[alfa] nearsided shooting brakes and such

[C M Smith <cmsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Enjoyable to banter about such things. I observe that Estate car refers as 
much to 2 door as to four door vehicles, so long as they have a rear door 
or hatch (let us not quibble about when an Estate car becomes a hatchback). 
I was not aware that a shooting brake had to be a four door. Surely the 
original would be an open backed vehicle of some type suitable for shooting 
from, thus not really related to the automotive form after about 1930.

As for near side and offside I am relieved there is some confusion on this 
point. In British useage nearside refers to the kerb side and offside to 
the driver's side as the driver sits to the right. This cannot derive from 
equestrian useage as nearside would logically refer to the driver's side, 
from which one mounts the vehicle. Though many early British sporting cars 
only had a passenger door on the nearside, the driver simply swung a leg 
over the driver's side to enter the vehicle.

To illustrate how easily this is confused you only have to read the post 
following that of the esteemed Mr. Hertzman in which a poster agreeing with 
him reverses the useage in equestrian terms. When you realize that most 
people are right handed and right footed, the illogic of using your left 
foot to mount a horse is even more interesting, and bicycles are commonly 
mounted from the left....

Point is that the only people who use nearside and offside in association 
with vehicles are the British and for them it means left and right 
respectively, as well as Kerb and Driver's side, which is the reverse of 
what I had understood to be the case. I would have defined it from the 
perspective of the driver in the vehicle, the nearside being closest to the 
driver and offside the opposite, vainly trying to apply logic to the useage 
without understanding the origin of the useage.


Living as I do in Canada where we drive on the right side of the road I see 
I am correct in this reverse interpretation as it applies to Canadian driving!

The wonders of bilingualism, and I speak only English.

Cheers

nearsided Michael


Michael Smith
White 1991 164L
Original owner
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