Forget
Out
Running
Dale
And then there was...
Poor
Old
Nagger
Thinks
It's
A
Cadillac
Posted on 04/16/2015 9:28:22 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
Lost in the mists of time are the identities of the clever individuals who created pithy acronyms out of the names of various car manufacturers. Although they were coined long before the age of the Internet troll, it’s no surprise that none are remotely positive. But are they remotely true? Here are three of the better-known ones:
FIAT, “Fix It Again Tony”: Fiat had a long history in the U.S., riding the wave of the first import car boom in the 1950s until pulling out of the U.S. market in 1983 (for nearly 30 years). While Fiat offered stylish and economical transportation with an Italian flair, Fiats of old were not known for rock solid reliability. Much of it could be written off to the cars being misunderstood rather than inherently troublesome. Fiat’s dealer network in the old days never approached the level of professionalism that it enjoys now and there were rumors of dealers never receiving a full set of manuals in English. Fiat also pioneered the use of the timing belt instead of a chain, and regular change intervals weren’t always observed, with dire results. Classic Fiat Spiders and X1/9s can today be used regularly with little trouble through the support of clubs and numerous parts vendors. [Video: Hagerty’s Marcus Atkinson never has trouble with his 1970 Fiat 124 Spider BS – click here for a ride along]
LOTUS, “Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious”: In the 1970s, Road & Track magazine used to include in its road test data page a projected reliability summary that was based on surveys of their readership who owned particular makes. And while Lotus consistently scored above average in handling and braking, it rarely exceeded “far below average” in reliability. In fact, the testers remarked with surprise in one particular road test that no pieces had fallen off their Elan test car, a first for them with a Lotus. But in actual fact, the acronym is only partially true — while Lotuses could be lots of trouble, it was rarely serious. Aside from the odd axle shaft breaking a rubber coupler or a fuel line fire from a perished plastic connector, much of the trouble with classic Lotuses tended to fall into the category of merely annoying rather than catastrophic.
FORD, “Found on Road Dead”: This one can probably be chalked up to the bitter Ford vs. Chevy rivalry. Classic Fords from the Model A to the Mustang tended to be rock-solid reliable. OK, the six-volt electrical systems of 1950s vintage Fords pretty much begged to be upgraded to 12 volts, and the switch from generators to alternators in late 1964 was a good one, but for the most part, classic Fords were no less reliable than anything else of the day. And as sunny-day drivers today, they’re more than fine. In fact, we know of one gentleman who used a 1930 Model A as his daily driver for a whole year with fewer problems than most people have with a 10-year-old used car.
Back in the day when jags were very unreliable rust buckets it was said, tongue-in-cheek “Just a great used auto, really”
MOPAR = More Old Parts And Rust
DODGE= Dead Old Dog Gone Engine
BTW I also had a British car, a 1974 Triumph Shi-er-Spitfire. Lasted for 12 of the 18 payments and threw a rod.
On Long Island during the 80’s a must have accessory for gweedos was the Chevy IROC Camaro
We called them Italian Retard Out Cruising
What’s the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?
The porcupine has the pricks on the outside
LOL...in western PA (”Pennsyltucky”) IROC = Illiterate Redneck Out Cruising
Yeah, I always consider fuel line fires to be just an annoyance.
A Lucas headlight switch has three positions...
Off, flicker, and dim.
Hon, these are the ObamaYears...
GM IS Government Motors.
Or, perhaps, Gimme Money!
Used to be a GM customer in the late ‘60s-’70s. When cutting each other down, would use the , “Speed kills, buy a Ford” line. The “Fix or repair daily” one seemed more suited to the old Harleys leaking their fluids wherever they stopped....
yeah, there is that, but the OP asked for historicals...
an old bumper sticker:
“Only the finest British hand-crafted parts are falling off this car”
A parts guy told me BMW stood for “Bring Money With you”.
Good laugh this morning. Wished I had one but I think I’ve heard of most of these already.
LUCAS: The Prince of Darkness!
Yes, my Gremlin had an honest name also.
Five of my last six cars have been Fords, three of them brand new. They all ran decently but the 1979 Fairmont rusted out pretty early on (Michigan) and needed a new clutch at 80,000 miles. The 1986 Thunderbird required a new transmission at 80,000 miles.
Forget
Out
Running
Dale
And then there was...
Poor
Old
Nagger
Thinks
It's
A
Cadillac
In the day, I was a die hard Chevy fan. Since then, though I still love and am somewhat partial to Corvettes and Camaros, I will say this. On race day, If you had a Hemi anything, primarily Challenger or Cuda, or you had a ZL1 or L88 or LS6/7, If the Ford guy showed up with a SOHC, you'd probably NOT want to go up against him.
429 Boss??? Yeah, sure. Then the Ford and Chevy and Dodge were on the same plane.
But that SOHC was just plane sick.
Can I build a Chevy BB to beat the SOHC? Sure I can. But it's going to take a pile of cash to do it. Of course the SOHC will take a pile of cash to do anything with.
I also know that If the owner of the Ford also put work into his motor, I'm going to have my work cut out.
When it comes down to it. When it comes to Ford, Chevy, Dodge. Whether BB or SB. Or even Boss or Hemi. It still came down to how the engine/car was built and then the driver. I don't think any one make is truly better than the other. It's really preference.
But that SOHC?
SICK!!!
No, what they really say (at least in Germany) is:
If I want to ride in a Mercedes, I'll just take a taxi.
MOPAR = Move Over, People Are Racing
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