The Good Old Days.

[sheepdog 10]

Someone emailed me today asking if a certain size dog crate would fit in the back seat of his car if I had one shipped to his local airport for him. He told me what he drove, and I for the life of me couldn't remember what that kind of car looked like. I was thinking it was a little car, but he told me in another email it was a full size sedan. Got me to thinking about how the way things used to be. There was a time when driving down the road I could recognise every car we would meet on the road, in many cases right down to not only make and model, but the year it was made. I could even spot minor year differences in some models, like a 70 or 71 chevy pickup. I could dang sure at least tell a Ford from a Chevy or Buick, and Datson's from Toyota's. Now we don't even have Datsons' those are Nisson's now. But now a days every single car on the road looks just like every other car. You can' t even tell the Fords from the chevys! Our car manufactories have no imagination left al all any more. There simple aren't any "cool" cars anymore. One just looks exactly like every other car. It's so boring. I miss the days of the 57 Chevy, Pontiac GTO, and the 54 T Bird, heck even the 1960 Ford Falcon! A Volkswagon was a bug and that was that. If you were poor you drove a Vega or a Pinto. But at least you knew what kind of car everyone had.

 

I hope in the future car makers wake up and look around at the boring world of car styles. Forget about making cars that only certified computer tecs can work on and nobody knows what is. Get come class going down the road again!

[Iniyila 2]

I agree with you, now most of cars are similar, but also in the past there were only a few car makers now there are many in east Asia like south Korea and China , now there are so much models with just a little or even no changes that remembering them is not easy and sometimes even impossible. But I think still in pickup category number of different cars is smaller (actually much smaller) than other categories . at least I haven't seen any Chinese pickup truck around yet ! But I have heard some people have chinesepickup trucks. The problem with styles are just because car makers want to make cars that go and accelerate faster, so if they find out a style which gives them good aerodynamic performance they will stick to it for years. And of course other car makers will just copy it with some small changes to have that performance. But it is good to remember speed is not just that important for a car that you want to drive in many countries. Because there is always a speed limit for every road (even in Germany free ways there is a max of 250km/h) so giving the style a little change may hurt performance a little but will give buyers more choices on the style.It is a little funny now that if you go to market and say you have 20k for a car the salesman will give you 10 option all looks like same from both body and engine ! The only difference is the name you hear ! In past every car maker had its own special style, these styles are only remained same in very little manufacturers, I think the only company which still has kept its own style is Lamborghini, they still make their cars wide a lot wide than you can't park them in many narrow streets but it is not important, the important thing is that they didn't changed their style to fit in a 2.5×1.5m car park . of course some will say those are not practical for daily use but at least when you see them on road you will not mistake in calling its name.

[sheepdog 10]

Yes, right you are, a person would definatly recognise a Lamborghini coming down the road if they were to happen to see one. Thought their certainly aren't a lot of them tooling up and down the highways.

 

Funny though, after having just made this post, we went to the big city over the Memorial Day holiday, and I actually enjoyed the drive! For at least that weekend, I could recognise lots of the cars on the road. All those car shows that weekend, everybody had their old clasics out on the road. Saw some really fantastic looking cars and pickups. Those rebuilders sure can do a beautiful job restoring those old cars.

[k_nitin_r 8]

Sheepdog,

These days, cars are sold in different variants. You can see the exact same car being available in different parts of the world as a sedan, a hatchback, and a notchback, with the notchback being a cross between the sedan and the hatchback to the extent that it begins to look a bit disproportionate. The Suzuki SX4 is a cross-over but it is sold as a sedan in some developing markets. The Honda Civic was common as a hatchback but they decided to sell it as an entry-level sedan.

If variants being sold under the same model name weren't enough, we have re-badging as well. The Nissan Micra hatchback is also sold as the Renault Pulse. The car looks the same, but it bears a different logo and has a higher-end in-car entertainment system with bluetooth for cellular phone integration and on-steering phone and audio controls. Similarly, the Nissan Sunny is sold by Renault as the Renault Scala - the same car, with a different logo and re-worked interiors. I wonder if they also make it possible to drive a Renault Pulse or a Renault Scala into a Nissan workshop considering that they use the exact same parts and have the exact same vehicle body.

BTW, Nissan is planning to re-introduce the budget Datsun brand so Nissans are sold under the Nissan brand name, with the premium cars bearing the Infiniti brand name, and their vehicles bear the Renault branding when sold by their partner, and now they're going to have the Datsun brand name for their budget models. Toyota's strategy in Japan is to sell everything under the Toyota brand name - the Lexus brand is only used when selling their premium sedan, SUV, and hatchback vehicles overseas.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

 

Sheepdog,

These days, cars are sold in different variants. You can see the exact same car being available in different parts of the world as a sedan, a hatchback, and a notchback, with the notchback being a cross between the sedan and the hatchback to the extent that it begins to look a bit disproportionate. The Suzuki SX4 is a cross-over but it is sold as a sedan in some developing markets. The Honda Civic was common as a hatchback but they decided to sell it as an entry-level sedan.

If variants being sold under the same model name weren't enough, we have re-badging as well. The Nissan Micra hatchback is also sold as the Renault Pulse. The car looks the same, but it bears a different logo and has a higher-end in-car entertainment system with bluetooth for cellular phone integration and on-steering phone and audio controls. Similarly, the Nissan Sunny is sold by Renault as the Renault Scala - the same car, with a different logo and re-worked interiors. I wonder if they also make it possible to drive a Renault Pulse or a Renault Scala into a Nissan workshop considering that they use the exact same parts and have the exact same vehicle body.

BTW, Nissan is planning to re-introduce the budget Datsun brand so Nissans are sold under the Nissan brand name, with the premium cars bearing the Infiniti brand name, and their vehicles bear the Renault branding when sold by their partner, and now they're going to have the Datsun brand name for their budget models. Toyota's strategy in Japan is to sell everything under the Toyota brand name - the Lexus brand is only used when selling their premium sedan, SUV, and hatchback vehicles overseas.

 

 

I have never heard of a "notchback" before. That's a weird term (maybe because of where I'm from? Southern states of USA) for me.

 

I personally love the direction vehicles are taking. The futuristic look is perfect for me -- I don't know why... maybe it's the technological side of me.

[sheepdog 10]

Interesting. I didn't know car manufactors are doing that. Reminds me of what the manufactorers of one of the wormers I use a lot on my dog do. Panacur and Safeguard are the exact same medicine, made by the same company, put in the same square white plastic bottle, same dosage rate, the only difference is Panacur is a prescription drug you can only get from your vet, and Safeguard is sold over the counter at any large feed store. Go figure that one out!

It seems odd for car makers to do this. Used to they all competed against each other and had pride in developing a better product than their competition did.

 

And yes, what is a notchback?

[k_nitin_r 8]

A notchback is a cross between a sedan and a hatchback compact car. If you would like to imagine what it looks like, think of the Lincoln Town car that has been in use by cabbies for ages. It's got a long bonnet, a mid-section, and a trunk - a typical three-box design of a sedan. Now, if you were to cut the trunk to about a third of its size, perhaps the length of the boot of a Toyota Prius, you would have a notch back. It's like the vestigial appendix that humans have in intestines - technically, it's there but it has very little utility, if any. Suzuki has a Swift that is a hatch back. They then produced a sedan named the Suzuki Swift DZire that was criticized for having a bulbous rear end. At the same time, there was a tax subsidy in India for vehicles with a length of under four metres so the boot of the Suzuki Swift DZire was cut down to fit it into the four metre bracket for the tax benefits and it grew popular as a notchback. Surprisingly, the notchback has a lot of popularity because people actually think that it looks better than the older variant, which is still available for sale to commercial buyers.

BTW, speaking of re-badged cars from Renault and Nissan, Nissan has recently mentioned about the Nissan Terrano, which is just a re-badged Renault Duster, which in-turn is a re-badged Dacia Duster.

Sheepdog, I find it odd that the exact seem chemical substance is sold in the exact same containers and one is prescription-only while the other is sold over-the-counter. I'm guessing that there may have been licensing agreements with different vendors where one vendor agreed to get the approval to sell it over-the-counter and it would have exclusive rights to do so. Either that or the vendor that is selling the drug as a prescription-only drug is trying to avoid possible lawsuits from the consumption of the drug without a medical practitioner's prescription.

[sheepdog 10]

Thanks for explaining that. I am somewhat familiar with the Lincoln Town car, though the favorite for taxi's here is the Ford Crown Victoria. Big car, lots of power. Sturdy as a tank. Pleanty of room for passengers and luggage in the turnk. Many taxi's are retired police cars. Not great gas milage as such, but for a big car it's not too bad compared to many large luxury cars.

 

I have never understood the think with Panacur. Since it's all made and bottled by the same company it's just pretty weird. Safeguard is widely distributed by feed stores and supply stores all over the country. It isn't sold specifically by one company, say ofr example, it was offered by Walmart at it's locations all over the country, but not any other stores. It is sold in many independant stores, many locally owned and operated.

[k_nitin_r 8]

Whenever I visit the United States, I find either a Lincoln town car or a Toyota Prius as a taxi. The Prius taxis are usually newer and they probably make up for the price difference in gas mileage in a few years, especially if they are driven around the clock with multiple drivers to cover different shifts.

Speaking of Luxury cars, Chinese manufacturers have some really impressive rip-offs of many luxury vehicles, with replicas of popular Rolls Royce, Mercedes, and BMW models available for a fraction of the price. Knowing Chinese phone manufacturers, I'm sure the vehicle manufacturers would have tossed in some electronic goodies that the original vehicles lack, making them improvements over the original vehicle models.

BTW, if you do visit Australia, you are likely to find a lot of the Pontiac cars you are familiar with being sold with the Holden badge. Holden is owned by General Motors and sells re-badged Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall, and Suzuki vehicles. Holden has manufacturing facilities in Australia, so it is cheaper for vehicle manufacturers to license their designs to Holden rather than attempt to introduce their models independently.

[sheepdog 10]

LOL, the cab drivers I know couldn't afford anything as late model as a Toyota Prius! We always used station wagons, wore out 2 Chevys and one Plymoth. Well, actually we didn't wear out the Plymoth, I crashed it. Got it completely wiped out when somebody ran a red light. Didn't do me much good either, but I survived it with a probably cracked rib and a jillion tiny punctures from small glass fragments. That wreck ended my career as a cab driver.

 

Now the Chinese might add some tech stuff, but as far as improvements over the originals, I kinda doubt that! No offence to anyone Chinese here, but lordy they stamp out some awful cheap garbage! I don't think I'd care to trust a Chinese car. Heck, even the can openers they make tear up after one can the metal is so cheap!

[sheepdog 10]

I'm curious as to what a person would gain/benefit from making a goofy post like the one above? What would make it worth the time you spend making it? I can see plugging a business or posting a link to something, but a bunch of random words that make no sense whatsoever? Who is even going to see it in a random discusion about cars?

[demonboy1990 0]

its spam sheepdog it has being happening a lot lately.

that and the one who brings old post up with one hello as though

anyone is going to say hello back.

[k_nitin_r 8]

That wreck ended my career as a cab driver.

 

After having to give up driving a cab with a major accident, you sure are in the best of health, managing to tend to the plants, and look after the pets. Some of the youngsters who I know that are still in their twenties don't get as much physical activity as you do.

 

I have been looking into the tech that goes into premium cars (the ones costing over $100,000), and they have a lot in terms of safety that we've been missing out on. When you start thinking about the cheaper stuff, there's the parking sensors, rear view camera, and adaptive cruise control that has been making its way into Ford vehicles. The Chevrolet Impala features blindspot monitoring, and lane departure warning, while still costing under $30,000. Padding along the doors is something that the cheaper cars don't really consider - if somebody bumps his or her head, such as during a sudden maneuver, that could cause an injury and adding padding is something that the cheaper manufacturers ought to do too. The really expensive stuff comes in the form of an additional inch of steel reinforcement of the passenger compartment, the use of a transparent compound instead of glass that can prevent any metal shards from entering the passenger area. Back in the early days, we had 2-point seat belts, which were then replaced by 3-point seat belts, but for greater safety, there's the 4-point 'safety harness' (which they don't want to call a seat belt any more) which fastens a passenger into the seat like the child seats or booster seats do for kids. Reinforcements around the fuel tank and compressed air tanks to keep water out in case the vehicle gets tossed off a bridge go further in passenger safety and are probably if the routes that the vehicles are expected to travel on demand it. When I heard that statement, I started to wonder if they actually would consider buying a different car to travel on a different route. Having one car for the city and one car for the highway is hard enough to find parking for, let alone one for each adult member of the family.