Recent-ish cars that were once ubiquitous but which you don't see anymore

chicorytip wrote: »

What a looker!

I think they weren’t that bad looking a car in retrospect. I’d drive one no problem.

I remember around 2000 when I waitered as a young fella in a restaurant, being told by the management to go around all the tables and find the owner of a Rover 600 outside that was blocking the entrance. I remember asking "Excuse me, does anyone at this table drive a Rover 600?"
Every second table replied "I WISH!".



You used to see 600s and Rovers in general everywhere; it's pretty obvious why you don't any more, but aside from the odd MG they are non existent, no more, they "cease to be"...

Head gaskets made from mashed banana didn't help.

mistersifter wrote: »

I remember my familia having a Lancia Dedra in the 1990s. It must have been a right heap of sh*t as I havent seen a Lancia since!

Seeing as Lancia stopped producing RHD cars in 1993/4 it's hardly surprising that you've not seen too many Lancia's since ! Compared to many cars of the period they were no better or worse.

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I remember around 2000 when I waitered as a young fella in a restaurant, being told by the management to go around all the tables and find the owner of a Rover 600 outside that was blocking the entrance. I remember asking "Excuse me, does anyone at this table drive a Rover 600?"
Every second table replied "I WISH!".



You used to see 600s and Rovers in general everywhere; it's pretty obvious why you don't any more, but aside from the odd MG they are non existent, no more, they "cease to be"...

Head gaskets made from mashed banana didn't help.

Lovely car at the time the 600.
Even the rover 75 is nearly gone now. The 75 is a better car than most believe too.
I've rescued a couple of them. Nothing too scary goes wrong just they have such poor values that they are not worth fixing.
Interestingly, everyone who never had one calls them crap yet most previous owners would kill for a newer one.

mickdw wrote: »

There's a fair few 75s all the same about Louth, lads do hold on to them.

mickdw wrote: »

Even the rover 75 is nearly gone now. The 75 is a better car than most believe too.
I've rescued a couple of them. Nothing too scary goes wrong just they have such poor values that they are not worth fixing.
Interestingly, everyone who never had one calls them crap yet most previous owners would kill for a newer one.

I owned a petrol 75 years ago, and drove a few of the diesel ones. I loved the car, but it was frustratingly underpowered. If Rover could have done a deal with someone to provide them with engines more suited to the size and character of the car, they would have been a fantastic drive. They looked great, were extremely comfortable, and handled adequately. I always felt it was a car that needed a 2.5/3.0 engine, for effortless cruising. (I know Rover produced a 2.5 version, but it was troublesome, and there was an extremely rare Ford-engined V8). I think it was a huge opportunity missed - a potentially great car, that, instead of luring BMW / Mercedes / Audi drivers, ended up competing against the Mondeo and Passat. The history of Rover, unfortunately, is full of such mistakes.

Noveight wrote: »

Admittedly, ubiquitous would be quite a stretch but I cannot remember the last time I saw a Saab of any description on the roads.

Living in the middle of nowhere? plenty around still

Spook_ie wrote: »

Rovers and MGs unappreciated classics.

Cannot agree more. I had a Rover 75 2.0 petrol which i deeply regret allowing it to go.
Current MG ZT190 is a great car - pity the government is so harsh on the bigger older engine.

cml387 wrote: »

Dunno how far back you want o go.
Punto's were ubiquitous at the turn of the century, but now are gone like the snows of winter.

With any luck the Dacia Duster (pleb wagon) will go the way of the Dodo in time too....

Skoda Fabia saloon.

OSI wrote: »

Pretty much any French hatchback.

The older Peugeot 206 in particular still a regular sight. For all their terrible reputation they’re a great survivor

boombang wrote: »

Mazda 121 was common in the mid 1990s, never see them.

Any small catch as a commercial.

I saw one in Carlow a few months ago- a green 95 one- the small saloon one. Still mad looking things!

colm_mcm wrote: »

Skoda Fabia saloon.

Yes! They've almost all gone, thank God

Philb76 wrote: »

Mk 1 focus seem to be declining at a fast rate yet still see lots of mk4 golfs about and the ford was the better car at that time

Better driver's car maybe but the mk4 golf was better built and more importantly had much better rust protection which is helping them survive longer than the focus.

Opel vectra is one that’s getting rare too. Actually a lot of cars of that early 2000s era have been clobbered with high repair bills and high road tax which means they’ve been uneconomical to repair, especially so with larger engines. It’s a criminal waste really but our moribound and clueless govt will never do anything to assist only pile on more taxes and try sell more new ones. Protecting the environment me hole...

Hyundai Accent was very common, but I don't see so many now. Very much unmissed I would say. I rented one once and wasn't impressed.

boombang wrote: »

Hyundai Accent was very common, but I don't see so many now. Very much unmissed I would say. I rented one once and wasn't impressed.

The newest accent of that model is going on 13 years old now so not surprising they are not that common. They were cheap to buy new and were not a bad car for the money. They were reliable, pleasant enough to drive and they were economical.

They were much better than other bargain basement cars of the same era such as the lanos or the equivalent chevrolet.

fancy pigeon wrote: »

147/156 have died away. I remember about 5 years ago having a large stock of 2.5 V6 156's in my garden

You must have a quiet wife

Augeo wrote: »

Peugeot 206s used be fooking everywhere.

I still see them everywhere! They’re a great little survivor at odds with their terrible reputation!!

Recently in Spain - Nerja i saw a Seat Malaga in great nick.....white with that red painted name on the boot lid ! really took me back

Pops_20 wrote: »

Don't seem to see many Corsa B around nowadays. Used to be quite common as I recall.

Didn’t the engines blow up on the mark II one circa year 2000? Also lots of problems with ECUs I seem to recall
This was the era when Opel went from reliable to junk status

I've thought of a few more:

Isuzu Trooper. Remember they were everywhere?
Nissan Navara, naturally (split that crew cab tax in half sure)
B5/B6/B7 Audi A4 is a rare sight in the city and countryside
Citroen Xantia is naturally rare but the C5 has dwindled away too
Seat Cordoba have declined over the years, thankfully
Mk3 Ford Mondog is becoming increasingly rare to see
W202/W210 are pretty much extinct. Changing to that sh*te waterbased paint in 1998 caused even more rust to trap (my 1995 C220 being much more structural and rust free than my 2000 C220 despite lying up for years for example)
Smiley Transits vanished overnight into scrapyards. Then they vanished out of the scrapyards too, meaning making a 11mm ve pump is a bit difficult these days!
Some people with more money than brains bought Peugeot 607's when they were new. I remember seeing plenty in the mid 00's, which all have vanished. I do know of 2 in existence though, both being my own ones