The Metro and Escort Mark 3 are 40
Discussion
Touring442 said:
. That Escort was followed by an XR3i (in white with a red stripe, very 80s!) which was the first car I can remember travelling at 100mph in. Happy memories. 
Touring442 said:
I'm surprised my parents weren't more concerned this was fine for a 6 year old to remember these details. 40 years later I can recite the full mk3 launch lineup but have no idea what the current Focus lineup is.
Bought my first, one of the very first 1000cc cars from Coopers Auction in Birtley. It was ex NHS and sent me on a Metro path of about 3 or 4 1 litre cars, a 1300, a 1300HLE, a MG and a Turbo. At one point there were three at my house (Mine, wifes and the one I'd given to the FIL). House was known at the Metro Centre.....
Having been into minis for so long the Metro was a world of difference. Better built, better driver, better fuel economy. Strangely about 12 years or so later I had a Metro as a courtesy car while the E30 M3 was in for repair. The Metro felt unsafe at any speed and frightening around corners!.
Never had an Escort but had an Onion Ghia inj.
Having been into minis for so long the Metro was a world of difference. Better built, better driver, better fuel economy. Strangely about 12 years or so later I had a Metro as a courtesy car while the E30 M3 was in for repair. The Metro felt unsafe at any speed and frightening around corners!.
Never had an Escort but had an Onion Ghia inj.
soxboy said:
...40 years later I can recite the full mk3 launch lineup but have no idea what the current Focus lineup is.
I'm similar that I can remember random car details from my youth but often see a modern vehicle from a major manufacturer that I had no idea existed....I think there were not only fewer manufacturers in the 'olden days' of the '70s/'80s/'90s, there were fewer models (eg. mid-80s Ford lineup was Fiesta, Escort, Sierra, Granada (excl. vans etc) according to ford.co.uk they have 9 cars and 3 van based MPVs in their lineup.
Also, no longer the old L, GL, GLS, Ghia, etc hierarchy with big spec differences between them.
Anyway, the first car I drove after passing my driving test was my Mum's B-reg 998cc Metro so I have a soft spot for them. Perhaps the last generation of cars before things got 'modern' - carbs, non-assisted steering, 4-speed gearbox, windy windows.
Turbobanana said:
I was at the NEC for that. Audi quattro was also launched, which is the one 11 year old me gawped at.
Me too, although I was a far more youthful 10 you old git - my father and I went to the NEC taking a train at silly o'clock from deepest rural Dorset. He bought me one of these which I still have somewhere
I remember the Quattro being there (was it silver...?) - it looked like it had been beamed down from space!
njw1 said:
When I was very young my parents couldn't afford a car so would borrow my aunties car, she had an Escort that was identical to the one above and one of my earliest memories is 'helping' my father change a wheel on it, another memory is my father driving it from South Wales to Bristol one handed as he'd broken his arm . That Escort was followed by an XR3i (in white with a red stripe, very 80s!) which was the first car I can remember travelling at 100mph in. Happy memories.
Autocar or WhatCar back in the day did a test of an XR3 and found out that at a speedo-indicated 100mph the car was actually something like 13mph slower than that on their performance test equipment .. . That Escort was followed by an XR3i (in white with a red stripe, very 80s!) which was the first car I can remember travelling at 100mph in. Happy memories. Yep, ex MG Metro owner here. I had a C reg one in 1990. Red carpets and seat belts. Basically a Porsche 
My dad had a Turbo as a company car, and a later gta. Then had a gti on the day they came out, again comoany car. It was stolen a week later.
Mine went as far as Land's End and the Scottish Highlands. Was nice at the time. Interior better than most similar cars.
Rusted to bit by 1993. Bought my first bmw and jumped forward in engineering terms by 20 years.
My dad had a Turbo as a company car, and a later gta. Then had a gti on the day they came out, again comoany car. It was stolen a week later.
Mine went as far as Land's End and the Scottish Highlands. Was nice at the time. Interior better than most similar cars.
Rusted to bit by 1993. Bought my first bmw and jumped forward in engineering terms by 20 years.
Edited by Mr Squarekins on Wednesday 9th September 21:16
Edited by Mr Squarekins on Wednesday 9th September 21:17
I’m struggling to remember how many Metros we had when I was a kid. At least 6. The first was, I think, ESC 982W or something like that. Definitely a W suffix so presumably a very early one.
Having had them foisted on us as kids and as first cars the natural thing to do was to buy my father one when he turned 60. By modern (this was 2010) standards the thing was appallingly flimsy but he loved it and kept it for several years before, true to form, convincing a neighbour it was just what her son needed as a first car.
Having had them foisted on us as kids and as first cars the natural thing to do was to buy my father one when he turned 60. By modern (this was 2010) standards the thing was appallingly flimsy but he loved it and kept it for several years before, true to form, convincing a neighbour it was just what her son needed as a first car.
soxboy said:
I remember that image from the Ford Cars brochure, I can even recall the colour was terracotta.
I'm surprised my parents weren't more concerned this was fine for a 6 year old to remember these details. 40 years later I can recite the full mk3 launch lineup but have no idea what the current Focus lineup is.
I don’t know my beat mates’ mobile numbers but I still recall their parent’s land line numbers. VLH225X was my first car. EKX8Y was one of my father’s. I have never known any of my number plates since. I know the title of most songs from 1984 and not bad a year either side. I mostly only learn musicians names now if they’ve been arrested or murdered. I'm surprised my parents weren't more concerned this was fine for a 6 year old to remember these details. 40 years later I can recite the full mk3 launch lineup but have no idea what the current Focus lineup is.
The Wispa bar and the 20p coin arrived in 1982. Why do I recall this? Because I collected them both at the time as they were mind blowing.
The first Sierra I saw was duck egg blue and looking ones super unusual.
Being able to tell what the car was, at night, by their headlights.
It was all so much more exciting
. DonkeyApple said:
I don’t know my beat mates’ mobile numbers but I still recall their parent’s land line numbers. VLH225X was my first car. EKX8Y was one of my father’s. I have never known any of my number plates since. I know the title of most songs from 1984 and not bad a year either side. I mostly only learn musicians names now if they’ve been arrested or murdered.
The Wispa bar and the 20p coin arrived in 1982. Why do I recall this? Because I collected them both at the time as they were mind blowing.
The first Sierra I saw was duck egg blue and looking ones super unusual.
Being able to tell what the car was, at night, by their headlights.
It was all so much more exciting.
The 20 p coin, I remember that too. I still have the first 20p coin I ever saw - I was so impressed as a child that I kept it. I also have the £1 note given to me by my father on my first day at senior school. The Wispa bar and the 20p coin arrived in 1982. Why do I recall this? Because I collected them both at the time as they were mind blowing.
The first Sierra I saw was duck egg blue and looking ones super unusual.
Being able to tell what the car was, at night, by their headlights.
It was all so much more exciting
. Cars seemed so distinctive then, maybe I just knew more about them then because they interested me more. I used to love seeing the different designs of tail lights on the motorway at night - and you could spot many different types of cars just by listening to them too.
dbdb said:
I used to love seeing the different designs of tail lights on the motorway at night - and you could spot many different types of cars just by listening to them too.
Agreed, everything is so homogeneous these days. There was a Saturday night gameshow on TV (was it called "You Bet"?) where members of the public would take on odd challenges. I remember a kid, who must have been about 13, identifying 20 cars from just their tail lights. There was also a bloke who identified motorbikes from their engine sound, but I think he was a motorcycle mechanic so that's maybe not quite as impressive.
Edit: I learned to drive in a Metro in 1985 I suspect most people around my age learned in a Metro.
Edited by underwhelmist on Thursday 10th September 01:23
soxboy said:
Touring442 said:
Had an X reg 1600 Ghia then a Y reg XR3i.
People used to peddle the ‘if you put a set of Weber’s on the Ghia it’s faster than an XR3i’.
No way, they were way different cars, and taking away the speed difference the XR3I made me realise how handling affected performance.
We had two Golf GTI’s ( parents owned them ) both Mk2 a 8 then a 16 valve. The XR3i would beat them both through the twisties and in everyone’s opinion that drove both more fun.
I had driving lessons in the first Golf, but it’s the Escort I have the fond memories of.
People used to peddle the ‘if you put a set of Weber’s on the Ghia it’s faster than an XR3i’.
No way, they were way different cars, and taking away the speed difference the XR3I made me realise how handling affected performance.
We had two Golf GTI’s ( parents owned them ) both Mk2 a 8 then a 16 valve. The XR3i would beat them both through the twisties and in everyone’s opinion that drove both more fun.
I had driving lessons in the first Golf, but it’s the Escort I have the fond memories of.
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