Early Registration Madness???

[Mash]

My own 323 UBL 44Y built Dec 82 and registered Feb 83 before the official launch in UK of March 83.

 

The other press cars were mostly TRX.....Y reg and all now appear to be gone.

Mine appears to be the sole surviving press car from the launch of the E30.

 

All registered in Reading VRO.

 

My Autoshite Spider sense has not let me down - I knew this Beemer looked familiar:

 

[hennabm]

Hi Mash

 

correctomundo sir

 

I have all 4 reports from Motor magazine during the 12,000 miles and 12 months they had it.

 

Jeremy Sinek (the reporter) was last known of in Canada.

[Guest]

Hey, hennabm, this is Jeremy Sinek from Canada. I just came across your recent post about UBL 44Y. (Are you the same owner who exchanged emails with me about it a few years ago?)

 

You might be interested to know why it had a different licence plate than other BMW press cars of the time. UBL was not a press car. Believe it or not, at that time Motor magazine purchased all its long-term test cars, anonymously, through normal retail channels.

 

I also saw with envy your picture of the May 12, 1984 cover. As chance would have it, that issue was my swan song with Motor, the last issue I wrote for, prior to emigrating. And somehow, I seem to have a copy of every issue from my seven years there except that one -- with me on the cover and all.

 

If you should happen to have a spare copy or know where I could find one, I'd be eternally grateful.

 

BTW in case you are interested, I'm still writing about cars. You can find a lot of my work on this web site: autos.ca.msn.com. (Do not put www in front).

 

Cheers

 

Jeremy Sinek

[Ben_L]

An old dear in my home town in Essex has a Vauxhall Cavalier 1.4L on an F-Reg. It's body is immaculate and it's done something like 40k miles. It's identical to my 1.6L except for the 13" steel wheels with mk2 Cavalier wheel trims on.

 

Another early one I see often is a V-Reg Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0HDi... Looks like crap now unfortunately...

[Morgan84]

I have seen a early MK3 once on a E plate,so guessed it was maybe a early ' Here's one we made earlier' pre launch car

[Ben_L]

I have seen a early MK3 once on a E plate,so guessed it was maybe a early ' Here's one we made earlier' pre launch car

 

I'd guess you're right as the mk2 went into F-Registration territory on it's run out, so it was probably a press car/pre production vehicle. Would love to see a picture of it though!

[Morgan84]

Its been a while since I saw it,but it was a flame red hatchback in L trim level;seeing the number plate made it stand out like a sore thumb to me

[hennabm]

.

[hennabm]

Hey, hennabm, this is Jeremy Sinek from Canada. I just came across your recent post about UBL 44Y. (Are you the same owner who exchanged emails with me about it a few years ago?)

 

You might be interested to know why it had a different licence plate than other BMW press cars of the time. UBL was not a press car. Believe it or not, at that time Motor magazine purchased all its long-term test cars, anonymously, through normal retail channels.

 

I also saw with envy your picture of the May 12, 1984 cover. As chance would have it, that issue was my swan song with Motor, the last issue I wrote for, prior to emigrating. And somehow, I seem to have a copy of every issue from my seven years there except that one -- with me on the cover and all.

 

If you should happen to have a spare copy or know where I could find one, I'd be eternally grateful.

 

BTW in case you are interested, I'm still writing about cars. You can find a lot of my work on this web site: autos.ca.msn.com. (Do not put www in front).

 

Cheers

 

Jeremy Sinek

 

OMG

Hi Jeremy

PM sent.

[Alexg]

AUTOSHITE REUNITED.CO.UK

[richardthestag]

Holy thread resurrection

 

But this seems relevant

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380451627428

 

 

The enquiry is complete.The vehicle details for TFF 706T are:

 

Date of Liability 01 12 1994

Date of First Registration 20 04 1979

Year of Manufacture 1979

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 4235cc

CO2 Emissions A lot

Fuel Type PETROL

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour WHITE

Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

[Charlie Croker]

UBL 44Y........I would love to own that car. Early plate...Best colour...Nicest styled car BMW ever made and in my opinion classless. When i say classless i mean now not when they were new.lol. Oh yes that Jag is very relavent......good spot that!!

[Wilko220]

CO2 Emissions A lot

 

Made me chuckle...

[hennabm]

UBL 44Y........I would love to own that car. Early plate...Best colour...Nicest styled car BMW ever made and in my opinion classless.

 

 

Thanks for the compliment Mr Croker

[Cavcraft]

Holy thread resurrection

 

But this seems relevant

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380451627428

 

 

The enquiry is complete.The vehicle details for TFF 706T are:

 

Date of Liability 01 12 1994

Date of First Registration 20 04 1979

Year of Manufacture 1979

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 4235cc

CO2 Emissions A lot

Fuel Type PETROL

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour WHITE

Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

 

Braking my own rules here (but it's not the eBay thread and it is relevant to the picture!) that Jag is NOT a 1976 as it says in the listing title! I wonder if the vendor did it to attract more attention to the car as the pre-filled bit says 1979.

I did once go and see a really cheap early S3 (I think it was a 3.4) and it was bloody awful: the body was riddled in rust, the engine sounded dog rough and it just looked like a major money pit.

Years later I finally got one (in 4.2 auto flavour) that was a fantastic car to drive.

[345DL]

Keep meaning to put this up here, but finally remembered. This is my brother's 53 plate Mk5 Golf:

 

It's on a private plate now, but the DVLA confirm it was registered 17 February 2004.

 

I've never seen another MK5 on a 53, and indeed I've seen Mk4s on 04 plates.

[trigger]

1998 BMW 318i SE E46 in Ipswich by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

I took this a couple of years back, I've never seen a R plate E46 before or since.

 

Edit - I'm a bellend, I posted that same photo on this thread 3 years ago...

[Lord Sterling]

Thread resurrection.

 

Early Vectra:

[oldford]

I remember tose early N plate Vectras when they first came on the fleet at Europcar.  When carrying out a pre rental inspection on them I always used to have a look up the nearside front wheelarch, any fresh gearbox oil there and we had to get them into Vauxhall for a new gearbox.

 

They had a problem where an oil seal housing wasn't quite straight and after a few thousand miles they used to throw their gearbox oil out.  I had an interesting experience in one of braking from 70mph and the car nearly driving itself across the other side of the road with the steering wheel staying dead straight.  That's what gearbox oil all over the nearside rear brake disc does.

[holbeck]

 I had an interesting experience in one of braking from 70mph and the car nearly driving itself across the other side of the road with the steering wheel staying dead straight.  That's what gearbox oil all over the nearside rear brake disc does.

 

Yup, Same here with my N reg Vectra. I was on a touring holiday in Somerset, and of course the brakes got lubricated whilst traversing Porlock Hill.

[sheffcortinacentre]

 

Could be a Ford prototype or very early production model, I have seen a T reg Mk5 in a period Autocar test. If they came out in Sep 79, Ford would have been testing them out a few months prior.

 

these T reg mk5's are beleaved to have been pre-production cars that where reg'd in july to all them to be used in filming so that the series of the professionals (aired late sept 79) would feature the latest models (launched sept 79) thus giveing ford free prime time advertiseing.

being an anorak the signs are no outer holes in front valance & roof (rather than screen) mounted int mirror to name 2.

a black 2.3 ghia est is driven by bodie & doyle in an episode & is even more unusual in haveing what appear to be mk4 ghia door cards & no triple coach stripe on the lower doors.

its thought this may even have been a mk4 est shell with mk5 seats,trims,mirrors, bumpers, wings/indicators fitted all simple bolt on swaps.

[HMC]

Lord Sterling's Vectra spot is a really early Vectra. The ones released to the press at launch were all registered N-----UR at launch.

[Vin]

Wowsers. Thread resurrection!!!

 

Most Tipos were new on an F plate...This was a rarity...

 

 

1988 Fiat Tipo 1.6 DGT by KiwiGippy, on Flickr

 

1988 Fiat Tipo 1.6 DGT by KiwiGippy, on Flickr

[sierraman]

I don't know why but I've got proper yearning for an early vectra. Like a fine wine and all that...

[RWL2012]

I've seen some V reg Skoda Fabias, they were launched on March 1st 2000, first day of the W registration. The V reg ones are likely all dealer demonstrators registered a few days before.

 

Like this V-reg 1.4 16V press car...? My friend had a silver Y-reg 1.4 MPI hatchback which he bought in early 2016, now sadly scrapped (in late 2016). It wasn't too far gone as such, it had just got to the point where it needed fixing all the time to keep it going.

 

As you explained there are many more W, X and Y reg Fabia's than "V" ones (That same mate of mine said he saw a V-reg one; may well have been V203TVV itself as according to a DVLA enquiry it's still going around!) but driving around in the Y-reg Fabia we still got funny / surprised looks from people not knowing Fabia's went far back enough to be on the "old system"! Even though the car launched in 1999 in continental Europe.

[John F]

I don't know why but I've got proper yearning for an early vectra. Like a fine wine and all that...

 

I saw a tatty Vectra with a borked exhaust on an M plate a couple of years ago. It looked really wrong, since the last Cavaliers came out on an N plate.

 

But judging by the chav driving it it could always have been poorly ringed, I suppose. Although one would have to ask why bother?

[Pillock]

Probably the same reason I saw a facelift Vectra B on a 53 plate tearing off from a petrol station.

 

The 53 plate belonged to a Micra.

[quicksilver]

Having shown you some late registration TR madness, here's an early registration one too. Initial TR7 production was entirely for the Yanks and the first sold in the UK were P-reg. This N-reg is one of the pre-production UK spec batch which was kept for development and later fitted with a 16-valve Sprint engine.

 

1975 Triumph TR7 Sprint by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[Hendry]

They arent mega early and not particularly interesting to be worthy of pictures here but working for a Fiat and Citroen dealer, Ive seen a 56 plate Citroen C4 Picasso, although you could freely get them on 56 plates due to being launched late 2006, they were rare owing to the fact they had just launched and needed to be ordered thus a waiting time so a 56 was rare. 

 

Same with the Fiat 500, they were available on 57 and certainly our showroom demo was a 57, but seldom were they seen in anything earlier than 08 plate. 

 

Ive seen a M reg Vectra before as well, dark green (rio verde?) hatch in GLS trim, pretty sure ive also seen a facelift Omega on a V reg, dont know if that was early or just normal because I now the prefacelift could be had on the V as well. 

 

X reg mk3 Mondeo, is that early or not?

[bunglebus]

Ooh I can play this game!

 

Here's my last Sierra;

 

 

It was a 1.8, and I used to struggle to get parts as everywhere insisted it should be a Pinto, but it was a CVH - registered 9 days shy of being an F-reg.

 

It's gone on to live a new life as a tarmac rally slag in Ireland now.