James May's Cars of the People

[Toltec]

I enjoyed the program and so did my wife, learnt a few new things and most of all remembered that one of the first cars I wanted* was the successor to the 124, the Fiat Mirafiori with the twin cam engine.


* wanted my dad to buy that is.

[geeks]

Enjoyed the program last night, even the bit when he destroyed the Lada

[Pickled]

I thought it was pretty good show, thougt that 124 looked lovely no mention of the yugo 45 which if I remember was another fiat based car (126?)

Wonder if the BBC did a block booking on the old rooftop test track it's been on 3 programmes I've watched this week, Italy unpacked, francesco's Italy and this!

[Adenauer]

Really enjoyed it, apart from the dropping of the car as others have said.

I certainly wasn't aware of the saving stamp book scam, or the great big holiday block that was never used, very interesting stuff.

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

I thought the Lada would destroy the ground, rather than the other way round TBH.
I believe they stopped importing them because they couldn't meet emission standards? I remember an old girlfriends dad had a Riva Estate - it was one of the newest cars I've seen with an SU carb

[ajprice]

The Lada Niva 4x4 is still being built, and recently got a 2015 model year update http://www.carscoops.com/2014/06/lada-spruces-up-n...

It's got electric windows now, so they plugged the holes in the door trims where the window winders used to be

[Bonefish Blues]

I'm afraid it didn't hold my attention, which was a shame.

[Kitchski]

Adenauer said:

I certainly wasn't aware of the saving stamp book scam, or the great big holiday block that was never used, very interesting stuff.

Me too. I knew the Beetle had connections to Hitler, but not the full story. Really interesting!

[Toltec]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I thought the Lada would destroy the ground, rather than the other way round TBH.
I believe they stopped importing them because they couldn't meet emission standards? I remember an old girlfriends dad had a Riva Estate - it was one of the newest cars I've seen with an SU carb

The town I grew up in was littered with the things, the main importer was a couple of miles away.

[MogulBoy]

I enjoyed the programme but surprised that there was no mention of the Polski Fiat / FSO versions.

1st car I ever drove at the age of 13/14 on a private road was my father's 1979 Polski Fiat 125p combi. The only car he ever bought new!



I can't remember it being too bad (although the AA man saved us from missing a cross channel ferry once after the long schelp down from Scotland with the deft modification of a suitable replacement rotor arm) and I considered it to be an upgrade from the Hilman Hunter it suceeded. I can even recall feeling rather smug that we had the Polski Fiat version and not the Lada! LOL

After a few years the ivory paint went seriously matt but it responded well to a bit of T-Cut.

Then the rings went and after leaving a trail of blue smoke that wouldn't have looked out of place coming out of the back of a Folland Gnat, it was pensioned-off and along with it the simple pleasure of running a car fitted with quarterlights...

[boyse7en]

MogulBoy said:

I enjoyed the programme but surprised that there was no mention of the Polski Fiat / FSO versions.

1st car I ever drove at the age of 13/14 on a private road was my father's 1979 Polski Fiat 125p combi. The only car he ever bought new!



I can't remember it being too bad (although the AA man saved us from missing a cross channel ferry once after the long schelp down from Scotland with the deft modification of a suitable replacement rotor arm) and I considered it to be an upgrade from the Hilman Hunter it suceeded. I can even recall feeling rather smug that we had the Polski Fiat version and not the Lada! LOL

After a few years the ivory paint went seriously matt but it responded well to a bit of T-Cut.

Then the rings went and after leaving a trail of blue smoke that wouldn't have looked out of place coming out of the back of a Folland Gnat, it was pensioned-off and along with it the simple pleasure of running a car fitted with quarterlights...

Sounds like you childhood was very similar to mine. We had a Hillman Avenger estate which was replaced by a Lada 1200 estate. Six of us travelled to the South of France in it for a camping holiday in 1980.
The Lada was replaced after a drunk driver in a Fiat 128 coupe smashed head-on into it while it was parked outside our house. The Fiat was a total wreck and he had to be cut out of the car. The Lada had a dented wing, smashed headlight and broken rear light (where it got pushed into the wall) and Dad drove it around for the next week or so until the insurance co. wrote it off.

[zeb]

It was alright....but nothing more than that. Struck me as a bit 'top gear-ish' but without the other two. The historical aspect was quite interesting but it needs to lose the comedy helicopter dropping the car bits, that is soooo 2006.

It's on series link so i'll give it a go.

[Sheepshanks]

The new RangeRover being disabled by a slightly bumpy road was a bit ironic.

Wonder if they have a spare wheel these days - that'd be a be a bit of a nuisance if not.

[JonRB]

zeb said:

It was alright....but nothing more than that. Struck me as a bit 'top gear-ish' but without the other two.

I confess I did find it a little odd that they used exactly the same spinning cog logo as Top Gear uses in the programme title, and also used exactly the same font and layout in the credits at the end as Top Gear. The production values were almost identical to Top Gear too.

The latter I can understand, especially if they filmed it whilst they were filming Top Gear (I can only speculate there - I don't know if they did or didn't). However, I don't understand why they chose to do the other two things I mentioned. I can only presume that it was a deliberate decision to tie it to Top Gear.

[jurbie]

Bradgate said:

Ladas and Polski Fiats, aka FSOs were popular cars in Derbyshire in the 1980s. They were seen as a new alternative to a used Escort or Astra, in much the same way as Dacias are today. They allowed ordinary working-class families to afford a brand new car for the first and perhaps only time in their lives, and they were owned with great pride.

There used to be an FSO main dealer in Stoke although we had a genuine, bought in Poland Polski Fiat 126p known in Poland as a 'Maluch' which loosely translates into 'small one'. When we moved back to the UK my mum had to drive it here from Poland and it was then used as a cheap run around until it eventually fell to bits. To be fair it took some real abuse and I have many fond memories of it not least being the car I learned to drive in when I was about 10.

Now I'm thinking about it I'm going to have to check the classifieds to see if there are any knocking about for sale.

[vixen1700]

Anybody else remember the 'modernised' Polski Fiat Polenez from the late '70s?

I was mortified when my dad picked up a brochure at the Motor Show that year, but fortunately he bought another Citroen.

[Vocal Minority]

JonRB said:

I confess I did find it a little odd that they used exactly the same spinning cog logo as Top Gear uses in the programme title, and also used exactly the same font and layout in the credits at the end as Top Gear. The production values were almost identical to Top Gear too.

The latter I can understand, especially if they filmed it whilst they were filming Top Gear (I can only speculate there - I don't know if they did or didn't). However, I don't understand why they chose to do the other two things I mentioned. I can only presume that it was a deliberate decision to tie it to Top Gear.

May did an interview on Chris Evans' show, and apparently it is part of an extended 'series plus 4 spin offs' contract that the BBC had with the makers of Top Gear, so they are part of the same 'franchise'. Hammond's Bond Cars was one spin off, these are the other three.

[skinny]

i had to miss the last 5 mins, not sad i did now.

may needs to wear stop wearing his shirts from 5 years back.

it's fairly clear from Russia and China that communism isn't really good for the driving enthusiast.

[JonRB]

Vocal Minority said:

May did an interview on Chris Evans' show, and apparently it is part of an extended 'series plus 4 spin offs' contract that the BBC had with the makers of Top Gear, so they are part of the same 'franchise'. Hammond's Bond Cars was one spin off, these are the other three.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for that.

I still have Hammond's "Bond Cars" special saved on my Sky+ box. I thought it was very good.

[Pesty]

ajprice said:

The Lada Niva 4x4 is still being built, and recently got a 2015 model year update http://www.carscoops.com/2014/06/lada-spruces-up-n...

It's got electric windows now, so they plugged the holes in the door trims where the window winders used to be

I know they look like st inside but i just think they are cool. Not actualy cheep enough for me to buy a recent one for a laugh but one day i might buy one just because. And probably regret it instantly.