What did you drive in the 90s?
Discussion
The pictures below are not mine, they are all sourced from the web, but they have been chosen as the cars pictured closely resemble (colour, spec, etc) the cars I actually had. I've some real pictures in the loft, but too much faff to access them.
The 90's started with my graduation from Poly. I Had a part-time job at the time and bought an MG Metro in black. I remember it was like a roller skate. Not really fast, but lots of fun;
I got my first job, with Nissan, at their factory in Washington. So obviously I bought two Toyotas () an AE82, briefly, got rid, then bought an FWD GT16 Twin Cam in silver, which I kept for a couple of years. Great car, great engine;
We were then lucky enough to be asked to go live in Japan by Nissan. I traded the GT16 for an Escort Eclipse, which I never even drove, and which I gave straight to the MIL as she needed a car at the time. Nissan gave me a 2.0l Mk1 Primera 5 door to last me until we left the UK;
We didn't own a car when we lived in Japan (I was working between Atsugi/Yokohama/Tokyo) as public transport was so cheap and efficient. We did however hire a car every other weekend. One of the chaps who played on my football team was a manager at Nippon Rent a Car, so I typically got a Cedric or Gloria 3l Turbo or some other nice car for the cost of a Micra. I got a ticket, briefly locked up (very politely), and a BIG fine for doing 110mph at 5am on an Expressway when driving to pick my folks up from Narita;
Returning to the UK I bought a white facelift S13 200sx, Despite my wife being 7 months pregnant, I loved this car, it really was a fabulous car back in the day;
But then bump turned into son #1, so 200sx finally had to go, to be replaced by a black Almera. Yes, yes, but it was the GTi. Another great car driving wise, but anonymous to the extreme;
Having lived in and around Tokyo/Yokohama, the NE wasn't cutting it for me anymore, so we moved to London where I got a consulting job. As the lowest of the low, my company car allowance wasn't great, so I chose what turned out to be the most unreliable PoS car I've ever endured - a red 8v 3drb Mk3 GTi;
After 1.5 years of in and out of the garage, the lease company took pity on me and took it back. It was subsequently replaced with one of my favourite previous cars, an Egyptian Red 306 XSi Cabrio, which was faultless in the time I had it;
That was to be my last car in the UK of that decade as we then moved back to Asia, where initially as a resident in Singapore, I drove a JDM 2.0 Bluebird;
Which was nice.
The 90's started with my graduation from Poly. I Had a part-time job at the time and bought an MG Metro in black. I remember it was like a roller skate. Not really fast, but lots of fun;
I got my first job, with Nissan, at their factory in Washington. So obviously I bought two Toyotas () an AE82, briefly, got rid, then bought an FWD GT16 Twin Cam in silver, which I kept for a couple of years. Great car, great engine;
We were then lucky enough to be asked to go live in Japan by Nissan. I traded the GT16 for an Escort Eclipse, which I never even drove, and which I gave straight to the MIL as she needed a car at the time. Nissan gave me a 2.0l Mk1 Primera 5 door to last me until we left the UK;
We didn't own a car when we lived in Japan (I was working between Atsugi/Yokohama/Tokyo) as public transport was so cheap and efficient. We did however hire a car every other weekend. One of the chaps who played on my football team was a manager at Nippon Rent a Car, so I typically got a Cedric or Gloria 3l Turbo or some other nice car for the cost of a Micra. I got a ticket, briefly locked up (very politely), and a BIG fine for doing 110mph at 5am on an Expressway when driving to pick my folks up from Narita;
Returning to the UK I bought a white facelift S13 200sx, Despite my wife being 7 months pregnant, I loved this car, it really was a fabulous car back in the day;
But then bump turned into son #1, so 200sx finally had to go, to be replaced by a black Almera. Yes, yes, but it was the GTi. Another great car driving wise, but anonymous to the extreme;
Having lived in and around Tokyo/Yokohama, the NE wasn't cutting it for me anymore, so we moved to London where I got a consulting job. As the lowest of the low, my company car allowance wasn't great, so I chose what turned out to be the most unreliable PoS car I've ever endured - a red 8v 3drb Mk3 GTi;
After 1.5 years of in and out of the garage, the lease company took pity on me and took it back. It was subsequently replaced with one of my favourite previous cars, an Egyptian Red 306 XSi Cabrio, which was faultless in the time I had it;
That was to be my last car in the UK of that decade as we then moved back to Asia, where initially as a resident in Singapore, I drove a JDM 2.0 Bluebird;
Which was nice.
AC43 said:
Old Merc said:
Peugeot 405Mi16X4. One of the most underrated cars of that time. 4X4, 16V DOHC, LSD front and rear, Active rear suspension. I had it re-chipped, altered the induction, wide speed-lines with Yokohama`s. It would do 150MPH ( I often went to Germany in it ) and stick to the road like glue.
Even more reason to have one.
s m said:
cerb4.5lee said:
I have fond memories of the Cavalier V6 as well. A chap I worked with had one and I always enjoyed going out in it. I always thought how strong the engine felt in them.
Certainly were Lee - like a lot of Vauxhall engines they seemed to get much stronger with high mileage Even new and on skinny tyres they had enough poke to make a GT86 look anaemic off the mark
Very quick for the money
Think he almost had it to the end of the clock
greenarrow said:
s m said:
cerb4.5lee said:
I have fond memories of the Cavalier V6 as well. A chap I worked with had one and I always enjoyed going out in it. I always thought how strong the engine felt in them.
Certainly were Lee - like a lot of Vauxhall engines they seemed to get much stronger with high mileage Even new and on skinny tyres they had enough poke to make a GT86 look anaemic off the mark
Very quick for the money
Think he almost had it to the end of the clock
Think the Cav V6 definitely had the legs on it though. Surprising really and makes me think those engines were very healthy when you factor in the extra weight of the Cavalier
Passed my test in 1993 and was given my mum's old 1983 1.3 Civic GL (short for Goes Lovely). Drove that until the an old repair in the radiator blew, drained the engine of water and put paid to that. Had a bas tube hidden in the boot which could be switched on and off from the dash, i was chuffed to bits with that. Also, the front seats pretty much reclined flat, which was handy when out with girlfriends. FPW 310Y was the reg.
I'd just started work by then, so with a bank loan in my pocket I went rushing in and bought a car I'd fallen in love with as a toddler - a VW Beetle. Mine was a 1967 1500 Cal Look and it was the worst car I've ever owned. Nothing but trouble in the 6 months I had it. Similar colour to this but mine had pink running boards. YJH 373F
Luckily I managed to sell it for what I paid, and went out and bought a gunmetal grey 1987 Peugeot 205 XS. Far and away one of the best cars I've driven, I loved it. I put tons of miles on it and it never let me down. E36 DFT.
Finally, the car I saw out the 90s and into the 2000s. The car in the photo is the exact one I owned, except these pics are from the new owners Flickr stream (I guess it's still on the road, surprisingly). I came into some money and at aged 21 bought a 1989 VW Mk1 Golf Cabrio. It had 89k on the clock when I bought it in 1997 and when it left my ownership 14 years later after a rear-end shunt that wrote it off it was reading 250,000+ and it still ran as sweet as a nut. F350 DNH
I'd just started work by then, so with a bank loan in my pocket I went rushing in and bought a car I'd fallen in love with as a toddler - a VW Beetle. Mine was a 1967 1500 Cal Look and it was the worst car I've ever owned. Nothing but trouble in the 6 months I had it. Similar colour to this but mine had pink running boards. YJH 373F
Luckily I managed to sell it for what I paid, and went out and bought a gunmetal grey 1987 Peugeot 205 XS. Far and away one of the best cars I've driven, I loved it. I put tons of miles on it and it never let me down. E36 DFT.
Finally, the car I saw out the 90s and into the 2000s. The car in the photo is the exact one I owned, except these pics are from the new owners Flickr stream (I guess it's still on the road, surprisingly). I came into some money and at aged 21 bought a 1989 VW Mk1 Golf Cabrio. It had 89k on the clock when I bought it in 1997 and when it left my ownership 14 years later after a rear-end shunt that wrote it off it was reading 250,000+ and it still ran as sweet as a nut. F350 DNH
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 2nd March 23:49
1990’s were a brilliant decade in my car life. I’d just got a decent (by my standards) paying job. My Cortina was sold in June 1989 and I bought...
A Mk2 Astra GTE 8V. I’m not a fan of the brand these days, but this was a corker, right up to the point where I wrote it off on the way home from work. It was followed by.....
A Mk2 Golf 1.6 GL, and a house. This stayed a couple of years and I then bought what was genuinely one of the best cars I ever had
19885 Audi 80 Sport, with the 1.8 injected engine. A cracking car, which I thoroughly enjoyed for seven years until I got a new job and a company car.
A1.6 Laguna ! Hateful piece of crap, so was the job. Ditched both and bought and sold in quick succession an E46 325i coupe, an Audi Coupe 2.3 (bit of a wreck).
I did buy my first 911 in 1999 though, a LHD 3.2 Carrera non sport model which started a love for all things Porsche which has stayed with me.
A Mk2 Astra GTE 8V. I’m not a fan of the brand these days, but this was a corker, right up to the point where I wrote it off on the way home from work. It was followed by.....
A Mk2 Golf 1.6 GL, and a house. This stayed a couple of years and I then bought what was genuinely one of the best cars I ever had
19885 Audi 80 Sport, with the 1.8 injected engine. A cracking car, which I thoroughly enjoyed for seven years until I got a new job and a company car.
A1.6 Laguna ! Hateful piece of crap, so was the job. Ditched both and bought and sold in quick succession an E46 325i coupe, an Audi Coupe 2.3 (bit of a wreck).
I did buy my first 911 in 1999 though, a LHD 3.2 Carrera non sport model which started a love for all things Porsche which has stayed with me.
Started the 90's with
1986 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8Li Manual
1989 Vauxhall Senator 2.5 12V Auto
1992 Vauxhall Senator 3.0 24V Auto
Converted the last one to manual and ran it till it died in 2006
Had an Opel Monza for a short while but couldn't afford to keep two cars on the road at the same time
1986 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8Li Manual
1989 Vauxhall Senator 2.5 12V Auto
1992 Vauxhall Senator 3.0 24V Auto
Converted the last one to manual and ran it till it died in 2006
Had an Opel Monza for a short while but couldn't afford to keep two cars on the road at the same time
Ford Sierra Cosworth, not me in picture but my car, 3 officers on different shifts shared the same car. One of the best road cars I have ever driven. I believe we were the first police force in UK to run a fleet of these apparently Ford almost gave them away to us to get a foot in the police market.
They were driven hard, new discs etc every 4000 miles hated by the car thieves as they could only get away by cheating and going off road or being totally dangerous.
Condado said:
Ford Sierra Cosworth, not me in picture but my car, 3 officers on different shifts shared the same car. One of the best road cars I have ever driven. I believe we were the first police force in UK to run a fleet of these apparently Ford almost gave them away to us to get a foot in the police market.
They were driven hard, new discs etc every 4000 miles hated by the car thieves as they could only get away by cheating and going off road or being totally dangerous.
Has that got a sunroof??
No only the first one in the fleet which was an H reg had a sunroof, all the rest Ford manufactured with a police spec which basically meant no sunroof and bits of trim missing.
First lot delivered were leaded fuel, follow ons were unleaded and had a noticeable decrease in power but still awesome to drive.
No only the first one in the fleet which was an H reg had a sunroof, all the rest Ford manufactured with a police spec which basically meant no sunroof and bits of trim missing.
First lot delivered were leaded fuel, follow ons were unleaded and had a noticeable decrease in power but still awesome to drive.
soxboy said:
Condado said:
Ford Sierra Cosworth, not me in picture but my car, 3 officers on different shifts shared the same car. One of the best road cars I have ever driven. I believe we were the first police force in UK to run a fleet of these apparently Ford almost gave them away to us to get a foot in the police market.
They were driven hard, new discs etc every 4000 miles hated by the car thieves as they could only get away by cheating and going off road or being totally dangerous.
In Aussie,
a Holden HG ute,
a Datsun 1600,
also had a Mazda 929 coupe,
a 78 or so Chrysler valiant with a 265 cu in Hemi 6,
a couple of curved screen VW beetles.
Back in NZ,
a 73 A55 half ton van,
1978 Toyota Crown.
Through work in the UK I had access to a Vauxhall Astra (stolen twice, written off the second time) and a Citroen Dispatch van. I also worked as a porter at a posh hotel so got to drive a buttload of nice cars - Rolls, Bentlys, a Ferrari F50, a Lambo, Mercs, BMW, all sorts of Jags, Range rovers etc.
a Holden HG ute,
a Datsun 1600,
also had a Mazda 929 coupe,
a 78 or so Chrysler valiant with a 265 cu in Hemi 6,
a couple of curved screen VW beetles.
Back in NZ,
a 73 A55 half ton van,
1978 Toyota Crown.
Through work in the UK I had access to a Vauxhall Astra (stolen twice, written off the second time) and a Citroen Dispatch van. I also worked as a porter at a posh hotel so got to drive a buttload of nice cars - Rolls, Bentlys, a Ferrari F50, a Lambo, Mercs, BMW, all sorts of Jags, Range rovers etc.
Edited by some bloke on Wednesday 3rd March 15:23
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