Automobiles
Alan MarsdenSince it's quite possible that most posters will own at least one vehicle, it could be useful to exchange opinions about the many makes models, comparing experiences, reliability, etc Alan M
Alan MarsdenAny opinions about the relative merits of domestic manufactured versus imported vehicles ? Alan M
noelAlan, I'm no great lover of imported cars, simply because they "are" imported. However I did have for some time a Skoda 120Y which was like a tin can with seats in. But boy could it motor. You had to wear a paper bag on your head so nobody would recognise you driving. It had a low gear that would take the steepest of inclines, would start in the coldest of winters ( designed for Czeckoslavakian winters of course), the brake pads cost me less than £3 to replace, that was 8 years ago when you could realistically expect at least £20, and the entire exhaust system which lookes like a bomb, was only £32. They were of course taken over by VW recently and the new models, Fabia, Octavia etc. now look the part, are they as cheap to run I wonder?
Alan MarsdenNoel,I too once had a Skoda, I bought at at the auction near the river on London Rd., one of two cars that I bought there in the early seventies, the other was a Vauxhall. I took a realchance buying them, no test runs, but they were the only cars that I have had that I didn't loose money on when I sold them ! My wife had the Skoda, it was tempremental, she was the night sister at the isolation hospital (Deepdale and Blackpool Rds) at that time and on one occasion she was doing the rounds inthe middle of the night and heard a car horn going nonstop, it turned out to be the Skoda, didn't keep it long. The Vauxhall was a comfortable reliable car after I replaced the plugs, when I bought it ,it ran on only two cylinders ! A respected engineering friend was adamant that each country exported only it's best cars using it's domestic buyers as guinea pigs, he always had Toyotas and BMW's, and he had good experiences with them. The last two brand new cars that I bought in the UK in the seventies were an Austin Maxi and later a much publicised new Princess. I soon regretted buying each and resolved never to buy any other BL vehicle, they prompted made me to believe that my friend was probably correct in his assumption ! Alan M
noelI had 2 Maxi's in the seventies/eighties . They were OK as a cheap family car but when I tried towing a caravan with them to France, the clutch friction plate needed replacing as oil dripped onto it. I only just made it back with the clutch slipping like mad. The Princess I drove as a works car. Must agree with your verdict. Modern cars are now far superior in terms of engine and body design. I remember back in the sixties, Vauxhall in particular had big corrosion problems. Also the Triumph Herald, our works engineer had one that looked like a sudden braking would separate the body from the chassis. Your friend's BMW would no doubt cost a lot more than the Skoda which was just a cheap low maintenance car. I think they were good value for money, much more than say the Lada which drove like a tank. Skoda won group B class in the RAC rally for many years.
anacortesdampNoel: The joke about Skoda is that they have a rear-window heater to warm your hands when you're pushing. You can double the value of a 5-year old Lada by filling it with petrol (particularly at UK prices!) For about 15 years, our primary car has been Japanese, first was a Camry, then a Honda Accord then a Honday Odyssey (Shuttle in UK). Our second cars have included an MG1100, a 1958 DKW, a Chevette, Rover 2000TC, Renault 18 wagon and a Mercury Sable. Tha Sable is a US/Canada only car similar to the Granada Scorpio but front wheel drive. The Chevette and Sable were probably the worst, with the Rover coming close. The Sable has put me off Fords for ever, though our motorhome has a Ford chassis. The Japanese cars were faultless, but expensive. We've recently cut back to one car, and the Odyssey was at 105,000 miles and needed a couple of thousand dollars spending on it for a timing belt, brakes and front wheel bearings. We saw a good write-up on the Kia Sedona minivan (people carrier), with a 3.5L V6 engine and 5-speed automatic transmission. It has a 10-year 100,000 mile power train warranty, 5 years/50K on everything else and 5 years trip interruption coverage with towing. We got a special deal through Costco, a brand new Sedona EX with all the bells and whistles for $23000. A new Odyssey with the same level of equipment would have been well over $30K. Just coming up on 6000 miles - faultless so far, and the V6 doesn't get out of breath with 4 adults when at 5000 ft up in the mountains. Frank Damp
Alan MarsdenNoel and Frank, thanks for your input. Skoda, are they still made, they are not available here in Canada but yes, the were good value. I hear similar opinions about Hyundi,( the worlds largest ship maker). If my memory is correct the Hyundi car factory was set up by a Mr Turnbull, an ex BL Marina guy, and the product then was the Pony,( there was a strong resemblance), a simple cheap car of which I heard much ridicule. However, the people who had them seemed satisfied and Hyundi deserve praise as they have learned and improved immensely, (the exact opposite of BL,just recall the Morris minor which could have been made into a great car). Hyundi now make what appear to be rather nice good value cars,but I have yet to try one out !. The Camry sets the industry standard. One hears nothing but praise for it, I have a Toyata Previa, bought it new in 93, well over 200,oookm on it now and it's not even dripped a spot of oil, no complaints with Toyota! My other car is an Audi 100 Quattro, 1993 also, Iv'e had it for five years, now 187,000km. It's has the superb Quattro a.w.d. which is fantastic, many times each winter I see people stuck or sliding about,but with my winter tires on it's glued to the road, fantastic.!Also it's solid, 10 year warranty on rust ( 100% hot dipped factory galvanised), and no sign of it even with our salted winter roads, the doors close like railway carriage doors, but I don't rate the Audi dealers ,and even other garages try to gouge, Ive just had replacment head gaskets,valve lifters, timing and serpentine belts,and partial replacment of rear brakes, cost a fortune,but of course still cheaper than buying a new car, I'd have paid more just in taxes, it will have to last some years now , also, it's too sophisticated,too many electronic check lights the credibility of which is questionable, even sounds a warning when I've driven for two hours to tell me to rest, I don't need such items, but I could listen to piano and orchestra on the Bose disc player for hours ! I put Audi in the same league as Saab, Volvo, they can be good buys on the used market! I like vans though, we toured Quebec, and PEI and Nova Scotia in the Previa, also States several times and its lovely to drive, visibility is very good, and the extra room is advantageous. The new Odyssey and Previa look nice. I hear all kinds of differing reports about the Chrysler vans and Ford windstar. I too had a Sable in the late 80's it was fine up to 100k ,then I sold it to a family member and everything went wrong,and that is not a good situation ! This,together with my wifes then new Tempo finally put us off Fords, constant problems and multiple oil leaks, one day the car was shaking going onto the highway ( motorway), it's a good thing she stopped the car on the hard shoulder, one of the front wheels was 30/40 degrees out of track, the third replacement set of track rod ends had broken. These should have been designed to be 'fail safe' so that in the event of wearout they should not seperate ! Barbara won't consider another Ford. Thanks for the Sedona report, seems that they could be on to a winner there, maybe it's now prudent to buy Korean,( providing there's stability in Korea ), it appears that the domestics are pricing themselves out of my market ! The Costco deal sounds interesting, I'll check that out! Thanks, and happy motoring, Alan M
Alan MarsdenFrank, I took a look , not a test drive, at the Kia Sedona ,also the Magentis and the Sorento.They do indeed look rather nice, the Sedona resembles the Mercedes suv which one of my sons ownes, it is a lovely vehicle to drive, I drove that vehicle back to Toronto from Ottawa in the depths of last winter taking the longer more scenic route rether than the main highway, it was satisfying experience especially when approaching dusk, the orangey red sunrays reflecting off the frozen snows of the forrests ,fields and lakes,it is particularly beautiful when ice has formed on the almost leafless trees and they glow pink in the light of dusk ! One interesting car I owned way back in 1959,in England ,was a Jowett Javelin, horizontally opposed cylinders, a very nice car,it could easily have been a world class car had it been developed properly, I sae one of it's sisters, a Jupiter only three weeks ago here in Burlington at the English car show which is held each 3rd weekend of September, there were hundreds of entrants from a Bond mini to an old London transport double decker,Bentley red label, Rolls, Jags,Astons, you name it! If I knew how, I would post several pictures to the site, meanwhile , if anyone would like a few pictures from that Brit car show I will send them to their private e-mail address ! AlanM
noelSkoda are certainly still made Alan. The URL is http://www.skoda.co.uk/
Alan MarsdenOn vacation in 99 I rented a Renault Lugano at Manchester airport for a couple of weeks, we went into north Wales,stayed with friends in Longton and together we toured the Dales,Lakes,finally taking the Whisky trail in Scotland. We walked sunlit beach at Banff at almost midnight,toured Glenfiddich ,Cairgorms,staying overnight at a lovely farmhouse near Perth,back thru Alston,Hadrians wall to Kendal,and the Trough of Bowland, splendid countryside,and food too. What a beautiful country. The car was great too, ample power, room, and economical too, pity one cannot buy a Renault in Canada ! Alan M
Alan MarsdenPetrol-Gas. What is the price these days of lead free petrol in the UK and does if vary much over say a couple of weeks ? Alan M
noelIt.s 72.9p a litre here in the North Alan. You can also get up to 4p a litre reduction if you buy £100 of shopping at Sainsbury's then your petrol. It's more expensive in other areas though Esso have had a fixed price policy for some time now, wherever you live In the UK. 62P OF THE PRICE IS TAX!!!! The price varies only slightly from week to week.
Alan MarsdenNoel, thanks for the info. You may be interested in the price of gas here in Canada ( I think it still costs more here than the US), its currently $ 0. 68 c per litre for the lowest grade 89 octane, ( all non leaded ) up to $ 0.78c for 94 octane. So, that works out at , 0 .68c / 2.23 exchange rate = 30.5 pence/ litre. So.., I,d better stop complaining !! Alan M
noelThanks Alan. That's really cheered me up.
Alan MarsdenNoel. One fact about Canada/ North America, which goes some way to redress the gasoline price difference to some extent, is that we travel so much farther , distances to;from work and between cities seem greater here. This was brought home again this summer, the parents of friends from Clitheroe came over , they all went to Montreal for a few days, they constantly remarked after their return about the distances and time to travel, they certainly didn,t enjoy the ride back. I'd forgotten about this as I've done it on so many occasions. So, I suppose it;s fair to say we need cheaper gas ! Alan M
rocketmanjohnPetrol prices in the south is around $1.35/US gallon for 87 octane [92 octane is the highest] which I think works out to 22P/Litre at an exchange rate of $1.60/Pound. Last time I was in England I rented a Volkswagen Golf Turbo diesel which easily got just over 50 to the gallon. Very impressive. My Chevy S10 has a 4.3 Litre V6, I get 23 m.p.g. no matter how I drive it, my wife's Mazda Tribute SUV [I think they're called 4X4 in England, even though it's only 2 wheel drive] has a 3 Litre V6 and only gets 1 mile per gallon more than my truck. John
William RJohn, Many years ago I bought a Hillman Imp, they had just been released. If memory serves me right, it ran on 98 octane. It was a bit revolutionary in that the power unit could be withdrawn from the chassis for servicing. It had a c/r of 10:1 and required high octane fuel. 87/92 seems low, so I assume the c/r is well below and the engine not stressed as much (sorry, thinking aloud, don`t East European cars run on 87, like the Trabby?) William R.
Alan MarsdenYes, I remember the IMP, it had a Coventry Climax engine, the engine drove the rear wheels and the c of g of the engine was I believe just aft of the rear wheels. I had occasion to use one frequently as a works car, it was powerful for its size and interesting to drive with the engine mass being where it was, on slippery roads the light fronted IMP would tend to wander, the back end always trying to get to the front! It came out later than the Mini,and had a better, all aluminium engine, if it had hit the market first, it could have been a great success. I note several New Minis ( BMW made)on the road these days, they look rather nice , on closer inspection they look well made but in really are only a two seater ! That statement made me think back to maybe 69, I then had a mini clubman went all over the UK on business in it, my family went to Barmouth and later Looe on vacation in it, on board were two adults,four children ( one a teenager) and luggage for two weeks, I now wonder how we managed to get into the car, let alone drive there ! Alan M
SpitfireAlan, Rather belated input to your posting, I`m afraid (having been off line for a while). Prior to retiring, my buisiness partner and I ran Land Rover Discoveries. After having had four of them we changed to Skoda Octavia Estates, with the 1.9 litre diesel engine. I have to say that they were the best vehicles we have ever had. They could not be faulted in any way at all. All the old jokes are well and truly buried. As an added bonus we ran two for the price of one, the discoveries doing about 24MPG and the Skodas returning 50MPG (jully loaded) on a regular basis. We were questioned on many occasions by people who wanted to know what we thought of them and ever time we simply said,`go out and buy one - you won`t be disappointed`.
LDunlop76
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Marsden
I note several New Minis ( BMW made)on the road these days, they look rather nice , on closer inspection they look well made but in really are only a two seater !
Last year my husband had a 12 month contract sorting out the maintenance department at the BMW Mini plant at Cowley. He was very impressed by BMW's attention to detail in the building of the new Mini - the company are very pernickity about standards - no "Friday afternoon cars" allowed out of the plant. A pity they didn't give him one of the new Minis as a leaving present! The best car I ever drove was a little Citroen AX. I had it from new until 8 years old - it was only then that little things started to go wrong. I've now got its successor, the Saxo, but though it's only 2 & ½ years old, it's been back to the garage twice with engine faults - luckily repaired free under the warranty. I quite like the look of the new Citroen C2. Four airbags as standard is quite an attraction with a family to taxi about. But I won't be buying one until they've been out at least a year - new models need to get their teething troubles out of the way first!
Alan MarsdenI spent several months in the UK in late nineties and I rented a Renault Cleo for the period. My first impression was that possibly the car was too small however it 'grew on me', in fact it was a splendid little car., no problems at all, economical comfortable and nippy. I motored down to Holcombe to see a lifelong friend and I could hardly believe what a great little car it was, especially around the narrow country lanes. Renault apparently make good cars, I understand that they are tied in with Citreon who of course were the first to market front wheel drive. Alan M
rocketmanjohnAmerican gasoline is rated by the system of Mon+Ron divided by 2. Mon = Motor Octane Number and Ron = Road Octane Number, whereas the Britsh system uses only Ron, which is the higher number of the the two systems. What all this means is that the two numbers, British and American, cannot be compared, the gasolines sold in both countries are actually almost the same. American is slightly lower. The bottom line is, use the lowest number you can without your engine pinking, anything more and you are wasting money. Try this web site, it explains all and is worth a visit. http://www.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm John
anacortesdampI expect to have a chance to try a Mini, as my daughter has ordered a Cooper S and should take delivery next month. Alan's comment about it only really being a two seater is quite amusing, as it's at least 50 percent bigger than the original BMC Mini, which was considered a "family" car in the UK. I dson't think the new one is anywhere near as clever in its packaging, but certainly should be much better built than the original. A friend of the family got one of the first "Austin Se7en" models. By 30,000 miles he was on the fourth gearbox and the third engine. They were a very innovative design, but very crudely built. Nowadays, it is expected that the engine will do 150,000 miles without any problems, even on the cheapest small cars. We had a Chevette which went through about 7 owners after us and we kept seeing it around. Last I heard it had got to 280,000 miles and had only needed timing belt replacements. Not bad for a "cheap, nasty little car". Frank Damp
SpitfireFrank, As a retired `silver surfer` I realize that I should be well past it by now, but the thoughts of a Mini Cooper (especially in silver and black) really makes the blood race.
SpitfireAs a post-script to my last posting, If anyone is looking for a driver for the remake of `Italian Job`, I`m free (as they say)!
anacortesdampJim: Not just a Cooper but the supercharged version with a 6-speed stick. Should point out that my daughter is 38 with a family of her own, not a resident teen! A friend was involved with the Hillman/Sunbeam Imp. The engine was designed for Rootes Group by Coventry Climax and had to be de-rated to make the car insurable. It had a die-cast aluminium engine block, which was very poorly designed. Almost 50 percent of the castings were rejected and many of those passed on for production had serious flaws. Later versions were sand cast, but by that time its rotten reliability had killed it. The car suffered from the dynamic problems of a rear-engine, rear-drive, relatively high power vehicle. The engine/transmission was also used in the Bond Bug, an 850 lb three-wheeler, with predictable results. Wouldn't mind having one of those as a "toad" for my motorhome. Frank Damp
rocketmanjohnFrank, I'm pretty sure that it was the Bond 875 that had the Imp engine and the Bug had the Reliant aluminium motor. How many realise that Laurie Bond was from Longridge and built the first Bond Minis there, they had a 125cc two stroke and obviously wer'nt very fast, they progressed through 197cc to 250 cc twin cylinder Villiers engines. Bond production was carried out at Sharps Commercials on Blackpool Rd. The Bug was never built in Preston, but somewhere in the south. I, for one, always fancied one, the bright orange paint[they were all orange] and the shape and performance were very attractive. John
Alan MarsdenRocketmanjohn, Bond minicars were made at a factory off Ribbleton Lane nr Skeffington Rd. Preston, it could have been the old Harrisons bread bakery. Bond mini's were pretty popular around Preston,they had a two stroke villiers engine mouhted on top of a frame which rotated when one turned the steering wheel. The front wheel of the car was at the lower end of the frame, hence the whole engine and chain driven front wheel assembly rotated when the steering wheel was turned ! The whole car body was made from Aluminium., no opening doors, just step in and sit down ! I believe one achieved reverse with an 180 degree rotation of the engine ! I never owned one, consequently I do not know if the car could acieve equal speeds travelling forward and reverse ! One of the main sales outlets was Jaguar House, on Blackpool Rd nr Ashton Park.(Also known as Lively Poly Corner ! ).In 99 Chrysler products were sold in the same building ! Have a good one John ! Alan M
rocketmanjohnAlan, try this one on Bond http://www.3wheelers.com/bond.html The rest of this web site has allsorts of 3 wheeler info. 3 wheelers were popular in England because of the crazy laws and cheap prices, only a motor bike licence is required. Yes indeed, to get reverse one had to stop the engine, turn the ignition key in the opposite direction, and the engine started in reverse, and yes, with 4 speeds. This was achieved by moving the ignition to the other side of TDC [the ignition key did it] and running the Siba Dynastart backwards. The Dynastart was a clever idea, being starter motor when the ignition was being operated and a dynamo when not, as I said, it also works backwards as well. I remember a friend of mine taking his full car driving test in his Bond, he told me the '3 point turn' bit was a nightmare, with all that stopping and re-starting, but he passed anyway. John
noelOne of my sons has just bought a Renault Cleo Alan, i was therefore interested in your comments, he was worried it was a bit small after his Astra Coupe injection. Also a lot cheaper to run I would think, as a new house is now his priority. My eldest son has just bought (last week) a Ford Probe. A delightful sporty looking car, which I believe was only manufactured for 3 or 4 years as a replacement for the Capri. It bombed in the states when a new model of the Mustang came out. Still a beautiful sporty red car though. I'll let you know how he finds the ride.
SpitfireJohn, I would guess that finding a suitable site to test a Bond driver in their three point turn technique wouldn`t have been easy, as they could do a 180 degree about-turn in their own length! LOL
noelIn a high wind Jim, they can do a 360 degree roll very easily as I once saw on a trip from Dilton Marsh to Salsibury. The driver sadly didn't survive. Actually it wasn't a bond now I come to think, it was a Reliant Robin.
Leyland Lancashire UK