Question of the Week

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our victor will accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store and the acclaim of their peers.

Our question this week: What’s your favorite piece of automaker lore?

Thanks to everyone who wrote in! We’re leaning heavily on the People’s Choice, and this week’s winning nomination is a tale of a cash grab, in the literal sense. We’re handing the prize to BaT member @angushopper, who submitted the most-liked comment this week for the Carroll Shelby $100 Challenge:

“The Carroll Shelby $100 Challenge:
To demonstrate the raw power of his 427 Cobra, Shelby would tape a $100 bill to the dashboard and if a passenger could reach out and grab it while he launched the car under full acceleration the passenger could keep the money.
Allegedly no one was ever able to grab the bill.
I have no idea of the veracity of this story but have heard it most of my life.”

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angushopper commented on Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite Piece of Automaker Lore?—WINNER’S UPDATE

Our compatriots over at Car and Driver tested a 427 Cobra in their November 1965 issue and noted that “[it] does accelerate and decelerate at unbelievable rates, as the figures should imply.” We’ll leave it at that. Either way, it’s a great piece of automotive lore.

Congratulations, angushopper! Be sure to check your email to claim the prize. 

Now, let’s take a look at some other popular nominations from this week’s discussion thread:

“Enzo’s dismissal of Ford during the failed merger, and noting that they made ugly little cars in an ugly factory lit a fire that we still benefit from today. The GT40 is one of my favorite cars to hear, and see in motion and at a standstill.
P.S. – I wonder what he would think of the ugly little Luce ;)”

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overlandish commented on Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite Piece of Automaker Lore?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our victor will accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store and the acclaim of their peers.

Our question this week: What’s a great car that would’ve been better with AWD?

We read through the 100-plus comment thread, where many of you made the case for some great cars. This week we’re choosing the comment that most stood out to us (Editorial Privilege!) and awarding the prize to BaT member @StudebakersandSaabs, who nominated the Volkswagen Corrado SLC:

“The Volkswagen Corrado, especially the SLC, would have been improved with AWD.
Virtually all the parts existed in VW parts bin to do it, it’d be a mashup of Rallye Golf and Syncro Passat to complete the driveline, but everything did exist to make that a reality.
It’s not a COMMON swap, but a few Syncro Corrados have been made by enthusiasts over the years, and it’s a pretty OE-looking conversion.”

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StudebakersandSaabs commented on Question of the Week: What’s a Great Car That Would’ve Been Better with AWD?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

Happy Monday! We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our victor will accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store and the acclaim of their peers.

Your nominations certainly ran the gamut, and many of you even painted the perfect picture for your ideal spin. We absolutely loved it. Our favorite comment comes from BaT member @osprey, who went into the thick of it for the perfect leaf-peeping adventure:

Welcome to the BaT Question of the Week! For those unfamiliar, here are the rules: we ask an automotive-themed question, and the author of our favorite answer from the comments is awarded a $25 credit to the BaT Gear Store.
This week, we’re asking: What’s an unremarkable car or truck you now find remarkable?

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will receive their laurels in the form of a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.

This week, we asked: Which mini truck model would you bring back?

We’ve gathered up your responses and presented an amicus brief including your pleas for small, single-cab pickups, but these fell on deaf ears in this week’s Supreme Court hearings. Perhaps we’ll settle for double-cabs, but we’ll leave that decision to the automakers—should they ever happen to read this discussion thread in its entirety. The Datsun 620 was the most mentioned nomination, and based on that reasoning, will be dubbed this week’s winner! BaT member @da-cat was the first to it:

“Datsun Pick Up!
Early 1970’s was my favorite.
Larger cab, with small extra side glass was a plus.
🙂
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-datsun-620-pickup-9/“

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da-cat commented on Question of the Week: Which Mini Truck Model Would You Bring Back?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will receive their laurels in the form of a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.

This week, we asked: What’s your favorite “hidden gem” auto museum?

Thanks to everyone who wrote in! While the Revs Institute received the most love this week, it’s a pretty sophisticated and well-known operation—a gem, to be sure, but not so hidden. This week, we’re exercising our Editorial Privilege to pick something a little further from the beaten path. Our prize today goes to BaT member @SFM1966, who nominated the Hajek Motorsports Museum in Ames, Oklahoma:

“Hajek Motorsports Museum in Ames, OK is the definition of a hidden gem for a Ford fan.”

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SFM1966 commented on Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite “Hidden Gem” Auto Museum?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will receive their laurels in the form of a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.

This week, we asked: What’s the best first car ever built by an automaker?

Thanks to everyone who threw their suggestions into the ring! This week, the Volkswagen Beetle and the Tesla Roadster were tied in nominations, and instead of turning to the thumbs, we’re exercising our Editorial Privilege to break the tie by picking the nomination that intrigued us most—the Tesla Roadster! BaT member @JPSO86 was the first to mention it: 

“You could make a strong argument for the Tesla Roadster.
It got the ball rolling on electric vehicles again and launched Elon’s wealth making career”

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JPSO86 commented on Question of the Week: What’s the Best First Car Ever Built By an Automaker?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will receive their laurels in the form of a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.

This week, we asked: What’s your ultimate Goodwood ride?

Thanks to everyone who weighed in! We put on our best tweed newsboy cap, tucked in our ascot, and went to work reading your comments. In the end, Duncan Pitway’s “Beast of Turin” stole the show this week, which makes @70_duster the winning commenter:

“As exciting as the new stuff is, my heart always goes to something vintage. The coolest in my opinion would be the 28 Litre Fiat S76.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okbtz56pHtk“

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70_duster commented on Question of the Week: What’s Your Ultimate Goodwood Ride?—WINNER’S UPDATE

WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our victor will accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store and the acclaim of their peers.

Our question this week: What car would you choose for a T-top conversion?

Thanks to everyone who chimed in! It was quite the open discussion this week, but in the end, one nomination stood out from the rest—the Aston Martin DB7! BaT member @bodhi1601 was the first to it, but he already won a QotW earlier this year, and we want to spread the love around. So we’re awarding the prize to the runner-up this week—congratulations, @EBecker! Check your email to claim the prize. 

“Aston Martin Db7 – Nice choice. Really any sport sedan with beautiful lines that you don’t want to ruin with a soft top would benefit from a t-top. Ferrari 400i, 60’s Mustang, Maserati BiTurbo all come to mind. But this week I’ll go along with the Db7.”

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EBecker commented on Question of the Week: What Car Would You Choose for a T-top Conversion?—WINNER’S UPDATE