Ridiculous trim designations

[EspenO]

Roland Garros.

(apparently a place and not a guy? Or both? Not really into the french tennis scene) 

[wesacosa]

[Yoss]

21 minutes ago, EspenO said:

Well… is the M something hallowed and sacred? It’s hardly an evocative name tag, just a moniker BMW slaps on any sport oriented top of the line model. An M3 is just a 3-series coming off the same production line with a larger engine and suspension upgrades, it’s hardly built by hand by old men in white coats and lead hammers. 

The «M sport» or «S line» or «AMG line» is simply an options package giving you a mildly sportier car with a standard engine. Few is ever going to confuse them with the OMG PROPPA MOTAHSPOAWWT M cars. Or M suvs. 

As for AMGs not being AMGs without a 6,2 litre V8… you better tell AMG then, they are busy desecrating themselves with 2-litre i4 turbos.

Sorry, but the «cheap knockoff copies» bollocks is just weird inverted snobbery, usually by people who… I don’t know, their wives won’t let them have one, or something?

You could buy pretty much the entire RS catalogue part by part for your billy basic Escort in 1975, does that make an original Escort RS1600 BDA worthless, then?

 

 

 

 

 

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm not saying they are bad cars, they're just not the cars they are badged as. They could have had a different but still sporty model designation but they are playing on the reputation of their far more expensive stablemates without deserving it. In my humble opinion. 

You may have a point about the mk1 Escort but they don't obey the laws of rational economics, they live in a fantastical world of their own. 

To pick a similar car of the era, the Dolomite Sprint was a Sprint. You couldn't buy an 1850 with Sprint Line badges. You couldn't buy another Dolomite with that engine or gearbox or diff and you could not order Sprint wheels or a front spoiler as an option for your 1300. If you saw a Sprint you knew what it was instantly. You couldn't buy something that looked like a Sprint but wasn't. Just saying. 

[Yoss]

26 minutes ago, EspenO said:

Roland Garros.

(apparently a place and not a guy? Or both? Not really into the french tennis scene) 

There was also a Corsa Steffi (a Nova to us) to continue the tennis theme. 

 

I saw one once in Nice. 

[somewhatfoolish]

7 hours ago, MrGTI6 said:

Citroen Saxo Autobus Molestor

That is remarkably redolent of what I remember of french teatime TV from holidays in the 90s; sub-Benny Hill misogyny, gratuitous cleavage and a general air of tragic seediness. Being a teenage boy I enjoyed it, probably assisted by being completely useless at french.

[UltraWomble]

"popular" and "popular plus"

Rather than "Basic", and "basic with a radio"

[GeordieInExile]

To be fair to Ford, the Popular trim levels were actually popular!

[High Jetter]

17 minutes ago, GeordieInExile said:

To be fair to Ford, the Popular trim levels were actually popular!

Especially in Poplar!

[Talbot]

Talbot Horizon "Summertime Special"

It had a sunroof, and the most migrane-inducing red plastics all over the dashboard.  I only ever saw one once in a breakers, and it was only about 8 years old with very few miles on it.  "Summertime special" IE useless for 11 months of the year in the UK.

Didn't even have AC, which was possible on a Horizon.  Utterly pointless.  Stupid name.

[Metal Guru]

8 hours ago, EspenO said:

I’ve got an M Sport - are you saying the firmer suspension, different bumpers and better seats are figments of my imagination?

Seems like a weird thing to fantasize about, surely I’d at least be able to come up with something involving Margot Robbie and a canteen-sized tub of Nutella. 

I’m saying a lot of MSport owners think they’ve got a real a real M BMW and someone with A class with a Renault  1.5 diesel engine thinks they have a connection to F1 because they’ve paid an extra £2k to have an AMG badge on the back.

[twosmoke300]

Nearly every beemer I see seems to be an m sport . Same as amg line mercs . I agree that it’s devalued the premium branding . See also S Line Audis 

[dozeydustman]

6 hours ago, Talbot said:

Talbot Horizon "Summertime Special"

It had a sunroof, and the most migrane-inducing red plastics all over the dashboard.  I only ever saw one once in a breakers, and it was only about 8 years old with very few miles on it.  "Summertime special" IE useless for 11 months of the year in the UK.

Didn't even have AC, which was possible on a Horizon.  Utterly pointless.  Stupid name.

There wasn’t much Ultra about the Horizon Ultra I had. Basically an LS trim with a sunroof and red piping on the grey velour.

Nothing stylish about PSA’s ‘Style’ limited edition as they were all base spec. The Samba Style had a brown cloth interior (not even velour)

I think on the 205 & 309 the GE/XE trim was replaced by the Junior in the early 90s, and the Style replaced the GL/XL, both were originally specials.

Upgrade from the most poverty spec GE by paying almost as much the GL but only get a fag lighter and some offensive wheeltrims

[New POD]

22 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

My daughters Smart is a "Passion". A friend has a P reg Ford Escort "Encore". If that's the encore, what the hell was the main performance like? 

Shit. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

Dredging some memories - 1970s Triumph (Dolomite) had the TC (Twin Carb I assume) and then you had an HL trim - what did HL stand for (if anything)?

High Line
Huge Liability?

[New POD]

18 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I present to you, the Fiat 126 BROWN

One of these was at the centre of much merriment when I was at senior school. Brown was seriously uncool in the early 90s

It's never been cool. It's always been practical. Doesn't show the dirt.  

[D.E]

9 hours ago, wesacosa said:

Another 1988 Seoul Olympics special was the Stellar Olympique:

[New POD]

Mk2 cavalier CalibrE.

Basically a 4 door saloon, with SRi 130 running gear, the electrics of a CDi, and the last remaining 500 Irmscher body kits from the continent, that were never sold separately here but were over there, glued on by tickford, who would desperately do any assembly work they could get (they assembled the Ford RS200 from a kit of parts on Ford's behalf) 

The body kit was a rear spoiler, 2 bumpers, 2 sill covers, 4 door trims and 2 front wing trims. Oh and the rear back box had the pipe extended to clear the bumper. 

The seats were SRi recaros but with more thick velour. 

Most got converted with an XE engine at some point. GM missed a trick there. 

I've had 4 mk2 cavaliers 

 1.6 GL hatch

1.8 CDi Auto Hatch

1.8 SRi Saloon

And a calibrE. 

The calibrE was shit in comparison.  Mainly in that the previous 15 owners had treated it like a rally car and parked it next to the sea. I'm sure a new one would have been nice.  

 

[Metal Guru]

21 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Not a repmobile, nooo - something much grander - The Commander! and his chum

I was never sure whether the Crusader told the world you still wanted to fight for the Holy lands or were just a Daily Express reader. 
Don’t suppose they’d dare use that name these days with its anti Muslim connotations .( or Daily Express for that matter).

[New POD]

1 minute ago, Metal Guru said:

I was never sure whether the Crusader told the world you still wanted to fight for the Holy lands or were just a Daily Express reader. 
Don’t suppose they’d dare use that name these days with its anti Muslim connotations .( or Daily Express for that matter).

In the 80s the Methodist Church ran a youth group called the crusaders. It was a little like the scouts, but with more religion. 

I actually went on 2 very happy holidays with them.  If only we'd understood the connection to the name. 

[DSdriver]

Which car was it, a 2 litre injection LS which had the badge 2.0iLS on the back which always made me wonder which two oils they used.

[Metal Guru]

My Dad had a Volvo 740 GLE. , pronounced “Jelly”.

 

[adw1977]

9 hours ago, UltraWomble said:

"popular" and "popular plus"

Rather than "Basic", and "basic with a radio"

Even the Popular Plus didn't have a radio, you had to go up to an L for that!

But it did have TWO sun visors.

[Aston Martin]

Saxo Open Scandal

[DSdriver]

1 minute ago, Aston Martin said:

Saxo Open Scandal

Was it a (flip) flop?

[Aston Martin]

9 minutes ago, DSdriver said:

Was it a (flip) flop?

 

Tis a webasto special.

[Mr Pastry]

Let us not forget the Viva E (for economy, eco-friendly had not been invented) which was a leftover Firenza Coupe shell, with minimal trim and basic Viva mechanicals.   It actually sold quite well, so they continued with a 4 door version.   I knew a family who had one, and always referred to it as their E type.  

[EyesWeldedShut]

52 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I was never sure whether the Crusader told the world you still wanted to fight for the Holy lands or were just a Daily Express reader. 
Don’t suppose they’d dare use that name these days with its anti Muslim connotations .( or Daily Express for that matter).

Only person I knew who owned one was actually a type setter for the Daily Express and I was 1000% convinced by him that it was perk of the job - I was rather wet behind the ears back then

[DSdriver]

25 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Only person I knew who owned one was actually a type setter for the Daily Express and I was 1000% convinced by him that it was perk of the job - I was rather wet behind the ears back then

Even the NGA union couldn't swing that sort of perk 😆

[davocano]

up! Black

In 2023, absolutely vital to get these two words in the right order.

[twosmoke300]

45 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

Let us not forget the Viva E (for economy, eco-friendly had not been invented) which was a leftover Firenza Coupe shell, with minimal trim and basic Viva mechanicals.   It actually sold quite well, so they continued with a 4 door version.   I knew a family who had one, and always referred to it as their E type.  

Remember the merc and Audi E models which wasn’t an economy model but Injection . Einspritzung iirc