Forgotten Cars

[grogee]

Hyundai Grandeur. In the UK, 'special order only' apparently. Who the hell was 'special ordering' them, apart from the Korean embassy?

[artdjones]

20 hours ago, Kevin-TIB said:

Nissan Tiida - a few on the Irish roads 10 years ago but rare enough to be justly forgotten.

 

I saw one near Bandon the other day. A saloon as most are in Ireland. One of the worst styled mainstream cars I've ever seen.

Still 36 for sale on Done Deal. The sooner they are forgotten, the better.

[grogee]

18 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Didn't these have a transverse straight 6?

That's the only thing I remember of these.

Very possibly. So forgettable I even forgot the most interesting part of the whole car

[quicksilver]

Another generic Korean barge - the Kia Magentis.

 

[artdjones]

4 hours ago, Soundwave said:

At least it had a semi-decent name over there, in Europe it was called the Space Wagon.

Speaking of which, who remembers its little brother, the Space Star?

The Spacestar wasn't inspiring, but was very durable. A friend of ours ran one for 15 years with very little mechanical trouble, but lot of bodywork jobs done , as she couldn't seem to stop driving into things. I had a cheap one to sell once on behalf of an African friend, and several other Africans came and looked at it. I don't know if they planned to drive it or export it, but that's usually a sign of good durability. I've never seen any Africans respond to ad for VWs, however.

 

[egg]

Japan's answer to the Fiat Multipla, the Honda FRV

[Weird Car]

The MK1 Toyota Prius, I’ve always sort of wanted one but never enough to actually buy one, I haven’t seen one on the road in years, the batteries have probably all died now

[D.E]

8 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Toyota Verso S

Subaru Trezia

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 minute ago, D.E said:

Subaru Trezia

I had forgotten about the Subaru twin.

[Soundwave]

MPVs really do seem to be a prime source of forgettable motors. All this talk of Space Wagons and Space Stars has reminded me of another "Space" MPV, this time from Toyota... the Space Cruiser.

Lots of MPVs get accused of being vans with windows, but these things really were!

[MiniMinorMk3]

Talking of Mazda Ford connections

Mazda 121

[MiniMinorMk3]

When did you last think about one of these

[bunglebus]

38 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

When did you last think about one of these

I literally saw one today covered in algae. I couldn't stop and get a pic but it was North London, Wembley area. Yes a hatchback

[Dick Cheeseburger]

8 hours ago, Soundwave said:

... alright, couldn't resist posting a bit more.

Who remembers the Fullbore Mark 10? I remember seeing the ads for them in Top Gear magazine in the late 90s, but I don't think I've ever seen one in the metal. Basically a Hindustan Ambassador, imported by Fullbore Motors UK and tidied up a bit for the UK market with better paint/materials and a few mechanical tweaks etc. It cost £HFM.M8 at the time, and thus nobody bought them. Plus the improvements didn't include rustproofing, meaning the few that did sell disintegrated.

That's a new one on me. When I read FULLBORE, I imagined a minimum of six cylinders, a fibreglass two door bodyshell, a low centre of gravity and the need for driving gloves for the discerning driving perverts. 

Then I saw these photos...

[Pieman]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

When did you last think about one of these

On Thursday, when talking to my local mobile mechanic who is an ex-oval racer, and I mentioned another driver he used to race against who used to campaign a Stanza back in the early 2000s.  (The formula he raced in was basically find a 1600cc or less car, strip it out, stick a rollcage in and away you go, it was a great way for newcomers to go racing.)

[DVee8]

Suzuki Baleno

[DVee8]

Audi 200

[Dyslexic Viking]

Gaz/Volga 21/22 once one of Norway's most common taxis and was everywhere.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

As others have said the MPVs bandwagon lead to lots of forgettable early 2000’s  crap rushed to market with various badges attached.

One which I was very interested in at the time as the possessor of 4 brats and an airport transfer business, was the Mitsubishi Grandis.

 

Alas they were not very grand(is) more Zafira than Grand Voyager that and the fact they were all petrol meant I and pretty much everyone else bought a Galaxy, Eurovan or Grand Voyager instead . ( I had at least one of each of those)

These days the only time I can remember seeing one is amongst all the battered Previas at Brent Cross Tesco on a Thursday afternoon.

[sierraman]

3 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Ford Orion 1600E

I worked with a guy that had one of these, he was the most miserable fucker I ever laid eyes on. He was constantly one step from blowing his lid at work. I couldn’t figure the fuck out why as I was getting the bus home and he was sat in Tickford trimmed, wood capped 1600E. 

[Dobloseven]

12 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

As others have said the MPVs bandwagon lead to lots of forgettable early 2000’s  crap rushed to market with various badges attached.

One which I was very interested in at the time as the possessor of 4 brats and an airport transfer business, was the Mitsubishi Grandis.

 

Alas they were not very grand(is) more Zafira than Grand Voyager that and the fact they were all petrol meant I and pretty much everyone else bought a Galaxy, Eurovan or Grand Voyager instead . ( I had at least one of each of those)

These days the only time I can remember seeing one is amongst all the battered Previas at Brent Cross Tesco on a Thursday afternoon.

Sure the Grandis was available with the 2.0 Tdi 140VW engine.Same as the 2nd gen Outlander. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

3 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Sure the Grandis was available with the 2.0 Tdi 140VW engine.Same as the 2nd gen Outlander. 

Yes, you’re correct, it was the size that put me off, more than anything. 

[Dobloseven]

16 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Yes, you’re correct, it was the size that put me off, more than anything. 

Yes, the rearmost seats didn't look very inviting! 

[MrBiscuits]

Back in 1998 I knew someone who's first car was one of these. Must have been a proper UK car because it was right hand drive. I honestly can't remember seeing one since.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

4 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Ford Orion 1600E

My brother pranged a few of his motors in his youth (as did I) and his 1600E Onion is still high up on his regret list. It would have been just under a decade old at the time and he bought it cheap from a fella who was desperate for the money for whatever reason. The car was way cleaner than it had any right to be. By then, most Escorts and Onions of similar vintage had rusty sills, arches and non-existent battery trays. His was totally solid. 

It's time on the queen's highway ended abruptly when he pulled out too hastily from a blind  junction into oncoming traffic and someone ended up with their front end embedded into his B pillar. He still hates talking about it.

[chaseracer]

22 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Mk1 Tigra. Not sure I ever remember seeing one on an M, either.

One of our braver members bought one of these from Cannock auctions.  For 160 quid, if memory serves...

[quicksilver]

25 minutes ago, MrBiscuits said:

Back in 1998 I knew someone who's first car was one of these. Must have been a proper UK car because it was right hand drive. I honestly can't remember seeing one since.

That's a true automotive dodo. The last known UK Malaga was stolen and burnt out some years ago, last seen on a salvage auction website and presumed scrapped. HML claims there are 10 Malaga Premiers taxed but I don't believe that for a second as they were supposedly all registered in 2020.

[Soundwave]

This is not the greatest car in the world, no. This is just a Tribute...

 

As far as I can tell, there are no Mazda Tributes currently on eBay or Autotrader.

[DavieW]

I saw one of these today and immediately thought of this tread. Chrysler Sebring.

[ProgRocker]

Dodge Avenger.