It's funny, I guess it's a matter of perspective. The hood may be a pain to
take down and get up but after dealing with several MGB's my first
impression of the hood on my TR8 was "what an improvement".
Very funny stuff jonmac...it would be even funnier if it wasn't so true.
Mark Ascherl
1981 TR8 DHC FI
Raleigh, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Macartney" <jonmac@ndirect.co.uk>
To: <francisd@telus.net>
Cc: "Triumphs List" <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 4:03 PM
Subject: Re: TR7 design
>
> Francis Dupuis wrote:
>
> Whoever agreed to that idiotic design should be forced to try to do up the
snaps on a cold
> sunny winter day until they can get them all to stay on. Then they can try
to get the
> front of the top locked in.
>
> Now, Francis, my dear fellow - here we have a situation which crops up
from time to time
> where a lot of people take things ultra-seriously and express surprise and
concern that
> so-and-so doesn't work (at all) or properly.We're not talking Pacific Rim
build quality,
> reliability, proven results from long-term testing or any of that old
cobblers. We're
> talking about the British car, old chap.
> The only way I can attempt to convey the reason(s) why is to list a number
of replies I
> heard over the years as to why the cars were as they were.
> In summary, you can call it short-sighted insular British arrogance. It
may be vaguely
> amusing now, but not so long ago, many people in the UK manufacturing
business were
> utterly and totally convinced their finished product was the paragon of
excellence in
> every way. If you, as the customer held a divergent view, then you didn't
really know what
> you were talking about - so let's humour you and with a bit of luck you'll
go away.
>
> "There's nothing wrong with the suspension. It works perfectly well at
MIRA."
> "Yes, it's clear you've stripped the final drive pinion but this suggests
you've abused
> it." (User response) "Well, you have to understand its not all that easy
to emulate being
> shot at by the Germans here in Coventry, although we've had our share of
being bombed. I
> tell you what, why don't you post a few look-outs further out into the
desert so that when
> old Jerry pays a surprise visit you'll have a bit more forewarning and
this'll mean drive
> take-up will be a bit more gentle. It's clear you've rather seriously
overloaded the axle
> anyway."
> "Yes, Madam - your Herald side rear window panels are crumpled. That's
because you've
> collapsed the top incorrectly. Why don't you read the instruction book?"
> "What do you mean, you have to put a towel between you and the seat,
otherwise you sweat
> on a hot day? If you get that hot, might I suggest you only use the car
when the sun is
> less fierce?"
> "Mmm, yes, we've heard of that one before on the Herald and Vitesse
convertibles. Look, if
> you insist on driving the car fully laden on a rough road, you will get
body twist. Fact
> of life old chap. This means you have to battle a bit to line up the
overcentre locks on
> the screen header rail. Well, if it's a bit of a struggle for you - take
the car to a
> dealer and ask him to apply some 'gentle persuasion' to get the thing in
place."
> "Carpets in a Land Rover? What on earth for? On the Toyota, you can't
clean out the inside
> with a jet of water because of the fitted carpets. On a Land Rover you can
use a hose -
> because there aren't any carpets. Land Rovers don't need them!"
> "Yes, well maybe the hood material is a mite stiff in cold weather. But
why would you want
> to drive with the top down when it's cold?"
> "Oh dear, the hydrolastic suspension's collapsed has it? Has it not
occurred to you that
> when the road gets a bit bumpy you ought to slow down?"
> "Yes, we've thoroughly tested the car in the United States. We sent one
over there for a
> week or two and everyone loved it."
> "There's no good reason really for calibrating oil pressure gauges in bar
rather than psi,
> or thermometers in centigrade rather than fahrenheit. We've always done it
that way - so
> why change? In any case, this metrication business is for those wops in
Europe and a few
> other scattered places."
> "Can't understand why the Eyeties (Italians) want to have a separate green
'lights on'
> pilot lamp on the dash. You can see the instrument lights anyway - and
what's wrong with
> getting out of the car to do a visual check?"
> "Look at this way. The Americans spend billions of dollars on a space
launch that fails on
> take-off, so what do you expect for six hundred quid?"
>
> That really was the attitude, Francis. It's a British car, made for a
British climate -
> and if you want to use it under different conditions and raise a whole
host of problems in
> the process - that's your problem, not ours.
>
> And much of the above goes to explain why the indigenous British motor
industry is either
> just a memory or under foreign ownership. We've no-one to blame but
ourselves.
>
> Cheers
> Jonmac
>
>
>
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