Harris Mann drives a Civic

[JohnDeere]

...and other trivia interspersed with the usual cliches

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classics/austin-allegro-the-worst-car-of-all-time/

[Lord Sterling]

“I had one and it was all right,â€Â

But it got slated, which I think was just British Leyland bashing; whatever BL did in those days it got criticised.

 

“I know the unions were giving journalists some ammunition, but you never saw anything in the papers about strikes at BMW or the problems VW had trying to replace the Beetle.â€Â

Seems to me like Harris was at least trying to defend the marque. But I think the journalists twists are far more apparent than the real story.

[Squire_Dawson]

There was nothing new in the article... very little was said about the technical specification. I suppose it's a topic that's been discussed ad nauseum, though.

[MarvinsMom]

i hope that one day i get to meet Harris Mann, i'd like to shake his hand an get his autograph.

 

the vehicles he had a hand in at BL are i think cool, i grew up with these cars and yes, they were rubbish, but they were alos great. these cars took us on holidays, to my grandparents, shopping and the like.

 

the fact that they were doing a job with little or no money, worn out kit and mutinous unions makes for an even more compelling, if sad story, as we know how it ends in 2005.

 

would things have had a different outcome, without say, Don Ryders "report" and the hiatus in model development and government/union interference, no, probably not even the mess BMC were in, it's a shame that they dragged other such as Rover's down with them.

[mercrocker]

Coincidentally I saw a TR7 the other day - next to me in a traffic holdup.   It must have been at least 15 years ahead of its time in styling - probably why I hated it when it came out.   It still didn't look 40 years old compared to the rest of the cars in the queue.

[captain_70s]

BL shit heaps and Honda Civics go hand in hand. Mann is clearly a man of taste.

[HH-R]

ALLEGROS R SHIT LOL WRST CARZ EVA THEY SHUD GIV THEM ALL 2 TOP GEAR

[John F]

If you squint, his head looks a bit like the Allegro.

 

[MarvinsMom]

ohhhh!

 

a 1750 SS!

 

almost as desirable* as an equip!

[406V6]

If he drives a current model Civic there are plenty of similarities to the Allegro.

- pig ugly

- ill proportioned

- podgy

- a step backwards in most respects compared to the car it replaced

[Richard]

I was reading the Mk1 Astra Wikipedia page last night and it seems the Astra displaced the Allegro from the number two slot in its class, the Escort being the top seller of course.

 

The Allegro wasn't as good as it could and should have been but it was far from the disaster the revisionists would have you believe.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Coincidentally I saw a TR7 the other day - next to me in a traffic holdup.   It must have been at least 15 years ahead of its time in styling - probably why I hated it when it came out.   It still didn't look 40 years old compared to the rest of the cars in the queue.

 

 

Time has been very kind to the TR7. There was an Inca yellow one at the NEC, mint and in standard condition (it was an auto) and it was (to my eyes) just a great looking car. The TR7 was styled by someone with imagination. You may not like it, but it will stand out a mile in the current crop of shite.

The pre HE XJ-S is another car that looks terrific now, but is very colour sensitive - white is by far the best colour. The 18/22 Princess in a good colour with the ride height set slightly lower than standard also looks fantastic - the HLS with the trapezoidal lights and in black is a sharp looking car.

[AnthonyG]

I agree. I couldn't stand the TR7 back in the late 1980s but now they just look so sharp.

 

Shiters would appreciate 'The Detectorists' on BBC4 where Toby Jones' character drives one, and even references 'Inca Yellow' at one point!

 

IIRC it was Richard Bremner who said about 10 years ago that if the Princess had been built by Alfa or Lancia the classic movement would be fapping all over them, and he was right.