Like old school imports? We do, too.-Page 2| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

frenchyd MegaDork
7/1/22 7:47 p.m.

In reply to yupididit :

I had to think really long and hard about your statement.
In the end you are right and I am right.
When I attended my first vintage sports car race back in 1975. My MGTD was barely acceptable. My buddies MGTF wasn't. ( too modern they said)

Most of the cars were pre WW2 with a tiny handful of 40's and very early 50's. When we formed our own Vintage club (VSCRI) a year later we went all the way to 1962. ( but not the 1961-1962 XKE ).
So vintage racing was more than 20 years old in the mid 70's. Historic racing was 15 years old by the 80's.
Today A 6 year old car can race in group 12.
So if you newbies want to call stuff from the 80's &90's old school Who am I to contradict you?

ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/1/22 8:32 p.m.

In reply to frenchyd :

From my perspective, the key to this post being right in my mind has to do with the label "imports" first and foremost, and the label "old-school" is describing the imports. Mind you, I'm 45, and just because I think it is right doesn't mean that it is for everyone. For me, and I think many others roughly my age when we start to get pedantic, "imports" in the most specific form refers to affordable, sporty 70's-90's imported cars that are tuned/dressed-up and enthusiast-owned. Most of them are Japanese, but also some German, Korean, etc. Most are powered by fours, but also some rotaries and sixes. Most are hatchbacks or coupes, but also some sedans and wagons. This terminology really solidified in the 90's with import car meets, import drag racing, import car magazines, import car shows, import car enthusiasts, and an entire scene described as imports. The appeal was an affordable car the everyman could buy just about anywhere, customize, and find like-minded people to hang out with.

What were non-American cars and the scene surrounding them called in the 60's? From what my dad tells me when he recalls the old days, "sports cars" was the most frequent descriptor. It seems like many of them were British, but also some German, Italian, etc. It sounds like they were fairly rare compared to imported cars a few decades later, and a stark contrast to both the everyday American cars of the time, and the hot rod, circle track, and drag racing scenes of the era. The emphasis seemed to be on road racing, TSD rallying, and tours. I wasn't there, so what I presume to know is based on stories.

frenchyd MegaDork
7/1/22 8:47 p.m.

In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

Yeh by the late 60's early 70's even the sports car crowd argued about was it a sports car or a Gran Turismo?
  The OTS  Jaguar XK120/140/150 were considered Sports Cars while the Jaguar  XKE was a Gran  Turismo. Only  a tiny handful considered the OTS ( open Top Sports) a real Sports Car and only because they had wire wheels.
   Nothing with a V8 was a sports car to us purists. Only the Ferrari California was potentially a sports car, again because of the convertible and wire wheels. We kinda politely overlook the V12.
   I still hassle my buddy with his MGTF because it doesn't have proper Headlights and the radiator doesn't stand up straight the way God and her Majesty intended a radiator to be. ( then he goes out and beats me on the race track). I get no respect.

ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/1/22 8:53 p.m.

In reply to frenchyd :

Funny how what looks "right" really depends upon the perspective of the viewer! Out of curiosity, I'm now wondering what was the last (most recently available new) open top, wire-wheel-equipped two-seater? I'm gonna go with Morgan as a wild-ass guess.