Remember when these were big cars

[xkjagnz]

Seen on the way home yesterday

My dad had two of them (well technically one zephyr and one zodiac)

This looked really small next to all the moderns

[155V6]

Even Mk 4s seem quite small now & they seemed huge when I was younger.

[BL Bloke]

My Dad had a pale green Mk3 Zephyr 4 back in the mid 70's and I remember thinking how big it was at the time. 

[STUNO]

My father also had Zephyrs,  '56, '58, '61 mk 2s and '63 Mk 3. they were big cars then. 

[GeordieInExile]

You don't even need to go that far back, something like a Granada looks lithe compared to today's family cars.

[Spiny Norman]

Wasn't that long ago these were considered huge.

[hairnet]

Yeah stu you old git ?

[xkjagnz]

Ok today on the way home on the same stretch of road. I saw a lite blue mk2 escort estate, no pic unfortunately, thought i had one but camera had a brain fart

It seems to be the gathering place of powder blue old Ford's

 

[eddyramrod]

On 9/19/2019 at 11:07 PM, xkjagnz said:

Seen on the way home yesterday

My dad had two of them (well technically one zephyr and one zodiac)

As I've mentioned here many times, my dad had a dark blue Zephyr 4 from new in 1965, and six-year-old me thought it was enormous.

On 9/20/2019 at 1:11 AM, GeordieInExile said:

You don't even need to go that far back, something like a Granada looks lithe compared to today's family cars.

My Cyprus Granada with my Pug 406, which I would always have considered a size below until I parked them together!  And a 406 isn't even all that modern now.  Family cars have grown somewhat since then!

[Eyersey1234]

My old Fiesta was exactly the same size as the Prefect 100E my grandparents had in the last 50s/early 60s 

[bigstraight6]

Here’s my Zodiac with my sons Cougar on the Torpoint ferry last Sunday, it seems lost among all the moderns around it....

[DaveDorson]

The old man commented at the weekend that the Mondeo I'm using is bigger than the Granada's and Volvo's he used to blat around in.  It's meant to be a Cortina sized car.

 

Things have gotten silly.

[ETCHY]

I agree it's got daft. Roads are more and more congested, streets are full to the brim. Huge motors certainly aren't helping.

I know there's the crash test argument but there's no way something like a golf has to be so big now !

[Volksy]

I had the misfortune of being given an Astra Mk32 or whatever as a company car..not quite powered by an NA 1.6.. 
the kerbweight is the same as a Senator IIRC

[Snipes]

58 minutes ago, DaveDorson said:

The old man commented at the weekend that the Mondeo I'm using is bigger than the Granada's and Volvo's he used to blat around in.  It's meant to be a Cortina sized car.

 

Things have gotten silly.

Well not really, depending on which Mondeo. I'd say the MK4 is more where the Granada use to be, especially the snazzy Viginale editions. 

[ETCHY]

You'd think with the quest for efficiency, cars would be getting smaller and lighter !!?

[ProgRocker]

My old mad had a mark 3 Zephyr 4 in the early 70 s in white I believe (before I was born) . It was full of body filler.

A very nice Humber Sceptre was traded in for it, with some cash coming my dad's way. I don't think my mum was happy. 

[rantingYoof]

It's counter intuitive, but the LS400 is shorter than the Jaguar XF by a good few cms.

Despite the interior feeling palatial in comparison.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[DaveDorson]

34 minutes ago, Snipes said:

Well not really, depending on which Mondeo. I'd say the MK4 is more where the Granada use to be, especially the snazzy Viginale editions. 

Mk3 ST 2.2 TDCI Estate.

 

To my mind, Fiesta = Fiesta

Focus = Escort

Mondeo = Cortina

And there's not really anything that fills the Granada range.

 

But then I guess really I should be thinking,

KA= Fiesta

Fiesta = Escort

Focus = Cortina

Mondeo = Granada

Which looks wrong.. 

 

All the MPV stuff is basically a minibus, so can get right in the sea, and off the damn roads unless it's being used to move more than 5 people in a degree of comfort.

 

*grumbles*  I think there are too many types of car to chose from now, it's fucking stupid, it should be, small hatch, medium hatch, saloon, estate, truck/4x4.  *grumbles*

[DaveDorson]

38 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

You'd think with the quest for efficiency, cars would be getting smaller and lighter !!?

Honda did for a bit with the proper Insight with the Robocop rear arches.  Then people wanted features, rather than functions.

*grumble, grumble*

[clayts450]

Car parks are a joke these days, because bloatmobiles more than fill the allotted bays. You either have to risk squeezing up next to a SUV and pray your supermarket sweep is quicker than the owners of that car so you can get back before the inevitable door bumpage occurs. I always try to park in deserted bits of car parks to get away from them.

[ETCHY]

Yep how true. Any older car park built for older sized cars especially is a nightmare. Doesn't help that people park their barges  badly either making it worse !

[MorrisItalSLX]

I parked the Corolla next to a current shape one at the supermarket today and it looked tiny, despite mine being the bigger lift back compared to the current hatch, it just looked so low and narrow.

The big thing that got me was how exposed my cabin looked, thin pillars with plenty of clear glass compared to thick pillars with tiny heavily tinted windows.

[MiniMort]

I'd play the ol' cars are bigger as they're safer card here but look at  Japanese kei cars. They're tiny and remain pretty safe - they'd really declutter the streets, certainly make them more interesting. Anyway, theres me rambling on about a modern solution to the problem. As a classic one lets all drive automotive Jerry cans (aka: Isettas and Meserschmitts)

[MiniMort]

1 hour ago, clayts450 said:

Car parks are a joke these days, because bloatmobiles more than fill the allotted bays. You either have to risk squeezing up next to a SUV and pray your supermarket sweep is quicker than the owners of that car so you can get back before the inevitable door bumpage occurs. I always try to park in deserted bits of car parks to get away from them.

You can always tell who loves their car by where they park in a supermarket car park.

Sorry, thats another story really

[Conan]

1 hour ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

I parked the Corolla next to a current shape one at the supermarket today and it looked tiny, despite mine being the bigger lift back compared to the current hatch, it just looked so low and narrow.

The big thing that got me was how exposed my cabin looked, thin pillars with plenty of clear glass compared to thick pillars with tiny heavily tinted windows.

My modern Corolla (2011) is about the same size as the Carina E!

[Spiny Norman]

2 hours ago, Volksy said:

I had the misfortune of being given an Astra Mk32 or whatever as a company car..not quite powered by an NA 1.6.. 
the kerbweight is the same as a Senator IIRC

That's the real killer. The increased size is inconvenient when trying to park but it's the colossal weight increase that does all the damage.
A posh diseasel Peugeot 207 hatch was heavier than a mid 80s 5 series and plenty of the modern small-ish SUV things nowadays are closing in on two tons with a bit of fuel and two people on board.


 

[PhilA]

Model A Ford [10 years] Pontiac Chieftain [10 years] Ford Falcon [10 years] Ford Country Squire [10 years] Honda Civic

 

Rinse, repeat

[Cavcraft]

They're not all like that. The Mk1 Cavalier isn't that much difference length wise to a Vectra C.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

4 hours ago, DaveDorson said:

The old man commented at the weekend that the Mondeo I'm using is bigger than the Granada's and Volvo's he used to blat around in.  It's meant to be a Cortina sized car.

 

Things have gotten silly.

The big shite of yesteryear is now considered smol