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Vin # Question

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kodanja

kodanja

Obi Wan
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Ok
According to spec's the 1971 TR6 Vin. numbers started at CC58298

I have a car registered as a 71' but manufactured in 1970 with the Vin.# as CC58125......

.so is my car a 70 or 71?
The car I have has all the equipment of a 71' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif
 
Hi,

I can't be totally certain if the same applies to the 1970s, but in the 1960s it was common for Triumphs (and other cars) to be registered in the year they were sold for the first time, not by the year they were actually built. For example, my TR4 was built in late 1962, but sold in early '64. So it's registered as a '64.

One reason was that this way the manufacturers and dealers got around having to discount and sell off "last year's" models. Of course, back then the models tended to be quite similar for a lot longer than today's cars, which seem to be redesigned about every 3 years, minimum. I suppose this is done today to encourage everyone to trade "up" often so they can keep up with the neighbors and have the "latest and greatest".

It wasn't until the 1980s that VIN # formats became standardized, for example, so I would suspect some (a lot?) of this occured during the 1970s, too.

On the other hand, regarding today's frequently re-styled cars... Seems to me they might be running out of ideas.

I personally think it's possible a lot of today's automotive "styling" is actually being done by one-armed, half-blind chimpanzees locked in a cage with a bunch of shoeboxes, Scotch tape and crayons until they come up with something. My apologies to the poor chimps.

There's gotta be a huge cost savings to the manufacturers that avoid using trained and experienced human stylists, who might have original and attractive ideas, but unfortunately want to be paid with something more than bananas!

Gettin' down off my soapbox now!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
thanx for the info

I really think you have the recent manufacturers pegged...

"I personally think it's possible a lot of today's automotive "styling" is actually being done by one-armed, half-blind chimpanzees locked in a cage with a bunch of shoeboxes, Scotch tape and crayons until they come up with something. My apologies to the poor chimps." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/troll.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/troll.gif
 
Titling a car in the US as "year sold" was fairly common until the late 1960s. But beginning around 1968, as Federal mandates for safety and emissions began, this began to change. Initially, standards took effect for "cars manufactured for sale on or after January 1, 19xx" but apparently later "morphed" into rather stricter model year designations.

Also, contrary to popular belief, model years were not exactly an unknown concept to Triumph. But even during periods of fantastic sales of a given model, it could easily be 2-3 months or more from the moment a commission number plate was stamped and affixed to a car, to the time it got across the ocean, then to some regional distributor, then dealer...and then to the first owner.

Think about it: I kinda doubt Triumph would HAPPILY sell a customer a brand-new 1970 Triumph TR6 in February 1971. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
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