Interesting. The original drivetrain concept for the famous Tucker automobile was a single-speed drive with a torque converter at each wheel. The 589 CID engine (with camless hydraulic valvetrain!) was intended to be such a torquemonster that multiple speeds wouldn’t be necessary.

Yeah, those old Cadillac (and, IIRC Buick) horns sounded like they belonged on an oceangoing tugboat.

I just improvised. To do a zigzag, I’d just mow a zigzaggy path right across the center of the lawn, then follow the same pattern with each successive swath until the whole lawn was mowed. To do a sunburst I’d start in the center and mow radially out to the edges.

Agreed. I was in high school when the ‘84 Vette appeared, and everything about it was a mind-blower. I’d still love a C4.

Someone on the DeLorean forum already is transplanting a Tesla drivetrain into a DeLorean.

Pshaw. When I lived in town, I used to mow all kinds of patterns into my lawn. Lightning bolts, waves, sunbursts, you name it. The neighbor kids looked at me funny the first time, but everyone who walked by would smile.

Harry Ricardo did everything in the 20's. And anything he missed, Walter Hassan and Harry Mundy did in the ‘50's.

I’ve not had the opportunity to mess around with a Tesla and its doors, but I can say that the doors of a DeLorean are not just a gimmick. A co-worker of mine has a Lotus Esprit (almost exactly the same height and proportions) and it is difficult to enter and exit compared to my DeLorean because the edge of the roof…

Did Willy T. Ribbs ever drive in NASCAR? I remember him in Trans-Am and CART back in the ‘80s but can’t remember if he drove stock cars.

It’s not just Hondas. The key to my old ‘66 Datsun 1600 (which was parted out 30 years ago) unlocks and starts the ‘67 1600 I bought last year.

Spot on. It’s perfectly reasonable to say, “I don’t care for the PT Cruiser and would never buy one”. It is NOT reasonable to say, “PT Cruisers SUCK and if you buy one you must be stupid”. I don’t get why people waste so much effort complaining about OTHER people’s transportation choices.

That’s a mindset that I don’t really understand; it’s perfectly possible to love something (even something very expensive) while admitting that it is flawed. Maybe you need to get an old British sports car next. The MG/Triumph/Austin-Healey/Lotus community is very cheerful about their cars’ idiosyncrasies. They have…

A ‘50's sports car gymkhana (as distinct from its modern interpretation) would often include elements that are a lot like the filing cabinets and dresser drawers. You’d find the co-driver having to joust at balloons with a broomstick, or you’d have to pull into a box and throw darts at a dartboard, with time penalties…

Yes. To assert that Benz’ invention is a “car” because it has an internal combustion engine, and Goldsworthy Gurney’s steam carriage is not, is also to say that Stanley, White, and Doble did not make cars.

I think you are talking about the VPG. It was intended as a purpose-built mobility vehicle for wheelchair users. I guess in that case function is paramount over aesthetics.

Yep. The “Formula” approach in car racing (Formula 1, et al) was originally explicitly modeled on the box rule approach of yacht racing.

The stationary seals are a plus. It’s still going to have some of the same problems as a Wankel, though; it still has a combution chamber with a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, and very narrow edges. Both are bad for fuel efficiency and hydrocarbon emissions.

Yeesh. My ‘08 Smart has a Lexan roof, and has a nice rolling sunshade to keep you from baking your brains. I’m surpised Tesla didn’t think it through more thoroughly.

That’s the truth. Here in Rochester the people are Midwestern-nice, which is to say a lot nicer than NYC or Boston, but when I went down to NC to pick up my DeLorean it was a whole ‘nother world. Even the guy behind the counter at AutoZone cheerfully inquired, “You’re not from around here, where’re y’all from?”

Yeah, you’d think he’d have learned from DeLorean. Same story, John Z headhunted first-rate talent from all over the industry and still had the same sorts of problems.