The year is 1991.....

Probably Sierra money back in 91.

Sharp MZ700

ba_barabus wrote: »

They were a Rover high point. Great cars but they weren't budget offerings when new.

Yup, thought that when I was posting... It cost me next to nothing with low mileage in 96 I'd say, Never missed a beat and only moved on when the boot rusted to ****.

colm_mcm

Some of these will be uk only but would have been on sale in 91

Daewoo Espero was out in 1991
Fiat 126 Bis was still out
Hindustan Ambassador (later called Fullbore Mark 10)
Renault 5 Campus was very cheap, Clio was already out at that stage
Seat Malaga
FSO 125p finished up in 91 as well
Yugo Sana, Yugo was mentioned, but most people only remember the Yugo 45. The Sana was quite modern and loosely based on the Tipo, designed by Giugario too.

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

Some of these will be uk only but would have been on sale in 91

Daewoo Espero was out in 1991
Fiat 126 Bis was still out
Hindustan Ambassador (later called Fullbore Mark 10)
Renault 5 Campus was very cheap, Clio was already out at that stage
Seat Malaga
FSO 125p finished up in 91 as well
Yugo Sana, Yugo was mentioned, but most people only remember the Yugo 45. The Sana was quite modern and loosely based on the Tipo, designed by Giugario too.

The Malaga wasn't a bad car just like the Regatta. There wasn't many Sanas sold. Looked like a cross between a Tipo and a Samara. Possibly on a par with the Favorit.

The Hindustan must have been awful, even by 91.

colm_mcm

They were actually ‘building’ the Ambassador in the uk for a finish.
Fullbore were buying in new Ambassadors from India and stripping them down, repainting them and tarting them up for uk market. They had an Isuzu 1.8 petrol in them. They were offering them up till the late 90s. I remember seeing them in the new car guides back then.

I’d nearly buy one.

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

They were actually ‘building’ the Ambassador in the uk for a finish.
Fullbore were buying in new Ambassadors from India and stripping them down, repainting them and tarting them up for uk market. They had an Isuzu 1.8 petrol in them. They were offering them up till the late 90s. I remember seeing them in the new car guides back then.

I’d nearly buy one.

Jaysus, I wonder what would be a modern equivalent of that!

Triumph Dolomite tarted up for today?

alentejo

I had a crush on a Mazda 323f back in 1991. I remember I wanted a car with new Euro plates.

Old diesel

How about a 2nd hand "better" make.

I can't recall prices of the top of my head but say something like a 1987 Carina II 1.6.

Or a Rover 213 SD3 of similar vintage to the 87 Carina.

Edit I know Austin Rovers weren't great cars per se but the SD3 213 were pretty much a Honda design with Honda engine.

Was a passenger in one back then and it was rather agreeable imo.

Otherwise - I think id have had a new Uno if we are to strictly adhere to thread criteria

Arthur Daley

Surprised the Fiat 126 was still on sale in 1991. When considering the Panda also remember the Lancia Y10 which was a bit plusher.

Base model mini would have been in the reckoning also.

The 2cv tin snail finished up production in July 1990, last ones might have just about been knocking about into 1991.

colm_mcm

ba_barabus wrote: »

Jaysus, I wonder what would be a modern equivalent of that!

Triumph Dolomite tarted up for today?

More recently - City Rover

Mg3 to a much lesser extent

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

More recently - City Rover

Mg3 to a much lesser extent

I'd secretly like an MG3......

colm_mcm

Didn’t you want an MG6 at one point too?

I have a soft spot for ****e cars too, Proton Gen2 and Savvy particularly,

Had loose plans to fit FTO running gear to a Proton Jumbuck around 10 years ago.

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

Didn’t you want an MG6 at one point too?

I have a soft spot for ****e cars too, Proton Gen2 and Savvy particularly,

Had loose plans to fit FTO running gear to a Proton Jumbuck around 10 years ago.

Yes, I looked into getting an MG6 but they're not great. Doing too many miles now for an MG3.

I've a great model MG6 in burnt orange so in a way I got what I wanted without the unreliability!

Fto in a Jumbuck would have been interesting. I looked at a Satira GTi before in Scotland and loved it but tin worm was taking hold. Very good to drive though.

mloc123

ba_barabus wrote: »

I've a mint 91 Clio parked outside and a 93 R19 gone in for some minor bodywork before it's first nct in 9 years !

Would love a r19 phase 1 16v... had the chance to buy one 10yrs ago, bottled it

ba_barabus

mloc123 wrote: »

Would love a r19 phase 1 16v... had the chance to buy one 10yrs ago, bottled it

Be worth a nice but now and rare too.

SmartinMartin

My father 's pride and joy was his Proton. I remember it as a fabulous car, some upgrade from the hillman hunter at the time.

mondeo

I thought the Fiat Tipo was quite a nice car in 1991'.

Littlehorny

Father bought a brand new Daihatsu Applause round about that time, only big car I've ever seen by Daihatsu.
He wasn't much of a man for car maintenance and he put serious mileage up on it and it never let him down.

Nekarsulm

My uncle had a Subaru Mini Jumbo in 1991.
Also a two cylinder engine, I think he bought it in 1988, it was a cheap yoke when new.
Traded it in for the sophisticated luxury of a Renault 5!

road_high

Littlehorny wrote: »

Father bought a brand new Daihatsu Applause round about that time, only big car I've ever seen by Daihatsu.
He wasn't much of a man for car maintenance and he put serious mileage up on it and it never let him down.

Think they were loosely rebadged Corolla. Used be a few about

Doodah7

Another vote for the Proton!! I learned to drive in it!!

TheBoyConor

How on earth were they allowed to sell those Reliant 3 wheelers. Were they not fantastically unstable and dangerous? How many people died in them I wonder?

Imagine having to swerve to avoid something...all of a sudden you'd be upsidedown.

zilog_jones

road_high wrote: »

Think they were loosely rebadged Corolla. Used be a few about

The previous Charmant was Corolla-based, but the Applause was a completely original design with their own engines and unusual notchback that looked like a normal saloon - a product of the height of the bubble economy in Japan.

Later it was replaced by a rebadged Camry, the Daihatsu Altis (probably not exported).

TheBoyConor wrote: »

How on earth were they allowed to sell those Reliant 3 wheelers. Were they not fantastically unstable and dangerous? How many people died in them I wonder?

Only if you're in Top Gear fantasy land. Those cars were deliberately modified to fall over.

TheBoyConor

Oh I see. Still, they were a dreadful thing nomatter what way you look at it. I really wonder what made people buy them over a normal car with 4 wheels. Would one more wheel really cost that much extra?

Nekarsulm

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Oh I see. Still, they were a dreadful thing nomatter what way you look at it. I really wonder what made people buy them over a normal car with 4 wheels. Would one more wheel really cost that much extra?

Nearly impossible to dodge a pot-hole with them .....
BUT 25% less tyre and brake parts cost.
I got the impression they sold mainly to sedate pensioners who drove slowly and carefully.

And what about motorbikes?
When you come to a stop, they fall over every time!

wonski

mondeo wrote: »

I thought the Fiat Tipo was quite a nice car in 1991'.

My dad's first car, bought second hand in Germany. Electric windows, sunroof and other fancy stuff. Definitely not cheap car.

It also broke down very often. Way too often from what I remember...

zilog_jones

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Oh I see. Still, they were a dreadful thing nomatter what way you look at it. I really wonder what made people buy them over a normal car with 4 wheels. Would one more wheel really cost that much extra?

A full motorcycle licence in the UK would allow you to drive B1 class trikes and light quadricycles (up to 550kg) - Reliant with their expertise in making lightweight fibreglass bodies were some of the more competent vehicles in this class (some even had four wheels!). There seemed to be a significant niche of motorists in the UK who didn't want to or couldn't get a full B licence for whatever reason, until the licensing was changed in 2001 (which led to the end of Reliant car production).

Yakuza

alentejo wrote: »

I had a crush on a Mazda 323f back in 1991. I remember I wanted a car with new Euro plates.

Same, my (then) boss let me borrow hers for a day to wow the girlfriend. It was a 1.8 rocket (standard was 1.6 back in the day). I had a 1.4 Clio then, which was no slouch (tiny body, so went like the clappers with just me in it).

I also had a thing for the JDM Honda CRX, but my insurance company laughed at me.

rabbidpeach

ba_barabus wrote: »

Seat - Fiat cast offs but the Ibiza "by Porsche" and new Toledo weren't all that bad.

The Ibiza "special edition" seemed to be more common here. 903cc Fiat engine rather than the Porsche.

Tails142

My first car was a 91 Rover Metro 1.4 litre. Front suspension was a hydrogas setup instead of an anti roll bar, would drop down overtime and became very expensive to have topped up. Made the car look lowered but the exhaust would scrape on bumps. Went up the featherbeds for a drive near the end of my ownership and didnt think i'd make it back due to the camber in the road. Had a fake vent on the bonnet too. Other memorable aspect was 'headrests' that were rock hard plastic.