PROJECT SHOESTRING PART 2
There is no great suspense involved in telling you what we finally bought for Project Shoestring because we let that slip last issue. Yes, it is a Triumph Acclaim, the car that started British Leyland’s fruitful cooperation with Honda. As things turned out, the Acclaim also brought the production of Triumph cars to a close in 1984, the subsequent Anglo-Japanese models being badged as Rovers. On the bright side, it also brought volume sales and product pride to BL – the Acclaim recorded the fewest warranty claims in the company’s history, and despite being a niche model, it muscled its way into Britain’s top ten best sellers list during its short production run from 1981-1984.
Sadly, it also muscled its way to the top of the list of Triumphs that marque enthusiasts loved to hate, dislodging the TR7 from that unenviable position. They lambasted it for any number of reasons – for being a Japanese car and not a proper Triumph, for not being a sports car, for being boring, for not breaking down at the side of the road once a week... OK, I made that last one up, but it is probably not quite as far from the truth as you might think.
In the context of the day, you can understand
