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The Official (well, sort of) Luggage Rack Thread

5K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  RedOne07 
#1 ·
In light of the numerous semi-official Everlasting Perpetual Trunk Complaint Threads, I offer up this, the 1st ever Official, er, uh... sort of, Luggage Rack Thread. Feel free to post your own pictures, thumbnails or links to gorgeous cars that employed luggage racks.

And so, on with the show!

Being that a Sports Car's 1st duty is to high performance, and being that the Pontiac Solstice is a Sports Car, and being that it is a "back to basics" Sports Car at that, and being that heretofore said back to basics Sports Car is an affordable one on top of all things, I though I would offer this thread in solemn recognition of Sports Cars past and present that, for reasons rather obvious have luggage racks mounted thereon, the trunk being rather superflous to the primary mission of a Sports Car, particularly those of Family Back-to-basicis" and Genus "affordabilitus."

So, without further ado I offer a variety of pictures of Sports Cars past that made do with luggage racks to circumvent that rather sticky wicket of subjects in Sports Cardom.

Therefore, I submit to you the following posts:
 
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#2 · (Edited)
194 Porsche 356 SC Coupe
 
#3 · (Edited)
1971 Corvette
 
#4 · (Edited)
1973 Triumph TR6

Triumph Spitfire

1980 MGB Roadster
 
#5 · (Edited)
1970 Jaguar XKE
 
#7 · (Edited)
1956 Jaguar XKSS

1957 Jaguar XKSS
 
#8 ·
1967 Austin Healey 3000

1966 Austin Healey 3000
 
#9 · (Edited)
Primus said:
whew, I'm pretty sure I won't like the way the luggage rack will look on the solstice.
Primus, hello and I hope you are enjoying the forum.

I don't wish to pursuade but to inform. Many people said they can't live with the Solstice due to the tiny trunk. I wished to remind them that luggage racks have been used to add storage to lightweight Sports Cars for nearly 100 years.

For those who can't live with the tiny trunk and can't live with the look of a rear luggage rack, good luck. The Solstice is not a perfect car. When they find a perfect lightweight sports car priced under $20,000, I hope they drop me a line. I'm listening. Fortunately for them there are many great choices available out there besides the Solstice and Sky.

Personally, I can make do with a lightweight sports car of stunning good looks with a luggage rack on the back of it. I don't recall Steve McQueen complaining about the one on the back of his Jaguar XKSS. But then he was only an accompished amateur race car driver, so what does he know?

Again, I'm not trying to pursuade anyone to like the looks of anything. That is impossible. And what would be the point? I count myself fortunate that the occassional appearance of a detachable luggage rack won't prevent me from owning the most beautiful lightweight convertible performance sports car Detroit has produced in decades.

I do freely admit I am confused by those who find the Sosltice to be perfect except for trunk storage, but will deprive themselves of a great car only because they simply refuse to use a practical rear luggage rack.

I'm not complaining, mind you. That leaves more for me. ;)
 
#11 ·
What we really need is someone with some inside info to let us in on the 'additional storage' pod or whatever it is that Pontiac has hinted at.

And those TR-6 photos made my day. That car is probably why I want a Solstice so bad. Had a friend in high school who had one and I was so jealous.
 
#13 · (Edited)
1998 Morgan Plus 8

1992 Morgan Plus 8
 
#14 ·
1982 Fiat Spyder
 
#15 ·
1968 Ford Mustang convertible
 
#16 ·
1972 Mercedes Benz SL450
 
#17 ·
AztekzRpurty said:
And those TR-6 photos made my day. That car is probably why I want a Solstice so bad. Had a friend in high school who had one and I was so jealous.
Ditto, the TR-6 was the open-air sports car I first fell in love with. A friend in high school had a green 1973 TR-6. Boy, was I ever envious. :yesnod:

As I got older I learned what a hassle British sports cars are/were. And my affections moved on something more practical. But that is for another day and thread. :lol:
 
#19 ·
Luggage rack

I have the great (but very sad) advantage of not buying my Solstice until September of 2006 (at the earliest), and so can wait to see just how big the trunk is, and what the luggage rack looks like. I agree with the earlier post that as long as it is easily attachable/detachable, I'll have one! My wife and I are already looking forward to weekend trips to the mountains of eastern New Mexico in the Solstice. We will need clothes when we get there, so we will need trunk space or a rack!

Time will tell on this rack issue (and color, and engine chages, and ...)

--Chemist
 
#20 ·
Here are a couple of after-market removable luggage racks that are available for the Miata. Should give people an idea of what GM may come up with. It looks like they may "grab" the sides of the deck lid, without any modification to the vehicle needed.
 

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#21 ·
Wish I had a picture of the ugly two door red Granada my parents owned in the seventies. The dealer had added a chrome luggage rack to the trunk to make it look "sportier". Luggage racks are to sports cars what gun racks are (were) to pickup trucks, or what a steeple is to a church, or a lucky hat on a fisherman, etc. You can have one with or without, but they look silly on anything else. :yesnod:
 
#23 ·
DreamerDave said:
Wish I had a picture of the ugly two door red Granada my parents owned in the seventies. The dealer had added a chrome luggage rack to the trunk to make it look "sportier". Luggage racks are to sports cars what gun racks are (were) to pickup trucks, or what a steeple is to a church, or a lucky hat on a fisherman, etc. You can have one with or without, but they look silly on anything else. :yesnod:
ive notices that in the seventies and eighties people tended to do with luggage racks what people do with wings now. people used to put luggage racks on for style, sometimes it looked dorky, sometimes good. nowadays, you just see a lot of people puttinga big gaudy wing on a car that doesnt need it.sometimes it looks good, usually not.
 
#24 ·
PhatPhelix said:
Looks serviceable, but what does it do to the paint?
Not having seen one of these exact racks in person I can only guess. I have used removable roof racks and trunk mounted bike racks on other vehicles, which usually involve some sort of rubber or foam padding to protect the paint finish. These type usually work fine for short periods of time (say up to a week of vacation), but may leave some marks if left on permanently. I know some people who were lazy and left their roof racks on for a whole biking season (about six months here in NJ) and had some dirt and mess to clean off their car when they finally removed the rack. It didn't scratch the paint so much as leave behind some black crud from the rubber pads, which can be tough to remove.
 
#26 ·
dengel said:
Not having seen one of these exact racks in person I can only guess. I have used removable roof racks and trunk mounted bike racks on other vehicles, which usually involve some sort of rubber or foam padding to protect the paint finish. These type usually work fine for short periods of time (say up to a week of vacation), but may leave some marks if left on permanently. I know some people who were lazy and left their roof racks on for a whole biking season (about six months here in NJ) and had some dirt and mess to clean off their car when they finally removed the rack. It didn't scratch the paint so much as leave behind some black crud from the rubber pads, which can be tough to remove.
I hope so. I have visions of loose-fitting truck bedliners that rub away paint. :willy: Anything I can wash off (even if it takes some elbow grease) is fine with me.
 
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