Recognizing car shapes then and now

Bruno von Rotz
10/31/2019

Auto Zürich - Klassiker unter rotem Tuch

Would you have recognized the car with its rear facing the camera? It's not easy, but it's not impossible either. The car in the background, on the other hand, is easy to recognize, especially if you can see it more clearly.

Auto Zürich 2019 - Klassiker unter rotem Tuch

Identifying the car under the gray cloth is a little more difficult, but there are clues that allow you to narrow it down.

Auto Zürich 2019 - Klassiker unter grauem Tuch

To solve the mystery, the three vehicles are a Jaguar E-Type V12 Cabriolet, a Porsche 911 and an Aston Martin DB6 Volante. They can all be seen in the classic car hall at Auto Zürich, which is open until Sunday.

Want to bet that you'll have a much harder time recognizing the modern cars?

Auto Zürich 2019 - aktuelle Peugeot-Modelle abgedeckt

P.S. The cars are of course uncovered and neatly labeled during the fair, so you can only puzzle over them with us.

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So let he who binds himself be tested - or - original or not?

Bruno von Rotz
10/30/2019

Abarth 695 esse esse 1966

A reader told us a story that once again calls for caution. In March 2018, Mr. Bongartz purchased a 1966 Abarth 659 esse esse at the Techno Classica classic car fair for EUR 52,000. He had the dealer Franco Lembo (Reims/Monaco) confirm in writing that the car was original in all relevant parts.

However, the car then failed the MOT because the engine came from a Polski-Fiat and other parts did not meet the factory specification. Although the dealer agreed to take the car back, this did not happen. Claiming his rights in France was an almost insurmountable obstacle. The courts in Germany declared that they had no jurisdiction.

In the end, Mr. Bongartz bit the bullet and had an original engine installed by Aumüller, which resulted in further costs of EUR 25,000. At a chance meeting with dealer Lembo in April 2019, he agreed to cover half of the additional costs. Owner Bongartz is still waiting for the money today.

What can we learn from this case? Never buy without consulting an expert. Be doubly careful when buying across national borders. Contracts and assurances sometimes don't help either.

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Classic car drivers are optimistic about the low-emission future (Question of the week)

Bruno von Rotz
10/29/2019

Frage der Woche 141 - Oldtimerzukunft im emissionsfreien Elektrozeitalter

Denmark wants to ban combustion engines by 2050, San Francisco wants to have completely emission-free traffic by 2040 and Ireland wants to ban the registration of petrol and diesel engines by 2030. The future almost certainly does not belong to today's combustion engines. But will today's and tomorrow's classic cars even be allowed to drive in an emission-free future? This is what we wanted to know from Zwischengas readers as part of a question of the week .
They were much more optimistic than you might expect:

72.5 percent of the 346 respondents are convinced that there will always be an exemption for old cars in order to keep this mobile cultural asset on the road and to be able to show it to future generations.

17.3 percent assume that in future, combustion cars will only be allowed to be driven in certain zones and on roads approved for this purpose

3.5 percent are skeptical and assume that cars with combustion engines will be banned from museums in the future

6.6 percent do not agree with any answer

This is how the evaluation looks graphically:

Frage der Woche 141 - Ergebnis/Statistik

The next question of the week has already been asked. The aim is to find out whether there should be a greater or lesser mix of car eras at events.

And, of course, you can still read all the evaluations of previous "Questions of the Week" in the dedicated topic channel.

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Car rental companies have been around for over a hundred years

Daniel Koch
10/28/2019

Today, it is no longer possible to determine exactly when the first car rental company was founded, some sources speak of 1906, but it is certain that the company "Sixt Autofahrten und Selbstfahrer" was founded in Germany in 1912, which was probably the first European car rental company.

In the USA, in Omaha, Nebraska, Saunders started his rental car business with just one Ford Model T, but just one year later he owned a fleet of 18 such vehicles. The second well-known car rental company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918 in Chicago, USA. He sold the company "Rent-a-Car" with a fleet of twelve Ford Model T to John Hertz in 1923. However, it was not until after the Second World War that car rental companies began to become a mass business.

Some rental companies also came up with special offers, such as Hertz with the Shelby Mustang GT350-H pictured here.

Today, we take it for granted that we can rent a car for a few francs or euros - back then, the business was still a pioneering one.

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With the luxury touring car to the island

Daniel Koch
10/27/2019

800 liters of petrol and almost 3 liters of oil for 3500 kilometers - We were on the road in England with the Rolls Royce without any breakdowns!

Its reputation precedes it, and it's not a good one: the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, once the best car in the world, is supposed to be unreliable? The purchase prices were (and still are) moderate, which has already made some people weaken. And therein lies the crux of the matter: unfortunately, many owners no longer had the small change (or rather: the big bills) to treat the Shadow to the necessary service work.

We grabbed one and planned a trip to England. The least pessimistic thing we had to listen to before setting off was: "You're going to break down anyway". However, the Rolls accompanied us without fault and was obviously an excellently maintained vehicle. During our three-week tour through England, we had some exciting encounters and conversations, as the Silver Shadow has long since been freed from its image of only being suitable for super-rich people. We didn't experience any envy, in fact we were greeted everywhere in a friendly and interested manner.

The 8-cylinder engine with a displacement of 6.75 liters is actually almost inaudible, which also pleased the animals we drove past in the New Forest and Dartmoor National Parks.

The interior has a club atmosphere, the leather seats creak cautiously and the body shape is timeless. The whole journey, the radiator mascot "The Spirit of Ecstasy" seemed to show us the way, after all, it sits all alone at the front on this monolith of a radiator grille. It's like all classic cars: If they are well maintained, then they also drive reliably. Why not take a longer trip in a classic car - it's an experience!

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Stick-on rear window heating?

Daniel Koch
10/26/2019

What you may have had to pay extra for as an option on this Volvo 145 at the Geneva Motor Show has long since become standard: the rear window heating. It ensures a good view to the rear and reliably prevents the rear window from misting up in damp weather.

If you used to own a car without this practical accessory, you could fit a stick-on rear window heater. This was an adhesive film with heating wires that was stuck to the inside of the rear window. To supply it with power, the vehicle electrical system or the cigarette lighter was simply tapped into.

Question for readers

If there is anyone in our readership who has a photo of this accessory (perhaps even a picture during "installation"), we would be very pleased if you could send it to the editorial team.

Addendum October 29, 2019: A reader sent us the following photo, thank you very much!

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Many things have also been invented twice

Daniel Reinhard
10/25/2019

For example, the wind deflector. In the 1990s, it was touted as a world first, but it was only reissued. As early as 1958, the Alvis TD21 with Graber bodywork featured a retractable rear window as a wind deflector.

This innovation is even said to have inspired the James Bond filmmakers for the retractable and bullet-proof metal plate at the rear of the DB5 for the film "Goldfinger". Incidentally, the beautiful Alvis can now be admired at the special Graber coachbuilding exhibition at the Pantheon in Muttenz.

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You never forget certain things....

Daniel Reinhard
10/24/2019

Swimming and skiing are things you never forget for the rest of your life. Even if you haven't skied for years, you can get back on the slopes at any time and ski as if you had never been away. It's the same for professionals who have done what they love for many years. I had the pleasure of meeting one man at the opening of the special exhibition "Graber bodies" at the Pantheon in Muttenz (CH). Werner Haas was the last employee to be hired by Hermann Graber in Witrach (Bern) (as of June 1, 1967). Graber re-trimmed numerous cars from various manufacturers and maintained a very special relationship with Alvis.

The Alvis TF21 with chassis no. 27475 was the last car chassis from the British manufacturer to roll off the production line in 1967 and was bodyworked by Graber. Werner Haas worked on the last Alvis Graber convertible as a coachbuilder. The wooden mold for bodywork construction played an important role. Unfortunately, after Hermann Graber's death in 1970, all the wooden models were burnt. No problem for Werner Haas, he built a completely new model for the special exhibition of his long-time employer in the Pantheon, using his extensive experience and mostly just his head and his instincts. If you are lucky enough to stand next to him and see how, 50 years later, his hands still perform every movement as they did yesterday, you can't help but be amazed.

You can find out more about the exhibition in our comprehensive exhibition report.

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An airbag for the classic

Daniel Reinhard
10/23/2019

Sometimes you see things that you wouldn't even dream of seeing. On the highway towards Basel, I overtake a rubber dinghy and then suddenly a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL appears. It takes a lot of imagination to plan a trip like this with Anglo-Dutch license plates.

In any case, I drove to the nearest parking lot to capture this curious situation for you dear readers. Somehow I can't shake off the feeling that the rubber boat was intended solely as an airbag for the valuable Mercedes in the event of a rear-end collision. What was the song by Wenke Myhre from 1970: He's got a bright red rubber boat...and a Mercedes to boot...

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Good things come to those who wait: Reinhard photographer dynasty honored

Thomas Suter
10/22/2019

Ehrung von Daniel und Josef Reinhard

No less than 18 years ago, a letter from a Hergiswil reader drew the attention of the government authorities of the Canton of Obwalden to the fact that it would be appropriate to finally award the Obwalden Culture Prize to the Sachsler photographers Sepp and Daniel Reinhard and posthumously to Josef Reinhard (their father and grandfather respectively).

It took until last Saturday to make this award ceremony a reality. "The Obwalden government took enough time to examine the letter to the editor," smiles Christian Schäli, Obwalden's Director of Education, at the presentation of the Culture Prize to Josef and Daniel Reinhard. The Reinhard photographer dynasty with Josef Reinhard (1901 - 1975), Sepp Reinhard (* 1931) - known throughout Obwalden as "Katastrophen-Reinhard" - and Daniel Reinhard (* 1960) have ensured that the country and its people have been documented photographically for decades. And since the 1950s, the name "Reinhard" has been a fixture in motor racing. Father and son have photographed more than 700 of the just over 1000 Formula 1 Grand Prix races, and Daniel Reinhard was accepted into the illustrious "500 Club" of Formula 1 zampano Bernie Ecclestone years ago - an honor that only a few journalists and photographers receive.

Sepp and Daniel Reinhard's life's work is surrounded by endless anecdotes, such as the fact that Sepp Reinhard spent years developing radar photos for the Obwalden cantonal police and was amazed one day when a photo with the VW and its number OW 777 slowly emerged from one of the negatives in the developing bath...

A fraction of the Reinhard photos will be on display in the windows of the stores grouped around the village square in Sarnen over the next few weeks. The Hofmatt Gallery in Sarnen is showing a small, representative cross-section of the work of the three Reinhard generations until November 17, 2019. In his acceptance speech, Daniel Reinhard made it clear: "There will no longer be a fourth generation of Reinhard in photography, our two children have a completely different focus." Thomas Suter

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