What would you have driven 20 years earlier?
What would you have driven 20 years earlier?
Author
Discussion

NNH

Original Poster:

1,548 posts

162 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Imagine you'd been born 20 years earlier, and your life followed roughly the same pattern but 20 years beforehand. What would you have driven?

My Golf GTI and Ford Puma in the 90s might have been an Escort RS2000 followed by a Scirocco in the 70s. My 2000s WRX and 996 could have been a 205GTi followed by a 325i in the 1980s. My 2010s Cayman might have been an Esprit or a 993 in the 1990s, and my 2020s Fiesta ST might have been a Mini Cooper in the 2000s.

What would your cars have been if your life had been transported back 20 years?

Mouse Rat

2,103 posts

122 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
It would be BMW when they were great. Probably 540i or 740i.
Still TVR Tuscan as a weekend car.
Family car. A6 all road.

LimaDelta

8,506 posts

248 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
I guess my first car could conceivably have still been a Land Rover, though it would have been a Series 2A in 1975, rather than a Series III in 1995. My 2006 Exige S could have been a 1986 Esprit S3. My first proper family car would have been a 1991 S1 Discovery rather than a 2011 D4. My current Land Cruiser would probably be a 2003 L322 RR.

Not a lot different then I suppose.

Riley Blue

23,205 posts

256 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Same question was asked a few months back:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

so same answer:

(1973) 1962 red Mini Traveller.

(1953) 1942.... were any comparable cars on sale during WW2? If not I'd probably have bought a 1930's Austin Seven which happens to have been my Dad's first car.

snotrag

15,695 posts

241 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
My current cars (or their nearest equivalent), wound back 20 years or so. I'd be equally as happy as I am now.





Elise - Esprit is not a direct descendant though, so probably some other slightly cheaper sportscar - an early Mk1 MR2 is about right, and if we are in the late 90s/early 00's then that feels about right.

bristolracer

5,952 posts

179 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Cars with starting handles.

Triumph Man

9,617 posts

198 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
My first car was a Triumph 2000 mk2, bought when they were still cheap and relatively unloved (in 2008), 20 years previous would have been 1988 when they were still cheap and relatively unloved, so I'd probably still have bought one! As to the two Passats that followed (2010/2011) they were only intended as a cheap runaround, so I'd probably have whatever was relatively cheap to buy and run.

In 2013 (or 1993 for this exercise) I bought an 18 year old BMW E34. an 18 year old 5 series in 1993 would have been the E12, but I probably would have tried to stretch to an E28. I bought my 15 year old E39 in 2016 (or 1996) so that would have been another E28, although early E34s would have been cheap then, so I probably would have stretched to that. In 2021 (or 2001) I bought a 10 year old Discovery 4, and a 10 year old Discovery in 2001 would have been a 1991 200tdi or V8. Or, as not a huge fan of the first Disco 1, I might have bought a cheap Range Rover Classic.

V8RAW

90 posts

98 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
A f@cking horse and cart biggrin

DSC OFF

211 posts

91 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Most likely an E36 M3 3.0. Coupe in Avus Blue please, rear spoiler, upgraded five spoke sunflowers and light grey leather, sunroof. Still covet one now

Honorable second would be an Escort Cosworth or Clio Williams


MitchT

17,150 posts

239 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
I've always been a BMW 3 Series fan but cars like that seemed to be inaccessible to ordinary folk before the low interest rates of the new millennium, so I'd probably have had a Ford Sierra as I always quite liked those, rightly or wrongly.

Nomme de Plum

7,050 posts

46 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
bristolracer said:
Cars with starting handles.
and pop out indicators.

NNH

Original Poster:

1,548 posts

162 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Riley Blue said:
Same question was asked a few months back:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

so same answer:

(1973) 1962 red Mini Traveller.

(1953) 1942.... were any comparable cars on sale during WW2? If not I'd probably have bought a 1930's Austin Seven which happens to have been my Dad's first car.
Ah - that might be why my friend brought it up the other day!

Slowboathome

4,461 posts

74 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all










I need to review my life choices frown

Edited by Slowboathome on Thursday 27th April 10:52

FiF

48,856 posts

281 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Difficult because cars changed so much so I've just considered what was in a similar market position 20 years earlier than certain purchases or company cars over the years.

First car Mk1 1100cc Escort, would have been Ford Anglia E494A



Peugeot 205GTI, possibly would have been a Mini Cooper S, or maybe, being a serial Ford owner one of these, took my test in one. Long story.



Similar era to the 205GTI, first company car, no choice you got what was allocated, Vauxhall Belmont 1.8 GLSi

so would have been a Vauxhall Victor FD, maybe even a Ventora as pictured.




Last company car, Volvo V50, probably would have been a Volvo 740 wagon.

Current daily would probably have been a Defender 110 Station Wagon. Not much change there then.

Jaguar steve

9,232 posts

240 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Born 20 years earlier I'd would have had a Series 1 XJ from the '60s.



Rather than a Series 3 XJ from the '80s.



smile

AllyBee

336 posts

184 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Currently have a 91 Defender so maybe one of these.



Also on the look out for a new car both the Audi s4 and C43 AMG are on the list, so I'll go for the late 90s/early 2000's versions.




Although maybe a better condition one than this...

Monkeylegend

29,391 posts

261 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Probably a Churchill or Crusader Tank and hoped to have survived.

konster296

156 posts

107 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Probably an E30 325i as they would’ve been peanuts in 2003 or a 944 Turbo.

cerb4.5lee

44,914 posts

210 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
I've always loved stuff like the Mk2 Escort RS2000/Capri 2.8i etc and the Jag XJS. So I would have liked to have driven stuff like that if I'd been a bit older.

Levin

2,118 posts

154 months

Thursday 27th April 2023
quotequote all
Mine wouldn't change much. I'd still have ended up buying a Sierra, just an earlier one. It would have been during the era where they were throwaway cars, too, so I might even have owned a string of them. Or kept one in really good nick.