Remember when these were big cars

[barefoot]

My Vel Satis & another teeny tiny motor car I used to own.

 

[ETCHY]

I was out & about earlier & saw a new Nissan Micra. It's the size of a bloody mk1 Mondeo

Our old K11 would have almost fit in its boot !

[Datsuncog]

20 hours ago, Spiny Norman said:

...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

 

21 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

...thick pillars with tiny heavily tinted windows...

Basically, I reckon manufacturers should just cut to the chase and put the Alvis Saracen and Humber Pig back into production - because that seems to be where car design is ultimately heading, with huge wheels, ugly angular styling, weighing umpteen tons, and the driver and passengers peering out through a slit with fuck all visibility...

Add some easily-dinged alloys, pearlescent white paint and a bit of carbon fibre-effect trim to the above, and I reckon we'd have the next-gen Range Rover Sport pretty much in the bag...

[brownnova]

My Saab looks small compared to modern family hatches... so imagine how teeny the 2CV feels!! 

[busmansholiday]

Sis has sent me this, taken today.

[Dead_E23]

Volvo estates used to be a big car, but look dainty next to a Corsa (even at night)

[Snipes]

Current Fiesta looks bigger than the MK1 Focus and can't be too far behind the MK2. 

[catsinthewelder]

My MK2 Focus isn't much smaller than the current model and makes the 405 look dainty.  They both dwarf the Dacia which as the R12 was a Cortina competitor.

I parked the Safrane between a couple of SUVs yesterday and it looked tiny ?

[ETCHY]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 4:09 PM, barefoot said:

My Vel Satis & another teeny tiny motor car I used to own.

 

I saw a very nice Vel Satis in Lytham today.

I forgot what a cool looking motor they are.

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, ETCHY said:

I saw a very nice Vel Satis in Lytham today.

I forgot what a cool looking motor they are.

Wanna buy a leggy, green one?

[ETCHY]

35 minutes ago, barefoot said:

Wanna buy a leggy, green one?

Nah but thanks for the offer

[spike60]

Rover PB5 (?) seems to have shrunk

Merc E Class W123 (?) are no longer big enough for Marrakech taxi's anymore.

[Three Speed]

apologies for the quality* of the picture - snapped leaving Gatwick's car park - looks like this old Mini is trying hard to keep up.

[Parky]

On 9/20/2019 at 12:39 PM, MiniMort said:

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)

This.  If city mayors were serious about reducing congestion, they’d allow Kei cars in for free.  

Instantly their tiny proportions would significantly reduce the length of traffic jams (I know, same number of cars, just shorter) and I would see Suzuki Lapins when walking to the Tube. Much easier to park as well. 

[rml2345]

In terms of interior size our big cars of yesteryear are still huge, bigger in some cases than their successors. It's the huge bloating of exterior dimensions in order to cram in more stuff and increase safety that bugs me. The Bini seemed to be one of the first offenders in this respect as the interior space versus exterior bigness is quite ridiculous but nowadays I'd consider it a miracle of packaging. 

I know people want to be safer in an accident but there's part of me thinks the crap standard of driving round here is in some way related to the amount of safety people are buying in their cars. If they were trundling around in MK3 Escorts I'd imagine folk would be paying far more attention due to the very real danger of being obliterated by a Transit rather than mildly inconvenienced. 

[JeeExEll]

Looking up the dimensions, a 2019 Mondeo hatch is 8 inches longer than a Mk3 Zephyr, and 3 inches wider.

The Zephyr width is approximately the same as the height of a man, as demonstrated here.

(Height of dead man  ~=  width of Zephyr), according to period data published by Ford of Dagenham, 1964.

 

[lesapandre]

Get Carter? Owen Luder's Gateshead car park was demolished to make way for some incredibly ugly student flats.

[Parky]

It was Brumby’s fault.  As we all know he was a big man but out of shape. Even more so after a 50ft drop onto his car

[ETCHY]

Thing is with modern safety tech & airbags etc small cars can be made quite safe. Look at something like a Hyundai i10, VW Up or Kia Picanto they're small but all pretty safe.

Smart-cars are also pretty safe but tiny, so cars don't have to be bloated to be good in a crash.

I do think when you look at congestion & reducing the effect of vehicles on the environment this size issue maybe needs to also to be looked at.  I know you'll get some knob in a huge hybrid claiming his carbon footprint is reduced but how about the physical footprint of the huge barge in town !

[Spiny Norman]

5 hours ago, rml2345 said:

In terms of interior size our big cars of yesteryear are still huge, bigger in some cases than their successors. It's the huge bloating of exterior dimensions in order to cram in more stuff and increase safety that bugs me.

 

It's mind-boggling how cramped inside some bloated moderns feel compared to older stuff.
A mate recently had a Poxhall Insignificant and it was a truly awful car in almost every way, especially where comfort was concerned but I couldn't believe how tight it felt inside  both in the front and back for such a huge car, so I looked up the dimensions and compared them to an old family saloon.

The Insignia is two feet longer and a foot wider than a Austin 1800 Land Crab, which feels huge inside by comparison, rides better and is FAR easier to see out of.
Frankly if that's the price of NCAP safety I'll take my chances.

 

[Snipes]

I use to see a fair few Q7s in work and I reckon they're smaller inside than an A3.

[puddlethumper]

On 9/20/2019 at 4:51 PM, Datsuncog said:

 

Basically, I reckon manufacturers should just cut to the chase and put the Alvis Saracen and Humber Pig back into production - because that seems to be where car design is ultimately heading, with huge wheels, ugly angular styling, weighing umpteen tons, and the driver and passengers peering out through a slit with fuck all visibility...

Add some easily-dinged alloys, pearlescent white paint and a bit of carbon fibre-effect trim to the above, and I reckon we'd have the next-gen Range Rover Sport pretty much in the bag...

I drove these in NI in the early seventies. The 'Pig' not only looked like one it

also drove like one. The 'Sarry' on the other hand you could drive over triple

diagonal sleeping plods flat out. Which I admit was only about 35mph. Independent 

sussies all round. Same running gear as my all time fave the ALVIS STALWART. Hnnng !!!

[catsinthewelder]

FFS

 

 

[warch]

21 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

FFS

 

 

Is that opposite McConnell's? 

[catsinthewelder]

1 hour ago, warch said:

Is that opposite McConnell's? 

Yes it is, have we got another Shropshire shitter?

[warch]

5 minutes ago, catsinthewelder said:

Yes it is, have we got another Shropshire shitter?

Yep, Bucknell. Incidentally I don't think I've ever seen a real Safrane before, I always liked the Bi Turbo version they did.

[anonymous user]

On 9/22/2019 at 2:07 PM, Parky said:

It was Brumby’s fault.  As we all know he was a big man but out of shape. Even more so after a 50ft drop onto his car

Poor old Alf Roberts, I don't think the Architects ever got their fee either.

[Avensis Verso]

I used to think these where big when i started driving, my dad had exactly this colour Montego  when i turned 17 still remember the redg C544HCX

[Matty]

I had a nice 530i manual (1600kilo). When it went I fancied that engine and box combo in a smaller lighter sportier car. So I bought a 330ci (1500 kilo). That went brilliantly. Fucksake.

[puddlethumper]

I think that the presumption these days is that you will crash and that every

nun and kitten in the land will be killed. The press sensationalise any crash

and the manufacturers sell cars on safety  because everything these days is

about safe, safe safe.  It's the first thing to be mentioned by any company when

 something comes up.  "The safety and security of our customers is a priority"

is the first thing they say. Mostly when it was eff all to do with the original question.

 I've never owned anything newer than 1990 and I've had one crash in 40 years which

didn't involve anyone else. Bloody hell ! I'd better get my ass in gear and get a bloated

Mr blobby car because my luck, or driving awareness, will now run out tomorrow.