Cars have always been an important hobby to me and it's also been a source of amazement how fickle the trade can be. Range rovers have always been well thought of even when they were a collection of panels thrown together with gaps around the panels you could almost walk through.
Oh yes, when it was new it was revolutionary but 20 years later it was a 20 year old design surrounded by thoroughly modern cars built with jigs and precision tools. So really it was an unreliable, backward, outdated design which turned to powder almost as soon as it was delivered and the trade loved it.
Fast forward a bit and Rover teamed up with Honda and were making the 200 series, a lovely little car which was built like a Swiss watch. The trade hated it, we had a 214 SEi, for which we payed next to nothing. It was a truly lovely car, a delight to drive.
So of course we come to one of the trades permanent pariahs Citroen. I have to admit I was a bit of a sceptic too. Citroen always pushed the boundaries of what was do able, this usually meant something so technically complex that no common mechanic could grasp it and that in turn resulted in cars whose value was set by what you could get for weighing them in.
Things have come on a bit since then, but Citroens are still the cheap cars as far as the trade is concerned. Outside we have a 8 year old AX, the other end of the Citroen stable, the inheritor of the 2CV legacy motoring for the masses. 1 owner from new 60 thousand miles dealer serviced and 400 pounds to buy. An equivalent Golf would cost 4 times as much. And the Golf would not have holders so each passenger could keep their bottle of wine upright!!
Recently though we disposed of our C5 Estate, bought 3 years ago for 900 pounds 85 thousand miles later we got 200 for it.
Whatever way you look at it that was cheap motoring
But it was cheap motoring with bells and whistles.
Arrive at crisis, stand on the centre pedal and the car would take over, stop you automatically in the shortest distance whilst switching the hazards on. Whether you would love this as much if the car behind you was a 38 ton artic and the driver was so locked into radio one he missed the incident is not quite clear. You might be under the third axle before he realised what was going on.
Then you had the stability programme, drive along the motorway and it would lower the suspension to improve the aerodynamics.
Off the motorway and play fast and loose with the throttle, the handling would be totally remapped the engine management too gets a wake up call.
It was like driving another car, taught and responsive
Meant you would be carrying another 30 MPH as you went through the hedge.
But at least the hazards would be flashing.
R
Oh yes, when it was new it was revolutionary but 20 years later it was a 20 year old design surrounded by thoroughly modern cars built with jigs and precision tools. So really it was an unreliable, backward, outdated design which turned to powder almost as soon as it was delivered and the trade loved it.
Fast forward a bit and Rover teamed up with Honda and were making the 200 series, a lovely little car which was built like a Swiss watch. The trade hated it, we had a 214 SEi, for which we payed next to nothing. It was a truly lovely car, a delight to drive.
So of course we come to one of the trades permanent pariahs Citroen. I have to admit I was a bit of a sceptic too. Citroen always pushed the boundaries of what was do able, this usually meant something so technically complex that no common mechanic could grasp it and that in turn resulted in cars whose value was set by what you could get for weighing them in.
Things have come on a bit since then, but Citroens are still the cheap cars as far as the trade is concerned. Outside we have a 8 year old AX, the other end of the Citroen stable, the inheritor of the 2CV legacy motoring for the masses. 1 owner from new 60 thousand miles dealer serviced and 400 pounds to buy. An equivalent Golf would cost 4 times as much. And the Golf would not have holders so each passenger could keep their bottle of wine upright!!
Recently though we disposed of our C5 Estate, bought 3 years ago for 900 pounds 85 thousand miles later we got 200 for it.
Whatever way you look at it that was cheap motoring
But it was cheap motoring with bells and whistles.
Arrive at crisis, stand on the centre pedal and the car would take over, stop you automatically in the shortest distance whilst switching the hazards on. Whether you would love this as much if the car behind you was a 38 ton artic and the driver was so locked into radio one he missed the incident is not quite clear. You might be under the third axle before he realised what was going on.
Then you had the stability programme, drive along the motorway and it would lower the suspension to improve the aerodynamics.
Off the motorway and play fast and loose with the throttle, the handling would be totally remapped the engine management too gets a wake up call.
It was like driving another car, taught and responsive
Meant you would be carrying another 30 MPH as you went through the hedge.
But at least the hazards would be flashing.
R
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