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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 15, 2021 12:58:01 GMT
Is that a longitudinal engine in a FWD car? Didn't realise SAAB did those. Thought it was only Audi (and possibly Renault)?
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Feb 15, 2021 13:19:14 GMT
VW Passats had longitudinal engines until quite recently. My Saabs had transverse engines, but that was under GM’s influence.
And yes, all Renaults of the 1970s generation my parents had; I think the 14 was the first to go transverse. I vividly remember the aluminium tube that ran from the gearbox of my mum’s 4GTL, over the engine and through the bulkhead, terminating in a right-angle bend and a plastic handle for changing gear. Can’t do that with a transverse engine!
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Feb 15, 2021 17:30:58 GMT
The Passat B5 shared a platform* with the A4/A6 at the time so had longitudinal engines like them That was available with a 4.0 W8 engine. The next model Passat switched to a transverse layout for the engine so shared a lot with the Golf thus limiting the size of engines possible (V6 was the largest).
* Sort of robbed the parts bin. I don't think they shared a platform like we see these days with MQB.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 1, 2021 7:44:34 GMT
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 1, 2021 20:06:54 GMT
Not sure about the painted wheels on that one. Refurb to original please! High miles and too high a price to get me interested!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2021 15:46:12 GMT
Memorieeeeeeeeesssss.....halike the corner of my miiiiiiinnnnnnnddd......hamistywatercoloured memorieeeeessssss... of launching my Mum's red one off the ground over a hump back briiiiiiiiiidge.... (scans if you struggle a bit) www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009043309854 |
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Mar 5, 2021 22:40:49 GMT
'The way we were....' - what a great song by Marvin Hamlisch.
I had a few of those Escorts as hire cars: even the basic ones were good to drive. For some reason it all went wrong with the curvier version which cam out about 1990.
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Post by Humph on Mar 6, 2021 7:07:22 GMT
For those of of a certain age, this is quite emotional...
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 8, 2021 1:30:11 GMT
The “curvier” Escort debuted in 1991. Was slammed for being built down to a price with cheap components and no fun factor, or something like that!
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 8, 2021 7:39:18 GMT
Wasn’t the 1980 Escort due to be named Erica? Not sure what happened — this was before the age of the focus group — but one report I heard at the time said people heard ‘Erica’ but remembered ‘Erotica’. (I didn’t actually know then what that meant.)
I’ve often said here how much I liked Escorts of that vintage. I learned to drive in Birmingham in a pre-facelift 1985 1.1, which wasn’t available the day of my test, so I did that in a 1.3 instead, which may have been the updated version. The one I bought certainly was; I always liked the ring around the base of the stubby indicator-dip-flash switch with the headlight master control on it.
Of course, what was best about that car was that it made me mobile when I previously wasn’t. I wouldn’t want one now, and it wouldn’t come close to modern safety standards for my offspring to travel in.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 9:01:15 GMT
Erica was the project code word for the development of the MkIII.
We had a curvier MkV for a few years, a 1998 R reg (R976 JDM) and I can confirm it wasn't as likeable as my Mum's old MkIII. Although our MkV was a wheezy 1.4 in LX spec. It's wasn't bad bad, it was just really gutless and had a horrible driving position, which is weird considering the MkIII didn't and they weren't that far removed from eachother. We got as far as the Isle of Barra in the MkV once.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 8, 2021 10:20:14 GMT
I rented a lot of ’90s Escorts when Hertz was the corporate supplier of choice. Glorious fake wood in the burgundy 1.6 Ghia I took on a trip to Norwich but very dull to drive. Apparently the same car got much better when it got the post-Mondeo fish-mouth facelift, but I had a company car by then, so wasn’t renting so much.
(That was in the days when Vauxhalls seemed preferable to Fords. I was always pleased when Hertz offered a Cavalier GL. Wish I’d bought one of those instead of that damned Astra but never mind.)
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Post by EspadaIII on Mar 8, 2021 11:07:51 GMT
It took the Mondeo and the Focus Mk1 for Ford to become a marque of some interest (apart from the odd Sierra with a lot of power). Vauxhall were building far better cars but came unstuck and could not compete once Ford started building interesting cars. I Can't think of a Vauxhall I would really want to buy for myself, but lots of Fords.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 11:11:48 GMT
Vauxhall Omega was good. I'd still happily drive one of them. And I do like the look of the current Astra and Insignia, I think they offer good value on the surface. Would have to drive a few though to be sure...
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Post by Humph on Mar 8, 2021 11:38:58 GMT
The company I work for has a mini fleet of vehicles that are asked to work quite hard. The Vauxhalls are just not as robust as the Fords in my experience. And the VAG cars have been more prone to problems.
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