AviRoad Loc: Westchester County, NY

If you enjoy seeing English cars, take a look at the TV-series "George Gently". In MHO, it's a very well done period English detective series that takes place in the 60's-70's with some very nice-conditioned MG's, Rovers, Humbers, Sunbeams, etc. Nice show, nice cars.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

My 58 still had the crank to start the engine, which I learned the right and wrong way to hand crank the engine.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Looks like my 58

2dawgs Loc: Eastern Washington State

1977 Tr7. Lucas invented darkness.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Also warm beer

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are any number of US specialists for British cars (I don't know about French Renaults and Citroens).

I'm a lifelong fan of British cars... I still have a Triumph TR4 I bought in the 1970s. From my bookmarks...

In the US...

The Roadster Factory
Moss Motors (there also was Victoria British, but I think they merged with Moss)
British Parts Northwest
Quantum Mechanics (John Espozito, gearboxes and overdrives)
British Frame and Engine (Ken Gillander, racing and performance parts)
The Wedge Shop (Triumph TR7 and TR8 specialists)
Good Parts (TR6 & other 6 cyl./IRS Triumph models)
British Parts of Utah (Land Rover and Jaguar specialists)
Pierce Manifolds (Weber carburetor specialist)
Joe Curto Inc. (SU and Stromberg carb specialist)
Apple Hydraulics (shock absorber, master cylinder, slave cyl. specialist)
The Engine Room (Greg Solow, Morgan specialist)
HVDA (5-speed Toyota gearbox conversions)
Atlantic British
Rovers North
Lucky 8 (Land Rover specialist, aftermarket parts)


In England...

Rimmer Bros.
John Skinner Ltd. (interior trim, convertible tops, tonneau)
Racestorations
Revington TR

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

You also need the Triumph factory competition manual/handbook for the TR4. If I still have mine, I’ll dig it out and send it to you. My TR4 answered for me the age old question of why do the British wear driving gloves? So they can pull the burning wiring harness from under the dash. Two fuses in a TR4 - one for each headlight - nothing else fused.

Btw, have you ever seen a TR3B? When Triumph switched from the TR3 to the TR4, they reportedly had some TR3 chassis left over, but no more engines, so they fitted them with the larger TR4 engine. And there was also the TRS 24 - a 150BHP twin cam version of the TR3 built specially for LeMans much like what was done with the MGA Twin Cam. Here’s an image of the engine

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

I loved my MG B! It gave me absolutely no problems. It was great looking, solid - but nimble, fast - 100 mph up through the Nevada desert, and performed very well in all respects. I don't remember what my next car was, but I should have kept the B. Another even better car was my Lancia Beta Coupe - excellent styling and outstanding performance - when it was running. My son said it handled better than the Mercedes! But there were some problems available, and parts sometimes could take months to procure (though that never happened to me). Our plant manager raced a TC on all the road race courses in Southern California, though he didn't have the money to spend to make it really competitive. He was a "Gentleman Racer". I pit crewed for him on occasion.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

One scene I remember from "On the Beach" is the car race near the end. With all the fast cars, there was an MG TC in their midst.

Details about the race - https://delarue.net/beach.htm

Nigel7 Loc: Worcestershire. UK.

Interesting to read your comments on British cars. It has been very sad to see so many brands either disappear or be bought out by foreign competitors. The power of the unions in the 60s and 70s bore much of the blame with constant strikes and resistance to any change.
Talking about the Rootes Group my father had Hillman Minxes and then in 1968, when I was starting to drive, Rootes won the London to Sydney Rally in a Hillman Hunter crewed by Andrew Cowan, Colin Malkin and Brian Coyle. That started me on my driving passion.
I had Hillman Imps, and Avengers, a Sunbeam Imp Sport and then Chrysler Alpines, and a Talbot Horizon before Peugeot bought them all out. Currently I’ve got a Peugeot 508SW which I love.
Back in the days when you could, the answer was to do your own servicing and keep the cars away from the dealers. Torquing down the head always needed great care, even on a steel block, but idiot mechanics got the Imps a dreadful reputation by twisting their aluminium block and head by not tightening down slowly and evenly. Total idiots. You then got cylinder head gaskets blowing. Water pumps could also be an issue.
When cared for properly however I would always have chosen an Imp over a Mini.
If any of you are visiting the UK, I would strongly recommend booking a tour of The Morgan Factory. It's brilliant to see them still manufacturing each car by hand. They are based in Malvern, which is very central in England, just an hour's drive from Stratford-upon-Avon.
On brand numbers our JD Power annual quality survey still covers 24 volume brands and there must be another 8/10 that are too low volume to get an adequate sized sample to make the survey reliable. One near constant is that BMW comes bottom and Audi just 1/2 positions better. Shows the power of marketing, particularly when targeting status orientated customers who either don't study reliability or don't care because they are company cars. There must be another survey due soon as during Covid they didn't happen, I assume because new registrations fell so much.
Fond memories of days tinkering with cars. Now with all the electronics and sensors you have to leave it to the much improved dealerships. To be honest, the days of me wanting to lie underneath the car struggling to undo bolts etc. are long gone.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, that has always amazed me. Why can't BMW and Mercedes make a reliable car? When Consumer Reports or JD Power does a survey of owners about reliability, it's the Japanese cars, not the Germans, that keep running and running. The very expensive Land Rover series aren't any better. They're expensive and classy, but I wouldn't buy one.

I know this is going generate replies from owners who have put millions of miles on their German cars, but that doesn't disprove the testimony of thousands of owners. I traded my 1997 Honda Civic, with 325,000 miles, for a new Fit.

As for tinkering with cars, I still do that. Dealers do questionable work for ridiculously high prices. My Fit is getting new brake pads today.

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

Hi Jerry, you are not wrong at all. I had a friend who worked for a "Lemon law" firm in Los Angeles, and he told me the most problem cars were the BMWs and MBs.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

After my youth spent with British cars, I bought my first new car in 1971 - a BMW 2002. BMWs were just being imported into America by Hoffman motors, and compared to my British and Swedish cars (I had 3 SAAB 2 strokes, including a triple carb Monte Carlo, complete with a Nardi Wood steering wheel), it was a revelation. It was solid, quiet, smooth and was really quite nimble if not blindingly fast - I loved it. The quality of the workmanship was quite good, but it did have some early mechanical issues, but it was definitely better built (especially the electricals) than any of my British cars, and never left me on the side of the road. Traded it for the first of my two Porsche 911Es (air cooled), which were quite fast, but the handling could be a handful at speed. If I had my choice of anything to drive today, cost no object, it might well be another 911, crazy expensive repairs and all.

Now back to your original observation of German vs Japanese cars. Full disclosure: I’ve owned a Datsun 280Z (great car for the $) and 3 Lexi (or Lexuses), and my wife is currently driving a 350ES, which is 15 years old and never had ANYTHING fail - it’s had oil changes, a battery or two, tires and brakes - nothing else. The dealership couldn’t be better, go out of their way to be helpful, and the service usually costs less than I expect. Always a (new) Lexus loaner if I don’t want to wait, and the car is always returned washed and spotlessly clean. My wife drove it on a 300 mile round trip this weekend, and it got 33.8 mpg - this with a 260 bhp very responsive engine with a 6 speed auto that will do 0-60 in about 6.5 sec. Quiet and smooth. Not a “driver’s car”, but a great automobile. if I ever replace it (eventually rubber seals fail and that is what often finishes off old cars), no question, I will buy another Lexus. As Road and Track said a few years ago: “Toyota Motor Company is making the best cars in the world”. BTW, her second car was totaled in Driver’s side T bone hard enough to break the B pillar, and she walked away without a scratch, thanks in part to the side air bags.

Now while my wife has had Lexi, I’ve been driving Mercedes since 97, starting with a C280 Sport (all the suspension mods of the AMG C36 plus leather Recaro seats, but not the AMG engine). Great little car - gave it to my son when I bought my current E350 in 2006. He drove it until it reached 280,000 miles. It was pretty reliable. Went though 2 A/C compressors (probably because I red lined it multiple times a day), and a crankshaft position sensor, but that’s about it. Quality was excellent, and it was still tight with good leather when he sold it and didn’t leak anything. The E350 is now 17 years old with 138K on the clock, and I’ll probably die with it. Always garaged and no one has ever driven it except me and my mechanic. I still do the work on it if it doesn’t require a lift. I think some of the quality has slipped over the years. It’s leaking oil from the separator and the gearbox pan seal at the moment (got to get that fixed), and it needs motor mounts and I think it has an exhaust manifold leak. Also this was one of the group of Mercedes V6s from 2006-2008 that was manufactured with a poorly heat treated balance shaft gear. This throws off the cam timing which sets the CEL and causes it to fail inspection. Mercedes would not pay for the 4K$ fix (would have been 6K at the dealer) which had to be done as eventually the timing chain would slip a cog or 2 destroying the engine. It’s also had a flakey crank position sensor, and I’ve had to have the side of the driver’s seat bolster repaired twice. On the positive side, it’s quite strong (the torque curve is dead flat from 1800-4000 rpm thanks to variable cam timing and variable intake length), Handles well, although with more body roll than I like, and just as solid and quiet as the day it was bought. Everything in the interior and exterior looks like new, and here’s the thing - I always smile inwardly when I walk up to it. The Europeans (and especially the Germans) know a thing or two about style and ergonomics that the Japanese have yet to master. Better seats, instruments, cruise control and interior than the Lexus hands down, and a much more elegant body. And little things, like putting the battery in the trunk - the original lasted 16 years (!), and fold down back seats, so you can load it full of 8’ lumber. Also while I have changed the serpentine belt proactively, the hoses, water pump and alternator and all the electricals have never failed (yet).

So here’s the thing. Here you have 2 mid sized “luxury” sedans, both about the same size and weight, both with 3.5L V6s with 260-270 bhp, one RWD, one FWD, both bought about the same time. The Merc is prettier (in my opinion) and with much better interior and ergonomics, plus I prefer the RWD. But it cost substantially more. The quality, except for the Merc’s drive’s seat, is about equal. But where the Germans fail compared to the Japanese, is they make very complex designs, with good quality, but the combination yields only average reliability. The parts are expensive and because of that, the resale value is awful. The Lexus, which cost about 12K less, is now worth twice as much. And then there’s the issue of the balance shaft gear. Mercedes had to be sued over that (and lost), and neither the factory or the dealer provided any help for those cars that were just out of warranty (when they all failed). And because of that, as much as I love mine and smile every time I drive it, looking at the 3 pointed star and knowing their 100+ year history, I won’t buy another - it will be a Japanese car (most likely another Lexus) instead.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

And as you get higher up the lineup for each, there are more gadgets (like air suspension) and seat bolsters that inflate in a corner) and more things to fail which cost more to fix. It’s no accident that the Mercedes S class and the BMW 700/800 series cars have the worst reliability, the highest cost of repair and the worst resale value, while their lower end (C class Mercs and 3 series Bimmers) and mid level (E Class and 5 series) aren’t as bad. A used S class Mercedes or 700 series BMW may be cheap to buy, but is one of the most expensive cars you can own in the long run.