Works of LJK Setright

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 21:19
Works of LJK Setright - hillman

The sage wrote something about automatic gearboxes v/s manual. I read it once and was impressed by the brevity, clarity and style of his writing. I also remember that it was forthright. Do any of the BRs have a clue as to where to find the text ?

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 21:37
Works of LJK Setright - Metropolis.

I think you'll find most of them here:

www.amazon.co.uk/L.-J.-K.-Setright/e/B001HPG4OI

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 22:00
Works of LJK Setright - KJP 123

I remember LJK’s writing style; forthright is one way to describe it.

But automatic gearboxes have progressed since then and his views might not be the same today were he still alive.

Edited by KJP 123 on 27/03/2018 at 22:10

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 22:13
Works of LJK Setright - Oli rag
I think he was a great believer in automatic boxes. If I remember correctly his last cars were Honda prelude automatics and he would write about how an auto was faster for most drivers and also more reliable.
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Tue 27 Mar 2018 22:36
Works of LJK Setright - jthan

Back in the 1980s, I avidly read his articles. LJKS certainly wrote glowingly on the then new Uno Selecta; although he generally did so on most things Fiat and on engines from Honda, while slating anything Mercedes (and specifically suspensions, steering and seats).

I was so impressed with a couple of his lines a few years later that I attempted to memorise them: the thirty years elapsed since mean that this quote might be a few words out, but I am confident that it is very close to the original:

"Any scientific deduction, arrived at by syllogisms no matter how pure in their logic and unexceptional in their rationality, must ultimately be derived from some premise that cannot have been scientific. Therefore any scientific deduction is invalid as such because the scientific method is itself invalid."

Unmatchable, I think!

Edited by jthan on 27/03/2018 at 22:37

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 08:13
Works of LJK Setright - Leif

"Any scientific deduction, arrived at by syllogisms no matter how pure in their logic and unexceptional in their rationality, must ultimately be derived from some premise that cannot have been scientific. Therefore any scientific deduction is invalid as such because the scientific method is itself invalid."

Unmatchable, I think!

Complete nonsense. I think he was before my time, and I’m not young.

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 22:37
Works of LJK Setright - badbusdriver

Yes, the great man was a lover of the automatic, particularly honda. He was also a big fan of Bristol cars.

One of my favourite ever articles of motoring journalism was by him on the then new Fiat 126bis (the water cooled version). Which, having just been launched, was officially the cheapest new car in the UK at, i believe, £2995. It was just a single page, but i was totally enraptured by the writing style, use of words, information and entertainment.

I often find myself wondering what he would make of the crass, crude, unimaginative, performance obsessed style which fills so much car magazines these days.

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 22:52
Works of LJK Setright - dadbif
The highlight of my monthly CAR magazine
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Wed 28 Mar 2018 00:55
Works of LJK Setright - KJP 123

If LJK was in favour of auto boxes then my comment, “But automatic gearboxes have progressed since then and his views might not be the same today were he still alive” is wrong.

But I remember going on holiday with wife’s family in auto Sierra: it would hunt on hills between third and overdrive fourth. If I drove it I would take it out of overdrive with the button on gear selector. They seemed to be unaware of this option but it was their car.

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 10:10
Works of LJK Setright - madf
The highlight of my monthly CAR magazine

Yes: when I was a teenager I read it - and Setright's contribution - with great anticipation..

"They don't make them like they used to" applies in his case. A joy to read..

Edited by madf on 28/03/2018 at 10:15

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Tue 27 Mar 2018 23:44
Works of LJK Setright - Hugh Watt

Well, the long grey-bearded one was certainly pro-auto, and nothing if not forward-looking - I thought I had something on my bookshelves:

"By now, the intelligent and studious driver knows that a good modern automatic transmission ... is far more useful. The sad thing is that very, very few users of automatic transmissions have the faintest idea of how to exploit them, and very few of the remainder have the faintest desire to learn.

"...then it must be replaced by something even better, which must surely be some form of steplessly variable transmission. ... The imminence of the fuel cell as the propulsive means of the future car suggests that gearchanging is something we might as well stop worrying about, since we may not have to do it much longer."

[LJK Setright (2002), Drive On: a social history of the Motor Car, pp. 343-4]

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 06:57
Works of LJK Setright - badbusdriver

Note to self,

Must get a copy of that book soon.

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 10:22
Works of LJK Setright - John F

Truly a great writer (several cuts above Clarkson!) , polymath and (although unqualified) an appreciator of engineering excellence, being born into it (Setright Ticket Machine etc..) Even though he was a good fast driver he thought motor racing was vulgar.

The only book I have is 'Long Lane with Turnings' - which I see has quintupled in value on Amazon!

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 10:34
Works of LJK Setright - Gordon17

I always felt that he wasn't quite as clever as he thought he was. Some of his writing definitely qualified for Pseuds' Corner in Private Eye - in fact a quick Google brings up the fact that he held the record for most quoted author in the corner.

I remember 2 instances where Car printed letters from real experts pointing out that the advice he had given the month before was not only wrong but dangerous - one was to do with neck injuries.

But I still used to read his column, and all the others, at the front of Car.

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 12:28
Works of LJK Setright - Hugh Watt

Entirely agree, Gordon!

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 14:19
Works of LJK Setright - Leif

I always felt that he wasn't quite as clever as he thought he was. Some of his writing definitely qualified for Pseuds' Corner in Private Eye - in fact a quick Google brings up the fact that he held the record for most quoted author in the corner.

I worked for many years in scientific research, with numerous publications to my name, and his quote about the scientific method is bunkum, but stated in a confident knowing manner. He sounds opinionated, but maybe entertaining. Rather like Clarkson. They do say it's not what you say, but the way you say it that matters.

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Sat 31 Mar 2018 12:28
Works of LJK Setright - craig-pd130

I remember 2 instances where Car printed letters from real experts pointing out that the advice he had given the month before was not only wrong but dangerous - one was to do with neck injuries.

But I still used to read his column, and all the others, at the front of Car.

Correct - he suggested that if the driver saw that a car was approaching rapidly from behind and a rear-end collision was imminent, the driver should endeavour to bend their neck down so their chin was on their chest. This would make whiplash injuries worse - the driver should instead try and place the back of their head against the headrest.

He also gave dangerous advice in his regular column in Bike magazine, suggested that if a rider should have to lay the bike down, they should tuck into a ball and roll when they hit the road. Again, wrong.

But as you say, his articles were always an interesting read.

There's a dozen or so of his road-test impressions here from the halcyon days of Car magazine (just search for Setright on the web page): www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/collections.../

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Thu 29 Mar 2018 22:23
Works of LJK Setright - Happy Blue!

I corresponded with him on a couple of occasions and got good advice, especially about which tyres to use on a Honda Accord. The tyres suggested transformed the ride and road noise.

A great man who suffered some personal tragedies; hence his relocation to Texas in the 1980s. Some friends of mine knew him well but I only discovered this shortly before he died. They had no motoring interests at all; they were simply part of the same religious community.

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Fri 30 Mar 2018 21:06
Works of LJK Setright - Steveieb
I agree with the great man when it comes to his favourite cars
I e The Honda Prelude MK 2 which he claimed had the lowest centre of gravity of any car.
And the Corado Storm which was the top of the range of that brand.

Being a Honda owner at the time it was music to my ears as he drooled on about how no one could build engines like Honda.

But what would he think of the current range of Honda cars I wonder ?
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Sun 1 Apr 2018 22:29
Works of LJK Setright - RicardoB

He was one of the few motoring writers who favoured automatics and other less "run of the mill" sort of cars and ideas.

He also wrote for a magazine called "Collector's Car", and in 1980 penned this piece (hopefully the link will work) about the then fairly new steel-belt CVT which had been designed by van Doorne (DAF of course). In the 70s, he would often wax lyrical about the DAF Variomatic transmission, which for reasons I won't bore you with here, I was and am a appreciator and admirer of.

He wouldn't "fit in" with the new world of "motoring journalism"!

www.dafownersclub.co.uk/uploads/1/0/9/5/10958195/l...f

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Sun 1 Apr 2018 22:57
Works of LJK Setright - badbusdriver

He was one of the few motoring writers who favoured automatics and other less "run of the mill" sort of cars and ideas.

He also wrote for a magazine called "Collector's Car", and in 1980 penned this piece (hopefully the link will work) about the then fairly new steel-belt CVT which had been designed by van Doorne (DAF of course). In the 70s, he would often wax lyrical about the DAF Variomatic transmission, which for reasons I won't bore you with here, I was and am a appreciator and admirer of.

He wouldn't "fit in" with the new world of "motoring journalism"!

www.dafownersclub.co.uk/uploads/1/0/9/5/10958195/l...f

Brilliant!, thank you for that link Ricardo. I am both a fan of LJK Setright, and the Daf car's. My Dad used to have a Daf 55 Marathon. The marathon name refered to it being a higher performance version of the 55 (63bhp instead of 50) which came about through how well the little Daf did in the 1968 London-Sydney marathon coming 17th out of 100 entrants over 16500 km!. But i'd never come upon that particular article, I must show it to my Dad.

Sadly, most people just don't seem to understand a CVT and certainly not how to get the best from it. As a general rule, they also, wrongly, assume it to be completely unsuitable for fast driving.

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Sun 1 Apr 2018 23:06
Works of LJK Setright - RicardoB

You're welcome!

My "vested interest" is that I produce the DAF Owners Club magazine and website.

Oh and I have two - a 33 and 44 and my first car many years ago was a 55!

Feel free to show him the rest of the website!

(And if I had a pound for the number of times I have heard or read "clever rubber band comments" over the years, I'd be rolling in it.)

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Mon 2 Apr 2018 10:43
Works of LJK Setright - badbusdriver

Hah, it is indeed a small world!.

I grew up in the Shetland Isles, that is where my Dad had his (late 70's), and there were a few of them going about. Though i'd imagine the climate means few, if any, survive. I do remember him really liking the seats, to the extent that when the Daf expired (unfortunately it had to be scrapped), he removed them and fitted them to his following two cars, a mk2 escort estate then a Hillman hunter. But i'd love to get a Daf at some point, unfortunately a combination of lack of funds and not having a dry garage (i live in a coastal town in North East Scotland, where, like Shetland, the climate is not great for old cars!), i'd particularly like a 55 coupe, which, to my mind, is a very pretty little thing.

I was on the carandclassic.co.uk website last night, there were a few on there including a pickup!. But i do remember a couple of years ago finding a website selling cars from all over Europe, including, quite a lot of Daf's (in the Netherlands unsurprisingly), but i lost it when my old laptop expired and couldn't remember the name of it. Tried a few times, but just haven't been able to find it again, you don't happen to know do you?.

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Mon 2 Apr 2018 20:46
Works of LJK Setright - RicardoB

All are rare now, especially in this country.

There is a Dutch "Gumtree" sort of site, where they are known to appear occasionally - www.marktplaats.nl/

Also every once in a while they crop up in France, often benefiting from being in a life of sunshine, on www.leboncoin.fr/

But wherever, you will probably have to be patient.

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