COOL CLASSIC CAR SPOTTERS POST! (Vol 3)
Discussion
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Thank you.
So, not to everyone's tastes maybe, but not illegal.
To those of us of a certain age, later cars just don't look right with black and white plates. Plus, reflective plates had been around for a few years and many cars already had them by the end of 1972. And your car could pass for a 72 with its L registration.So, not to everyone's tastes maybe, but not illegal.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
More to the point, should it still be on UK plates if you are resident in Luxembourg?I know that is not really the point, but I wonder how long you would get away with it, or is it in the UK regular enough?
I saw a programme today where a German guy was driving a vintage Bugatti around the Autobahn, but it was on British Plates. I doubt he would have been messing about on a million euro plus car.
Turbobanana said:
Pericoloso said:
I don't really understand the love for these.
Dynamically average, unadventurous (if handsome) shape, not very comfortable / spacious / practical. I've driven them when new (boss's 1987 325i Sport) and as ratty used cars more recently and they're sort of OK, but not special. Feel better made than equivalent age Fords or Vauxhalls, not as well made as Mercedes or Saab. They just feel "average".
Halo effect of the E30 M3? What am I missing?
RWD 2 Door Saloon. WNTL?
Not sure what the point was about build quality. They were hardly thrown together. I had a couple of E21s which looked very dated after the E30 arrrived.
Comparisons with more expensive cars, SAAB (wrong wheel drive, 4 pot power). The 190e (4 door saloon, mostly autoboxes I would have thought) The Mercedes struck me as an old man's car at the time.
.
A friend of my dad's had an E21 323i which he said was incredibly quick (back then).
An old boss of mine in 1988 had a new 320i in red which he loved - there's a pic of me in it in a drawer somewhere - it was certainly put together better than what the company gave me at the time - a C reg Cavalier CDi (which was also quick I thought).
An old boss of mine in 1988 had a new 320i in red which he loved - there's a pic of me in it in a drawer somewhere - it was certainly put together better than what the company gave me at the time - a C reg Cavalier CDi (which was also quick I thought).
rjg48 said:
Not sure what the point was about build quality. They were hardly thrown together. I had a couple of E21s which looked very dated after the E30 arrrived.
Comparisons with more expensive cars, SAAB (wrong wheel drive, 4 pot power). The 190e (4 door saloon, mostly autoboxes I would have thought) The Mercedes struck me as an old man's car at the time.
I wasn't saying they were badly built, just not as well built as some.Comparisons with more expensive cars, SAAB (wrong wheel drive, 4 pot power). The 190e (4 door saloon, mostly autoboxes I would have thought) The Mercedes struck me as an old man's car at the time.
The "wrong wheel drive" bit is getting old: it makes no difference to 95% of the population, is more space efficient etc so you can't blame manufacturers for taking that route.
The 190 broke more new ground when launched - first small Mercedes for generations, modern aerodynamic styling, weird single wiper thing, and they were tidy enough to drive. I think the reason the E30 is so revered is because BMW's marketing was very targeted towards the huge number of successful, young executives around at the time ("Yuppies"), whereas the Benz was aimed more at old money, traditional Mercedes buyers. Saabs and Volvos at the time were bought mostly by family types (Volvo) or those seeking something a bit off-the-wall (Saabs, and bear in mind how many Saabs were bought as 2- or 3-door cars, despite being the same size as the 190 and most Volvos).
Interestingly though, most of the E30s I see nowadays look absolutely knackered, whereas the 190s tend to look quite tidy. Not that there are many around still in daily use, mind
[quote=rjg48]
One of the coolest cars of the 1980s. Would have loved a 325i,
RWD 2 Door Saloon. WNTL?
Not sure what the point was about build quality. They were hardly thrown together. I had a couple of E21s which looked very dated after the E30 arrrived.
Comparisons with more expensive cars, SAAB (wrong wheel drive, 4 pot power). The 190e (4 door saloon, mostly autoboxes I would have thought) The Mercedes struck me as an old man's car at the time. [quote]
Strangely I was never a fan of these. Maybe because in the 80s I was still buying Fords! I had a Capri 2.8 Injection in 1984 which was much cheaper than a 325i and probably had very similar performance.
If there was a Greman brand I aspired to it was Mercedes and in 1997 I bought a manual 190e which was a great car.
But I eventually discovered BMW and have had nothing else for 15 years.
There has never been a Swedish car I've wanted!
One of the coolest cars of the 1980s. Would have loved a 325i,
RWD 2 Door Saloon. WNTL?
Not sure what the point was about build quality. They were hardly thrown together. I had a couple of E21s which looked very dated after the E30 arrrived.
Comparisons with more expensive cars, SAAB (wrong wheel drive, 4 pot power). The 190e (4 door saloon, mostly autoboxes I would have thought) The Mercedes struck me as an old man's car at the time. [quote]
Strangely I was never a fan of these. Maybe because in the 80s I was still buying Fords! I had a Capri 2.8 Injection in 1984 which was much cheaper than a 325i and probably had very similar performance.
If there was a Greman brand I aspired to it was Mercedes and in 1997 I bought a manual 190e which was a great car.
But I eventually discovered BMW and have had nothing else for 15 years.
There has never been a Swedish car I've wanted!
Turbobanana said:
The "wrong wheel drive" bit is getting old: it makes no difference to 95% of the population, is more space efficient etc so you can't blame manufacturers for taking that route.
Good points well made, but I think the fundamental reason for the near ubiquity of front wheel drive is that, for a given market sector, FWD is simply cheaper to construct than a RWD competitor. Better profit margins. The rest is marketing, hence the claims of better safety which "ain't necessarily so..."Or perhaps I'm a cynic.
(Edited for typos).
Error_404_Username_not_found said:
Turbobanana said:
The "wrong wheel drive" bit is getting old: it makes no difference to 95% of the population, is more space efficient etc so you can't blame manufacturers for taking that route.
Good points well made, but I think the fundamental reason for the near ubiquity of front wheel drive is that, for a given market sector, FWD is simply cheaper to construct than a RWD competitor. Better profit margins. The rest is marketing, hence the claims of better safety which "ain't necessarily so..."Or perhaps I'm a cynic.
(Edited for typos).
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