2010 April | Classic Cars

Archive for April, 2010

Palace And Castle Tour For Motorcycles And Classic Cars

Friday, April 30th, 2010

From 20th to 22nd August, 2010 the Palace and Castle Tour (Schlösser- und Burgenfahrt) for motorcycles and classic cars will again take place.

For the motorcycle tour on 21st August pre-1939 motorcycles with or without sidecar are allowed, and for the classic car tour on 22nd August pre-1970 cars are permitted.

Classic Car©flickr/kathrin_gaisser

Starting point for both tours is Augustusburg Palace located in the German Erz Mountains.

Both tours go through the magnificent landscape of the Erz Mountains to Klösterle Palace in the Czech Republic located on the Eger River. After a meal you drive back to Augustusburg Palace where you can enjoy yourself in one of the restaurants or beer gardens.

There is a youth hostel in the palace and on reaped areas around the palace camping is possible. In the lido in Erdmannsdorf, about 4 km form Augustusburg, camping is also possible.

You have to get registered before 23rd July, 2010, more information for the motorcycle tour and the classic car tour you get here: Motorcycle, Classic Car.

Tags: classic car
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The 1989 Jaguar XJ220

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

The Jaguar XJ220, even though not really that old, certainly is a classic car.

In the 1980s when rich man had money to splash around with and were looking for more motoring excitement, a number of supercars were designed.

The newly designed Jaguar XJ220 was one of the fastest and most practical cars. Besides being fast it was indeed beautiful, powerful and of course expensive. But it was pretty bulky too and even a rich man wouldn’t choose it for everyday use. Besides that the two-seater was not really easy to drive.

Jaguar XJ220 © flickr/daveoflogic

The prototype that was introduced in 1988 was fitted with Jaguar’s V12 engine, had four-wheel-drive and was even bigger than the car later produced. Even tough it was not yet tested it already carried the XJ220 title that indicated how fast the car would be.
Because of the positive reaction the car then was produced in collaboration with Tom Walkinshaw Racing. 1989 the new car was first announced and it was not only smaller but also had a twin-turbo V6 engine and rear drive only. The engine now used was the same that was used in all Jaguar racing sports cars.

The customers didn’t seem to mind the changes, and even though Jaguar only wanted to produce 350 cars, 1,200 customers wanted to buy one.
The Jaguar XJ220 was manufactured in the new factory near Banbury. It was a civilised version of a race car but with air-conditioning.
In 1992 the car was first sold and even though the car had a top speed of 213 mph and everybody seemed to be fond of it, there was nothing Jaguar could do about the recession. The market for expensive cars collapsed and only 271 cars were built in three years. As not even all cars were sold the beautiful Jaguar XJ220 was a commercial failure.

Tags: car, Jaguar, Jaguar XJ220
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Simca 1100

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

The Simca 1100 was built from 1967 to 1982. It was the first front wheel drive car manufactured by Simca.

The design of the car was very advanced, featuring a hatchback with folding rear seats, disc brakes, independent front and rear suspension by torsion bars and rack and pinion steering. The body was welded to the frame rather than bolted.

Simca 1100 LS©flickr/FaceMePLS

The cars were equipped with Simca Type 315 overhead valve engines with 944 (45 PS / 33 kW), 1118 (50/52/60 PS / 37/38/44 kW), and 1294 (62/75 PS / 46/55 kW) cc, depending on year and market. A stroked 1118 cc engine displacing 1.2 litres was introduced to the UK market in 1971 and in limited quantities also sold in the USA.

The Simca 1100 had a four speed manual gearbox and there was also a three speed semi-automatic gearbox available which required manual shifting but had an electronically activated clutch.

The Simca 1100 had room for 5 people and three and five door hatchbacks, three door estate car and a van were offered.
In France the Simca 1100 was very successful but didn’t sell to well in non-European export markets.

The Simca was introduced to the American market in 1969 as Simca 1204 and was available as LS or GLS trim, hatchback, or estate for less than $2,000. Air conditioning and the three speed automatic gearbox were optional. It was not a success and Simca withdrew from the American market in 1972.

Tags: car, Simca, Simca 1100
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SIMCA

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

SIMCA (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carosserie Automobile) was founded in 1934 by Henri Théodore Pigozzi.

In 1935 the company started producing FIAT cars under license. First the Fiat 500 Topolino which was sold under the name of Simca 5 in France. Untill 1950 the Simca 8 and the Simca 6 followed. Under German occupation during WW2 SIMCA amongst others had to produce parts for the NSU-Kettenkrad, a small military vehicle.

Simca 1000 GLS©flickr/Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden

In 1954 SIMCA bought Ford’s French branch and it became the most modern car factory in Europe. With 15 percent of shares Ford became a shareholder of Simca.

The former Ford models Vedette and Comète became Simca Vedette and Simca Comète Monte Carlo. One year later the production of the Simca Comète Monte Carlo came to an end but the Simca Vedette was produced until 1961, in Brazil even until the end of the 1960s.

In 1951 the Simca Aronde was first sold followed by the Simca Ariane in 1957. In 1961 the Simca 1000 was produced and from 1963 on the 1300/1500 series. The Simca 1100 built in 1967 was the first model with front engine and front wheel drive.

In 1958 Chrysler bought the 15 percent shares held by Ford and in 1959 Simca bought the French Talbot-Lago company. In 1971 Chrysler owned almost 100 percent of the Simca shares mostly by purchasing them from FIAT. The company now was officially called Chrysler France but the brand name Simca was still used.

In 1978 Simca was sold to Peugeot S.A. which still built the models until 1986 under the brand name Talbot. The last Simca design was the Talbot Arizona which was sold as the Peugeot 309.

The Aronde, the Simca 1000 and the front engined 1100 compact car were the most popular pre-Chrysler models.

Tags: car, Chrysler, Ford, Simca
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VETERAMA Ludwigshafen 2010

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

The VETERAMA is Europe’s biggest marketplace for vintage and classic cars and motorcycles.

The Spring VETERAMA in Ludwigshafen will be held on 17 + 18 April, 2010 and on 24 + 25 April, 2010 (motorcycles only).

Vintage Car©flickr/infomatique

On the VETERAMA visitors will not only find spare parts, accessories, tools and literature, but also entire vehicles. Among insiders the fair is well known for its affordable prices.
On the show arena visitors can present their classic car and let it be rated by the public.

No matter whether you are looking for spare part for your veteran motor bike or if you are looking for a high-powered racing cycle, on the Spring VETERAMA you can find all.

You can easily get to the VETERAMA by car via motorway (Autobahn). In Ludwigshafen just follow the signs.

Opening hours:

Saturday: 08:30 am – 18:00 pm
Sunday: 08:30 am – 16:00 pm

Entrance fees:

Daily ticket: 8.00 € (only on Saturday or Sunday), 5.00 € reduced price, only available with adequate document (student ID etc.) or on Sunday after 2 pm
Family ticket: 10.00 € (only on Sunday) parents with two children up to 15 years
Insider ticket: 20.00 € (valid for three days: Fri/Sat/Sun) Please note that only the insider ticket allows you to visit the exhibition on Friday.

Tags: car, classic car, Classic Cars, VETERAMA
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Car Parts English-German Part 7

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

This is the last part of my car parts dictionary. If there is something missing you’d need to know, feel free to get in touch. I might be able to help.

English	German
top-speed	Höchstgeschwindigkeit
torque	Drehmoment
tow bar	Anhängerkupplung
track deviation	Spurverzerrung
transverse control arm	Querlenker
transverse control arm seating	Querlenker-Aufnahme
valve	Ventil
valve cap gasket	Ventilkappendichtung
valve clearance	Ventilspiel
vibration absorber	Schwingungstilger
warning lights	Warnblinker
weight	Gewicht
wheel base	Achsabstand, Radstand
wheel nut	Radmutter
wheel suspension	Radaufhängung
width	Breite
window lifter, regulator	Fensterheber
windscreen	Windschutzscheibe
windscreen wiper	Scheibenwischer
wing	Kotflügel
wing mirror	Außenspiegel

Tags: car, car parts, English-German, parts
Posted in English-German | Comments Off

Techno Classica 2010 Essen

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

From 7th to 11th April, 2010 there will again be the Techno Classica in Essen.

It is a world show for classic and vintage cars, motorcycles and you can get spare parts as well as model cars.
In 20 halls and 4 open air areas more than 1,000 exhibitors from 28 countries are expected.

You can see the 75 year old Volvo PV 36 “Carioca” of which only about 25 still exist. From 1935 and 1938 500 cars were produced. Mercedes-Benz will show sports cars of more than 100 years and in hall 7 Volkswagen will show many different cars.

And visitors who come to the Techno Classica should not forget that Essen as well as 52 other cities in the region are European Capital of Culture this year and many events take place. Don’t miss them.
Opening hours:

7th April 2010: Preview, Trade and Press Day 2 pm – 8 pm
8th April 2010: 10 am – 6 pm
9th April 2010: 10 am – 7 pm
10th April 2010: 9 am – 6 pm
11th April 2010: 9 am – 6 pm

Entrance Prices:

Premium Day Ticket: 30,00 €
Adults: 20,00 €
Teenager and puplis (15 – 17 years), students, unemployed and handicapped people (on presentation on an ID-Card): 16,00 €
Children and Teenager (8 – 14 years): 10,00 €
Children under 8 (accompanied by an adult): free admission
Family ticket – parents with 2 children (up to 17 years): 50,00 €
Groups of 10 and more: 18,00 € per Person

The address is: Messe Essen GmbH, Norbertstraße 2, 45131 Essen
You can get to Essen by car or train. The nearest airport is the Rhine-Ruhr airport at Düsseldorf.

Tags: Cars, Essen, Techno Classica
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The Bobby-Car

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

The Bobby-Car™ was first produced in 1972 in Fürth and Burghaslach by the BIG Company.

The toy car was designed for children around the age of two and has four wheels. The children can sit on it like on a motorcycle and by swinging the legs move the car. The name “Bobby-Car” is protected of course.

After the death of Ernst A. Bettag , the inventor of the Bobby-Car, the Simba Dickie Group bought the company and is still producing Bobby-Cars. Today several accessories such as light running tyres or trailers are available. Originally the car was only produced in red but now is available also in different colours as well as in different models like police cars or tow trucks. Even special editions were produced that resembled well known German cars produced by Mercedes-Benz, Audi or Volkswagen.

As the body of the Bobby-Car is strong enough to carry an adult even races like soap box derbies are held. Because of the high speed the axles of course have to be modified and to increase the weight the bodies of the car are filled with concrete. The speed record was set on 28 April 2003 by Mario Fischer of the Bobby-Car Club Coburg who achieved a speed of 108.2 km/h.

Today lovers of Bobby-Cars even supply the cars with engines. The bodies of the cars will be set on a solid frame and small engines of for example power saws are used. The small toy cars have a top speed of about 85 km/h.

Tags: Bobby Car, car
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