Thread: Cropley na automobilima: radost 'uravnotežen' kontrole

Mnogi proizvođači naizgled ovih dana pogrešno dobivaju kontrolne utege, ali MG Motor nije jedan od njih Utorak - Vozeći se sinoć kući u dizelašu Autocar MG 6, radio isključen, samo uživajući u automobilu, zapitao sam se zašto se ovaj običan stroj, prenaglo odbačen od većine tržišta, činio tako prokleto ugodan za rad.
Vozili smo se običnim vanjskim londonskim prometom, masnim i utabanim vanjskim londonskim cestama, s MG-om koji se odvija na taj uredno žustar način na koji automobili uvijek rade kada ih volite i savršeno su upoznati s načinom na koji rade.
Ono što je 6 učinilo posebnim, odlučio sam, bili su njegovi slatko uravnoteženi kontrolni napori. Nijedan od vozača Big Three - upravljanje, mjenjač i odziv gasa - nije bio vodeći u klasi sam po sebi, ali kombinacija je bila uzorna. Balansiranje kontrolnih napora teško da je novo. Još od 1920-ih vladajuća mudrost bila je da što je automobil imao više performansi, to je vozač trebao više snage da ga ostvari.
To je uzgajalo poslijeratnu generaciju dlakavih sportskih automobila - Triumph TRs i Healeys - a čak i danas neki automobili, obično njemački, imaju kontrole koje se čine grubljim i manje dobro usklađenim nego što bi mogli biti, u potrazi za sportskošću. Lotuss Colin Chapman bio je među prvima koji je na koordiniran način poništio filozofiju snage brzine. Od početka su njegovi automobili bili lagani i jednostavni za rukovanje. Originalni Lotus Elans ovjes bio je smjelo podatan kada su drugi bili nepotrebno ukočeni.
No, prelazak na istinsku koordinaciju došao je 1970-ih kada je Chapman & Co pokrenuo Esprit ravnog ekrana i novu generaciju Elite. Kada ste umočili kvačilo imali ste prilično dobru ideju kakav je itd za pomicanje mjenjača. Posjedovao sam Excel, neuobičajeno sladak automobil na dugim putovanjima čak i protiv Porschea 944 koji je većina kupaca u klasi odabrala.
U modernim vremenima, svi proizvođači automobila prihvatili su ideju. Jac Nasser, Fordov najveći sir 90-ih, puno je govorio o rukovanju, ideji da bi otvaranje Fordovih vrata trebalo obećati ugodnu vožnju za nekoliko minuta.
Mnogi sada tvrde isto, ali najbolji se još uvijek ističu. Čest promašaj danas je s kvalitetom mjenjača. Čak i gotovo savršen Ford Fiesta ST ima surovu, prilično nezahvalnu akciju mjenjača i smanjeno navijanje kotača potrebno za najnoviju generaciju Peugeot 208-ih i 308-ih čini da se duga bacanja njihovih ručnih mjenjača čine izrazito čudnima.
U jednom trenutku, cestovni testeri puno su govorili o nacionalnim karakteristikama automobila (meki ovjesi i smiješne kontrole za francuske modele; vrhunski motori i brio za Talijane), ali te su stvari internalizirane izvan postojanja.
Za britanske automobile preživljava samo jedna važna dinamička karakteristika: pažljivo uravnoteženi kontrolni napori. Osjeti to u Astonu. Land RoverLotos Jaguar — ili MG6 – i budite ponosni.
Monday – Kolega je danas zvao da malo posluje. Vozi Smart Roadster iz 2002. godine - kao i Gordon Murray, kao i Jenson Button. Prema mom prijatelju, cijene su bile na podu, ali počinju se okretati prema gore dok ti čudni, podcijenjeni mali roadsteri sa stražnjim motorom privlače poglede ljudi koji poznaju svoje automobile.
The Button Tale (well known to existing owners) is that the star McLaren did have a Bugatti Veyron, but swapped it for the Smart after he became bolesno of the Bug maintenance bills. And simply because he liked the Smart.
You dont see many of the Roadsters about – with the help of the options list you could spend nearly 20k on one, so they tada nisam exactly walk out of the showroom — so you forget how cute and space efficient they are. But if my friends experience is anything to go by, they certainly get used. Hes done 90,000 miles without so much as a puff of oil dim.
The gearboxes seem pancir (I established this sebe, years ago, with a Coupe) and if you remember that the Roadster has a galvanised chassis and a plastic body you can see why this modern car can be expected to live a full-life-span, rather than rusting away before the first engine job, as did so many of the Spridgets and Triumph Spitfires that were the little German two-seaters ancestors 30 years ago.
Took a ni traga in Auto Trader and rapidly established that you can buy a Roadster for just over 2000, and find a healthy Brabus for 4500 or so. The worlds best late model Brabus will set you back 7000 – before the haggling starts and thats with just 22,000 miles on the clock. Before my pal had pogon out of our car park I was overtaken by that familiar moraš-have-one rush, especially after he told me various fixes had long since become available for the funny gearchange and the over-light power steering (you go for a manual).
Simply cant believe such prime little cars will stay so affordable much longer – in fact, Im having trouble understanding why Smart should have killed them in the first place.

Many manufacturers seemingly get control weights wrong these days, but MG Motor isn't one of them Tuesday – Driving home in the Autocar MG 6 diesel last night, radio off, just enjoying the car, I fell to wondering why this ordinary machine, too-hastily rejected by most of the market, seemed so damned pleasant to operate.
We were driving through ordinary outer London traffic, on greasy and rutted outer London roads, with the MG proceeding in that neatly brisk way cars always do when you like them, and are perfectly familiar with the way they work.
What made the 6 special, I decided, was its sweetly balanced control efforts. None of the drivers Big Three — steering, gearchange and throttle response — was class-leading in its own right, but the combo was exemplary. Balancing control efforts is hardly new. As long ago as the 1920s the ruling wisdom was that the more performance a car had, the more strength a driver needed to make it go.
That bred a postwar generation of hairy chested sports cars — Triumph TRs and Healeys — and even today some cars, usually German, have controls that seem coarser and less well matched than they could be, in pursuit of sportiness. Lotuss Colin Chapman was among the first to overturn the speed needs strength philosophy in a co-ordinated way. From the beginning his cars were light and easy to operate. The original Lotus Elans suspension was daringly supple when others were unnecessarily stiff.
But the move to true co-ordination came in the 1970s when Chapman & Co launched the flat-screen Esprit and the new generation Elite. When you dipped the clutch you had a pretty good idea what itd be like to move the gearlever. I owned an Excel, an uncommonly sweet car on long journeys even against the Porsche 944 most buyers in the class chose.
In modern times, all car-makers have embraced the idea. Jac Nasser, Fords biggest cheese of the 90s, talked a lot about the handshake, the notion that opening a Ford door should promise enjoyable driving in a couple of minutes time.
Many now make the same claim, but the best still stand out. The common miss nowadays is with gearchange quality. Even the near-perfect Ford Fiesta ST has a gritty, rather unsophisticated gearlever action, and the reduced wheel-winding needed by latest-generation Peugeot 208s and 308s makes the long throws of their manual gearboxes seem distinctly odd.
At one time, road testers talked a lot about the national characteristics of cars (soft suspensions and funny controls for French models; top-endy engines and brio for Italians) but that stuff has been internationised out of existence.
For British cars, only one important dynamic characteristic survives: carefully balanced control efforts. Feel it in an Aston, Land Rover, Lotus, Jaguar — or MG6 — and be proud.
Monday – A colleague called today to do a bit of business. Drives a 2002 Smart Roadster – as does Gordon Murray, as does Jenson Button. According to my friend, prices have been on the floor but are starting to turn upwards as these quirky, underpriced little rear-engined roadsters catch the eye of people who know their cars.
The Button Tale (well known to existing owners) is that the McLaren star did have a Bugatti Veyron, but swapped it for the Smart after he became sick of the Bug maintenance bills. And because he simply liked the Smart.
You dont see many of the Roadsters about – with the help of the options list you could spend nearly 20k on one, so they didnt exactly walk out of the showroom — so you forget how cute and space efficient they are. But if my friends experience is anything to go by, they certainly get used. Hes done 90,000 miles without so much as a puff of oil smoke.
The gearboxes seem bulletproof (I established this myself, years ago, with a Coupe) and if you remember that the Roadster has a galvanised chassis and a plastic body you can see why this modern car can be expected to live a full-life span, rather than rusting away before the first engine job, as did so many of the Spridgets and Triumph Spitfires that were the little German two-seaters ancestors 30 years ago.
Took a peep in Auto Trader and rapidly established that you can buy a Roadster for just over 2000, and find a healthy Brabus for 4500 or so. The worlds best late model Brabus will set you back 7000 – before the haggling starts – and thats with just 22,000 miles on the clock. Before my pal had driven out of our car park I was overtaken by that familiar gotta-have-one rush, especially after he told me various fixes had long since become available for the funny gearchange and the over-light power steering (you go for a manual).
Simply cant believe such prime little cars will stay so affordable much longer – in fact, Im having trouble understanding why Smart should have killed them in the first place.