cars we've forgotten forever...

JoeA3

Sort of inspired by a discussion on another board

Probably mostly to do with Celtic Tiger affluence, but I'm sure many of you have noticed that there are loads of cars that were a staple of Irish roads maybe only 8-10 years ago that you rarely ever see anymore... I'm talking about every-day cars here that were once commonplace, but have vanished.

E.g.
Toyota Carina II (and 'E') - these were everywhere!
Various Renaults... when's the last time you saw a 19, or even an original Megane?
Lada Riva, Protons (there was a lot of these even in the early '90s!)
Ford Escorts
Fiats (e.g the Tipo and the Brava)
Alfa 156's - I know you still see a few, but there were 1000's of them only a few years back. I can't remember seeing any post-'05 147's lately either.

Loads more I'm sure...

Marcus.Aurelius

Those Carina II's were lovely, and the older Corolla 88-92ish I think. The Carina II 2.0 GLi 5dr HB was a nice machine, no rust, no breakdowns. Sigh....

skyhighflyer

Funny about the 156's... love Alfa's but depreciation + maintenance costs coupled with the fact that the original yuppie clientele have jumped back to BMW means they're on a serious decline

As for Lada Riva's there's an old guy near me who owns a pub and the thing must have more rust than metal but it still starts and drives I also remeber my child minder when I was a kid having one and me not letting her drop me off to school in it for fear of being seen!

I'm only a student but was Ireland really that poor that lots of people used to drive those POSs?

Guy:Incognito

JoeA3 wrote: »

Sort of inspired by a discussion on another board

Probably mostly to do with Celtic Tiger affluence, but I'm sure many of you have noticed that there are loads of cars that were a staple of Irish roads maybe only 8-10 years ago that you rarely ever see anymore... I'm talking about every-day cars here that were once commonplace, but have vanished.

E.g.
Toyota Carina II (and 'E') - these were everywhere!
Various Renaults... when's the last time you saw a 19, or even an original Megane?
Lada Riva, Protons (there was a lot of these even in the early '90s!)
Ford Escorts
Fiats (e.g the Tipo and the Brava)
Alfa 156's - I know you still see a few, but there were 1000's of them only a few years back. I can't remember seeing any post-'05 147's lately either.

Loads more I'm sure...

I still see a few Carina's, taxis obviously. Renault 19's ? probably 5 a week I see knocking round dublin. Original Megane's? everywhere.

Lada's? when was the last time they sold any amount of them?

I see a fair few Escorts. 156's are everywhere.

Dotn see too many Tipo's but a few Bravo's.

Old cars tend to get replaced, especially one's that arent made anymore.

When did the escort finish, 7-8 years ago? , the R19 must be gone 12-13 years.

Marcus.Aurelius

I don't see any of the older Audis around, y'know pre-1994 ish

BrianD3

The Citroen BX is another one, they were sold up untill 1993 and had a long production run but you rarely see one now. I am on the road a lot and have only seen one or two in the last coupe of years.

Have seen a few Fiat Tipos and Unos around recently though.

The R21 is now a rare sight as is the phase 1 R19. Phase 2 19s are disappearing fast but the Megane I is still plentiful.

Dades

maoleary wrote: »

I don't see any of the older Audis around, y'know pre-1994 ish

I had a lovely Audi 80. There used to be loads of them on the road. Then all of a sudden about 4-5 years ago they disappeared.

I love watching Reeling in the Years for all the old (but new) cars.

smashey

I saw a Fiat 127 in Letterkenny last week.

BrianD3

Saw an Audi 80 circa 1981-86 (boxy model) with an Irish reg the other day, was tempted to take a photo as you don't see many of them.

babyguinnessfan

Good thread.

I remember that we had a Fiat Ritmo at one stage - haven't seen one of them in years.

JoeA3

There were loads of Lada's in my neck of the woods (i.e. outside Dublin!) in the late '80s and early '90's! There was at least 3 or 4 dealerships in the surrounding counties. They vanished with good reason of course.

The 156 is an interesting one I think, cos there was literally 1000's of them around, they were very much the car-to-have in the late '90s, and were bought by people with no clue about Alfas! They seemed to suffer a fairly sudden decline, and the Alfa/Fiat dealership even closed down in Galway.

bbam

How about the Chrysler Alpine..
We had one for a short time in the late 70's.. I remember thinking it was the business, looking back I'm not so sure,:o.. I was only 8
Cheers bam

astraboy

Old opel asconas, also Mk3 escorts, the first FWD escort. Used to be loads around, most are prob rusted or crushed now. Also the older transits are getting rarer too.

RobAMerc

JoeA3 wrote: »

and the Alfa/Fiat dealership even closed down in Galway.

Thats a good thing - Alfa delayed the launch of the 159 till they could get shot of some of their dealers - and that particular one was no loss I must say.

Nissan Bluebird - remember the neighbors got a turbo one - I use to think about it to help me go to sleep.

mike65

Renault 14 shaped like a peach, rotted like a peach!

There are plenty of Audi 80s on the roads in the south-east.

Mike.

siralfalot

I miss seeing some of the old cars.... Escorts, Lada Rivas, Fiat Unos (aah the fond memories)
we have a 1994 Carina E at home as well as a new Avensis, the carina has 360,000 on the clock now and is still running like new, its a far better built car than the Avensis

the Alfa 156? in a wierd way I'm delighted there is less of them on the roads now, my car is now a rarer sight on the roads, and attracts lots of attention and comments

(I love the wording to the new Lexus advertisement "How can you crave that which is common")

peasant

Peugeot 305 and 405 also have pretty much vanished.

You might see the odd 405 diesel tractor with bales of hay in the boot on a back road ...but that's it

mike65

Citroen Bx gone the way of the flesh, despite being 60% plastic.

Mike.

Sizzler

Ford Cortina

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a2/250px-Cortina.mk4.750pix.jpg

A classic

Guy:Incognito

siralfalot wrote: »

(I love the wording to the new Lexus advertisement "How can you crave that which is common")

Fairly ironic seeing as they are a Toyota.:)

siralfalot

I'm running a project in Malta at the moment so I'm over and back regularly enough, you should see some of the cars they have over there, and in pristene condition too, Lada Rivas, Unos, Bambinos, infact every older Fiat imaginable, Mark i Escorts, Austin Allegros..............
they can be bought for feck all over there, and its something that I'm considering doing :cool:

blah

mike65 wrote: »

Renault 14 shaped like a peach, rotted like a peach!

That's a pear!

DaveBH

Cortina - have to agree - legendary. But let us not forget the humble Opel Kadett! (and my first car - LEGEND). I'm talking about this one:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Opel_Kadett_12S_-78.jpg/800px-Opel_Kadett_12S_-78.jpg

Definitely not this version: (a "POS" if ever there was! DOC's on these were a nightmare)

http://www.threerockmountain.com/images/Cars_Kadett.jpg


Nor the later one (which was a pretty good bus):

http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/7/e/n/1984_opel_kadett.jpg

bbam

DaveBH..
thats the C type Opel Kadette, smashing car. Was my first as well.. I saw a minter on CBG recently E1600 I think... Wish I still had mine

Really enjoying these posts...

bam

mike65

blah wrote: »

That's a pear!

Either way they rotted like soft fruit.

Mike.

DaveBH

Ah the C-Type Kadett! Now I know what my baby was called. To-date, my FAVOURITE car EVER. Miss it big time.

blah

We had a red Datsun Cherry. I would actually drive one of these now, so retro. It actually had red paint on the pillars on the inside!



Remember when cars only needed a wing mirror on one side?

JoeA3

haha! Yes, I remember the "optional passenger side door mirror" too!

Remember when car specs used to boast the likes of:
Radio/cassette
heated rear window
reclining front seats
vanity mirrors
5-speed (!) gearbox
hubcaps!

oh so retro...

Sizzler

Datsun Cherry ! CLASS !

What about......

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/VW_Jetta_rear_20070518.jpg/800px-VW_Jetta_rear_20070518.jpg

mike65

Lots of cars used to have painted metal interiors. No shame in that, blah

Mike.

jrar

DaveBH wrote: »

Cortina - have to agree - legendary. But let us not forget the humble Opel Kadett! (and my first car - LEGEND). I'm talking about this one:

/QUOTE]


My first car (driven) was my Dad's 1969 Kadett - not sure now if it was a Mark 1 but before this one anyway. Great car to drive - heavy as a tank ! Saw one in Germany last year in great condition - tempted to make an offer on the spot !

mvpr

Theres a Fiat Tipo 2.0 16v that drives by Merrion Square every day. Dark blue, looks in mint condition. Cant be many of them around now. It’d be nice to drive something out of the ordinary…

Stephen

blah wrote: »

We had a red Datsun Cherry. I would actually drive one of these now, so retro. It actually had red paint on the pillars on the inside!



Remember when cars only needed a wing mirror on one side?

There's some young guy here in Kilkenny that has a green three-door one of those in absolutely immaculate condition, looks great

bbam

The 70's Datsuns were shocking to rust !!!
I once crashed one on our farm and it didnt even crunch... Sort of a muffeled puf of dust... an all over crumple zone:p
The engines were unbreakable though!!...

Wasnt the excessive rust due to recycled metal in the process??
bam

barryfitz

Down my way there used to be a bucket load of Sierra's. Not anymore

Cmar-Ireland

Used to have a Carina II 2.0 GLi, what a car. Should never have sold it.
Anyway, I see a few of them knocking around, one in particular looks factory fresh.

blah

We also had a 1982 Carina II estate. Ran it into the ground, never gave us any trouble. You could put 6 kids in the boot!

RobAMerc

remember the Maestro and Metro - absolute rubbish

daedalus2097

Sizzler wrote: »

Datsun Cherry ! CLASS !

What about......

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/VW_Jetta_rear_20070518.jpg/800px-VW_Jetta_rear_20070518.jpg

Ah, the Jetta Legend car because it was basically the farmer's version of a Golf. Last year went on a tour of Europe for charity in one of them. 1.6 turbo diesel, 250,000 miles on the clock, only ever had oil changes and a new radiator, and it covered Dublin, London, Calais, Geneva, Monaco, barcelona, Madrid, Bordeaux, Dublin in 7 days. That thing'll never break down, though you are always expecting to find bits of straw in the back

Fey!

DaveBH - there's one of those mk1 kadetts around the corner from me; it's red and in mint condition. Actually looks fantastic!

DaveBH

My Kadett was red too! (including the inside pillars!) And yep - just one wing mirror! 1.2 petrol. Solid as a rock and so easy to work on. Sob.

zilog_jones

Here's some more to the list:
- Toyota Tercel and Corolla II (same thing, just jap import)
- Isuzu Gemini (don't remember any of these not being complete wrecks!)
- Nissan Laurel
- Nissan Prarie - I still see one of the later ones around, but remember the chronic boxy ones?
- Anything with a Datsun or Datsun-Nissan badge, or those 50th anniversary badges
- RHD Lancias in general
- Austins
- KP60 Starlet ('78-'84) - a good few of these seemed to survive it into this century, but where have they all gone now? Still a good few EP70s around.
- VW Beetles that weren't restored or modified
- Most old Citroens (don't even see many Saxos or Xantias around any more)
- Talbots
- Mazda 929
- Pre-VAG Seats (like Mk. I Ibiza)
- Ford Orion
- Hyundai Pony
- Daihatsu Charmant and Applause
- Peugeot 309
- Yugos (did they even sell them here? Used to be a good few about in the UK)
- Many random Japanese imports - Toyota Corolla Ceres/Sprinter Marino (hardtop version of Corolla/Sprinter), Toyota Corsa, Honda City, Autozams and Eunos (not Roadsters)

Also, vans:
- Renault 4 - An Post were still using these in the early '90s!
- Nissan Urvan
- Nissan Vanette (proper one, not the Serena-based one)
- Isuzu WFR/Bedford Midi

I guess I don't forget

Oilrig

If they're gone its for a simple reason, they didn't last.

The Carina E is a good example, sold at the same time and in multiple volumes as the BM E36, look around now - the roads are full of E 36's yet Carina E's are few & far between.

My theory is that they were engineered to last x years, after that they just weren't worth the cost of keeping them roadworthy?

The japs had it down to a T.

Early Audi's had a reputation of falling apart when they got leggy. The newer versions seem to be a bit better.

unkel

LOL - I wouldn't mind never seeing some of the cars mentioned again

Oilrig wrote: »

The Carina E is a good example, sold at the same time and in multiple volumes as the BM E36, look around now - the roads are full of E 36's yet Carina E's are few & far between

Interesting point. The comparison is a bit unfair though imho. The base model 4 door E36 might have only cost a bit more than the base model Carina E, but they were never really in the same class, with the BMW clearly being a prestige make. Many of the surviving E36s are higher end models. And then there are the coupes and verts. Need I mention the M3?

JoeA3

I remember getting a taxi home many years ago in a Carina II and the driver was bemoaning the arrival of the then relatively new Avensis... he and his fellow cabbies hated the new car, reckoned the old Carina was far better built!

Max_Damage

A few here too, some may have been mentioned before...

Nissan Cherry
Isuzu Gemini
Citroen BX
Fiat Ritmo/Regatta (good riddens)
Triumph Acclaim
Austin Montego & Maestro
Ford Orion Mk1 & Mk2
Ford Escort Mk3 & Mk4
Vauxhall Cavalier / Opel Ascona
Opel Rekord
Opel Senator
Vauxhall Carlton
Mazda 626 (mid-80's model)
Mazda 323 (early-80's model)
Toyota Carina II
Toyota Camry Mk1 & Mk2
Nissan Stanza
Nissan Sunny/Sentra
Mitsubishi Colt (80's model)
Mitsubishi Sigma
Daewoo Nexia
Yugo 55
Subaru Justy (and pretty much any Subaru before the Impreza, since they were all rubbish)
Suzuki Swift (80's model)
Suzuki Alto
Audi 100

And of course, the leader of the pack: AUSTIN METRO

Looking at it now, even my own car, the Nissan Micra K10 ('83-'93 model) are becoming increasingly rare on the roads. I reckon within 5 years there will be nearly none left.

It is shame too that many of the cars on the list above have gone to the great M50 in the sky. New cars I find just lack substance and character in my opinion.

pwee

There are loads of carina e's on the road. If u think that there aren't get glasses.

Max_Damage

There are plenty of Audi 80s on the roads in the south-east.

On PL, LT, LV, or RUS plates?

unkel

pwee wrote: »

There are loads of carina e's on the road

Maybe (possibly even unbeknownst to you), you suffer from specific double /quadruple (or even more) vision yourself

Stephen

There does seem to be loads of them around here, mostly taxis and farmers though.

cavanmaniac

When I was a kid, these came out and I used to dream about my Dad buying one but he never did. May I present the Renault Fuego, big marketing push but never really sold well



Instead we got one of these the Renault 18:



But the first car we had and like the R18,there were quite a few of them about at the time but not anymore. The Fiat 131.



I watched a Top Gear episode about 10 years back and Jeremy Clarkson said there was some South American countries still producing brand new versions of these cars for certain markets.