Automobiles : Good,Bad & the Ugly.

[Oldsmobile-88]

Say what you like about French cars, they did really used to come up with stuff that was off-piste and weird if not wonderful. The 2CV, the Dyane, the DS, the Renault 4 and this little gem we saw last month...

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I bought a Citroen C6 in 2009,a aesthetic nod to the classic 1970s DS.A bit quirky as with many Citroen designs.It was a bit too left field to sell in great numbers in this country.
I purchased mine which was 15 months old from a Citroen dealer for a incredible 57% off its original list price.The original owner was head office Citroen UK so I suppose they could afford the hit !
When I sold it just before the Manufactures Warranty expired,my hit was 16% of purchase price.

 

[Alistair20000]

Say what you like about French cars, they did really used to come up with stuff that was off-piste and weird if not wonderful. The 2CV, the Dyane, the DS, the Renault 4 and this little gem we saw last month...

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Hideous shape and colour

Mehari > should have been a gingery colour.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Just thinking back.The first brand new car that my dad bought was a Renault 4 in August 1973.
I believe he said it was for the princely sum of £1,000 at the time.
A odd car with the gear stick in the middle of the dashboard.
Cult cars these days

 

[Mr Jinx]

Just thinking back.The first brand new car that my dad bought was a Renault 4 in August 1973.
I believe he said it was for the princely sum of £1,000 at the time.
A odd car with the gear stick in the middle of the dashboard.
Cult cars these days

We had one in white around that time. I still have a fondness for them. We replaced it with a Hillman Avenger automatic which was a heap of junk and kept breaking down. Then my dad gave up on British cars, bought a Toyota Corolla and never looked back.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Then my dad gave up on British cars, bought a Toyota Corolla and never looked back.

One of our neighbours in Exminster had one of the first Toyota Corolla’s imported into this country that was on a F reg(1968) He changed it for a new one every couple of years.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Will green policy on cars eventually subsidise wealthy Tesla-drivers in cities,& punish less well off drivers who stick with petrol/diesel for longer ?

There is also the small matter of £30bn that is raised from VED(Car Tax) that is raised from Petrol & Diesel vehicles each year.Only a small amount of that figure is spent on the highways,the rest goes ‘in the pot’
The last time that Car Tax was exclusively spent on what it was intended for,roads & maintenance,was in 1978 !

 

[Grecian2K]

The last time that Car Tax was exclusively spent on what it was intended for,roads & maintenance,was in 1978 !

Also the fact that central funding has always been exclusively directed to the "trunk" network.
Many A and all B, urban and minor roads are the financial responsibility of the local authorities. Hence the pot-holes reported every year in the tabloids?
I have always wondered how it would have played back in the 60s if there had been a "Breeching of Roads" rather than rail? ("Sorry Mr & Mrs Jones. We've got to close your country lane. It's just not economic with only one milk float a day and a single bin lorry a week)

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Trivia time...29th October 1986 the final section of the M25 was completed & opened or as was known during construction The London Orbital Motorway.
It did not have a large enough capacity even in those days,planners woefully underestimated the traffic that would be drawn to the motorway.

Commiserations to anyone who has to use that motorway to commute or general day to day use.

 

[Mr Jinx]

Trivia time...29th October 1986 the final section of the M25 was completed & opened or as was known during construction The London Orbital Motorway.
It did not have a large enough capacity even in those days,planners woefully underestimated the traffic that would be drawn to the motorway.

Commiserations to anyone who has to use that motorway to commute or general day to day use.

Ah the good old M25...a love/hate relationship if ever there was one.

I do often wonder what was there before its construction. Did it just join up a number of A roads?

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Ah the good old M25...a love/hate relationship if ever there was one.

I do often wonder what was there before its construction. Did it just join up a number of A roads?

I remember travelling to Kent a few times in the late 70s/early 80s from the M4.The South Circular was the route.