car of course speaks poorly for
the factory itself. To be fair though, the 70's were a nadir for build
quality in the U.S. too. (I have heard fascinating stories of the
number and variety of fasteners appearing on AMC cars...)
I also believe that rationalisation, of itself, is not responsible for
the death of our beloved cars. In fact, it should have kept them going
for longer. I think part of the survival of cars like the Alfa Spider,
or (for a while at least) the Fiat Spider and X1/9 was the use of
"parts bin" parts. No development cost for things like door handles
or speedos, and large scale production benefits.
I also was only vaguely aware that safety concerns nearly outlawed the
ragtop. I always kind of wondered why there was a dead period in the
late 70's.
Greg F.
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