Triumph TR7 - Dope

In past blogs we've discussed that the reason that we find things visually attractive or stimulating is because when we see something that we like, it triggers the pleasure or reward centers of our brains. Same goes for seeing something you haven't seen in a while. A long while for me, actually with regards to what I guesstimate to be a 1979 Triumph TR7 "drop head" coupe. "Drop head", incidentally, is what our friends across the pond refer to as a convertible. 

It's ironic that I found the TR7 alluring when I was a kid; after all, I am and always have been abhorrent to change. Change meaning that the all new for 1975 TR7 replaced an apple of my eye, the mighty Triumph TR6. Triumph continued to produce the spectacular but old school Spitfire along side the TR7 so, perhaps that assuaged my verklempt that the TR6 was no more.

Anyway, I don't know when it was that I first saw a TR7 but it knocked me sideways. What Triumph marketed as, "The Shape of Things To Come" dumped a ton of my dope for me. What a fantastic looking little car. 

I being far too young to drive when these first came out and there being far too few of them ever exported to this country to even think about purchasing when I came of age, I've never, sadly, had the opportunity to drive one. However, based on road test reviews at the time time and knowing now what the subtle language that described how miserable a car they were, it would probably be best that I never get behind the wheel of one. Remember what we've said in the past about meeting your idols. Best you don't. 

The best that was said for the TR7 years ago was that they were an improvement, driving wise, over the TR6. The TR7 apparently as significant improvement over its predecessor as say, the 1984 Corvette was over what it replaced. 

Then we get to the subject of build quality. Legend has it, there was none. What with the falling apart of Triumph's parent company British Leyland and myriad strikes and morale problems on assembly lines, the Triumph TR7 quickly developed a notorious reputation. A reputation for unreliability that was so bad that no matter how many improvements were made to the car over the years, the dye was cast. The new Triumph was a loser. 

The joke with our lovely but fairly worn little subject here is that I found it in the parking lot of a mechanic's garage. I can only wonder what horribly expensive problem it may have. Cooling system shot? Tranmission locked up? Electrical gremlins? What could it be? Some things, like my dopamine dumping appreciation of the design of this car, never change.