The Title BUGEYE or FROGEYE for that matter

[59diamond]

I owned a 1959 AH Sprite in the 1962 to 1963 time frame and to my knowledge I never heard it referred to as a BUGEYE or a FROGEYE.
It was just called a Sprite. Does anyone know when they began to be referred to as Bugeyes or Frogeyes. After selling my Sprite in 1963 I didn't follow the evolution of of these names until I became reinterested in owning one a few years ago. That is when I discovered they were now called these names. Does anyone know who first coined these names for a Sprite.

 

[Roger]

They were called "Frogeyes" in England right from the very early days.
"Bugeye" is the transatlantic version, I have no idea when that started.

 

[59diamond]

Thanks for taking a stab at it.

 

[HealeyRick]

I bought my first bugeye in 1967. The term was in wide use by then.

 

[59diamond]

So we may have narrowed it down to starting sometime after 1963 when I sold mine or maybe after 50 some years I just don't remember.

 

[SaxMan]

I remember reading articles about Bugeye Sprites in the early 1980s, but by then the moniker was well in use. I'd hypothesize that once the "Square Sprites" has been in production for a few years and were relatively common, that is when the Bugeye moniker began to be used, as this was a way to tell the cars apart.

In the saxophone world, the Conns built in the mid-20s to early 30s that have split-bell keys are often referred to as a "Chu" or "Chu Berry". This was in homage to the saxophone player of the same name, who continued to play the split-bell key Conns well into the era of when saxophones went to having the bell keys on the same side. It was originally a term of derision, but has now become a generally accepted term today. Conns built before 1924 are referred to as "Pre Chu" if you can believe that. The reality is they all had the same model numbers, just from different eras.

 

[longbridgehealey]

I owned my first Bugeye in 1966, and at that time it was commonly referred to as a "Bugeye" in southern Pennsylvania, where I lived.

 

[59diamond]

That timeline makes since and ties in with SAxMan's theory that they started calling them Bugeyes after the Square Sprites came along. It would be interesting if it were possible to find out who was the first person to to use the word "Bugeye".

 

[CLEAH]

A quick scan of the contemporary road tests in the US reveals that the motoring press did not use Bugeye or Frogeye, but Road & Track in its August 1958 road test did refer to the headlights as "frog like," which is kinder than other magazines. I also looked at a number of the road tests of the box Sprite and did not see any Bugeye references there either, mostly just saying the styling changes were welcome. So, mystery still not solved.

 

[CLEAH]

In Autocar's 1961 test of the box Sprite they refer to the original as "pop eyed."

 

[Gerard]

I owned a 1959 AH Sprite in the 1962 to 1963 time frame and to my knowledge I never heard it referred to as a BUGEYE or a FROGEYE.
It was just called a Sprite. Does anyone know when they began to be referred to as Bugeyes or Frogeyes. After selling my Sprite in 1963 I didn't follow the evolution of of these names until I became reinterested in owning one a few years ago. That is when I discovered they were now called these names. Does anyone know who first coined these names for a Sprite.

I think it was fairly early, but I know for certain it was by 1968 when I bought my first one. That's exactly how it was advertised. I had no idea what it was until I went to see it. Still, I think it was the first time I ever saw one, but then, I grew up in the "Motor City", where you didn't see, let along drive a foreign car.

 

[CLEAH]

One further funny thing I found in my reading of old road tests. In Road & Track's 1963 review of the new Sprite, they praised the use of carpet in the interior as opposed to the Mk 1's rubber material which they referred to as "unborn Gila Monster hide."

 

[59diamond]

I remember my original 59 Bugeye with the rubber mats, no seat belts, but it had a bumper. A friend who live across the street from me had a set of used seat belts and he installed them for me. I never had a side view mirror. I bought it from a Chevy dealer who had taken it in as a trade in. I payed $1,200 for it in 1962 drove it to college for almost two years and resold it for $1,200. If I had only known then how popular they would become I never would have sold it. It was OLD ENGLISH WHITE. But $1,200 was a lot of money back then considering my first job out of college in 1965 paid $5,200 a year. I remember renting a furnished one bedroom Apartment for $89 a month back then, and thinking I had splurged. My wife graduated soon after me and got a teaching job for about $5,000 a year. We were rolling in the dough. We were able to put her entire paycheck away every month and just live off of my salary. Those were the good old days. Today my electric bill is about $200 a month.

 

[aeronca65t]

This is me and my Bugeye racing at New Egypt Speedway (NJ) around 1969. Bought it for $60 from a neighbor and had to put it back together (engine out and disassembled).

I always called it a "Bugeye".

 

[nomad]

Well, I'm enjoying these reminiscences!

My friends and I first discovered British cars around 1964. At the time we were interested in anything with an internal combustion engine that created speed! I believe we always referred to the first sprite as a "Bug-eye". Wanted to buy one in the 60's but more knowledgeable friends steered me away because of the 948's anemic power.

Kurt.

 

[SaxMan]

Until I took more than just a passing interest in LBCs, I always thought that Bugeye Sprites were TR3s. I never fully understood the difference between the Midget and the MGB either. To me they seemed identical.