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My middle son, who lived in Syria for two years, has lots of international friends from his travels. He often gets together with various groups of them at different times. A few weeks ago, an Iranian/Pakistani gal (dang, she was beautiful!), a French student, and a few others spent the weeks at Mike's place in New Orleans. Mike wanted to take the first two from New Orleans to Austin, TX, to visit more of their friends and asked if he could use my old Tahoe (1999, quarter of a million miles on it) and I said sure. They made the trip fine, and Mike shared some views the French guy had about America and some of our excesses. He lives a rather meager lifestyle and seemed to be somewhat critical of America and its excesses. Mike said his French friend drove a very small Renault back home, which he shared with others in his family. Said he thought American land yachts were excessive and it was better to drive a small, economy-minded car like his. New Orleans to Austin is a long haul. Mike said when they finally made it back to New Orleans, his French friend was praising the Tahoe and how comfortable it was on the whole trip! He changed his tune after stretching out in the back to sleep part of the trip. He even drove a lot of the way, now wants to get a land yacht!
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A young Frenchman's view of American cars....
- Thread starter TR6BILL
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Amazing what a little perspective can do for one's worldview, isn't it?
And that is a universal statement, by the way... :angel:
And that is a universal statement, by the way... :angel:
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
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Great story, Bill.
Yes, we all need to see the world through the glasses of other's.
And visa-versa.
Would help this world a lot.
And, as a former Tahoe and Renault owner, I can tell you unequivally that I preferred the Renault. :laugh:
Yes, we all need to see the world through the glasses of other's.
And visa-versa.
Would help this world a lot.
And, as a former Tahoe and Renault owner, I can tell you unequivally that I preferred the Renault. :laugh:
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Brosky said:
NOW you're talkin'!
My first car was a '62 Monza coupe - 110hp I think, with a 4-speed. Wanted a later model 140 in the worst way!
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
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We <span style="font-style: italic">are </span> old! :laugh:
I had a '60 2-speed. Pig.
Remember the crazy fan belt?
I wanted a Turbo-180 <span style="text-decoration: underline">so </span> badly!
I remember a friend of mine had a simialr one to mine. One day he was giving four of us a ride home from high school band practice. We "egged him on" to go faster in the turns. Eventually, on one particulalrly bad turn, he spun it. We didn't roll, but there was trumpets, clarinets and drumsticks all over the place when the car finally came to a halt.
The thing I recall about mine was "take the engine out", "put the engine in", "take the engine out", "put the engine in", etc. It was always something.
(I was about 19 in the picture below).
And it leaked fluid more than any Brit-car I've owned. I liked it better than my parent's Falcon, but the Falcon was far less headaches.
I had a '60 2-speed. Pig.
Remember the crazy fan belt?
I wanted a Turbo-180 <span style="text-decoration: underline">so </span> badly!
I remember a friend of mine had a simialr one to mine. One day he was giving four of us a ride home from high school band practice. We "egged him on" to go faster in the turns. Eventually, on one particulalrly bad turn, he spun it. We didn't roll, but there was trumpets, clarinets and drumsticks all over the place when the car finally came to a halt.
The thing I recall about mine was "take the engine out", "put the engine in", "take the engine out", "put the engine in", etc. It was always something.
(I was about 19 in the picture below).
And it leaked fluid more than any Brit-car I've owned. I liked it better than my parent's Falcon, but the Falcon was far less headaches.
rlwhitetr3b
Jedi Knight
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My high school car was a '61 falcon with a 144 ci straight six and a two speed automatic. You picture brings back memories. Now I have to decide if they are good ones or not. %^(
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Oh yeah - the fan belt. Actually, it wasn't that bad a design. I think the weird pulley angles may have contributed to the belt's tendency to take wing. Not the 90-degree turns, but it seems like they were skewed a bit as well.
Friend of mine put a 180 in a dune buggy. I remember distinctly running through City Park in New Orleans with that monster. It was all he could do to keep it in control when the turbo kicked in!
Friend of mine put a 180 in a dune buggy. I remember distinctly running through City Park in New Orleans with that monster. It was all he could do to keep it in control when the turbo kicked in!
My Dad had a Corvair back in the day, and has always kinda wanted another one since. I remember once we visited the Volo Museum and a 'Vair club was meeting on the grounds...he was in heaven!
There was a first generation Monza coupe parked at a house near the folks' for most of the summer-I used to jog past it. Rusty, definitely a project, but a complete runner. I was sorely tempted to knock on the door and make an offer.
-Wm.
There was a first generation Monza coupe parked at a house near the folks' for most of the summer-I used to jog past it. Rusty, definitely a project, but a complete runner. I was sorely tempted to knock on the door and make an offer.
-Wm.
Twosheds
Darth Vader
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My mother had three Corvairs. She taught High School and drove them across town to work and on the odd errand. They are great snow cars. There are some steep hills in Morgantown!
The last one was a '65 with an automatic. The shifter was a little lever on the dashboard. Along with the Impala in Driver's Ed, I learned to drive in that car. My sister drove it on its only long trip. She never checked the oil and ran the engine dry and it seized. May it rest in peace.
The last one was a '65 with an automatic. The shifter was a little lever on the dashboard. Along with the Impala in Driver's Ed, I learned to drive in that car. My sister drove it on its only long trip. She never checked the oil and ran the engine dry and it seized. May it rest in peace.
anthony7777
Yoda
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tr6bill, i had a citroen 2cv. for a beach car one summer, lots a fun, i can tell you that young french man wouldnt want to make that kind of long trip in it.
TR6oldtimer
Darth Vader
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I don't know about you east coast guys, but out here in the west, when asked how far Yuma was from San Diego, you would say about two hours, or San Diego to San Francisco, was 8.5 hours. France is about .210 million square miles, and the U.S. at 3.5 million square miles, we are the third largest country in the world. The vast expanse of our country is difficult for most Europeans to grasp.
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I agree with Ray's point. However, for the sake of comparison, I have a BMW wagon, not the peppiest around town, but designed for the autobahn. That car comes into its own on the freeway, and remains comfortable over a distance. Horses for courses. For city use and local trips, a smaller euro product would be fine. Long hauls need a bigger vehicle with longer legs.
jessebogan
Jedi Knight
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Great topic. I see a lot of "anti American car" sentiment in the British press (Classic and Sports Car and the like) and on Top Gear. I suppose that a 64 Catalina convertible *may* not be the best car on Britans secondary roads, but hey, my Anglia would have been a poor choice to drive from DC to SF too. I loved my BGT, and drove it long distances many times, but at the end of a long day, the noise beat me up as much as anything else did.(No OD, and 70 plus cruising speeds were well, really loud.) The Catalina would just eat the miles up, and you could still have a non yelling conversation at 80 plus. So, different cars for different situations. The Pontiac was ..uhm.. not so much fun on skyline drive.
Look at all the corvair stories!! My earliest memory is going with my parents to buy our red 60 new at Chevy Chase Chevy in Bethesda Md. In the 80s, I had another 60, a green sedan with well under a hundred grand on it. I drove that a lot, and both my brother and father used it as a daily driver for extended periods. Great car, and I loved the gas heater. Instant heat!! So, I always wanted a late model coupe. I think they are great looking cars, and the last of GMs really innovative designs. So, I found one a couple of years ago. The PO had completed all the welding, and lost interest. In 1984. I got a "kit". The body is straight and rust free, and all the other parts were in a pile. No suspension, fuel system, brakes.... I now have the front and rear suspension done and in the car, the brakes done, and am working on the engine.It is on it's wheels for the first time since 84, and I can't wait to fire it up one day. I still have to do the paint and interior, but as with all restorations, I am collecting up parts, and work on it as time permits. So far the worst part was bead blasting all of the tinwork for the engine. The GM folks used some tough paint..., and there sure are a lot of parts to it.
Look at all the corvair stories!! My earliest memory is going with my parents to buy our red 60 new at Chevy Chase Chevy in Bethesda Md. In the 80s, I had another 60, a green sedan with well under a hundred grand on it. I drove that a lot, and both my brother and father used it as a daily driver for extended periods. Great car, and I loved the gas heater. Instant heat!! So, I always wanted a late model coupe. I think they are great looking cars, and the last of GMs really innovative designs. So, I found one a couple of years ago. The PO had completed all the welding, and lost interest. In 1984. I got a "kit". The body is straight and rust free, and all the other parts were in a pile. No suspension, fuel system, brakes.... I now have the front and rear suspension done and in the car, the brakes done, and am working on the engine.It is on it's wheels for the first time since 84, and I can't wait to fire it up one day. I still have to do the paint and interior, but as with all restorations, I am collecting up parts, and work on it as time permits. So far the worst part was bead blasting all of the tinwork for the engine. The GM folks used some tough paint..., and there sure are a lot of parts to it.
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Speaking of the Corvair, My dad and I were working a job up in Bristol, Pa. back in the 70s. We were at the intersection of 413 and 13 in the Bristol area. Some of you might know this intersection not far from the old Rhoam & Haas plant. We were stopped behind a ratty looking corvair. When the light turned green and the corvair tried to take off, I guess his rear motor mount broke as his engine fell out on the highway. It broke the bell housing, so the whole engine was on the road setting in the middle of a very busy intersection during work traffic. That car was called a lot of things that day and there weren't any of the proper names included. Every time I see a Corvair I think of that incident that happened over 30 years ago. Ah, life is just a bunch of happy memories.
