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25 Jan 2016, 16:01 (Ref:3607883) | #1 | ||
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Touring cars - saloon vs. hatchback
It has struck me with the introduction of the TCR championship that there is a growing trend towards touring car championships featuring hatchbacks like the Honda Civic and the SEAT Leon rather than the saloons of the 1990s and before. I find this a shame, aesthetically. I want a proper saloon car championship. Is it because those are the models manufacturers are trying to sell? Or is there something else behind it?
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25 Jan 2016, 16:21 (Ref:3607885) | #2 | ||
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Nobody buys smaller touring car size saloons anymore. I'm sure kmchow will be along soon to wax lyrical about his love of sedans though.
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Don't exacerbate things! |
25 Jan 2016, 16:23 (Ref:3607886) | #3 | ||
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I seem to see plenty of Ford Mondeos, BMW 3-series, Audi A4s, Renault Meganes...
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Interviewer: "Will the McLaren F1 be your answer to the Ferrari F40?" Gordon Murray: "Hmm... I don't think we have anyone at McLaren who can weld that badly..." |
25 Jan 2016, 17:08 (Ref:3607894) | #4 | ||
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25 Jan 2016, 17:11 (Ref:3607895) | #5 | ||
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I think the 90s "saloon only" formula was rather an exception than the rule... back when touring cars was multiclass you always had the hatchbacks in the lower classes and even some of the overall contenders were hatches or coupes like the Sierra or before that the Capri.
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25 Jan 2016, 18:21 (Ref:3607904) | #6 | |
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25 Jan 2016, 18:21 (Ref:3607905) | #7 | ||
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Perhaps I am being too vague. I regard the 5-door Mondeo as more of a "saloon" than a "hatchback" (though obviously it literally is). It's a size thing, really - touring cars seem to have dropped a platform size.
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25 Jan 2016, 18:39 (Ref:3607907) | #8 | ||
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Its strange that if you go to another country I see a lot of saloon type cars. I went abroad a couple of times a year or so ago and I saw loads of Ford Focus saloons, whereas over here I haven't seen one of them, probably because they don't sell them, I don't know.
Besides, if the racing strictly followed which cars the manufacturers wanted to push as a marketing venture, they would all be entering MPV's or SUV's. |
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25 Jan 2016, 18:48 (Ref:3607908) | #9 | |||
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Quote:
Its the other way around. The hatches have grown, park a new Focus Wagon next to a '96 Mondeo Wagon and be amazed. Touringcar racing utilises volume models. Back in the 80's a lot of 2-door saloons were sold and raced, but they dissapeared with the e30 in the 90's. In the 00's thr same happened with 4-door saloons. And I'm sure the hatches will be buried some time in the future as well in favour of the bodystyle thats popular by then. |
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26 Jan 2016, 14:24 (Ref:3608128) | #10 | ||
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Interviewer: "Will the McLaren F1 be your answer to the Ferrari F40?" Gordon Murray: "Hmm... I don't think we have anyone at McLaren who can weld that badly..." |
26 Jan 2016, 15:15 (Ref:3608139) | #11 | |||
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Quote:
1985 Sierra XR4Ti (BTCC Coupe) - 4,531mm 2015 Mondeo - 4,869mm 2015 Focus ST (BTCC Hatchback) - 4,358mm 1985 Escort - 3,970mm 1995 Cavalier (BTCC) - 4,419mm 2015 Insignia (BTCC) - 4,830mm 2015 Astra - 4,370mm 1995 Carina E (BTCC) - 4,530mm 2015 Avensis (BTCC Saloon) - 4,710mm 1995 318i (BTCC) - 4,433mm 2015 125i (BTCC) - 4,324mm 2015 320i - 4,624mm 1995 Accord (BTCC) - 4,685mm 2015 Civic Type-R (BTCC) - 4,390mm 2015 Accord - 4,725mm |
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26 Jan 2016, 16:04 (Ref:3608165) | #12 | ||
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2 Feb 2016, 15:43 (Ref:3610918) | #13 | |
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Rob Austin was looking at using the Range Rover Evoque, but JLR asked them not to as it didn't fit their marketing strategy
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2 Feb 2016, 16:09 (Ref:3610925) | #14 | ||
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2 Feb 2016, 16:14 (Ref:3610927) | #15 | ||
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TBH, it doesn't really matter to me what shapes of car are raced, just as long as they are actually cars (i.e. not 4x4s, crossovers or MPVs).
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There are no such things as races which are too long, only people whose attention spans are too short. |
2 Feb 2016, 17:57 (Ref:3610951) | #16 | ||
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So it actually DOES matter to you
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2 Feb 2016, 18:16 (Ref:3610961) | #17 | ||
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Well, no. I'm not fussed if someone enters a saloon, hatchback, coupe or estate as they're all different styles of car. 4x4s/SUVs, crossovers & MPVs belong to their own categories and aren't cars as such, IMO.
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There are no such things as races which are too long, only people whose attention spans are too short. |
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