1 FEBRUARY 1968 vor r2B No. 37ss

Edltor Drputy Edhor Assittant Editor Foatu.a! Editor

Sport Editot

Assirt!nt Tshnlcol Editor

MAURICE A. SMITH, OFC PETER GARNIER LEO'TARO AYTON STUABT BLADON tNtrtEs lREtAttlD GEOFFEEY HOWARD,

BSdEng). ACGI. GlMechE

Editorial

JOHN OAVEY GRAHAM BOBSON. MAlOxon) MARTIN LEWIS MICHAEL SCARLETT WARREN ATLPORT

Midllnd Edltor

EOWARO EVES

Art Edltor A$istant Mamhri.r Oficc Spsial Contributors

HOWARD VYSE JOHN HAWKINS

HAROLD HOLT. AMIML AMAET

RONALD BARKER ROG ER HU NTINGT ON, ASAE ( Oetro it] EOIN YOUNG (Spon)

Managing Oir.cto. H. I{. PRIAULX, MAf

MAI]U FEATURES DAF 56 WITH BENAULT ENGINE GORDON HOBNEB_T UTOCAR ARTIST TEST: NSU Ro8O. WANKEL ENGINED CONVERTING AN 11OO TO SLEEP CHILDREN OVERLAND 18O0: ACROSS AUSTRALIA SHELBY COBRAS TORRIDON HIGHLANDS: SCOTTISH TOUR MONTE CARLO RALLY: FULL REPORT TEST: VW DORMOBILE

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REGUIAR ITEMS DISCONNECTED JOTTINGS

NEW PRODUCTS

THE SPORT

STRAIGHT FROM THE GRID

NEWS AND V]EWS

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

CORRESPONDENCE

NEW CAR PRICES Last pages before back cover OPEL RALLYE KAOETT test has been postponed.

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ITEXT WEEK'S ISSUE FEATURES_P 58 COVER: Fine night action shol of th6 Porscho 91 1S of Walter and Lier, the German rally votorans, who finished third in their class in last year's Monte Carlo Rally. Photographed by: Laurie Morton

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WHAT'S IN A NUMBER?

LOOK back through the years for a moment. Has there ever been a truly successful car with a nondescript, unappealing model name? Conversely, how rarely has a good car with a poor name risen above its contemporaries. We believe that the choice is of immense importance, that a good name may well offset some mediocrity in design, but that near-brilliance in the car may not be enough to live down completely a lack of imagination in its name. A few manufacturers are clearly well aware of this. But a few seem sadly ignorant of the harm that can be done to excellent cars simply on this score.

The height of achievement, of course, is when the name becomes a household word. Any vacuum flask is a Thermos; any paraffin-burning pressure stove a Primus. But this can sometimes become a two-edged swordas when the name becomes household in all but the intended respect. Ask a few non-motorists what "mini" conjures up you'll get "mini-skirt, mini-car (for the whole class), but increasingly less often its original connection.

Model names in cars can be classified according to the side of our characters they appeal to when we're choosing a car. To some people it is the snob-appeal, Debrett-level image that matters; for them there are Viscount, lmperial, Princess, Majestic, Sovereign, and even Sceptre. Prowess-at-arms appeals to a different aspect of our make-up, the cut-and-thrust image being pampered by Stiletto. Scimitar, Rapier. Sabre, Hunter, and maybe Victor and lnterceptor. Appeal-throughassociation comes with names of swift, aggressive, or even worthy working animals and birds-Hawk, Snipe, Moke, Gazelle, Chamois. Tiger. Kestrel. Husky. Beagle, and some more. And the comfort and unobtrusive silence of unquestioned quality are implicit in Silver Ghost, Phantom, Wraith. Dawn, Cloud and Shadow.

But where can one classify "11OO", "12AO", "180O", "19"-to what side of our natures do they appeal; what reflected glory is there to bask in? Coupled with the brand name of a single make-and preferably one known for performance-a number is acceptable; it indicates the engine capacity of the model. The hidden implications of the initials TC and Tl, the challenging and the more widely under$tood GT and E, give added tone and a touch of proy'nise to a number which many already have associated with a more "cooking" version. But to endow a variety of brand names with the same plain, unadorned numbers is to bestow on them the colourless anonymity of lan Fleming's Oo7-without the advantages of James Bond as a publicity agent.