Old cars that aren't classics
Discussion
As a rule I don't see many old cars on the roads, which I'm sure is true for most of us. There are occasional classics, a Type 2 campers, Beetle, old Land Rover's and the like. And on sunny weekends from Spring to early Autumn, you'll always see some interesting motors on the roads.
But day to day, what has happened to all the older cars, that maybe aren't yet cherish classics?
I cover a reasonable distance annually. My commute is circa 75 miles a day and I probably do 20,000 - 24,000 miles a year in total.
But it has become very apparent that you just don't see certain cars anymore. I don't know if this a new phenomenon, or if its just that I've reached a certain age.
The cars I'm talking about aren't exciting cars, or even ones I liked. For example.
What has happen to the Vauxhall range of cars, from say the early 1980s through to maybe the mid 1990s?
Nova
Astra
Cavalier
Carlton
Senator
I can't even remember the last time I saw a Mk3 Caviler, and there must have been millions of them. Not only that, I live right near to Luton, so if you were going to hedge your bets, this geographical location is were you'd probably think you'd be more likely to see them.
Same with Ford.
Mk3-6 Escort
Orion
Sierra
Granada
Mazda 323
Nissan Micra
Nissan Sunny
When you sit and think about it, it's quite alarming that the sheer number of cars appear to missing these days.
So it got me thinking:
-What older cars, that aren't classics are the most prolific these days?
Occasionally I still see Rover R8 200 and 400 series cars. Certainly see a lot more of them than Escorts and Astra's.
MK2 Golfs I think would be the most popular however, although most seem to be a bit Barry'd, so maybe this is why there are quite a few about.
-The other thing it got me thinking about. With what appears to be so few of these cars out on the roads still, will there be enough left to build a new classic car market and enthusiasts? Or are classics cars going to be a diminishing hobby, reserved for only the wealthy and more niche luxury sporting cars?
When you do see older cars these days that are classics, you still see lots of Morris Minors, Austins, Mk 1 & 2 Escorts, Rover P5 and P6's. And so on, but is the current trend going to mean that cars of the 80s and 90s just won't be available to be owned as a classic in the future?
But day to day, what has happened to all the older cars, that maybe aren't yet cherish classics?
I cover a reasonable distance annually. My commute is circa 75 miles a day and I probably do 20,000 - 24,000 miles a year in total.
But it has become very apparent that you just don't see certain cars anymore. I don't know if this a new phenomenon, or if its just that I've reached a certain age.
The cars I'm talking about aren't exciting cars, or even ones I liked. For example.
What has happen to the Vauxhall range of cars, from say the early 1980s through to maybe the mid 1990s?
Nova
Astra
Cavalier
Carlton
Senator
I can't even remember the last time I saw a Mk3 Caviler, and there must have been millions of them. Not only that, I live right near to Luton, so if you were going to hedge your bets, this geographical location is were you'd probably think you'd be more likely to see them.
Same with Ford.
Mk3-6 Escort
Orion
Sierra
Granada
Mazda 323
Nissan Micra
Nissan Sunny
When you sit and think about it, it's quite alarming that the sheer number of cars appear to missing these days.
So it got me thinking:
-What older cars, that aren't classics are the most prolific these days?
Occasionally I still see Rover R8 200 and 400 series cars. Certainly see a lot more of them than Escorts and Astra's.
MK2 Golfs I think would be the most popular however, although most seem to be a bit Barry'd, so maybe this is why there are quite a few about.
-The other thing it got me thinking about. With what appears to be so few of these cars out on the roads still, will there be enough left to build a new classic car market and enthusiasts? Or are classics cars going to be a diminishing hobby, reserved for only the wealthy and more niche luxury sporting cars?
When you do see older cars these days that are classics, you still see lots of Morris Minors, Austins, Mk 1 & 2 Escorts, Rover P5 and P6's. And so on, but is the current trend going to mean that cars of the 80s and 90s just won't be available to be owned as a classic in the future?
This is pretty much the same topic as is being discussed here:
Ordinary Cars That Have Disappeared Off The Radar: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Ordinary Cars That Have Disappeared Off The Radar: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
4rephill said:
This is pretty much the same topic as is being discussed here:
Ordinary Cars That Have Disappeared Off The Radar: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I agree the thread title would suggest that. The opening post in the that thread would not, being a somewhat wacky and rare model even when new. And about as far from 'ordinary' as you can get.Ordinary Cars That Have Disappeared Off The Radar: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
But yes, the general sentiment is similar.
I guess my question is more, what ones do you still see, rather than the ones you don't. And what do we think the classic car scene will be like over the next, say 20 years.
dartissimus said:
Possibly the scrappage scheme cleared out a lot of low value day to day cars before they could reach desirable status.
Would many of those cars mentioned above ever have reached a desirable status? I'd argue not. Most of them were horrible when they were new, let alone 20-30 years later.Personally I'm not going to bemoan the fact that there aren't vauxhall cavaliers and nissan sunnys readily available, rather its more of a blessing that they're not blighting the roads with their lacklustre styling and various shades of brown/grey paintwork. I can't be the only one that thinks that most of the everyday cars churned out in the 80s/90s were particularly crap?
Edited by samj2014 on Wednesday 11th May 13:29
samj2014 said:
dartissimus said:
Possibly the scrappage scheme cleared out a lot of low value day to day cars before they could reach desirable status.
Would many of those cars mentioned above ever have reached a desirable status? I'd argue not. Most of them were horrible when they were new, let alone 20-30 years later.Personally I'm not going to bemoan the fact that there aren't vauxhall cavaliers and nissan sunnys readily available, rather its more of a blessing that they're not blighting the roads with their lacklustre styling and various shades of brown/grey paintwork. I can't be the only one that thinks that most of the everyday cars churned out in the 80s/90s were particularly crap?
Edited by samj2014 on Wednesday 11th May 13:29
Stickyfinger said:
Is this not true for any period of production ?
Possibly, I just remember a lot of these cars being around when I was growing up and just have the image of a sea of cars with droopy round styling and shades of grey/brown stuck in my head. Not my thing.That said, most of the every day cars produced now are pretty nasty - most of the stuff nissan/hyundai etc. make comes to mind. Boring white goods cars that nobody in their right mind will miss. I'm not even sure why people are into them now...
Is this not partly a sign of getting old? A friend commented recently that you hardly ever see a metro when there used to be thousands. Then you think about it and it's 19 years since the last one was built. I'm sure a few years ago someone was saying the same about something different.
Add in the availability of very cheap finance for quite some years, the scrappage scheme and a general snobbishness about the idea of repairing something old compared to leasing new and I think you have an explanation.
I quite like seeing the odd survivors on the road, even cars I wouldn't have glanced at twice when they were new. One model I've seen a few about of recently, Peugeot 205, and not just GTI'S.
Add in the availability of very cheap finance for quite some years, the scrappage scheme and a general snobbishness about the idea of repairing something old compared to leasing new and I think you have an explanation.
I quite like seeing the odd survivors on the road, even cars I wouldn't have glanced at twice when they were new. One model I've seen a few about of recently, Peugeot 205, and not just GTI'S.
The Marina is not, but the MGB is ?.....same stuff under the skin almost.
A lot of classics are cars that can be maintained by the home mechanic, a lot of "modern" cars cannot due to electronics/parts supply. That or they suffer from the fact than those that would love them (age group) have no clue how to do the work as it was the 80/90's that saw the change to "take it to a garage to have a part swapped".
Parts supply for 1990/2000 Citroen's is getting to be worse than for 1960/1970's cars for example.
A lot of classics are cars that can be maintained by the home mechanic, a lot of "modern" cars cannot due to electronics/parts supply. That or they suffer from the fact than those that would love them (age group) have no clue how to do the work as it was the 80/90's that saw the change to "take it to a garage to have a part swapped".
Parts supply for 1990/2000 Citroen's is getting to be worse than for 1960/1970's cars for example.
Stickyfinger said:
Don't take too much notice of the above website - it has been proved to be innacurate on a number of occasions, partly because the same model can be categorised in different ways.samj2014 said:
A fair point, though I would be driving something more interesting if I had any money!
I'll admit, I have a bit of an irrational hatred for old Vauxhalls...
I'm not really a Vauxhall fan, not in the least actually. But I think classic car shows would be diminished if they didn't contain cars such as these:I'll admit, I have a bit of an irrational hatred for old Vauxhalls...
Cars, which in their day were probably no more interesting than an Astra or MK3 Cavalier.
Hate to defend the likes of the Nova and Cavalier but aren't they really just the everyday equivalents to the Minors and Cambridges seen at most local shows (just moved on a few years). There is a following for 1980s/1990s/2000s porridge, and an enthusiastic following at that. Just recently seen a Toyota Starlet that was cleaner than when new, a P100, Volvo thingy (sorry), Skoda Favorit etc. all owned by lads in their twenties.
For those that have never come across it, the Retro Rides scene is full of cars from this era - a lot of folk on here might not like the styles they are building to but I reckon it's good to see someone playing with this stuff.
P.S. 300bhp - I know that's not quite the point you were making but...
For those that have never come across it, the Retro Rides scene is full of cars from this era - a lot of folk on here might not like the styles they are building to but I reckon it's good to see someone playing with this stuff.
P.S. 300bhp - I know that's not quite the point you were making but...
Mk1 Cavalier was a decent car. I am biased as it was my first company car, saving me a load of money. I sold my 1977 Opel Manta 1.9SR and took over a 2000 Cavalier 2.0GL four door. It was the same car underneath, based on the Ascona, which was prettier than the Cavalier. I believe they were made in Belgium.
When I used my Alfa 75 for my daily commute it seemed to me that the only other early 1990s cars I saw were invariably a Cavalier/Astra/Mondeo parked on the hard shoulder while the four shirtless scrotes inside explained the lack of MOT/tax/insurance/treaded tyres to the occupants of the Trafpol car parked behind it.
And there, I think, is your answer.
And there, I think, is your answer.
TBH appart from the carlton and senator i see the rest all the time in London, having said that i'm into retro stuff so i do tend to look out for them, i can catch the squareness in the corner of my eye and home in 
my son says it a spideysence for old cr@p 
Dont see may of the smaller Jap cars though, larger yes, there's 2 stanzas round the corner from me and a bluebird but rarely see a sunny or mazda 3 series, i'd love another RWD 323, my old one (first road car) taught me a lot about driving
my son says it a spideysence for old cr@p Dont see may of the smaller Jap cars though, larger yes, there's 2 stanzas round the corner from me and a bluebird but rarely see a sunny or mazda 3 series, i'd love another RWD 323, my old one (first road car) taught me a lot about driving
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff