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Post by James Curgenven on Sept 22, 2007 8:09:29 GMT
As Clark Gable said at the end of Gone with the Wind " Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn " Whatever you call it, it is still a fun sports car! He meant to say "Frankly my dear I don't care" but he had tourettes
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Post by Rich Stone on Sept 22, 2007 8:53:02 GMT
Ok, so here are some more options for you to consider. In the sixties, the favourite term was just plain old 'softtop' or another very British one, 'drophead'. Then the Americans came up with 'ragtop'... A while ago, there was a sad, erm (...clearing my throat), Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet (badge on back said that) near us with a huge graphic down the doors saying 'ragtop' in script For the record, MGBs (obviously not the GT variety) were marketed as 'Roadsters'... Rich
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Post by andrew on Sept 22, 2007 11:15:24 GMT
Well here in Victoria our registration authority classifies any two seater with a fold down roof as a roadster. VW Golf Cabrio and that type of vehicle with four seats are convertibles.
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Post by colintf on Sept 22, 2007 11:44:30 GMT
when I think off F or TF the only description that springs to mind, is "sportscar!" with anything with a permanent roof being a coupe not a sportscar! that mightl upset the Italian manufacturers
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Post by Rich Stone on Sept 22, 2007 11:47:43 GMT
Might upset the BTCC fans too... After all, they are cars and taking part in sports...
Rich.
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Post by colintf on Sept 22, 2007 12:41:05 GMT
but that's what was the good old "Saloon Car Racing!". BTCC being "British Touring Car Championship"
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Post by Chris Mills on Sept 22, 2007 13:47:22 GMT
Oh come on folks, we cannot use Wikipedia as a credible source can we? Independent tests have proven Wikipedia to be no more inaccurate than other online encyclopedia. For the most part, the information on Wikipedia is remarkably good. That said, unless the sources of information are referenced, then there does remain some doubt.
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Post by flook on Sept 22, 2007 13:56:24 GMT
its a roadster, definitely, if its not Im selling mine
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Post by greensquirrel on Sept 22, 2007 15:38:54 GMT
In the original promotional material from 1995 - which I still have and from which I ordered The Green Squirrel - the word Roadster never appears!
The car is described as an 'open top British sports car' which with the use of the hardtop can be converted to a 'Sports Coupe'. and Gerry McGovern says 'We have created a product that will re-establish the sportiness that MG have always been known for'.
And the original 'log book' describes the body type as 'Sports'
So you take you pick as to what you wish to describe it as - but does it matter?
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Post by simonrouse12 on Sept 22, 2007 20:47:59 GMT
???Where does all this put the "speedster" then? Porsche have done a couple!
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Post by kasper on Sept 26, 2007 11:15:42 GMT
Don't know about the speedster, extrapollation of a roadster that is capable of high speed?
Never, never use the word cabriolet in our country speaking about the MG(T)F. Simple reason: ensurance companies expect a cabriolet to be a 4-seater, a roadster is a 2-seater. Meaning: premiums using the word roadster saves you a lot of money.....
Sound to me as a propper conclusion to the story, allthough you have to be Dutch....
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Post by Adrian Clifford on Sept 26, 2007 14:17:51 GMT
I've had a look through some of the MG advertising brochures I have have collected.
In "MG a brief history" it states the MGF as an affordable roadster.
In the Australian MGF 75LE pamphlet it states that it is a two seater sports car.
In NAC's own TF launch brochure they describe it as a "2 door soft top convertible"
Readers Digest dictionary states that a Roadster is an open car with no back seats, a sports car is a mass produced car usually with two seats and, often, with a folding or removable hood, a cabriolet is a car with a folding hood.
I guess there is no definitive term used to describe our cars, however I always believed I had bought a roadster.
Confused, you could be.
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Post by madrid on Sept 27, 2007 19:14:34 GMT
Hi, thanks to everybody for such good contributions. If most of you, being british, having bought a british car, and using an english term, are agree with that, I don't have anything to add After all, for me it's clear: the F/TF is a roadster, a great roadster. It would be interesting to ask somebody in marketing dept, why the term roadster was only used in the begining of the F
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Ralph
Been there, done that!
Posts: 376
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Post by Ralph on Oct 1, 2007 20:51:31 GMT
The original soft top MGB was roadster, i.e. the soft top had to be removed for open top driving. Some time during the B's life (1965?) the design of the soft top was changed so that it could be lowered without being totally removed.
I tend to classify cars with fabric roofs as follows:
Roadster - car with removable soft top, e.g. MG T-types, early Bs, Caterham/Lotus 7, Lotus Elise.
Soft top - cars designed to have soft top roof that can be lowered in situ, e.g. MG F, Mazda MX5, Audi TT.
Rag top - car originally designed as a saloon or hatchback and then modified to have a soft top, e.g. Escort, Rover 200, Pug 205.
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