Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Imagos
So whose your favourite unashamed car nut from the last hundred years of motoring?

Possibilities are endless, it could be Enzo Ferrari or Ferdinand Porsche or from more recent times maybe Bob Lutz or Richard Parry-Jones.

My favourite is Michael Schumacher.

Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - frostbite
Graham Hill.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Citroënian {P}
Gilles Villeneuve
--
Lee
Having a Fabialous time.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Pugugly {P}
Bangle.........(!)

Seriously - Issigonis
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Robin Reliant
Colin Chapman. Possibly the last person who could become a major player in auto manufacturing and motor sport from an enterprise begun in a garden shed.

Probably impossible to-day, with all the safety and emmissions requirements that have to be satisfied before a car can be put on sale.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - tobyn
manfred von brauchitsch - 1930s mercedes driver
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - cheddar
M Schumacher, particularly after learning that he gave 10 million dollars £6,000,000 to the tsunami appeal, not small change even for him. By comparison I understand that the Premiership football clubs managed "only" a million quid between them!
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - PoloGirl
M Schumacher, particularly after learning that he gave 10 million dollars
£6,000,000 to the tsunami appeal,


lol! His PR works then!
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - cheddar
>> M Schumacher, particularly after learning that he gave 10 million
dollars
>> £6,000,000 to the tsunami appeal,
lol! His PR works then!


Cynic, he could have got the same PR for 2 milion dollars.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - PoloGirl
>> >> M Schumacher, particularly after learning that he gave 10
million
>> dollars
>> >> £6,000,000 to the tsunami appeal,
>>
>> lol! His PR works then!
>>
Cynic, he could have got the same PR for 2 milion
dollars.


I think you missed my point.

We didn't need to know how much he had donated, or even that he had donated at all... but the fact that he let it be known that he had donated something, made you think he was a better person, when in fact this manipulation of your opinion would suggest the opposite.

Very cynical in cases like these, yes.

Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - cheddar
>> >> >> M Schumacher, particularly after learning that he gave
10
>> million
>> >> dollars
>> >> >> £6,000,000 to the tsunami appeal,
>> >>
>> >> lol! His PR works then!
>> >>
>>
>> Cynic, he could have got the same PR for 2
milion
>> dollars.
>>
I think you missed my point.
We didn't need to know how much he had donated, or
even that he had donated at all... but the fact that
he let it be known that he had donated something, made
you think he was a better person, when in fact this
manipulation of your opinion would suggest the opposite.
Very cynical in cases like these, yes.


If I knew he had not donated it would have negativley influenced my opinion of him, if I heard he had donted a million dollars I would have been ambivalent, kind of waht you exepct from someone with his fortune, 10 million dollars, well that is way above expectations so it makes me think more of him. Simple.

Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Altea Ego
Deductable agianst what little income tax he pays no doubt?
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Dynamic Dave
Murray Walker.

Now you cannot tell me he isn't a nut when it came to motorsport. I'm not just talking F1, he also provided the commentary for Touring cars, Rallycross, & Motorcross, to name but a few.


Who's your favourite 'car guy'? - mfarrow
Murray Walker.
Now you cannot tell me he isn't a nut when it
came to motorsport. I'm not just talking F1, he also provided
the commentary for Touring cars, Rallycross, & Motorcross, to name but
a few.


I can't agree more than the Murray vote. Definately one of the last commentators who will be remembered for doing such a variety of motorsports. IMHO his voice is perfectly pitched for talking over any car engine!
Who's your favourite 'car guy'? - Imagos
Definately one
of the last commentators who will be remembered for doing such
a variety of motorsports.


Steady on! he ain't dead yet! Have to agree though, one of the old school petrolheads.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Citroënian {P}
DD,

Thinking again, Murray has given me more enjoyment from Motorsport over the years than any single driver.

Good call
--
Lee
Having a Fabialous time.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Avant
Quite agree about Murray Walker - he loved (still loves) his subject and his whole life, and his enthusiasm is infectious - rather like Brian Johnston in cricket.

I'd add Sir Stirling Moss, not only for his achievements but also for the sort of person her is. In contrast to some of the prima-donna attitudes of some sportsmen, when Juan Manuel Fangio died Stirling said simply 'He was the greatest of them all'. That tells you quite a lot about him as well as about Fangio.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - PhilW
"manfred von brauchitsch - 1930s mercedes driver"
I could get into a serious argument here - Brauchitsch wasn't a patch on Rudolph Carracciola!!
And what about Nuvolari? And Richard Seaman?
Actually, my all time favourite was Jim Clark
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Arty
I'm gonna pull a Prince Harry:

Adolf Hitler; forget the politics but set the seen for many German auto companies especially for Volkwagen and the legacy of Ferdinand Porsche.

Also have a look at all those big Mercedes limosines that the elites of the n*** Party were riding around in (very cool cars).

Also the creation of the Autobahn and continental highway cruising.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Imagos
Also the creation of the Autobahn and continental highway cruising.


Interesting.. so AH done ALL this before American interstates?
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Baskerville
Interesting.. so AH done ALL this before American interstates?


American long-distance roads were pretty awful in general until after WW2; FDR spent a fortune in the 1930s on road and bridge building that changed this radically. In the 1930s most freight went by rail or river (a great deal still goes by river) and cars weren't really up to comfortable long-distance cruising anyway until proper aerodynamics became a feature in the late 1930s/early 1940s--just look at all the trains that feature in films from that era; they were definitely the best way to cover long distances in America back then. As far as I recall it was the autobahns that inspired the dual-carriageway freeway idea in America in the 1940s.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Pugugly {P}
Re: Hitler
Roughly ten million people and their families as well as millions of irreplaceable works of art, a lost generation or two would have quite happily foregone Volkswagens, Mercedes Limos and Autobhans for their lives.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Baskerville
Re: Hitler
Roughly ten million people and their families as well as millions
of irreplaceable works of art, a lost generation or two would
have quite happily foregone Volkswagens, Mercedes Limos and Autobhans for their
lives.


I don't think anyone was arguing otherwise--plenty of the people you mentioned were forced to help build those autobahns after all.

Looking at it the other way and identifying non-visionaries, didn't the designers from Morris reject the offer of the Wolfsburg factory in 1946 on the grounds that the Beetle was too ugly to sell? Oops.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Avant

"Looking at it the other way and identifying non-visionaries, didn't the designers from Morris reject the offer of the Wolfsburg factory in 1946 on the grounds that the Beetle was too ugly to sell? Oops."

Wasn't it someone from Rootes, perhaps even Lord Rootes himself? Maybe Major Ivan Hirst, who had the vision to get Beetle production going again, should be up there with the greats.

Whatever the Beetle's shortcomings it was a better car than most of Rootes's offerings (Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam). Hillmans in particular were stodgy, underpowered horrors, from the Minx to the Avenger - strangely enticing names for such boring cars!

In fairness, the sportier Sunbeams - Alpine, Rapier, Tiger - had a bit more oomph.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Altea Ego
"millions of irreplaceable works of art"

Think most of them are still alive just not - errr - ummm "in the public domain"

Frankly the beetle would not qualify as a work of art, or even a half decent motor car. even then.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - tobyn
"Frankly the beetle would not qualify as a...half decent motor car. even then."

oh come on - you may not like them but if they weren't half decent they wouldn't have sold like they did. they trashed the english competition because they were built well and worked.

remind me...what's left of the british car industry?


Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Altea Ego
>remind me...what's left of the british car industry?


Remind me who financed the rebuilding of the german car industry?
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Altea Ego
And who financed all the export credit guarantees, and no tarriff barriers during the 50's?

Just so this hateful Hund of a car could appear around the world.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - tobyn
"And who financed all the export credit guarantees, and no tarriff barriers during the 50's?

Just so this hateful Hund of a car could appear around the world."

my point is, and i suspect you got it, is that british engineering on the whole isn't up to the standards set by the germans or the japanese.

imagine it is 1977. you're paid to drive round the world in either a new nicely run-in austin allegro or a 10 year old vw beetle -which would you take?

it's 2005 - same trip - option toyota landcruiser or landrover discovery?

i would bet you my house, my pension and my dog that the allegro and the landrover would be more unreliable.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Baskerville
Remind me who financed the rebuilding of the german car industry?


You do realise that Britain was the largest net recipient of Marshall Aid, don't you?
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Ex-Moderator
Motoring please; (just in case anybody was thinking of wandering away from the subject).
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - tobyn
interesting argument.

i suppose then that we would prefer to be without england's contribution to the car - we've done our fair share of killing - india, kenya, ireland etc.

let's wipe out america's car histroy too - they managed to kill 4 million people in south east asia in 15 years.

belgium's king leopold II got through 7 million congolese so lets get rid of their chocolate while we're at it.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Tomo
Unoriginal, butGraham Hill again.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Adam {P}
Bangle.....but I'm being serious.

Should I be worried?
--
Adam
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - stackman
That's a real tough one, such a wide category. How do you chose between Alec Issigonis and Ayrton Senna, Enzo Ferrari and Colin McCrae ?

Probably end up with Murray Walker though. His voice defined the excitement of motor racing for decades.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Stuartli
>>Probably end up with Murray Walker though>>

If you read his autobiography you'll probably be surprised that Murray not only held high profile positions in advertising agencies, travelled all over the world and did a spot of racing himself long before taking up commentating seriously; in fact you'll admire him even more.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Sofa Spud
Maurice Wilkes.

While on holiday with his family in Anglesey in c.1947, he drew in the sand his design for a utility vehicle and wrote the words 'Land Rover' in the sand. Wilkes was a director of the Rover company and after the holiday his ex US army Jeep was thought to have been used as a donor vehicle for the prototype Land Rover which had a central steering wheel. While this vehicle was being tested and demontrated Rover were working on a proper Land Rover prototype, the 80 inch. This model entered production in 1948.


Cheers, SS
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - helicopter
My vote also goes to Jim Clark.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Altea Ego
Louis Moya.

He gave me the most memorable motorsport moment when he threw his helmet through the rear window of Carlos Sainz expired corolla 100 yards from the finish line of the British rally where finishing meant a world title.


Carlos Sainz. Top of his tree for a large number of years and always a gentleman in and out of his sport.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Pugugly {P}
Wilkes yes indeed.

He would recognise the fundamental shape of the 1947 original in any Land Rover Showroom. What he wouldn't recognise would be all the non vehicular glass, chrome and carpets !!! Back to Basics guys.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - turbo11
Ayrton Senna-
.I worked with him as one of his mechanics for six years,whilst at Mclaren.He loved talking motorsport.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Imagos
It's interesting to note that a large majority of your favourites have a connection with F1 considering the sports unpopularity in other backroom threads.

Also interesting no mention of Henry Ford.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - bradgate
I was just about to...

Henry Ford transformed the Motor Car from being a rich man's toy to being something that Mr & Mrs Middle America could afford. Ford democratised personal freedom and mobility, and in doing so irrevocably changed the world.

A good modern comparison for Ford's achievement would be if an entrepreneur found a way of manufacturing and selling a simple, basic helicopter for £30k. I'm guesing that many of us would buy one.

Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - PhilW
"It's interesting to note that a large majority of your favourites have a connection with F1 considering the sports unpopularity in other backroom threads."

Yes, but note how many come from earlier eras of F1. A quick scan of posts above suggests that apart from a vote or two for Schumacher, the next most recent are Senna, Villeneuve and then we go back to Clark, Hill, Moss, Fangio and eventually Brauchitsch and Carracciola. And I suppose Adolf who actively promoted the rivalry between MB and Auto-Union in the '30s. Colin Chapman and Murray Walker also hark back to an earlier era.

Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - PhilW
Incidentally, talking of Adolf. My father says that when his father became county surveyor of North Yorkshire in the '30s he went to Germany to look at the autobahn system and the end result was that North Yorkshire became the first county through which the A1 was dual carriageway for the full length through the county. He also tried to introduce "flyovers" but in most cases the council couldn't afford them. He also managed to tarmac the road going up Sutton Bank (until then gravel surface) when it was said to be impossible.
So a belated vote for Grandad W. (course, my Dad could have been bragging!!)
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - hcm
that's fascinating.

having driven, and cycled, up and down sutton bank hundreds of times, your grandad w can have my vote too!
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - Baskerville
I was just about to...
Henry Ford transformed the Motor Car from being a rich man's
toy to being something that Mr & Mrs Middle America could
afford. Ford democratised personal freedom and mobility, and in doing so
irrevocably changed the world


A debatable point this. Was it Ford and his Model T, or was it General Motors? Their three-year finance deals in the 1940s/1950s were really what made cars (as opposed to a car) affordable to "Mr and Mrs Middle America." GM was certainly responsible for the fast model turnover, reskinning, trade-in, and finance deals we have today. Here are some figures: in 1946 there were 28 million cars registered in the US, half of which were over ten years old. 21.4 million new units were sold between 1946 and 1950, a truly staggering figure, and the 1950s were even more spectacular.
Whose your favourite 'car guy'? - keo-the-dog
it has to be john macadam or thomas dunlop without these guys we would be running on dirt tracks and solid tyres , but as far as cars go it has to be another partnership of porsche and adolf even though the latters politics were a bit iffy to say the least...cheers...keo