remember 1983 and 1984?

[ChinaTom]

Having a bit of a clearout of the book shelves and found some old car books that I used to read over and over again as a kid. I must have read this page 5,000 times as an 11 year old, but don't recall laughing as I did when I read it again just now.

 

 

Anyway, I bet a load of you who are my age had the Observer's Book of Automobiles by Bladon. For those of you that didn't, see if you can guess what car he was describing in the 'Identity' or 'Features' section:

 

1) "Features: One piece folding rear seat, and very spacious body makes this a very versatile and fuel efficient car, for potential carrying capacity in relation to fuel consumption generally better than 35mpg. Quite generously equipped, though not quite to the standard of the petrol versions. Very comfortable long-journey car"

 

The 0-60 time was quoted as 22.5 seconds.

 

2) "Features: Well-equipped, sporting and comfortable GT four seater, with two doors and opening rear hatch. On board computer for fuel consumption, average speed, and other instant readings, is standard. Turbocharger leads to an air-air cooler first, and thence to carb"

 

Thence!!!

 

3) "Identity: Not a production car - this was a styling exhibit at the 1983 Frankfurt Show; but it deserves inclusion for its ingenious concept and 'double-purpose' functions such as a clock which can be taken out to serve as an alarm clock, and seat upholstery which unclips for use as a bed bag"

 

Eh?

 

 

[Junkman]

 

remember 1983 and 1984?

 

Vaguely. Twas the 80s after all.

[Shep Shepherd]

A 3500cc V8 Polonez? That's well weapon!

 

I have a copy of the 1986 Bladon book, which amongst other things, features all sorts of interesting mid-1980s Yank shite. His favourite car that year was the BMW M635CSi, if I recall correctly

 

In 1983/84, I was five years old and living in small village in east Kent, still getting over the visual shock of the Ford Sierra.

[Tonka]

I married my first wife in 1983, if I remember rightly 1984 was the year I woke up and thought "sh*t what have I done...."

 

[Guest Breadvan72]

I was at university, getting drunk and falling in the river.   Cars were not a feature of my life, although I did honk out of the window of my dad's Princess one day as he drove me home. 

[brickwall]

I remember the alarm clock and bag thing. I think I saw  a retro Top Gear review on youtube that shows that in another car. Something else happened, but I forget what.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I was at university, getting drunk and falling in the river.   Cars were not a feature of my life, although I did honk out of the window of my dad's Princess one day as he drove me home. 

 

Hmmm... University, river, getting drunk... You are George Osborne AICMFP !

[Pillock]

So it's not petrol, but has a turbo - so I'm thinking a TD which must have been pretty rare in '83. Two-door four-seat GT.

Something Peugeot? They were using lots of TDs fairly early weren't they?

[meggersdog]

 

Well-equipped, sporting and comfortable GT four seater, with two doors and opening rear hatch.

Renault Fuego with an R18 diesel engine is my guess

[twosmoke300]

Is the first one the Sierra 2.3d ?

[Albert Ross]

1, Sierra Diesel, like wot he sez...

2, Dunno, Esprit?

3, Fiat Panda.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Agreed that number 1 is probably a Sierra diesel.

 

Number 2 has to be a Fuego, I don't recall any other turbocharged four-seater coupe having a carb in the 80s.

 

Had no idea about number 3, so I cheated.

[Richard]

I think the third might be the Lancia Gamma Olgiata.

[Richard]

I think the third might be the Lancia Gamma Olgiata.

Ah, wrong year and wrong show. I had the 1982 book, which I think was the first Bladon effort.

[philibusmo]

I do not remember this time period as I was still 8 years away myself.

 

Let me take a guess at the motor cars in question though.

 

The first has to be a Sierra Diesel or possibly a Peugeot 505 estate TD?

 

The second a Renault Fuego Turbo.

 

The third I think was a small Opel of some sort with a bit of  sad face but was round like a Citroen C3. Without looking it up I'm going to go for Opel Jacques  as the name. I think it had those features and interchangeable roof panels if I remember correctly. Of course this car could have been a mad dream.

[Station]

I was drooling over the red mk3 Capri my dad had borrowed off my cousin to go to Blackpool in on a Friday in the summer. I had a very tiny bulge in my shorts thinking about that car all week.

[Clevtrev]

Number 3 was this Opel Junior...

 

[ChinaTom]

A Sierra 2.3d would have blown this into the weeds despite having the same size engine.

 

It was a Carlton Estate Diesel. I had no idea they were so slow off the mark, and also how anyone could think this would make a good long journey car if every time you needed to accelerate, nothing would happen.

 

As someone already said, the selection of yank-shite was so completely irrelevant to us: Pontiac Phoenix? Mercury Topaz? Dodge Aries? Cadillac Cimarron? The Mercury Topaz looks shite enough to deserve a thread of its own, the guy that designed it apparently had a great deal of influence on our very own Ford Focus.

[oman5]

A Sierra 2.3d would have blown this into the weeds despite having the same size engine.

 

It was a Carlton Estate Diesel. I had no idea they were so slow off the mark, and also how anyone could think this would make a good long journey car if every time you needed to accelerate, nothing would happen.

 

As someone already said, the selection of yank-shite was so completely irrelevant to us: Pontiac Phoenix? Mercury Topaz? Dodge Aries? Cadillac Cimarron? The Mercury Topaz looks shite enough to deserve a thread of its own, the guy that designed it apparently had a great deal of influence on our very own Ford Focus.

Hmm. never driven a carlton diesel, but the sierra 2.3d  I had was pretty hopeless on acceleration and hill climbing. There just didn't seem to be any torque in it, at any point in the rev range. totally reliable, but tiring to drive on hilly terrain.  Ford were very reluctant to provide any for press testing upon launch because they knew how bad it was. 

[purplebargeken]

Got my first brand new car in 1984, A599 JLV - black Mk2 Fiesta 950cc Pop+ in black (special order). A mixed year. 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I had my first three cars in 1983 - an Austin 1300 VUO488J, a 1962 Rapier TFX400 and a Marina 1.3 Deluxe KPB905K.

 

It was a good hot summer, ideal for working on old shit and pillaging scrapyards.

[Leyland Lawrence]

I was 4 in 1983.

 

We were living in Scotland at the time but the best car deals for Volvo were down South for some reason, so my Dad and I went on a train down to London to pick up a brand new A registered brown Volvo 240 DL estate from Tamplins Volvo.

 

I still have the original 'Tamplins Volvo' number plate and can vividly remember clambering over the light brown/beige Volvo rear seat and exploring the car as my dad was being shown all the controls on the dashboard outside Kings Cross station.

 

I would love to get my hands on an A reg brown Volvo 240 estate now. I haven't seen one for perhaps 20 years. Ours was bodily too far gone after umpteen Scottish winters without ever being washed and we sold it for £100 in 1994 with FVSH. Long gone now, sadly.

[HillmanImp]

[Richard]

Since the original ones have been answered does anybody object if I add some from my 1982 version?

 

Car 4- Little merit, due to obsolete design and lack of current features for improved economy, but car has appeal due to space offered in relation to price. Simple engineering facilitates home maintenance.

 

Car 5- Very straightforward and easy car to drive, with excellent accommodation and road manners, and diesel engine which is unobtrusive most of the time, except at tickover and in manoeuvring. Little 'diesel penalty'- big economy gains.

 

Car 6- Quite pleasantly high-geared and quiet, roomy car with good equipment for price range. Spoilt by rather indifferent suspension and vague steering.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Car 4 could be anything from the eastern block... Lada ? FSO ? Skoda ?

 

No idea about the other two.

[catsinthewelder]

Hows about

 

4,  FSO 125p

 

5,  Talbot Horizon

 

6,  Morris Ital

[oldford]

1983 the year that I passed my driving test and had a driving job, a 1987 list of the cars:

 

[Richard]

Hows about

 

4,  FSO 125p

 

5,  Talbot Horizon

 

6,  Morris Ital

 

4- very close

 

5 wasn't a PSA product and I suspect the diesel penalty was slightly greater than he's letting on. The petrol version was a rep favourite.

 

6 is very much not a Morris Ital, though I suspect quite a lot of Itals were traded in to buy these.

[sheffcortinacentre]

83 left school & started work, 84 passed my test  had a mk1 escort 2dr 1.3 XL red/black vynil roof, then a lemans green  k reg 4dr 1.3 XL mk3 cortina fitted with a 1.6, then a Preg 1.3 pop  2dr mk2 escort dark green.

 

num 4 lada.

 

num 5  mk2 cav diesel

 

num 6 maestro

[vulgalour]

4 - Lada Riva

5 - Sounds a bit French to me, Peugeot 504 perhaps? EDIT - oh wait, that's PSA.  I don't know then. - EDIT

6 - Could be describing a Princess, but by 82 you'd probably want an Ambassador, so that's my guess here.