If you read this headline and instead focus on that outline drawing of the guy and the dog, “New Standard Companion” sounds like it could be advertising an android friend. Or even a robot dog. None of it sounds like they’re selling a car, which they are, specifically a 1959 Standard Companion, a little 948cc British Estate Car.
These were such pleasingly homely little cars, unassuming and humble-seeming. I guess “Companion” isn’t too bad a name for them, even if it sounds a bit strange now. I could see that little putty-colored lump becoming a trusted companion, right?
A lovely gem that I would be quite pleased to have as a standard companion!
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Also sold in the US as the Triumph 10. Just saw one in the flesh at the Cars of England show held at Hope Lodge in southeastern PA this past weekend parked right next to a Triumph Herald.
Triumph for the US because nobody would buy a Standard anything.
Maybe Triumph 10 Buddy instead of a Standard Ten Companion.
On the Android front, I was hoping that a Cherry 2000 wasn’t really a Datsun.
I could see this car’s name causing lots of confusion back in 1959.
Imagine if a typical bloke shows up at the front entrance of The Ritz in downtown London. He returns from a walk and asks the doorman for the concierge to provide him with his “Standard Companion” since he is ready to go.
The doorman responds “Pardon me sir, but we do not provide that type of service here. Regardless, looking at you and that putty-colored lump on wheels you arrived in, you could not possibly afford ‘a standard companion’ at the rate she requires.
The bloke walks away confused.
I would definitely daily this if I had one.
Looks to me like the ad is saying the car can or is taking the place of your dog.
Meh, good cars always become like a friend. If this was a good car, I cannot say, but I’m sure it’s charming.
Companion is a perfect name for that, look at its happy face!
Actually, its face reminds of Droopy.
Who was always one of my favorites. So good call.
What, specifically, is an “Estate Car”? Just for tootling around the castle grounds on a sunny day?
In the same way that the British place a lot of emphasis on coupe, sedan, saloon, etc for a 2-door, 4-door, or upscale 4-door, an estate car is a station wagon
One can, of course use ones estate car to collect guests from the station. The lower orders will have to make use of the station wagon although I believe many of these have been replaced by an omnibus service.
I’d have too much fun telling all that I daily drive my standard companion.
I suppose if the estate car was out of service we could make use of the shooting brake.
Brits don’t say sedan. There’s no difference between a saloon and sedan other than what part of the world it’s used. Also, this side of the Atlantic, we use coupé rather than coupe.
Estate car and station wagon are the same thing, the same body style evolved simultaneously in both countries, but from different sources. In the US, station wagons claim descent from horse drawn open wagons used to haul luggage between hotels and train stations in the 19th century, while, in the UK, they tended to evolve out of horse drawn carriages used by wealthy people for transporting their dogs, picnic supplies, hunting rifles, etc around their country estates. Shooting brakes, as luxurious, sporty, coupe-based wagons are probably the purest modern incarnation of that history