My 1962 Triumph TR4

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Some cars I have had have been without a doubt either male or female. And now, for those dirty minded among you, it didn’t matter whether the car had a stick shift or not. Basically, by the way the car behaved, how it treated you, and how much attention it required you could figure out whether it was a lady or a gent.

Case in point, the 2002 MINI Cooper S I had was most certainly male. While it was one of the best cars I have ever had and I loved it dearly, it did have a decidedly brutish quality about it. From the bulldog cut of its jaw to the squat handling around corners, it was simply male.

The 1975 BMW 2002 I drove for a while was without a doubt female. In fact, she became the first car I or anyone in my family has ever had that got a name. Her name was Roxy – due to the surfing apparel sticker on her window when I bought her. Beyond that though, she was light on her wheels, dainty in the way she handled, and quite pleasing to look at. Most certainly feminine.

That leaves me with a quandary; is a TR4 male or female? Now a lot will depend on the specific car. One example of a model may feel totally different from another due to condition, suspension, tuning, etc… But in general, when they all left the factory, they were similar enough to be of one gender. If we are to believe the period ad to the right, we would assume the cars are probably male. And on the prowl.

So that is my inane thought process for the evening, and I would like your input. Please let me know what you think a TR4 is and why. And while you are at it, what about the rest of your cars? Any others that stand out in terms of name or gender?

A brochure for the “New TR4″ that I found on-line. Given that it is being hailed as “new”, I would guess this is from 1961.
TR4 Brochure

I enjoy these, so I will keep posting them as I find them. Just a few more ads to show how the TR4 was put forward by Triumph in the 1960s.  Always interesting to try to glimpse a contemporary view of the cars instead of a view shaded by history and nostalgia.

Found a couple of period magazine ads online that I thought were pretty cool.  Can’t wait to head to our Friends of the Library book sale in hopes of actually finding some of these in person.