A to B. Tales of Modern Motoring

[Minimad5]

I'll throw you a txt Warren when they are done, i am also popping them on a disc for Richard .... join the Queue people

[Slaighty]

Love to see this again

Not all the reps had mobiles and they had to join a queue at the motorway services for the public phone booths !

There was a long row of these phone booth things iirc and they were all being used

[254575]

on another note, i have a 9gb of top gear episodes from 1989-1993 if anybody is interested? definite high levels of (then) brand new shite.

[warren t claim]

Yes please!

[254575]

Yes please!

drop me a pm with your address on and i'll get em sorted.

 

same for anyone else....

[Lord Sterling]

Cheers 109landys, just had my set drop onto the mat this morning and spent half the day laughing at the excuses the reps gave for thier cars. Also felt a bit sorry for the guy in the Maestro Clubman diesel.

 

Thanks again mate,

[ProgRocker]

Ooh I vaguely remember this series! I was 16 @ the time.

 

I think there was a retired couple in a Peugeot 405. The wife was driving the car and I remember her saying that she really wated a 605 but the dealer wouldn't let her drive one or buy one.

 

At that time, I couldn't understand why a dealer would want to put someone off from buying a more expensive car. Looking back, I bet the profit margins on the 605s were pants and so they all pretty much were sold to fleet managers.

 

I think that the series also featured a family in a bright yellow rent-a-wreck Cortina or Sierra...or did I dream that?

[In The Pit]

 

I think that the series also featured a family in a bright yellow rent-a-wreck Cortina or Sierra...or did I dream that?

No you didnt dream it, it was a yellow Cortina (an estate i think) it was in the very last episode 'Red Lorry Yellow Lorry'

[The_Equalizer]

Fantastic series and well worth resurrecting the thread for. There are six in total. Packed full of period chod. Captures Britain at the time incredibly well. 
 

 

 

[R Lutz]

I've got the BBC book which accompanies this series. It's a work of art. 

[wesacosa]

1 hour ago, R Lutz said:

I've got the BBC book which accompanies this series. It's a work of art. 

Apparently they go for huge money now, if you can even find one, which is a shame as I'd love to have one

[The_Equalizer]

1 hour ago, R Lutz said:

I've got the BBC book which accompanies this series. It's a work of art. 

Ah, yes Martin Parr. New to me, but learning fast. I recognised the style after reading this in February:

The 1980s seaside snaps that sparked a controversy - BBC

I also managed a trip to New Brighton in March, which is no way perfect, but seems (perhaps) to be getting a bit smarter.
 

26 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

Apparently they go for huge money now, if you can even find one, which is a shame as I'd love to have one

Indeed, from £50 from what I could see, however, a couple of lucky souls managed to bag a copy for £5.83 and £9.99 on ebay this month. 

Anyway, if there is anyone who hasn't seen From A to B it really is a bit of golden telly from the period. The pecking order of company reps. Lol!

[sierraman]

Supposedly the guy with the Merc 200E is brown bread, carked it in 2021. According to YouTube. I’d love to know what happened to the guy with the Maestro, he sounded like one of these Derek Wilton types, useless at selling. Probably wound up as a trolley man at Asda or something. 

[The_Equalizer]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Supposedly the guy with the Merc 200E is brown bread, carked it in 2021. According to YouTube. I’d love to know what happened to the guy with the Maestro, he sounded like one of these Derek Wilton types, useless at selling. Probably wound up as a trolley man at Asda or something. 

Yes, I read that too re. the Merc owner. Nice touch that their signatures were at the end of each episode, including random writing for the very young. It's just over 30 years ago which is the mind bender. I chuckled that this thread was started 15 years ago which (obviously) is pretty much the midpoint between filming and now.

The comments on YouTube are well worth reading too. I don't think I've enjoyed a 'motoring programme' as much for a long time. 

[R Lutz]

5 hours ago, The_Equalizer said:

The comments on YouTube are well worth reading too. I don't think I've enjoyed a 'motoring programme' as much for a long time. 

I'll have to take a look

[sierraman]

The other one where the guy had lost everything and wound up with a Rickety Rentals, quite a sad story, the daughter posted to say his wife had died a few years later. 

[R Lutz]

[Pieman]

I remember the company car episode being posted in another thread on here a while ago - I thought I was watching an early prototype for Alan Partridge, it's fucking hilarious that all the ridiculous man-children being featured were actually being serious about it all!  And it's proof that people really do think that they should be in front of everyone else in traffic because the price and model of their car makes them more self-important - though nowadays of course they all have Audis or Range Losers.

Also, in that episode I was looking at the background chod, and couldn't work out what the blue coupe on the left was...



I thought at first it was a Toyota Paseo or Sera, but then I noticed it had a US-shape number plate.  After some digging along with a fellow car anorak, it turned out to be a Geo Storm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo_Storm .  Goodness knows how or why one of those ended up in the UK!

[Pieman]

DP - reading back through this thread is an interesting insight into how people shared videos before YouTube!

[Lord Sterling]

16 minutes ago, Pieman said:

I remember the company car episode being posted in another thread on here a while ago - I thought I was watching an early prototype for Alan Partridge, it's fucking hilarious that all the ridiculous man-children being featured were actually being serious about it all!  And it's proof that people really do think that they should be in front of everyone else in traffic because the price and model of their car makes them more self-important - though nowadays of course they all have Audis or Range Losers.

I remember Merc-man was gunning the Merc for it's worth in this very scene.

I found it hilarious when this documentary blew popular recently, as if it was buried treasure. Some people were claiming that this was all a set up and the people were actors. I think some people are just sad and want to start an argument. 

I know that there are signatures at the end but I can hardly make out any of the names. Apart from Merc man and Rickety-rentals wife passing away, does anyone else know who these people are and what's happened to them?

I'd be intrigued to know what happened to BMW 7-series man. 

In one of the comments section of the "It gets you out the house" episode, someone did claim to be the first girl in the episode with the red XR2i. She's driving something a bit more boring these days though. 

The posh lad with the Renault Clio Sport became some sort independent film maker and I believe is living abroad (?) or possibly still in London.

[mk2_craig]

58 minutes ago, Pieman said:

DP - reading back through this thread is an interesting insight into how people shared videos before YouTube!

It's a world before online vehicle tax checks etc too.

That Rover made it to 2006, looks like nobody thought the early example of a DVLA Select plate was worth holding onto. 

[The_Equalizer]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

The other one where the guy had lost everything and wound up with a Rickety Rentals, quite a sad story, the daughter posted to say his wife had died a few years later. 

Life can be shite at times. I really did admire his 'cut your cloth' attitude. He and the wife appeared to have a genuine repour, unlike the episodes for 'couples' which, albeit to some comic effect, gave the impression most were fighting like cats and dogs.  
 

1 hour ago, Lord Sterling said:

I remember Merc-man was gunning the Merc for it's worth in this very scene.

I found it hilarious when this documentary blew popular recently, as if it was buried treasure. Some people were claiming that this was all a set up and the people were actors. I think some people are just sad and want to start an argument. 

I know that there are signatures at the end but I can hardly make out any of the names. Apart from Merc man and Rickety-rentals wife passing away, does anyone else know who these people are and what's happened to them?

I'd be intrigued to know what happened to BMW 7-series man. 

In one of the comments section of the "It gets you out the house" episode, someone did claim to be the first girl in the episode with the red XR2i. She's driving something a bit more boring these days though. 

The posh lad with the Renault Clio Sport became some sort independent film maker and I believe is living abroad (?) or possibly still in London.

Plus the fact Merc man had debadged his E200 to keep people guessing. He really was giving the beans and progress past the lorry (from memory) wasn't exactly rip roaring.

To me, although obviously some scenes where a little contrived, these were real people and it captured the time perfectly. That's the beauty of the series, if you were there at the time, it just chimes. I'd have been in the first car group and all the kids were recognisable. The company car thing too; it was a running joke spotting the suit jacket on the hanger in the back with the pecking order of having to pull over if you were in a lesser car. I've still yet to watch company Mestro man bit - poor bloke.

I also thought it would be interesting to find out what happened, but you then get stories like Mr. Rickety Rentals' wife and remember that things from the past are often best left there.
 

[The_Equalizer]

2 hours ago, R Lutz said:

I've discovered (as of this morning) there's a 'I am Martin Parr' documentary from 2024. Trailer here:
 

You might already know this.

Oh and where did you get that Rover Finance sign (or is it a penholder)?

 

[The_Equalizer]

Cross thread mania:
 

 

[goosey]

In most driving scenes the guy in the blue maestro is always bumbling along in the slow lane being overtaken by the rest of the world, wouldn’t surprise me if that maestro was a hire car as his employer knows he ain’t the best fit for the job and the writings on the wall for him 

[R Lutz]

39 minutes ago, The_Equalizer said:

Oh and where did you get that Rover Finance sign (or is it a penholder)?

 

It's a headed note paper holder. The desk is also ex-British Car Rental. 

[Split_Pin]

The boy in the Cavalier GLi was in local news a couple of years ago as he'd lost a record amount of weight or something. So he's still doing well by all accounts. His name escapes me though, Mark somebody I'll need to look it up.

I watched the young drivers episode recently, it paints quite a positive light as they're all likeable in one way or another. Even the grumpy lad with the rotten Beetle.

The female drivers one is pretty good too. The couples one is cringeworthy though. One half is always pretty decent and the other half is awful. The MG Metro driver was a silly cunt and I felt sorry for the lady that just wanted to buy herself that lovely 605 in the showroom but her husband and the salesman wouldn't let her.

[sierraman]

6 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

The boy in the Cavalier GLi was in local news a couple of years ago as he'd lost a record amount of weight or something. So he's still doing well by all accounts. His name escapes me though, Mark somebody I'll need to look it up.

I watched the young drivers episode recently, it paints quite a positive light as they're all likeable in one way or another. Even the grumpy lad with the rotten Beetle.

The female drivers one is pretty good too. The couples one is cringeworthy though. One half is always pretty decent and the other half is awful. The MG Metro driver was a silly cunt and I felt sorry for the lady that just wanted to buy herself that lovely 605 in the showroom but her husband and the salesman wouldn't let her.

Mark Fielden is his name. 

[Split_Pin]

Mark Fielding. I can't find the local news article now though, pretty sure he's from Sheffield though.

[sierraman]

11 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Mark Fielding. I can't find the local news article now though, pretty sure he's from Sheffield though.

No he’s a Leeds man. Distinctly different accent to Sheffield! 🤣
 

Perhaps we ought to contact him and let him know to some strange blokes on the internet he’s a folk hero.