Modern cars you don't see anymore (90's onwards)

[TTOBES]

Polo Coupe up to 1994.

[Polrules]

Always thought these looked nice for a family car...

[Truckosaurus]

cologne2792 said:

A girlfriend at the time had a Fiesta RS 1800 - rarer still with only 493 built in total.

My Step-Mother had a Fiesta RS1800 from new at a huge discount as being a Middle Aged Woman she was the only person who could get reasonably priced insurance on one.

[T1berious]

I was just thinking, wouldn't the switch to unleaded from 4 star also killed off alot of these.

I remember having to put redex additive in the GT Turbo (whimper) before it met an untimely death.

Anyway to add -

Renault 5 (any flavour)
VW Golf Mk II
VW Corrado (any flavour)
Audi A2
Ford Sierra Sapphire
Ford Orion
Escort Convertible

[yellowbentines]

Volvo 480, still looks fairly modern for a car launched in the 1980's



Sold through to the mid 1990's but can't remember the last time I saw one.

[jonah35]

Vauxhall cavalier. There were loads on the road, now there are none.

[BGarside]

Rover 100s, and the square-shaped 200s and 400s. Used to have a '94 214SLi and was really impressed with the build quality, though it was basicaly a Honda in drag. Surprised more have not survived - maybe K-series head gaskets killed them?

Nissan Primera.
Rover 600.
Mercedes 190, W124 E-class and W126 S-class.
BMW E36 3 series.
Audi 80/90 (lozenge shape).
Mazda 626, Xedos 6 & Xedos 9.
VW Corrado.
Citroen ZX & XM.
Mazda MX3 & MX6.
Nissan Sunny.

[ToothbrushMan]

Ford Probe's - a blessing we dont!

[clonmult]

yellowbentines said:

Volvo 480, still looks fairly modern for a car launched in the 1980's



Sold through to the mid 1990's but can't remember the last time I saw one.

Used to see one around here (basingstoke), but haven't seen one now for a year or two. Damn fine cars, handled better than they should have.

Most have probably gone due to terminal flooding of the boot (design flaw iirc, it definitely afflicted mine).

[ukzz4iroc]

RX8's are on the rapid decline. I wonder why...

[yellowbentines]

clonmult said:

yellowbentines said:

Volvo 480, still looks fairly modern for a car launched in the 1980's



Sold through to the mid 1990's but can't remember the last time I saw one.

Used to see one around here (basingstoke), but haven't seen one now for a year or two. Damn fine cars, handled better than they should have.

Most have probably gone due to terminal flooding of the boot (design flaw iirc, it definitely afflicted mine).

Loved them as a kid growing up in the late 80s/early 90s, a coupe with popup lights and that unique rear end (now echoed in the C30), from the manufacturer of rectangular estate cars! Handling was developed in conjunction with Lotus IIRC?

[Phateuk]

simon1987 said:

rix said:

Considering how many millions there were... The mk3 Cavalier!

This. Amazing how they have dropped off. When I was 5 or 6 they were everywhere.

I regularly see an "L reg" one of these in 1.7TD guise as a taxi when I'm en route to work, can't imagine how many miles it will have on it..

[r11co]

Truckosaurus said:

My Step-Mother had a Fiesta RS1800 from new at a huge discount as being a Middle Aged Woman she was the only person who could get reasonably priced insurance on one.

I was going to say - that is pretty much what killed it.

A lot of the cars listed in this thread were 'big hype, small sales' models so they were hardly ubiqitous on the roads when new, despite being all over the magazines at the time.

Plus a lot of us have short memories - the scrappage scheme of 2009/10 took huge tranches of these sorts of cars off the road.

[AudiWurst]

ToothbrushMan said:

Its hard to call a car from the 1990s as modern especially the earlier stuff thats now 20+ years old

Bang on.

20+ year old cars have gone well past the useful life expected/designed by the manufacturer. Lots of people saying "Car X was everywhere when I was a kid" - this thread is a reminder that it's easy to forget how long ago your childhood was!

With average mileage, they will be past 200,000 miles. Rust, scrappage, electrical shenanigans, minicab use, accident damage, and banger racing will have killed most off.

The only cars surviving will be owned by enthusiasts who cherish their cars, don't mind spending money on maintenance, and don't cover many miles annually.

Sadly there are not many enthusiasts queuing up to cherish a low-spec Laguna or Mk3 Cavalier.

[yellowbentines]

I think a big part of the reason that you don't see old cars anymore is the changed attitude towards perceived value of a car.

Society thinks of cars in terms of monthly payments rather than actual value, hence older cars are dumped because they cost money to keep on the road in terms of occasional lump sums for maintenance, whereas you can get a brand new Kia motorised refrigerator for £99 per month - for the UK citizen with no savings it's easier to have low monthly payments rather than occasional bigger outlays.

It's not that the cars won't last 20 plus years, they do when they're shipped to Eastern Europe or Africa because they have no other option, so when the break they fix them - we just chuck them away.

You can make pretty much any car last as long as you want if you throw money at it!

[CrutyRammers]

crofty1984 said:

LHD said:

Mk1 Mondeo or a non Cosworth Sierra

Exactly the two I was thinking of.

Saw a 1.8 GLX(or GLS?) Sierra on the motorway yesterday. But not seen one for eons before that, well apart from in breaker's.

[Morningside]

Saw a nice "J" reg Volvo 740 yesterday. Nice cars and now starting to get rare.

[jones325i]

FRA53R said:

Renault Safrane, not that there were many in the first place, sporty 405's are certainly in short supply, Renault 21 of any type are rare, though the savanna seems very difficult to locate, Toyota Carinas seem quite rare.

I was behind a Savanna on the M1 in Nottinghamshire about 2 weeks ago. Definitely caught my eye in a kind of 'hmmm, I remember those!' way. They sit very high at the back when unladen.

[jones325i]

jonah35 said:

Vauxhall cavalier. There were loads on the road, now there are none.

I learned to drive in my mum's Mk3 Cavalier. G880 CHF. Fond memories of that car.

[Hub]

jones325i said:

FRA53R said:

Renault Safrane, not that there were many in the first place, sporty 405's are certainly in short supply, Renault 21 of any type are rare, though the savanna seems very difficult to locate, Toyota Carinas seem quite rare.

I was behind a Savanna on the M1 in Nottinghamshire about 2 weeks ago. Definitely caught my eye in a kind of 'hmmm, I remember those!' way. They sit very high at the back when unladen.

My dad nearly bought a Savanna in the mid-90s when they were just about on the way out, as they had 7 seats. I steered him away from that and into a Mitsubishi Spacewagon. Still see a few of those around compared to the Renault! Most varieties of Espace are also quite rare.