Classless Shite

[Charlie Croker]

Now here's a question i dont think has been asked on here. What cars do you think are classless? By that i mean cars that could be owned by a counci estsate chav or a rich git or anyone inbetween. My nominations are the original ford ka or a BINI. What do you think??

[catsinthewelder]

Good call

 

Old Golf or Peugeot 205

[Rod/b]

Old Subaru Legacy estate. You're as likely to see someone stepping out in a Barbour jacket and Jhodpurs as you are a baseball cap and Lizzy Dukes finest bling.

[Richard]

BINI is strictly chavs only shurely.

[RoadworkUK]

Volvo 240 and 244. The leafier avenues of London are still awash with them.

[RobT]

Volvo 300 series. Old boys and drift boys.

[warren t claim]

Saab 900.

 

W124 Estate.

[ashmicro]

Classless: Series Land Rovers. From not very well off farmers, to builders to HM The Queen.

[Felly Magic]

Any big Saab, and the Landy Defender/110 County

[Albert Ross]

Classless: Series Land Rovers. From not very well off farmers, to builders to HM The Queen.

 

Beat me to it. You could blow up a quarry in a morning, and then arrive at the Savoy a few hours later. Nobody would be any the wiser. Restecp.

[maxpower]

any people carrier with blacked out windows

 

used by celebs, royals, wannabes and banga boyz..... oh and addison lee as cabs, where clueless drivers are all the rage

[Cavcraft]

Scimitar GTE: From a princess royal to one of our number to lying abandoned in someone's drive. *Not that I'm implying any of us are on the very bottom level or whatever.

 

People carriers and, bizzarly enough, especially weapons grade shit like Chrysler Voyagers.

[scooters]

as already mentioned - Scoob Legacys and Ovlov 240s I would also add the 940 these days

 

Defenders and early Discos

 

believe it or not I saw more 90's Isuzu troopers with horseboxes and headscarfs in Shropshire at a hunt meet than I have EVA seen on a council estate...

 

This doesn't count:

 

Shogus tow horseboxes....Pajeros tow Burger Vans

 

but how is this for a wild card - the Montego Countryman - the toff's British Choice alternative to a 240 which he would have immediately regretted but sold to a plumber later

[Pete-M]

Range Rovers, with the possible exception of the P38 as I've gone off them.

Merc G wagens.

Legacy Estates.

Merc Estates.

Volvo Estates.

Land Rover 90 / 110 station wagons.

[dollywobbler]

Rover 75. They're super-cheap (especially hated 1.8s) so definite chav fodder. People do like sticking stupid wheels on them, LED lights, pimp-tastic windows etc.

 

Yet they're already hugely popular with enthusiasts, who spend THOUSANDS on them, often spending lots undoing all the Project Drive cuts that blighted production! To non-car people, it remains a very classy motor car. I've been surprised at how much of an impact mine has had on people. Or maybe it's just because I actually own a car that doesn't look like it's been dragged from a scrapheap...

[eddyramrod]

Landies, Volvo estates, big Jags. Age and condition will tell you nothing, they can be seen everywhere in every state imaginable.

[andrew e]

Laguna Estates, 406 estates, Voyagers, Sorrentos, Rover 600's.

[Shep Shepherd]

Saabs and big Volvos

[garethj]

From my time working around South Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge, I’d say:

 

Old Merc estates, the W124s but usually with the biggest engines. Toffs don’t worry about mpg too much.

Land Rovers I’d agree with, but only ones that are standard. Anything modified or customised is for chavs only.

Mk2 or Mk3 Golf GTi, but becoming rarer now. Again only standard ones, bigger alloys and lowered suspension is crass.

[scooters]

Landies, Volvo estates, big Jags. Age and condition will tell you nothing, they can be seen everywhere in every state imaginable.

 

 

not Jags, too aspirational- too new money - too suburban - the aristos wouldnae touch them far too flash and nowhere for the gun dogs

 

what was it the late Alan Clark said about Hesseltine - "Michael is the sort of person who had to buy his own furniture" - Hessletine had a Jag, Clark lived in a castle and had a DS Cabriolet....nuff said

 

Clark once said that he had more in common with Dennis Skinner than most of the front benches these days as at least they spoke their mind - a trend sadly missing from our so called leaders these days - spineless blotter jotters - time for a dictatorship with me in charge - state car will be an elongated Austin Maxi

[Charlie Croker]

Some cracking answers here..........stuff that i would not have thought off. I agree with the Golf thing.......i took the big chavvy wheels off mine and it drove a lot better for it. The Rover 75 would not have crossed my mind....but yes how true. How about the original Renault Twingo and defanatley the great 2cv?

[Felly Magic]

Old Bentleys. They are now getting very cheap. Shove a cheapo Irish plate on & bingo, the chav is Lord of the Council estate!

[In The Pit]

Ford Escort - loads of variants, sporting ones, luxury ones, fast ones, slow ones, 17 year olds first car, OAP's last car theres never a typical Escort owner. Although alot of them end up being modified by the go faster brigade ive had a couple of nice MKII Escorts from end of driving career middle middle class ladies.

[Barry Cade]

Topical for me, but Honda's. Blue rinse old dears going to the hardressers and MAX POWAH yoofs with 37" wheels and massive tailpies.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Landies, Volvo estates, big Jags. Age and condition will tell you nothing, they can be seen everywhere in every state imaginable.

 

 

not Jags, too aspirational- too new money - too suburban - the aristos wouldnae touch them far too flash and nowhere for the gun dogs

 

what was it the late Alan Clark said about Hesseltine - "Michael is the sort of person who had to buy his own furniture" - Hessletine had a Jag, Clark lived in a castle and had a DS Cabriolet....nuff said

 

Clark once said that he had more in common with Dennis Skinner than most of the front benches these days as at least they spoke their mind - a trend sadly missing from our so called leaders these days - spineless blotter jotters - time for a dictatorship with me in charge - state car will be an elongated Austin Maxi

 

The quote made me laugh, but I'm not sure Alan Clark is a great example given the huge number of Jags he owned over the years...

 

How a car is seen can be different to the reality. I'm not sure an old Jag like my XJ40 was ever seen as new money or suburban - it certainly isn't now that it is worth a grand or so. It is just a cheap car which few aspire to - a geezer car at best, though the really nice ones tend to be owned by people who have had them forever. Cars like old Jags seem to be dismissed by the middle but liked both by people with no money and pots of the stuff.

 

It could be that things are different in other parts of the country of course, but back in 1990 a new Jaguar round here was either a company director's car or owned by a wealthy country person alongside a Range-Rover. In those days (at least round here) people with "old money" would not have considered a foreign car - the Mercedes or BMW was owned by their accountant. The only exception was Volvo; the same kind of people also ran them. I didn't know or know of a single very posh person with a Merc.

 

They're not many truly classless cars. It'd have to be something boring but pleasant, maybe a Honda.

[Cavcraft]

Saab is a belting suggestion. From spooled up turbos wellying it down the motorway, through council estate convertables to old model 900s outside fancy houses, they seem to appeal to many.

A bit like old Merc's they just seem to whisper the owner has a bit of class and isn't afraid of an old car.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I nominate the Vauxhall Omega! Comfortable and well-appointed but anonymous, it was an excellent 'old money' choice when new, depreciation turned it to a very sensible used buy for a shop manager/civil servant at a few years old, shitetastically cheap now, and RWD and a vibrant general Vauxhall 'scene' are guaranteed to attract a few mongs.

 

As a result of urban planning more than anything else (low-density cities), most wealthy people in the UK seem to live in the countryside, plus city driving is relaxed and parking tends to be rather easy (if expensive). In places like Italy and Greece, you see a lot more 'classless cars', because people need a small car to move about (as well as park in) town.

 

Case in point:

[Formula Autos]

Old (proper) Minis - a bit a of a cliche that they were (in their time) classless, but I think it still holds true today for '90s Coopers. Bought for what they are, rather than what they say about the owner?

 

Un-messed with BMW 7 series. Provided the chrome arches and monsta rimz brigade haven't been near them these cars still look classy, and being a Beemer, will probably last if looked after.

 

Audi 80s. As these haven't rusted through like their contemporaries some toffs round here seem to still have them, particularly estates (sorry, Avants).

 

Polo Mk4s. Although seemingly the weapon of choice for OMG Ratluk /stickerbomb treatment round my way, there seem to be a lot of examples still being driven by well-to-do old dears. Several can be seen gathered around churches when services are on.

 

Early '90s Granadas. Perhaps a company car bought off the firm at retirement? There seems to be plenty of tweed wearing gents who still smoke around in these, as well as those driven by shiters/ OMG RWD thrillz seekers/ oval fans.

 

Fiat 500s (the FWD variety)- another bought for the actual appeal of the car, rather than its monetary worth/ status. Seemingly as likely to be bought by someone who might consider buying a 30K car as by those who can just about manage to scrape together enough to buy one. From low paid office worker to WAGs, these seem to find buyers merely because of 'cuteness' and how FIAT allow you to personalise them. To this decade as the Mini was to the '60s?

[scooters]

Landies, Volvo estates, big Jags. Age and condition will tell you nothing, they can be seen everywhere in every state imaginable.

 

 

not Jags, too aspirational- too new money - too suburban - the aristos wouldnae touch them far too flash and nowhere for the gun dogs

 

what was it the late Alan Clark said about Hesseltine - "Michael is the sort of person who had to buy his own furniture" - Hessletine had a Jag, Clark lived in a castle and had a DS Cabriolet....nuff said

 

Clark once said that he had more in common with Dennis Skinner than most of the front benches these days as at least they spoke their mind - a trend sadly missing from our so called leaders these days - spineless blotter jotters - time for a dictatorship with me in charge - state car will be an elongated Austin Maxi

 

The quote made me laugh, but I'm not sure Alan Clark is a great example given the huge number of Jags he owned over the years...

 

How a car is seen can be different to the reality. I'm not sure an old Jag like my XJ40 was ever seen as new money or suburban - it certainly isn't now that it is worth a grand or so. It is just a cheap car which few aspire to - a geezer car at best, though the really nice ones tend to be owned by people who have had them forever. Cars like old Jags seem to be dismissed by the middle but liked both by people with no money and pots of the stuff.

 

It could be that things are different in other parts of the country of course, but back in 1990 a new Jaguar round here was either a company director's car or owned by a wealthy country person alongside a Range-Rover. In those days (at least round here) people with "old money" would not have considered a foreign car - the Mercedes or BMW was owned by their accountant. The only exception was Volvo; the same kind of people also ran them. I didn't know or know of a single very posh person with a Merc.

 

They're not many truly classless cars. It'd have to be something boring but pleasant, maybe a Honda.

 

 

lol - there's always the slight snobbery between the 'Jag' and the 'Daimler' with the XJ40 - always fun going to an XJ40 meet, parking the Daimler Sov up, leaning out the window and saying 'I say old boy, you wouldn't mind awfully moving your Jag over to the parking by the portaloos would you? Only it does tend to attract the riff raff, what?"

 

Mind you, 3 months later when the said Daimler had been swapped for a 3.2 Pov Spec XJ40 I got it back in spades when I turned up at a Berwickshire meet a few months later!