Peter Stickney wrote:

In article ,
Bob McKellar writes:


Peter Stickney wrote:

In article ,
Alan Minyard writes:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 00:24:50 +0100, "ArVa" wrote:

"Jarg" a écrit dans le message de
om...
"ArtKramr" wrote in message


I'm a Mercedes man myself. 420 SEL as a matter of fact. BTW, do the
French
make cars?

Of couse the French make cars. Check out this beauty, gassed up and ready
to run (away)!

http://www.citroen-hy.com/kauppa/2cv-87-1.jpg

That is a press release from a french "auto maker". What do you expect
from such a biased source? Renault was run out of the US market, as
was Pugeot. Both lacked the quality to compete.

Working as a mechanic on the Renault 15 (Gordini) has been a leading
cause of cognitive disorders. (Not a Transverse-Engined Front Wheel
Drive, but a Reverse Engined setup. With everything else backward, as
well, Whoever thought up the idea that the coolant pump should be the
highest point in the cooling system must have received a Special Medal
from the Engine Block Caster's Union.

When I was instructing in Pursuit and Protection Driving, we used
Peugeots as our school cars. They were cheap, handled reasonable
well, and you didn't feel bad when you broke one.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster

The quickest, most entertaining car I ever drove was a Renault Alpine.

Of course, having been built as a factory entrant in the Monte Carlo Rally, it was
not quite in stock configuration. ( But it was street legal.)

An old Alpine ('60s era)? That is an amazing beast. I'm somewhat
envious. Seems like it would handle a bit like an old Porsche 911.
(Which wouldn't be at all bad, if you stayed awake)

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster

I first encountered it in the mid 70's, when it was long retired as a competition car.
I have a hazy recollection it was in the '67 Rally. It was a hoot! It looked kind of
like a squished Karmann Ghia, with a tiny 4 cylinder water cooled engine in the rear.
Another hazy memory was it was about 1100 cc. The fiberglass body was so thin you could
easily deform it with your hand.

The first time I drove it ( in downtown traffic ) the guy with me said "We're trying to
hold it to 6000 rpm". At the first intersection, when the light changed, I gave it a
"bit" of gas and hit 7000 passing under the traffic light. It had no top end speed,
with the rally gears, but it sure would rev! It also had huge wide tires, and would
turn on a franc.

We made a lot of enemies one night. We stayed out too late and it got dark enough we
had to turn on the lights. Turning them "on" turned on all 6 driving lights and the
folks in the oncoming lane were not pleased.

No cup holders.

I also recall it spent some time as a fugitive, due to some nasty circumstances
involving divorces and bankruptcies. It hid in a nondescript garage in a small town,
awaiting its opportunity to return and terrorize the populace.

Bob McKellar