Very rare cars that you hardly ever see anymore.

AMKC

So post of any very rare cars you very rarely see anymore. These can be cars that were popular or not popular. I created this thread because I seen one today. It was anOpel/Vauxhall Signum in silver. It went by fairly quick so no chance of a picture. This is the car that the big child himself Jeremy Clarkso described as a great car to drive from the back seat lol. I also seen a beautiful MK1 Renault Laguna on Done Deal a while ago going for a grand. It.looked immaculate like new and was one of the last ones with the talking computer and all that. So what very rare cars have other people here seen recently.

Andrewf20

The deeply missed Proton Persona springs to mind. Or the Proton saga:

brilou23

My two fav that where common 10-15 years ago nova and impreza 😭

PsychoPete

brilou23 wrote: »

My two fav that where common 10-15 years ago nova and impreza 😭

Nova is boy racer at its finest, I'd love a red top Nova

punisher5112

Mitsubishi Galant or spacewagon.....

Nissan sunny, primeras

Ford escort, Ka.

alias no.9

punisher5112 wrote: »

Mitsubishi Galant or spacewagon.....

Nissan sunny, primeras

Ford escort, Ka.

FYP

bazz26

Fiat

unhappys10

Audi 80

punisher5112

alias no.9 wrote: »

FYP

I probably should have read the heading a bit better.

Alfa 166

Sexual Chocolate

Maybe I'm reading the OP arsed ways but rare cars that have become rarer ? Is that not the same thing essentially ? Rare being rare ?

punisher5112

PsychoPete wrote: »

Nova is boy racer at its finest, I'd love a red top Nova

Remember seeing all the older boys when I was a kid with these and really wanted one....

Then I grew up to their age and couldn't get insurance on anything.

Then I had some sense and bought cars with big engines and performance without doing mods....

PsychoPete

One car I've always liked that I never seen anymore is the Suzuki Wagon R

Class MayDresser

Neighbour had a white Carina with the black plastic roof back in the day, YZK something. The absolute ridiculousness of it, hey let's put a roof on it, hey what about a sunroof? Great idea, come on let's go mad and make it all out of plastic!

But I'd still love one!

Montage of Feck

We are probably in the most boring period of motoring. Very few interesting cars on the roads today.

addaword

About 40 to 45 years ago you used to see sporty cars now and again, 2 seater sports cars within the reach of some people in each county. I am not talking about Porches and Lamboghinis etc. I mean the likes of Triumph TR7, Fiat X 1.9, Trimuph Spitfire, even Ford Capris. Even Alfasuds gave a sporty roar. Something the relatively ordinary man or woman could aspire to if he or she worked and saved hard. Now cars are more boring in a way.

alias no.9

PsychoPete wrote: »

One car I've always liked that I never seen anymore is the Suzuki Wagon R

You need to get professional help! That said, I like the Nissan Cube and Kia Soul. The Suzuki Splash which would have replaced the Wagon R in Ireland is a pretty smart looking car too.

Back on topic, not only are Ford Puma, Hyundai Coupe, Opel Tigra mk1, Renault Megane coupe mk1, no longer seen in the wild, there's nothing comparable for sale new.

punisher5112

Alfa spider


Any proper MG

F5500

Mondeo Mk1 and Mk2. Liked the styling on them!

RandomViewer

punisher5112 wrote: »

Mitsubishi Galant or spacewagon.....

Nissan sunny, primeras

Ford escort, Ka.

Saw a Gallant last week, wine 89 one, long time since I'd seen one, there's a green Sunny around and a few Primeras, Ka's, saw an Escort van last Monday, UK reg

johnayo

Had a couple of alfasuds back in the day. Had a black alfasud sprint veloce, I thought I was the dogs bollocks.

RandomViewer

addaword wrote: »

About 40 to 45 years ago you used to see sporty cars now and again, 2 seater sports cars within the reach of some people in each county. I am not talking about Porches and Lamboghinis etc. I mean the likes of Triumph TR7, Fiat X 1.9, Trimuph Spitfire, even Ford Capris. Even Alfasuds gave a sporty roar. Something the relatively ordinary man or woman could aspire to if he or she worked and saved hard. Now cars are more boring in a way.

Late 80s when the country was supposed to be broke there were Opel Mantas, Ford Capris and XR3s all over the place, modern equivalent seems to be a diesel Skoda

punisher5112

Opel omega, always wanted the v6

RandomViewer

punisher5112 wrote: »

Opel omega, always wanted the v6

Neighbour has the Vauxhall Carlton, same car, still looks well, differs destroyed the most of them a few years ago

Oafley Jones

Citroen Xantia. I’d say I haven’t seen a single one in a decade, if not longer. Everything else of that vintage segment you’d spot from time to time, but not them.

punisher5112

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Citroen Xantia. I’d say I haven’t seen a single one in a decade, if not longer. Everything else of that vintage segment you’d spot from time to time, but not them.

Comfy place to sit too....

Mad how these outside motors usually had more extras them the norm

Oafley Jones

punisher5112 wrote: »

Comfy place to sit too....

Mad how these outside motors usually had more extras them the norm

Got a spin in one once. Got caught in the rain heading back to school in fifth year and our french teacher (naturally) took pity on us. Was really impressed.

They disappeared unbelievably quickly though. While the roads were never over flowing with them, they weren’t uncommon either, there really should have been more examples hanging around. Thinking about it, I’d say it’s over 15 years since I’ve locked eyes on one. Complicated suspension maybe?

Das Reich

When I arrived in Ireland 15 years ago I used to see so many cars that I have not seen in a decade. One that I liked so much was the Toyota Corolla Compact.

alias no.9

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Got a spin in one once. Got caught in the rain heading back to school in fifth year and our french teacher (naturally) took pity on us. Was really impressed.

They disappeared unbelievably quickly though. While the roads were never over flowing with them, they weren’t uncommon either, there really should have been more examples hanging around. Thinking about it, I’d say it’s over 15 years since I’ve locked eyes on one. Complicated suspension maybe?

Goes without saying that the XM is also extinct even though Citroën were still able to sell cars in that segment back then.

I'm struggling to think of the last time I've seen a mk1 or mk1 facelift C5 as well. The Xantia was always stylish while the C5 shared the magic carpet ride, the mk1 had a face that only a mother could love, the face lift improved it front and rear but the side profile remained frumpy as ever.

Philb76

I'm a bit confused OP do you mean cars that were popular once that you don't see anymore or cars that were always rare

punisher5112

Philb76 wrote: »

I'm a bit confused OP do you mean cars that were popular once that you don't see anymore or cars that were always rare

Rare but seen I think

Garzard

An endless list of cars for this thread, but probably the Audi Quattro for me. Grew up in the 90's and they weren't that uncommon back then IIRC. But the last time I remember vividly seeing one was back in May this year. Would love to own one - it'd be my priority car buy if I found myself with enough money.

Andrewf20

Montage of Feck wrote: »

We are probably in the most boring period of motoring. Very few interesting cars on the roads today.

I kinda feel the same. The most interesting stuff on the road are classic cars. I think we are much wealthier now in general so decent looking cars like audi tts, golf gtis and beemers are everywhere. If they they were rare they would have much more wow factor.

So many bland colours as well. The amount of black, white and silver cars on the road is very high.

SchrodingersCat

I wouldn't agree. We are at the start of a revolutionary part of the automotive timeline, which is electric/hybrid and self driving. This would make some of the current vehicles on our road very interesting from a historic point of view. They are either early versions of their kind, or the last of their kind.

JCN12

I think the NCT wrote a lot of them off with rust.

Ford Sierra was another childhood favourite that disappeared quickly.

Peugeot 306, Corsa B, Vectra Mk2 also spring to mind.

E mac

Peugeot 405's were everywhere in North Kerry 20 years ago. Haven't seen one now in years.

unhappys10

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Citroen Xantia. I’d say I haven’t seen a single one in a decade, if not longer. Everything else of that vintage segment you’d spot from time to time, but not them.

Saw one a few weeks ago

RandomViewer

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Got a spin in one once. Got caught in the rain heading back to school in fifth year and our french teacher (naturally) took pity on us. Was really impressed.

They disappeared unbelievably quickly though. While the roads were never over flowing with them, they weren’t uncommon either, there really should have been more examples hanging around. Thinking about it, I’d say it’s over 15 years since I’ve locked eyes on one. Complicated suspension maybe?

Suspension isn't that complicated it's just expensive to repair, pipes and spheres replacement would make repair uneconomical.

RandomViewer

E mac wrote: »

Peugeot 405's were everywhere in North Kerry 20 years ago. Haven't seen one now in years.

NCT killed them, back axle was gone in most of them, cost of replacement

RandomViewer

Recession took a lot of late 90s early 00s off the road, people hadn't the money to tax or test them, I remember being in a scrap metal yard in Derry and seeing people driving cars in ,perfectly serviceable vehicles, getting the £150-180 for them and the grab picking them up right there.

Marcusm

AMKC wrote: »

So post of any very rare cars you very rarely see anymore. These can be cars that were popular or not popular. I created this thread because I seen one today. It was anOpel/Vauxhall Signum in silver. It went by fairly quick so no chance of a picture. This is the car that the big child himself Jeremy Clarkso described as a great car to drive from the back seat lol. I also seen a beautiful MK1 Renault Laguna on Done Deal a while ago going for a grand. It.looked immaculate like new and was one of the last ones with the talking computer and all that. So what very rare cars have other people here seen recently.

A silver Vauxhall Signum was my first car; KH57KGJ. It was the first car I drive without dual controls; a fact which frightened the **** out of the dealer as we bombed down the A20 at 70mph on a wet, dark January night. I had passed the test that afternoon. It was as decent a car as the Vectra from the front seat.

Marcusm

RandomViewer wrote: »

Late 80s when the country was supposed to be broke there were Opel Mantas, Ford Capris and XR3s all over the place, modern equivalent seems to be a diesel Skoda

Or a Golf Gti!

RandomViewer

Marcusm wrote: »

Or a Golf Gti!

Was going to say Golfs and 205 s but thought the Manta more iconic

johnayo

Its sometime since I last saw a Peugeot 605. A comfortable car but spent a lot of time in the workshop.

unhappys10

A lot of the rare cars being mentioned I have come across in recent years.
One car I can't remember seeing in a very long time is a P10 Primera.
I remember getting a spin in a GT, it could move for what it was.

Marcusm

RandomViewer wrote: »

Was going to say Golfs and 205 s but thought the Manta more iconic

Sorry I meant that the modern day equivalent of a Capri or a Manta is probably a Golf Gti.

RandomViewer

Marcusm wrote: »

Sorry I meant that the modern day equivalent of a Capri or a Manta is probably a Golf Gti.

No, looks the same as a diesel golf, Scirocco maybe but again usually diesel

BrianD3

It's just the way things go, cars that were not good sellers when new, are not exotic and don't have much of a following can be basically extinct within 10 years of ceasing production.

Its fun to browse howmanyleft.co.uk - I see that there are about 2500 Ford Sierras on the roads which seems a healthy enough number but not when there were over a million in 1994.

Supercars or much older vintage cars can be much more common than newer cars

E.g.
Morris Minor - 20,000 on the road
Ferrari 360 Modena - 538 on the road.
Peugeot 605 - 39 on the road

Here in Ireland, if I see a 1990s car it is usually a Toyota. They sold very well, have decent rust resistance and reliability and still retain a value when old. A 1998 Corolla put up on donedeal would be snapped up quickly.

Marcusm

RandomViewer wrote: »

No, looks the same as a diesel golf, Scirocco maybe but again usually diesel

I’m being too subtle; the likelihood of someone buying a good looking car designed as such has died. They’re all Golfs or Escorts now. No more snazzy coupes from mainstream manufacturers.

Wishbone Ash

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Citroen Xantia. I’d say I haven’t seen a single one in a decade, if not longer. Everything else of that vintage segment you’d spot from time to time, but not them.

There's one around the corner from me but, in fairness, it's the only one I've seen in years.

Lewis_Benson

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

There's one around the corner from me but, in fairness, it's the only one I've seen in years.

Saw one myself last week, anc commented to Mrs Benson about how I drove one many moons ago when I could barely drive.
My then boss was a car dealer and would always have 2nd hand cars coming and going.

I worked on a car wash and he would drop cars in to be cleaned.
I remember the xantia feeling huge inside the cab, was the first time I'd seen a flip key too.

ednwireland

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Citroen Xantia. I’d say I haven’t seen a single one in a decade, if not longer. Everything else of that vintage segment you’d spot from time to time, but not them.

mate had a xantia activa 2.0 turbo best handling fastest car ive sat in