Why do petrol cars have vacuum pumps?

Heh heh - R-R engineers were tearing their hair out trying to find out why
Packard manufactured versions of their V-12 couldn't make the required
power output. Came down to poor tolerances.

Yours must be the Hollywood version...

 

Typical Merkin response to being proved wrong.

So by this little tale I take it no US engineering ever goes wrong?

Wonder why you buy so many imports, then? And Packard still make the
finest cars in the world...

 

Packard has come on greatly since merging with Bell and starting to make
computer equipment instead of cars.

 

Typical arrogant British know-nothing prick. I worked with a bunch like you
back in the '70's in Saudi Arabia. The L-1011's we worked on had the Rolls
Royce RB211-524B engines, made especially for the Saudis. Hot rod engine.
All they did was increase the thrust rating a few thousand pounds and up the
turbine max. temp. limit with virtually no design changes. Time after time,
they'd scatter compressor bearings, shred turbine sections, and generally go
to pieces. You Brits had every excuse in the world for it, except the right
one. You built a shit engine and wouldn't reengineer it. I was reading the
local Saudi Gazette amongst a bunch of types like you one morning. There
was an artcle about how Rolls Royce had gotten a contract to provide energy
generation to the city where we all lived. I said,"You assholes better
stock up on flashlight batteries." Funny thing, we had very little trouble
with our Pratt and Whitney engined aircraft. Don't, by God, tell me about
British engineering.

Garrett Fulton

 

In the years since I've seen a couple instances of GE and P&W make some
mistakes, but they sure tried to rectify them no matter what the cost.
Never saw that happen with Rolls Royce. Their tech. reps blamed every
operating circumstance and environmental condition they could drum up, but
refused to point the finger in the_right_direction. Britsh arrogance and
shitty engineering.

And the sun has most assuredly set on your empire, tough guy.

Garrett Fulton

 

My - you have got a chip on your shoulder. Wouldn't they let you play with
their planes?

It's never risen on yours, wimp.

Of course, this is a car group, and we could talk about the shitty US
products they export here. Right at the bottom of all reliability and
satisfaction surveys.

 

There's precious little engineering in the US anymore, sadly. It's all
bean counters.

Packard's demise was due to their ill-advised acquisition of Studebaker
in 1955, not to any engineering shortcomings (and secondarily, to their
decision to go a little downmarket with their vehicles.) The only
engineering shortcoming that I'm aware of is the weak oil pumps in the
55-56 V-8 engines, which no doubt would have been corrected had they
stayed in production longer than two years. But for the most part, a
Packard is a thing of beauty, both aesthetically (OK, except for the
"bathtubs") and mechanically - you may not know this, but Packard was
the only "small" auto mfgr. to produce its own, from-scratch automatic
transmission (by "small," I mean "not GM.") Hell of a transmission too
- had a lockup torque converter and everything. Got one in my 56J and
it is great when it works right (age has taken its toll on the seals,
every time I let it sit a couple months, I have to dump in about 5
quarts of ATF to get it to work again...)

nate

 

Why would it take any longer than a power brake car with the same size
rotors and pads? Je ne comprends pas.

nate

 

And so good you had to buy it...

Funnily, the *worst* electrical parts I've ever had on any UK made car
were distributors by Delco.

 

And this from the nation that birthed Lucas Electrics. The firm that
invented darkness. They also made the fuel control amp. for the
aforementioned boat anchors on the L-1011 and were totally unreliable like
the engines. Also the grievous toad of an autopilot on the Fokker F-28.
You know, I wouldn't have what you call a "chip on my shoulder" if the Brits
I worked with every day could have at least admitted to such sorry design
and reliability problems. The Boeing and Lockheed tech. reps had to eat
crow at times when we'd draw their attention to deficiencies and they'd make
an honest effort to sort it out. It wasn't just me, it pissed off the
Germans, French and the other American workers there. But you're right,
this is a car group and I'm off topic. I remember how it was, and is, and
it got on my fighting side. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Garrett

 

Oh, do let's; it'll be jolly good fun, old bean. We can start by
discussing how the Jeep Grand Cherokee beat out your homegrown Range
Rovah for best 4x4...IN YOUR OWN UK MARKET!

And when we've finished chatting about that, we can make a comparative
list of profitable, volume-exporting US and British automakers. You know,
a friendly game of pick-up-sticks to see which country has the more
successful, more robust auto industry? That'd be splendid.

And once that game's won, we can talk about Lucas electrics -- the
justified laughingstock of the entire automotive world -- and maybe have a
couple laughs over SU and Zenith carburettors. That'd provide a nice segue
for talking about how the UK's pathetic attempt at an auto industry
managed to keep modern emission regulations out of the British question
clear up until *1991*, due to a claimed inability to meet such tough
standards.

H'm...naw, better not talk about that last one; it could lead back to a
discussion of Lucas electrics and SU and Zenith carburettors.

Tell us, ol' chap, what British car do *you* drive?

 

And so good you had to buy it...

Funnily, the *worst* electrical parts I've ever had on any UK made car
were distributors by Delco.
[/QUOTE]

Odd, that. Delcos are some of the best distributors around, it's the
Prestolites that are notorious junk. What era are we talking here? The
"window" distributor had a run of over 10 years and it's a good unit.
Or are we talking the newer HEI stuff?

nate

 

Homegrown? Bought by Ford from BMW? Are you mad, or just living in the
past? The concept of the Range Rover as a reasonably comfortable go
anywhere vehicle at a sensible price died years ago. It's now just the
same as any other expensive bloated lifestyle 4x4.

But I'd still like your reference for that.

As in Chrysler being taken over by M-B? And all your other majors loosing
money hand over fist? Having to buy 'foreign' makes to try and stay
competitive? And you wonder why you're in a recession?

You bought that too...

Strange you should worry about the reliability of car electrics given the
number of electrical fires you have in your homes through inadequate
wiring standards?

So you want your emission standards imposed on the rest of the world
whether needed or not while you're the biggest waster of oil resources?
That's logic?

Perhaps you'd name the makers of your much more reliable electrics and
carburettors when Lucas was the major supplier in the UK? Of course, I've
not got much experience of US made cars - they were never exported to the
UK in any quantity. You don't need to be told why, I'm sure. The couple I
did have dealings with had headlights so poor as to be dangerous.

Some makers here did use US electrics. Delco distributors. Now they *were*
a bad joke. Delco batteries are common too. They don't last either.

 

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

The prosecution rests, y'rhonor.

 

Almost all the American auto makers used vaccum wipers at some point.
They were very common up until 1958 with Ford still using them on the
Brono up until 1968. Vacuum wipers slowed to a crawl under heavy
accleleration but they worked wonderfully at idle

Steve B.

 

Are there any "British" cars extant? Didn't Ford, GM and -horrors- the
Germans buy up everything?

Chas Hurst

 

Chas: Shhhhhhh! Plowman's painted himself into a corner; let's sit quietly
and watch him try futilely to tapdance his way out.

 

"Chas Hurst" ! wrote in message

A dozen off the top of my head to begin with:

Morgan
Noble
Caterham
Westfield
Ascari
TVR
Ginetta
Radical
Bristol
Ultima
Ariel
Grinnall
Lister

 

However, I do have a great deal of experience of older UK cars fitted with
Lucas equipment, and have found it no more unreliable than any other make.
Perhaps most electrical problems on old cars are caused by grounding
problems, and Lucas haven't any control over those.

Being such an expert on UK cars fitted with Lucas products, you'd give
some actual examples of poorly designed or manufactured parts?

And your opinion of a mass maker who did better at the time?

 

The only mass maker left is Rover who produce a range of now getting
pretty out of date cars.

The 75, which was designed during BMW's ownership, is rather a good car
of its type, especially in diesel form.

However, I'd hardly say the US car industry is in fine form - would you?