We’re all different on this planet, and that’s a good thing because life would be incredibly boring otherwise. Depending on where we live, we like different foods, different sports, different movies and different cars, among many other things.Yes, the world is blessed with many car cultures and comparing them is an interesting exercise. For example, the differences between the United States and Europe are still significant in this respect, even though globalization has somewhat bridged the gaps between these regions in recent decades. Why A 1969 Ford Torino Convertible, Though? But if you were able to rewind to 1969, which was 56 years ago, you would realize that the car scenes in the U.S. and Europe couldn’t be more different. This is one of the things that becomes immediately obvious from James May’s latest video, in which he takes advantage of a trip to the U.S. to drive a truly American car from that era.And what did he choose? Not a Corvette, not a Mustang, not a Charger or an F-100 truck. Instead, he went for a drive in a 1969 Ford Torino Convertible. The reason the former Top Gear host chose this car is that he believes this vehicle reflects the state of the manufacturing art back in 1969, when the Apollo spacecraft managed to reach the Moon with help from the Saturn 5 rocket.Right off the bat, May reckons that the driving experience resembles that of driving “a piece of very old furniture.” He says the car feels baggy due to the combination of a very soft front suspension and live rear axle, and that the steering has excessive play. But that's not the point. This Is Why The V8 Motor Is A National Institution James May's Planet Gin / YouTube Sitting behind the wheel of the 1969 Ford Torino Convertible is a pleasant experience, especially if you’re the type of driver who likes to sit back and enjoy the drive instead of pushing hard. A big contribution to that is the V8 engine that rumbles reassuringly from beneath the long hood.This type of engine that was ubiquitous in the 1960s in American cars also makes the Torino feel alive, according to James. It does that not only through its throaty noise, but also in the way it makes the car shake while idling.Speaking of which, this particular Ford Torino features a 351 (5.8-liter) Windsor V8 motor, which is massive compared to the engines that typically powered European cars in the same era — James’ dad had a 1.2-liter Ford Cortina, for example.And this was actually one of the mid-level engines available on the Ford Torino, which wasn’t even a muscle car. The Torino was an ordinary American midsize car of the 1960s that came in five different body styles, one of which was this two-door convertible.Despite its massive engine, the Ford Torino is “dog slow,” according to May. But the charm of the V8, which was the bread and butter engine in America at the time, is that it’s a low-stress, low-revving engine that typically outlasts the car it’s mounted on.It’s a cool video that takes us back to simpler times when cars had no electronics and a McDonald's menu cost around 50 cents. It also allows us to see what an Englishman (albeit a famous one) has to say about the experience of driving a classic American V8 car and the time it harks back to.
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