Skoda - 20 years in Ireland ?

mb1725

I'm hearing all over the radio about Skoda dealers celebrating 20 years in Ireland. http://www.rev.ie/skoda-celebrates-20-years-in-ireland/

However, I remember a neighbour of mine buying one of these new here in 1977 for the princely sum of £1850.-



Bit of forget the past spin going on?

Quazzie

mb1725 wrote: »

I'm hearing all over the radio about Skoda dealers celebrating 20 years in Ireland. http://www.rev.ie/skoda-celebrates-20-years-in-ireland/

However, I remember a neighbour of mine buying one of these new here in 1977 for the princely sum of £1850.-



Bit of forget the past spin going on?

It could've been an import from the UK no?

mb1725

Nope, he bought a purple one brand spanking new **** ZK plate and converted it to run on lpg.

L1011

I suspect they were being imported as CKD by a distributor and that '93 was when they re-entered as themselves?

wandatowell

Its also twenty years since homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland coincidence?

marketty

What surprised me about that ad is they've only sold 60,000 in 20 years, Octavias are everywhere!

mb1725

To prove I'm not hallucinating ( about Skodas) here's the site of the old dealership near Midleton which still wears its old Skoda branding and signage. If I remember correctly there were a few old rear engined Skodas thrown around the rear yard too............ maybe it's been twenty years since they took the engines out of the boot?

Kristopherus

Quazzie wrote: »

It could've been an import from the UK no?

No, Skoda made a brief appearance in the mid to late 70s. Got an awful reputation and then disappeared. It was only when Volkswagen took an interest that Skoda was re-introduced.

wandatowell

I had totally forgotten about the Skoda dealership in Carrigtwohill

colm_mcm

FitzPatricks in kildare were skoda dealers back when the engines were in the boot.

They used to come with a massive tool kit and a spare accelerator cable for when it inevitably snapped

kermitpwee

Kristopherus wrote: »

No, Skoda made a brief appearance in the mid to late 70s. Got an awful reputation and then disappeared. It was only when Volkswagen took an interest that Skoda was re-introduced.

Skoda had dealerships in Ireland in the 80's for sure. My uncle bought one in mayo.

Old diesel

mb1725 wrote: »

I'm hearing all over the radio about Skoda dealers celebrating 20 years in Ireland. http://www.rev.ie/skoda-celebrates-20-years-in-ireland/

However, I remember a neighbour of mine buying one of these new here in 1977 for the princely sum of £1850.-



Bit of forget the past spin going on?

Believe it or not - but I heard the exact same ad and thought the same thing.

I remember back in around 87/88 our local paper in North Cork carried an ad from a garage in - I think - in Abbeyfeale Co Limerick selling new Skodas - the rear engine Estelle models.

They were never a popular car though - Lada seemed to have more success in Ireland in the late 80s - the Rivas seemed to establish a small following due to being dirt cheap for a brand new car.


With regard to them "only" selling 60,000 of them - inspite of all the Octavias on the road - I think its fair to say that this is because apart from Felicias in the late 90s - most Skodas that have being sold over the 20 years are Octavias.

The Superb has done well in Mk 2 form (imo) - but still the Octavia has always flown out the gate. To be honest though - I think the new Octavia will be a much harder sell - I don't think from the road tests etc ive read - that it moves the game on enough from the Mk 2 Octavia.

Declan Colley the Examiners motoring correspondent - in particular - was very critical of the new Octavia for the ride comfort not being good enough.

dgt

I remember seeing a few Estelles being broken in a yard when I was much younger, all original Irish.

That was about 20 years ago, ironically.....

So 20 years my arse!

Atlantic Dawn

I recall them appearing in Ireland toward the tail end of Lada pulling out of Ireland, care were similar from a boxey and cheap point of view.

veetwin

Yup I remember a neighbour bought a new Skoda in about 1988, also in Cork as it happens. They were ****e back then too;)

MuppetCheck

It's obviously VWs influence they are celebrating.

Thing is though, they weren't always sh1t. They have plenty of design and motorsport heritage behind them whereas many of the current popular brands just bought into it when they had cash to spare.

galwaytt

MuppetCheck wrote: »

It's obviously VWs influence they are celebrating.

Thing is though, they weren't always sh1t. They have plenty of design and motorsport heritage behind them whereas many of the current popular brands just bought into it when they had cash to spare.

I remember the team and their converted bus at the Galway Rally in the early '80's. .....they were good rally cars and won their class in the RAC for years and years.

unkel

Skoda is Czech. Before WWII, Czechoslovakia was at the forefront of car development. Another Czech company, Tatra, actually came up with a cheap car for the people with an aircooled boxer engine in the back in '31:



The company did not go ahead producing it, but of course the Nazis stole the idea and started producing the best selling car of all time a few years later...

I hate to say it but Herr Dr. Ferdinand Porsche was a bit of a fraud.

unkel

And here's something that I just came upon that's new to me. A jewish man, Josef Ganz, actually originally coined the names "Volkswagen" and "Maikäfer" (May Beetle) back in the 1920s!

Blue850

They were here long before 77 too, this ad is from the early 60s

00833827

mb1725 wrote: »

Bit of forget the past spin going on?

It seems so!

Voodoomelon

It's only when I read threads like these that I realise I know very little about cars.