The A-Z of Cars

I had a weird idea last night.  

I will be building shelves in my new music room for my CDs, and these shelves will be just about exactly the right size for displaying my "collection" of six 1:18 diecast model cars.  I have a 1947 MG Midget (racing green), a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette (metalflake blue), a 1950 Studebaker Champion (aqua), a 1972 Opel Manta (orange), a Triumph Spitfire (canary yellow) and a 1981 Delorean.  

Since these will be in the shelves with the CDs, it suddenly occurred to me, why not make them the dividers between letters of the alphabet?  If I bought 20 more iconic cars (or even less, they're kinda expensive) I could tell at a glance which CDs were where.  I started writing down possible examples, but quickly got stuck:

• A=Avanti (1963 gold)
  
• B =Bugatti Veyron (black with orange trim)
  
• C=Corvette Stingray (1965 metalflake blue)
  
• D=Delorean (1981 brushed metal)
  
• E=Edsel Convertible (1958 two-tone pink & white)
  
• F=Ferrari Enzo (red)
  
• G=Pontiac Gran Torino (1976 "Starsky & Hutch" red w.white stripe)
  
• H=Harley-Davidson Duo Glide FH (1958 blue & white)
  
• I=Isetta (1952 orange/cream two tone)
  
• J=Jeep (army khaki)
  
• K=Karman Ghia (1966 green)
  
• L=Lamborghini SE (1994 green)
  
• M=MG Midget (1947 racing green)
  
• N=Nash Metropolitan (1959 yellow & white)
  
• O=Opel Manta (1972 orange)
  
• P=Porsche 911S Targa (1973 blue metallic removable hardtop)
  
• Q=
  
• R=Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III (1965 white)
  
• S=Studebaker Champion (1952 aqua)
  
• T=Triumph Spitfire (1970 canary yellow)
  
• U=
  
• V=Volkswagen Beetle (1955 cream, wide whitewalls)
  
• W=Willys Station Wagon (1955 dark red, wood side)
  
• X=Jaguar XKE coupe (1961 lt. blue)
  
• Y=
  
• Z=Datsun 240Z (1971 orange)
  

Don't like the look or lineage of Hummers. Honda Civics and CRVs aren't very iconic. Can't think of a Nissan that's "iconic."

The Nissan Z cars might be considered iconic. But I see you have the Datsun 240Z. I have a fun story about a friend who was given a 240Z by Nissan and after he had it race prepared, hilarity ensued.


How about Yugo for "Y"?

Zagato for "Z"?

Jaguar XK for "X"?

Your question makes me wonder how my daughter and son-in-law have their albums arranged. When they got their larger apartment in Brooklyn, they built shelves for their records. She said that between the two of them they have about 4,000 albums. That a lot of vinyl.

_Howard wrote:

How about Yugo for "Y"?

Looked for a diecast 1:18 Yugo model online without success, after a friend suggested it.

He also suggested it should come with spare parts and an oil spot.

_Howard wrote:

Zagato for "Z"?

Holy crap, £260.00, that $326.53. Almost as much as the Silver Cloud.
http://www.racingmodels.com/aston--martin-db4-gt-zagato-1961-118-cmc-6223-p.asp

How about a 1964 Aston Martin DB4 Zagato Spyder? Only £32.95.

That's a 1:43.

And for a car to be "iconic" I have to have heard of it and/or seen it before.

K=Karman Ghia I think

NoCoPilot wrote:

And for a car to be "iconic" I have to have heard of it and/or seen it before.

I need a new dictionary. I looked up iconic in my old one, and you were never mentioned. Time to update, I guess.

I'm using the word "iconic" in a slightly more personal sense here, in the sense of an "icon" which is a shorthand for something else. I have to be able to glance at the outline of the car and instantly see that an Isetta is the letter "I" or an Opel is the letter "O."

If I have to stop and think, WTF is that name of that car? it loses its whole purpose.

An alternative way to store your models.

https://www.facebook.com/tamilargalinmedia/videos/783486735144242/

NoCoPilot wrote:

If I have to stop and think, WTF is that name of that car? it loses its whole purpose.

Which is why the Audi Quattro and the Toyota Quantum are not on my list.

Jaguar XK E-type coupe 1961 (Lt. Blue) might be.  Good call.

richard09 wrote:

An alternative way to store your models.

Argh. Can you IMAGINE the cost of a minor fender-bender?

The Beetle arrived today.  It's a cream-colored 1955 (with the tiny rear window), just what I was hoping for.  The VW dealership just down the hill from my house had has a 1949 bug (green) in the showroom for ages, and I've always admired the sheer simplicity and functionality of it.

Although... there seems to be some interpretation, in the world of 1:18 diecast models, of exactly what 1:18 means.  This bug looks slightly bigger (taller and longer) next to my other 1:18s than a real bug would look next to its real compatriots.  Along the same lines, I elected NOT to buy a 240Z in a hobby store earlier this week because it looked slightly smaller than scale.

What's that black strap on the back of the E-Type bonnet? Packing you forgot to remove?

I haven't bought it yet. The car itself never came with a bonnet strap did it? Dunno.

Like the 1963 Series 1 E-Type that I had, most of the series had bonnet latches that were operated from inside the car. They were in the front door jambs. 500 of the 1961 cars were built with external bonnet latches, but they were small chrome items.

Looks great even when it's tiny.

Can you think of an American car which had the same naming scheme?

Sure. Ford Edsel.

_Howard wrote:

Looks great even when it's tiny.

Reminds me of this:

NoCoPilot wrote:

Sure.  Ford Edsel.

That's one. But there's one that's less well known.

_Howard wrote:

That's one. But there's one that's less well known.

Lots of car companies are named after their founder:

• Soichiro Honda
  
• Sakichi Toyoda
  
• Henry Ford
  
• Louis Chevrolet
  
• David Dunbar Buick
  
• John & Horace Dodge
  
• Preston Tucker
  
• John Delorean
  
• Nicola Romeo (ALFA Romeo)
  
• Lionel Martin (Aston Martin)
  
• Walter P. Chrysler
  
• André-Gustave Citroën
  
• Enzo Ferrari
  
• Ferdinand Porsche
  
• Louis Renault
  
• Frederick Henry Royce & Charles Stewart Rolls
  

However the one you're probably thinking of is Emil Jellinek's granddaughter.

The name scheme I was after is like the Ferrari Enzo - the founder's last and first names.

Such as the Kaiser Henry J.