John McEwen wrote
<When you are reminiscing about bad cars from BL, you might remember the
Rover 2000. I owned a new 2000 TC in 1966. I believe it rated as slight=
ly
worse or perhaps very slightly better than the TR7 in terms of major
problem areas as identified by Road and Track. In any event, they were
both abominable and certainly contributed to the rapid decline and ultima=
te
failure to the British automobile industry.
All is not lost however, as one of our fellow listees has just announced
that he has acquired a Renault Dauphine. These cars make TR7 durability
and reliability look positively wonderful. The very worst car I ever own=
ed
was a Renault Caravelle.>
Ah the Renault in all its iterations! What a car for the Canadian Winter=
=2E =
A friend of mine had a Caravelle which looked like a sporty beast. Once =
in
pulling up to the Art College he overestimated the stopping power of the
brakes and a tree had to help zero the momentum. The denouement was
sliding stop to the curb at the same place. Masterfully done but before =
he
could get out the car broke in half! There was a box beam under the fron=
t
seats that just loved to collect salt. =
The Renault R10 was a car that attracted a certain type of driver. I'll
never forget the one I saw in Montreal. Both bumpers were removed and
replaced by 2x10's which matched those bolted to the sides of the car.
My only strong memory of the Rover 2000 was the dash. Exposure to the
atmosphere would create a chalky white finish on the black plastic. How
did the British do it! Regular applications of baby oil would keep it
black. =
A fresh shipment of TR 7's on a dealer's lot attracted my attention. A
closer inspection revealed all the head liners had fallen away, some
completely and others only half way.
Thank you for reviving the memories!
Regards,
Michael.
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