Mini Cooper D Clubman....

[rh100]

And why did they turn the Metro into the Rover 100????

MG Metro's were ace cars for new drivers, even if one key did fit all

 

[threebikesmcginty]

One car that needs to be remade - the Ford Capri (it would have to have a vinyl roof though )
The other favourite they have already done, the VW Scirocco, the old one's were lovely

 

[Rhythm Thief]

<bangs head on desk>


That Cit is just a modern Cit, only with a curvy bonnet... Ugh. I bet it weighs a tonne, and I bet you won't be able to take the back seat out as an impromptu sofa..

Exactly. The original 2CV was one of the most innovative cars ever. That thing is just a Eurohatch in drag.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Sorry - even worse news. My link to the new 2CV is a couple of years old.

The latest style looks like this:

This comment is bang on:

Citroen already produced a perfect 2CV successor...
... but they axed it recently. I'm talking about the original shape Berlingo Multispace.

n common with the Tin Snail it was practical, comfortable without being luxurious; definitive early versions had a simple fabric retractable roof, economical, spanned social classes and paid scant regard to styling, ie it was 'non-styled' like the original. It was that a shape because it needed to be, not because market forces dictated. Sadly in replacing the Berlingo they made the successor too large. The new Nemo is too small. Both are poor value if you add essential safety kit. Berlingos also had decent depreciation; the only Citroen until recently to be able to claim this since the 2CV.

The "DS2" is not a 2CV. It has three doors and is contrived to look a bit like a 2CV. It will not be simple in execution nor as long-lived and repairable. Nor of course is it a DS. Nor is the DS3... But therein lies another rant.

The whole point of the 2CV was not that its headlights were on stalks, or that its rear wheels were half covered up, or that it was "cute", or anything like that. The point was that it was an extremely practical carwhich used (for its day) very little fuel and was easy to service (I built one once, out of two knackered ones) and cheap to buy and run. As the chap says, a 2CV replacement doesn't have to take its styling cues from the original, it just has to be as practical as the original. It's symptomatic of a society which values style over substance.

 

[User482]

This comment is bang on:



The whole point of the 2CV was not that its headlights were on stalks, or that its rear wheels were half covered up, or that it was "cute", or anything like that. The point was that it was an extremely practical carwhich used (for its day) very little fuel and was easy to service (I built one once, out of two knackered ones) and cheap to buy and run. As the chap says, a 2CV replacement doesn't have to take its styling cues from the original, it just has to be as practical as the original. It's symptomatic of a society which values style over substance.

I agree. I think the closest model to the original Mini is actually the Ford Ka - cheap to buy, cheap to run, pleasant to drive, and can fit four adults (at a pinch). I think that makes it much cooler than the myriad of pastiche cars aimed at fashion victims and estate agents.

 

[Mr Pig]

It's symptomatic of a society which values style over substance.

Exactly.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

OK, so who's going to tell Linford that a 2CV is a proper off roader?

Yes. I used to do loads of green laning in mine.

 

[Arch]

The whole point of the 2CV was not that its headlights were on stalks, or that its rear wheels were half covered up, or that it was "cute", or anything like that. The point was that it was an extremely practical carwhich used (for its day) very little fuel and was easy to service (I built one once, out of two knackered ones) and cheap to buy and run. As the chap says, a 2CV replacement doesn't have to take its styling cues from the original, it just has to be as practical as the original. It's symptomatic of a society which values style over substance.

Hear, hear.

 

[upsidedown]

It's symptomatic of a society which values style over substance.

No it's symptomatic of a society that wishes to get to a destination, rather than standing at the side of the road waiting for a recovery truck.

 

[upsidedown]

I had a friend who drove a Metro. It was badged a Rover 100 Kensington, and that's how he referred to it. At every opportunity I would refer to it as a Metro, and watch his veins bulge.

Bet he had an Allegro Vanden Plas, or maybe a Montego Countryman.

BL knew a thing or two about style

 

[rh100]

Vanden Plas, now we're talking!

And don't knock the Montego, thought we were posh when my dad got one as a company car

 

[Arch]

No it's symptomatic of a society that wishes to get to a destination, rather than standing at the side of the road waiting for a recovery truck.

There's no reason why an old, simple vehicle like the 2CV shouldn't be as reliable as a new car, if looked after. Indeed, with a 2CV you have much more chance of being able to fix it yourself, than with something that needs a computer to diagnose it, and a new set of chips to fix.

 

[upsidedown]

There's no reason why an old, simple vehicle like the 2CV shouldn't be as reliable as a new car, if looked after. Indeed, with a 2CV you have much more chance of being able to fix it yourself, than with something that needs a computer to diagnose it, and a new set of chips to fix.

Sorry i don't buy that. My BMW Mini has to go for it's first service at 12 months, or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first. What sort of quality control must they have to wave it out of the factory and say "see you in a year, or when you've driven it half way around the world, it'll be fine" ?

Those old cars had to be run in, oil changed to get rid of the bits of swarf left in the engine and nursed to their first service at 5 - 6000 miles. Times have changed.

 

[Mr Pig]

BMW Mini...

BMW Mini, anyone else hear the sound of nails down a blackboard upon reading these words?

The reliability card is a red herring. All cars built forty years ago required more servicing and attention, such were the limits of the technology, just as all modern cars require less frequent trips to the garage.

What set cars like the Mini, 2CV and Bettle apart is that they were designed to be as simple as possible to keep the cost of ownership down. BMW could have done that with the new Mini if they'd wanted to keep to the ethos of the old one but they didn't. Probably because they only understand how to please their existing customer base so built yet another car for wan****. Like the world needed more.

What's going to happen is that someone is going to come along with old school courage and vision, probably from Korea or India, and kick these soulless pen pushers in the danglies. Hopefully.

 

[User482]

No it's symptomatic of a society that wishes to get to a destination, rather than standing at the side of the road waiting for a recovery truck.

Fords are extremely reliable...