Car Lingo You Hate

[hook]

4 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

 

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.

 

 

Well gee wiz! I didn't know that the classic era cars were only recognized by the few members in the Classic Car Club of America. We must inform the AACA that their all wrong and must immediately get rid of their classes 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D and 19E. 

[Pfeil]

 No, Girls Take Over;

1965 Pontiac GTO Ad

1965 Pontiac GTO Ad - YouTube

[pkhammer]

Rare usually means that nobody wanted it when it was new either.

[Ken_P]

I really get tired of people telling me my car should come with a tommy gun…

 

but the one that grinds my gears is when people talk about fixing the breaks on their car.

[Billy Kingsley]

4 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

 

 

  Blond, brunet or redhead

All good! 

 

Ok, I'll amend my previous post. Why would you name a coach after one of the worst things ever? 

[Captain Harley]

On 8/6/2021 at 4:43 PM, JonW said:

The word "original" has been so abused as to be worthless. Repainted is not original. Restored is not original. I saw a car advertised a while back that was billed as a "restored original survivor". Huh? 

I call it "refurbishing" .  My original 1931 Model-A deluxe roadster was repainted, new "B" short-block, new top/side curtains*, some interior replaced in the early 50's.  So I was told.  It looks like a real nice barn fresh car.  Actually it came out of an airplane hanger.  I'll never restore it, but I will keep it safe to drive and add original to the period

accessories.

 

Capt. Harley😉

 

Skirts are for women and not car finders.

[rocketraider]

2 hours ago, hook said:

Gee, and all this time I thought it meant: "Get Tools Out"

We in Oldsworld said it meant "Go To Olds" 😈

 

The more vicious Mopar crowd said it meant "gas, tires and oil". Just like every other performance car driven as it was meant to be!

 

Disclaimer. I did own a 72 way back in the Stone Age, along with a string of TransAMs and a 70 GP. Drove them like they were meant to be and only killed one TA! Then I started noticing F-bodies were getting awful low to the ground...

[zipdang]

I hate "Go juice." I hate hearing "I've got 370 coats of clear over my 89 coats of color over 40 coats of primer." Ok - Love your car but the excessive bragging is a real turnoff - especially when the factory paint on my car looks better.

[nick8086]

I had a guy tell me this:

 

You don't deserve that car..

[Frank DuVal]

5 hours ago, hook said:

I didn't know that the classic era cars were only recognized by the few members in the Classic Car Club of America. We must inform the AACA that their all wrong and must immediately get rid of their classes 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D and 19E. 

Actually the AACA has class 19 only because of the CCCA! We, AACA, already have classes for all those cars for judging. The CCCA wanted a special place just for their members, although CCCA membership is not needed to be judged in class 19 now.

[rocketraider]

2 hours ago, nick8086 said:

I had a guy tell me this:

 

You don't deserve that car..

I had a local AACA clique tell me the same thing when I showed up with a nice original 1964 Oldsmobile Starfire at age 27. I still refuse to have anything to do with that group 37 years later.

 

Add to terms that chap my hide: "Cutty" for an Olds Cutlass.

[keithb7]

In Canada we say Cries-lerr. 

In the US I have heard krice-ler.

 

Both are cool. I like 'em both.

 

What gets under my skin?

- Motor

- Barn Find (over done)

-Anything that has a "LS SWAP"

[hook]

13 hours ago, pkhammer said:

Rare usually means that nobody wanted it when it was new either.

Either that or only on Sundays at the drag strip.

[JFranklin]

The drag strip I worked at was only on Sundays.

[Bhigdog]

22 hours ago, Ken_P said:

I really get tired of people telling me my car should come with a tommy gun…

 

Which in itself is a grating term. It's a THOMPSON machine gun. Next they'll be calling a Gatling gun a "gatty"......Sheeesh.........Bob

[Pfeil]

3 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:

 

Which in itself is a grating term. It's a THOMPSON machine gun. Next they'll be calling a Gatling gun a "gatty"......Sheeesh.........Bob

M1921,   Sheeesh

[Buick35]

On 8/6/2021 at 4:23 PM, rocketraider said:

"Four Forty Two". Especially irksome when a supposed Oldsmobile enthusiast says it. Or worse when some yahoo says four hundred and forty two cubic inch engine.

How about a Buick deuce and a quarter?

[Buick35]

My dad we a service manager for Pontiac in the early sixties and told me that a man walked into the body shop and told him "My car done been ribb rubbed".A woman also complained that her whistle won t blow.

[Bhigdog]

39 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

M1921,   Sheeesh

 

I have met the enemy and he is me..........😉............Bob

[Guest]

16 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Add to terms that chap my hide: "Cutty" for an Olds Cutlass.

...and "Elco" for El Camino.

[JV Puleo]

18 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Add to terms that chap my hide: "Cutty" for an Olds Cutlass.

 

To paraphrase an old friend of mine; "they only do that because they can't spell cutlass."

[CarlLaFong]

On 8/7/2021 at 4:17 PM, Ken_P said:

 

 

but the one that grinds my gears is when people talk about fixing the breaks on their car.

Maybe they need to be fixed because their axel broke

[J.H.Boland]

2 hours ago, GregLaR said:

...and "Elco" for El Camino.

So far, nobody has referred to my Caballero as a "Cabby". A former girlfriend once called it a "Country Cadillac". I actually thought that was cool.

[John S.]

The phrase Rat Rod, It's Only Original Once, and Barn Find, are all annoying. I knew a guy who would comment on a car that was equipped with a 4 speed stick, "Oh, it's got the play thing in the middle!" Very annoying.

[LI_BENTLEY]

5 hours ago, Pfeil said:

M1921,   Sheeesh

It is a Thompson submachine gun as it uses pistol ammunition.

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, LI_BENTLEY said:

It is a Thompson submachine gun as it uses pistol ammunition.

Brigadier general John T. Thompson was the original developer of the Thompson submachine gun, who spent most of his career in the ordnance department of the U.S. Army. The first Thompson entered production as the M1921

[ejboyd5]

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

[CarlLaFong]

17 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

 

To paraphrase an old friend of mine; "they only do that because they can't spell cutlass."

We referred to them as lacking a certain part of the female anatomy, knowhamsayin?

[John_S_in_Penna]

Here's another one:  "A great investment!"

Sellers sometimes say that to entice buyers--

even when the car is noticeably overpriced.

 

If a car was to be a great investment from 

that point onward, why wouldn't the seller keep it?

[John_S_in_Penna]

 And another phrase I've seen sellers use:

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

One dealer selling a car on our forum

made that very statement.

 

Well, then, why is the seller giving up the 

opportunity that occurred once in his lifetime?!

[63RedBrier]

Since Robert brought up BaT, bidders aren't being CLEVER when they open the bidding with the year of the car! We all know the 1959 Cadillac is going to sell for way more than $1959! BaT should block this from occurring...

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

I thought of another one:  "R.S.V.P." in club newsletters.

It is almost always misused.

 

First of all, there's never a need to write "Please RSVP."

The "please" is already included in those initials, which

are abbreviations of the French.

 

And "RSVP" means that everyone receiving that notice

MUST respond with a "yes" or "no."  So it's not appropriate

to broadcast that request to hundreds of people

indiscriminately;  it's intended for a close circle of friends.

A kind lady planning a luncheon for 12 might use it;

so might a bride-to-be, inviting her friends and family

to a most cherished event.

[JV Puleo]

9 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I thought of another one:  "R.S.V.P." in club newsletters.

It is almost always misused.

 

First of all, there's never a need to write "Please RSVP."

The "please" is already included in those initials, which

are abbreviations of the French.

 

And "RSVP" means that everyone receiving that notice

MUST respond with a "yes" or "no."  So it's not appropriate

to broadcast that request to hundreds of people

indiscriminately;  it's intended for a close circle of friends.

A kind lady planning a luncheon for 12 might use it;

so might a bride-to-be, inviting her friends and family

to a most cherished event.

 

It's a practice that dates from the 19th century when sending invitations became much more common with the middle class, many of which were unaware that they were always supposed to reply...

 

[Grimy]

Variations of motor referring to an internal combustion engine (ICE) were present from the earliest days--in 1909, "Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company" replaced "Geo. N. Pierce Company."  Motor as a verb or gerund was common:  We will motor over to the grandparents' home on Sunday. we will go motoring on Sunday.  Motor was part of the official business name of a number of companies producing only ICE-powered cars.  I don't get my knickers in knots over that usage.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Not problematic for me really, but what does "ready to restore" mean anyway?  "Oh wait, hang on, the one in the corner needs to sit another year or two in order to be ready to restore.  Let me show you something else"....

 

 

 

[Ed Luddy]

When someone describes the interior of a car as "guts". As in "its black paint with red leather guts"  

The stupid phrase "Just testing the waters" when trying to sell an always overpriced car. Usually followed by how "Amazing" the car is.

[bryankazmer]

"I'm thinking of selling"

 

get back to me when you make up your mind

[CarlLaFong]

On 8/8/2021 at 2:40 PM, Bhigdog said:

 

Which in itself is a grating term. It's a THOMPSON machine gun. Next they'll be calling a Gatling gun a "gatty"......Sheeesh.........Bob

The term" Tommy Gun" has been a part of American vernacular since the weapon's introduction. You're a little late to the prom to change things now.

[Pfeil]

7 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said:

The term" Tommy Gun" has been a part of American vernacular since the weapon's introduction. You're a little late to the prom to change things now.

Look up where the name "Tommy Gun" got it's nickname.

[Bhigdog]

1 hour ago, CarlLaFong said:

The term" Tommy Gun" has been a part of American vernacular since the weapon's introduction. You're a little late to the prom to change things now.

 

There are many terms and descriptors that are part of American vernacular. That does not make them correct or the use of them in many contexts any less amateurish.................Bob