Base spec absolute misery

[Spiny Norman]

Remember the base model Metro C where they went to the trouble of tooling up for a different rear bumper just so everyone would know you were a skinflint? Or the early boggo spec Peugeot 206s which had a different centre console to accommodate the lack of heater vents for the rear seats?

[ETCHY]

56 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Ah yes, with vinyl trim, although the brochures always show them with fabric trim, which was an option at extra cost.

Flickr link

I wonder if any vinyl trimmed Mark 3 base Escorts still exist?

Note the lack of air vents in the middle of the dash. Tight bastards at Ford did that on the Fiesta too.

"If you don't want to boil in summer you must  buy the "L" sir" ?

[artdjones]

The MK2 Polo C had the rear fog lamp as an option in the days before they were compulsory.But you could buy an expensive upgrade pack to convert it.It consisted of a switch,a very small piece of wiring loom,and a bulb.

[dc2100k]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

It’s all relative- in the poverty of low spec 80s models and whole models ranges. radios as an extra? Step this way into your new w124 Merc. Low spec high quality doesn’t seem to make the cut these days as a sales model.

When my wife first got into my W124 (a mid spec 260E with cloth, but electric windows and sunroof, vacuum headrests and locks, Gullideckel alloys) she had the temerity to look at all the space in the dashboard that wasn't filled with switches and exclaim 'I don't think this was top of the range was it'.

Needless to say we had a lengthy conversation about material quality after that. In retrospect, the W124 feels so special to the touch. Every element feels soft-touch and correctly weighted. I miss it, quite fancy an R129 or a 300CE-24 drophead.

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, Inspiral_Mondays said:

Ford Escort Mk2 1.1 Popular had a detuned 42bhp engine, vinyl seats, single sunvisor, no door mirrors, no heated rear window, foot pump windscreen washers, 12 inch wheels with hubcaps from the Mk1, drum brakes at the front and rubber floor mats. What little sound proofing there was in the Mk2 was also deleted.  Oh and it had non-inertia reel seatbelts, which wasn’t a big problem as there was no radio or switchgear to reach anyway. Around 1978 Ford went all extravagant and added a mirror for the driver‘s door as standard (unchromed obviously).

my first car was a 1975 mk2 1.1 popular. By the time I got it in 1995 it must have had a few upgrades as I had cloth seats (although they didn't recline) and an electric screen washer. No fog lamp or reverse lamp.   Those front drum brakes were also non servo assisted, and worryingly it also had a non laminated front screen . The non Inertia reel belts never hampered me as I never tightened them up ?

[Niffleman]

During the 1990s I had a Cavalier CD, so it had lots of toys fitted. I couldn't work out why there were still so many switch blanks.

[cort16]

My allegro was pretty base. No passenger side mirror. No radio option ticked and one never fitted as the blanking plate is still there.

 

[ProgRocker]

 

2 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Ah yes, with vinyl trim, although the brochures always show them with fabric trim, which was an option at extra cost.

 

I wonder if any vinyl trimmed Mark 3 base Escorts still exist?

I remember in the early 1980s the husband and wife newsagents around the corner bought their son an X reg Mark 3 estate in blue with vinyl seats. He worked for them at the newsagents so I guess it was used for the business.

My 1990 Fiat Tempra 1.4 base: no power steering, no central locking, quartz clock where a rev counter would go on a 1.6 base. Specs above that had the digital dashboard.

[ProgRocker]

3 hours ago, Asimo said:

Alternative viewpoint:-  

Remember when you could buy a car, and it wasn't stuffed with shit you didn't want at all, and certainly didn't want to pay for and maintain at much effort?

+ 1. I wish Dacia were more flexible with the options list on the Sandero and Logan MCV. A different colour other than Zanussi white would be nice. I'd spec one in a different colour with 0.9 turbo engine + add the spare wheel and air conditioning. I'd keep the matt black bumpers (Sandero) and the 'keep fit' windows. Mind, that would probably bring it up to the price of the range spec . D'oh.

[Split_Pin]

I think I have mentioned before but my dad bought my mum a sub-base model Metro in the mid 1980s A869TUS. It wasnt even a City.

As a 6 year old it used to annoy me that it had only one rear fog lamp in the bumper, one door mirror and no decals and of course no radio or rear wash wipe. She did get headreasts fitted for some reason though.

The next Metro she has was posh in comparison. It was a City G346CSX with the Roveresque badge on the front. Still no radio or rear wiper but it had TWO door mirrors and 5 doors. Decent 'Crayons' seat trim too. 

My 2000 Corsa B is an Envoy so it has windey -up windows, no rev counter,  ABS, TC, airbags and no power steering. I fitted a CD player 10 years ago though.

[Spottedlaurel]

My little Datsun 1200 is a base-spec model, they only offered the 2-door saloon as a stripped-out, budget price model for the last year or so before the 120Y came out.

Datsun 1200 - ready to go by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Rubber mats instead of carpets, one sunvisor only, no clock, radio or cigarette lighter, less brightwork and silver-painted dogdish hubcaps on black wheels instead of full stainless trims. It's never been upgraded with anything in its life and it will stay that way as long as it's with me.

1973 Datsun 1200 (B110) dashboard by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It adds to its charm, and the basic engineering quality is still evident.

[Richard_FM]

30 minutes ago, Niffleman said:

During the 1990s I had a Cavalier CD, so it had lots of toys fitted. I couldn't work out why there were still so many switch blanks.

I remember my dad mostly had Vauxhalls as company cars & even the high spec ones needed the options list ticked to fill all the up the dash.  My dad remarked that air conditioning was another £300 to be fitted.

One of his omegas had a moulded plastic bump on the keys where the remote control button should have been.

[Agila]

This isn't like smallpox or scurvy in the past!

Some people are still living with misery.

2008 car.

1. Wind up windows front and rear

2. No central locking

3. Black plastic door handles and mirrors

4. No air con

5. Steel wheels

6. Blanking things in front bumper to hide no front fogs

7. Manual door mirror adjustment

I forgot no rev counter or temperature guage.

[Richard_FM]

3 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I think I have mentioned before but my dad bought my mum a sub-base model Metro in the mid 1980s A869TUS. It wasnt even a City.

As a 6 year old it used to annoy me that it had only one rear fog lamp in the bumper, one door mirror and no decals and of course no radio or rear wash wipe. She did get headreasts fitted for some reason though.

The next Metro she has was posh in comparison. It was a City G346CSX with the Roveresque badge on the front. Still no radio or rear wiper but it had TWO door mirrors and 5 doors. Decent 'Crayons' seat trim too. 

My 2000 Corsa B is an Envoy so it has windey -up windows, no rev counter,  ABS, TC, airbags and no power steering. I fitted a CD player 10 years ago though.

My mum had a similar stripped out metro with off the shelf headlights surrounded by a black plastic bezel & no headrest.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Those family cars with the power windows up front and manual in the rear... seems so strange now to have done that, especially if it had central locking, they really were saving as much as possible. I suppose any things like small switches and ecu's were mega money back then. It's probably dearer now to make a manual window.

[PhilA]

Psh, GM been doing it for decades. They've managed to get a bit better though.

My Pontiac, 1951 year model.

Optional extras:

Clock

Radio

Dipping rear view mirror

Sun visor

Passenger sun visor mirror

Automatic gearbox

8 cylinder engine (124hp, over the six with 88)

Deluxe package (stainless trim on interior and exterior, side door molding, plain cotton upgraded to broadcloth seat, interior light that comes on with front doors open, plush carpet, horn push ring)

Indicators

Windscreen washers (wipers were standard)

Reversing lights

Illuminated hood mascot

Heater, including fan and screen defroster

Under-hood light

Trunk light

Wheel trims

Bumper overriders

 

Options not fitted:

Power steering

Power brakes

 

The base spec car must have been pretty mediocre and miserable but you figure at the time, quite a lot of people were just getting back on their feet so they needed a) a basic car to offer, b) a car very plush and padded for the aspiring businessman, and it all had to be rolled into one package.

 

Phil

[GeordieInExile]

2 hours ago, UltraWomble said:

This

The wifes first ever car was a Fiesta Base 1979

Squeezy bulb washer pump.

No wing mirrors

No RWW

No HRW

No radio

No lighted switchgear

2 speed fan

Vinyl seats ( no head rests)

Rubber floor covering (no carpet)

1 speed wipers (on or off)

Manual winter setting for the air intake 

 

Why were people so desperate to have a new car that they would suffer this sort of misery rather than buying a six month old ex demo car with the missing stuff included?

[New POD]

6 minutes ago, BoggyMires said:

It's probably dearer now to make a manual window.

Nah. Not the direct cost. But yes maybe.

What is costly is the hidden cost of managing the variety of multiple part numbers and assemblies that are slightly different and not getting economies of scale. And having to pay for 2 lots of tooling. 

I like to call it hire car spec. Air con, electric front Windows, and keep fit rear windows. And steel wheels. 

[Richard_FM]

10 minutes ago, GeordieInExile said:

Why were people so desperate to have a new car that they would suffer this sort of misery rather than buying a six month old ex demo car with the missing stuff included?

My brother did this with a mk4 Vauxhall astra & just had to pay for a CD player to be fitted 

[Richard_FM]

Many manufacturers have a taxi spec which can confuse people when it’s sold on.

Turbo Diesel engine, hard wearing plain trim & steel wheels are to be expected, along with a few odd screw holes where stuff has been removed 

[Sir Snipes]

I don't think it was base spec but my old mk4 Fiesta Flight felt like it may have been with a couple of options. No leccy windows, rev counter or temp gauge but you did get a drawing of a car (inlieu of the rev counter), alloys, bodycoloured bumpers and sunroof. 

The mk3 Flight was quite a snazzy looking thing with some nice jet themed decals down the sides.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

9 minutes ago, GeordieInExile said:

Why were people so desperate to have a new car that they would suffer this sort of misery rather than buying a six month old ex demo car with the missing stuff included?

Could be a generational thing, their parents may well have not been able to afford a car or they were bloody expensive and I imagine, a special occasion. 'lets go for a day out in the new family car'... The whole street would watch you leave, maybe even wave hankies out of their windows. "That's number 17, they have a new motor car...", "I know, they just went past us standing here waving with hankies"

I remember the massive song and dance about 'dad's getting a new car' , 'gonna pick the new car up kids' How we were excite... and then turns up in a mushroom coloured sierra... We are Disappont. But to him, it was a big deal. But it smelt fresh and for 2 days it was probably the best car down the street and it certainly beat the old Mk2 escort with a bag of cement holding the seat up.

Now days I announce to the kids 'we're getting a new car' and they are like 'cool, can I have a sleepover tonight, what's for dinner' and all I'm bothered about is where I can park the thing legally.

Times have changed.

 

[Richard_FM]

An analogue clock or a gearbox layout in the instrument panel is normally a sign of something missing 

[Richard]

40 minutes ago, BoggyMires said:

Those family cars with the power windows up front and manual in the rear... seems so strange now to have done that, especially if it had central locking, they really were saving as much as possible. I suppose any things like small switches and ecu's were mega money back then. It's probably dearer now to make a manual window.

The later 850 GLT models had that. Half leather heated seats, remote central locking, electric sunroof, cruise control on the diesels, trip computer, air conditioning, 8 speaker stereo, even T5 alloy wheels, but keep-fit windows in the back. The model below had four electric windows and the model above lost quite a few of the toys the GLT had.

[strangeangel]

The rarely-seen 1.1 BX must surely be a contender in this thread?

 

[paulplom]

An old gaffer of mine in the late '80's told me the passenger seat in our b reg transit was an optional extra.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[Walter White]

3 hours ago, Inspiral_Mondays said:

Ford Escort Mk2 1.1 Popular had a detuned 42bhp engine, vinyl seats, single sunvisor, no door mirrors, no heated rear window, foot pump windscreen washers, 12 inch wheels with hubcaps from the Mk1, drum brakes at the front and rubber floor mats. What little sound proofing there was in the Mk2 was also deleted.  Oh and it had non-inertia reel seatbelts, which wasn’t a big problem as there was no radio or switchgear to reach anyway. Around 1978 Ford went all extravagant and added a mirror for the driver‘s door as standard (unchromed obviously).

The Escort Popular circa 1976 was the base model that I immediately thought of. I was given the December 1976 Ford range brochure which being a car mad child I read until it fell to pieces. 

Looking at those specifications as an adult I have got to say Ford left so much out of the Popular it was getting dangerous. 

Cross ply tyres, front drum brakes and no mention of servo assistance. Static seat belts and sealed beam headlights. No reversing lights or heated rear window. The passanger didn't even get an oddments tray / shelf under the dash. No mention of a laminated windscreen. 

Back then the Escort Popular driver got the second rate tyres, brakes, seat belts and headlights. Then the driver got the chance to reverse into all sorts of unseen scenery in the dark or freezing temperatures. 

What a car. 

 

[Richard]

You had to go pretty posh to get a servo in a RWD Escort.

[New POD]

4 minutes ago, Richard said:

You had to go pretty posh to get a servo in a RWD Escort.

You don't need a servo with drum brakes. They self servo 

[Richard]

I know, but even with discs you didn't get a servo.