Car Lingo You Hate

[4Hud]

One of my buddies referred to the cars in our collection as "junkers" ,I promptly corrected him. We still laugh about that exchange.

 

 

[hook]

On 8/9/2021 at 10:50 AM, ejboyd5 said:

"Frunk," as used to describe the luggage compartment on a rear engine Porsche. "Frame-off" and "Matching Numbers" are right up there as well.

Agree with you on the matching numbers crap. In most of the early cars, if the numbers matched, it's because someone working on it or restoring it changed the original numbers to match.

[Brass is Best]

Easy Fix... When you go look at a car that was running good on the phone but has a knocking motor when you arrive and the seller says that is an easy fix. Or when you get photos of a car with rust holes through the floor and the broker selling the car says that is an easy fix. Or when you are looking at a car in an auction that has chrome instead of nickel trim and the "car specialist" (who was selling watches last week and boats 2 months ago) says that is an easy fix.

[Restorer32]

I hate to hear a '32 Packard 900 referred to as a "shovelnose".

[28 Chrysler]

"1963 split window Corvette coupe."

All 1963 Corvette coups had a divided window that was hard to see out of the back.

They could also say  a 2 door, 2 seater with 4 wheels.

[Billy Kingsley]

I remembered another. When people refer to a Mercedes as a "Merc". No, a, that's Mercury, and b, no one calls it a Mer-Katies which is implied by that abbreviation. 

 

Most of the time I think they are doing that just to cause drama.

[JACK M]

12 hours ago, CarlLaFong said:

It's an old term fom the 40s and 50s. Cam grinders offered cams in half, 3/4 or full rage. Half was a good street grind, 3/4 was for the guy looking for s lot more power but still somewhat streetable. The grinders usually recommended multiple carburetors and a hotter ignition with the 3/4 grind and was pretty much required for the full race cam. 3/4 was a perfectly good term in it's day but is obsolete now.

 

 

 

There was this farm boy my age when I was a kid that was rebuilding his 283.

He spent a few days carefully grinding 1/4 of his cam lobes off. Or was it 3/4 off? doesn't matter, it wouldn't run.

[Mikefit]

We used the term street and alley for the 3/4 grind cams 1950s

[Frank DuVal]

12 hours ago, 28 Chrysler said:

"1963 split window Corvette coupe."

One only needs to say 1963 Not split window for those that were supposedly retrofitted with the full window so they looked a year newer back then!😁

 

And someone bury the person who coined "Frunk". It's a hood! Or a trunk lid, two lids in one!🤣

[Billy Kingsley]

I had never heard the term "frunk" until this very thread.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I was reminded of this when seeing an ad recently:

"Only" followed by the price.

 

The ad was by a dealer asking a high price.

He tried to mollify the big mark-up with the word "only"

preceding the number.

 

I think that, if the price really is low, the bargain

will be obvious to the educated buyer.

[61polara]

A 58' Lincoln for sale.....I hope you have at least a 60 foot garage to park it in.  Proper punctuation matters.

[CarlLaFong]

I see, as usual, this thread has gone into a list of words that people don't like that are not "auto Lingo". I hate "Model A five window coupe" All regular Model As were 5 window and, yes, I am aware of the 3 window prototypes and the sport coupe

 

[bryankazmer]

14 minutes ago, Jack Bennett said:

“Quick fix……engine in bed, missing parts, transmission missing, no wheels or tires, missing doors and glass, electrical wiring stolen……may need towed”

Bonus points for that western PA infinitive drop, the "needs washed" thing

[CarlLaFong]

1 hour ago, bryankazmer said:

Bonus points for that western PA infinitive drop, the "needs washed" thing

C'mon!! Everyone knows it's "Worshed"

[28 Chrysler]

23 hours ago, CarlLaFong said:

C'mon!! Everyone knows it's "Worshed"

Correct grammar in that sentience would be " needs a good worshing"

Edited August 14, 2021 by 28 Chrysler (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

At the risk of getting political, I dont understand giving gender to an auto either?

 

Not a car term that fits into the category, but since dialect was mentioned, how about 'earl'.

 

"My car sure burns a lot of earl"

[JACK M]

17 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

"My car sure burns a lot of earl"

 

Mine burns ool.

[Billy Kingsley]

My father's father, born in Hoboken, pronounced it earl. And terlet. 

 

My dad did not pronounce things like his father did, luckily. 

[Ed Luddy]

"One Owner"  I see this all the time, usually from the 5th owner!  One Owner, at a time maybe.

I called on a 62 Buick convertible that stated in the ad description One owner, all original, runs great.

 It was the 5th owner selling it, didn't know any of the original family. All original under the rust and repaint.

Runs good, but engine block is cracked from front to back. "Does the transmission and brakes work?" I asked like a true fool.

 Answer was " Don't know, never drove it"

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

"One Owner" 

I attended a police auction over at Riverside County a couple of years ago.  Among the items there, was a fleet of used police cars advertised as....

are you ready for it?

"All one owner cars"  😄

Technically accurate, I suppose.

One owner, 160 different drivers.  Anyway, it got a good laugh out of the bidding crowd.

[mrspeedyt]

1963

why would somebody do this to a one year only design when the car was practically new? if you wanted a clear rear view just buy the convertible corvette. and how about the ones that underwent this surgery… did they later make it a split window again?

Edited August 16, 2021 by mrspeedyt
thank you 28-chrysler and the hamb. (see edit history)

[cahartley]

On 8/14/2021 at 10:23 AM, JACK M said:

 

Mine burns ool.

I had a great aunt in Terre Haute, IN, who was shacking with a fella named Ermil.

Ermil's car used AWL........ 🤭

[Restorer32]

Our shop is in PA just 8 miles North of the Maryland line.  Easy to tell who is from where just by the way they pronounce "oil".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mrspeedyt]

grandmother was from Maine. when she said car it was caw. even after fifty years in los angeles.

dad for some reason never could get catalytic converter correct. it was Cadillac converter.

I finally learned not to say worushed. it’s washed.

[Brass is Best]

On 8/12/2021 at 11:46 PM, John_S_in_Penna said:

I was reminded of this when seeing an ad recently:

"Only" followed by the price.

 

The ad was by a dealer asking a high price.

He tried to mollify the big mark-up with the word "only"

preceding the number.

 

I think that, if the price really is low, the bargain

will be obvious to the educated buyer.

 

Sometimes "ONLY" before a price is used to let the pikers know that you are serious and know what you have.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Brass is Best (see edit history)

[Ed Luddy]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:46 AM, mrspeedyt said:

1963

why would somebody do this to a one year only design when the car was practically new? if you wanted a clear rear view just buy the convertible corvette. and how about the ones that underwent this surgery… did they later make it a split window again?

I haven't seen that story in years!  I knew it was true, just couldn't find it. Further to that a guy I knew bought a 63 Stingray coupe and had to change it back to the original split design. They used a hockey stick handle to support the fiberglass divider in place until it cured. I don't think they ever removed it. 

[CarlLaFong]

On 8/16/2021 at 1:38 PM, mrspeedyt said:

grandmother was from Maine. when she said car it was caw. even after fifty years in los angeles.

dad for some reason never could get catalytic converter correct. it was Cadillac converter.

I finally learned not to say worushed. it’s washed.

My dad talked about what a big deal it was when GM come out with the "turrent" top

[prewarnut]

"original miles"

[Tom99]

Three on the tree. I don't know of any car that has a tree growing out of the dashboard.

Dog dish hubcaps. You either have hubcaps or wheel covers.

'It's a Post car' Post what, post war? 

[alsancle]

7 minutes ago, Tom99 said:

Three on the tree. I don't know of any car that has a tree growing out of the dashboard.

Dog dish hubcaps. You either have hubcaps or wheel covers.

'It's a Post car' Post what, post war? 

 Get it on the "post car" one.   But does 3 on the tree and dog dish really bother you?   First is easier to say than column shift and the dog dish is  a very specific hub cap.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I've noticed, reading through this topic, that

objectionable words come in just a few categories:

 

(1)  Slang.  It's not good English, and tends to be

short-lived.  Occasionally it becomes regular speech.

Such as "Three on the tree" or "tranny."

 

(2)  Hyperbole, sometimes called "hype."  Exaggeration

is sometimes used in trying to sell a car, to create

false excitement or interest, but it's often not genuine.

Such as "Wow" or "Only."

 

(3)  Inexact or ambiguous words.  They don't tell the

whole story.  Sometimes they're mistaken;  sometimes

they're intentionally deceptive.  Such as "original" or "Classic"

or "Frame-off." 

 

(4)  Hackneyed phrases.  Used so often that they're

tiresome and no longer original.  Such as, "It's only original

once."

 

Knowing this, we can all write better descriptions now!

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[John348]

Virgin Interior

[bryankazmer]

14 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I've noticed, reading through this topic, that

objectionable words come in just a few categories:

 

(1)  Slang.  It's not good English, and tends to be

short-lived.  Occasionally it becomes regular speech.

Such as "Three on the tree" or "tranny."

 

(2)  Hyperbole, sometimes called "hype."  Exaggeration

is sometimes used in trying to sell a car, to create

false excitement or interest, but it's often not genuine.

Such as "Wow" or "Only."

 

(3)  Inexact or ambiguous words.  They don't tell the

whole story.  Sometimes they're mistaken;  sometimes

they're intentionally deceptive.  Such as "original" or "Classic"

or "Frame-off." 

 

(4)  Hackneyed phrases.  Used so often that they're

tiresome and no longer original.  Such as, "It's only original

once."

 

Knowing this, we can all write better descriptions now!

 

5) Just grammatically wrong.  "Break" for "brake," "Axel" for "axle", etc.  Can be inflicted by not checking on autocorrect.

[Guest]

Tall, Grande & Venti.

😡

[John348]

adult driven, I did not know children got drivers licensees  

[CarlLaFong]

31 minutes ago, John348 said:

adult driven, I did not know children got drivers licensees  

16 is a child in most states

[Frank DuVal]

16 hours ago, prewarnut said:

"original miles"

There was a time this was a proper statement, as odometers rolled over at 100K, with only the seller's word that it was Original Miles. That 50,000 miles 5 year old car could have been a salesman's car....and NOT original miles showing.😁

[Frank DuVal]

15 hours ago, Tom99 said:

'It's a Post car' Post what, post war? 

It is the "B" pillar, a post between the driver's door glass and the next piece of glass to the rear.

 

aka Hardtops (in correct use of the word) do not have posts, sedans do.

 

However, the dictionary definition of sedan applies to both post and no post cars! Webster vs GM.🤣

 

I guess this means post or no post is a better description than sedan!

Edited August 19, 2021 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

15 hours ago, alsancle said:

dog dish is  a very specific hub cap.

No, it IS the hub cap, as opposed to the optional wheel covers.

 

Now, this is not the hub cap covering the axle bearing.....😅