Worst car ever made and sold in the UK?
Discussion
sparkyhx said:
Volvo360 said:
mikey77 said:
I had a Wartburg Knight (how many others on here can say that?)
Me. A brown estate. Wonderful car.Clouds of blue smoke confirmed this every time they started.
Awful car I think the two stroke was dropped because of emissions problem.
I think the importer gave up. Sensibly.
bqf said:
The Metro - all variants, except the 6R4 rally version.
I had one, and it was appalling. Ugly, uncomfortable, slow, unreliable, badly designed, horrid. Truly horrid - it besmirches the good name of the Mini, and for that reason alone should be erased from history.
Although not the Rover versionI had one, and it was appalling. Ugly, uncomfortable, slow, unreliable, badly designed, horrid. Truly horrid - it besmirches the good name of the Mini, and for that reason alone should be erased from history.
bqf said:
The Metro - all variants, except the 6R4 rally version.
I had one, and it was appalling. Ugly, uncomfortable, slow, unreliable, badly designed, horrid. Truly horrid - it besmirches the good name of the Mini, and for that reason alone should be erased from history.
I learnt to drive in one, a 1982 X reg 1.0L. I dreamed of owning a 1.3HLE once I'd passed my test....I had one, and it was appalling. Ugly, uncomfortable, slow, unreliable, badly designed, horrid. Truly horrid - it besmirches the good name of the Mini, and for that reason alone should be erased from history.
jas xjr said:
+1 for the Talbot avenger. Truly truly awful. Drove a new one and struggled to find neutral
Hmmm, they actually handle better than the much worshipped MkII Escort.Some really odd opinions in here. I must be getting old, as some of the cars mentioned I actually remember as being pretty decent compared with their peers. It's only in a modern day context that they look bad.
Things like the Ambassador were very competent and comfortable, but let down by quality issues. They were a quantum leap ahead of the competition from Ford etc.
Same with the Horizon. It showed us a glimpse of the future when everyone was driving Chevettes.
I'm having an attack of "Notsureifserious"
Horizon - based on Simca 1100 from the 1960s, a step below the Maxi, or 10 steps below the Renault 16
Avenger - based on Hillman Hunter from the 1960s, a worthy competitor to the Marina
Metro? Different car cos it had a Rover badge? Really?
Is it me?
Horizon - based on Simca 1100 from the 1960s, a step below the Maxi, or 10 steps below the Renault 16
Avenger - based on Hillman Hunter from the 1960s, a worthy competitor to the Marina
Metro? Different car cos it had a Rover badge? Really?
Is it me?
deeen said:
I'm having an attack of "Notsureifserious"
Horizon - based on Simca 1100 from the 1960s, a step below the Maxi, or 10 steps below the Renault 16
Avenger - based on Hillman Hunter from the 1960s, a worthy competitor to the Marina
Metro? Different car cos it had a Rover badge? Really?
Is it me?
Yes, it is.Horizon - based on Simca 1100 from the 1960s, a step below the Maxi, or 10 steps below the Renault 16
Avenger - based on Hillman Hunter from the 1960s, a worthy competitor to the Marina
Metro? Different car cos it had a Rover badge? Really?
Is it me?
Don't know where you're getting your info. from, but you're completely wrong.
Avenger was a new platform which was shortened for the Sunbeam.
The Horizon was a shortened Alpine....
And the K-series re-engineering of the Metro transformed the car.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
LuS1fer said:
Talbot Avenger - so old it could be carbon-dated
not sure how many of them were made in blighty?...but it was quite good:
- properly located rear axle, unlike a Marina/Ital
- snikity gear box, unlike a Marina/Ital
- free revving motor, unlike a Marina/Ital
- half decent telescopic dampers, unlike a Marina/Ital
- communicative steering, unlike a Marina/Ital
jas xjr said:
+1 for the Talbot avenger. Truly truly awful. Drove a new one and struggled to find neutral
My Mum bought an ex plod 1600 the day before its first MoT was due with 115,000 miles on it.
The gearbox was slick and snickity.
She passed it on to me three years later with ~140k on the clock.
The gearbox was slick and snickity.
I kept it for a couple of years and sold it with ~160k when it needed some welding.
The gearbox was slick and snickity.
Talbot Alpine
rat a tat a tat a tat a tat a tat from new (or mins after you left the showroom)
Never owned one - just drove one once and it drove ok but a neighbour had one and you heard the noise from the valve gear long before you saw the car - bit like a modern diesel really
I'd add a vote for the Montego drove two and both can be described as "interesting"
- 1st one Auto 1.3 poverty spec and everytime the gearbox kicked down the bonnet released and the glovebox fell open
- 2nd one MG Montego Turbo and I'd nearly forgive it everything for the way it went except the gearbox ratios were frankly shocking - 1st gear - woosh grab 2nd - woosh hit the limiter - grab third burrrrrrrrrrrrr and eventually just when you'd almost got bored waiting - woosh and off you went again
rat a tat a tat a tat a tat a tat from new (or mins after you left the showroom)
Never owned one - just drove one once and it drove ok but a neighbour had one and you heard the noise from the valve gear long before you saw the car - bit like a modern diesel really
I'd add a vote for the Montego drove two and both can be described as "interesting"
- 1st one Auto 1.3 poverty spec and everytime the gearbox kicked down the bonnet released and the glovebox fell open
- 2nd one MG Montego Turbo and I'd nearly forgive it everything for the way it went except the gearbox ratios were frankly shocking - 1st gear - woosh grab 2nd - woosh hit the limiter - grab third burrrrrrrrrrrrr and eventually just when you'd almost got bored waiting - woosh and off you went again
deeen said:
Avenger - based on Hillman Hunter from the 1960s, a worthy competitor to the Marina
The Avenger had a well located coil sprung rear axle, telescopic dampers and a front ARB, a far superior chassis to the Marina or contemporary Fords.
The high cam OHV engine was free revving and noticeably less thrashy than it its contemporaries, the gearbox slick.
The Avenger was getting rather long in the tooth by the end but it had one of the better live axle chassis even then...
fluffnik said:
The Avenger had a well located coil sprung rear axle, telescopic dampers and a front ARB, a far superior chassis to the Marina or contemporary Fords.
The high cam OHV engine was free revving and noticeably less thrashy than it its contemporaries, the gearbox slick.
The Avenger was getting rather long in the tooth by the end but it had one of the better live axle chassis even then...
Was the Metro really that bad a car? Compared to its contemporaries in the early 80s it was pretty good, likewise the 'Roverised' version was great fun to drive and not bad compared to the AX, Nova and such. Sure, the A series one was long in the tooth by 1989 it was still far from the worst car you could buy.
sparkyhx said:
off topic cos not GB - but weren't these 2 stroke engines? bit like the trabant (but at the front)
Yep, for most of its life it had a 3-cylinder 2-stroke, which was a slightly improved version of the motor from DKW, a car-maker that was taken over by Audi, I think: Front-mounted, rear wheel drive. Right at the end, (after the German reunification),in a last-ditch attempt to modernize it, they re-engined it with a 1.3L 4-Stroke engine from VW, not sure whether Polo or Golf. Never sold many though, and the company went bust soon after that.
The 3-cylinder wasn't all that bad actually, they even used a tuned version for the Melkus racer, it was certainly streets ahead of the 2-cylinder 2-stroke in the Trabant, (which incidently was front-mounted too)
They also used the old engine in east Germanys jack-of-all-trades transporter: The Barkus, about the size of an old Bedford van.
the only car they ever imported the England was the Wartburg: The local copper that used to live over the road from us had one for years. years later I had a Saab, also with a 3-cylinder 2-Stroke, but I digress, getting OT here....
tamore said:
Carparticus said:
It was actually awaiting customer collection. Red Robbo and his comrades would be there to hand it over, and spanner any customer who kicked up a fuss about the car being a piece of shrapnel, and rusting before its even been collected.
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