Classics dwarfed by moderns

[Wuzzle]

300bhp/ton said:

It's just my view that the cars are no longer aimed at the same sector or customer (that view might well be wrong however).

But for instance take the Countryman. In it's past incarnation it was a Mini estate with "barn doors" and exterior wood trim.

Today's Countryman is a 5 door 4x4/compact SUV. And apart from the name shares nothing with the original. And I believe fully aimed at a completely different demographic for a completely different use.

Compact SUVs didn't exist when the original Countryman was introduced.

I seriously do not understand where you are coming from on this thread.

You keep posting pictures to prove that yank motors haven't got much bigger. They were big to start with, and couldn't get much bigger.

[300bhp/ton]

Wuzzle said:

Compact SUVs didn't exist when the original Countryman was introduced.

I seriously do not understand where you are coming from on this thread.

You keep posting pictures to prove that yank motors haven't got much bigger. They were big to start with, and couldn't get much bigger.

I really don't know how to explain it any differently, although I really didn't think it was that difficult to grasp?


original countryman - tiny compact estate car
today's countryman - 4x4/SUV

basically it's not the same thing, nor aimed at the same people for the same purpose. So as it's so different you can't really claim the new one is bigger. Infact if they hadn't used the name countryman the comparison would probably never happen, so it's only the name that confuses people.


In my view (and a little tong in cheek to use an extreme example).

Corvette is a type of ship. It then also become a car. The comparison people use due to a common name would be like saying the 'new' Corvette in 1958 was tiny compared to the original - because they ain't the same thing.


Now I understand cars are cars, so the change is a lot smaller than from ship to sports car. But the difference in the purpose of the vehicle still exists.

For example the original Lotus Elan was a low volume small market sports car, which I think you could buy in kit form. The Elan M100 shared the name, but was a world market car with mass production intentions. Because it wasn't aimed at the same people or for the same purpose it evolved into a very different car. Yes it got bigger and heavier, but mostly because it changed in what it was offering and to who. Something like the GKD Evolution, a car you can buy new today is of much more similar proportions to the original Elan and aimed at a similar customer for a similar reason.

[Wuzzle]

300bhp/ton said:

Wuzzle said:

Compact SUVs didn't exist when the original Countryman was introduced.

I seriously do not understand where you are coming from on this thread.

You keep posting pictures to prove that yank motors haven't got much bigger. They were big to start with, and couldn't get much bigger.

I really don't know how to explain it any differently, although I really didn't think it was that difficult to grasp?


original countryman - tiny compact estate car
today's countryman - 4x4/SUV

basically it's not the same thing, nor aimed at the same people for the same purpose. So as it's so different you can't really claim the new one is bigger. Infact if they hadn't used the name countryman the comparison would probably never happen, so it's only the name that confuses people.

You only seem to want to talk about the Countryman as it is the only car I can think of that has changed market position in the way you have been banging on about for so long. The Countryman is a new model using an old name. The 3 Series is still the 3 Series.

Can you name me another model that has changed quite so drastically. The only other I can think is the Fiat Croma, which went from large hatchback to MPV type thing.

[72twink]

Can we stop thinking so hard about the content of this thread and just get back to posting amusing pictures, I personally am waiting for an Espada looking lost in a Sainsburys carpark ........

[iSore]

roscozs said:

Jesus, look at the STATE of that thing on the right! Whilst I'm not a massive fan of the old Mini these days, the ryman really is a piece of work.

[Travis Mcgee]

72twink said:

Can we stop thinking so hard about the content of this thread and just get back to posting amusing pictures, I personally am waiting for an Espada looking lost in a Sainsburys carpark ........

Totally agree. By all means have a discussion about how cars have moved up into different classes etc but create a new thread and discuss it to death.

[TheInternet]

Travis Mcgee said:

72twink said:

Can we stop thinking so hard about the content of this thread and just get back to posting amusing pictures, I personally am waiting for an Espada looking lost in a Sainsburys carpark ........

Totally agree. By all means have a discussion about how cars have moved up into different classes etc but create a new thread and discuss it to death.

As someone who is more tolerant of 300bhp/1000kg's generally ill-conceived views, on this occasion it has proven mindbendingly frustrating that his tedious arguments have destroyed a previously entertaining thread, and only serve to reinforce the widely held opinion of the total yanker.

And

[Wuzzle]

I don't suppose anyone has a picture of a Mini type Austin 7 next to an original Austin 7? Or an later Morris Minor next to a 1930s Minor?

Edited by Wuzzle on Thursday 22 November 19:38

[McClure]

TheInternet said:

Good grief! I used to think the Countach was pretty big itself!

[Wuzzle]

I remember how big the Lady Di crash Merc SE seemed when they came out. Tank like.

They don't even look that big these days.

[TheInternet]

Another angle:


The original Countach being 500kgs lighter than an Aventador.

[na]

TheInternet said:

As someone who is more tolerant of 300bhp/1000kg's

er, 300bhp/1018.2kg

[TheInternet]

na said:

TheInternet said:

As someone who is more tolerant of 300bhp/1000kg's

er, 300bhp/1018.2kg

You forget who we're dealing with here, is it not 300bhp/907kgs?

Edited by TheInternet on Thursday 22 November 20:08

[Baron Greenback]

McClure said:

TheInternet said:

Good grief! I used to think the Countach was pretty big itself!

Winner so far for me!

[na]

TheInternet said:

You forget who we're dealing with here, is it not 300bhp/907kgs?

that's a short ton but I don't know what a short or long ton is so i stuck to the imperial kilogram

[RichB]

Baron Greenback said:

McClure said:

TheInternet said:

Good grief! I used to think the Countach was pretty big itself!

Winner so far for me!

That's not big and it's not clever - you've obviously searched the net for that picture because the green Lambo is positioned further away than the white one. 300bhp will soon be on your case

[na]

and white paint make the car look bigger than green paint

someone photoshop it to the other way round and the Contach will grow

[NotNormal]

[Mr Viking]

I suppose it's my opinion but I think in most of the pics the newer car looks worse. Probably the same as why, being fat, I don't look as well as my thin friends

[427James]

Agoogy said:

it is half a metre longer, 20cm wider and 10cm taller and a whopping 600kg heavier though

tis intersting the difference a picture makes...in one shot the XK looks similar to an E-type in the next the XK is noticeably bigger...

Ah, but thats only because it actually is in real life. Also the fact that the S3 is bigger than the S1 E would surely prove the point of the thread?


Its not limited to Europeans. I have a 68 and 70 corvette both of which are considerably narrower than my old C5, which makes them much easier to drive in England. They're also apparently a bit shorter based on the ability to get them in the garage.

300 - next time you are actually next to these cars, have a look yourself. THey are genuinely smaller, for all the reasons quoted in the thread.


111

Edited by 427James on Friday 23 November 06:07

Edited by 427James on Friday 23 November 06:09