The new old shit.

[gordonbennet]

When we still had what i call a proper car (and lorry) making industry, as against assembly lines for admittedly good foreign owned employers, i always bought British, and i mean everything, if it wasn't made here i didn't buy the bugger.

 

Went to buy a microwave once, didn't care what bloody programs it had or what name was on it i wanted a bloody home made product again...searched high and low and eventually found a Belling at Comets...that'll bloody do me, fuckin great Union Flag on the front of it...''i'll have one of those love''.

 

Anyway, having been tricked before i asked to have a look at the back to see wher it had been made, bloody girl looked at me gone out 'no one's ever asked that before', so she pulled it out and...yep you've guessed it bloody China, didn't buy that bugger...that was nearly as bad as whatever twat it was who decided to stick the Union Flag on the back of the piss awful Tata rebadged as City Rover....bloody hate being deceived like that by some bloody marketing spiv.

 

Eventually realised i was the only bugger still buying British excusively and it became almost impssible to do so anyway, so under protest gave up me one man crusade.

 

How come its OK and seemingly in the national psyche for the French to buy French, the Germans to buy German, but when Brits try to support their own (without involving fuggin sport) they get the piss taken out of them by their own politically correct unpatriotic peers.

 

Its OK, you'll get used to me, i go off on these rants now and again...a small whisky mac will calm me down, there there.

 

 

edit...i liked me British lorries too, still rate a good British chassis with a Cummins/Eaton Fuller/Rockwell drivetrain against of this foreign muck...all bling and no guts.

[Junkman]

Holy thread deflection, Batman, but there are loads of things you should exclusively "buy British", because British is still best, period.

 

- Beer

- Clothing

- Bicycles

- Tableware and kitchenware

- Whiskeys and various Liquors

- Sports leisure and outdoors

- Shoes

- Boats and yachts (although with Austrian sails, please)

- Leatherwares

- Furniture

 

You still can get pretty much anything you really need "Made or bred in the UK". What you don't need comes from China, so it should not only be avoided, but boycotted, model cars being the sole exception, because in this field, China truly carved out world leadership for itself over the past 30 years, through hard work, dedication, and inventiveness, all of which being decidedly British core values.

[hairnet]

You high, bro?

 

These even have padded, quilted leather door cards.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-NISSAN-TIIDA-/281260653633?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item417c70fc41

 

they are theres millions in ireland and if they come over here theyre very cheap

[Junkman]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-NISSAN-TIIDA-/281260653633?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item417c70fc41

 

 

Bluetooth Phone System, Reverse Parking Sensors, ..., Cruise Control, Automatic Lights,

 

But you still have to shift yourself like Dorothy Levitt did. Hilarious.

[alf892]

The MGF did really well for the Rover Group and MGR.

 

VAG worship is strong in the UK as well, I know many people who'd only consider VAG SHIT. My Skoda has had more problems due to shit quality, under-specced parts than any of the PSA cars I've owned.

Well the scud will be shit won't it! If Audi/VW shit then the scud is further cost reduced so it will be more shit.

[Junkman]

Speaking of VAG chod, the Pheaton has been around the block a few times by now.

[Bren]

The vw/ Audi thing is badge snobbery pure and simple.

 

Driven by the kind of people that tell you they wouldn't drive anything else, but if you looked at the shopping bags they have in the boot they would be from aldi and lidl.

[gordonbennet]

Now steady on Bren, Aldi and LIdl offer some good stuff if you select carefully.

 

Their WG range of cleaning chemicals are superb, the strawberry jam is the best you will ever taste, trust me my ever expanding waistband coudl vouch for that.

Some of the booze is first rate, some of the meats are so so, vegs are cheap and variable but improving all the time, cereals and sweets etc vary from mediocre to yummy.

 

They both offer 'smart' chargers every bit as good as CTEk's every so often for about a 1/3rd of the price and Lidls screenwash is the best you will find anywhere, some good tools and bits and pieces now and again, my Aldi work trousers are better than any of the tat the firm supplies.

 

Best of all you get some seriously fit Polish totty shopping there, much more relaxing for the old mince pies especially in the warmer weather..

[chaseracer]

My mate Chris says his 05-plate Octavia is the best car he's ever had. But this IS a man who bought a Laguna diesel.  New.  On my recommendation... 

 

Anyhoo... if Skodes are so shit, why do they fill cab ranks across the country? 

[Junkman]

Lidl bourbon vanilla ice cream in the blue tub. Nuff sed?

[Richard]

Aldi and Lidl have recently become fashionable among people who belong in Tesco. It's become noticeably less pleasant to shop there. I suppose one day it will go full circle and Tesco will be a fud-free zone, they'll still sell overpriced shit though.

[Vince70]

The vw/ Audi thing is badge snobbery pure and simple.

Driven by the kind of people that tell you they wouldn't drive anything else, but if you looked at the shopping bags they have in the boot they would be from aldi and lidl.

I drive two Audi's and shop at Aldi and Lidl but to my defence mine are 19 and 22 years and cost less than a grand for the two lol..

 

Back on topic how about the Mazda RX8

 

£500 to £1000 to buy with a £2000 engine rebuild looming plus a high tax bracket and juicy to run should see them off quickly

 

Shame is they really do look good value and a RX8 must be worth a gamble till it goes pop.

 

But I guess a few hardcore wankel fanatics should keep a few on the road so it may become a cult car so could go either way really..

[Bren]

I shop at aldi all the time and avoid tesco like the plague - their bid to take over the world was like something from a bond film.

[alf892]

For the record I think scuds are good....mechanically.

[gordonbennet]

Didn't do Saddam or any other bugger any good, apparantly they couldn't hit a barn door with 'em, whatever ant missile missile the yanks (Israeli yanks?) were using at the time soon sorted the buggers out.

[eddyramrod]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Aldi and Lidl come over between 20-25 years ago from the land of VAG and the Silver Star?  ISTR there was also a French chain called Ed    which seemed to get swallowed up quite quickly by one of the bigger players.  As for Tesco, I didn't mind their bid for market dominance until they fucked me royally with their so-called internet.  I won't use them at all now (and I used to work in one!).

 

Meanwhile, and I was thinking about this just before, walking the dog... Pug 106?  Not something you see every day now.  They used to be everywhere.  Also Astra 2 and 3.  I saw an Astra 3 convertible last week and thought how elegant it looked.  Don't remember thinking that when they were new!

[Junkman]

Lexus LS400, no?

[eddyramrod]

Lexus LS400 yes, the banger boys are hoovering them up now.  Also, when did you last see a Lexus GS300?

[Junkman]

Soarer would qualify, too, no? Drift mongs are hoovering them up now, though.

[Vince70]

How about the smart roadster....

 

Built for only 3 years and production stopped mainly due to crippling Merc in warranty claims.

 

Great little car and fun to drive but the build quality of a tissue box and a leaky bulkhead with some very nice expensive electrics tucked away in just the right place to get get soggy...

 

Once Merc stop making Sam units these things are going to be a thing of the past...

 

It could really of been a great little car if build quality and the faults were ironed out before production started..

it could of been modern day Austin Healey Sprite..

[Grundig]

 

MGF production total: 77,269

MGTF production total: 117,149

 

MX5 production reached 900,000 three years ago, newer figures I can't find, but this should be sufficient to show what did well and what not.

 

Did BMW have an offroad 4x4 car/chelsea tractor, before it's involvement with BL- Rover ?? 

[Hendry]

I know I'm a bit late to the party here but with regard to cost cutting, Vauxhall are the masters of this,

 

Corsa C SXi - I had a 55 plate and it was missing the map lights, centre rear head rest, adjustable steering column and split folding rear seat base that the earlier models had.

 

Vectra C - the early base models had rain sensor wipers and an auto dim mirror, folding passenger seat, coin tray below headlight switch, SRis had chrome window trims, cup holder in rear seat, centre rear head rest, etc then on the facelift some features got reinstated but they removed the rear heater vents from the back of the centre armrest for example.

 

Astra mk5 - my 05 Design had real leather seat facings and faux leather elsewhere, the later ones were all faux leather, it had check control, this was completely removed from all specs later, the trip computer got downgraded to the basic 2 line TID, then later it got the trip computer screen back without the actual functions, the black headlights got downgraded to plain clear ones at facelift, however oddly some specs got upgraded, the SXi for example got twin illuminated sunvisors, trip computer and a rear interior light added, there was a huge list of stuff on the Astra forums that had been deleted, like the project drive Rovers, daft stuff like a piece of rubber in the clocks to reduce noise etc

 

The Insignia SRi - the adjustable passenger headrest, ergonomic sports seat and extendable leg extension got deleted, as did the rear electric windows, now on facelift its got its rear electric windows back but cheaper trim fabric and has lost the centre rear head rest.

[tooSavvy]

How about the smart roadster....

Built for only 3 years and production stopped mainly due to crippling Merc in warranty claims.

Great little car and fun to drive but the build quality of a tissue box and a leaky bulkhead with some very nice expensive electrics tucked away in just the right place to get get soggy...

Once Merc stop making Sam units these things are going to be a thing of the past...image.jpg

It could really of been a great little car if build quality and the faults were ironed out before production started..

it could of been modern day Austin Healey Sprite..

I like em [to look at] 》 》 hows about ebay skunk rat & fit another motor/whole undeskirts??

 

Anyone consider them worth the effort/feasible?

 

TS

[twosmoke300]

Newer Vw polos are a joke . Just feel so cheap . That 1.2 3 cyl is slow and noisy.

Had 3 in this week already with loads of split vac and vent pipes Inc the one to the servo.

Shit lower arm bushes too.

I have more grief with German stuff than any other but I do admit bmw cars seem well engineered on the whole.

[J-T]

The Rovers 'Project Drive' is the most obvious and most well-documented point, but it should be remembered that most other major car manufacturers do the same. It's all about building a car down to cost, sometimes even doing this before the first model has rolled off the producton line.

 

 

I also noticed this. Motherly_Sterling_One has the 98+ facelift K11 Micra, it is a low-spec car so the obvious stuff isn't (wasn't) there. But when traipsing about scrap yards, I did notice a the very early bubble-shaped Micra has better finishing touches, minor little details that others wouldn't notice like rubber covers on the B-pillar door catches.

 

But of course, your average Joe wouldn't know/care. As long as it has the latest plate on it, is frugal, has a bias towards a sporty hatch style, thats all they'll worry about.

 

Further to my previous build-quality comment, I should have said; dont be fooled into thinking that this costing-down malarky only affects interior trim, it affects the whole car, interior, exterior and drive train componants. Peugeot I know are well known for doing this. I remember having to order brake pads and finding that if a model was built earlier or later, the brake set-up was completely different due to using different automotive componants during its run.

 

Someone earlier in the thread commented that it was 'hard to believe that a VW part could fail' Sorry, this is wrong, it's not hard to believe. It might be so if your like the masses of other people who think the sun shines out of the VAG groups build quality department but the truth of it is, they build fairly average cars to fairly average standard which drops as production goes on, they too do cost componants down which affects build-quality and they do too get it wrong, but they don't care, thier marketing has worked and the masses will always still flock to buy thier overpriced stock.

 

When I worked at my mates garage, we had a shed load of VWs/BMWs and late Vauxhalls coming in for a plethora of componant failures.

 

Ford build the cars down over time as well. At work, they used to just use Focus Zetec diesels as company cars. The one before the one I have now was an early facelift on an 08 plate. Someone drove into that so when it was getting fixed I used the 10 plate pool car for a while and there were loads of little details changed for inferior items, most notable being the rear brakes were changed from discs to drums! Well, that's if you don't count the 1.8TDCi being binned for the 1.6 PSA lump.

 

They've done the same on the new shape as well - my 11 plate has a centre arm rest, 13 plates don't.

[Ghosty]

VAG is for Nazis.

The end.

[chaseracer]

I wonder whether Herr Kunze ever got his air-cooled, arse-engined crapmobile? Not many who started saving pre-war did...

[Junkman]

He got the square root of fuck all, since he lived in East Germany.
In the West, the Sparkarten were eventually honoured after the war.
 

...but I do admit bmw cars seem well engineered on the whole.

Are you really sure that this is not just a lot of overhype?

I mean, for what they cost, to be properly engineered should simply be something that can be expected, no?

And going by the 118d I once had the pleasure* to drive, there is no room whatsoever, except for improvement.