154 replies to this topic

[mini1.3]

that the citron 2cv was orginaly designed for carrying potatoes in france

But didn't it have to carry a basket full of eggs across a bumpy field without any of the eggs breaking?

ye somethink like that i love them to be honest but havnt got time to rebuild one loke the fold down windows and the softtop ones are really nice aswell

[The_Mistro]

that the citron 2cv was orginaly designed for carrying potatoes in france

But didn't it have to carry a basket full of eggs across a bumpy field without any of the eggs breaking?

ye somethink like that i love them to be honest but havnt got time to rebuild one loke the fold down windows and the softtop ones are really nice aswell

the design brief for the citroen 2CV was that a french farmer must be able to drive across a ploughed field at a certain speed, cant remember what it was, with a hat on, with a basket of eggs on the passenger seat with out any breaking!


my random fact: the citroen C2 was designed with barry boys in mind

Edited by The_Mistro, 25 January 2009 - 09:30 PM.

[charie t]

the austin princess was first production car to hide the wiper arms

[Matt.P]

The Lambourghini Miura (lambo's first supercar) was designed almost by accident, it was produced as an extra project for the sake of doing it, it just so happened that the head of Lambourghini liked the idea so much it was put into production.

And thanks to a member on here.....
The Bugatti Royale is one of the most elegant and largest cars for the reason that its dimensions were in centimeters as the car was drawn up in france, but when they built the car over here in blighty, they thought the dimensions were inches.

The Beetle was coined as an ispiration to get people to work in Nazi Germany. The car was devised as a motive for the "strength through joy" scheme in which those without jobs were given work by the state. This led to the production of the autobahns and many other major routes in germany. The car was too expensive for the people and very few people initially bought the car. The car is believed to be designed by ferdinand porshe, but upon his completion of the design, Hitler was unimpressed and alledgedly re-designed the car to fulfill his idea of what a People's car (Volk - People Wagen - car) should look like.
The beetle's demise in britain came about the time of the mini when drivers realised that the 1200cc engine from the beetle produced the same power as that of the 850cc engine put into the mk1 minis, which also produced much less noise. The Mini was 200 pound cheaper than the beetle as well.

[Bungle]

The first ever 'motorist' was a woman. Karl Benz's wife, after a row, waited for her husband to go out, then managed to get his newly completed but yet untested car running as she'd seen him do it a few times before and drove it to the neighbouring village several km's away.

[taffy1967]

I believe the Austin Maestro was the first production car to feature an on board computer? (Probably on top spec models?)

Even if it wasn't much cop!

[Southy]

The Toyota Prius is one of the least CO2-emitting vehicle's to be on general sale, yet whilst in its production stage the factories use more energy and produce more carbon dioxide than other cars when built.

[Southy]

Oh and one which I found out off a friend of mine which has a bit of comedy value to it hehe

When Ford first released the Pinto in Brazil they had problems as it was Brazilian slang for small male genitals so the car was renamed to Corcel, which is Brazilian for Horse.

[mini_mad69]

Older saabs can only be started in reverse gear.

[Boomboy77]

The Mini clubman and the Mk2 cortina were both designed by the same guy.................

[Guess-Works.com]

I believe the Austin Maestro was the first production car to feature an on board computer? (Probably on top spec models?)

Even if it wasn't much cop!

"Talking" computer I believe, VDP and MG models.

[Guess-Works.com]

Hillman imps hold the road better with a bag of cement in the front ( or 1/2 dozen engineering bricks )

[Big Sam]

The VW Beetle was designed by Hitler - or at least influenced by him.

Ferdinand Porsche (the first ferdinend Porsche)... But Hitler gave the order for a 'Volks-Wagen'...

And wasn't it offered to the allied countries as part of the reparations treaty Germany signed at Versailles? But companies from the Allies (including Austin) didn't think it would be a success so turned it down...

[Bungle]

yes thats true

VW will never become a major car manufacture

[Git]

Porsche originally designed the 924 for VW to be a top model above the golf and Scirocco (if it was out then... cant remember) but VW though that it wouldn't be a successful model, so Porsche kept it and the rest is history

Edited by Git, 26 January 2009 - 05:01 PM.