Irish motoring in the 1980’s

Heraldoffreeent

cml387 wrote: »

Would the location of the pub be Kilmanahan by any chance?

.........................oh jaysus..............t'is it yersel' Gard???

Duke O Smiley

alias no.9 wrote: »

A badge engineered Opel Ascona but it had a turbo diesel as its selling point. Very few sold, much less than the Gemini which sold very little.

Came across this Gemini in dublin today

Arthur Daley

coolbeans wrote: »

Do you have any source for the 1980 figure? This article below says 100k was passed for the first time in 1996.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/car-sales-speeding-towards-year-2000-levels-1.438348

This Independent article

5 Motoring. Sales of new cars in 1990 had flatlined at around 60,000 from 106,000 ten years earlier.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/1990-the-past-is-a-different-country-31278717.html

colm_mcm

Arthur Daley wrote: »

This Independent article



https://www.independent.ie/sport/1990-the-past-is-a-different-country-31278717.html

106000 nationally as opposed to Dublin.

Arthur Daley

The articles contradict each other, but I think it was December 2000 when the D reg went over 100,000 for the first time (excluding imports). I remember seeing it was a Hyundai Santa Fe sold by the Hyundai dealer in Rathmines.

Large bottle small glass

cml387 wrote: »

Would the location of the pub be Kilmanahan by any chance?

No about 6 miles further south.

Kilmanahan was a thriving pub at time though. The drink driving was so bad my father wouldn't drive on the Clonmel Kilmanahan road such was the driving on big nights.

At the time a journey from Dublin to home or vice versa usually involved at least two stops, with Pedigree Corner and Kilamery two popular stops.

beauf

RandomViewer wrote: »

.... and boiled like a kettle, ...

Lol...

Cars seemed to overheat a lot more back then. Seeing a car bonnet up and steam pouring out of it was common enough.

RandomViewer

beauf wrote: »

Lol...

Cars seemed to overheat a lot more back then. Seeing a car bonnet up and steam pouring out of it was common enough.

90s Rovers took the title for the worst for overheating,

I Was VB

beauf wrote: »

Lol...

Cars seemed to overheat a lot more back then. Seeing a car bonnet up and steam pouring out of it was common enough.

What would be the cause? Rubbish cars or paddy’s lack of servicing?

RandomViewer

I Was VB wrote: »

What would be the cause? Rubbish cars or paddy’s lack of servicing?

Bit of a mixture of both,
build quality of certain marques was terrible, UK and French vehicles especially poorly built,
Then there was servicing, not much spare cash around so unless something fell off it probably wasn't going to be fixed.

Wishbone Ash

I Was VB wrote: »

What would be the cause? Rubbish cars or paddy’s lack of servicing?

It usually happened after sitting idling in traffic for a long time. Some drivers were afraid to switch off their engine in case it wouldn't start again which led to the engine overheating as it couldn't cool down. Modern engines seem to cope much better with prolonged idling.

(Many drivers would also refuse to switch off the engine when refueling - something which I disliked when working as a pump attendant in the 1980's.)

beauf

The technology and materials weren't as advanced as they are now. Cars weren't as reliable mechanically as they became in the 90s. Many cars were still using variations of very old engines.

Arthur Daley

K series Rover engines needed proper maintenance or they'd blow the HG

RandomViewer

Arthur Daley wrote: »

K series Rover engines needed proper maintenance or they'd blow the HG

Gasket was faulty from day one, when Ford bought Landrover they modified the Freelander one

Pinch Flat

Arthur Daley wrote: »

K series Rover engines needed proper maintenance or they'd blow the HG

Yeah my mum had a K series rover. Popped a gasket. Got a recon engine and happened again.

I Was VB

beauf wrote: »

The technology and materials weren't as advanced as they are now. Cars weren't as reliable mechanically as they became in the 90s. Many cars were still using variations of very old engines.

I really believe that the mid 90s was the golden age of car reliability. Old enough to be repaired with basic tools and new enough to be constantly reliable with basic maintenance.

Wishbone Ash

Arthur Daley wrote: »

The articles contradict each other, but I think it was December 2000 when the D reg went over 100,000 for the first time (excluding imports). I remember seeing it was a Hyundai Santa Fe sold by the Hyundai dealer in Rathmines.

That car subsequently spent time in Lusk Co Dublin. Its 00D100000 plate really stood out.

I registered a new car around the 20th of December that year . My number was 103,xxx. A few months later I had to replace a plate and the motor factors insisted that the number must be wrong as their machine would only do 5 numbers.

RandomViewer

I Was VB wrote: »

I really believe that the mid 90s was the golden age of car reliability. Old enough to be repaired with basic tools and new enough to be constantly reliable with basic maintenance.

I would go earlier, Carina 11 and Corolla, Mk2 Golf and Honda Civic from the late 80s were pretty bombproof

Pinch Flat

RandomViewer wrote: »

I would go earlier, Carina 11 and Corolla, Mk2 Golf and Honda Civic from the late 80s were pretty bombproof

I had a 91 Honda civic. My first car. Not strictly an 80s car but nothing could kill it. Absolute bomb proof and ran like a dream until I sold it with 150,000 miles on it. A neighbour bought it (from the dealer i traded it with for a newer civic which was also bomb proof) and enjoyed many more years of trouble free motoring.

TrailerBob

The 80s was the dawn of the modern reliability we all now expect. It is interesting to look back and think that in the 70s, a car with 100,000 miles on it was at the end of it's service life effectively (a few exceptions before anyone links to the million mile Volvo). There is a bit of a hangover of that in Ireland in my opinion, and it's only gotten worse since the changeover to the metric system.

I know people who wouldn't touch a second hand car because it has over 100,000 on the clock... that's despite being less than 2/3 of the dreaded figure they feared in their youth, and that said car will comfortably do 3 times that in reality.

Heckler

I think some sort of Opel. About 8 family and cousins rammed into it heading to a holiday home in Roscarberry or some such. Nary a seat belt in sight.

A game meself and the siblings used to play was kneeling on the backseat looking out the back window and trying to stay upright when the car went around the bends/corners. Happy days.

Wishbone Ash

TrailerBob wrote: »

The 80s was the dawn of the modern reliability we all now expect. It is interesting to look back and think that in the 70s, a car with 100,000 miles on it was at the end of it's service life effectively (a few exceptions before anyone links to the million mile Volvo). There is a bit of a hangover of that in Ireland in my opinion, and it's only gotten worse since the changeover to the metric system.

I know people who wouldn't touch a second hand car because it has over 100,000 on the clock... that's despite being less than 2/3 of the dreaded figure they feared in their youth, and that said car will comfortably do 3 times that in reality.

The days when the odometer only had 5 digits and the term 'she's gone round the clock' was used to describe a car on its second lap.

Kaybaykwah

I don't know if anyone mentioned the three wheelers, but back in the eighties, there were a helluva lot of Heinkels and maybe Reliant Robins and such.

I loved these things. Didn't happen to see any last year after a thirty-two year hiatus.

CoBo55

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

I don't know if anyone mentioned the three wheelers, but back in the eighties, there were a helluva lot of Heinkels and maybe Reliant Robins and such.

I loved these things. Didn't happen to see any last year after a thirty-two year hiatus.

No chance I don't ever remember seeing a 3 wheeler only on the telly when we got the piped TV as it was called.

Kaybaykwah

CoBo55 wrote: »

No chance I don't ever remember seeing a 3 wheeler only on the telly when we got the piped TV as it was called.

When would that have been? The nineties?

Arthur Daley

3 wheelers and Invacars were a thing youd only see in Britain, or up the north. Or at the side of the pitch on the Big match.

CoBo55

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

When would that have been? The nineties?

Mid 70's we got the piped TV.

Wishbone Ash

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

I don't know if anyone mentioned the three wheelers, but back in the eighties, there were a helluva lot of Heinkels and maybe Reliant Robins and such.

I loved these things. Didn't happen to see any last year after a thirty-two year hiatus.

I don't ever recall seeing a Heinkel. A rare spotting of a Robin perhaps but usually on UK plates. As has been said, they were more associated with the muddy sidelines of lower division football matches.

RandomViewer

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

I don't know if anyone mentioned the three wheelers, but back in the eighties, there were a helluva lot of Heinkels and maybe Reliant Robins and such.

I loved these things. Didn't happen to see any last year after a thirty-two year hiatus.

Only fool's and horses and Mr Bean were the only place you'd see them,

coolbeans

Arthur Daley wrote: »

K series Rover engines needed proper maintenance or they'd blow the HG

Maintenance be damned they all blew anyway. Disaster of an engine series