Thank you to Nathan Williams
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day – 1952 Bristol 401
– Posted on November 16, 2019
Thank you to Nathan Williams
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Is there an “almost a BMW” theme today ?
Unlike the Isetta, these were rare as hens’ teeth.
And also unlike the Isetta, these are far from an automotive carbuncle.
Maybe an early, early prototype of the Jaguar E type that was rejected???
I only say this because of the extra long hood and bobtail rear end. The side windows do follow the E-type theme.
Thank god Jaguar rejected the above!!🤨🤨🤨
Bristol 401. Elegance is pretty well ageless
I was sure that I remembered seeing this one here, and sure enough it was you that brought it, Roger. Please allow me to work around those good English manners of yours and share this here.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/cohort-outtake-1952-bristol-401-timeless-elegance-of-an-english-spa-town/
That’s exactly it, Roger – elegant. Not necessarily beautiful, but ineffably just right. And most desirable.
Thanks Roger. I didn’t know what it was but I think it’s beautiful.
I saw one of these in Seattle in the mid-1980s, but I didn’t have a camera on me.
I’ve seen that face before.
Now I cannot un-see it!
Reminds me of Madeline’s car and apartment house in Vertigo.
That would have been a Jaguar Mk 7 – much more powerful and much cheaper. Hence the rarity of the Bristol.
If you modernized the double windshield and wheels it would look much closer in age to the Mercedes parked next to it than the half century or so that actually separates them.
Are we sure it’s a 50’s Bristol and not a 200X Mitsuoka “Gavortz” or something? A lot of decent lines toward the rear but that face!
Our problem today : cars need to be premium.
No more room for real class, individuality, elegance or chique.
Saab, Lancia an MGB Gt to name a few and soon Alfa may disappear now PSA are taking over.
Just hughe production numbers and premium?
Globalization and over capacity will kill the car industry. This has been going on for many years now and we are only addressing it in recent times. Most of the reckoning seems to be happening to smaller, less healthy companies, but I think that Sergio was right. There will be a huge consolidation and there will only be four or five producers.
Now the car companies optimize their production for whatever sells well at the moment, here in the US our companies are eliminating sedans (as we know them now) and are only chasing profits. While great for the shareholders and Wall Street, there’s less choice for the rest of us. I hate to think what the landscape will look like once all the auto manufacturers adopt the same strategy.
I am afraid you are correct. Globalization and over capacity will kill the car industry. The consolidation will see a lot of brands either shutting down or just being a badge engineered model pumped out to meet a marketing need.
But, unlike you, I am not really worried. We see how consolidation of many of the products we know and love really did not diminish their functionality. Look at computers, or more specifically PCs. Back in the 1990s, there were tons of different manufacturers, all different. Then, consolidation, and now there are 10 ‘major’ brands, and all are similar, save Apple and its own OS. Did we lose a lot of individuality, or choices? Yes, but we got a big break in price and performance, along with consistently good product.
And as to the idea of less choices, really, very few buyers have specific choices that drive their decision on what to buy. They are more concerned with price, status, and features over how the car actually performs. If the OEMs build them with different body styles, different colors, and different badges, the public will never notice that it all changed and they all share a common platform.