w1n !
Retro ride, buying advice.
- Thread starter merlin
- Start date
w1n !
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,457
- Location
- between Blandford Street and Mars
Sorry, have you modded it? I can't see any difference than when it left the factory it was mass produced in
- Joined
- 3 May 2004
- Posts
- 17,722
- Location
- Kapitalist Republik of Surrey
Ah the old steering and brakes under the legs mobile. In the event of a situation the rider would instinctively throw his hands up to protect himself thus losing all steering and braking and career into the object in his path 
Robot Wars parts donor tbh
Robot Wars parts donor tbh
Yep, was a silly idea back when Mr Sinclair invented it, and it hasn't improved with time.
Penski's posts > Merlin's posts
Least Penski's has fun stuff to look at! 1 poor picture isnt fun :|
If I wanted to look at sheds I would go to B&Q or somewhere.
One mans shed is another mans rat.
If I wanted to dice with death whenever I took a corner, I'd get a motorbike instead of a turbo MR2.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
The thing is that old cars dont have to be sheds. Lordmikes MR2 is 14 years old but absolutely immaculate. It is not a shed nor a crap old Toyota. It is also not a classic nor is it retro - it is simply a really nice Toyota MR2 Turbo.
It strikes me that people with sheddy cars they can't be bothered/are too far gone to look after now have 'retro' or 'rat' as a convenient excuse for basically driving around in the equivilent of wearing a tatty old pair of jeans and a soiled tshirt.
Why? For some it will be that they do not have the means to buy anything better, so they pretend that really they are totally happy with a shed and hey, new/nice cars suck anyway. But many are not like this - I wonder why? I can appreciate those who put proper amounts of work into old cars and have nothing but respect for them - ie Lopez. But a biege Sierra lowered on a set of 200 quid wheels is simply an old Sierra lowered on a set of 200 quid wheels.
It's not even about being 'snobby' - Lordmikes MR2 is old and he isn't exactly loaded, but its great. Leon's 205 is a shed, but he's working hard to make it not a shed.
If you want to run/enthuse over old cars then do it - many are great. But I'm sorry but tatty crap isn't great and pretending its some sort of exotic/interesting car simply becuase its old is rubbish. That Renault 5 is crap, it's just an old Renault 5. It isnt even in that great nick.
If it were a mint Turbo, then perhaps.
It strikes me that people with sheddy cars they can't be bothered/are too far gone to look after now have 'retro' or 'rat' as a convenient excuse for basically driving around in the equivilent of wearing a tatty old pair of jeans and a soiled tshirt.
Why? For some it will be that they do not have the means to buy anything better, so they pretend that really they are totally happy with a shed and hey, new/nice cars suck anyway. But many are not like this - I wonder why? I can appreciate those who put proper amounts of work into old cars and have nothing but respect for them - ie Lopez. But a biege Sierra lowered on a set of 200 quid wheels is simply an old Sierra lowered on a set of 200 quid wheels.
It's not even about being 'snobby' - Lordmikes MR2 is old and he isn't exactly loaded, but its great. Leon's 205 is a shed, but he's working hard to make it not a shed.
If you want to run/enthuse over old cars then do it - many are great. But I'm sorry but tatty crap isn't great and pretending its some sort of exotic/interesting car simply becuase its old is rubbish. That Renault 5 is crap, it's just an old Renault 5. It isnt even in that great nick.
If it were a mint Turbo, then perhaps.
Last edited:
Joking aside - my issue with "retro" is simple -
Back in the day - Volvo 2xx's and 3xx's were crap and I remember them being crap. I also remember Vauxhall Viva's, Chevettes, Talbot anythings, 95% of Ford Capri's and virtually anything from Mongbridge, Birmingham being utter w***.
Retro to me doesn't mean pretending a crap car WAS actually any good then or even worse IS actually any good now cos let's face it - if it was crap in 1980 it's sure as hell going to be crap now unless it's had plenty of cash thrown at it - in which case it'll be a new build with a 1980's fascade and not retro.
Dropping a 1980's heap two inches is like sticking a pair of Gucci sunglasses on your Gran. She's improved, but you still wouldn't.
Back in the day - Volvo 2xx's and 3xx's were crap and I remember them being crap. I also remember Vauxhall Viva's, Chevettes, Talbot anythings, 95% of Ford Capri's and virtually anything from Mongbridge, Birmingham being utter w***.
Retro to me doesn't mean pretending a crap car WAS actually any good then or even worse IS actually any good now cos let's face it - if it was crap in 1980 it's sure as hell going to be crap now unless it's had plenty of cash thrown at it - in which case it'll be a new build with a 1980's fascade and not retro.
Dropping a 1980's heap two inches is like sticking a pair of Gucci sunglasses on your Gran. She's improved, but you still wouldn't.
Last edited:
'The (insert genuinelly awful 1980's relic here) was actually a really sorted car if you (insert list of mods so long that you are pretty much building a kit car) to it'
A Vauxhall Chevette was crap when launched. You laughed at it in the street and your gran drove it. Someone in my street had one when I was 8. All the kids laughed. It was up there with a Lada in terms of quality.
A car is not a fine wine. It does not get better simply with the passing of time. What happens is that the human mind kicks in, it is human nature to remember good things more than bad things, this results in us looking more favourably on the past than the present. It always 'used to be great'.
I genuinelly think that because of this, in 15 years time we will log onto RR and people will genuinelly think that the currently available new cars are crap, yet this slightly iffy, rusty 2005 Corsa 1.2 SXi is a brilliant car.
Case in point: Old people will argue how it was great back in the 40's. Well yea, it was, except for the fact everyone got bombed, obviously, and nobody had any money or a roof on their house.
A Vauxhall Chevette was crap when launched. You laughed at it in the street and your gran drove it. Someone in my street had one when I was 8. All the kids laughed. It was up there with a Lada in terms of quality.
A car is not a fine wine. It does not get better simply with the passing of time. What happens is that the human mind kicks in, it is human nature to remember good things more than bad things, this results in us looking more favourably on the past than the present. It always 'used to be great'.
I genuinelly think that because of this, in 15 years time we will log onto RR and people will genuinelly think that the currently available new cars are crap, yet this slightly iffy, rusty 2005 Corsa 1.2 SXi is a brilliant car.
Case in point: Old people will argue how it was great back in the 40's. Well yea, it was, except for the fact everyone got bombed, obviously, and nobody had any money or a roof on their house.
Last edited:
A genuine question: Do you read RR or any related websites frequently if at all? 'rat' cars count for less than 10% of the 'scene' and the VAST majority of cars on RR are cosseted, carefully restored and maintained to be enjoyed. We established a long time ago that you have no idea what 'retro' is (or that you understand perfectly and are merely content to troll along)...[TW]Fox;11241684 said:
I think we have come to the crux of it; you are actually a snob.
But more so than a badge snob, you look down on cars merely for not being top-of-the-range.
Can you tell me why a 1 litre 5 is any less worthy of being owned, cared for, run, maintained and enthused over than a GTT?
I suspect you can't.
*n
PS: That 5 is in good nick
[TW]Fox;11241733 said:
You tried to make a computing comparison a few days ago. You failed then and it still doesn't work now.
You base your views on the simple notion that 'It's newer so it must be better'.
"The master system has worse graphics than a 360 ergo the 360 is better."
When did graphics relate to gameplay and enjoyment?
Christ, 'Hook' on the NES is one of the most enjoyable games I have EVER played. I still play it occasionally now.
The graphics are kenk, the in-game physics are kenk, the controls are a bit awkward but goddamn it's fun and addictive to play.
You negate your own arguments and expose yourself for the fool that you are.
*n
I don't have a problem with genuinelly cherished, nice examples of older cars so thats not very relevant. My opinions are based on the stuff you post. That Sierra for example is a perfect example of a great bangernomics car. To suggest its anything other than this is daft.
I like nice things.
You really are crap at reading people. If that were the case I'd be really rather annoyed given I've never owned a top of the range car.
Whats the point? It is not notable, it is not an important part of motoring history, it has no cult status, it does nothing better than a more modern version of the same thing. It is an old base model Renault 5. Excellent for a 100 quid hack, but nothing more.
Because if the headlight bulb blew it'd be a write off and because no-one cared for or enthused over them back in the 80's when they were brand new.
In fact most people wanted to burn them but the fkin things wouldn't light up for the sheer amount of factory fitted corrosion.
