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Shite you just don't get the appeal of


dozeydustman

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17 hours ago, Mally said:

If a Samara feels better than an Escort, I think you have problems.

Perhaps I just happened to experience particularly bad/knackered out examples of Escorts if a Samara felt like a better motor? The one my brother owned was a complete and utter dog and was always going wrong or needed repairing. Even he hated it.

 

11 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I'd give any sort of a car a whirl if the opportunity came up.

Same here. Will give any car I can get in and control safely a whirl. Then I'll base my opinion on an actual drive.

 

13 hours ago, Rovorsche said:

The concept of Appeal in a car is a very personal thing, getting "The Fizz" and all that Jazz.

There is that; there's also sheep syndrome. My mate/dad/grandad/uncle's cousin's stepdaughter's boyfriend's ex girlfriend's housemate's pet hamster always had <insert make> so they must be good. 

 

14 hours ago, Rovorsche said:

I have not an ounce of understanding for Air Cooled VW's in any form, to me they are slow and stinky but to others they are full of character and who wants to rush anyway.

I do see the appeal of these (and many other popular/niche makes) but they're not my cup of tea.

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9 hours ago, Angrydicky said:

I'm sure they're great to drive, just like MGBs are. It's just the ownership demographic that kills it for me. Old codger MGB owners, who can no longer cope with such things as lack of power steering and old British reliability, who buy MX-5s as an easy-to-maintain alternative.

Yup, that's me to a T.

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Some of it is definitely an age thing, it is not unusual as you get older to want to own the cars that you could only dream of at the time. Your tastes probably will change as well. There are an awful lot of cars where I can see an appeal, but where they are just not me (E types for example, I can appreciate them as a work of art, but would never want one).

And showing my age, would much rather a Bristol 407 than an E type, even though the Jaguar is probably deemed the better car. 

I still get a lot of the older "sporty" stuff, but doubt I will buy any again as I find it difficult to fit/get in and out.

I'm now reaching the point where I fall into the target market for something like a Vanden Plas 1500, Renault 5 Monaco or Peugeot 205 Gentry. Small, easy to park, easy to get in and out, reasonably economical and a bit of comfort/luxury.

Therefore I drive either a basic Korean appliance or a large, noisy, impractical, thirsty V8.

 

I'm a fool

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Modern German cars. Years ago a Mercedes 190E  or a Audi 100 said ‘here is someone who values quality but doesn’t want something flash. Probably has a decent job doing something professional’

A new Audi says to me ‘20 something, working in a fairly menial job, very likely to be high as a kite from sniffing a grams worth of Persil in a Hungry Horse chain pub’

I don’t know why you’d want to buy into that image. You look at the people riding about in a modern German car these days and they’ll be anything but successful. 

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14 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Modern German cars. Years ago a Mercedes 190E  or a Audi 100 said ‘here is someone who values quality but doesn’t want something flash. Probably has a decent job doing something professional’

A new Audi says to me ‘20 something, working in a fairly menial job, very likely to be high as a kite from sniffing a grams worth of Persil in a Hungry Horse chain pub’

I don’t know why you’d want to buy into that image. You look at the people riding about in a modern German car these days and they’ll be anything but successful. 

Or as my mother used to put it, All fur coat on HP and no clean knickers. 

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I was a medical rep between 1977 and 1986, covering around 1500 miles a week. Company policy was that I had a new car every 6 months, and I had practically free range of choice up to a certain price. Occassionally they had a car destined for someone else that ended up with me, usually for a few months only.

Had more than a few Mk4 Cortinas, from 1.6L's to 2.0 Ghia auto saloons to 2.3 GLS's, all estates, a couple of Granada 2.0 L estates, Cavalier Mk 1 1.9 GLS coupe (too small) Renault Fuego (again, too small), Allegro three door estate (once more, too small), Orion 1.6 Ghia ( in JRG), a Marina 1.7(?) estate before ending on Mk2 Cavalier 1.6L hatchbacks (a four speed and then a 5 speed).

Favourites to drive were the Mk 1 Cavalier GLS, even with the long, long gear lever, the Allegro estate despite being no load lugger, and, my very favourites for speed and handling, the Mk2 Cavaliers. The others I didn't like at the time, although the Granada was bearable as it was huge and I could use it for the odd overnight stay at Santa Pod. Otherwise it was a bit slow and wheezy, especially loaded up. The Cortinas were just tools of the trade, and I tried to like each newer one I was given to use, but never did.

Considering I was an 18 year old when I had my first a brand new car, they all survived my lead foot, wheelspins away from the market place mobile hot dog van, and the hundreds of miles a week i did in them with no breakdowns, I would think they are no less reliable now. Or any nicer to drive.

Likewise 70's and 80's motorbikes-I just don't get them either, but that's another subject

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The great thing is to like cars that no one else does, this makes them cheaper to buy. 

I once bought a high miler Vauxhall Calibra Turbo for sod all. Everyone I knew went 'oh it's a Vauxhall, it'll be shit' and started quoting various sources saying how unreliable it would be and how i'd bought a lemon before I'd even gone and collected it. Cue a car I loved looking at, cost buttons to run, did a huge mileage, went like stink and was still working faultlessly seven years later when I offloaded it in expectation of major expense around the corner.

Re old Land Rovers, I think the main reason people often take against them is because they are often clapped out or badly set up so people assume they are all horrible to drive. My Land Rover is one of the few examples I've driven with zero play in the steering, most examples have four or five cms of free play at the wheel. You remove the play by adjusting a bolt on the steering box but no one ever does this. Radial tyres also make a big improvement to the vague handling. Incidentally they were almost always offloaded when the previous owner had decided they were no longer commercially viable so the first private owner got all the problems.

 

 

 

 

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Almost all Vauxhalls - anything except the super special cars like VX8/VX220 but they're not really Vauxhall products anyway. Crap seats, dull handling, soleless engines, horrific interiors and the feeling it's just a cheap product. Genuinely yet to find one that I liked driving or even my back withstanding sitting in the seats. 

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Whenever someone goes on about the Land Rover being an unstoppable might in inhospitable conditions, I point them in the direction of the depths of Africa or the Australian outback. There’s no Landrovers there, you can’t be taking chances when you are 200 miles from civilisation. They’ve all got Japanese. As far as 4x4s go all the best are Japanese, Mitsubishi Shogun, Toyota Hilux, Landcruiser etc. 

My in laws had a Shogun, 3.2 diesel, built for pulling twin axle trailers. Surprisingly easy to work on as well. Keep it in timing belts and clean oil and it’ll run and run. 

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23 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Whenever someone goes on about the Land Rover being an unstoppable might in inhospitable conditions, I point them in the direction of the depths of Africa or the Australian outback. There’s no Landrovers there, you can’t be taking chances when you are 200 miles from civilisation. They’ve all got Japanese. As far as 4x4s go all the best are Japanese, Mitsubishi Shogun, Toyota Hilux, Landcruiser etc. 

My in laws had a Shogun, 3.2 diesel, built for pulling twin axle trailers. Surprisingly easy to work on as well. Keep it in timing belts and clean oil and it’ll run and run. 

This, you don't see many 4x4s that aren't Nissan's and Toyota's in the real outback. You do see plenty of fucked Falcons with about 10 people in them but that's another story.

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Toyota really came into their own in the 1970s when BL owned Rover were basically starved of cash (profitable companies within the BL empire basically ended up propping up the unprofitable companies). The Land Rover reputation for lack of product development largely stems from this period. There were plenty of plans to improve the product with bigger, better engines, better chassis and even unitary body shells but lack of funding precluded this.

The UK also entered the EEC during this period and started to distance itself from the Commonwealth countries. This was probably all the excuse Australians and other former members of the British Empire needed to ditch their underpowered Series 2 Land Rover and buy a six cylinder Land Cruiser.

Much of Toyota's reputation is based on good advertising and also offering larger capacity engines with better long distance capability which are much better suited to environments like the Outback. Incidentally if asked Australians will generally criticise anything of British manufacture, it is a cornerstone of their national psyche, as an extension of the concept that Aussies are much tougher than the Poms. 

Back on topic, I really am struggling to think of a car that doesn't really do anything for me pre 2000, although a rose tinted viewpoint of the good old days doesn't offer much scope for critical analysis. 

 

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15 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

For me it’s MGBs. I just don’t get them. At all. No idea why. Guy I used to work with years ago had one. Asked if I wanted a spin and I refused. Probably because there are loads of them about and, well, they just do nothing for me. At all. 

Mate of mine had one about a decade ago, let me have a go in it. I don't do sports cars and was expecting it to be what it is, a Cambridge /Sherpa in a sharp suit. It actually left me impressed with how sporty BMC (although this was a BL example) had got it to feel. I do admit my standards of sporty aren't high and I still wouldn't actually own one but I could see why people do. Minis however leave me completely cold especially any on bigger than a ten inch rim. 

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16 hours ago, TheDoctor said:

Somehow I knew Rover R8s would be up there. Classic example of an acquired taste. I have discovered that there's pretty much no other car I can feel comfortable in though. 

However I don't see the appeal of most Fords, VWs etc. I once drove a MK4 Cortina and it was horrid, yet I'd love a Lada of the same era. 

 

 

If only somebody had one on their driveway, 32,000 miles, one owner, piles of history and not a speck of rust upon it.......

 

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2 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

For me it’s MGBs. I just don’t get them. At all. No idea why. Guy I used to work with years ago had one. Asked if I wanted a spin and I refused. Probably because there are loads of them about and, well, they just do nothing for me. At all. 

You should have given it a go if it was a sorted one.

I really wasn't expecting much from mine given all the poo pooing you get with them from everyone, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Absolute blast to hoon around in. Of course you're not going particularly quick, like a Mx5/cappuccino/106/Ax/etc they're superb fun while staying legal. I only bought it initially to scratch an itch. But currently it's enough fun that I have little reason to get rid. I think I actually like it more than my Boxster...

In fact, the whole having fun while staying on the legal side is what puts me off anything performance post ~2010. Yes a Golf R, M135/140, Cooper S, Cayman/911, C63, etc, etc are all monstrously quick both around a corner and in a straight line and yes they will demolish super cars from the 90s and give super cars from the 00s a bloody nose. However to have any real fun and push them hard you have to be seriously breaking the speed limit. 

That 2008 Audi TT MK2 with a 200bhp petrol lump I had was an extremely competent. Far better than most can imagine. Yet in 2nd gear it did 60mph at the red line, 3rd gear it did 90mph. So on a b-road blast between 30-70mph, you'd constantly be between 2nd and 3rd to keep the revs up and give it a blast. The trick suspension, fat tyres and electric powered steering gave so much grip but no feedback. Unless it was a very tight bend, there was zero drama, no reward and little excitement when it just did the job of going around the corner. An extra 100bhp would make that even worse and you'd barely/never be in 3rd gear on a twisty road. 

Where as something with less power, you can rev the tits off it, hammering through the box and still be legal. Going back to the MGB, when approaching a corner, you need to be in the right gear, right speed and balance it around the corner with the throttle. Otherwise things can get a bit hairy ... even at 30mph. 

They were popular and so many are still around simply because they're actually quite good fun sports cars. Their continued popularity makes them easy to own classic cars due to plenty of knowledge and parts support. 

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From stuff I've owned. Mercedes.  Hate the things.  Probably as I've only ever had old ones and they go wrong like every other car (or in mercs case more often).

R129 sl500. Most expensive thing ever had to keep going. Biodegradable loom anyone?

C124. 300 ce 24v. That was a good un actually. More by the fact it cost  £250 or so.  Weirdly ran fine if used every day. Leave it 2 and ran like a bag of bolts.

A124. 220 convertible. Lovely to look at. Dull as anything and a big blancmange.

C215. Cl55 amg. Not the supercharged one but still quick.  Amazing abc suspension  (genuinely impressive) as it worked. Although live in fear.  But rams home how utterly pointless these things are.

Like one of the guys above, I had a ropey mgb gt for about 6 weeks in the 90s. Slow, noisy, uncomfortable. But bloody great fun. Hoon the tail out at 20mph. Modern performance stuff is pointless.

And as an aside, anything Audi/vw sucks. Not driven them. No interest in them. The aspirational image shit makes me throw up! 

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VW Beetles and Classic* campers with the engine in the boot.

It's not a scene thing (I actually think whilst we sit ridiculing them, they're probably living better lives and having superior sexual intercourse to the rest of us) and I really like Golfs and early Breadvans.  I'd like to own one with a roof-rack and some stickers too!  

But Beetles really are spiteful little bastards, and camper's? Overrated.

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VW T3's - I really do not understand why anyone would want one and pay actual money for it. T2 performance with none of the style.  

Anything with a Ford badge that isn't a Sierra or an original Transit - everything else leaves me wanting to stab my eyes out with a Habanero chilli.

Subaru Impreza's - mainly due to the image of the owners, who all appear to be weedy little chavvy f**kwits who spend their time drinking monster energy drinks and physically abusing their 14 year old girlfriends. 

Rolls Royce / Bentley boxes from the 70's onwards, see Shadow and the Eight etc.  Worth about 50p and owned by "Nigel" types who like to doff a Primark suit and drive around orange Brides to be, occasionally trying to cop a cheeky peek in the rear view mirror.  He polishes it every Sunday to within an inch of its life (the car, that is), despite the fact the sills are splitting open like a fat birds tights and the floor pans look like lace curtains. 

All modern SUV's. Especially the Nissan Juke - kill it with fire. 

 

Other opinions are available of course! 

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37 minutes ago, MrSchwifty said:

All modern SUV's. Especially the Nissan Juke - kill it with fire. 

 

In the middle of a beer recycling session in the pub, we started talking about engine swaps.
The subject of a 1.6 Nissan Juke engine being a close sibling to the 1.0 Micra came up and some Googling was done.

The results were promising, a 1.6 turbo with just shy of 200Bhp "looks like it will fit" so more googling  for a donor went on.

You dont need to Kill Jukes with fire as every Sporty Juke available for salvage seemed to have massive frontal damage.

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Incidentally if asked Australians will generally criticise anything of British manufacture, it is a cornerstone of their national psyche, as an extension of the concept that Aussies are much tougher than the Poms. 


I can confirm this statement is true.

I am part of the very small minority that like and appreciate British cars, even the ones the British don’t like! The amount of hate I receive from car enthusiasts here about my Jag is astonishing, I’ve heard it all, and the lack of support here is vast as most “car” people here simply don’t care about them.
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3 hours ago, MrSchwifty said:

 

Subaru Impreza's - mainly due to the image of the owners, who all appear to be weedy little chavvy f**kwits who spend their time drinking monster energy drinks and physically abusing their 14 year old girlfriends.

Other opinions are available of course! 

because non turbo scoobs are so cheap now, a properly sorted turbo is a f'kin awesome drive, the 4wd just grips and grips. they got it right in the mcrae/burns era, even later ones are okay, the legacy gen2 is better as twin turbo and you can fit a fridge freezer in the back or even enough space for 2 to doss in it, 240 horses too... the image is shit due to neds driving n/a ones that are just slow as shit, like a 130 bhp 4wd and weighing 1500kg..... the scooby crowd, the ones in prodrive or any rally gear are alright, we laugh at the neds

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Been mulling this over and I'm struggling, I've always preferred to drive something less 'run of the mill' so as car's get older and rarer they start to appeal to me more. There are plenty cars I wouldn't have touched with a barge pole 15-20 years ago but would very happily own today simply because they've become more interesting to me because of their scarcity.

Yes there are plenty of cars (new and old) I would say aren't worth the money - scene tax etc - but that's not to say I wouldn't want to own one if money was no object.

How's that for a inoffensive answer? Although I've probably offended people by implying that I don't dislike something as much as them!

 

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