Tag: Cars

This post was prompted by my (belated) Sunday post from earlier this week, wherein I described the BMW 507 and M1 as my choice of “companion” cars.

Which leads me to wonder the following:  if you had to pick two models from the same badge on the hood as your companion pieces, which two would you select?  (Examples:  Ford GT and F150, Mercedes G-wagen and SL*, Toyota Prius and Corolla — okay, that one’s a joke — or MGB and MG Midget, etc. )

When picking a model, be as specific as you can. — e.g. Mercedes 230 SL / Mercedes 500 SL, with the year if possible.

In addition to the BMW pair above, I’d also like the 1956 Mercedes 300S Coupe and 1964 Mercedes 230 SL:

No need to provide pics;  if I run another post later on the choices, I’ll get them myself.

When I posted my little paean of car-lust for the BMW 507 a few days ago, there was a certain degree of good-natured ribbing of Beemer drivers.  For all that, though, we all know that BMW has turned out some pretty good cars over the years, and another of my personal favorites was the first of the M series, the M1.

I first saw one of these back in the early 1980s in South Africa, and fell into complete lust for it.  Of course, it was way out of my means to buy one, and I was saving for another classic at the time anyway.

But in doing some research on this beauty, I unexpectedly stumbled on something fine:  a man who repairs and restores classic cars such as these, and I was instantly drawn in.  (Many hours later…)

We’re all familiar with the brilliant “Primer” series, hosted by Othias and Mae — who educate us about classic guns — and I think I’ve discovered a similar channel for those of us who, like me, are in love with old cars as much as we are in love with old firearms.

This would be Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop, hosted by Iain Tyrrell, and here’s his take on the BMW M1.

Just as watching Othias and Mae talk about old guns makes us (well, me at any rate) want to possess one of those old beauties, Tyrrell’s discussion of the car’s history, his repair and final test drive of the M1 makes me want one of those M1s with a desire so much it hurts.

So I hereby announce that the BMW 507 and M1 are my current automotive love pairing:

1950s, meet the 1980s.

As Longtime Readers know, I have an inordinate fondness for sports cars of yore, and especially ones of my misbegotten and largely wasted youth.  The Alfa Romeo Spider, Austin Healey 3000 and the little MGB GT, to name but three, were all the objects of desire in my younger times, and it’s easy to see why:

 

However, if I were asked today which sports car of the pre-1975 era I would like to own today, unchanged, it would probably be a car of which I knew nothing at the time, probably because I was only about 3 years old.  Yes, I speak of the impossibly-sexy BMW 507 of the late 1950s:

I know, this is the car which nearly bankrupted BMW, but that’s all ancient history.  The fact of the matter is that the 507 embodies almost all my list of desirable features:  a small 3.0-liter V8, adequate acceleration and top speed, and of course matchless good looks, all in a neatly-sized package of simple yet tasteful design.

It was also more reliable than any of the later sports cars I alluded to above, which satisfies another of my must-have features.  I’d even take the soft-top cabrio:

Feel free to take issue with me in Comments.

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This was the Sunday post which went AWOL on me.  Once again, my apologies.

Triggered, so to speak, by some silly article somewhere on the Internet (SOTI), I thought I’d discuss some fine cars that were (almost) the stars of the movies they appeared in.  (And for reasons of taste, the entire Fast & Furious  and Gone in 60 Seconds  franchises are disqualified.  Likewise, car-centric movies like Le Mans  and Grand Prix are excluded or else we could be here all day.)  So here we go, in no specific order:

1936 Ford Essex (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang):

Too bad it appeared in one of the worst movies ever made.

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (Vanishing Point):
As any fule kno, I’m not a huge fan of American muscle cars of the era, because I think they’re over-large and handle like supermarket carts in a corner, but even I have to admit that the side view is excellent.

1964 Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger):
Still sexy after all these years, the DB5 is a vision, even without all the silly gadgets.  Want.

1968 Mustang GT Fastback (Bullitt):

Likewise, even I enjoyed watching ol’ Steve McQ pushing this thing around the San Francisco streets.

1966 Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider (The Graduate):

The sound of that peppy little Alfa 1600cc engine snarling away as it carries Dustin Hoffman in his doomed attempt to stop the marriage of Mrs. Robinson’s daughter to some other guy… there ya go:  the entire movie synopsis in just one sentence.  Want.

And another Alfa:

1961 Alfa Romeo Guiletta Spider (The Day Of The Jackal):

Edward Fox sets off to assassinate the President of France armed only with an Alfa Romeo, a cravat and the best concealed rifle ever designed.

1965 Austin Mini-Cooper (The Italian Job):

The original, not the vastly-inferior remake made with BMW Minis.  Want.

1977 Pontiac Trans Am (Smokey & the Bandit):

…also quite possibly the ugliest car ever to appear on film.  Do Not Want.

1948 Ford Custom Deluxe (Grease):

Actually not a bad-looking car, if you removed all the trashy lightning decals.

1958 Plymouth Fury (Christine):

I never actually saw the movie, just the preview;  but if you’re looking for flashy Murkin fins ‘n chrome from the 1950s, the Fury is kinda hard to beat.

Special Mention:

Knight Bus (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince):

…and Harry’s ride on it was pretty much the best part of the movie.

I have stated before that I want to drive a decent car around the Spa Francorchamps racetrack for just a half-dozen or so laps.

After watching this, I want to do it in one of these:

…and you will too, after the video.

If not Spa, then over in Britishland, at Brands Hatch — the “long” course of the 1960s:

…, not the abbreviated wussy dildo-shaped one they use today:

[sigh]