Fair point - but if they all thought like that, we wouldn't have got the
MGF... whilst it's no Z3, it's probably the latter-day Spitfire we never
had. Far better than Miatas et al (Why aren't they in the US, surely it
would sell like nothing else - it's only around 20k in the UK, which means
you'd get it for about 3 grand over there? ;-)
I think all too often we are caught out by sentimentality and "heritage"
then nearly go bust - so what happens? Every Tom Dick and Ford goes and buys
the bl@@dy names!! (Aston, Rolls, Bentley, Jaguar, Rover, now even "Mini" !)
Yet people still buy those 'marques' because of the name. Ford & VW have
done a good job of making people buy their cars, who otherwise turn their
noses up at them.
I mainly like old cars 'cos they look nicer.
Andy www.spitfires.net
68 Spitfire
73 GT6
71 Karmann Ghia
95 Beetle
-----Original Message-----
From: Tburke4@aol.com [mailto:Tburke4@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 11:37 AM
To: jmcneal@ohms.com; Terrence.Banbury@dnr.state.oh.us;
spitfires@autox.team.net; technical@iwnet.screaming.net
Subject: Re: CNN reports BMW pays Phoenix to take over
Jeff,
I have to say I even feel that way about some of the later model Triumphs
like the Stag and the TR8. They had great performance and reflected a modern
approach to what a sports car could be, but, the molded plastic and "modern"
car-building materials took Triumph far away from the TR2-3-4/Spitfire
simplicity that I find so appealing, particularily for restoration. No
offense to the Stag/TR8 guys (they are the bravest of the parts hunters),
just my personal taste.
A "NEW" Triumph would necessarily be a competitor to the Z3, S2000, etc. and
it would, as you say, have little in common with our cars, besides the name.
You can't go home again,
Tom Burke
80 Spit (which still can't leave home, either)
In a message dated 05/11/2000 7:54:40 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
jmcneal@ohms.com writes:
<< Terry,
Here's the way I feel about it. The true Triumph marque died out many
years
ago. Just seeing the name on a new car wouldn't ignite the same passion in
me. Or if it did, the $30,000 + price tag would quickly douse the flame.
The whole appeal of these cars -- at least from my standpoint -- is that
they reflect the era from which they were built. The history, the ease of
working under the bonnet, the unrefined ride where you feel every bump in
the road, the fear of having something blow up or fall off during high revs
and sharp turns -- all these elements (and more) would be lost on a newly
manufactured car. >>
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