Show Us Your Motors!

[TW]Fox · 5 Jun 2017 at 11:21

Dav4 said:
That old Merc just oozes class. The interior and shape still look quality even now. Such a shame Merc and BMW churn such lower spec chav wagons out now in all the POV spec 1/3 series and A/C class diesels with cloth seats and a stupid iPad stuck to the dash

Yea back in the 80s you never got 4 cylinder BMW's and Mercedes with windup windows, tiny engines and zero spec.

Wait, what?

Howard · 5 Jun 2017 at 11:24

Was gonna say, the bottom-of-the-range E30 316 or old Merc 190s for example were very spartan inside. A radio as standard was about your lot I think!

theNude · 5 Jun 2017 at 11:28

A car radio was actually an extra on the 190s

They came with nothing as standard. They were still built well though

Dav4 · 5 Jun 2017 at 11:56

[TW]Fox said:
Yea back in the 80s you never got 4 cylinder BMW's and Mercedes with windup windows, tiny engines and zero spec.

Wait, what?

Sorry forgot it was against the rules to say anything remotely bad about German cars on this forum.
Yes but you are referring to the 80's didn't 99% of cars still have wind up windows back then?
What I was getting at is at least they still mostly made solid reliable well built cars that would do Volvo mileage without breaking and were a cut above everything else on the road in terms of quality. That is no longer the case you only have to look at the reliability from the last 10 years of some of the 116-120i, 316-320i engines and internals or the 320d from the last gen 3 series. And in terms of build quality and materials some of the cheaper models are laughable for supposed premium cars.
Granted the higher spec cars and more expensive models/M cars etc are all fantastic machines but the German manufacturers have lost there sense of premium that they had in the 80's,90's and even early 00's imo

[TW]Fox · 5 Jun 2017 at 12:15

My point is that you are selling a nostalgic view that doesn't match reality. There have always been zero spec tiny engined models in the BMW and the mercedes range.

Dav4 · 5 Jun 2017 at 12:25

[TW]Fox said:
My point is that you are selling a nostalgic view that doesn't match reality. There have always been zero spec tiny engined models in the BMW and the mercedes range.

Yes you are correct.

I am being nostalgic from my childhood when every German car just seemed classy compared to all the other cars on the road.
But you did see more higher spec models on the road with leather etc because people could actually afford a good example rather than getting the cheapest POV spec because that is all they can afford on the monthly

grudas · 5 Jun 2017 at 12:32

Dav4 said:
Yes you are correct.
I am being nostalgic from my childhood when every German car just seemed classy compared to all the other cars on the road.
But you did see more higher spec models on the road with leather etc because people could actually afford a good example rather than getting the cheapest POV spec because that is all they can afford on the monthly

More to do with company cars, leases etc.. back then it was different. I do agree that some cars feel like they lack class compared to classics but then again, maybe it's just the fact that they're classics..

Freefaller · 5 Jun 2017 at 13:06

sigma said:
Just in case you hadn't noticed, somebody has stolen your number plate.

Oh gnoes! Crime of the century!! :eek:

[TW]Fox · 5 Jun 2017 at 13:10

Dav4 said:
But you did see more higher spec models on the road with leather

No you didn't. Leather then was far less common wheras these days most of the PCP brigade want the sporty trim levels which almost always have standard leather.

wingman · 5 Jun 2017 at 14:30

[TW]Fox said:
No you didn't. Leather then was far less common wheras these days most of the PCP brigade want the sporty trim levels which almost always have standard leather.

Not to forget the black alloys pack!

PCP brigade though

Warranty_V0id · 5 Jun 2017 at 14:41

Acme said:
Never gets old.

I'm a bit jealous to be honest. I've had a couple of cars which look ace with no plate, but theres no way I'd get away with it round here... I got fined for having an incorrect size front plate!

Been done once in two years, only a £100 fine no points :eek:

GarethSouthgate · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:10

Freefaller said:
Oh gnoes! Crime of the century!!

So you condone theft?

Jez · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:17

Dav4 said:
But you did see more higher spec models on the road with leather etc because people could actually afford a good example rather than getting the cheapest POV spec because that is all they can afford on the monthly

I would agree with a sentiment that german cars were more exclusive in times past, due to being less accessible due to more restrictive finance. What i wouldnt agree with is the trim levels and spec. Back in the 1980's even S-Classes didn't necessarily have leather seats

The spec level on even a base model now far far exceeds anything available 20 years ago.

DAIR · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:46

What cool cars were released in 1994?

GarethSouthgate · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:49

Acme said:
Never gets old.

I'm a bit jealous to be honest. I've had a couple of cars which look ace with no plate, but theres no way I'd get away with it round here... I got fined for having an incorrect size front plate!

Well cars should be able to be identified by ANPR so I've got no issue with people being fined for silly/missing plates.

DAIR said:
What cool cars were released in 1994?

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/1994-10best-cars

Cleisthenes · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:49

DAIR said:
What cool cars were released in 1994?

RS2 and F355

Akagi · 5 Jun 2017 at 15:57

sigma said:
Well cars should be able to be identified by ANPR so I've got no issue with people being fined for silly/missing plates.

I think ANPR cameras can read incorrectly sized numberplates fine, as long as the proportion of the letters is correct. I shouldn't have had an illegal plate, but I'm just saying.

With them missing I agree its a different matter. But front plates ruin so many good looking cars.

Freefaller · 5 Jun 2017 at 16:09

sigma said:
So you condone theft?

No. Good strawman.

Cars still have rear number plates. It really isn't a big deal. Stop being so petty.

adam cool dude · 5 Jun 2017 at 16:13

DAIR said:
What cool cars were released in 1994?

ST205 Toyota Celica GT-Four was released that year.

GarethSouthgate · 5 Jun 2017 at 16:24

Freefaller said:
No. Good strawman.

My point is that someone could genuinely have stolen the plate and used it in crime!

Freefaller said:
Cars still have rear number plates. It really isn't a big deal. Stop being so petty

How is it being petty? I didn't create the law... :confused:

You like the look of it, I get that, it doesn't make it less illegal though, hence the fines.

I watched a CH4 documentary recently where ANPR was used to spot when and where a murderer was driving whilst hiding a dead body. Guess which plate it used? Front

Thanks to that they were able to locate the body.