Forgotten Cars

[MiniMinorMk3]

One the subject of forgetible MOPARS

[meggersdog]

  On 12/04/2023 at 07:52, Skut said:

The Rootes Arrow based Sunbeam Alpine. I'm sure I remember a book describing it as a stripped austerity Rapier. Not that the Rapier is much better remembered. A great shame as they're nice looking cars. Rootes did badge engineering much better than BMC.

 

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I owned one of those , 1972 on a K.reg just as Labour came to power in '97 and scrapped the rolling 25 year tax exemption. So one of the last to be tax free for a while. Cheap way into a pillarless coupe back then. No overdrive, just two dials on the dash, wood veneered dash the width of the car , the centre console was wood veneered instead of machined aluminium. Like that picture pressed steel not RuberyOwenStyle wheels.

[Skut]

  On 16/04/2023 at 10:01, meggersdog said:

I owned one of those , 1972 on a K.reg just as Labour came to power in '97 and scrapped the rolling 25 year tax exemption. So one of the last to be tax free for a while. Cheap way into a pillarless coupe back then. No overdrive, just two dials on the dash, wood veneered dash the width of the car , the centre console was wood veneered instead of machined aluminium. Like that picture pressed steel not RuberyOwenStyle wheels.

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That's why I choose that image. I can't stand Rostyles. 

I really wanted a bubble shaped Mazda 121 when they were new.  The looks caused quite a stir at the time but aren't nearly so striking today.

All Autos in the UK I think.

[meggersdog]

  On 26/03/2023 at 10:20, DVee8 said:

Have we had these?

The Nissan Sunny 100NX

 

 

 

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Just put a new rear exhaust on mine. As spotted by @Spottedlaurel on the meadows in Stamford last year.

[M'coli]

  On 09/04/2023 at 17:01, georgeinabz said:

I know what you mean, used to be in my bed and listen to the cars outside go past as a 14year old , minis were dead easy to guess , all you hear now is tyre noise.
My mate's older brother had a Stan Stephens tuned RD350 , definitely heard that from 1/2 a mile away.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
 

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My Dad's Norton Dominator had BSA Gold Star "silencers". We lived just over a mile away from the national speed limit signs (mileposts just after the N/S and one outside the house), and one still summer's night (probably 1984) I was in the loo and I heard him crack open the throttle as he left the 30 zone.

[barefoot]

  On 16/04/2023 at 10:09, Skut said:

... a bubble shaped Mazda 121...

All Autos in the UK I think.

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But bizarrely,  no power steery, hatchback or aircon?

[Spottedlaurel]

  On 16/04/2023 at 10:24, meggersdog said:

Just put a new rear exhaust on mine. As spotted by @Spottedlaurel on the meadows in Stamford last year.

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There was one for sale at the ECR meet today, same colour, £2250.

[lesapandre]

Morris Major - the Morris Minor replacement that never was - instead the idea was exported to Australia 1958 - 64.

[Richard_FM]

  On 16/04/2023 at 20:22, lesapandre said:

Morris Major - the Morris Minor replacement that never was - instead the idea was exported to Australia 1958 - 64.

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The Austin Lancer was a badge engineered version.

[bunglebus]

Is that a revised Riley 1.5?

[lesapandre]

  On 16/04/2023 at 21:15, bunglebus said:

Is that a revised Riley 1.5?

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Yes it's the original design - dear old BMC.

https://rileyonepointfive.com/earlyhistory/

[High Jetter]

Or Wolseley  1500

[lesapandre]

So BMC called virtually the same car four different things but not the name the car was originally designed to carry...

Car might have sold pretty well in the UK with a Morris or Austin badge and a cheaper price - dear old BMC.

[GrumpyCat]

Third generation Hyundai Accent, only sold in the UK for a year.

[quicksilver]

  On 18/04/2023 at 18:15, GrumpyCat said:

Third generation Hyundai Accent, only sold in the UK for a year.

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Saw one of those on Dutch plates a few years ago. I was amazed when an ex-Hyundai salesman told me it was sold here (in tiny numbers) as I'd never seen one before or since. Not so much forgotten as never noticed to start with.

[AnthonyG]

  On 06/04/2023 at 17:02, MiniMinorMk3 said:

I used to play a game with my dad whilst waiting in the car, instead of I-Spy, it was I hear with my little ear. Identifying Minor 1000s, Jags, Minis, VW Bugs, Imps, V6 Capris, V8 Rovers was simple, as they all had their own individual sound. Then when all you could hear was the sound of tyres on tarmac, you knew it was a Rolls or Bentley.

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I have a dim memory of a kid doing exactly this on an episode of That’s Life or similar show circa 1985. There were 10 cars, the kid identified them all from the engine noise. 

It wasn’t you, was it?!

[MJK 24]

  On 22/03/2023 at 17:29, MiniMinorMk3 said:

VW XL1

Looks like the owner is hoping a couple of people remember it.

Lot 50: Classic Motoring Lot Bidding Ends: Wednesday 29th March 2023 at 7:40PM £68,000-74,000 - Brightwells

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I met the dude who designed the interior for that a few months ago at Liverpool Car & Coffee.  He’s working for Bentley now.

[MJK 24]

  On 26/03/2023 at 16:40, sierraman said:

A mate had a V5 Toledo, was completely pointless, not all that quick and drank a fair old amount. Very underwhelming, I don’t know if I showed my unenthusiasm when I left a kebab in the footwell for 3 months. It was that dull nobody realised. 

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People are buying these just for the engines these days.  There’s a kit to drop them into the Mk1 Golf and Mk1 / Mk2 Scirocco.

[AnthonyG]

  On 12/03/2023 at 21:26, grogee said:

Chevrolet Epica. There was a V6 one. I drove it, and can't remember anything about it

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It wasn’t a boring old V6, it was a shite-tastic straight six….and 2 litres as well. Literally an answer to a question no one in the UK car market even asked: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tosca

 

[MJK 24]

  On 07/04/2023 at 13:21, Metal Guru said:

Focus ST had a five pot long after VAG stopped.

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To be fair VAG were still 5 potting around then in the Golf, Bora, Beetle, Passat, Toledo, RS3 and TTRS!

They still are today with the RS3!  I think the TTRS is history.

[MJK 24]

Volkswagen Taro!

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 18/04/2023 at 21:05, AnthonyG said:

I have a dim memory of a kid doing exactly this on an episode of That’s Life or similar show circa 1985. There were 10 cars, the kid identified them all from the engine noise. 

It wasn’t you, was it?!

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No, I've not had my 15 minutes of fame yet.

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 18/04/2023 at 21:18, AnthonyG said:

It wasn’t a boring old V6, it was a shite-tastic straight six….and 2 litres as well. Literally an answer to a question no one in the UK car market even asked: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tosca

 

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Lexus sold quite a few IS 200s, and BMW did quite well with their straight six 2.0 saloons, in small and large varieties.

[UltraWomble]

Have we had the Lonsdale yet? 
Mitsubishis failed attempt to circumvent eastern import regulations to the UK by marketing an Australian car (albeit a rebadged Sigma)

[5speedracer]

  On 29/03/2023 at 12:00, martc said:

More than allegedly - an actual fact. There was a place on Hedon Road in Hull which bought up old Ladas and flogged them to Russian sailors, the signage was in English and Cyrillic. There were regular sailings between Hull and Russia (actually the Baltic ports) bringing wood into the UK so there was a regular Russian presence in the port (Hedon Road is the road the docks are off). The collapse of the Soviet Union made it viable for the cars to be brought back as the chaos at home meant very poor supply of parts and the sailors also now had access to hard cash, which helped. I have seen, with my own eyes, Russian ships leaving port with RHD Ladas strapped to the deck. 

I've found this ace pic...

...which I'm pretty sure was the place, the Cyrillic sign was painted on a white board propped up on the flat roof. Note the Riva sneaking in on the left.

 Hull was the epicentre of all things Lada, the local taxis were all Ladas which really annoyed the council (but that's another story). They came in through Hull docks and then went up to Carnaby Industrial Estate near Bridlington were they were PDI'd - this was, as mentioned above, quite a professional outfit. The current Mrs Martc knew someone who worked there, their job was to try and make them 'euro' compliant (or whatever it was at the time), he mentioned trying fuel injection and, intriguingly, a 'GM' carburettor with various electronic controls, but it proved too expensive to meet the emissions regs and Lada pulled the plug.

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In about '96-'98 I regularly took transporter loads of them from auction in Glasgow to Hull docks. A couple of Russians based in a portacabin presumably acting as agents. I once managed to load 7 of which only two would start and run, the first and last on. The last being the pusher car.

[stuboy]

  On 07/04/2023 at 22:00, quicksilver said:

VW Golf Plus. Like a Golf but bigger. That was literally the marketing slogan.

 

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...seen 3 of the buggers... can someone say mk3 v6 mondeos non st are forgotten.. lol

[J R Hartley]

  On 20/04/2023 at 18:46, stuboy said:

...seen 3 of the buggers... can someone say mk3 v6 mondeos non st are forgotten.. lol

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The Plus is a lot more common than it's replacement, the SV....

[bunglebus]

[Captain Mainwaring]

Hyundai Lantra.

 

Edit: sorry, didn't realise how old this thread was 

[Metal Guru]

  On 12/11/2023 at 19:19, Captain Mainwaring said:

Hyundai Lantra.

 

Edit: sorry, didn't realise how old this thread was 

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Pedantic alert! Elantra not Lantra.