Where have they all gone

alanclarke1975

Doing about 1000km a week commute these days and watching the cars pass me on the M50 got me thinking.

As a stream of German Saloon Cars pass me of different ages - where are all the
Fiat Punto's?,
Ford Focus's,
02/03 Pug 406's,
Alfa 156's/147's?


The one that really has me stumped is the Ford one - Havn't Ford been the top selling brand of car in Ireland since God was a small boy? How come then the roads are not full with Fords? - Puntos Sold like dime a dozen back in the day - are they all land fill now? Same with Pugs - Especially the early 00's.

Yet you can see loads and loads of 00-06 Beemers, Audi's and Passats on the road..

Is the marketing true then - the German cars are better engineered and the rest have gone to car heaven?

Thoughts on a postcard....

tossy

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

Fiat Punto's?,
02/03 Pug 406's,
Alfa 156's/147's?

The are all broken down

spank_inferno

I do wonder sometimes where this recession is supposed to be.

Just last night driving home down the N11 rather late, not many cars around.
In a 1-2 minute sequence I was passed by a Jag -> 3-Series -> 5 Series ->A6 --> 12 reg A4.

None older than 2010.

Ireland still has plenty of money..... either that or there was some sort of middle-management gang bang going on in Wicklow yesterday :P

randy hickey

spank_inferno wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes where this recession is supposed to be.

Just last night driving home down the N11 rather late, not many cars around.
In a 1-2 minute sequence I was passed by a Jag -> 3-Series -> 5 Series ->A6 --> 12 reg A4.

None older than 2010.

Ireland still has plenty of money..... either that or there was some sort of middle-management gang bang going on in Wicklow yesterday :P

Probably some of the "consultants" to NAMA simply heading home to their estates.

Vicxas

Alot of people scrapped the old favorites and got a good deal on a new car.

And the majority of the time the Motorway is the hunting ground of the german saloon.

Skatedude

I drive a 20 year old 7 series. it was cheaper to buy then a punto. so sticking with the bmw

Gophur

Anyone who doesn't see a load of Ford Focuses on the road cannot be driving with his/her eyes open.

dar83

Yeah I can't understand how you're not seeing Focii everywhere.

Also there is a definite upturn in the amount of new shape Fiesta's about as well, especially on the M50.

tossy

alanclarke1975

I am seeing some Focus's (or Focuii) but not in the numbers that I should - according to the SIMI the Ford Focus has been a top seller for the last 10 or so years - yet every second car I see on the road is not a Ford...

Bmw and Audi even if you add them together numbers wise - they still didnt sell as many cars as Ford.... or is the road full of UK imports?

I do know that some Dealers are now pushing UK imports from their forecourts - but thats a different discussion...

pcardin

spank_inferno wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes where this recession is supposed to be.

Just last night driving home down the N11 rather late, not many cars around.
In a 1-2 minute sequence I was passed by a Jag -> 3-Series -> 5 Series ->A6 --> 12 reg A4.

None older than 2010.

Ireland still has plenty of money..... either that or there was some sort of middle-management gang bang going on in Wicklow yesterday :P

Banks cars. Its like going to Hetz rent some new car there and then claim that I have a new car. :rolleyes:

pajo1981

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

Fiat Punto's?,
Ford Focus's,
02/03 Pug 406's,
Alfa 156's/147's?

Easily the best car in your list, the 406 was hitting end-of-life by 02/03, and I can't imagine there were too many sold.

dgt

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

where are all the
Fiat Punto's?,
Ford Focus's,
02/03 Pug 406's,
Alfa 156's/147's?

1000km a week, do you venture outside the city?

Cars you mentioned are starting to enter the end of their usable lifespan my most peoples standards ie throw it away while its still serviceable :mad:

Puntos have been around since 1994, had a very long run and still a good few knocking about here and there

Focus: Plenty mk1s about still

406's: Northern Irish taxi drivers absolutely love them, Newry is littered with them

147/156: I don't see many of either now you mention it...

There are other cars disappearing, all of the last of the starlets (95 - 98, not glanzas either), n15 nissan almeras, 306's are scarce and 307's are becoming an occasional sight...

Gophur

alanclarke1975 wrote: »

I am seeing some Focus's (or Focuii) but not in the numbers that I should - according to the SIMI the Ford Focus has been a top seller for the last 10 or so years - yet every second car I see on the road is not a Ford...
.......................

Given the entire FORD range accounts for, and accounted for , between 10-15% of New Car sales over the past decade, and, at most, 50% of them were Focus, the actual percentage of FOCUS on the road would be closer to 5%, or one car in 20.

But, you say "every second car" is not a FORD, so you must be seeing one hell of a lot of Fords in your travels?

alanclarke1975

Good stuff - someone who is able to do the maths.

So 1 in 20 you say... lets see - keep me entertained on the way home.

So - are we concluding that a lot of the big selling cars of the last 7,8,9,10 years have started to disappear off our roads?

Surely they are not all getting "Recycled" and were not included in the latest Scrappage scheme

Gophur

The main models you should see would be (in no particular order), Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo, Avensis, Corolla (or whatever the other variants are), Golf, Polo and, from 2010 onwards, anything Renault with a diesel engine.

Thud

Gophur wrote: »

The main models you should see would be (in no particular order), Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo, Avensis, Corolla (or whatever the other variants are), Golf, Polo and, from 2010 onwards, anything Renault with a diesel engine.

flipping Micras seem to last forever, no shortage of them out there

paddyland

Thud wrote: »

flipping Micras seem to last forever, no shortage of them out there

And their mindless drivers...

One at the head of every traffic queue in Ireland...

creedp

Gophur wrote: »

The main models you should see would be (in no particular order), Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo, Avensis, Corolla (or whatever the other variants are), Golf, Polo and, from 2010 onwards, anything Renault with a diesel engine.

Don't forget the Passat .. they seem to be everywhere especially the 11/12 plate or does it just seem that way because the new model is much more distinctive than the old and stands out more from the crowd:) Just looking at 2010/11 car sale figures, 1,767 Passats sold in 2010, while 2,975 were sold in 2011 making it the 5th best selling car last year. It even outsold the Fiesta last year. Whatever floats your boat!

randy hickey

OP, are you seeing many Toyota Avensii around?:D

BrianD3

Many Ford models are rustbuckets. All Fiesta models before 2002, Ka Mk1, all Escorts.

Not sure about the Focus or Mondeo or post 02 Fiestas. But given Ford's reputation I wouldn't be surprised if these also have below average rust resistance.

dar83

Actually just on this, ever since the recent upsurge in Glanza's etc... the amount of Starlet's that seem to have risen from the grave to be on the roads here is amazing.

They're everywhere! And I definitely don't think there were as many on the roads 5 years ago, after the 90-95 brigade of them were scrapped etc...

barura

BrianD3 wrote: »

Many Ford models are rustbuckets. All Fiesta models before 2002, Ka Mk1, all Escorts.

Not sure about the Focus or Mondeo or post 02 Fiestas. But given Ford's reputation I wouldn't be surprised if these also have below average rust resistance.

What? One of the biggest companies in the motoring industry wouldn't correct a problem that would leave them behind the curve? Surely you jest. Most every car post-00's should have galvenised steel that prevents rust.

Christ, it's people like you that say that "Fiats are rubbish" because you heard it in the pub! Motoring has moved on a lot since the 90's!

BrianD3

barura wrote: »

What? One of the biggest companies in the motoring industry wouldn't correct a problem that would leave them behind the curve? Surely you jest. Most every car post-00's should have galvenised steel that prevents rust.

Christ, it's people like you that say that "Fiats are rubbish" because you heard it in the pub! Motoring has moved on a lot since the 90's!

People like me, nice one :rolleyes: The OP is asking why he's not seeing Fords when they are one of the biggest sellling makes. I am putting forward possible reasons. Other makes managed to protect their 90s or even 80s design pretty well against rust but Ford certainly didn't manage it with, for example the Mk4 Fiesta. That car was introduced in 1995, 3 years after the Mk1 Mondeo and 3 years before the Mk1 Focus.

Also I've just scrapped some Fiesta vans due to rust, they were from 2002.

You are pretty naive if you think that "one of the biggest companies in the motoring industry wouldn't correct a problem" if they could get away with it. Why protect your car against rust if clowns are going to buy them anyway.

alanclarke1975

OP, are you seeing many Toyota Avensii around?:D

A few - mostly 03/04 saloon models - all with at least one rear light bulb gone

Saw a rare one yesterday - 05 Bronze/Brown Estate...

barura

BrianD3 wrote: »

People like me, nice one :rolleyes: The OP is asking why he's not seeing Fords when they are one of the biggest sellling makes. I am putting forward possible reasons. Other makes managed to protect their 90s or even 80s design pretty well against rust but Ford certainly didn't manage it with, for example the Mk4 Fiesta. That car was introduced in 1995, 3 years after the Mk1 Mondeo and 3 years before the Mk1 Focus.

Also I've just scrapped some Fiesta vans due to rust, they were from 2002.

You are pretty naive if you think that "one of the biggest companies in the motoring industry wouldn't correct a problem" if they could get away with it. Why protect your car against rust if clowns are going to buy them anyway.

Alright, the "People like you" part was uncalled for. All the same, since the NCT was brought in, and cars are checked if they are roadworthy I would have thought this has changed.

I would assume car manufacturers have had to up their game so that problems that they could get away with in the past are phased out. On another note, the same applies for the NCAP ratings, how could someone have faith in a car in a crash if it's known to rust up?

And I'm not naive to how business works, I would just expect it to happen otherwise they would lose a lot of business otherwise.

downburst

I've noticed this over the last couple of years. There are less cars on the road for a start. There are less people commuting. The mid size cars such as the Focus etc if they are found on the road are found in the city, not out and about as far, on the M50 etc. driving around looking for shopping centers etc. If not in the city they are in driveways. At rush hour now, such as it is compared to a few years ago you see just the civil service cars, finishing at 5.00 pm, typically a Toyota and the private sector in their German cars and the odd Volvo etc. 7 or 8 years ago you had the previous Mondeo all over the place as sales reps went about their business selling things to the building industry, now gone. It all makes for a more pleasant drive, interupted now by the slow downs for people to gawk at break downs of the odd wreck.

unkel

tossy wrote: »

I was behind a S4 yesterday. Looked the business, apart from the big "diesel power" sticker on the right

JoeA3

BrianD3 wrote: »

Many Ford models are rustbuckets. All Fiesta models before 2002, Ka Mk1, all Escorts.

Not sure about the Focus or Mondeo or post 02 Fiestas. But given Ford's reputation I wouldn't be surprised if these also have below average rust resistance.

Rubbish.