I should have dropped my subscription to Automobile when it became food and
travel monthly, and did drop my subscription when it became an ode to David
E. Davis, a fine automotive journalist and man I am sure, but when about
half the magazine was devoted to talking about how great he was I lost
interest.
I don't necessarily agree with the statement that modern car magazines
shouldn't write about British cars. Road and Track has several regular
contributors that "get it right" such as Peter Egan and Phil Hill. Even the
mags that specialize in vintage cars make glaring errors, I recently
remember reading in an American publication specializing in classic cars
about the Series One E-type with "overdrive transmission".
We are not talking about a Ginetta or TVR here, one would think that they
could get the basic specs of a car that is a staple and icon of the classic
car scene right.
Greg Lemon
54 BN1
----- Original Message -----
From: "davidwjones" <davidwjones@cox.net>
To: <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 11:38 PM
Subject: Reliability Rally Article
> Modern car magazines should never write articles on classic British cars.
> --They rarely get it right or miss the point, altogether.
>
> Received the Jan. "Automobile" today.Was pleased to see that it included
an
> article on British cars. --Made a cup of coffee and settled in to read
> "Unreliably Reliable" - A "reliability rally" test of a Lotus Ilan, BJ8,
MGA
> 1600 MK 2, TR4A, Triumph Dolomite Sprint, Morris Minor pickup truck, and
Ford
> Cortina. ...........Oh Brother.
> The first three quarters of the article were spent tongue lashing the
British
> motor industry of the 1950s and 60s, for poor reliability and blaming that
> period for the lack of contemporary British owned automobile mfgrs. Then
for
> some reason large gobs of text were dedicated to Federal express for
providing
> transport for some of the cars to the starting point in Michigan.
> Further, there were really no decent "car pictures" and really no text
> allocated to the actual driving of the cars.
> The only examples given of the "unreliability" of these cars during the
whole
> rally was a holed piston on a severely "overtweaked" Mini Cooper (a car
not
> even in the test), and a "smoking problem" on the Lotus Ilan S4 - because
the
> author had not inserted the oil dipstick in all the way when taking a
reading,
> and overfilled the engine oil by a quart!!! ---Still not even a remark
that
> the cars had been remarkably reliable. The only mention of the actual
driving
> was how we all have forgotten how cars of the period "smell" badly of
exhaust,
> and how they had had trouble learning how to engage the overdrive smoothly
in
> the Healey, Dolomite, and TR4......Idiots! --They described how one
staffer
> complained that driving in overdrive in the MGA (no overdrive) made the
car
> feel "hotter". --Turns out he was flipping the heater blower
switch..........
> Grrrrrr.
>
> Very disappointing. It is hard for me to imagine an article on classic
cars
> handled this badly. I'd have rather that they didn't try at all.
> David W. Jones
> '62 Mk II BT7 tricarb
> Cumberland, RI USA
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