StevenRB45 said:

The episode mainly consisted of the presenters ambling round the lakes in 80s dad cars and nothing got even mildly destroyed.

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My Dad had a Ford Granada same colour as the cortina on there and obviously the same shape, half wondered if it was the same car when I saw it in the first moment as the reg on my dads car was GUE690T 2.3L with a vinyl roof. I believe it to have long since been scrapped. Then I remembered when he sold it probably back in 1987 to someone he worked with they painted it gold so I wouldn’t be the one on topgear anyway then obviously the car on the show was a cortina.

Back in the early 80s my best friend at school his dad had a powder blue cortina with go faster stripe and his mum (posh two car family) had a mini clubman estate mustard yellow with the wooden back.

Then in the 90s one of my friends sisters got a mk1 fiesta in essentially brand new condition as the local collage had used it in there work shop for training so it had a full respray (beige obviously) every mechanical part had been replaced the engine had been rebuilt and all the trim and glass had been replaced, sadly no idea what happened to that one would be worth a fortune now on the condition it was in.

No one I knew had a BMW growing up, but my grandfather used to work for car dealerships so had a new car every week normally a Toyota, Ford or sometimes the odd Subaru.

puntofan01 said:

I know it's not that many years ago for me, but that episode got me thinking of my youth, and the fond memories I have of my late teens and early twenties. (The car that I have the most, and indeed the fondest memories of was my parents mk2 Punto.)

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I had 2 sets of thoughts running through my head 1st of my own dad's cars...but then wondering what memories my son will have.

He's about the age where I stole the keys to my dads Vauxhall Nova saloon went outside and proudly put them in the keyhole of the boot. I was then foiled by my diminutive stature as the boot lid swung open taking the keys from just above my head to somewhere I could not hope to reach for another 5 years or so...I then had to go in and tell him I'd left his car on the drive with the keys in it.. in the 80s.

StevenRB45 said:

I had 2 sets of thoughts running through my head 1st of my own dad's cars...but then wondering what memories my son will have.

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On of my brothers had an old peugeot 206cc that was in my parents front garden for about a year a 2001 model. He gave that to my other brother’s son,who has recently turned 18 and been taking driving lessons, now that car to me is not an “old car” like something from the 80s or even the 90s would be. However I realised that while my first car which was an utter heap was first registered the year after I was born, this 206cc was actually older than my 18 year old nephew.

The first car I remember my dad having was 6 years old when I was born, so the same age as my golf is now..... and that to me is an “Old” car!! So maybe to your son your wife Citroen and your Mazda will be “old bangers” when he grows up and he’ll think of them in the same way you might remember your dads Nova....

Also why in the 80s did everyone have a saloon, all my dads cars where saloons yet the nova saloon was hugely impractical compared to the hatch back version. My dad had a Saab 900 saloon at one point which there was a hatch back version it was only in the 90s he owned a car (a later gm Saab) that wasn’t a saloon. And I’m one of 4 so every where we went as kids there were 4 of us (no seat belts) sat squashed in across the back seat of a normal saloon car.

I thought that Top Gear was very entertaining indeed. Paddy and co seem to hit the spot. Top Gear of yesterday was of its time, a distant memory now.

My fathers first car was a Ford Anglia, he was the first in our street to have a car back in the early 60s I went everywhere with him in the car where ever possible. A few years later he bought his first brand new car, a 1200 Super Anglia. It was 1966, I remember going with him to pick up the new car, boy was I excited, happy memories

puntofan01 said:

I know it's not that many years ago for me, but that episode got me thinking of my youth, and the fond memories I have of my late teens and early twenties. (The car that I have the most, and indeed the fondest memories of was my parents mk2 Punto.)

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The cars of my childhood are a red Ford Escort (the rounded shape one with an analogue clock on the dash) and a green Renault Laguna estate

And in later years my dad tended to have Astra's and my mum Corsa's...


Funny how the old 'Vauxhall or Ford' mentality still sort of showed through with them, as people who didn't tend to care too much about cars but always needed one

SB1500 said:

Funny how the old 'Vauxhall or Ford' mentality still sort of showed through with them, as people who didn't tend to care too much about cars but always needed one

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Mmm, not to sound blunt, but for a young guy with limited knowledge about motor cars shown on here, I’m not having that.. just because in your view that these cars don’t cut the mustard, doesn’t mean they are bad makes. Obviously there are problems with most makes that show up from time to time. Like ‘em or not Ford has done very well, Vauxhall as well. Now I realise what ever I say, there will be a queue of people waiting to have there story to tell.

I’m not in the habit of lambasting any vehicle just because I don’t like it or it’s not a Fiat. Cars are clever machines, I’ve been interested since I was a child. Just to add, someone who has a car just because they need one and are not necessarily interested in it’s upkeep or servicing doesn’t make it a bad car, it just shows the lack of respect of the vehicle by the owner.

jimboy said:

Mmm, not to sound blunt, but for a young guy with limited knowledge about motor cars shown on here, I’m not having that.. just because in your view that these cars don’t cut the mustard, doesn’t mean they are bad makes. Obviously there are problems with most makes that show up from time to time. Like ‘em or not Ford has done very well, Vauxhall as well. Now I realise what ever I say, there will be a queue of people waiting to have there story to tell.

I’m not in the habit of lambasting any vehicle just because I don’t like it or it’s not a Fiat. Cars are clever machines, I’ve been interested since I was a child. Just to add, someone who has a car just because they need one and are not necessarily interested in it’s upkeep or servicing doesn’t make it a bad car, it just shows the lack of respect of the vehicle by the owner.

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Oh no, I'm not insulting Ford or Vauxhall. I'd certainly have one over anything German, that's for sure.


I was only stating that my parents personally didn't care too much for cars, so much so that the said red Ford Escort actually blew up from not being looked after! (Not a discredit to Ford), same with one of the Corsas which hadn't been serviced in five years. Not Vauxhall's fault. Though their X10XE-etc petrol enignes are appaling and seem to have a lifespan of 100k even when they are cared for for some reason...


Much as I love Fiat, I also happen to own a non-Fiat.... some might say a girls car, others may say not a very well built car too. I accept the lambasting. But as usual, my opinions are only my opinions.


I don't put anything on this forum and expect anybody to outright agree 'or else'.


any perceived 'hatred' of said bland car makers is purely for the sake of entertainment and I don't lose sleep at night over it lighten up, it's all for badness

In the mid 1990s I was given a Ford Mondeo 1.8 with work. It was certainly quieter around town but at motorway speeds it was like riding in a tin can. My own Montego diesel (2.0 turbo) was a far better cars for long distance driving solid and quiet. Sadly, Rover were incapable of painting the metal before it flash rusted so it was trashed within 10 years.

SB1500 said:

Oh no, I'm not insulting Ford or Vauxhall. I'd certainly have one over anything German, that's for sure.

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Your generalised prejudice against German car design does make me laugh.

You do realise that Ford Europe's main design centre is in Cologne, GERMANY, and until the recent PSA tie-up Vauxhalls were mostly designed in Opel Russelsheim, GERMANY.
Sure they both have design offices outside Germany, but the majority of the design for European Fords and Vauxhalls is/was done in Germany.

chr1s said:

Your generalised prejudice against German car design does make me laugh.

You do realise that Ford Europe's main design centre is in Cologne, GERMANY, and until the recent PSA tie-up Vauxhalls were mostly designed in Opel Russelsheim, GERMANY.
Sure they both have design offices outside Germany, but the majority of the design for European Fords and Vauxhalls is/was done in Germany.

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It’s just my personal preference. Don’t take it too seriously! ��

Edit: I misread that as 'doesn't make me laugh'! Glad it brings some entertainment value!

Actually the only car that I’ve considered to be the worst car I drove was a Lada. Back in the day a next door neighbour purchased a brand new one. This was his first brand new car. He insisted I had a drive in it. Couldn’t believe how tinny it felt, the steering was so vague you really were struggling to keep it on a straight line. On full lock the trackrod ends were rubbing on the wings. I had a look underneath and it quite rusty, you would swear it was much older.

Ironically Fiat was involved with Lada for their technical support.

I’ve driven some bangers, but these were old cars that were neglected, the Lada was brand spanking new.

well jimboy ladas are like marmite love them or hate them. in all my motering days going back to 1963started of with my dads E type (1936 morris 8 e type ). have owned lada 1200 1500 estates samera 1500 2 lada cossacks 4 wheel drive and a lada hussar 4x4 the only thing bought were tyres. the 1500 estate was new . its a case of love them or hate them

Lada workers said, "Management pretended to pay us, so we pretended to work."
J Clarkson.

A friend had a Wartburg two stroke back in the late 70s. It was pretty solid and surprisingly quick. A proper hoot, though like all Soviet strokers not the cleanest ride on the block.

jimboy said:

Actually the only car that I’ve considered to be the worst car I drove was a Lada. Back in the day a next door neighbour purchased a brand new one. This was his first brand new car. He insisted I had a drive in it. Couldn’t believe how tinny it felt, the steering was so vague you really were struggling to keep it on a straight line. On full lock the trackrod ends were rubbing on the wings. I had a look underneath and it quite rusty, you would swear it was much older.

Ironically Fiat was involved with Lada for their technical support.

I’ve driven some bangers, but these were old cars that were neglected, the Lada was brand spanking new.

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I had a elderly relative who was one of those typical people who always had to have a ‘brand new car’ only problem was that the only car they could afford was a Lada so every year there was a brand new Lada on the drive, given they never kept them more than a year there were a frightening number of serious problems in that first year, drivers seats collapsing while driving, metal rusting through. Suspension completely collapsing, but it’s was a brand new car for about £2k back in the 80s.

The basic design was fiat but I remember seeing a topgear where they said that the soviets idea of dealing with rust issues for example was to make the metal thicker hoping that way it would last longer. And they also used to Weld parts of the car so that bolts couldn’t fall out or fail. It was hilariously bad but they sold anyway because no matter how bad a car is there will always be someone willing to buy something if they perceive it will make them look good if they have a ‘newer’ or ‘flashier’ car.

The only half decent car this relative had was a second hand corsa when Lada stoped being sold in the uk, I’m not 100% but the last Lada they had was W-reg ?? What ever it was I think it ended up being scrapped before it was 2 years old due to some catastrophic failure.

Ironically they then never changed the corsa and died about 10 years later the corsa never went wrong or let them down and they realised that (even a corsa) was an infinitely better and more reliable car than any Lada they owned.

just remembered (75 tomorrow) went to north wales on hols many years ago, parked in a side road near a castle. noticed 7 or 8 ladas parked in a line TAXIS. each one had a stickers in the back windows OLD LADAS NEVER DIE >

Back in the early 70's when I worked for Firestone, I quite frequently encountered Fiat 124 hire cars. I thought they were a quite entertaining drive with a peppy little engine which produced a quite "raspy" aggressive and very "Italian" exhaust note! Not too bad handling either - I remember a quite spirited and enjoyable drive up the mountain roads behind Marseilles to the Circuit Paul Ricard on one occasion!

I always found the throttle pedal position on the left hand drive version just not quite to my liking but, when my friend bought a right hand drive 1200 Lada saloon I found they had managed to make a prize winning hash of it! On the right hand drive version the wheel arch got in the way and I just couldn't get my foot in a comfortable position. The half hour drive from my house to his was really too far and I would end up with a sore lower leg and ankle. Also I don't know what Lada did to the steering geometry but it had almost no self centering which made it a pain to drive because you were constantly correcting the steering, especially when out on the open road. Unfortunately they didn't use the Fiat engine either replacing it with their own OHC device which was a considerably less refined unit which quickly got a reputation for wearing out it's timing chain. In fact it was rare to hear one which wasn't clattering away merrily! In it's defense they seemed to go on absolutely for ever like this even until the flailing chain had chewed away great channels in the head casting! The steering on my friend's Lada was also much heavier than any of the 124s I'd driven - wonder if the lada engine was a lot heavier than the engine Fiat used? That might explain a lot?

They are handy for taking stuff to the tip as well.

mowermender70 said:

well jimboy ladas are like marmite love them or hate them. in all my motering days going back to 1963started of with my dads E type (1936 morris 8 e type ). have owned lada 1200 1500 estates samera 1500 2 lada cossacks 4 wheel drive and a lada hussar 4x4 the only thing bought were tyres. the 1500 estate was new . its a case of love them or hate them

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Get where you’re coming from movermender when I drove that Lada I just didn’t feel safe, in saying that, there were quite a few on the roads back in the 80s. They tended to be driven by senior citizens The main point in owning one was indeed the price, cheap. As I said before I find cars clever machines, but I didn’t feel safe in that Lada, I wasn’t lambasting the car just because I didn’t like it.

My beloved Coupe is a marmite car, mainly because of its shape and style puts people off. I still believe it’s the only car that had the looks and power to match by Fiat. The 20vt turbo was a true 155 mph, they’re also a good place to be, behind the steering wheel. Sorry, I digress

GeorgeDamper said:

They are handy for taking stuff to the tip as well.

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The only snag with that idea is how to get the lorry cab back home.

Hey boss it pulls left. It's a Lada - what do you expect?

mowermender70 said:

just remembered (75 tomorrow) went to north wales on hols many years ago, parked in a side road near a castle. noticed 7 or 8 ladas parked in a line TAXIS. each one had a stickers in the back windows OLD LADAS NEVER DIE >

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Aye, now you’ve nudged by brain into memory mode, there were Lada taxis up here, only a few mind.