Pictures of car parks circa 1985!

[Torsten2001]

the red Opel Kadett in the first row of the first picture looks luvverlee!

[bones96]

well i,l have them mk1 escorts and the rover sdi shape plus the vw camper

[Spottedlaurel]

lso in second pic there is a white Bedford CF with a Volvo 343 to the left of it. To the left of the Volvo is I think a Fiat saloon - Anybody know if it is 131, 132 or maybe even Argenta

Looks like a late 131/Mirafiori to me.Bloke next to the Celica looks as if he’s just about to nick it…

[j-j]

2 Skoda Estelles, 2 Sunbeams in Pic 1! but Mymy didn't F.O.R.D sell rather well back then!Not 1 Citroen! none of the 2million BXs sold! None of the 1.9 Million GSs not a single A series! Lovin the R5 Mk 1 tho, This collection seems like some narrow sample of cars at the time - not too sure about well heeled! Most of these cars are quite middle of the road.It's funny, there are some cars that seem eternal - Pic 1 Mk2 Golf, I could walk outside and probably find on in 10 minutes. If anyone has any old airport Carpark pix complete with some planes I'd be interested in that!That Barkas camper is amazing I need oneGraet pix

[reallyloud]

It does seem odd that certain cars are low in number - I'd expected to be more BL stuff - Allegro's, maxis, marinas etc. I would have been about 12 or so at the time (and indeed this would have been the same time I visited the train museum) and while we used to travel up and down the country in the family Datsun, my father suggested I buy a note pad and document car registrations and cars I'd spot on the motorway - a bit like those neat I-Spy books, to stop me from fighting with my smelly irrating sister.It worked. I only wish I still had all those registration plates.

[Vin]

 

 

 

 

Fourth row down in the middle next to the FWD Escort is what I glanced past as being a Montego estate........But.....When you view it in the enlarged pic in Michiel's link and compare in size to the MK1 Escort in front it looks more like a....Jeep Cherokee....Is that possible circa this period or is it something else

[michiel]

It seems they were made from 1984, so it is possible. Certainly looks like a Cherokee to me.

[MrRegieRitmo]

I used to see a B reg one around not too long ago so it's certainly possible. It's weird cos I had to look twice the first time I saw it as I was used to seeing them as L & M reg in that style! The only tell tale is the bolder colours they were in as 80s cars, this one was bright red with brown two tone doors as opposed to the blacks & blues the later ones usually came in. The original Cherokee was sold from the late 70s onwards I believe.

[r.welfare]

Yup, must be a Yank import/USAF job. That-shape Cherokee was built from '84 as Michiel says, but only officially imported here in RHD from '93-on, mainly in darker hues as Reg notes. The Yanks, of course, lack a bit of taste, so they got two-tone, fake wood trim down the side, you name it. Plus they got a 2-door which we didn't.Speaking of this kind of thing, I saw a red Matra Rancho travelling in the opposite direction on the A43 (it was going from the M1 towards Silverstone) last night. Man alive, I wished I had a camera!

[mk2_craig]

It does look the right shape for a Cherokee. There's an early one on the first page of my Jersey spots thread. They seemed to have been quite popular in France due to the AMC-Renault connection I think?

[fiatdaft]

the white one near the cf is a series 3 131ascona was a 2.0 ,sr? died in 1995.lots of nice motors there !

[chaseracer]

Yup, must be a Yank import/USAF job...

Couple of US bases not far away from York.I was in Harrogate recently, for the first time in many years - I'd forgotten how much oddly-registered LHD Yank-spec shite there is about the place...

[docker]

I'll join the crowd loading up on campers and RWD eskies but will take E21 320/6 or 323i in front near the Cherokee.What car is it with the loaded roof that has the boot and bonnet up and has four blokes standing around?

[michiel]

That's a German Ford Taunus, nicknamed Badewanne if I'm not mistaken ('bath tub').

[Mash]

Fabulous pics, it's only January but I reckon those will be the best photos I'll see all year! The white 710 Datsun Violet behind the Barkas is looking a bit scabby already and notice the Mk1 Charade in front of it - did you spot it Hirst??

[Guest]

I did! Is that the only Daihatsu in the whole car park?

[Adrian_pt]

Newest car possibly the 3-series convertible or the MK II Golf. Most exciting? Barkas, or the yellow 124 estate... or could it be a Lada? That Taunus is pretty sweet as well, and I'm intrigued by the L-plate on the Volvo estate - not an ideal learner's car... The first Sciroccos have all but gone now, haven't they?

[Richard]

I learned to drive in a Volvo 244 saloon. They're not that bad to learn on because the torquey engine makes clutch control easier and you don't realise how big it is if that's all you know.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Funny that! I learned to drive in a brown 240 wagon with full length roofrack! GR8 4 hookin up wid fly honeyz who wanna cruise.

[reallyloud]

I learned to crunch gears and not use my mirrors in a Volvo 240 wagon too. You're absolutely right Richard, they were actually fairly easy cars to drive - the tight turning circles helped too.

[Richard]

Funny you should say that, I learned to crunch mirrors and not use my gears in the Volvo. How shite were the Bo11ox and Cherry Volvos? Our one was a '76 model in '86 and it hit 100k while I was driving it. It was such a novelty that I reversed back and did it again.

[Adrian_pt]

I learnt to drive in a Saab 900, the (in my opinion) best-looking version, the 4-door saloon; took my test in it as well. Examiner couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that it was a 2-litre, 17 year old car about twice the size of anything else in the car park... Hit 90 k when I was learning...There must be some correlation between what you learnt to drive in and your passion for shite....

[Richard]

I took my second, and successful, test in an 8 year old Viva estate with massive holes in the wings. I'd only driven it a couple of times before and I wasn't insured On the morning of the test I went round it with an aerosol and sprayed over all the rust patches with no primer or preparation in an attempt to make it slightly more presentable. You can imagine the look I got from the examiner when he saw what I was driving.My first test was in a new Nissan Sunny, a driving school car. It had so little feedback that I had no confidence pulling away from junctions and I failed. I have no doubt that I would have passed if I'd taken the test in the Volvo.

[reallyloud]

How shite were the Bo11ox and Cherry Volvos?

Not very at all. It was about 2 years old at the time, which gives you a good indication how long ago it was. Good old bus though, I inherited it after 10 years of sterling service. I used it mostly as a mobile tent and towing shite around. Co-incidently I used my '83 Saab 900 GLS for pretty much the same thing.