Inspired by another thread (Newchurch v Street Twin). I'll start with the horror that was the Maxi. (Not the actual car but same colour!)
This was my car, it used to take me all over with my windsurfers strapped to the top, it was the same colour but faded and rusted in places where the salt water had drained of the boards. Had over 150,000 on her when she finally died, god she was ugly but had a lovely character!!
Bad memories with this car...it was one of them that knocked me and my girlfriend at the time off my bike when i was around 19. Spent 6 months in hospital with a broken femur. My girlfriend had both legs broken in 16 places. The bloke driving did a runner and reported his car stolen.
Remember seeing something (might have been Top Gear) years ago. They were testing out a 6 wheel drive heavily modified car up a steep rocky track on an African mountainside. They were slowly getting there, about halfway up, when a 2CV comes pottering past, the guy waves to them as he goes past and carries on up the mountain.
The 2CV was a great tracking car due to its damping and all independant soft springing. used to use them all the time
My mate had one of those in a sickly green colour. We used to get a lift to school off a friends dad who had Renault. First was a Renault 8, followed by a 10 and then a 12!
Oh I had some right old crap in my teens and early twenties. Here are just a few!! You will, of course, recognise the unmistakable design icon that is the Austin Allegro. The other two are the mighty Citroen Ami 8 and the simply beautiful Simca 1100.
Ha ha, I had one of those for a while, swapped a stereo record deck for it, mine was hand painted matt black, lol.
I learnt to drive in one of these, failed my test twice, first time cos I had only driven a car once before, second I hit a van as I was pulling out of the parking space from the test centre, I might have been a bit stoned as well!! Gear stick came out the dash, claim to fame was, I think, it was the first family car Renault made with front wheel drive. My parents used to drive it to Greece and back every year.
We had three maxi's. Loved them. Back seat laid flat into the boot, fall asleep looking up at the stars as we drove home from my grandads house. Loved the mk5 Cortina, and the mk1 Granada, they were the highlights. Low point was a square viva van, with a wolsley grill put on the front of it by my dad, feck knows why he did that!!!!!
My Dad's crap cars were many and varied : Ford Cortina Mk 1 auto - wasn't a crap car until he drove into the side of a lorry and lost the front wing. The lorry 'peeled' it off!! Ford Corsair V4 auto - good car until I parked it in a furniture shop; Renault 8 push-button auto - only the rust was holding it together !!!
Nothing wrong with the old 2ColdVegetarians, as long as it was reasonably warm - like any air cooled car, the heating just didn’t. Very tough car though, with remarkable off-road performance.
I can now admit to owninh an Allegro 3 Estate car. We hadn't long had our first kid and so had to carry half the house around with us if visiting friends and relatives. Can't believe how much stuff would go in that car! Fond memories really
Mum drove a Volvo 240 estate...a proper battle wagon, everyone got out of the way Similar to this but in sky blue! Dad drove a Dolomite And then up to a Granada 4WD - fantastic car that Now he has his Mercedes SLK!!!
A friend of mine once bought a beautiful looking, white Lancia (Beta maybe). It took it about six months to dissolve into rust. Horrendous they way the body disintegrated.
Once had a ford Anglia that pouted thick black smoke when we came to a steep hill creating an impressive smoke screen worthy of an RN destroyer,also had to park it at the top of a hill get it started on winter mornings. I also had a Morris Ital (notorious soft engines).On a trip to Birmingham to visit friends,the big ends went at Shap Fell,managed to get down into the village garage,where I was able to leave it until I could recover it and tow it home.The garage owner kindly drove us 16 miles to the nearest railway station to continue our holiday in a skoda (my daughter was horrified) given the Skoda reputation in the 80's .
