[Tigers] Erich, Erich, Erich...

[rande]

What am I going to do with you. 64.5 Mustangs?, Now, we're tilting  at two windmills.
Are you happy now?

If you know about the 64.5 versus 65 debate, then you know it's a similar argument.
Ford called them 1965's, but folks in the Mustang hobby thought it would be
more descriptive to call the April-July 1964 cars '64 1/2 or 64.5.

And don't forget Ford GT versus Ford GT40, or AC Cobra versus Shelby Cobra.


To me, there are two issues. What the group thinks, and what I would do if writing
about Tigers. I'll answer the second question. I try to follow journalistic
principles: accuracy and being consistant. If I were writing about a IA, I would
describe this model as a Sunbeam Tiger. This is what the brochures refer to
them as. I would also mention that in the Tiger hobby, owners refer to this
model as a Tiger IA, and
 I would explain the differences. I try to use the name that the manufacturer
uses most consistantly.

The 1960's Ford race car and its 2000's retro version are  both Ford GT's, because
that's what Ford called them, and that's what was on the rocker panel stripes
on cars so equipped. Some American company that sells replacement parts for
the 1960's race cars owns the trademark 'GT40', tried offering their trademark
to Ford, with no success.

The Cobra issue is a little murky because, depending on when Shelby was asked
what to call it, he initially insisted on Shelby Cobra, and later in life acknowledged
AC's part in the deal. If you look at the chassis instruction book for the leaf
spring Cobra, circa 1963-64, it's referred to as an AC Cobra. But in recent
coverage of this model, a disclaimer usually appears to the effect that in the
UK, it's referred to as AC Cobra, whereas in the States, Shelby Cobra is often
used.

As for the point that the Mark I and Mark IA references have been going on for
many years in many publications, that argument is more in line with the common
usage by Tiger owners than what is correct from a journalistic point. Again,
the standard that I use as a writer is going to be different than a conversation
I might have at a Tiger event with folks familiar with the cars.