New mode of participation in the Ennstal Classic - Racecar Trophy

Bruno von Rotz
11/30/2012

Lancia Delta Integrale

The organizers of the Ennstal Classic have come up with something new to give owners of racing, rally and sports cars the opportunity to enjoy their cars "in the last paradise".

With the Racecar Trophy - parallel to the classic Ennstal Rally - a regularity competition with three mountain runs on the Stoderzinken (8.4 km each), two mountain runs on the Dachsteinstrasse (5.1 km each), a circuit run on the Niederöblarn airfield (1.5 km per lap) and a mountain sprint in Moosheim-Gröbming (2.4 km) will be organized from 18 to 20 July, which is open to sporty and race-ready cars built up to 1982.

The entry fee is Euro 2,000 and includes participation in four evening events in addition to the races.

We believe that this new racing mode should be particularly suitable for those previous participants in the Ennstal who do not want to put their vehicles (or themselves) through 1,000 kilometers or more. However, the Racecar Trophy will certainly also attract new applicants who will be able to enjoy driving in the beautiful Enns Valley.
The closing date for entries is 31 March 2013. All further information can be found on the organizer's website.

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Drive fast! Ride safely! Ride a Triumph T.R.3!

Bruno von Rotz
11/29/2012

Triumph TR 3 im Prospekt von 1961

What the advertising copywriters put on paper in the sales brochure for theTriumph TR 3 in 1961 would be highly politically incorrect today. Who would want to encourage drivers to speed today?

In 1961, however, they could, because a sports car had nothing disreputable about it and was a highly desirable commodity. Especially if it had convincing contemporary safety attributes, like the Triumph with its disc brakes.

Triumph TR 3 im Renn-Setup im Prospekt von 1973

Let's take another look at the sales brochure:
"Speed and safety - these are the advantages that characterize the Triumph T.R.3. Thanks to its well-thought-out design, it is equally suitable for fast, safe cross-country journeys and for crowded city traffic. Its performance has been proven time and again in countless sporting competitions around the world through its unique successes. Breathtaking acceleration, a top speed of more than 160 km/h, disc brakes that bring the car to a standstill in the shortest of distances - these features make the heart of every car connoisseur beat faster! The snugly rounded upholstered seats and the pleasantly firm suspension make driving a complete pleasure, regardless of the road conditions."

Yes, that's how it was in 1961!

The sales brochure can of course be found in the Zwischengas archive .

Triumph TR 3 - gezeichnet im Prospekt von 1961

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HiFi and the cars of yesterday

Bruno von Rotz
11/28/2012

DUAL HiFI Anlage im Jahr 1972

The term "high fidelity" (or "hi-fi" for short) was coined in the 1960s. The idea behind it was to set standards for sound technology in the home (and later in cars). DIN standard 45500, for example, stipulated that the frequency response of devices had to be linear between 250 and 6,300 Hz. At that time, the average citizen drove a VW Beetle and the successful entrepreneur perhaps a Porsche 911 or a Maserati 3500 GT. Milestones in sound technology were the Dual 1009 record player and, for example, the Grundig SV50 transistor integrated amplifier, neither of which were intended for Beetle drivers.

DUAL Plattenspieler im Jahr 1972

In the seventies, the term became widely accepted, affordable devices were available and the marketing people of the device manufacturers took up the topic in their advertising messages. The pictures in this blog are from exactly that time. In terms of vehicles, the average person had worked their way up to the VW K70 or Opel Ascona, while the successful might have opted for the Lamborghini Urraco or the R107 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL. In the meantime, hi-fi had become popular and at home in many living rooms.

DUAL Stereoanlage im Jahr 1975

In the 1980s, hi-fi devices and cars became better and better; in addition to hi-fi, the term high-end was now also used to describe the upper end of sound quality, so to speak. Super amplifiers and loudspeakers quickly reached the price range of a full-blown car and even a tuning industry developed that made series components even better, almost in the same way as with cars. New brands came and went, another parallel to the automotive industry. And of course, hi-fi was now also available in the installation slot in the center console of the VW Golf GTIor the Ferrari 512 Testarossa, but the loudspeaker technology was hardly capable of providing a truly high-fidelity experience in view of the driving noise. Developments in this area still took some time.

And today? Hardly anyone remembers the term hi-fi anymore, and if they do, it is with a nostalgic smile on their face. Maybe that's why vinyl records are currently celebrating a comeback ...

And if you like looking at old hi-fi devices, you can find some nice examples in the Zwischengas archive of the ADAC Motorwelt magazine.

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Browse through the Toronado manual from 1967

Bruno von Rotz
11/27/2012

Titelblatt des Handbuchs zum Oldsmobile Toronado von 1967

When the Oldsmobile Toronado came onto the market in the mid-sixties , it was more than a nose ahead of many of its competitors. With front-wheel drive, folding headlights and many innovative comfort details, it was the benchmark by which the mid-sixties had to be measured. Despite the wealth of equipment details , the handbook remained clearly laid out. In fact, it comprised just 58 pages.

Of course, it had to explain that the fuel inlet had to be located behind the license plate and how to use the jack. However, the instruments and the individual controls made up a large part of the manual. The seat belts were also explained in detail.

Erkärungen zu den Instrumenten im Handbuch zum Oldsmobile Toronado von 1967

The various additional features (air conditioning, cruise control, electrically adjustable seats, radio) required a further 5-6 pages. What was considered extensive at the time with just a few pages now fills entire books!

Erklärungen zu den Bedienungsorganen im Handbuch des Oldsmobile Toronado von 1967

The maintenance instructions start on page 37, i.e. the day-to-day operating procedures were explained on just over 30 pages, including all the additional equipment. No wonder people actually read through these instructions back then, whereas today most car buyers capitulate to the wealth of information.

Anyone interested can read the entire manual in the Zwischengas archive .

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When car seats were still allowed to be fabricy, fluffy, colorful and soft

Bruno von Rotz
11/26/2012

Interieur des Citroën DS von 1971 - aus einem Verkaufsprospekt

Many years ago, it was considered particularly comfortable if you could sink into the seats in the car and sit as comfortably as on a sofa. The French were particularly fond of this type of seating and these seats were also popular with drivers and, above all, passengers. They often looked comfortable even from a distance, were upholstered with colorful and skin-hugging fabrics and were dressed in bright colors. At the time, lateral support and long-distance comfort were just as little an issue as seat ergonomics for drivers' skeletons worn down by everyday office life. It was primarily the perceived comfort that counted.

Interieur des Citroën DS von 1959 - aus einem Verkaufsprospekt

But that was a while ago, so we think back fondly when we leaf through the brochure of a Citroën DS , for example, or even enjoy a ride in this legendary car( called the goddess, la Déesse).

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Shifting gears by hand - a soon-to-be-forgotten art

Bruno von Rotz
11/25/2012

Handschaltung im Citroën SM von 1973

Sometimes even the most mundane journey in an older car becomes an experience and you enjoy even the smallest and most trivial actions. One of these manual activities is changing gears. Whether with or without intermediate throttle, shifting the gear lever gives you direct access to the mechanics of the car. You can feel in your fingertips how the gears mesh, how the synchronizer rings work.

Schalten im Dino 308 GT4 von 1974

However, this "art" will soon be a thing of the past, because fewer and fewer cars are being equipped with manual gearboxes, DSG and automatic transmissions are gaining the upper hand, and electric cars usually do not need a gearshift by default.

It's a shame, because shifting gears by hand is fun, even if it is slower and perhaps less perfect than what hydraulics and computer control can achieve today. And our descendants will look at a lever sticking out of a gearshift gate with similarly wide eyes as they look at the dial on an old telephone set today.

Schalten im Mercedes-Benz 300 SL R107 von 1987

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Hybrid vehicle from the 1970s

Bruno von Rotz
11/24/2012

Hybridfahrzeug 'Miss Purity' 1970

Anyone who thinks that we have Toyota to thank for the hybrid car is mistaken. Not only were hybrid vehicles built at the beginning of the 20th century (e.g. Woods Dual Power, Lohner-Porsche ) , but there were also interesting approaches in the early 1970s, which were subsequently forgotten.

For example, a car called "Miss Purity" took part in the Clean Air Car Race in 1970- long before the Kyoto Protocol, people were already thinking about resource-saving transportation - and won its class ex-aequo with another vehicle. The somewhat adventurous-looking car was built by a small team from the University of Toronto led by Professor Frank Hooper and was driven by the driver team of Douglas Venn, Steve Baker and Juri Otsason, using liquid propane gas as fuel.

Over the entire 5,800 km of the 7-day race, the hybrid vehicle with its plastic bodywork and gullwing doors was constantly surrounded by press representatives and enthusiastic spectators. The interesting car with the special license plate "UTI" even made it into Life magazine.

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Photo safari in Austin/Texas - or - the thing with the sunrise, the Ford Galaxie 500 and the cowgirl

Daniel Reinhard
11/23/2012

Austin - ein erstes Ergebnis - etwas verfremdet

A sensational story begins with a simple iPhone photo taken from a moving rental car. The sun sends its first rays across the Texan landscape. On our way to the F1 race track, early in the morning at 7 a.m., we are driving on a small, typical Texan side road called McKenzie Road. A photo of the sunrise is taken through the windshield. Mirko's later editing on the computer makes the picture really exciting. Wow, cool, all we need now is a nice old Mustang and a real Texan model, were our first thoughts.

Austin - die Foto-Location

Sunday after the F1 race, Mirko suddenly says in passing: "Dani, the shoot is going well, you just have to organize the Mustang!" "What do you mean?" "Yes, the one grid girl would play along, so we'd already have a model." "Aha", I thought, Mirko wants to fuck me. Tired, we arrive at the hotel in the evening and have a beer together. Mirko suddenly nudges me and says that Roccio, Sergio Pérez's grid girl, is texting to ask what she should wear to the shoot. I don't let on that I still don't believe it and reply that something cowboy-style would be best, just like she wore on the grid - definitely real Texan boots. Yes, Mirko thinks that's good too and starts writing a text message. A short time later, he replies that it won't work that way because Roccio has already handed in the grid clothes. I slowly realize that the two of them are serious. I also realize that we now need a car. A Mustang would be nice - a white 1964 Mustang!

Well, we still have the whole of Monday to find a car, which should be at the model's place on Tuesday morning at 6:30 am. But as this is our first time in Austin, we don't know anyone who could help us in any way.

During breakfast, we start searching the internet. It doesn't get us one millimeter further. So we drive all over Austin. Asking around at a few used car dealers doesn't help either. Then we catch sight of the first, but "red" Mustang in a backyard, unfortunately in an undriveable and absolutely lousy condition. Conclusion: unusable.

Then, by chance, we come across a backyard garage with a white '65 Mustang. A car exactly as we imagined it, absolutely perfect. The owner, sitting comfortably back in an old futon and leisurely scraping his lunch out of a Tupperware cup, shows zero enthusiasm. He just says that he can't possibly leave his business alone for two hours, not even early in the morning. He is so swamped with work and NO, he can't and won't do that. NO, he doesn't know any other Mustang owners either. NO, he can't and won't help us now.

Further research leads us to a collector of historic cars. It's the CEO of the Hyundai dealership in Austin, Southpoint. However, we can't approach him personally for the time being. The employee says that he rarely comes into the company anymore, but that he would like to ask him, although he is 99.9% sure that he would not be involved. His collection is very special and exclusive. We don't know what kind of cars they are either. Our contacts are deposited, albeit with little hope.

Unfortunately, the museum in San Marco with 75 old Amis is too far away at 35 miles. The search continues. A haphazard drive through a neighborhood of single-family homes leads us to an orange Mustang Mach l convertible with a white roof. The color doesn't match and the condition is unfortunately anything but photogenic.

Austin - Ford Galaxie 500 von 1967 - das Fotoobjekt

We continue to wander around the city and suddenly, as if by a miracle, this ice-blue Ford Galaxie 500 with an open hood appears in a front garden. This car would be perfect. We are greeted very nicely by three men standing around the car. The owner listens to our request and is immediately enthusiastic. Yes, he agrees, but then voices an objection. He is about to sell the car to one of the other two men present. If the sale goes through, he is no longer responsible, he says. The negotiations between the three of them continue and suddenly the "still" owner calls out to us: "He will buy the car. You need to talk to him now!" A thick bundle of dollar notes is changing hands and we start to make our idea palatable to the not exactly slim new owner. He doesn't find the idea uninteresting straight away, but getting up early takes some persuading. After taking a close look at the iPhone photo of the location and realizing that the sunrise is extremely important for the picture, he agrees. So now everything is perfect. We have a car, a model and the weather should also play along.

Back at the hotel, we send an e-mail with the photo of the galaxy to our model Roccio, telling him that everything is now perfect. The answer knocks us off our feet. Now that she realizes the seriousness of the situation, she gets cold feet and pulls out at short notice. So now we have the salad, we first had a model and no car, so now we are sitting on a car, but we have lost the model.

Ok, you could just take photos of the car, but that's not really the appeal of the thing, and the new owner of the Galaxie wants to take part in the expected photos, not least because of the woman. Now we can't disappoint him.

Can't the model who jumped off help us? A Facebook circular to all 23 Grid Girl colleagues gave us hope again late Monday afternoon. But we rejoiced too soon! The CotA (Circuit of the Americas) actually banned all grid girls from taking part in the shoot. However, we don't have the time to negotiate with the CotA and we can't understand the point of the intervention. Why should the GP organizer still be able to decide on the private lives of the girls two days after the race?

Despite the ban, Sarah gets in touch to say that she really wants to do it with us, but only after eight o'clock because she still has to drive her mother to work. Unfortunately, the sun is already way too high at eight and the owner of the galaxy also has to be at work at half past seven. So again, nothing.

A local photographer colleague called Taylor suddenly turns out to be our absolute last resort. Late in the evening, he manages to convince a colleague called Emily to join him. As the shoot is taking place before her lecture at university, she is immediately very helpful. A late-night text message to the owner of the galaxy confirms that things can now go ahead after all.

The final adrenaline rush comes early in the morning when Taylor calls to say that he can't find Emily at the agreed meeting point. As expected, our call gets her out of bed.
Tuesday morning at 6:10 a.m. we stand in the Texas darkness at our location on McKenzie Road and wait in the good hope that the Galaxie and Emily will arrive before sunrise .....

Austin - es hat geklappt - jetzt wird fotografiert

We will show you the complete photo production in the Ford Galaxie 500 report at a later date.

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The wonder car Lloyd Alexander TS

Bruno von Rotz
11/22/2012

Lloyd Alexander TS von 1959

Of course, the 1958 Lloyd Alexander TS was not really a miracle car, but a solidly built passenger car with a four-stroke two-cylinder engine and a steel body in shell construction (not self-supporting). Nevertheless, the progress compared to its predecessor was noticeable. The colorful sales brochure from 1959 was exuberant:

"Anyone who wants to buy their own car today knows that they will not be served by a primitive driving machine. After all, an automobile is not just a means of transportation, but - like our home and our clothes - a part of ourselves. Just as we not only want to protect ourselves from the elements in our homes, but also want to feel comfortable, our cars should be equipped in such a way that every journey is comfortable and a real experience. If you make the right choice, there is no need to disregard economic considerations.

Lloyd Alexander TS von 1959 vor Windmühle

Just take a look at the elegant ALEXANDER TS. Beneath its shiny exterior, it conceals impressive technical features that only a factory with many years of experience in the field of small car construction can give its vehicles. Every detail of its design has been carefully thought through and tested under conditions as tough as those never encountered in everyday use. The ALEXANDER TS offers everything that makes an automobile good, serviceable and valuable.

This starts with the outer skin. High-quality, infrared-baked synthetic resin paints protect the bodywork, which is manufactured in a shell construction. This design offers the advantage that all components can be replaced while at the same time providing outstanding strength."

Lloyd Alexander TS von 1959 mit grossem Kofferraum

And further on, attention is drawn to another important innovation compared to its predecessors:

"Incidentally, the trunk of the ALEXANDER TS is accessible from both the outside and the inside. If you ever need a briefcase or a warm jacket while driving, there's no need to stop and step out into the pouring rain. The backrest of the rear seats can be folded forward at the flick of a wrist and you can easily reach the items you need. If you remove the backrest completely, the entire space behind the front seats, including the luggage compartment, is available for storing even bulky items. An ideal way for camping enthusiasts to store their tent equipment and rubber boat."

The entire color brochure can of course be viewed in the Zwischengas archive . These old sales documents are fun! And not just because of the pretty girls with their fashionable dresses.

Prospekt des Lloyd Alexander TS in der Übersicht

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The Zurich classic car and parts market in the Eulachhallen in Winterthur - a successful move?

Thomas Both
11/21/2012

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Auos vor der Halle

The cold season is a lean period for many classic car owners. With the first salt on the roads at the latest, most classic car owners decide to put their cars into hibernation and only bring them back to life once the snow has melted.

A classic car and parts market is a welcome change to get a taste of classic car air regardless of the weather and road conditions and to bridge the time until the first spring drive.

With exactly this goal in mind, I headed for Winterthur (25 km from Zurich) on Saturday, where the OTM Zurich was to be held at a new address for the first time this year. The traditional market (since 1978) is organized by the Ford Club Switzerland. Until 2010, it was held in the VBZ garage in Zurich Alstetten and in 2012, after a one-year break, it was held in the Eulachhallen for the first time.

I was excited to see what awaited me this year, because the OTM in Zurich, although never huge, had always been good for a surprise in recent years.

The parking lot in front of the halls already gave me a good idea of what to expect, some classic cars had found their way to Winterthur, two Audi Quattro and a Ford Granada for sale showed me the way to the entrance.

The rush at the cash desk was limited and after a short time I was standing inside hall no. 2.

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Stand der Touring-Garage

At the first stand, the charming ladies from the touring garage were offering a green Porsche Roadster and a silver Karmann for sale, and there were also a few other vehicles in the hall waiting for a new owner.

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Modellautos in allen Varianten

However, the largest selection was to be found among the countless model cars, which were also part of the program this year.

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Wühlstände

Garages specializing in classic cars, saddlers, parts dealers with rummage boxes, suppliers of accessories, organizers of classic car rallies, etc., were all present as usual. Somehow, however, I couldn't get into the right vintage car and parts market mood this time.

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Hallen in Winterthur

Whether it was just the large (sports) hall, in which I felt lost, or whether there really were fewer exhibitors and visitors who had made the move from the Limmat to the Eulach, I can only guess. In any case, most of the exhibitors hadn't lost their good mood by midday, even if one or two seemed a little underemployed.

Seek and ye shall find - and since I wasn't really looking for anything special on Saturday, it was only logical that I didn't find anything. So my expenses this year were limited to the entrance fee and the food in the canteen.

The organizers should be advised that a little more advertising and a refreshed website could perhaps have a very refreshing effect on the number of visitors.

OTM Zürich/Winterthur - Autos in der Halle

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