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Out now: Autocade Yearbook 2024

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Following Mr Sedgwick’s template, each car should be presented with a photograph (preferably contemporary, showing the car in an as-new condition, but not copyrighted material). An accurate description should follow. Taking one example from his ''A–Z'' (bearing in mind ''Autocade'' itself should not feature copyrighted work, and corrected for our house style):
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==Basic entries==
 +
 
 +
Each car should be presented with a photograph (preferably contemporary, showing the car in an as-new condition, but not copyrighted material excepting those permitted for reproduction by the media, e.g. publicity shots). An accurate description should follow. Taking one example from this site:
  
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
''Small image, 300 by 200 pixels or thereabouts''<br />
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''Small image, no more than 300 pixels wide, by 200 pixels or thereabouts''<br />
'''Toyota Corona 1500. 1965–72 (prod. 1,788,000 approx. all types). Saloon, estate car. F/R, 1490 cm³ (S4 OHV).''' First Toyota sold in Britain, recognizable by its slant grille and quad headlamps. Square-dimensioned pushrod engine gives 74 bhp, but engineering unspectacular—four-speed all-synchro ’box, hypoid final drive, semi-elliptic rear springs, A/C electrics. Two-speed wipers and electric washers standard for UK, also front disc brakes from ’68, but only manual versions sold here.
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'''Ford Falcon GL (XE). 1982–4 (prod. 191,209 all types). 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon, 2-door utility and panel van. F/R, 3273, 4098 cm³ (I6 OHV), 4950, 5750 cm³ (V8 OHV).''' Revised Falcon launched March 1982 with more European-style grille. Ford finally passed Holden on the sales’ charts thanks to the Falcon. Leaf springs gone in favour of four-link suspension on sedans. Five-speed gearbox introduced on 3·3 six; auto sixes have column or floor-shift options; 4·9 V8 auto only; 5·8 on sedan only; throughout XE run, three-speed manual 3·3 still available as base model. V8, however, deleted for 1983—a mistake that cost Ford dearly with traditional buyers defecting to Holden. Injected 4·1 six introduced 1984 with four-speed manual or three-speed auto.  
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
One difference is that ''Autocade'' is an international site so in most cases, information should not be geographically specific.
+
One important note is that ''Autocade'' is an international site, so the summaries need to be biased to the country of origin of the model. As a result of this, cities and towns should be spelt the way they are at the country of origin (e.g. ''Milano'' rather than ''Milan'').
 +
 
 +
Terms such as ''saloon'' and ''sedan'' depend on geography. Here, saloon has been adopted for the UK and Europe, sedan for Asia and the Americas.
 +
 
 +
''SUV'' has been adopted as a generic term that includes crossovers, except in some cases when the vehicle is more akin to a hatchback sedan or estate car. If there isn’t much sportiness to it, e.g. the Land Rover Defender or Jeep Wrangler, ''UV'' has been used instead.
 +
 
 +
Non-Latin scripts for, say, Russian and Chinese cars may be included but the main entry should be in English for search purposes.
 +
 
 +
In addition, there are entry pages (with the specific generation of car) and model pages (which indexes all the generations, where there are more than one). This terminology may be useful below.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
==Discussion pages==
 +
 
 +
''Autocade'' welcomes the opportunity to record users’ experiences with the listed models. In such cases, go to the ‘Discussion’ tab for the model and write away. Only registered users can contribute.
 +
 
 +
Sign your contribution by typing four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>). This converts to your username and date.
  
  
 
==International aspects==
 
==International aspects==
  
The English Wikipedia, as many users know, is generally biased toward the US and UK when it comes to automotive pages. ''Autocade'' seeks to be less geocentric, though we accept that there is bound to be more detailed information from larger English-speaking countries simply due to population.  
+
The English ''Wikipedia'', as many users know, is generally biased toward the US and UK when it comes to automotive pages. It also contains numerous factual errors. ''Autocade'' seeks to be less geocentric, though we accept that there are bound to be more entries from larger English-speaking countries simply due to population. We hope we can also be more accurate.
  
A British car should be written with a British viewpoint, with other markets treated as export ones; similarly, a Japanese car should be written with a Japanese viewpoint. Hence, there is an entry for the ‘[[Nissan Sunny (B14)]]’, but no entry for a ‘Nissan Sentra (B14)’—''Sunny'' was the home-market name; ''Sentra'' was merely used on exports.
+
A British car should be written with a British viewpoint, with other markets treated as export ones; similarly, a Japanese car should be written with a Japanese viewpoint. Hence, there is an entry for the ‘[[Nissan Sunny (B14)]]’, but no entry for a ‘Nissan Sentra (B14)’—''Sunny'' was the home-market name; ''Sentra'' was merely used on exports. A good rule of thumb is: ''write from the car’s country of origin’s point of view.''
  
 
Here are other situations that may help with describing site policy.
 
Here are other situations that may help with describing site policy.
  
 
'''Hyundai Avante v. Hyundai Elantra'''
 
'''Hyundai Avante v. Hyundai Elantra'''
When faced with nameplates that differ due to market-place, the home market name should be used. In this case, ''Hyundai Avante'' is the correct name of the model sold between 1996 and the present day. ''Hyundai Elantra'' should only apply to the 1991–6 model. This is different from the Wikipedia convention which biases the entry in favour of English readers.
+
When faced with nameplates that differ due to market-place, the home market name should be used. In this case, ''Hyundai Avante'' is the correct name of the model sold between 1996 and the present day. ''Hyundai Elantra'' should only apply to the 1991–6 model. This is different from the ''Wikipedia'' convention which biases the entry in favour of American readers.
  
There should be a brief entry for the 1996, 2000 and 2006 models, noting that the main entry would be under ''Hyundai Avante'' for those years. This is preferred over an automatic redirect.
+
There should be entries for each of the 1996, 2000 and 2006 generations, with a link back to a coordinating ''Hyundai Avante'' model page.
  
 
'''Daewoo Lacetti v. Suzuki Reno, Suzuki Forenza, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Lacetti, Holden Viva and Buick Excelle'''
 
'''Daewoo Lacetti v. Suzuki Reno, Suzuki Forenza, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Lacetti, Holden Viva and Buick Excelle'''
The same convention would apply: the primary entry for this vehicle should be ''Daewoo Lacetti'' as it is known in its home market, but brief notes referring the reader to the page should be placed at the other pages.
+
The same convention would apply: the primary entry for this vehicle should be ''Daewoo Lacetti'' as it is known in its home market. Subsidiary pages for the other nameplates are not necessary unless there is a good reason, usually relating to how one might search for the information or the “lineage” of the vehicle. For example, when there are sheetmetal changes that apply only to one version, then there may be an entry specifically for that car. The Buick Excelle, for example, received a different front and rear end for 2007 in the Republic of China, and could be recorded separately.
 
 
However, when there are sheetmetal changes that apply only to one version, then there should be an entry specifically for that car. The Buick Excelle, for example, received a different front and rear end for 2007 in the Chinese market, and should be recorded accordingly.
 
  
 
'''Simca 1307 v. Chrysler Alpine'''
 
'''Simca 1307 v. Chrysler Alpine'''
In cases of joint manufacture, there are two home countries. Both should be noted, but there should be a cross-reference to the other vehicle. For example, the Australian-built [[Morris Mini Clubman]] and [[Leyland Mini]] have their own entries separate from the British [[Mini Clubman]] article.
+
In cases of joint manufacture, there are two home countries. Both may be noted, but there should be a cross-reference to the other vehicle. For example, the Australian-built [[Morris Mini Clubman]] and [[Leyland Mini]] have their own entries separate from the British [[Mini Clubman]] article. However, there is a single entry for the [[Ford Taunus II|1976–9 Ford Taunus]], because by this point the car being built in Dagenham was designed fully in Köln, Germany; similarly, there is only a single entry for the [[Talbot 1510]] as Chrysler Europe fell under French ownership. The UK names for both cars are noted on the entry pages, however. Sometimes, the “rule” will change depending on the model line and lineage.
  
 
'''Opel Astra v. Chevrolet Astra, Holden Astra, Chevrolet Viva, Vauxhall Astra'''
 
'''Opel Astra v. Chevrolet Astra, Holden Astra, Chevrolet Viva, Vauxhall Astra'''
A cross-reference back to the original company that engineered the vehicle should be sufficient: in this case, the [[Opel Astra]] page. We note that Holden Astra and Vauxhall Astra have a different “lineage” to the Opel Astra: the [[Holden Astra]] was at one stage a rebadged [[Nissan Pulsar]], and the original two generations should be noted separately. The &#64257;rst Vauxhall Astra was in fact the penultimate Opel Kadett D so there is a difference between “Marks”, hence on a [[Vauxhall Astra]] model page, these should be mentioned, but the links should point back on that page to the [[Opel Kadett D]], [[Opel Astra E]], etc.
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A cross-reference back to the original company that engineered the vehicle should be sufficient: in this case, the [[Opel Astra]] page. The bold type on the entry page should have the names based on manufacture, e.g. ''Opel Astra H/Vauxhall Astra Mk V/Vauxhall Astravan/Chevrolet Vectra GT'' for the Astra H, respecting where the cars are built. We note that Holden Astra and Vauxhall Astra have a different “lineage” to the Opel Astra, so this should be noted on a model page. On a [[Vauxhall Astra]] model page, the links should point to [[Opel Kadett D]], [[Opel Astra G]], etc. Mere assembly from CKD kits does not qualify a car to have its localized name used for the main entry.
  
 
'''Confusing names'''
 
'''Confusing names'''
Line 37: Line 52:
  
 
'''When in doubt, look at the car'''
 
'''When in doubt, look at the car'''
''Autocade'' is based more on the marketing and lineage of the car than its actual engineering. Hence, there should be separate pages on each of the GM J-cars of 1981 on: ''Chevrolet Cavalier, Opel Ascona, Vauxhall Cavalier'' (deserving of a separate page due to the presence of an estate, but the page should feature references back to the Opel), ''Pontiac J2000, Cadillac Cimarron, Holden Camira, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza, Isuzu Florian Aska'' and others.
+
''Autocade'' is based more on the marketing and lineage of the car than its actual engineering. Hence, there should be separate pages on each of the GM J-cars of 1981 on: ''Chevrolet Cavalier, Opel Ascona, Pontiac J2000, Cadillac Cimarron, Holden Camira, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza, Isuzu Florian Aska, Chevrolet Monza'' and others.
  
 
'''Model years'''
 
'''Model years'''
The years for any one model should follow the production period in the home market. However, if there is a factory outside the home market, then their production should be taken into account. It should not, though there may be exceptions, cover export markets where there might be unsold stock—e.g. where a car has stopped production in its home market in 2005, the fact that some were still being sold in an export market in 2007 is irrelevant to ''Autocade''. (Some exceptions may apply if the 2007 models are signi&#64257;cant or distinctive in some way, e.g. a local assembler has mixed different models’ bodyshells.) For American cars, it is acceptable to record model years as that is the convention in the US; if possible, this fact should be recorded on the page, but it is not compulsory to do so.
+
The years for any one model should follow the production period ''in the home market''. However, if there is a factory outside the home market, then their production should be taken into account. It should not, though there may be exceptions, cover export markets where there might be unsold stock—e.g. where a car has stopped production in its home market in 2005, the fact that some were still being sold in an export market in 2007 is irrelevant to ''Autocade''. (Some exceptions may apply if the 2007 models are significant or distinctive in some way, e.g. a local assembler has mixed different models’ bodyshells.) For American cars, it is acceptable to record model years as that is the convention in the US.
 +
 
 +
'''Model codes'''
 +
These are often harder to research. Usually the rule of thumb is that for a model with multiple codes, the lowest (alphabetically) or the default body style’s (e.g. the saloon’s) is used in the title, with the remaining codes in the body text.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
==Technical information==
 +
 
 +
Where possible, cite cubic capacities as accurately as possible. Car companies will often be liberal with the capacities, sometimes for marketing reasons. Where information derived from the bore and stroke rather than the marketing literature is available, use it.
 +
 
 +
The usage of Imperial, American and metric measures should depend on the page and context. Units of measure are usually in metric, but some exceptions have been made for Australian and American models. Australian cars are listed with the cubic inch capacity for their engines with an arbitrary changeover to metric for models made after 1975. (This roughly reflects when some car price lists moved to the metric system; ''Redbook'' uses the same year.) The 1980 model year has been chosen for US models, based on when cubic centimetres became more mainstream in publications there.
 +
 
  
 
==Language convention==
 
==Language convention==
  
''Autocade'' prefers that the Oxford University Press’s ''Hart’s Rules'' standard is followed. This means Oxford English spellings. However, it is totally acceptable on pages specific to certain countries for national terms to appear: ''saloon'' and ''sedan'', ''estate'' and ''wagon'', ''petrol'' and ''gasoline'' are obvious ones. Non-English terms, where required, may be used: ''berline, break, Limousine, Kombi, Scrägheck, berlina, barchetta'', etc.
+
''Autocade'' requests that the Oxford University Press’s ''Hart’s Rules'' standard is followed. This means Oxford English spellings. However, it is totally acceptable on pages specific to certain countries for national terms to appear: ''saloon'' and ''sedan'', ''estate'' and ''wagon'', ''petrol'' and ''gasoline'' are obvious ones. Non-English terms, where required, may be used: ''berline, break, Limousine, Kombi, Scrägheck, berlina, barchetta'', etc., but only in the text.
  
 
The ''Rules'' also state that there should be a space before units of measure: ''74 bhp, 1299 cm³''. Please note that when one is referring to the German measure of Pferdestärken, ''PS'' should be used, not ''bhp''. One PS is not the same as one brake horsepower.  
 
The ''Rules'' also state that there should be a space before units of measure: ''74 bhp, 1299 cm³''. Please note that when one is referring to the German measure of Pferdestärken, ''PS'' should be used, not ''bhp''. One PS is not the same as one brake horsepower.  
  
An exception to ''Hart’s Rules'' here is that there is no comma in the cubic centimetre &#64257;gure.
+
An exception to ''Hart’s Rules'' here is that there is no comma in the cubic centimetre displacement figure.
  
 
Model names should be capitalized despite the fancy styles insisted upon by marketing departments, hence ''Austin Mini Metro, Audi Quattro'', not ''Austin mini METRO, Audi quattro''. However, if you feel it is necessary, you may add in how the car was referred to in press materials.
 
Model names should be capitalized despite the fancy styles insisted upon by marketing departments, hence ''Austin Mini Metro, Audi Quattro'', not ''Austin mini METRO, Audi quattro''. However, if you feel it is necessary, you may add in how the car was referred to in press materials.
  
The usage of Imperial, American and metric measures should depend on the page and context.
+
 
 +
[[Category:Information]]

Revision as of 21:49, 22 June 2018

Basic entries

Each car should be presented with a photograph (preferably contemporary, showing the car in an as-new condition, but not copyrighted material excepting those permitted for reproduction by the media, e.g. publicity shots). An accurate description should follow. Taking one example from this site:

Small image, no more than 300 pixels wide, by 200 pixels or thereabouts
Ford Falcon GL (XE). 1982–4 (prod. 191,209 all types). 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon, 2-door utility and panel van. F/R, 3273, 4098 cm³ (I6 OHV), 4950, 5750 cm³ (V8 OHV). Revised Falcon launched March 1982 with more European-style grille. Ford finally passed Holden on the sales’ charts thanks to the Falcon. Leaf springs gone in favour of four-link suspension on sedans. Five-speed gearbox introduced on 3·3 six; auto sixes have column or floor-shift options; 4·9 V8 auto only; 5·8 on sedan only; throughout XE run, three-speed manual 3·3 still available as base model. V8, however, deleted for 1983—a mistake that cost Ford dearly with traditional buyers defecting to Holden. Injected 4·1 six introduced 1984 with four-speed manual or three-speed auto.

One important note is that Autocade is an international site, so the summaries need to be biased to the country of origin of the model. As a result of this, cities and towns should be spelt the way they are at the country of origin (e.g. Milano rather than Milan).

Terms such as saloon and sedan depend on geography. Here, saloon has been adopted for the UK and Europe, sedan for Asia and the Americas.

SUV has been adopted as a generic term that includes crossovers, except in some cases when the vehicle is more akin to a hatchback sedan or estate car. If there isn’t much sportiness to it, e.g. the Land Rover Defender or Jeep Wrangler, UV has been used instead.

Non-Latin scripts for, say, Russian and Chinese cars may be included but the main entry should be in English for search purposes.

In addition, there are entry pages (with the specific generation of car) and model pages (which indexes all the generations, where there are more than one). This terminology may be useful below.


Discussion pages

Autocade welcomes the opportunity to record users’ experiences with the listed models. In such cases, go to the ‘Discussion’ tab for the model and write away. Only registered users can contribute.

Sign your contribution by typing four tildes (~~~~). This converts to your username and date.


International aspects

The English Wikipedia, as many users know, is generally biased toward the US and UK when it comes to automotive pages. It also contains numerous factual errors. Autocade seeks to be less geocentric, though we accept that there are bound to be more entries from larger English-speaking countries simply due to population. We hope we can also be more accurate.

A British car should be written with a British viewpoint, with other markets treated as export ones; similarly, a Japanese car should be written with a Japanese viewpoint. Hence, there is an entry for the ‘Nissan Sunny (B14)’, but no entry for a ‘Nissan Sentra (B14)’—Sunny was the home-market name; Sentra was merely used on exports. A good rule of thumb is: write from the car’s country of origin’s point of view.

Here are other situations that may help with describing site policy.

Hyundai Avante v. Hyundai Elantra When faced with nameplates that differ due to market-place, the home market name should be used. In this case, Hyundai Avante is the correct name of the model sold between 1996 and the present day. Hyundai Elantra should only apply to the 1991–6 model. This is different from the Wikipedia convention which biases the entry in favour of American readers.

There should be entries for each of the 1996, 2000 and 2006 generations, with a link back to a coordinating Hyundai Avante model page.

Daewoo Lacetti v. Suzuki Reno, Suzuki Forenza, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Lacetti, Holden Viva and Buick Excelle The same convention would apply: the primary entry for this vehicle should be Daewoo Lacetti as it is known in its home market. Subsidiary pages for the other nameplates are not necessary unless there is a good reason, usually relating to how one might search for the information or the “lineage” of the vehicle. For example, when there are sheetmetal changes that apply only to one version, then there may be an entry specifically for that car. The Buick Excelle, for example, received a different front and rear end for 2007 in the Republic of China, and could be recorded separately.

Simca 1307 v. Chrysler Alpine In cases of joint manufacture, there are two home countries. Both may be noted, but there should be a cross-reference to the other vehicle. For example, the Australian-built Morris Mini Clubman and Leyland Mini have their own entries separate from the British Mini Clubman article. However, there is a single entry for the 1976–9 Ford Taunus, because by this point the car being built in Dagenham was designed fully in Köln, Germany; similarly, there is only a single entry for the Talbot 1510 as Chrysler Europe fell under French ownership. The UK names for both cars are noted on the entry pages, however. Sometimes, the “rule” will change depending on the model line and lineage.

Opel Astra v. Chevrolet Astra, Holden Astra, Chevrolet Viva, Vauxhall Astra A cross-reference back to the original company that engineered the vehicle should be sufficient: in this case, the Opel Astra page. The bold type on the entry page should have the names based on manufacture, e.g. Opel Astra H/Vauxhall Astra Mk V/Vauxhall Astravan/Chevrolet Vectra GT for the Astra H, respecting where the cars are built. We note that Holden Astra and Vauxhall Astra have a different “lineage” to the Opel Astra, so this should be noted on a model page. On a Vauxhall Astra model page, the links should point to Opel Kadett D, Opel Astra G, etc. Mere assembly from CKD kits does not qualify a car to have its localized name used for the main entry.

Confusing names The Leyland 18-22 series had numerous names. Entries should be present for every variation in the home market. In some export markets, such as New Zealand, where the car was officially badged the Austin Princess, the Princess 2 page should contain a note about this but a separate page for Austin Princess 2 is not needed.

When in doubt, look at the car Autocade is based more on the marketing and lineage of the car than its actual engineering. Hence, there should be separate pages on each of the GM J-cars of 1981 on: Chevrolet Cavalier, Opel Ascona, Pontiac J2000, Cadillac Cimarron, Holden Camira, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza, Isuzu Florian Aska, Chevrolet Monza and others.

Model years The years for any one model should follow the production period in the home market. However, if there is a factory outside the home market, then their production should be taken into account. It should not, though there may be exceptions, cover export markets where there might be unsold stock—e.g. where a car has stopped production in its home market in 2005, the fact that some were still being sold in an export market in 2007 is irrelevant to Autocade. (Some exceptions may apply if the 2007 models are significant or distinctive in some way, e.g. a local assembler has mixed different models’ bodyshells.) For American cars, it is acceptable to record model years as that is the convention in the US.

Model codes These are often harder to research. Usually the rule of thumb is that for a model with multiple codes, the lowest (alphabetically) or the default body style’s (e.g. the saloon’s) is used in the title, with the remaining codes in the body text.


Technical information

Where possible, cite cubic capacities as accurately as possible. Car companies will often be liberal with the capacities, sometimes for marketing reasons. Where information derived from the bore and stroke rather than the marketing literature is available, use it.

The usage of Imperial, American and metric measures should depend on the page and context. Units of measure are usually in metric, but some exceptions have been made for Australian and American models. Australian cars are listed with the cubic inch capacity for their engines with an arbitrary changeover to metric for models made after 1975. (This roughly reflects when some car price lists moved to the metric system; Redbook uses the same year.) The 1980 model year has been chosen for US models, based on when cubic centimetres became more mainstream in publications there.


Language convention

Autocade requests that the Oxford University Press’s Hart’s Rules standard is followed. This means Oxford English spellings. However, it is totally acceptable on pages specific to certain countries for national terms to appear: saloon and sedan, estate and wagon, petrol and gasoline are obvious ones. Non-English terms, where required, may be used: berline, break, Limousine, Kombi, Scrägheck, berlina, barchetta, etc., but only in the text.

The Rules also state that there should be a space before units of measure: 74 bhp, 1299 cm³. Please note that when one is referring to the German measure of Pferdestärken, PS should be used, not bhp. One PS is not the same as one brake horsepower.

An exception to Hart’s Rules here is that there is no comma in the cubic centimetre displacement figure.

Model names should be capitalized despite the fancy styles insisted upon by marketing departments, hence Austin Mini Metro, Audi Quattro, not Austin mini METRO, Audi quattro. However, if you feel it is necessary, you may add in how the car was referred to in press materials.

 

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Out now: Autocade Yearbook 2024