There are a great many movie star cars but some are rather less well known than others. All have put tyres to tarmac on screen and many still do off screen. Here are three star cars that perhaps aren't quite as familiar as some of their competitors.
Our first contender is the car that never was, in production terms at least. The Toyota 2000GT attracted a lot of attention when it first appeared in 1967. At the time, Japanese motor manufacturers were known for producing practical (i.e. boring) and derivative models. When 'Road and Track' magazine tested the 2000GT, it was described as, "One of the most exciting and enjoyable cars we've driven." It was also favourably compared with Porsche's 911. So, where have you seen a Toyota 2000GT on screen, spinning its tyres as competently as all the rest? You saw one in 'You Only Live Twice'. This white convertible was driven by James Bond's girlfriend Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), with Sean Connery in the passenger seat. Why was it the car that never was? The Toyota 2000GT was a coupe that was too low for the 6ft 2 in tall Connery to fit into comfortably. Yamaha – who built the car – tried making a targa-top version but Bond's head still protruded far above the windscreen, giving a rather ridiculous look. So, just two 'convertibles' were built especially for the film. Look very closely and you'll see that the car's folded 'hood' is nothing more than an upholstered hump.
Sticking with Bond film trickery, can a car really become a submarine? In 1977, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' would have had us believe one could. The Lotus Esprit S1 concerned tucked its tyres into its wheel arches (which magically filled themselves in), sprouted hydroplanes and apparently went diving. In reality, there was a real roadgoing Lotus Esprit S1, and a heavily modified body shell for underwater use. This shell was fired off a jetty using a compressed air cannon. The underwater mock-up was able to drop 'depth charges' but it had no real submarine abilities and no engine. Perhaps appropriate in a movie in which the villain was named 'Stromberg' – also the name of a kind of carburettor!
In the same year, 'The Car' was burning tyres and rendering audiences awestruck. The possessed star car in this average schlock-horror shocker (also known as DeathMobile) was based on a 1970-ish Lincoln Continental Mk III. In fact, four cars were built, two being destroyed during filming. The main stunt car featured a 460 cubic inch V8 engine, a roll over bar, heavy-duty suspension and amber-tinted glass. A locked 4.11 to 1 differential allowed for easier tyre spinning. The fourth and last car was based on a late 1970s Ford Thunderbird. It was loosely assembled, to be shot over a cliff for the final scene. The shop behind all this heavy metal was Barris Kustoms in North Hollywood. Barris was also responsible for building the original Batmobile, The Munster's Koach and the Green Hornet car, 'Black Beauty'. The 1977 invoice for 'The Car' shows it cost '$84,000.'
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Friday 15 July 2011
Car Tyres In Law: Your Legal Obligations
What hurts more, being fined for using illegal car tyres or paying out so your car tyres are legal and safe? In practice, the latter cancels out the former. However, it pays to know what the law requires of you in relation to your car's tyres. Here is a breakdown of the legal necessities as regards car tyres.
Driving on worn or damaged tyres can attract a fine (or an MOT failure) and it can also place you firmly in breach of your car insurance policy's conditions. Both these events matter but something else you may be doing is of far greater importance. Never forget that using tyres that are of the wrong type, are damaged or are worn endangers lives.
Important Points
What makes a car tyre poor? Several aspects can put a tyre in this category but there are important factors you need to consider…
Car tyres must not have any lumps, bumps or tears caused by separation or partial structural failure.
They must not have a cut or tear longer than 25 millimetres, or longer than 10 per cent of the width of the tyre's section (whichever is the greater). No such damage may be sufficiently deep as to reach the tyre's internal cords.
No part of the tyre's internal plies or cords may be exposed.
Any tyre must be compatible with the type of tyres fitted to the other wheels
Any tyre, on a car or trailer, must be fit for purpose and free from any defect that might endanger any person or damage the road.
Legal Tyre Maintenance
All car tyres have to be correctly inflated, to the car maker's and tyre manufacturer's recommendations. It is acknowledged that under certain circumstances, 'run-flat' tyres may be used in an uninflated or partially inflated state.
How Much Tread?
The legal minimum tread depth requirement for a car tyre is, 'at least 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference.' This tread depth must not fall below the legal minimum and the original tread pattern must be visible.
Must I Carry a Spare?
In law, you aren't obliged to carry a spare tyre and nor need one meet legal requirements when it is stored in or under the car. However, if a spare tyre is used, it must comply with all the above legal requirements.
The Penalties
Now for the bottom line. What will illegal tyres cost you? Read on, carefully…
If you use a vehicle with one or more defective or illegal tyres, a police officer can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (a Conditional Offer Notice in Scotland).
At his or her discretion, a police officer may decide not to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice but may report the case for prosecution.
Both the car's driver and its owner (if he or she is not the same person) are liable. One or both may be issued a summons.
A court can impose fines up to a maximum of £2,500, and three penalty points. This relates to a car; the financial penalty for a goods vehicle or for one built or modified to carry more than eight passengers can be double this amount.
If a car has more than one defective tyre, a summons can be issued for each illegal tyre.
Under certain circumstances, disqualification becomes possible.
Sobering reading? Certainly, but this is probably less punitive than the physical costs of a car accident caused by an illegal tyre.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
Driving on worn or damaged tyres can attract a fine (or an MOT failure) and it can also place you firmly in breach of your car insurance policy's conditions. Both these events matter but something else you may be doing is of far greater importance. Never forget that using tyres that are of the wrong type, are damaged or are worn endangers lives.
Important Points
What makes a car tyre poor? Several aspects can put a tyre in this category but there are important factors you need to consider…
Car tyres must not have any lumps, bumps or tears caused by separation or partial structural failure.
They must not have a cut or tear longer than 25 millimetres, or longer than 10 per cent of the width of the tyre's section (whichever is the greater). No such damage may be sufficiently deep as to reach the tyre's internal cords.
No part of the tyre's internal plies or cords may be exposed.
Any tyre must be compatible with the type of tyres fitted to the other wheels
Any tyre, on a car or trailer, must be fit for purpose and free from any defect that might endanger any person or damage the road.
Legal Tyre Maintenance
All car tyres have to be correctly inflated, to the car maker's and tyre manufacturer's recommendations. It is acknowledged that under certain circumstances, 'run-flat' tyres may be used in an uninflated or partially inflated state.
How Much Tread?
The legal minimum tread depth requirement for a car tyre is, 'at least 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference.' This tread depth must not fall below the legal minimum and the original tread pattern must be visible.
Must I Carry a Spare?
In law, you aren't obliged to carry a spare tyre and nor need one meet legal requirements when it is stored in or under the car. However, if a spare tyre is used, it must comply with all the above legal requirements.
The Penalties
Now for the bottom line. What will illegal tyres cost you? Read on, carefully…
If you use a vehicle with one or more defective or illegal tyres, a police officer can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (a Conditional Offer Notice in Scotland).
At his or her discretion, a police officer may decide not to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice but may report the case for prosecution.
Both the car's driver and its owner (if he or she is not the same person) are liable. One or both may be issued a summons.
A court can impose fines up to a maximum of £2,500, and three penalty points. This relates to a car; the financial penalty for a goods vehicle or for one built or modified to carry more than eight passengers can be double this amount.
If a car has more than one defective tyre, a summons can be issued for each illegal tyre.
Under certain circumstances, disqualification becomes possible.
Sobering reading? Certainly, but this is probably less punitive than the physical costs of a car accident caused by an illegal tyre.
Article Resource
Merityre.co.uk are one of the leading UK independent suppliers of car tyres. Why not visit their website for an online tyre quote or contact your nearest fitting centre.
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