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British Retractable "Coo-pay"

victorialynn2

By victorialynn2
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John_S_in_Penna 25,000+ Points

John_S_in_Penna

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Actually, it still is pronounced in those two syllables.

That's why it is sometimes written with the French

accent mark over the final "e."

 

Here's a 1975 Lincoln video which uses that pronunciation.

Just listen to the first 30 seconds if you will:

 

Edited by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)
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dictator27 5,000+ Points

dictator27

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Posted

Hi VictoriaLyn

You have obviously never heard this little ditty:

"Parlez vous Francais?

Oui, oui

Chevrolet coupe"

Living in Canada which is bilingual (english/french), french was taught in our schools, one of my french teachers (55 years ago) hammered that little poem into our heads just because too many people said "coop".  Only chickens live in coops.

 

Terry

 

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victorialynn2 10,000+ Points

victorialynn2

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13 minutes ago, dictator27 said:

Hi VictoriaLyn

You have obviously never heard this little ditty:

"Parlez vous Francais?

Oui, oui

Chevrolet coupe"

Living in Canada which is bilingual (english/french), french was taught in our schools, one of my french teachers (55 years ago) hammered that little poem into our heads just because too many people said "coop".  Only chickens live in coops.

 

Terry

 

I went to school in NH. A catholic school and had French for a few years. My step mother was French-Canadian. I just never knew it was from the French. Lol

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1912Staver 25,000+ Points

1912Staver

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1200px-1951_Allard_J2_Knebworth_OldtimerEarly post war Britain was for several years in a  very bad state . Shortages of materials and capital gave rise to a government program where manufactures were allotted basic materials such as steel based on export sales. They soon were building interesting sports cars, but mainly for export. Home market buyers were last in line. 

 This situation gave rise to numerous cottage constructors , and capable private builders. They were mostly focused on sports cars and club level racing cars.  All sorts of specialised, low production sports and racing cars were built. And it was the roots of a British racing car industry that continues to this day. Many great British designers and constructors had their abilities honed in this early period of material shortage but innovation and desire abundance.  Allard the car and the man are but one example. 

This Allard is a J2X  roadster , more typical of Allard's products.

 

Greg in Canada

Edited by 1912Staver (see edit history)
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padgett 25,000+ Points

padgett

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Posted

Nothing to do with coupes but also why so many '50s Disney films were made in England. Were not allowed to take the pounds they earned out of the country but had to use them somehow (at least that is what I was told).

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60FlatTop 25,000+ Points

60FlatTop

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, victorialynn2 said:

 

22 hours ago, dictator27 said:

 

I went to school in NH. A catholic school and had French for a few years. My step mother was French-Canadian. I just never knew it was from the French. Lol

 

You can't be any more surprised than i was the first time I heard acid rain was causing deformed frogs in the North Country!

 

Would have been my last guess.

Bernie

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Ivan Saxton 5,000+ Points

Ivan Saxton

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I don't think you can tell which of the alternative engine an Allard was fitted with.  A Cadillac V8 was the biggest, with more mass in front, but a beautiful smooth and powerful engine.  A side-valve Ford or Mercury V8 was probably most common, but  a Ford with Zora Arkus- Duntov's pushrod overhead valve conversions hemi-head appealed to me as most exciting when I was a kid at school. Those Ardun ohv heads were very desireable then,  and with a CNC router for pattern work, you could probably er-make them with a lot of effort.  I like to think that if those heads had been available and could have been used in the ten beautiful Miller Fords that Harry made for Edsel for the Indianapolis 500, the steering boxes would not have overheated and seized; and the cars might have been a howling success.

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padgett 25,000+ Points

padgett

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Think the more common term is "flathead".

They are. Or at least trying. Probably the prettiest head ever designed for a garbage truck.

 

Remember a few people had Allards when I was growing up - but a few synapses say they were J2s with Caddys or at least OHV V8s and were even a couple of MkII Palm Beachs. Must admit as a kid at the time I was more interested in what was going on at the Cunningham and Latham shops.

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60FlatTop 25,000+ Points

60FlatTop

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Oil leaking from the headlights. When you go for left hand drive on a Bentley coupe' they ways leave the Bijur pedal in the right toeboard.

 

In 2017 it is harder to tell a person what instrument went boing boing.

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8E45E 25,000+ Points

8E45E

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Posted
2 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Oil leaking from the headlights. When you go for left hand drive on a Bentley coupe' they ways leave the Bijur pedal in the right toeboard.

And in Austins and Morris', the hood release (marked 'B') is on the right, regardless where the steering wheel was.

 

Craig

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60FlatTop 25,000+ Points

60FlatTop

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I was raised, have raised, and still live with a family of readers. And always entertained.

 

But last week I was quite concerned to see a national news service cast a headline across my home TV using "**" in the middle of a word I might have to explain to a curious child. That's is true American vulgarism, right Mr. Cooper?

Bernie

Edited by 60FlatTop (see edit history)
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Terry Bond 25,000+ Points

Terry Bond

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Coupe and the automobile are an interesting relationship.  One early mention the term is in association with the early Gordon Bennett Cup races in France, starting in 1900.   The prize was a prestigious "cup," or "coupe" as it was called in French.  So, those earliest races were called "Coupe Gordon Bennett."   There was an early style of horse-drawn carriage designated as a "coupe" and that designation later carried over to automobiles that were similar in appearance and design.  Check this for an interesting history on the word and it's relationship to the automobile.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupé 

Terry

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Rusty_OToole 25,000+ Points

Rusty_OToole

Posted
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On 8/2/2017 at 1:32 PM, padgett said:

Nothing to do with coupes but also why so many '50s Disney films were made in England. Were not allowed to take the pounds they earned out of the country but had to use them somehow (at least that is what I was told).

Correct. American films were popular in Britain and the film companies accumulated large sums of money from exhibitors' fees. But, there were restrictions on taking money out of the country. The answer was to spend the money in Britain, making films which could be shown in the US and around the world.

 

There were a lot of movies made in England in the fifties and sixties that featured one or 2 B list American stars for the marquee and the rest of the cast and crew being English.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
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