Cars you didn't know existed...
Discussion
Konan said:
Are you basing that on ford doing their thing and fitting old engines to a new car (until late in it's life)?
The Sierra wasn't an old-fashioned car in its day apart from the engines and that sector was undergoing a switch to front wheel drive (obviously the Mondeo went to that)I think the Sierra's styling has come to seem more dated than stuff like the Montego and Cavalier through being odd while they were conservative. Not more or less modern, but different
Jimmy Recard said:
The Sierra wasn't an old-fashioned car in its day apart from the engines and that sector was undergoing a switch to front wheel drive (obviously the Mondeo went to that)
I think the Sierra's styling has come to seem more dated than stuff like the Montego and Cavalier through being odd while they were conservative. Not more or less modern, but different
The Sierra's a bit of an odd one for me. In some respects, it was well ahead of its time in terms of the way they styled it (so much so it put people off, which is the best marker of how forward thinking a car is). It depends how you look at a design, but in some respects the design was still very typically Ford conservative and old fashioned (welded front wings, gutter rails, indicators in the front bumper etc) but in other ways it was ground breaking (the curvy shape).I think the Sierra's styling has come to seem more dated than stuff like the Montego and Cavalier through being odd while they were conservative. Not more or less modern, but different
Mechanically, much the same story. All independent suspension (OK, not ground-breaking, but lots of makers were still using torsion beams and live axles back then). The style of disc brakes used are also the same kind of design still used on cars today. That said, the drivetrain, front suspension and engines were miles behind.
I also agree the Sierra looks more dated (that's 'classic', isn't it?!) than most of its rivals do today, despite the fact it was supposed to be more futuristic back in the 80's. I think it's the shape. Tiny wheel arches with little wheels, leading edges of the doors and closing panels are all really simple, like you'd have on old BL stuff. Even detail stuff like the boot release button looks ancient, and the overall shape is obviously RWD, which generally means oldschool in a car in that sector. I think it's a car where the overall look had a fair bit of effort put into it, but there wasn't much in the way of styling detail. I never look up close at a Sierra and go "Oh wow, I never noticed that little bit there before!"
None of the above is intended as a slight on the Sierra at all, just observations. There's an estate dumped in our industrial estate at the moment, and I quite like seeing it there among all the modern dross.
Edited by Kitchski on Tuesday 25th October 09:48
Kitchski said:
In some respects, it was well ahead of its time in terms of the way they styled it (so much so it put people off, which is the best marker of how forward thinking a car is).
People weren't ready to let go of the three box saloon either, hence the addition of the Sapphire later on.A lot of cars followed the Sierra shape when they moved their cars on in the following years which, I think, normalised it's looks in people's eyes, pushing it from radical to dowdy.
I think the MK1 Focus gave the hatchback a similar kick, sharpening up styling. I certainly remember thinking so when it came out, but now they blend in with every other car around that age.
I think the Cav outsold it, but hasn't managed to outlast it.
(disclosure - I love the Sierra.... not the MK1 Focus
)from a readers car thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I never knew that a Nissan Silvia Varietta existed
https://en.wheelsage.org/autech/nissan_silvia/4142...
very pretty IMHO
I never knew that a Nissan Silvia Varietta existed
https://en.wheelsage.org/autech/nissan_silvia/4142...
very pretty IMHO
Konan said:
People weren't ready to let go of the three box saloon either, hence the addition of the Sapphire later on.
A lot of cars followed the Sierra shape when they moved their cars on in the following years which, I think, normalised it's looks in people's eyes, pushing it from radical to dowdy.
I think the MK1 Focus gave the hatchback a similar kick, sharpening up styling. I certainly remember thinking so when it came out, but now they blend in with every other car around that age.
I think the Cav outsold it, but hasn't managed to outlast it.
(disclosure - I love the Sierra.... not the MK1 Focus)
The Brits certainly weren't, but fastbacks/hatchbacks had been around for years.A lot of cars followed the Sierra shape when they moved their cars on in the following years which, I think, normalised it's looks in people's eyes, pushing it from radical to dowdy.
I think the MK1 Focus gave the hatchback a similar kick, sharpening up styling. I certainly remember thinking so when it came out, but now they blend in with every other car around that age.
I think the Cav outsold it, but hasn't managed to outlast it.
(disclosure - I love the Sierra.... not the MK1 Focus
)I agree, I think that in some ways the Sierra broke the mold, and then others came along and copied the idea. The results were often much better looking than the Sierra, and as you say it normalised the looks yet managed to also date them instantly. My natural instinct is to (boringly for everyone else as I always harp on about them) draw comparison with the Citroen BX, as it's the only other car I can think of that was launched at the same time (Montego was a year or two later, I think?) and was in direct competition with the Sierra. Whereas the Sierra made the BX look more outdated back when they were launched, I think it's the BX that now looks a (tiny) bit fresher. It's more modern in the details and shares more in common with cars today. Packaging, dimensions, details - all more modern to my eyes. I suspect I'd think the same of lots of other cars of the era if I spent time with them up close, though I reckon something like a Passat of the era would seem like it was 10 years older than it was!
There are some angles on the Sierra which genuinely could be only a decade old or so, though. If you stand in line with the door mirror and look forward 3/4 across the bonnet, the way the top of the wing meets the bonnet is really good. I've got a 2005 Saab 9-3, and the Sierra (genuinely) looks no older from that angle. It's quite impressive.
Mk1 Focus - surefire future classic. Not a massive fan of them, but huge respect. Cars in that sector wouldn't look like they do now if Ford hadn't made that car.
For me, the BX is all about the hydraulic suspension... the Crapalier always seemed ancient to me, at least in the penultimate generation. The one that came out c.1990 looked like a step forward, but I never drove it. The Montego was truly woeful. Driving it back-to-back with my P6, I couldn't believe how much better the much older car was. In fact, it was far ahead of every repmobile I drove, and still compares favourably even to modern stuff - the chassis balance was just lovely and it had incredible amounts of grip considering it was on 185-section tyres.
ttyUsget said:
Fast Bug said:
Yup, rwd as well. The Iranians also made a rear wheeldrive 405 saloon called the RD
Some very weird Peugeot-based combinations. There's a Paykan, which I think is a Hilman Hunter with Peugeot 504 running gear
Then you have a Samand which is a Peugeot 405 with a local body
And finally a Peugeot Pars, which is a 405 with 406-ish front and rear.
Oh and they are also in love with the saloon version of the mid-90s Kia Pride. Economic sanctions are a terrible, terrible thing.
cptsideways said:
Chris944_S2 said:
Citroen e Mehari
Spotted this one while in Brest last week.
Oooh that rather funky, always liked the original Mehari & I nearly bought one in the 80'sSpotted this one while in Brest last week.
Am I the only one thinking this is what a shrunk new LR Defender should look like??
A pisstake with a fake grille stuck to it?
Last night I followed a big pickup truck called a Fiat Fullback, never heard of one of those before...
Talking of Fiats, I was reminded the other day about a car my uncle owned when my two cousins were little - a Fiat Tempra. It was sort of an Italian equivalent of the Talbot/Matra Rancho, and it struck me that since he sold it, I have never, ever seen another one on the road.
Last night I followed a big pickup truck called a Fiat Fullback, never heard of one of those before...
Talking of Fiats, I was reminded the other day about a car my uncle owned when my two cousins were little - a Fiat Tempra. It was sort of an Italian equivalent of the Talbot/Matra Rancho, and it struck me that since he sold it, I have never, ever seen another one on the road.
Alpaca said:
The second one of these I've seen, I don't even know what it is:
King star Jupiter, with stoopid 'double headlight conversion' stickers?http://m.made-in-china.com/product/Kingstar-Jupite...
Edited by talksthetorque on Thursday 27th October 22:21
DaveGoddard said:
Last night I followed a big pickup truck called a Fiat Fullback, never heard of one of those before...
I saw the advert for those on telly the other night and did a double take.The body looks very familar and I didnt know they had a history of building trucks, is it a chassis share?
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff