What would be the ultimate 'shite spec' model of a car

[Lord Sterling]

My 820E is the miserable-spec of the 800 range, not as depressing as some of the miserable chod here.

 

Cloth seats, 4-speaker radio/cassette, steel wheels/wheel trim combo, no sunroof and manual rear windows. Of course you got niceties such as front electric windows, power steering, and central locking.

 

I found blanking plugs in the doors where interior door lights would usually be, there is also no wood on the door cards. Rubber mats were an option and you also didnt get the rubber mat finisher on the dash recess area.

 

The engine is an M-series single point injection, only the proper 'base' spec Rover 820 (no spec indicator after it such as 'i' 'e' 'si' 'se') got the carb-fed O-series engine. I was told it was like driving my 820E with the handbrake on. Its one car I'd dearly love to try.

 

My 820E

 

Yesthe rubber mat dash finisher is seen on the dash but it has since been removed.

 

The Rover 800s didn't share the same loom as the higher specced Sterling as I found out, so I couldn't simply slap a trip-computer/vehicle map thing in place of the clock.

 

On the other hand, dear old Ma's Micra seemed to most, if not all the wiring to fit higher spec shizzle to it if the buyer chose. Ma chose nothing as she isn't exactly Mike Brewer or whoever when it comes to buying cars, last time she bought a car was the Micra, and I didn't possess a licence....

 

Anyhow, I added sruff to it that might have been an option when new, rear OEM speakers, A-pillar tweeters, carpet floor mats, some rear quarter interior trims with bins and a rear ashtray.

[makum101]

I've noticed this in the Insignias at work too, there's a "phone" button obviously for those cars specced with Bluetooth, press it on our ones and it simply mutes the audio, then there's the "Eco" models with an Eco button randomly slapped in the middle of a fascia like an afterthough.

 

Vauxhall are masters of the spec a car up when it's launched then gradually remove stuff from it as it gets older, the SRI Insignia used to have 18" wheels, rear electric windows and extendable leg supports on the passenger seat, now they've got 17" wheels standard seat and manual windows in the back.

Feel a bit better now youve told me that - I have the SRI with 18" wheels, rear electric windows & extendable leg rests and even a automatic electric handbrake button thingy. (i just ignore it & drive off and it releases its self.)

[gary_davidson]

Not sure if it counts because they come as a kit, but Caterham lists paint as an optional extra

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

MG-Rover didn't do too bad with Project Drive or whatever it was called .

 

Here is a great pictorial guide of things removed or altered on the 75 and ZT during the last half of its run. 

[r.welfare]

Vauxhall are masters of the spec a car up when it's launched then gradually remove stuff from it as it gets older, the SRI Insignia used to have 18" wheels, rear electric windows and extendable leg supports on the passenger seat, now they've got 17" wheels standard seat and manual windows in the back.

 

Funnily enough, a mate of mine was telling me last night that Mercedes-Benz have done something similar with the C-Class - his 2010 C250 is about to come off lease and the 2013 version is missing a fair bit in comparison, although apparently you get it all back if you order the coupe rather than the saloon. 

 

He mentioned a "mirror pack" as an example, whatever the hell that is.

[Pillock]

It's what you can use to check for people in the lane you're about to join. Naturally it's an option in Mercedes

 

It's quite common for manufacturers to bung the loom for the top model in to every car, especially on run-out. Both my Mk1 Mondeo and Astra GTE had this, I fitted the trip computer and footwell lights to the Mondeo just by plugging them in. The Heated Windscreen loom was there too, but naturally not connected to the screen. The GTE had a plug clipped to the back of every blank on the dash, and had wires to the doors for leccy windows despite being a rather miserly GTE with analogue windows, no fogs etc.

[Junkman]

Actually there is hardly anything that beats shite-spec yanks of yore. If they said shite-spec, they mean't it.

So-called business sedans were the price leaders of the range, and they came with cardboard door cards and no rear seats.

If you didn't tick any further boxes on the order sheet, they came with the base six cyliner and three-on-the-tree manual.

However, they were of course the lightest cars in the lineup, and you could order them with the biggest thunder and lightning V8s available, this way they were the base for many a NASCAR Stock Car.

 

This is for example what a 1957 Chevrolet 150 Utility Sedan looked like:

 

 

 

Note no passenger sun visor, no dome light, no rear seat, no heater, hardly chrome, dog-dish hubcaps, no V8 (you can tell, because the golden 'V' on the bonnet is missing), black couple...

 

Compare this with the other end of the spectrum, a Bel Air:

 

 

 

Chrome, stainless, brushed aluminium by the square foot, whitewalls, wheel embellishers, V8, white girl...

[AnthonyG]

I've seen a Mk1 Cortina 'fleet', spectacularly grim with even the crash padding foam removed from the metal dashboard. Amazed it even had a speedo, i'm sure if Ford could have installed a warning light instead they would have done. Like the Anglias and Mini commercials, it had a pressed steel panel in the style of the grille instead the real thing. However I don't remember it being quite as grim as that Viva, or a Reliant van in primer. I seem to recall early basic Golfs (the 'N' model?) being pretty grim places to be even by late 1970s standards

[HMC]

Years ago a small saving could be made on 'list' by making your own number plates. I remember reading the late Alan Clark ordered a 59 mini and painted up a set of plates to go with. That would be shite spec.

[cros]

The Ensign poverty restyle, this tacked on protuberance is a satisfyingly half-arsed job. Spotted this morning along with a crisp(y) 1100.

 

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