Middle class chap car of choice in your manor

[otolith]

I think real answer is "same as everyone else, but a bit newer".

[trowelhead]

austinsmirk said:

Ye all being too serious. Years ago it was simple

Capri. Young man trying to pull

Mini. Young lad

Escort. Poor but got a family

Cortina/ cavalier. Poor but got a slightly bigger family

And amongst that it was easy: everything was L. GL. gls or Ghia. You knew where you were.

Granada/ rover. Life’s good

Volvo/jag/ Mercedes. The boss and or retired.

I’m not daft but I can’t barely distinguish all the 1000’s of models manufacturers produce now. Nearly every Mercedes looks the same: bloody ugly jelly molds. Audi and bmw have a bewildering range of cars. Everyone is churning suvs out now. Given nearly everything is on finance literally nothing screams wealth or class now other than blinding obvious expensive stuff that probably isn’t a company car or financed.

Reminds me of this...

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

[DonkeyApple]

otolith said:

I think real answer is "same as everyone else, but a bit newer".

Or a bit older. And some in the middle.

[spreadsheet monkey]

trowelhead said:

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

Those "Modern Times" documentaries were brilliant. I love the bit at around one minute in, where it just shows close ups of the badges of all the cars featured, with no voiceover or background music. The guy with the Primera (around 8:13 in the video) is also great.

This video is almost 30 years old now. And this was probably near the end of the era when you could make judgements about someone's status in the corporate world by the car they drove.

I'm glad I missed out on the company car era - it sounds st. Imagine just getting a Sierra 1.6 L (or whatever) based on your position in the company. No option to pay a bit more and get something bigger or more sporty, no option to choose a smaller car and take home a bit more cash. Just shut up, take your car, and blend in with everyone else.

[otolith]

DonkeyApple said:

otolith said:

I think real answer is "same as everyone else, but a bit newer".

Or a bit older. And some in the middle.

Overlapping frequency distributions.

[TurboHatchback]

I'm not sure what middle class even is these days or how you are supposed to tell without being their accountant.

I would describe my village on the Dorset coast as fairly middle class, there are a few houses that might cross the seven figure mark but mostly it's a mix of fairly ordinary terraces, semis and detached houses. I would say the majority of them have bog standard cars from non-premium manufacturers, of a whole range of age from brand new to 20+ years old. In my street it's Skoda, Citroen, Ford etc and a solitary C-class.

The richest person I know personally used to have a Mondeo ST220 he bought new and drove for 15yrs until it was knackered when recently it was changed for a Focus Vignale.

[Triumph Man]

spreadsheet monkey said:

trowelhead said:

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

Those "Modern Times" documentaries were brilliant. I love the bit at around one minute in, where it just shows close ups of the badges of all the cars featured, with no voiceover or background music. The guy with the Primera (around 8:13 in the video) is also great.

This video is almost 30 years old now. And this was probably near the end of the era when you could make judgements about someone's status in the corporate world by the car they drove.

I'm glad I missed out on the company car era - it sounds st. Imagine just getting a Sierra 1.6 L (or whatever) based on your position in the company. No option to pay a bit more and get something bigger or more sporty, no option to choose a smaller car and take home a bit more cash. Just shut up, take your car, and blend in with everyone else.

Was that the one with a guy who cried because he was given a Maestro?

[trowelhead]

Triumph Man said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

trowelhead said:

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

Those "Modern Times" documentaries were brilliant. I love the bit at around one minute in, where it just shows close ups of the badges of all the cars featured, with no voiceover or background music. The guy with the Primera (around 8:13 in the video) is also great.

This video is almost 30 years old now. And this was probably near the end of the era when you could make judgements about someone's status in the corporate world by the car they drove.

I'm glad I missed out on the company car era - it sounds st. Imagine just getting a Sierra 1.6 L (or whatever) based on your position in the company. No option to pay a bit more and get something bigger or more sporty, no option to choose a smaller car and take home a bit more cash. Just shut up, take your car, and blend in with everyone else.

Was that the one with a guy who cried because he was given a Maestro?

Yeah about 34 mins in - funniest bit haha

[trowelhead]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Those "Modern Times" documentaries were brilliant. I love the bit at around one minute in, where it just shows close ups of the badges of all the cars featured, with no voiceover or background music. The guy with the Primera (around 8:13 in the video) is also great.

This video is almost 30 years old now. And this was probably near the end of the era when you could make judgements about someone's status in the corporate world by the car they drove.

I'm glad I missed out on the company car era - it sounds st. Imagine just getting a Sierra 1.6 L (or whatever) based on your position in the company. No option to pay a bit more and get something bigger or more sporty, no option to choose a smaller car and take home a bit more cash. Just shut up, take your car, and blend in with everyone else.

I'm really not sure it can be real - it's too perfect

[nickfrog]

trowelhead said:

Reminds me of this...

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

Really interesting stuff. I had no idea this ever existed as I arrived in the UK after this era. It is not something I have seen in other countries I have lived in where people by and large don't give a st about other people's automotive choices and draw no socio educational conclusions either way (snobbery or reverse snobbery).
Perhaps the mentality is still etched into some PHers' sub conscious and would explain a few things about some being so judgmental and bitter about other people's car being too big or too powerful or too flash or whatever the chip on their shoulder dictates.

[bobtail4x4]

at one time 8 out of the 10 houses here had some form of Landrover

now mostly replaced by jap/korean/german 4x4 things as they never were used in anger.

[anonymous-user]

trowelhead said:

Reminds me of this...

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

wow, I remember watching this when it first came out. There are three episodes in this series, that is the afternoon gone now.

[DonkeyApple]

nickfrog said:

Perhaps the mentality is still etched into some PHers' sub conscious and would explain a few things about some being so judgmental and bitter about other people's car being too big or too powerful or too flash or whatever the chip on their shoulder dictates.

It's never been more endemic. And don't forget that all those people who drive those hierarchical company cars are like all the football hooligans, National Front marchers, fashion led street fighters and frotters are now this nations pensioners. And they've bred, raised and released an army of clones. .

Happy days.

[Man of gas]

I think socio-economic class more relevant these days. I am a Doctor and currently have a Shaguar and a Volvo so pretty typical. In one of the central london private hospitals I work in there is a varied range of nice cars however about 4 of my surgical colleagues have just got Taycans. The reason for that however is a lot of us run our private practice through limited companies and there are huge tax breaks running zero emission vehicles

[RVB]

My nearest several neighbours, all of whom own/mortgage their houses worth £500k+:

2015 B-Max.

2014 Mazda 5 MPV.

2009 Kia Picanto.

2004 MG TF, 2015 Tiguan, 2010 Audi TT.

2009 Galaxy, 2003 Corsa, 2010 Corsa, 2019 Corsa.

2013 BMW 116d, 2015 Mini One.

2016 Range Rover (4.4 diesel), 2018 VW Transporter.



.

Edited by RVB on Thursday 24th June 16:40

[Lester H]

Joey Deacon said:

trowelhead said:

Reminds me of this...

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQsMFQZa8os&ab...

wow, I remember watching this when it first came out. There are three episodes in this series, that is the afternoon gone now.

It’s often shown, quite rightly.When you realise that it’s not consciously ironic, it’s amazing. What a true social document. All the drivers had swallowed all the corporate hype about grades, which was milked by car marketers. Also interesting is their use of equally corporate eateries ( really rather poor) instead of just turning down a B road to a real pub! Also a degree of snobbery coming through.

[pixelmix]

austinsmirk said:

Vw transporter. In whatever conversion the family requires

Nothing says middle class more than ownership of one.

Lester H said:

I’ve looked round a little more now since the thread gained traction. I still suggest Rangie but also Golf GTi which absolutely must be unmodified and not too new!

Sounds like I've made it onto the bottom rung of Pistonheads middle class. .

We have a 6 year old, bog standard, tidily kept (owned since new) GTI in the garage and Caravelle on the drive (i.e. Transporter with windows, for carting around bikes, skis, kayaks and children).

It is Land Rover / Range Rover / Audi / Mercedes 4x4s everywhere round here. Incredibly dull (for my taste, but each to their own).

[Earthdweller]

RVB said:

My nearest several neighbours, all of whom own/mortgage their houses worth £500k+:

2015 B-Max.

2014 Mazda 5 MPV.

2009 Kia Picanto.

2004 MG TF, 2015 Tiguan, 2010 Audi TT.

2009 Galaxy, 2003 Corsa, 2010 Corsa, 2019 Corsa.

2013 BMW 116d, 2015 Mini One.

2016 Range Rover (4.4 diesel), 2018 VW Transporter.



.

Edited by RVB on Thursday 24th June 16:40

That is meaningless though really and says nothing about someone’s wealth or disposable income

Pensioners on low incomes sitting in valuable piles of bricks or “professionals” on good incomes mortgaged to the max

Neither may have lots of money to spend on cars or care to

[A_K]

If anyone ever wondered whether PHs had a large percentage of weirdo knobs commenting, this thread provides the answer.

What a totally knobbish thread full of codswallop.

The main thing I’ve learned from reading this that most commentators on here remind me hugely of the lonely old widow that used to live opposite my childhood home and peer at everyone on the street from behind her curtains, thinking nobody knew she was doing it. Sad.

[texaxile]

A_K said:

If anyone ever wondered whether PHs had a large percentage of weirdo knobs commenting, this thread provides the answer.

What a totally knobbish thread full of codswallop.

The main thing I’ve learned from reading this that most commentators on here remind me hugely of the lonely old widow that used to live opposite my childhood home and peer at everyone on the street from behind her curtains, thinking nobody knew she was doing it. Sad.

You should try coffee. It might help.