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Car Lingo You Hate

TAKerry

By TAKerry
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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, K8096 said:

Suicide doors 

You never opened one at highway speed? It can be very exciting!😲

 

 

And that vehicle in my picture was never called a Sharknose in Graham literature, but now we all do it, lovingly!😉

 

Or Bulletnose in Studebaker literature.  But we all know what it means. Words are for communicating, and they are always evolving. This is not Latin, a dead language. 🤔 Lawyers like Latin, as it never changes meaning.

Edited by Frank DuVal (see edit history)
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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted

OK then, I will just use it for the proper Duce and a Quarters! No Estate wagons.😉 (LeSabre chassis)

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Billy Kingsley 5,000+ Points

Billy Kingsley

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, 31plymouth said:

  The word Classic when talking about any vintage car .. A friend of mine goes ballistic when someone refers to a 57 Chevy as a "Classic"

That kind of person annoys me. Who died and made them the arbiter of language? 

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Guest

Posted
Posted

"Patina" 

Euphemism for needs a wash or needs paint.

And "muscle car"

if one has to say it in their ad, you can bet it's not.

AMC Matador,  Chrysler Newport,  Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford Maverick, etc.

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Dandy Dave 25,000+ Points

Dandy Dave

Posted
Posted

Rare usually means the way one may like their steak. Me, I like mine medium. Never did get no A fer spellin or grammer. In fact Grammers house is where we use to get milk and cookies. How about Original patina. Not sure how it can be original as it did not come from the factory that way. It took years to turn to a patinaed finish. 😜Dandy Dave!

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1937McBuick 2,500+ Points

1937McBuick

Posted
Posted

A bit of hair splitting in this thread.

 

Words describe,  even if they're slang.

When talking with people about their cars.... let them talk.   It's how they see it.   There's times I don't feel the need to correct anyone.

 

Opinions are like A-holes,  everybody has one and some stink more than others.

 

When describing or talking about my car, I'm sure I could be accused of many of the sins talked about here.   I'll describe it the way I see it.  

 

I own an "uncommon" 1937 McLaughlin Buick Opera Coupe,  that no one wants....  it will never be original but it's a term used that describes the end result of rebuilding the car and separates it from "terms" like resto-mod or customize or modified.    And just because it might be described(accurately) as rare....it doesn't mean anyone wants it.   

 

We all have different standards,  live and let live.

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hook 5,000+ Points

hook

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, pmhowe said:

I was out driving my 1966 Morgan drophead coupe today. For those of you unfamiliar with Morgans, it looks like a British drophead coupe from the 1930s, that has been left in the clothes dryer too long, and shrank. It is a fun sportscar. In fifty years, this one is my third one. 

 

I came to an intersection, and some Shriners were collecting for a children's charity (God bless them for that, and of course I gave). 

 

The gentleman was thrilled with the car. He said; " Neat car. Is it real?"  

 

How do you answer that? I took an admonition from this forum that said we must encourage young people to be interested in old cars. I stated that it was indeed real, and was an authentic 1966 Morgan drophead coupe.

 

I'm not good at guessing ages, but he was at least in his seventies. :)

 

So it was a win-win. He learned something about a car he liked but had never seen before, and I did my bit for bringing youngsters into the fold. 

 

Phil

IMG_1135 2.jpeg

Now the problem is, and it's one you set in motion, the person you educated is now trying to figure out what the hell does "drophead" mean. haha He's probably going around telling people he saw a car with it's head dropped.

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hook 5,000+ Points

hook

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, 31plymouth said:

  The word Classic when talking about any vintage car .. A friend of mine goes ballistic when someone refers to a 57 Chevy as a "Classic"

Agree 100%, no Chevrolet, Ford or any other postwar run of the mill production everyday cheap car should be used in the same sentence or paragraph with the word classic! Just my opinion, of course. 

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J.H.Boland 5,000+ Points

J.H.Boland

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, carbking said:

 

They can call it anything they want, as long as they have the identification when they call for a kit !

 

Jon

The parts mans' lament - just the model and the year. Then you get "they're all the same ".

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Bhigdog 25,000+ Points

Bhigdog

Posted
Posted (edited)

Not actually a "term" but hearing it gets old. Spectator while looking at my red 57 Buick convertible: " My father had one just like this only his was a Ford and it was blue."

Or: "Boy that's when they made real cars. Those big old Buicks rode like a dream."

Sorry. No they didn't unless you liked under/over steer, bias ply tire wander, and just adequate brakes............Bob

Edited by Bhigdog (see edit history)
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CarlLaFong 10,000+ Points

CarlLaFong

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Bhigdog said:

Calling an internal combustion ENGINE a motor.......Bob

 
mo·tor
/ˈmōdər/
See definitions in:
all
mechanics
biology
motor
noun
noun: motor; plural noun: motors
  1. a machine, especially one powered by electricity or internal combustion, that supplies motive power for a vehicle or for some other device with moving parts.
     
    This controversy will rage on forever. I don't have time right now because I need to do some work on my enginecycle today.
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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Billy Kingsley said:

Any car named Spider or Spyder. Why would you name a car after one of the very worst things on the planet?

Hmm, seems a phobia is coming out here. 😉   I like spiders when they are smaller, keep other insects at bay. The ones with the 2"+ leg span do not belong IN the house. I'll take spiders over tomato horn worms any day. Those are butt-ugly and need to be steeped on after removing them from the plant. GROSS!🤬

 

As the owner of several Corvair Spyders, I like them too!😁

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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, bryankazmer said:

"Valve cover" on an overhead cam engine.

That object over the camshaft is not also over the valves? What is the difference in that object between an overhead valve engine and an overhead cam engine? The valves are in the exact same place. And you remove it to adjust the valves.

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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, hook said:

Agree 100%, no Chevrolet, Ford or any other postwar run of the mill production everyday cheap car should be used in the same sentence or paragraph with the word classic! Just my opinion, of course. 

 

The word Classic is a particular species of vehicle recognized by the few in the Classic Car Club of America, but ONLY among their members The word classic can be used for whatever the user wants. Just hard to hear capitalization in speech. Caprice Classic, Malibu Classic, classic lines, etc. Your spouse could be classy! It is a common dictionary word. See Webster or Oxford for proof.

 

 

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Frank DuVal 25,000+ Points

Frank DuVal

Posted
Posted

Well, rim is part of today's wheels. They do not sell them separately anymore. So to get RIMS you get WHEELS.😉

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Paul Dobbin 25,000+ Points

Paul Dobbin

Posted
Posted

I like the term "Resto-Mod".  I dislike the term "Hot Rod" or "Street Rod".   30 years of attending the Turkey Run at Daytona, I always looked for an liked the cars that appeared "Restored", but had been modified.   Like a 1929 Nash Cabriolet with a late model GMC 6 cylinder engine. 

Now there are Hot Rods, but speed is not my thing, nor is taking the door handles and windshield wipers off a 50 Mercury to increase it's speedy look.   Seems to me if you want speed, get a sports car or race car.  Cramming a 455 Oldsmobile engine into T-Bucket is a death wish, not a real usable piece of automotive transportation or history.

But a 1933 Buick that looks restored and is powered by a unseen later model Buick V8 is very appealing to me, especially with A/C. 

I admire the finely restored cars of the early 1930's and enjoy touring with them on Glidden Tours in my un-modified cars.   However I accept others choices and enjoy talklng to them and admiring their workmanship and enthusiaism.

On the other hand, a fat fendered car of the mid 40's with the bumpers and the chrome all painted like a jelly bean reminds me of the

cheap paint jobs of rhe 1950" & 60's where they didn't mask off any trim and painted everything for $29.95 and called it restoration.

Reminds my that we called them "Fact-O-Bake & Rayco Restorations" if they also added cheap seat covers.

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Bhigdog 25,000+ Points

Bhigdog

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said:
 
mo·tor
/ˈmōdər/
See definitions in:
all
 
mechanics
 
biology
 
motor
noun
noun: motor; plural noun: motors
  1. a machine, especially one powered by electricity or internal combustion, that supplies motive power for a vehicle or for some other device with moving parts.
     
    This controversy will rage on forever. I don't have time right now because I need to do some work on my enginecycle today.

Yes. Yes. I'm well versed in the technical definitions of providers of motive force.

You are correct an engine is, by definition, a motor.

But it still sounds amateurish to refer to an internal combustion engine as a motor...............Bob

 

 

 

 

 

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Robert G. Smits 5,000+ Points

Robert G. Smits

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Skylark4367 said:

I'm thinking "resto-mod" might conjure up some comments.

It certainly conjures up big bucks on BaT

 

12 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Suicide doors 

Is there anybody in the AACA who has to ask what this means?  Over time phrases become an accepted part of our language.  I have too much left to complete and too little time to be bothered.

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CarlLaFong 10,000+ Points

CarlLaFong

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:

Yes. Yes. I'm well versed in the technical definitions of providers of motive force.

You are correct an engine is, by definition, a motor.

But it still sounds amateurish to refer to an internal combustion engine as a motor...............Bob

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone's ears differ. I have no issue with "motor" People will still be calling them motors long after the last one goes to the crusher. I've been in so many arguments with people for years over things like that and I've found that it is futile since they are always right despite evidence to the contrary.

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Brass is Best 10,000+ Points

Brass is Best

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

"It's only original once."

That sentence was clever the first few times

it was used, but now it's no longer original or clever.

People should think for themselves and use

their own insightful or clever sayings.

 

The term original has been abused and butchered terribly. Everybody says they have an original car. So when you truly have an original car nobody will believe that it is. I have had to take to saying "Unrestored Original" or "Original from the Cadillac Motor Car Company in 1959". I still don't think half the people I talk to understand.

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Brass is Best 10,000+ Points

Brass is Best

Posted
Posted

Leg Pipes... No Lake Pipes as in dry lakes land speed racing.

 

Perfect... I have never seen a perfect car and never will. I have seen a lot that are close.

 

Survivor... Every car ever made that still exists is a survivor. Some have just survived better than others.

 

Driver... All cars are supposed to drive. I never understood the idea that a show car is not expected to drive and that a driver can't be a show car.

 

Easy Resto... Run away do not pass go do not collect $100.

 

The Guy... When you talk to a seller and he blames everything wrong with his car on the mysterious "Guy" before him.

 

Good for the age... This means nothing.

 

Good for the money... This means nothing as well.

 

Museum Quality... You can put anything in a museum. They have petrified dinosaur droppings in museums.

 

Concours... I have taken cars to concours events many times. Those cars were not perfect. Neither were any of the other cars.

 

Mint... This is a term used to describe a brand new uncirculated coin. Unless a car just rolled off the assembly line it can not be mint.

 

 

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Pfeil 10,000+ Points

Pfeil

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Frank DuVal said:

Hmm, seems a phobia is coming out here. 😉   I like spiders when they are smaller, keep other insects at bay. The ones with the 2"+ leg span do not belong IN the house. I'll take spiders over tomato horn worms any day. Those are butt-ugly and need to be steeped on after removing them from the plant. GROSS!🤬

 

As the owner of several Corvair Spyders, I like them too!😁

I don't think Billy has ever been stopped at a traffic signal and Monza Spyder came up alongside only to be spanked by it when the light turned green.

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Pfeil 10,000+ Points

Pfeil

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said:

Everyone's ears differ. I have no issue with "motor" People will still be calling them motors long after the last one goes to the crusher. I've been in so many arguments with people for years over things like that and I've found that it is futile since they are always right despite evidence to the contrary.

Service manager drives customers car over to the service bay and says to the tech " I need for you to fix this motor" Tech says which one? Starter? wiper motor? A/C- Heater blower? window lifts?  A/C aspirator?  Manager says " No, the one under the hood! Tech says; " Oh I'm sorry I forgot the headlamp motors"! 

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Akstraw 5,000+ Points

Akstraw

Posted
Posted

Oh yes, one more:  Transmissions and other components described as “bulletproof”.    Maybe important to the aforementioned gangsters, but who else shoots bullets at their transmission?  (Is there an SAE test for bullet resistance?)

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