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My, how you've grown...


Ratdat

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Not a great picture but my 'project' Tipo next to my now sold Ibiza.  The Ibiza was the same length and notably wider (it wouldn't go down the side of the house even with the mirrors folded in without catching the fence posts) than the Tipo but is in theory from the size class below... and don't mention the hard ride/seats, cheap plastics and continual warning lights (on the Seat that is).  Hate to think what the current one is like, can't imagine things getting smaller.

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  • 7 months later...

I take a look at this and agree; there's a certain amount of design convention nonsense that' being pushed upon us that provides no alternative to the current design trends.

My Pontiac is a good case in point for the recurrence of this but for different reasons. If you take a tape measure to it, you realise that it is actually a big car. 18 feet end to end, which is longer than a lot of modern parking spaces. The roof is quite high compared to the beltline due to the 1940's/50's temperament of Mister Average who wanted to wear his Trilby whilst driving. As a result of that the car has to be made longer so not as to look all dumpy. Compare it to a Willys of the same era to see what I mean. There is a very large amount of room inside. I sat in my Jeep Grand Cherokee this morning- by the name it is the big version- internally in the cabin there is less room for passengers than in the Pontiac. There's certainly less rear legroom with the front seats all the way back, yet the Jeep is much taller, nearly as long and a fair bit wider.

Also, figure that it was sharing the road with a lot of other makes of cars- many more than exist today and that there were still cars from the 30's sharing the roads with it (being only 20 years old at the time) so although it wasn't a huge departure from the design styles used in the early 40's, it was paving the way for the mid fifties, wider bodies and more powerful engines. Twenty years before cars had much less powerful engines, the demands were similar; high ground clearance, long travel suspension and big cushioned tyres to take up the road surfaces once you got outside of town- most of which were dirt roads. If you weren't on that they you were on the not exactly billiard-table smooth concrete square roads of Eisenhower's Interstate system which could be equally bumpy. Cruising speeds had increased from 30-35 to 45 miles per hour or more and the vehicles were significantly more heavy than their predecessors, being made from thickwall cast iron and heavy gauge home-rolled steel. People expected to be able to climb up on their cars and not put dents in them still. People did recognise that they were heavy cars and they handled like a plate of blemonge but that's what they wanted in that sector. Something soft and squishy to take them from A to B in luxury. Keep in mind that you could also in the same year purchase a Ford Anglia (sit-up-and-beg shape) in the USA, or a Triumph TRA. Those you bought if you were po' or eccentric.

In terms of technological advancement, the improvements are plain to see, whether they are actually needed or not. Engine design in terms of refinement and longevity is hugely improved, at the demand of increased fuel processing. Maintenance is significantly reduced- I've not changed the spark plugs in my truck in 11 years and they still work fine. Virtually nothing needs to be greased regularly. I've never set the points because it doesn't have any. In all that time I have had to replace 2 fuses (my fault both times) and a relay.

 

So, some things have changed for the better but the big butter-dish styling exercise that modern cars have gone to is something I'm waiting to see go away. I want a car that is comfortable, has a resonable amount of get up and go in a straight line and doesn't leave me feeling exhausted with a sore ass after 6 hours on the road. What they decide I need will always be up to them because 3 main manufacturers, 5 shapes of vehicle gotta fit everybody...

 

--Phil

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May have posted this on here before so apologies if I have!

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Taken a few days after I bought the car in 2019. Nissan really have made those extra 200mm on the new Micra really, really show.

The new Jazz is something like 5cm shorter than the previous one, and is lighter too, but the styling makes it looks much larger than it actually is. Must be to do with all the polygons they design into the bodywork and stuff.

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  • 8 months later...

A few from me here.

In its day the P6 would have been a large saloon car, and in isolation its proportions make it looks like a fairly big beastie.

Collection day told the real story: Citroen C1 looks tall and bulky in comparison;
J8PRn6uOLSSjoeiKHdIIxs0R92KRTwCj2HVCrF6jyt7Nke6oBfnJLji40Ve3dluYqRoD4XmF72tgAKLBgph3-SkeT-Ta39hYWM9HAoLYby46AG5k1g4iQWTavIDJxqZx7uovIMf8nq5qIy6uj-HLiLmctGaUgpHatPFWV_FYJZ7eWbsF9Vy08zLf4EJsQZz7qRjkROVGAN9-vTk6gpWnWpiHan-Qy911LJpNlibsAYZhnrYj29rAQKJ3CZuP9C2_70tLeyRV6_Zw2ThFgUh8ZS5bOx8igy8R3n6_oX2NBFxJITzL1X3-mPM2yJ6Wm85bYkUWV5ZmcMHGIzoqQ4CCSJ4sfi0x4kpzJnKQtRWjBIlrs05WNIE00mHDC9s25r9CVYNCR8wd0DHPoJLg0Jc67WtznTH06wOI9FgSE3tjgSAX_zZrr7u3rlxSVNgDYTOCfjOEiSymJNrO1J09f1QRtk5QLXzdn-hFEBy-vd2RH4bjbz2_-6H3Mye-YXMgoR3IDzGlxk874bMR3w5pOyQJiMQuLOZN_2-IX2-tDOpTAgjnCeROokppnDb0HkVd59HKrHD6BViqNMJeuoEIjeT6k_-5I5LyN9snIt6wfH7aCR5aXpvO4B0ziNMYsEXirEao0nfiB-7u_U4gWloKiIzmEPAyl1l-8AMWdk19sEc2WwSUPzA-hMAujRI8WeQyzx75WVQNIugmzFovTGIgDVnYdAvj=w1263-h947-no?authuser=0

Parking it next to a small SUV and a standard hatchback, it almost vanished:
_0HWGr4wH5oKTFa_87ecAWYhFF6CN3waaA80LWoNHjj4PN3aKnhk7jJWUUrtOqnG3pQGcH6YFkE_vGK8HzpUJb6gKDnbuN7-3rfb0uGUvc1iww85icgMYVqoY56eSR080Ce4VuJv70eqogQP07ra3InCWAmAUrIyQq-SNsqL1QAz_O1vSzM1TsrClpTfG1-ofThheHw7ftwRdFsiuHWBejHIgZTTF2O9NO7rUKtOwwXm5K3GX5L81d4k6RsdTRSbSGn_qQXd-2n9fwmB5pfTMQgeARZcBWbOGlJCwc8cZjhlmUTNNLztKGWIOYSM1aIIp3mu4gdx8Jxclq-IzaolBAtuB3i5N4ZmPPzQGDJwY1SEPK9HhpQ3bYCSHNZkI0D-wgLUksovMWb4hLoBepVM4sG8_IikObaAaGik0xFPlwHEsZcZtSZxSLotrkyGilzuiOQr9Z2LeOQ2qaiuoaWLLTd43ydxIAcrIRprs5F2AZqm1OHbxN_JENqmYV039uzTIACYWP06S_EVb3DcKCD9z9DF55MGdlnSofzeux4_6WAtvXc3WFltlBJKtZN8tt0UqN3GeELbuMkaoSm7edBx--6QTInH64pMlDZ7nKDMqDCmUTTaXsP8r9TinSM1qYO0YJY4G7pNKVNzcph-V6R3M3BS7uWAS2MPar04BHiMYAx18ZRNUL6ulY2NZcvNYX88aO6YPf-eFcgcbbGFvRx148k-=w1263-h947-no?authuser=0

 

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  • 7 months later...

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