Lowest of the low !

[John Boggis]

OK...who has the lowest original mileage on their Alpine in the U.S. ...Obviously the car would have to have It's original engine.

I was told by a classic car dealer that an Alpine exists in London With zero miles on it .He said the car had been stored away from new .

 

[Bill Blue]

What is "original" mileage?

Bill

 

[Nickodell]

I guess it's different from unoriginal mileage.

It's the same gobblegook as "One original owner." If he's the only owner, then he is the original one, and the word is redundant. Both sound like a George Carlin routine, along with "We're ready to preboard passengers with special needs" (how do you "pre-board" something?) Then there's "PIN number" (since the "N" means number, "PIN number" means, if anything, "Personal identification number number." Ditto "VIN number."

Another one that sets my teeth on edge: "He spoke to the gathering from behind the podium." Since a podium is something you stand on (Greek: pod- foot), not behind, the speaker was apparently hiding from his audience. Then there's "He waited for awhile." Awhile doesn't mean the same as "a while," any more than "ahead" means the same as "a head" or "aboard" means the same as "a board." Awhile means "for a time," so the sentence reads "He waited for for a time."

Oh, don't get me started.

 

[Bill Blue]

Nick, the secondary meaning of podium is lectern, a device to hold a speakers book. But "speaking from behind the podium (lectern)", is redundant. Would you expect a person to speak from in front of the device that holds his book? That would place his back to the audience.

But back to cars.

I am very ambivalent about old cars that have little mileage on them. Wonderful that they exist, but such a waste! Here is something that was meant to be driven and enjoyed, but has spent its life in a garage. I suppose one could forward the argument that it may have given its owners vast enjoyment by sitting in the garage. Might be, but I would not be one them.

Bill

 

[Series3Scott]

John - to answer your question, at 8,000 original miles yours is the lowest of which I'm aware. Ian Spencer once had a 14,000 original mile Series II, and that was one SWEET car.

Never heard of one with zero miles (or even "delivery" miles), but would certainly love to see pictures of it.

 

[Nickodell]

Nick, the secondary meaning of podium is lectern, a device to hold a speakers book.Bill

True, but just one more example of how the constant misuse of a word becomes, in time, accepted, irrespective of its origin, roots and original meaning. Other examples are the use of the past participle instead of the past perfect tense: e.g. The ship sunk. He rung the bell. I drunk it. He sung his song. Give it time and I begun my trip will be OK. Well, if not OK, at least accepted.

Once a week I teach a volunteer TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) class, mainly to Hispanic men* working in the local mushroom industry (Chester County, PA., is the "Mushroom Capital" of the country), with a few Asians. My Spanish is minimal, and knowledge of Asian languages almost zero, but these are Total Immersion classes; they speak English and only English from the get go.

Some of the more advanced ones often come to me with examples of illiteracies perpetrated by local newspaper writers, and even occasionally tell me of something a TV newsreader or announcer said, that contradict what I am telling them. E.g. Lay is now almost unversally used in place of lie: e.g. "He was laying there," which makes me want to scream "what was he laying? Bricks? Railroad track? Eggs?"

It's tough to fight against this. I'm a lone voice, while "if I read it in the newpaper or saw it on TV it must be correct."

Here's one more example of something misused until the error is now universally accepted. The word caliber originally meant, not the diameter, but the length of a gun's barrel expressed as multiples of its bore to the nearest whole number. E.g. a cannon firing a 10" dia. ball and with a barrel length of 7' would have a caliber of 8. This was an important part of a warship's specification, as it told not only the weight of the shot the cannon fired, but also the range it could fire it. A typical spec. would be "A broadside of 40 cannon firing 20 lb shot, of a caliber 8." (There were other guns - culverins, bombards, carronades, bow chasers, etc. - but the heavy, long-range cannons were the important measure of a ship's fighting ability).

Today, of course, the original meaning has been completely lost, and now refers to the diameter of the bore. I wonder why and how. If ".5 caliber machine gun" retained its original meaning, it would have a barrel length of one quarter of an inch.

*Hispanic men rarely bring their wives or children. Asians often do.

 

[Duke]

Never heard of one with zero miles (or even "delivery" miles), but would certainly love to see pictures of it.

I recall a certain 1957 Plymouth Belvedere with 0 miles that did not look so good.

 

[64beam]

I am very ambivalent about old cars that have little mileage on them. Wonderful that they exist, but such a waste! Here is something that was meant to be driven and enjoyed, but has spent its life in a garage. I suppose one could forward the argument that it may have given its owners vast enjoyment by sitting in the garage. Might be, but I would not be one them.

Bill

I think it was the last of the 2006 or so Holden (GM)VZ Monaros (GTO) here in Australia that went to auction and was sold for I think 180 to 190,000 aussie dollars. I think it was a collector who put it straight into one of those car bubbles without driving it. I am by no means a Holden fan, but what a waste.

 

[elkslayer]

My avitar had 14 miles when taken,in 1967 when bought new in Victorville Calif

George.

 

[husky drvr]

Here's one more example of something misused until the error is now universally accepted. The word caliber originally meant, not the diameter, but the length of a gun's barrel expressed as multiples of its bore to the nearest whole number. E.g. a cannon firing a 10" dia. ball and with a barrel length of 7' would have a caliber of 8. This was an important part of a warship's specification, as it told not only the weight of the shot the cannon fired, but also the range it could fire it. A typical spec. would be "A broadside of 40 cannon firing 20 lb shot, of a caliber 8." (There were other guns - culverins, bombards, carronades, bow chasers, etc. - but the heavy, long-range cannons were the important measure of a ship's fighting ability).

Today, of course, the original meaning has been completely lost, and now refers to the diameter of the bore. I wonder why and how. If ".5 caliber machine gun" retained its original meaning, it would have a barrel length of one quarter of an inch.

*Hispanic men rarely bring their wives or children. Asians often do.

Nick,

I believe the Navy still uses caliber by your definition ( for black powder weapons ).

From Wikipedia:

The Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun is a US naval gun.

The gun is installed into Single Purpose [1] and Dual Purpose mounts used primarily by the U.S. Navy. On these 5" mounts, Single Purpose (SP) means that the mount is limited to 35° elevation,[2] and is designed to fire at surface targets only, while Dual Purpose (DP) means that it is designed to be effective against both surface and aircraft targets because it can elevate to 85°. The 38 caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5"/51 low-angle gun and 5"/25 anti-aircraft gun.

Among naval historians, the 5"/38 gun is considered the best intermediate-caliber[3], dual purpose naval gun of World War II [4]. The comparatively high rate of fire for a gun of its calibre earned it an enviable reputation, particularly as an antiaircraft weapon, in which role it was commonly employed by US Navy vessels. Base ring mounts with integral hoists had a nominal rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per barrel; however, with a well-trained crew, 22 rounds per minute per barrel was possible for short periods. [4] On pedestal and other mounts lacking integral hoists, 12 to 15 rounds per minute was the rate of fire. [5]

The 5"/38 cal gun was mounted on a very large number of U.S. Navy ships in the World War II era. It has disappeared from active U.S. Navy service, but it is still on mothballed ships of the United States Navy reserve fleets. It is also used by a number of nations who bought or were given U.S. Navy surplus ships. Millions of rounds of ammunition were produced for these guns, with over 720,000 rounds still remaining in Navy storage depots in the mid-1980s because of the large number of Reserve Fleet ships with 5"/38 cal guns on board.

 

[finally]

Nick - I always find your posts quite amusing!

But we all must remember that the TRUE origin of the words we use on a daily basis are NOT English by any sense. It becomes a question of time horizon that we wish to view. English happens to be within the Germanic branch of just one of many branches within the Indo-European languages according to some. Otherwise known as Anlgo-Frisian language by others. Anyways starting with an old version of German, influenced by French, Danish, Norse, etc, etc.

From what vantage point does the language become correct or incorrect??? It all depends on your perspective. Some might say that the original old German is the correct one and that British English is distorted as well. Living languages that do change over time to adjust to the needs of the population and integrating the emotions and personalities of those that speak it will last over time and become richer and more vibrant!

With that said, American English happens to be one of the most distorted and tough languages to learn! Trust me, I'm fluent in a couple and have also had my share in teaching this crazy collection of words, emotions, and concepts.

Keep in mind, this post is in fun and anyone who wishes to discuss linguistics further should jump to another forum. Now let's focus on the Sunbeams!!

True, but just one more example of how the constant misuse of a word becomes, in time, accepted, irrespective of its origin, roots and original meaning. Other examples are the use of the past participle instead of the past perfect tense: e.g. The ship sunk. He rung the bell. I drunk it. He sung his song. Give it time and I begun my trip will be OK. Well, if not OK, at least accepted.

Once a week I teach a volunteer TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) class, mainly to Hispanic men* working in the local mushroom industry (Chester County, PA., is the "Mushroom Capital" of the country), with a few Asians. My Spanish is minimal, and knowledge of Asian languages almost zero, but these are Total Immersion classes; they speak English and only English from the get go.

 

[finally]

Oh hey, if anyone is interested in truly funny bastardization of the English language take a look at this!!! Mainly examples from Asia, since that is where most of my work experience is from.

http://www.engrish.com/

I couldn't resist. Now back to the Sunbeams!

I have no idea on the original miles for my Series II but would be interested in low mileage examples to see an unaltered car, as most appear to be altered at some time by someone, and just for kicks.

Jared

 

[Bill Blue]

English a tough language? I should say so! I would to hate to have to learn it, has no hard and fast rules. For every rule there seems to be about as many exceptions as examples. I've never been able to figure it out. Especially spelling and pronunciation.

While I find humor in some attempts at using this language, mostly I am in sympathy with the user. Must be my Democrat nature.

Now, once more, back to cars.

Bill

 

[V_Mad]

What is "original" mileage?

Bill

I think the use of original in this context does have a purpose. It could be used to mean a genuine vehicle mileage using the original odometer, rather than an indicated mileage which is not correct for the said vehicle.

I am sure there are plenty of cars showing a low mileage due to replacement speedometers (that may have been round the clock even).

 

[Bill Blue]

I think the use of original in this context does have a purpose. It could be used to mean a genuine vehicle mileage using the original odometer, rather than an indicated mileage which is not correct for the said vehicle.

I am sure there are plenty of cars showing a low mileage due to replacement speedometers (that may have been round the clock even).

Chris, if you are willing to accept the reading from an "original" VDO speedo (and you should, as it is the only VDO ever used in this car), I have an Alpine with only 315 miles!

In reality, I am somewhat in awe of the low mileage Alpines. I know I could never have a car for any length of time and have less than 10 K on it. I put that many miles on a car in one summer. The 315 miles showing on my car is less than I have put on it since the rebuild. When I took it to the Invasion, I had not calibrated the speedo, it was showing about 1% of the actual miles. Most of the 315 miles are trips to town or just messing around, debugging the car.

Bill

 

[Nickodell]

Hi, Don. I found that fascinating. Thanks.

I seem to remember a millionaire somewhere in the US (probably California) who was so enraptured with the original Jaguar E-Type that he bought a dozen or so when they first appeared, so that he would always have a very low (original ) mileage one many decades after they ceased production.

One bit of engrish - hey, it's about a car!! - we experienced with my wife's first Nissan, back in the early 80s. The beautifully produced and illustrated Owner's Handbook also contained some gems. The three that I remember were:

Remove battry if useless for longtime;

If alternater not working well, probably has bad stones [I think they meant transistors];

And the all-time favorite:

To change wheel; first use tool to remove hubcap, carefully damaging the paintwork.

 

[Series3Scott]

As a group we never fail to hijack a thread! (I'm guilty of it too from time to time).

However, back to the ORIGINAL THREAD, Steve Silverstein reminded me that his all-original race car has less than 5,000 miles on it. Does that count? Maybe we need to make the distinction between a "road" car and a race car?


p.s. Speaking of English, there's a great series on the History International channel about the History of English, tracing it from its Anglo-Saxon roots to the birth of America. Very interesting if you can catch it on the tube.

 

[Nickodell]

Scott: When I was in England 5 or so years ago they had a program on the BBC about the development of the American accent, and came to the surprising conclusion that it is British English that has changed, not American! In other words, the more "neutral," American accents, such as those from the Midwest, are very much like those spoken by early settlers from England.

They played some old (i.e. 19th Century) wax cylinder recordings, first of some people from the West of England (Devon, Cornwall) who sounded very much like people from the American Midwest. Most surprising of all was a faint, scratchy 1890 recording of Prime Minister William Gladstone, who also could have passed as someone from Illinois.

Makes you think.

 

[Series3Scott]

Yes, they did mention this in the series; that the original English settlers along the east coast of the U.S. clung hard to "proper" English, eventually issuing the New England primer which was the standard for all school children for the next 200 years. As British English continued to evolve, American English stayed true to its 1600 era origins until the opening of the American West in the middle 1800's. Then we apparently just gave up and starting adopting words from the American Indian, gold miners, and river boat gamblers.
One wag in America in the early 1800's suggested we return to England and teach those British PROPER English! (see, I was paying attention)

Scott: When I was in England 5 or so years ago they had a program on the BBC about the development of the American accent, and came to the surprising conclusion that it is British English that has changed, not American! In other words, the more "neutral," American accents, such as those from the Midwest, are very much like those spoken by early settlers from England.

They played some old (i.e. 19th Century) wax cylinder recordings, first of some people from the West of England (Devon, Cornwall) who sounded very much like people from the American Midwest. Most surprising of all was a faint, scratchy 1890 recording of Prime Minister William Gladstone, who also could have passed as someone from Illinois.

Makes you think.

 

[Tom H]

Whenever I read about least used, most pristine, most original, "collectible", I am reminded of what I think is the nadir (though some would say zenith) of pristine "collectibles". There is (or at least was) a Lionel pre-war model of a Hudson Steam locomotive on display in the National Toy Train Museum near Strasburg, PA. I'll bet Nick has been there!
http://www.nttmuseum.org/exhibits/index.htm

I think almost everyone knows that having the original box enhances the value of a toy train. But this one was still UNOPENED. Can't get any more "original" than that! They even had an x-ray picture to prove there was actually a locomotive in the box. OK, so it is the most "original" one around. But I think if you can't even SEE it, it kinda loses it's true "value".

A low mileage Alpine is a treasure. But I had more fun putting 4000 miles on mine in 2005, than mostly looking at it for 17 years after I restored it in 1988. Must be a balance there somewhere! I think I am impressed with an Alpine with 5000 or 8000 miles. As my 4 yr old grandson would say - Mint!"

Tom