Forgotten Cars

[martc]

2 hours ago, Pieman said:

That's just reminded me of something too - I passed my driving test on the day I left sixth form ahead of doing A-levels, a couple of weeks later I drove to school to take one of the said exams, reversed my Rover 100 into a parking space and clipped the Peugeot 406 in the next space, leaving a scratch.  Panicked for a few seconds, then remembered that said 406 belonged to one of the deputy heads who was a complete tosser, so ignored it.  Got away with it too, and have never told anyone else about that before.

Pieman, to my study, NOW boy!

[MiniMinorMk3]

Golf G60 Limited

[Dobloseven]

We talk about forgotten cars, but are there too many, in recent years at least, to remember?Go back fifty or so years, the UK car market was about the same size as over the last few years. Yet there was a very small number of different cars on sale. Ford, the biggest single brand for many years, sold only four different models for much of the seventies. Yet not so long ago they had over ten. Not including passenger carrying commercials and the Mustang. When British Leyland was formed, BMC were shifting about 40000 Austin A60 and Morris Oxfords etc. An ancient design that was never updated and should have been replaced by the 1800.Thats about the same as last years best selling Quasqai and Corsa. In 1973 there were 14.5 k Moskovitches sold. A car that was generally not well thought of. Today, that would be just about in the top ten. I doubt Ford sold many more than that number of Fiestas last year. We all remember cars like the Cortina and the Mini because they were everywhere. In recent years there's just too big a selection for anything to stick in peoples minds. Instead of "Some twat in an Escort cut me up on the roundabout!", it's "Some twat in an Audi". What sort of Audi? "Fucked if I know, it was a black one". 

[Richard_FM]

I did wonder if anyone has worked out the year when the most different models were available in the UK.

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

We talk about forgotten cars, but are there too many, in recent years at least, to remember?Go back fifty or so years, the UK car market was about the same size as over the last few years. Yet there was a very small number of different cars on sale. Ford, the biggest single brand for many years, sold only four different models for much of the seventies. Yet not so long ago they had over ten. Not including passenger carrying commercials and the Mustang. When British Leyland was formed, BMC were shifting about 40000 Austin A60 and Morris Oxfords etc. An ancient design that was never updated and should have been replaced by the 1800.Thats about the same as last years best selling Quasqai and Corsa. In 1973 there were 14.5 k Moskovitches sold. A car that was generally not well thought of. Today, that would be just about in the top ten. I doubt Ford sold many more than that number of Fiestas last year. We all remember cars like the Cortina and the Mini because they were everywhere. In recent years there's just too big a selection for anything to stick in peoples minds. Instead of "Some twat in an Escort cut me up on the roundabout!", it's "Some twat in an Audi". What sort of Audi? "Fucked if I know, it was a black one". 

You say Ford only had four models in the 70s, but the range was huge. Cortinas had a 1.3 base, then 1.6,2.0 and 2.3. L, XL,GL, GXL, GT, GTXLR, E, S, GLS, Ghia, Ghia X, probably a few more I forgot. 2 door, 4 door and estate.

Some car “ranges” these days are choice of two engines and two trim levels. One body.

[Dobloseven]

7 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

You say Ford only had four models in the 70s, but the range was huge. Cortinas had a 1.3 base, then 1.6,2.0 and 2.3. L, XL,GL, GXL, GT, GTXLR, E, S, GLS, Ghia, Ghia X, probably a few more I forgot. 2 door, 4 door and estate.

Some car “ranges” these days are choice of two engines and two trim levels. One body.

You couldn't get them all at the same time though! The E replaced the GXL, which in turn was replaced by the Ghia. It was a process of constant updating. Going back a few years, Porsche was essentially one model, the 911.Now the Porsche showroom is enormous and I bet they still haven't got what you want to look at. Rolls Royce and Bentley used to be the same thing with different grilles, Now there's a complete range of each. Landrover and Range Rover used to be models, now there's three of one and four of the other....... 

[Metal Guru]

11 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

You couldn't get them all at the same time though! The E replaced the GXL, which in turn was replaced by the Ghia. It was a process of constant updating. Going back a few years, Porsche was essentially one model, the 911.Now the Porsche showroom is enormous and I bet they still haven't got what you want to look at. Rolls Royce and Bentley used to be the same thing with different grilles, Now there's a complete range of each. Landrover and Range Rover used to be models, now there's three of one and four of the other....... 

There’s a lot of shared mechanicals , platforms , I believe is the industry term, as well as obvious badge engineering.

I presume designing new body work is much quicker now with computers.

[Shedking]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Kia Shuma, I owned one of these a few year back, easily the most forgettable, boring car I've ever owned, also the most reliable.  Dissolved into a pile of its own rust, the Mazda engine would have lasted forever, the bodywork not so. I had the mk2, only slightly less hideous to look at than the mk1 

[Dobloseven]

38 minutes ago, Shedking said:

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Kia Shuma, I owned one of these a few year back, easily the most forgettable, boring car I've ever owned, also the most reliable.  Dissolved into a pile of its own rust, the Mazda engine would have lasted forever, the bodywork not so. I had the mk2, only slightly less hideous to look at than the mk1 

Did we get them in the UK? I can't remember! 

[DavieW]

24 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Did we get them in the UK? I can't remember! 

The Mk2 one looks vaguely familiar but I don't remember seeing a Mk1. 

[Shedking]

Yes we got them in the UK, I remember seeing quite a few of them on the roads in the early noughties,  the MK1 lumbering down the road like an automotive frankenstein.  Mine  cost 475 English pounds with 41,000 miles on, when I scrapped it local scrappy had no idea what it was.

[Markeh]

My great uncle had a Mk1 new, though I can't remember it - he would've been in his 60s at the time like most customers I expect. Think he replaced it with an Astra G.

[ChinaTom]

Clarus and Magentis also made bugger all impression here.

[JMotor]

Still a MK1 one clinging on in Dumfries. 

Didn't look good for it's future tho. It was getting quite kippered with rot last year. 

[Soundwave]

Speaking of Kias that made no real impact here... the Mentor. Available as a saloon, or as a dumpy little hatchback. There was a hatch near me up until a few years ago.

[bunglebus]

9 hours ago, ChinaTom said:

Clarus and Magentis also made bugger all impression here.

Live from Lidl

[Leyland Worldmaster]

AWD,  Independent Suspension on both axles, amazing handling. 

From about 100 years ago. 

Holverta. 

https://www.prewarcar.com/mystery-riley

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Have we had this yet? I honestly can't remember when I last saw one.

 

[warch]

31 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Have we had this yet? I honestly can't remember when I last saw one.

 

What that needs is a hilariously geeky 100 page thread on Pistonheads or something, which results in no one being any the wiser. 

[Shedking]

 Had one of these as well,  Lada Samara, cost me £350 with less than 40,000 miles on the clock, never failed me either,  I ended up giving it to a mate who had fell on hard times, he ran it for another 2 years. 

[grogee]

1 hour ago, Shedking said:

 Had one of these as well,  Lada Samara, cost me £350 with less than 40,000 miles on the clock, never failed me either,  I ended up giving it to a mate who had fell on hard times, he ran it for another 2 years. 

That one's got headlamp wipers! Hark at Lord Snooty.

[Asimo]

On 02/04/2023 at 09:18, Dobloseven said:

Going back a few years, Porsche was essentially one model, the 911.Now the Porsche

…talent is dissipated across a range of cynically marketed, faux-aspirational, high-margin shit that would be nothing without the reputation made by the air-cooled cars: when they put everything into one model.

[Shedking]

3 hours ago, grogee said:

That one's got headlamp wipers! Hark at Lord Snooty.

Mine didn't but it was in that colour, I quite liked it. 

[DavieW]

I saw one of these Hyundai Trajet today in Airdrie - I can't remember the last time I saw one.

[Dobloseven]

1 hour ago, DavieW said:

I saw one of these Hyundai Trajet today in Airdrie - I can't remember the last time I saw one.

Remember having a test drive in one when they were new.Bit of an old school MPV, with removable seating. 

[Shedking]

Anybody remember the Yugo zastava? 

[Richard_FM]

3 hours ago, Shedking said:

Anybody remember the Yugo zastava? 

I remember a friend of the family had a B reg one, but scrapped it at less than a decade old as it was costing too much in repairs.  He also had an X reg Mk5 Cortina estate which fared a bit better.  Over the years he also had a VW Beetle, an R reg Maxi & a Maestro which was inherited from a relative who had given up driving.

[skoda_fan]

On 4/2/2023 at 1:26 PM, Markeh said:

My great uncle had a Mk1 new, though I can't remember it - he would've been in his 60s at the time like most customers I expect. Think he replaced it with an Astra G.

As a sixty something I resent that implication😁. Oh hold on I do own a Kia Rio. Ok, point proven! (In my defence I inherited it so could hardly say no. It does enable me to live the stereotype though). My sister owned a couple of Ceratos, another bit of forgotten Kia porridge.

[skoda_fan]

13 hours ago, Shedking said:

Anybody remember the Yugo zastava?

I did own a runout 45, badged as a Tempo, for a short time a few years ago. It was quite a perky little thing but I got bored once the novelty of its rarity wore off.

[skoda_fan]

On 4/3/2023 at 2:13 PM, Dick Longbridge said:

Have we had this yet? I honestly can't remember when I last saw one.

Ok I give in. Whassat then?😁