Classic Car Facts, Stats & Trivia
Discussion
irocfan said:
I really don't understand this - if these were RS2000s they'd be worth a pretty penny ("classic Ford tax") yet as they're 'only' a droopsnoot they're (relatively speaking) worth bugger-all (I'd much rather have the Vaux in all honesty)
I suspect some of it is rarity - in that they are perhaps too rare to have much demand. If they'd been able to fulfil the plan of a thousand a year (or even a thousand at all) then there would have been enough out there to get more of a following and more might have survived, and in turn there might be more people who had them back in the day that would want to have one again and help drive up the price. The extra production would have given them a chance to iron out the build quality issues, too. droopsnoot said:
I suspect some of it is rarity - in that they are perhaps too rare to have much demand. If they'd been able to fulfil the plan of a thousand a year (or even a thousand at all) then there would have been enough out there to get more of a following and more might have survived, and in turn there might be more people who had them back in the day that would want to have one again and help drive up the price. The extra production would have given them a chance to iron out the build quality issues, too.
You may be right about rarity - I bought a 1978 RS2000 in 1983 and would have preferred a Droopsnoot, HS Chevette (or even Avenger Tiger) but there weren't any of those around even then! 
Mind you there seem to be more Escort Mexicos and RS models around now than there were in the 80s!
And FWIW the build quality of my RS2000 was nothing special then, so I don't think that was much of an issue.
It's great to see an enthusiast keeping two of these going.
Mr Tidy said:
Mind you there seem to be more Escort Mexicos and RS models around now than there were in the 80s!
And FWIW the build quality of my RS2000 was nothing special then, so I don't think that was much of an issue.
:
I had a P-reg(1976) MK 2 1600 Sport in the early 80s, the top of the suspension struts had to have a plate both sides(4 year old car) and both doors were going rotten at the bottom, next step up was to buy a RS2000 but bottled it due to not wanting another HP debt after just paying off another, hardly ever saw a Escort Mexico, perhaps with the internet and car shows we see a lot more than we did back then.And FWIW the build quality of my RS2000 was nothing special then, so I don't think that was much of an issue.
:
I spoke to the chap who owned my Firenza when it was about three or four years old, and he mentioned that the inner wings had already started going at that point. I doubt either are better or worse than most mass-produced cars of the era for rust. My comment about build quality was more about panel alignment, gearbox noise and a handful of other things that plagued the production cars.
Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 9th August 19:18
Halmyre said:
irocfan said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Not exactly a classic...
....but if you Google what Pajero means in Spanish you'll understand why it was renamed Montero or Shogun in certain markets. How did they get that so wrong?
Chevy couldn't sell the Nova in Spanish speaking countries.....but if you Google what Pajero means in Spanish you'll understand why it was renamed Montero or Shogun in certain markets. How did they get that so wrong?
At one point Buick wouldn't sell the LaCrosse in Quebec
Mazda's Laputa is Spanish for prostitute if the syllables are separated.
Honda reportedly ditched the name Fitta for its latest subcompact — going with Fit instead — because in Scandinavian countries it's a rude word for a woman's private area.
Pinto, is Spanish for a small spotted pony but also Brazilian Portuguese slang for penis.
Vanin said:
Did I read somewhere that the Colt Starion was really meant to be called the Colt Stallion but the Eastern people pronounced their "Ls" as "Rs" when they told the UK distributor the new name over the phone.
Urban myth. 'Starion' is a portmanteau of 'Star' and 'Arion' - Arion being a supernaturally fast, intelligent horse born of Poseidon and Demeter in Greek mythology. The 'Stallion/Starion' thing probably emerged because Mitsubishi used a lot of horse-based imagery and gave the Starion its own logo (a horse's head. But that's only logical given the origin of the name. It was called the Starion in Japan, which knocks the idea that it was a 'hilarious' mispronounciation to some overseas importer. Translating the Japanese from the domestic adverts show that Mitsubishi made the Arion connection explicit, summarised the mythological horse's qualities and then made it clear why their car was worthy of its name. Mitsubishi used a mix of equine and astronomical names - at the same time they were making the Orion engine family and of course there was Colt, Lancer, Galloper etc.
Raygun said:
I had a P-reg(1976) MK 2 1600 Sport in the early 80s, the top of the suspension struts had to have a plate both sides(4 year old car) and both doors were going rotten at the bottom, next step up was to buy a RS2000 but bottled it due to not wanting another HP debt after just paying off another, hardly ever saw a Escort Mexico, perhaps with the internet and car shows we see a lot more than we did back then.
Interesting - I bought my 1978 RS2000 in 1982 and it hadn't been plated, but IIRC the RS and Mexico had reinforced turrets (unlike the Sport). I sold my RS2000 in 1984 - so I could buy a 1982 Capri 2.8 Injection! But now I wish I had kept it.
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