Old cars that just depress you.
Discussion
DrTre said:
I stuck in an edit there while you were writing I think, but even without having read that you've replied to me in the nicest possible way, thank you.
I hadn't seen the edit till you pointed it out but I took the post in the way I think you intended it to be takenDrTre said:
It appears we pretty much agree on an awful lot, things are moving on in the car world and here on PH but, to be fair, the flip side might be it's just because we're getting old!
Having had a Nova to zip about in in my teenage years, I can't say I'll get misty eyed over them any time soon.
Was it you first car or just a beater - no fond memories at all??Having had a Nova to zip about in in my teenage years, I can't say I'll get misty eyed over them any time soon.
I had a Fiesta MKI 950 Pop Plus 30 years ago as one of my first cars - had zero go, iffy brakes (at speed ie once wound up) and seats that gave me dreadfull back ache - but I still got some good memories of trips, journeys and other stuff so when I see one it makes me smile even tho I've never been a Ford fan
DrTre said:
It's an odd one with Vauxhall, they do slightly depress me (different to hating/wanting them off the road). It's a melancholy thing I can't quite put my finger on. Each marque evokes a different emotion really, any BL one will always be fuddy-duddy to me, Ford are a rough around the edges/younger crowd that anyone could buy into, Renault: French farmer quirky, Citroen: French quirky chic etc etc.
These are all personal stereotypes/thoughts and they're probably so ingrained/entwined with childhood memories that I'll never change; and of course there are exceptions to each of them (your two for a start).
I sincerely apologise for getting narked with your post.
I didn't think you got narked - you just raised some good points and my post was a bit black and white without a lot of grey which is never goodThese are all personal stereotypes/thoughts and they're probably so ingrained/entwined with childhood memories that I'll never change; and of course there are exceptions to each of them (your two for a start).
I sincerely apologise for getting narked with your post.
I'd say the Fiesta Mk 3 is genuinely depressing. I just remember scores of bright blue base spec ones in the mid - late 90s with that whirring engine. Some poor souls were unlucky enough to have low spec offerings which wouldn't even give you a rear windscreen wiper.
Actually, lots of depressing thoughts relate to the low spec cars of the time. The Vauxhall 'merit' models for example.
On another note, remember how great the Ford 'Ghia' and 'Ghia X' models were?! I used to dream about windscreen wipers, rear headrests and electric windows all round.
Actually, lots of depressing thoughts relate to the low spec cars of the time. The Vauxhall 'merit' models for example.
On another note, remember how great the Ford 'Ghia' and 'Ghia X' models were?! I used to dream about windscreen wipers, rear headrests and electric windows all round.
B'stard Child said:
To me PH has always been about the cars but my impression is more recently tolerance of anything that is older, slower or from anywhere before 2000 has been very reduced and that's a bit sad.
I think to some degree this may be somewhat of a backlash against the revisionism that plagued PH a couple of years ago, where some days every other post seemed to be about how the FSO Polonez was an "old-school masterpiece of feelsome, direct handling" compared to today's "over-servoed, over-assisted armoured personnel carriers".There are always going to be good cars and bad cars, and cars that once fit a purpose that no longer exists - someone mentioned postwar austerity cars above, I wonder if in 20 years people will be talking about how they're depressed by "underpowered, overgeared, and pointlessly complicated" fuel economy specials from the present? Plus people to like the bad cars - hell, I'll stick my hand up, I thought my 1991 Orion was great when I had it, simply because I didn't know any better!
If anything, I like that this place is big enough to be a melting point of different views. Wouldn't this thread be boring if it was two pages of "no, there aren't any old cars that depress me." and a whole load of +1s? It's interesting to see what comes up; for example, someone mentioned the big 1980s Volvos - despite my ire for the smaller cars, I find it hard to be depressed by the 240/740/etc., they may be crap and slow in so many ways but are just so overwhelmingly good-natured to drive that I can't help but like them.
To be fair BC, I was narked but it was a transferred nark from someone else in my life!
I take your (and others points) about seeing old(er) cars. I guess seeing a Nova in good condition now would be a positive thing in my life, but I'd suggest that's more to do with the memories of a time it would evoke, rather than anything to do with the car itself.
The Nova replaced an old Metro and were the two to have been combined (Metro ride/handling and Nova engine and looks) there'd have been a fine(ish
) car to be had.
I have pondered whether I'd have the same attitude on if the Vauxhall marque had been ditched for the Opel marque and I kinda think even though the cars were the same, I'd probably have a different view...and I really don't know why.
A mates dad used to buy RHD Opels on the continent and bring them over (this was in the 80's before it became a well known loophole) and the Ascona and Kadett they had seemed a bit more..well...cool.
It's almost like Opel were the sporty branch of the GM arm in Europe; the GT, the Monza, the Manta etc...even now an Opel Speedster carries more panache in my head than VAuxhall VX220
I know that says more about my ignorance of the history of Vauxhall/badge snobbery than anything but it's still a feeling I can't shake.
To see any old car now, yes it's a good thing but I"m still left with a certain feeling about some cars that I don't have about others. It's not really sneering outlook , but I can see how it could be construed as such.
I take your (and others points) about seeing old(er) cars. I guess seeing a Nova in good condition now would be a positive thing in my life, but I'd suggest that's more to do with the memories of a time it would evoke, rather than anything to do with the car itself.
The Nova replaced an old Metro and were the two to have been combined (Metro ride/handling and Nova engine and looks) there'd have been a fine(ish
) car to be had.I have pondered whether I'd have the same attitude on if the Vauxhall marque had been ditched for the Opel marque and I kinda think even though the cars were the same, I'd probably have a different view...and I really don't know why.
A mates dad used to buy RHD Opels on the continent and bring them over (this was in the 80's before it became a well known loophole) and the Ascona and Kadett they had seemed a bit more..well...cool.
It's almost like Opel were the sporty branch of the GM arm in Europe; the GT, the Monza, the Manta etc...even now an Opel Speedster carries more panache in my head than VAuxhall VX220
I know that says more about my ignorance of the history of Vauxhall/badge snobbery than anything but it's still a feeling I can't shake.
To see any old car now, yes it's a good thing but I"m still left with a certain feeling about some cars that I don't have about others. It's not really sneering outlook , but I can see how it could be construed as such.
Edited by DrTre on Sunday 3rd June 11:49
The Crack Fox said:
The Sierra, blobby rotboxes when new, now happily near-extinct. I can't even get that excited about Cossies.
In there time perhaps but they're possitively taught and lithe compared with modern cars, I think they were ahead of there time and have aged okay.Not my favourite model but I wouldn't say no to a nice RS500, do they really leave you cold?
t ive ever heard ;-)richardxjr said:
No. Most people think if it's old it's shagged. New cars just depress me. And that's just seeing and hearing them, before we get on to the financial suicide involved in buying them.
Totally agree with Richardxjr. Most new cars depress me, especially the mainstream heaps of tin out there. The drivers who are so eager to 'keep up with the Jones' and buy that new Focus or Hyundai so that they can conform, depress me too- justifying it to themselves and everyone else
XJ40 said:
I wouldn't say no to a nice RS500, do they really leave you cold?
The RS500 is a great thing, but then it was very much a homologation special. I don't think the basic Sierras aged particularly well, even the Cosworths, but nicer to drive than the Escorts!None would actually depress me though.
The Crack Fox said:
The Sierra, blobby rotboxes when new, now happily near-extinct. I can't even get that excited about Cossies.
The standard 4x4 cossy is an interesting yardstick for how bizarrely inflated modern expectations of straight line performance are - like that Maestro turbo mentioned earlier, hot hatches surpassed that level of performance ten years ago. The Subaru BRZ that people are complaining is too slow, has a better power to weight ratio.
The Crack Fox said:
The Sierra, blobby rotboxes when new, now happily near-extinct. I can't even get that excited about Cossies.
LOL yes the very first ones handled badly and rotted for a living but they got better, a LOT better, try removing the blinkers, they make you look silly 
Noves? come on they were cheap affordable small cars what the fook did anyone expect? porche handling with ferrari performance? some people need to grow up
" oh look i bought a cheap car and horror of horrors it feels cheap" jebus H corbett 
I've driven nearly every 70/80/90s family (or budget if you prefer) car and they all had at least one redeaming feature, even the talbot samba was a laugh to "lean" around roundabouts, although that may have been a nervs laught as the door handle scraped the tarmac
Although i really do have to struggle to find anything good about the Marina i do hear they are great piano catchers
Edit:
no hang on the marina was great at keeping me awake on the way back from festivals, unatended the handling was "interesting" there found something
otolith said:
The Crack Fox said:
The Sierra, blobby rotboxes when new, now happily near-extinct. I can't even get that excited about Cossies.
The standard 4x4 cossy is an interesting yardstick for how bizarrely inflated modern expectations of straight line performance are - like that Maestro turbo mentioned earlier, hot hatches surpassed that level of performance ten years ago. The Subaru BRZ that people are complaining is too slow, has a better power to weight ratio.
I think the grip, braking and general confidence levels of a modern car make previously respectable power figures less exciting. 200bhp on '80s chassis technology was a genuine event because it was teasing at the limits of what the car could handle; nowadays all you'd notice about having 200bhp is that the speedometer needle gets round the dial in rather sprightly fashion.
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