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Car of the Year 1972
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:43 am
by locost_bryan
Wheels magazine Australian Car of the Year 1972 - why they didn't award it to any of the finalists, including Marina.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/no-car-of-the-year
Re: Car of the Year 1972
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 10:36 pm
by mickthefitter
Quite interesting. Obviously when I was 19 and had my first Morris Marina, and didn't notice any of the handling deficiencies everyone talks about (in non-Marina circles) I must have been driving at 40mph on perfectly smooth roads! Not far from the truth really. I also find interesting the opinions on the Ford Falcon Hardtop due to the lack of visibility, especially with the high waistlines and small glass areas of a lot of modern cars today. I wonder what the judges then would have made of these? But today reduced visibility is fine because of all the crash protection on board. I searched for images of the Ford Falcon Hardtop and think it looks very much like a Mustang Mach 1 of the same year.
Re: Car of the Year 1972
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:00 pm
by locost_bryan
The Australian journalists had driven the UK Marina in NZ, and were quite smug about how much better their Marina was, with the lighter ohc engine and revised suspension settings.
Interestingly Ford justified the expense of making longer doors for the Hardtop by using them on the commercial van and utility.