Old cars that just depress you.
Discussion
) but extra doubly so for the Zafira GTi 
wiliferus said:
I match your almost practical 4 door saloon Nova, and raise you the stupid, nonsensical, turd-tastic two door saloon!
I'm sticking my neck out here but this car kind of makes sense. Very few of us need to access the back seats on a journey, and it's useful to be able to fit more 'stuff' securely in the boot.
I'd also say making a short car a little longer doesn't really matter when it comes to parking etc.
It does look crap though!
The world would be a poorer place without some automotive oddities, talking dash maestro's,allegro vandenplas and the mk1s with quartic steering wheels,brown base model montegos or 7 seat countryman estates and even the Triumph Acclaim particularly the Avon turbo!
Credit the run of the mill too,I have owned a beige Morris Ital 1700L with cinammon interior and a mellow yellow mk1 cavalier 1600l saloon,both charming relics that wouldnt of survived if somebody hadnt kept them going, Id rather have any car on this list,even a nissan sunny,preferably in beige saloon form, than a new,white,tdi v.a.g clone or a modern hatchback that could be a peugeot,ford,kia,vauxhall or seat or more, why are they all identical?
Credit the run of the mill too,I have owned a beige Morris Ital 1700L with cinammon interior and a mellow yellow mk1 cavalier 1600l saloon,both charming relics that wouldnt of survived if somebody hadnt kept them going, Id rather have any car on this list,even a nissan sunny,preferably in beige saloon form, than a new,white,tdi v.a.g clone or a modern hatchback that could be a peugeot,ford,kia,vauxhall or seat or more, why are they all identical?
Boxy old Renaults - there is something deeply unlovely about the Regie's output of the late 80s and early 90s. Dull styling, worse interiors, rubbish mechanicals. I saw a very tidy Renault 19 yesterday, and wondered how anyone ever thought these things were cool. (They did at the time, thanks to some clever advertising which made the 19 fashionable for about twenty minutes in 1992.)
I agree with the OP, there is a tendency to mark all old cars as classic.
I get more annoyed with the classic car press that just cant seem to move on from MGBs,Midgets, Spitfires and so on plus the usual TRs and Austin Healeys...in my opinion cars like the Ops own Triumph and the Rover P6 were actually more "classic" in their day than some of these mediocre sports cars (the midgets/spitfires,not the trs and austin healeys).....
Classic should be just that...something that was classic, or highly rated in its day. Morris 1000 fits that category but numerous horrible rusty hillmans and BMC rubbish do not...IMO
I get more annoyed with the classic car press that just cant seem to move on from MGBs,Midgets, Spitfires and so on plus the usual TRs and Austin Healeys...in my opinion cars like the Ops own Triumph and the Rover P6 were actually more "classic" in their day than some of these mediocre sports cars (the midgets/spitfires,not the trs and austin healeys).....
Classic should be just that...something that was classic, or highly rated in its day. Morris 1000 fits that category but numerous horrible rusty hillmans and BMC rubbish do not...IMO
Hmmm.. I may as well get on my soap box about this one..
Mondeo Mk1/ Mk2.. Especially the 1.8td. Always loathed the things. The 1st gear that felt like you were pulling away with the hand brake on. The whole car shouted 'Very Average'
Triumph TR7 - After the TR6, I got in a TR7 and thought it was an Allegro. Strangely clever (for its time) way of building the interior but the end result was hateful.
90% of people carriers. Often far bigger than the number of kids inside require, driven by the blind and devoid of any hint of motoring passion.
Prius - Yes Yes, the usual stereotypes but must importantly it spells the end of driving for fun, with individuality and dawns the age of the whole car being a 'white goods' product and the entire focus of getting somewhere as cheaply / safely as possible and allowing the driver to all but fall asleep.
Most modern cars.. OK for average soulless motoring, cars have got better and 'Average Joe' gets all the goodies these days, but cars are riddled with gadgets and safety devices to make the driver yet more remote from what is going on. There are no signs that a designer has sat back and admired their product for any other reason than being able to balance the books.
Mondeo Mk1/ Mk2.. Especially the 1.8td. Always loathed the things. The 1st gear that felt like you were pulling away with the hand brake on. The whole car shouted 'Very Average'
Triumph TR7 - After the TR6, I got in a TR7 and thought it was an Allegro. Strangely clever (for its time) way of building the interior but the end result was hateful.
90% of people carriers. Often far bigger than the number of kids inside require, driven by the blind and devoid of any hint of motoring passion.
Prius - Yes Yes, the usual stereotypes but must importantly it spells the end of driving for fun, with individuality and dawns the age of the whole car being a 'white goods' product and the entire focus of getting somewhere as cheaply / safely as possible and allowing the driver to all but fall asleep.
Most modern cars.. OK for average soulless motoring, cars have got better and 'Average Joe' gets all the goodies these days, but cars are riddled with gadgets and safety devices to make the driver yet more remote from what is going on. There are no signs that a designer has sat back and admired their product for any other reason than being able to balance the books.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet:
The 340 and 740 are not depressing cars now. Perhaps 10-15 years ago they might have been but I've seen way too many tuned drift / track versions to call them depressing. There's a guy who has a shop near Brands Hatch (who used to sell me n2o) who has a couple of the 340s all tricked out for major danger and they're pretty amazing. Another I knew belonged to one of the workers at Power Engineering in Uxbridge and as he came to open up at one of our rolling-road days he came along the road of the industrial estate and as he shifted down the gears the back wheels were spinning. Massive turbo on it, not at all depressing.
The 340 and 740 are not depressing cars now. Perhaps 10-15 years ago they might have been but I've seen way too many tuned drift / track versions to call them depressing. There's a guy who has a shop near Brands Hatch (who used to sell me n2o) who has a couple of the 340s all tricked out for major danger and they're pretty amazing. Another I knew belonged to one of the workers at Power Engineering in Uxbridge and as he came to open up at one of our rolling-road days he came along the road of the industrial estate and as he shifted down the gears the back wheels were spinning. Massive turbo on it, not at all depressing.
I vote for almost and Vectra.
Contigo said:
Depends what you want. The M5 touring doesn't stand out from the crowd really and in a way it's stealthy as hell but goes like thunder and will take on even Ferrari's and the best Porkers.
In what way would it take them on? Contigo said:
Most cars on the road unless they are top of the range flagship models like RS's, AMG's, Msports, STi's, EVO's etc are just dull MOR carp that would make me slit my wrists if I had to own.
How depressing is that, you can only be interested in the top of the range model. Sounds awful.Contigo said:
I have had sports cars like the Elise, RX8, EVO, Scooby which whilst good and all an experience do nothing at all for me now. I see them as ten a penny.
Only one of those is a sports car.Fire99 said:
Hmmm.. I may as well get on my soap box about this one..
Mondeo Mk1/ Mk2.. Especially the 1.8td. Always loathed the things. The 1st gear that felt like you were pulling away with the hand brake on. The whole car shouted 'Very Average'
Triumph TR7 - After the TR6, I got in a TR7 and thought it was an Allegro. Strangely clever (for its time) way of building the interior but the end result was hateful.
90% of people carriers. Often far bigger than the number of kids inside require, driven by the blind and devoid of any hint of motoring passion.
Prius - Yes Yes, the usual stereotypes but must importantly it spells the end of driving for fun, with individuality and dawns the age of the whole car being a 'white goods' product and the entire focus of getting somewhere as cheaply / safely as possible and allowing the driver to all but fall asleep.
Most modern cars.. OK for average soulless motoring, cars have got better and 'Average Joe' gets all the goodies these days, but cars are riddled with gadgets and safety devices to make the driver yet more remote from what is going on. There are no signs that a designer has sat back and admired their product for any other reason than being able to balance the books.
The Mk1 Mondeo was very well regarded in the motoring press when it was launched. It was seen as a genuine class leader in pretty much all respects, particularly driving dynamics, and a huge step forward from the Sierra. Mondeo Mk1/ Mk2.. Especially the 1.8td. Always loathed the things. The 1st gear that felt like you were pulling away with the hand brake on. The whole car shouted 'Very Average'
Triumph TR7 - After the TR6, I got in a TR7 and thought it was an Allegro. Strangely clever (for its time) way of building the interior but the end result was hateful.
90% of people carriers. Often far bigger than the number of kids inside require, driven by the blind and devoid of any hint of motoring passion.
Prius - Yes Yes, the usual stereotypes but must importantly it spells the end of driving for fun, with individuality and dawns the age of the whole car being a 'white goods' product and the entire focus of getting somewhere as cheaply / safely as possible and allowing the driver to all but fall asleep.
Most modern cars.. OK for average soulless motoring, cars have got better and 'Average Joe' gets all the goodies these days, but cars are riddled with gadgets and safety devices to make the driver yet more remote from what is going on. There are no signs that a designer has sat back and admired their product for any other reason than being able to balance the books.
What they made the bumpers out of I don't know but they were crap. Headlamp lenses went yellow too I seem to remember.
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Mk 1 Mondeo, even though it's a good car, any Fiesta, Beetles - I just hate the sound, and Citigolfs. So many get all misty eyed when they see a Citi because it's a modern Mk 1 golf, and it reminds them of the iconic mk1 Gti. But the Citi isn't a modern mk1 GTI, it's more like a modern mk1 1.3L, and no one gets all nostalgic about those.
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