Who Likes a Triumph Anyway [and why]?

[Alfasudcrazy]

I always wanted an open top sports car and at first thought of a Mazda Miata - but a guy who was into classic cars suggested a classic. I loved the Austin Healy but they were too expensive for me. I had always liked the TR6 ever since a guy in my town had one when I was in my early teens so I went the UK and bought a nice 75 TR6 in red.
I still have it thirteen years later and its like one of the family - the best £5,400 I ever spent. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif

 

[donbmw]

I would have not picked my TR3 if I had realy been looking for a car to restore. But my uncle had this in his garage for 13 years and did not do anything with it. I told he if he were to clean out the garage I would like to take the car of his hands. He gave me the car and it has been fun to restore and drive since I have had it on the road. I wish the new cars were where you could work on them like this is.

 

[Hegg]

Can't argue with anything said. I love the attractiveness, the uniqueness, the simpleness, the handling-ness, and the gas mileage-ness.

I feel like most LBCs were designed to become one with the driver. It's not just a car like everyone else's that is for transportation only.

Great to look at and invigorating to drive!

 

[Ab Crevoiserat]

I wanted one back in H.S. but I was only 17 and Dad wouldn't co-sign the loan. He said it wasn't "practical". Duh isn't that the point? Well, now I'm 53 and I got the one I wanted all those years ago. Dad, who is still with us, saw it and asked " why the heck did you get that for"? I said because it's not practical. He just doesn't get it. When ever I drive it I just smile smile smile.

 

[siberian]

I fell in love at a gas station..

I was filling up at the local Chevron station one evening and up pulls this gorgeous looking retro roadster with these crazy union jack flags on the tail. The throaty growl coming out of it hooked me and it was downhill from there.

A year and countless google searches and ebay bids later I just purchased my first TR6, a 1971.

https://www.siberian.org/

Here we go!

 

[Webb Sledge]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

To be summed up in one word: character. Modern cars just don't have it. Any of them. Triumphs, MGs, Jags, Healeys and the like have it in spades, and I'll take character over practicality and sheer speed anyday.

 

[35thbdaytr6]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

I used to ride in my friends older brothers blue TR6 when I was 11, and he always had some hot girl with him. I also remember the Union Jack and Redlines. Took me 24 years to get one.

 

[aeronca65t]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

One thing not mentioned about Triumphs in particular, is that all of them have seperate frames, making it easier to do a frame-off restoration. (OK, I'm not actually sure if the TR7 or the 2000 sedan are unibody).
Cars like MGBs and Sprites have unibody construction, making them harder for full restoration.
I have great memories of all my old Triumphs, particularly
the TR3.

 

[lesingepsycho]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

I have to go with Webb Sledge. I think character is definitely what sums it up. New cars have no character, in fact, hardly anything new has character... cars, houses, office buildings, movies, tv shows, etc. Character doesn't have a big enough 'profit margin' these days I guess. Everything today is about the bottom line and it makes for highways and suburbs packed with cookie cutter cars and houses, offices jammed with cubicles so that they can pack as many people like sardines into the least cubic feet, movies and tv shows as a two-hour product placment commercial. It's disgusting and people are yearning to have character in their lives again which is why we are seeing the introduction of all these modern throw-backs like the Mini's, the T-bird, the new Mustang, the MGF, PT Cruiser only these cars themselves are just as cookie cutter. I took a vow to never ever own a car newer than the early 70's. After that they start losing character. That's why we get so much attention when we're out in our LBC's. People still recognize character when they see it and they respect it.

 

[sammyb]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

[ QUOTE ]
To be summed up in one word: character. Modern cars just don't have it. Any of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Webb,
Sorry, but I simply just don't agree. (Usually it's old farts who say "they don't make 'em like they used to," but you're too young to be blinded by nostalgia /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

It's nice to say that new cars don't have character, but I can list plenty of new cars that have character in spades, just like a TR or MG.

For instance, have you ever run a Honda S2000 up to it's 9000 redline? (Okay, the current one is now down to 8500.) How about have you ever autocrossed a Miata? Ever taken a full-throttle jaunt around a freeway cloverleaf in a Boxster, 911 or BMW M3? How about looking down the long, sleek hood of a C5 Corvette with the HUD showing a three-digit speed?

Have you ever thrown a BMW 745i into a corner, only to find it exhibits zero body roll, outstanding steering feedback and surging power for exiting the apex -- as well as heated/cooled seats and room for five. What about the Nissan 350Z, which is instantly recognizable, and emits a great note at high RPMs? Then there's the mold-breaking lines (both interior and exterior) of the Mazda RX8...And need I even mention the Mini Cooper?

All these cars have plenty of character, as do many others. Character oozes from these cars in styling, performance, feedback, luxury and other traits.

If anything, many of the auto manufacturers are designing in character with reckless abandon now, since the field is so flooded with competition. Heck, I drove a new 2005 Avalon two weeks ago and was blown away that the car integrated so much style and straight-line performance equal to a Ferrari 308GTSi. From the car company known for creating vehicles for people who hate driving, this is a very positive sign.

My guess is that if we did a unit-to-unit comparison of all cars from 1955, 1965, 1970 and today, I think you'd find there are more soul-filled cars and trucks now then were offered in days past.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

I'm with you, Sammy. Hate to pull the age card, but after 50-plus years, I've noticed that even nostalgia ain't what it used to be! Each generation brings something new and exciting to the table, yet each waning generation also looks back to the days when... Problem is, we all suffer from selective memory.

I love my TR3, but sure do like the A/C and soft ride of my new Tacoma four-door!

Mickey

 

[Rick O.]

It's the nostalgic roots of being unique and authentic that most appeal to me still. So much so, I've added a pair of Hinckley Triumphs, Bonnie T100 and Speedmaster, to the stable to accompany the TR6. What a season this is gong to be!

 

[Bill Redd]

Sammy, great thoughts on the subject.
Webb, maybe the correct word is "quaint."

I was helping my fifth grader with a "WordMaster" worksheet for school recently, and one of the words was quaint. "Cute, odd, a little different." All of our thoughts seem to be along that vein, and it may be partially because of selective memory.

Many of the newer cars may have their own personality, but I'd be shocked to see the owner of any of those carry around any spare parts. Heck, changing a tire often involves calling AAA!!!

 

[Kurtis]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

Sammy,

While I don't totally disagree with your comments to Webb, it looks to me like you're equating performance, style, etc. with character. If character were to be defined by "styling, performance, feedback, luxury", I doubt any Triumph would register on the dial compared to today's cars.

So what is character? Here’s my opinion… If you smell like the car after driving it, it has character. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[BOXoROCKS]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

Hmmmm... everyone is probably right. Whats next? Blondes, Brunettes, Redheads,.. who makes the best pizza?

 

[35thbdaytr6]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

I believe that we are currently on the tail end of another Musclecar Era just like the 60's era. As I remember listening to my dad talk about big block 'Vettes and XK120's, my son's friends will be fascinated about tales of M3's, M5's, Z8's, Z06's and many of the other cars his father drove new. I did a second gear burn-out in the Z8 BMW uses as a photo shoot car that was several hundred feet long. He was with me in a 320d going around the Nurburgring when we were passed by Z1's, Elises, prototype Evo 7's and the BMW 'RingTaxi. The current generation may even look back at thier ugly, decaled up coffee can cars like I remember my '71 Sport LeMans. I've owned over 70 cars in my 17 year driving career, I bet 75% of them I would have been content to keep. Of course, that makes 25% complete piles of dung. In summary, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Somewhere someone collects slant six Dusters, considering them the finest metal ever to be stamped, and they have no use for the little cars from across the pond. It's ok with me, if everyone wanted TR's, I couldn't afford one.

 

[jsneddon]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

Next to my TR-3, my slant-six duster was the best car I ever owned. Where else can you get 3 solid years of trouble-free transportation for under $400 ????

Yes, it is the eye of the beholder...

But personally, I just don't see some 16 year old curling up with a greasy Haynes manual for a 2005 Toyota Whachamacallit in 20 years and figuring out how to change the dang clutch without ending up with a bunch of loose bolts and he STILL can't get the stupid shroud off let alone FIND the transmission.

 

[AltaKnight]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

For me, character means being somewhat different or at least not "mainstream".
The reason todays cars appear to lack character is they've all evolved from the "form follows function" priciple therefore they all look superficialy similar. When you throw a lump of clay into a wind tunnel you generally come out with a similar shape.
The old cars were more designed around what looked good at the time, what looked good then has a sort of timeless quality that still looks good today - but different.
Of course the manufacturing equipment of the time wasn't capable of forming some of today's curves into sheet metal either.

 

[35thbdaytr6]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

They used to change domestic cars every year before the mid sixties, even then until the mid 70's grilles, bumpers and trim changed yearly. There is no doubt character is nearly non existant, and all the blown plastic today will deem cars unrestoreable. Someone will love them. I read in Classic Sports Car Magazine that when they were building the McLaren F1, part of the criteria was that if a car was found in a barn in 80 years, it should be restoreable. There are no molded plastic parts on the car, everything is machined metal or hand laid carbon. Of course, it's also a million bucks - a modern day Bugatti?

 

[Eric]

Re: I fell in love at a gas station..

I think we need to be careful to compare apples to apples here. Most of the cars on the road in the 50s and 60s were bland, boring and characterless - just like most of the cars are now. A GT6 or TR3 stood out from the mass of road furniture when they were new, the same way a Honda S2000 stands out from the masses of Camrys and Tauruses now. Our LBCs are a hugely non-representative selection of the cars from their eras. They survived precisely because they have character (whatever that is) and the masses of road furniture haven't.

I also am convinced that all of us think that the cars we lusted after when we were 16 are the ones we always think of as the most desirable. Most 16 year olds now can't understand the appeal of a TR6 - a different era with different priorities. Besides, I defy you to assert an Elise lacks character!