A decrepit car is a car that is often old and damaged and is in a barely functional state. There are many slang terms used to describe such cars, such as beater, clunker, chod, flivver, hooptie/hoopty, jalopy, old banger (most commonly used in the UK), but the most popular being junk car.
Age, neglect, and damage tend to increase the expense of maintaining a vehicle. The vehicle may reach a point where this expense would be considered to outweigh the value of keeping it. Such vehicles are generally stripped for parts or abandoned. However, abandoning a vehicle on the road as a parked car is illegal in many jurisdictions and if a vehicle remains parked, the local authority commonly tows it to the scrapyard. [1] [2] Some owners choose to keep the vehicle. These old, neglected, and oftentimes barely functional cars have been used not only for transport, but also as racing vehicles. Their use has earned them a place in popular culture.
During the 1930s, the Great Depression left many Americans struggling financially, making new vehicles unattainable for most. In response, the market for used cars grew rapidly, with decrepit vehicles becoming a popular choice for those on a budget. Cheap dealers would often acquire these cars for very little money, make cosmetic adjustments, and sell them for a higher price, profiting from the demand for affordable transportation. The popularity of these cars extended beyond simple transportation, with early hot rodders using them as a base for building racers. In fact, the emergence of stock car racing can be traced back to these early days, when banger racing and jalopy racing were popular terms in the UK and US, respectively.
A jalopy was an old-style class of stock car racing in America, often raced on dirt ovals. [3] It was originally a beginner class behind midgets, but vehicles became more expensive with time. [3] Jalopy races began in the 1930s and ended in the 1960s. [4] The race car needed to be from before around 1941. [3] Notable racers include Parnelli Jones. [4] In the 1960s, the Ministry Of Transport Test (MOT) was introduced, in an effort to increase road safety. Many decrepit cars that were missing important parts such as functioning brakes and lights failed the MOT and were scrapped, ending the age of the decrepit car in England.
Numerous slang terms are used to describe such cars, which vary by country and region, including hooptie/hoopty, jalopy, shed, clunker, lemon, banger, bomb, beater, bunky, flivver, old bomb, rust bucket, voodoo, wreck, heap, bucket, paddock basher, paddock bomb, death trap, disaster on wheels, rattletrap, or shitbox.
In Australian slang, the terms rust bucket, bunky, old bomb, paddock basher or bomb are used to refer to old, rusty and/or rundown cars. [5] The term 'paddock bomb' or 'paddock basher' often refers specifically to a car no longer fit to drive on public roads, but driven on private property for recreation or sport. Many rural children learn to drive in an unregulated way in a paddock bomb.
The term shitbox may refer to an unprepossessing but probably roadworthy vehicle, celebrated in the biannual (autumn and spring) Shitbox Rally, an Australian fundraiser for cancer charities. [6]
In British slang, the terms rust bucket or simply bucket , and shed are used to refer to decrepit cars but the favoured term is old banger, often shortened to banger . The origin refers to the older poorly maintained vehicles' tendency to back-fire.[ citation needed ].
In North American slang, jalopy , clunker , heap, rust bucket, bucket of bolts, and simply bucket are also used. So too are beater —a term especially favored in Canada—and the American urban hooptie , which gained some popularity from the humorous song "My Hooptie" by Sir Mix-a-Lot.
The word jalopy was once common but is now somewhat archaic. Jalopy seems to have replaced flivver , which in the early decades of the 20th century also simply meant "a failure". [7] Other early terms for a wreck of a car included heap, tin lizzy (1915) and crate (1927), which probably derived from the WWI pilots' slang for an old, slow and unreliable aeroplane. In the latter half of the 20th century more coarse terms became popular, such as "shitbox".
The origin of jalopy is unknown, but the earliest written use that has been found was in 1924. [8] It is possible that the longshoremen in New Orleans referred to the scrapped autos destined for scrapyards in Jalapa, Mexico, according to this destination, in which they pronounced the letter J as in English. [8] Another possible origin is the French "chaloupe," motorboat, perhaps imitating the sound an old car would make. [9]
A 1929, definition of jalopy reads as follows: "a cheap make of automobile; an automobile fit only for junking". [10] The definition has stayed the same, but it took a while for the spelling to standardize. Among the variants have been jallopy, jaloppy, jollopy, jaloopy, jalupie, julappi, jalapa and jaloppie. John Steinbeck spelled it gillopy in In Dubious Battle (1936). [11] The term was used extensively in the book On the Road by Jack Kerouac, first published in 1957, although written from 1947.
The Georgia Institute of Technology, an engineering school in Atlanta, takes pride in the practice of engineering students maintaining antique cars, and the school maintains the Ramblin' Wreck, a popular mascot of the school. Their college radio station, WREK, is also named after the iconic car.
The term was also used throughout the history of Archie Comics, specifically referring to Archie Andrews' red, open-top antique car "Ol' Betsy".
In 2009, the term "clunker" was heavily used in reference to the Car Allowance Rebate System in the United States, which was also known as the "Cash for Clunkers Program".
Decrepit cars used on Indian reservations in the United States and Indian reserves in Canada are often referred to by their owners as reservation cars or rez runners for short. [12] The culture of the rez car was explored in the documentary film Reel Injun , [13] and also figured briefly in the feature film Smoke Signals . Keith Secola (Ojibwa) recorded the song "NDN KARS" describing such a vehicle in 1987. Originally appearing as a cassette release, it was used in the Native critically acclaimed film Dance Me Outside . It is on his album Circle (AKINA Records, 1992). [14] Activist Russell Means's humorous poem "Indian Cars Go Far" (1993) also describes the "Indian car" as a decrepit vehicle. [15]
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines.
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham.
Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.
Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars.
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster." However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles. Most often they are individually designed and constructed using components from many makes of old or new cars, and are most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Many are intended for exhibition rather than for racing or everyday driving.
A roadster is an open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially an American term for a two-seat car with no weather protection, its usage has spread internationally and has evolved to include two-seat convertibles.
There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made.
A portable or mobile toilet is any type of toilet that can be moved around, some by one person, some by mechanical equipment such as a truck and crane. Most types do not require any pre-existing services or infrastructure, such as sewerage, and are completely self-contained. The portable toilet is used in a variety of situations, for example in urban slums of developing countries, at festivals, for camping, on boats, on construction sites, and at film locations and large outdoor gatherings where there are no other facilities. Most portable toilets are unisex single units with privacy ensured by a simple lock on the door. Some portable toilets are small molded plastic or fiberglass portable rooms with a lockable door and a receptacle to catch the human excreta in a container.
Car tuning is the modification of a car to optimise it for a different set of performance requirements from those it was originally designed to meet. Most commonly this is higher engine performance and dynamic handling characteristics but cars may also be altered to provide better fuel economy, or smoother response. The goal when tuning is the improvement of a vehicle's overall performance in response to the user's needs. Often, tuning is done at the expense of emissions performance, component reliability and occupant comfort.
Banger racing is a tarmac, dirt, shale and chalk track type of motorsport event popular in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Vehicles are raced against one another, with the winner being the first to the checkered flag after a set number of laps. Contact to damage an opponent's car is permitted and encouraged within the formula, with cars progressively becoming more damaged throughout an event. Races are held at an oval or tri-oval circuits that are up to 1⁄4 mile long; however, on certain occasions, races are held in a figure of eight configurations. Banger racing is often confused with stock car racing, although there are differences between the two, despite often racing at the same tracks.
Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another. The last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory. Demolition derbies originated in the United States and quickly spread to other Western nations. For example, Australia's first demolition derby took place in January 1963. In the UK and parts of Europe, demolition derbies are often held at the end of a full day of banger racing.
A rat rod, as usually known today, is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. These parts can include non-automotive items that have been repurposed, such as a rifle used as a gear shifter, wrenches as door handles, or hand saws as sun visors. Whether or not so appointed, the rat rod uniquely conveys its builder’s imagination.
A bucket seat is a car seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from a flat bench seat designed to fit multiple people. In its simplest form, it contours somewhat to the human body, but may have a deep seat and exaggerated sides that partially enclose and support the body in high-performance automobiles.
In American English, a lemon is a vehicle that turns out to have several manufacturing issues affecting its safety, value or utility. Any vehicle with such severe issues may be termed a lemon, and by extension, the term may include any product with flaws too great or severe to serve its purpose.
Conservation and restoration of road vehicles is the process of restoring a vehicle back to its original working condition. Vehicles, whether partially scrapped or completely totaled, are typically restored to maintain their roadworthiness or to preserve those with antique status for use as showpieces.
Vehicle recycling or automobile scrapping is the dismantling of vehicles for spare parts. At the end of their useful life, vehicles have value as a source of spare parts and this has created a vehicle dismantling industry. The industry has various names for its business outlets including wrecking yard, auto dismantling yard, car spare parts supplier, and recently, auto or vehicle recycling. Vehicle recycling has always occurred to some degree but in recent years manufacturers have become involved in the process. A car crusher is often used to reduce the size of scrapped vehicles for simplified transportation to a steel mill.
A scrappage program is a government incentive program to promote the replacement of old vehicles with modern vehicles. Scrappage programs generally have the dual aim of stimulating the automobile industry and removing inefficient, more polluting vehicles from the road. Many European countries introduced large-scale scrappage programs as an economic stimulus to increase market demand in the industrial sector during the global recession that began in 2008.
The Flivver Lo-V was a New York City Subway car type built in 1915 by the Pullman Company for the IRT and its successors, which included the New York City Board of Transportation and the New York City Transit Authority. The name Flivver originates from a slang term of the same name used during the early part of the 20th century to refer to any small car that gave a rough ride.
Banger or Bangers may refer to:
Milo tin is a Malaysian pejorative used to describe unsafe or cheaply made vehicles. It is comparable to the slang term, 'deathtrap'.