I bought a used Jensen-Healey some years ago and kept it for about 10 years. Fortunately it was rebuilt before I got it, with all the needed engine upgrades. The Sunbeam 4 speed was fortunately rebuilt also. The Lotus engine was a blast to drive. The red line was at 7000 rpm, which was high for back then. And it pulled nicely all the way up. The main problem, which was minor, was leaking oil seals. The rear seal would drip on the exhaust pipe. So it smoked a bit after it was started and had, well, a British automotive smell. It required an engine pull to replace that seal and I was too lazy. I sold it to a baker who wanted to ship it to the Netherlands. But the day after I sold it to him, it quit running. I felt bad about that and tried to diagnose the problem. I couldn't. His brother-in-law, a Cal Tech physicist, couldn't either. So I asked the best troubleshooter I know, a colleague who was on the space shuttle explosion investigation. He couldn't figure it out either. So I called the remaining Jensen employees at their restoration and parts business in the tiny English hamlet of Cropredy, in Oxfordshire. They immediately admitted that the wiring diagram had an error. We then fixed the problem and the car was put on the boat to Holland. That might have been 20 years ago, but I think the baker still has it. I then went for years without a sports car. But some years later I got a Honda S2000, which is faster, infinitely more reliable, and doesn't smell. Though just like the J-H, I now sometimes get asked: "What is it?"

I had a Jensen-Healey from 1975 to 78 and it was a great car. The build quality was no better or worse than most cars of that era. The Lotus engine was in another league compared with say an MGB. I wish I still had it.

@robscully3312

3 жыл бұрын

Interesting comment. Back in 1976, my next door neighbour got one and it broke down constantly. It was so bad the garage eventually gave him back his money. He then got a Lancia, that broke constantly as well !!!

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

@@robscully3312 A *Lancia Beta* by any chance? (generally regarded as the car that killed Lancia in the UK, albeit for faults other cars in the FIAT empire were equally guilty of; chief among which being the dissolves-in-the-rain issue)

@johnvender

3 жыл бұрын

If the Lotus engine didn't give you trouble buy a lottery ticket :)

@robscully3312

3 жыл бұрын

@@jimtaylor294 It was one of those Beta,s with the funny estate car back end. I think they called them HPE,s . Lovely car with a supercharger. However just like his Jensen , the Lancia constantly broke down. The poor bloke committed suicide. However to what extent his car problems were to blame, i have no idea

@greggordon1467

3 жыл бұрын

Some garages specialised in them, Roger Clark in Leicester was one. The twin cam Lotus engine was inclined so that the lower cam was always immersed in oil. There was only a paper gasket below the cam cover so that oil leaks onto the exhaust manifold was a problem, overcome with an improved gasket. I can’t remember any pedal offset but I do recall a good driving position.

Hertz called, they want a word... Great vid!

Buying anything from Colin Chapman without a warranty seems sheer madness.

This is really a snapshot of how woefully inadequate industrial production in England had become . They had major enterprises with no industrial support base and ended up borrowing this and that from other makers ...resulting in crappy products and bankruptcies .

@hughjass1044

3 жыл бұрын

Along with all their other colossal F ups of the post war period, it really makes you wonder how the British ever managed to build the empire they did and prevail in two world wars.

@StaffordMagnus

3 жыл бұрын

@@hughjass1044 In a nutshell, it's mostly thanks to the Industrial Revolution, they simply had the technology before anyone else did.

@gerogyzurkov2259

2 жыл бұрын

@@hughjass1044 Cause they had actual leaders and military that wasn't so soft before the world wars.

On the up side Jensen made the first road car with four-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes the mighty Jensen FF!

@SlackActionBumble

3 жыл бұрын

I found one in the wild in Massachusetts back in the early 2000s when I was a pizza delivering teenager. Had no idea what it was so I snapped a picture with my crappy old digital camera. Only many years later looking through my old pictures did I realize what a rare and amazing find that was. And yes, it was an FF and not just a normal Interceptor.

The Hertz anecdote was hilarious😄

@gretchenlittle6817

2 жыл бұрын

Yes it was! The statute of limitations surely has long passed.

@tonymarshall1148

2 жыл бұрын

Actually, at the request of Deputy Chief Engineer Brian Spicer I borrowed a 2002 for a weekend from Rowleys of Bradford who were Jensen dealers, just so the Engineering Dept could 'have a look at it'! It was more than a year later that I was told that the engine had been whipped out and used in one of the prototypes over the weekend!

@zeberdeeeeee

Жыл бұрын

@@tonymarshall1148 fabulous story. BTW, according to Calver’s book I have your old J-H VEA 223M. You’ll be glad to know she is fully restored and won the JOC concours in 2022.

The CNC machines making the Lotus engine were switched on & off during a 3 day week and the tolerances had gone south before anyone realized....

What a stunning looking car 👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

I owned a Jensen Healy for a couple of years. Oil pressure problems. But the engine was a screaming dream when it was healthy. I read that Delorean got a big government loan that Jensen Healy was trying to get to build a proper factory for their cars.

Wow! I owned a few Jensen Healeys over the last 40 years and had no idea they were so horrible! #19541 is sittin' in my garage and went for a tach peggin' run yesterday. Articles like this keeps them cheap.

@clintonflynn815

Жыл бұрын

19451 is in my garage and I agree with you

And now the good news! If you can locate one with a sound body, you can update them, taking many of the original flaws out. The ZF 5 speed transmission was actually a factory upgrade that was made to mod 1974 models. Better paint, Weber carbs, electronic ignition, electric fuel pump, etc. J-Hs can still turn heads.

They should have stuck with the VX slant-4. In 2300 form, in production from 1972, it was easily tunable reliably to 200 bhp with Blydenstein parts. Since the car already used a Viva front crossmember and suspension, it was a drop-in and cheap option. They could have bought time to go for a more sophisticated engine later. "Perfect" is always the enemy of "good".

@russcattell955i

3 жыл бұрын

Uncle Bill also developed a 2.6 long stroke version of the VX slant-4.

@lordmuntague

3 жыл бұрын

The Slant 4s were brilliant engines, whatever size. My Dad's Viva HB 1600 went up Welsh mountains like they were flat. Mind you, you could actually see the fuel gauge move down...

@GRAHAMAUS

3 жыл бұрын

@@lordmuntague Yes, I've owned several in various cars, including a Firenza droopsnoot. Very torquey and utterly bombproof, but not very refined.

@russcattell955i

3 жыл бұрын

@@lordmuntague In my late teens I had a HC 1800, I could not get insurance for a 2300. In my 30's I had a Chevette HSR beast.

@defjenjag5220

3 жыл бұрын

They would have done if they weren't looking to export the majority to the USA (couldn't comply with emissions) the 907 ticked that box but wasn't fully proven unfortunately

They took Top Gears motto a little too seriously: 'Ambitious but rubbish'.

Even big Jensens like the CV-8, Interceptor and FF used components from other makes and models such as the Austin Westminster. I'm told the axles and steering on one car could be different from another depending on where they could get the components.

I loved my 74 Jensen Healey! What a blast to drive … wish I could’ve kept it. One of my most favorite cars ever

A friend in the Air Force had one while we were in England. I drove it several times and it handled decent and performed similar to a small block '63 Corvette I had had before. A few years later, I bought one and had it about 3 months before getting rid of it. To be fair, I bought it for the engine. Both his and mine were rust buckets. His broke into two pieces as it hit a stone wall. The big question was if it had broken first and that is why he hit the wall. Mine the rear suspension all tore loose from the body behind the seats, so it was parted out and disposed of. Other friends wanted me to evaluate Jensens they looked at to buy, and most were rusted out horribly. One I test drove you couldn't put your feet on the floor or you would lose them, Fred Flintstone style. They were built just a bit too cheaply.

Well mine worked ok, bought it new in Dallas in 73, drove it to California several times and even shipped it from San Francisco to Hawaii for a while. It's has about 300,000 miles on it but the speedo was broke for a few years so probaly more. It still looks good to me, had the hardtop painted to match the car sometime in the 80s and put 15" wheels on it a few years ago. It never left me stranded but I did carry extra fuel pumps just in case.

I had no idea the car was so problematic. I was a British car guy for a long time. My MGBGT was worked on by my Jag. Mechanic friends. ..i always wanted a jensen Healey...i guess i dodged a bullet. This was a great video. Thank you for all your hard work.

@Leonardo555ZZZ

2 жыл бұрын

It's not as bad as it is portrayed in this video.

I owned one for five years. The engine constantly needed tuning and the whole body needed a re spray at 4 years! But, but, it was a good looking car and a joy to drive when on tune. Thanks for the article.

I bet the author of this video has never even driven a Jensen-Healey. Probably just bashing it based rumors & hearsay. I own several of these and they are very nice cars with a real jewel of a motor that was WORLDS more advanced than the crap BMC or B-L was putting in the TR6 or MGB of the same time period. The Lotus 907 motor was the FIRST modern 4 valve per cylinder dual over head cam engine in a modern production car and it produced plenty of power and rev'ed like a dream compared to the ancient OHV motors in the other british sports cars from this same period.

@defjenjag5220

3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same. The engine was much more advanced than its peers, and the cabin was far more comfortable. Mine has never let me down and is almost 50 years old!

I had one of these in the mi-80's for a couple of years. It was a fun car to drive. The only issue I had was an exhaust replacement, which was a whole engine out job. Luckily the garage had given me a quote before realising this requirement 😅

Drove a Jensen Interceptor back in 2014 along with an E-Type, Mk2 (which some of the drivers complained about the steering!), a ropy MGB and a Ford Capri 2.8 with no brakes. Loved all of the cars especially the Jensen had a plastic Blue Box model as a child which my mother threw away. Kind of liked the Jensen-Healey but much prefer the mighty Interceptor. Great upload learnt alot.

Worked on these when they were new, the problem was they required maintenance which most owners skipped

Another great video. Will you ever do an episode on the Jensen Interceptor or the Jensen FF?

As a teenager the Jensen Healey never impressed me that much with its looks, on the other hand the Jensen interceptor had me drooling.

I had a Healey & a GT. Once the engines were sorted they were terrific cars. The GT is my favourite ever car. If only they had had the patience to go with BMW. They could have ended up using the entire range of BMW engines on all their cars.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Or with Ford; the Cologne V6 would have been fun therein. Ironically Lotus on-paper should have been the perfect choice, as small yet potent engines is what they were known for.

@andrewpolasek5524

2 жыл бұрын

From the story, I don't think patience was the issue, it was dinero.

A fascinating insight into the Jenson factory that - having lived in West Bromwich during my childhood - I could see from my bedroom window!. I always dreamed of owning one of the stylish Interceptors one day that I used to see being driven off the factory forecourt.

Now, those cars are some of the best budget classics. Sadly, you get all the problems that come with a budget sports car. Still, that Lotus 4 cylinder is a true performer if you are willing to put up with it. The JH sounds and performs like a true classic sports car.

@jeffhildreth9244

3 жыл бұрын

Timing belt every 20K miles... swell.

@Gman941

3 жыл бұрын

@@jeffhildreth9244 Don't worry, you will probably have so many bigger problems within 20k miles that a timing belt would be a walk in the park.

@jeffhildreth9244

3 жыл бұрын

@@Gman941 I have heard that... I had a a chance to buy a GT from a collector friend.. complete car in good condition but needed to be restored, The price was $1000 US.. there is such a thing as a car for free that is not worth the price.

@jakekaywell5972

2 жыл бұрын

@@jeffhildreth9244 You should have taken up his offer. Sweet car.

I must have a flair for disliked British cars. I think the Jensen-Healey was (and is) a handsome car that looks like fun to drive. I remember thinking the same thing when sixteen year old me came across a Triumph Stag in a driveway.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Ah yes the Stag :D . A car who's rep' has more to do with motoring journalists, than actual engineering defects. Then again hindsight is 20/20, and back then a bad car review could wreck sales, even if the issue was as simple as the car needing electric fan cooling instead of engine driven. (the main reason she blew head gaskets in traffic, besides the owners not getting the timing belts replaced as per the manual's stipulations)

@catjudo1

3 жыл бұрын

@@jimtaylor294 And for the record, the Stag looks very cool too.

Suggestions for future videos: Jensen FF, Ford Corsair (the flying chisel, we had one of the V4 models back in the day... Lovely car... Apart from the nose) the Morgan cars (three and four wheeled cars).

@DrivermanO

3 жыл бұрын

My parents bought a Corsair in 1963! One of the first - 254 MPX. Bedevilled by rust - we had it for 3 years though, and swapped it for a Cortina 1500 in 1966. That was a great car - I learnt to drive in that!

@macjim

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrivermanO yes, they were notorious for rust, especially the front wings.

@DrivermanO

3 жыл бұрын

@@macjim Indeed - we had both wings replaced I think, and the front underpan repainted twice. But I was only 8 at the time, so memory may be a bit dodgy, but I thought it was the coolest car ever - and we had one of the first! Replaced a 1958 Consul - WCD 712.

use Lotus engines with no warranty, what could possibly go wrong? ;) Long time ago a friend had a Jensen Healey, with the Lotus engine blown up it was replaced with a hotted up Toyota Celica engine, much faster and way more reliable.

Jeremy Clarkson called it "Superb" in Top Gear's British Sports car challenge 😆

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Well in retrospect the car is a lot better than she seemed when new. (and many now beloved cars back then had bad rep's)

Thanks! Another great video. A sad end to a cool car company. Is that the same Qvale as behind the Mangusta?

@mebsrea

3 жыл бұрын

It is.

@EmyrDerfel

3 жыл бұрын

@@mebsrea Almost, The Qvale company that created the Magusta was Kjell's son Bruce.

I am West Bromwich born and bred ,it pains me to see this iconic name dragged through the mud,the company was NEVER going to challenge the likes of BMC, with their abundant sports models,also the company was underfunded to go on an ambitious new model program,like the Jensen-Healey,they should have continued with their luxury Grand Tourer models,which they were famous for!

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Certainly makes one wonder what might have been, had they done so. Then again the oil crises of the 1970's might have torpedoed them all the same.

I owned a '72 JH for several years in a typical love-hate relationship. I thought it was a great design, went round corners on rails (after my TR4A) comfortable, luggage space for two for a touring holiday and I liked the looks. The Lotus engine was a disaster, snapping exhaust manifolds (which required either a cylinder head removal, or dropping the suspension subframe - not easy in a home garage), it wore out propshaft UJ's at the gearbox end and the bodywork had the cheapest steel Jensen could buy - so sills rusted and bonnet rusted. Once Lotus had used Jensen as its test bed it went on to do reasonably well with the engine. The car was light years ahead of the TR6 and MGB's of the day,it could just have been better developed and tested like British manufacturers used to expect their customer base to do for them.

Crying shame that deadlines ruled instead of a couple of years R&D before floating the idea. Then came the labour troubles.

@oldgysgt

3 жыл бұрын

It's hard to understand how labor unions could be so short sighted. Talk about shooting one's self in the foot.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

​@@oldgysgt Aye; and they still haven't learned anything from it. Then again Trade Unions are just another form of Cartel, designed to exclude a portion of the potential workforce, and drive up wages. Closed Shop (legal until the 1990's) only made the cartel even stronger. That's why classic series like On The Buses show the main characters objecting to drivers from the Caribbean; not because of prejudice, but literally because the unionized workforce were against being undercut by outside sourced labour. Workplace Cartels are still a thing though; albeit more informal than in the past. A workforce in a given workplace - and lower management - will largely comprise one group of migrant labour (insert nationality here), and if you're of any other group (insert nationality here; including domestic labour); you're treated as 2nd rate.

The small production numbers amaze me. The USA Chevy Corvair was canceled after almost 250,000 units.

The Jensen Interceptor was one of the coolest British cars ever.

@philipgrice1026

2 жыл бұрын

I loved my 1973 Interceptor III with the Chrysler 440 HiPo Wedge motor and 727 automatic. It was slightly modified with a Holley Street Dominator intake but it ran 14s at the Carlsbad raceway. It also drank gas prodigiously. 7 mpg on the Interstate and just 4 mpg around town. But what a great car.

In 1981 I asked Donald Healey about the Jensen Healey. He was not at all happy with the outcome and regretted that he had given his name to this project.

The body design of the production Jensen Healey clearly reflects Donald Healey's X500 streamlined prototype. Healey had tested Jensen bodies on Austins at Bonneville prior to X500. Common JH problems were leaking soft top and leaking rocker gasket onto exhaust causing smoke/smell until the gasket was improved. That lotus engine is one of the best 4 cylinders ever. The Healey was so fast it won the SCCA in the states for 2 years when it came out until it was banned. Lighter weight Lotus models then took over but the JH was first and is a fantastic car today with all the fixes available.

So you’re perhaps suggesting that I should not bid on that pretty one on Bring-a-Trailer? Always liked their looks, and the slant-twincam Lotus Four.

I like the Jensen Healey. It's pretty compared to others of the time. Yeah, it has a live axle and rolls like an ocean liner. But it looks good.

With all the technical parameters involved, as well as the variety of cars produced its very difficult to realistically pin down any 'one' worst car. The possibilities are endless & the opinions are many & varied as the weather....

Do you have anything on the mooted Jensen/Reliant merger in the midst of Jensen's collapse. All I know is that there were talks.

I bought a Jensen Healey with the Lotus engine back in 1979 . Quite a big car compared to (say ) the Midget or Honda S800 (which I also had a few years later) . It had a nasty habit of swapping ends on itself - totally uncatchable . The engine was ok but the paint was a disaster . I kept it about a year and sold it

I already have more than enough projects, BUT - I always liked these, and I know of several that I can have, for cheap: at my age (56), I like to call it speculation towards my retirement...

Fast 6 brought the Jensen brand to me. With a Jensen Interceptor driven by Letty (Michelle Rodriguez)

And to think I almost bought one... thank goodness for the 124 lol

@robinburn4974

3 жыл бұрын

I almost bought 2 not at the same time though 😂

Otherwise thinking about it further, in addition to improved styling as noted in early prototypes, with the benefit of hindsight and to shed the Jensen-Healey's "torque-less wonder" image, would Lotus have been better off developing the oversquare Lotus 907 used in the car to instead be like a naturally aspirated version of the later undersquare Lotus 920 engine used in tax special Esprit 2-litre Turbos?

I had one in 1980 . Never had a problem except for the electric fuel pump being a bit sticky. It was great to drive and great to look at . So much better than an MGB and it never let me down ..for a supposedly poorly designed and unreliable car it performed extremely well . they are now highly sought after and fetch very good money.

British industry in the 70s killed it with the strikes, lack of investment, shoddy workmanship and lack of management skills. It should have been ready to take over where the MGB and BGT should have ended.

As I clicked on this video, I was thinking about how I'd only ever seen one in my entire life. Then, bugger me if it doesn't pop up at 7:42...

A great looking car.

The tale of UK in the 60s and 70s - not enough capital.

@gustavmeyrink_2.0

3 жыл бұрын

You spelt 'mismanagement' wrong.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Capital, Management & Strikitus... all problems at the time, as was the government's infinite stupidity not tallying with GDP anymore, as the country was mired in economic & industrial problems of the politicians own creation. (decades of irresponsible spending combined with union appeasement... what could go wrong!)

"West Bromich" - surely that's a typo in the corporate logo at 0:40?

@tommaguzzi1723

3 жыл бұрын

English place names sometimes have odd spellings. Lincoln, Norwich, Newquay, Leicester ect. metro.co.uk/2016/08/04/19-british-place-names-youve-been-mispronouncing-your-entire-life-6046790/

@robbybobbyhobbies

3 жыл бұрын

@@tommaguzzi1723 I know, I live in Lincoln! West Bromwich is normally spelled with a couple of "Ws". It was missing from "Bromich", hence my comment.

@tommaguzzi1723

3 жыл бұрын

My apologies you are absolutely correct. Happy Easter to you. :-)

@robbybobbyhobbies

3 жыл бұрын

@@tommaguzzi1723 No worries :)

That Lotus engine had no protective cover for the cam belt.. adding lightness I suppose

@andrewmic7038

2 ай бұрын

My Mk1 did. It looked cooler without, but road grit would wear the belt and gear wheels and was a safety hazard.

You had to remove the choke cable to install a radio!

A British racing Green one just sold on Ebay for 4k

Should have got the v6 cologne would have been wonderful , the lotus was a bit of a mickmouse engine with oil pressure distributor and cylinder head troubles but wonderful when on song

Looking at them now, a gothic Golf expresses only a part of the sensations expressed by a Jensen

My mate bought one years ago. Every single panel had rust after the first winter.

5:57 had it been in a crash? 6:12 had it been in a crash?

Please how mych is the price ?

Is that right? Some people think it's the worst British car ever made? Up against the Allegro and the Marina - and quite a few others. I always quite liked them.

The Interceptor was a Great looking Car...the AH 3000 was a BMC Car and still has a following. This Jensen Healey was a Disaster from the Start....

"Sunbeam Tiger"? Wasn't that a picture of a Sunbeam Alpine at 2:19?

@gustavmeyrink_2.0

3 жыл бұрын

It clearly says Tiger along the chrome strip. They look the same until you open the hood and find a 289 Ford V8 where the Alpine has a 1.7L straight 4.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

A bit like the AC Ace looks outwardly just like the AC Cobra... except under the bonnet and when looking at the running gear XD.

@johnvender

3 жыл бұрын

Also with the Tiger it's not the most comfortable on a hot day, the firewall heats the interior extremely efficiently :)

How do you pronounce Ruairidh?

@dividedbyzero96

3 жыл бұрын

Rory

"Worst Car Ever" *Alfa Romeo Arna* : "Am I not a joke to you?" >sadly drips oil & rust flakes in a corner Seriously though: I could name thousands of truly crap cars, that make the Jensen-Healy look saintly.

Do you have any positive stories??

@johnmccallum8512

3 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately there are few if any positive stories about the British car industry , at least in the post ww2 era.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

Debatable. In most cases the Car was conceptually fine... just the company building her that was in-trouble. After all if Ford had come up with Hydragas suspension; you can be sure that we'd still see it everywhere. Pretty safe bet too that if Alec Issigonis and his Mini had been brought about under a contemporary car company, the car wouldn't have lost money for years, and the intended sequel [which I think was to have had a hatchback] would have been built.

Too bad, they really were some nice looking cars.

Lot of anagrams going on here

Would also say that hindsight called: the VW Golf MK.1 was a rotbox with inmumerate faults of its own. One in particular was badly designed wiring, highly prone to short circuits that would ultimately kill the motherboard, and thus all instrumentation in the car (and good luck finding any spares; because nobody makes them & most Golfs were written off in banger races & joyriding) Ultimately the Sports Car made a comeback in the 1990's, at a time when "Hot Hatches" were withering, amid eyewateringly high insurance premiums. (unsurprisingly customers suddenly no longer wanted cars that often cost more to insure, as they did to buy)

@theextremeanimator4721

3 жыл бұрын

When the MK3 came out? Or...

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

@@theextremeanimator4721 My family had mk.2, mk.3 & mk.4 Golf's (among many other types of car) over the years. The mk.3 & 4 were the slowest of all the Golf's, but lasted the longest and were the least back breaking on long trips. (driving from the midlands to yorkshire for instance; an original Polo or mk.2 Golf would leave all & sundry bent double XD)

@andrewpolasek5524

2 жыл бұрын

A lot of the electric problems with the early Golf/Rabbit/Dasher/Scirroco could be traced to those crappy ceramic fuses, and fuel pump relays that would overheat in the engine bay.

@jimtaylor294

2 жыл бұрын

@@andrewpolasek5524 Aye. Jaguar had similar issues with the electrics in the early XJS, as BL cheaped out on the material quality of various components.

Could it have been worse than the Interceptor !?.

It's a pity that the corporate marriage of convenience trumped the Alan and Richard Jensen sports car construction business.

MANY auto "experts" crush brands by incompetence! Ford execs' 1958 Edsel program, from start to end; Chrysler's sexy '57 full lineup torpedoed by stupidly raced, carastrophic production; also Chrysler, then-boss K.T. Keller forcing a full '49 lineup of boxy cars with high interiors men could wear hats in; Chrysler (again!) '62 Dodge & Plymouth stubby-ugly to face *rumours* of GM cars downsizing; Studebaker Pres. Albert Erskine, 1931 paying high investor dividends even as Depression-era sales tanked - propelling bankruptcy (and later his suicide); AMC mid-60s exec Roy Abernethy insisting taut Mustang-fighter Tarpon prototype be upsized (clumsy Marlin then flopped); Ford execs ignoring Iacocca's minivan concept (in concern for large-van sales), handing Chrysler a winner; Cadillac chasing compact sales with idiotic Cimarron (Chev Cavalier on cheap steroids) despite in-the-know warnings against it - then inflicting 'Act II' Cadillac Allanté, a triumph of style over substance. Lots of other stories too!

The sportscar - killed by the hot hatch. Take an existing small car produced cheaply in great numbers and give it a hot motor for performance equivalent or better than a sportscar. Sell it relatively cheap compared to sportscars and bingo, the market is yours.

What a load of b*llocks. I owned two of these, the first from 1980 to 1990. They did have issues, but no more than many other cars of the period. Compared to the outdated TR6 and MGB they were streets ahead to drive.

Sounds like a lack of sound engineering direction. If you're going to sell a car primarily in the States and don't make your own engines then use one from an American owned manufacturer, eg Ford, GM, Chrysler....

Trust ‘American requirements and sensibilities’ to help ruin a European sports car.

@jameshammons2354

3 жыл бұрын

I was going to down vote, then I remember safety first

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

British* in this case; but yes. Californian road safety laws ruined the looks of many a car from south of the channel too. (even Lamborgini didn't escape that; whilst the already hard to like styling of the Porsche 911 only got worse)

@lours6993

3 жыл бұрын

@@jimtaylor294 I wish Brits would make up their mind: After Brexit we are constantly told by Brits they are still ‘European, just not in the EU’.

@jimtaylor294

3 жыл бұрын

@@lours6993 Only because the remoaners were carping on to the effect that by leaving the [protectionist & insular] EU bloc that we were somehow leaving "europe". In [geographical] truth though we can't "leave europe" because it doesn't exist. As any modern geologist will assert; the physical continental shelf we reside on is Eurasia. ("Europe" being conceptually obsolete arbitrary lines on a map; from before we knew anything about Plate Tectonics) So in short: we Brit's chose to leave the EU bloc (which is not "europe" despite its archaic pretentions thereto), yet we're still Eurasians, as we've always been.

@lours6993

3 жыл бұрын

@@jimtaylor294 Well, that was complicated... Am I allowed to say, a ‘Eurasian’ sports car then?

Should never have gotten involved with Chapman dodgy fellow

Worst British car ever made? It had its faults but that comment's a bit of a stretch 😂

MacVeigh appears not to know the difference between "sank" and "sunk"!!! Pathetic.

It must have been terrible if it was called the "WORST BRITISH CAR".... After all they had so many horrible cars to choose from.

restored one for a customer 30 years ago,terrible design and a total rust trap.firenza front brakes and a terrible 2litre lotus twin cam engine that would never stop leaking oil despite numerous gasket changes.a few years later he binned the 2litre and fitted a 2.2 lotus twin cam which was far better.

Great British Crap

first

@Margarinetaylorgrease

3 жыл бұрын

prove it... :)

@GRAHAMAUS

3 жыл бұрын

so...?

The Vauxhall slant 4 engine was rubbish