AROnline blogs

Keith Adams

AC 3000ME the latest addition to AROnline

I’VE been busy tonight. Had a close encounter with an AC 3000ME earlier in the week and remembered just why I liked them so much. That’s why, instead of going to bed, I did some scribbling and added its story for your reading pleasure… I know, I have no life.

It’s the usual story of failure and missed opportunities that overshadow a wonderful product – and that’s why it absolutely belongs on this site. Besides, after all the email beatings I’ve been getting about making the MINI our Car of The Decade (a decision I stand by given the bigger picture), I thought you’d enjoy a story about an automotive loser.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore the 3000ME, and, given the chance, I will own one sometime in the future. Gotta keep telling myself that.I’ve also added a bunch more cars to the ‘Other Cars’ section of the website, which you’ll find by clicking the link to your right. Nothing that wasn’t on the site already, but stuff that probably needs a more regular airing.

Anyway, take a look and enjoy some fascinating stories about the likes of Argyll, Midas (below) and Trident, which fit so neatly alongside the more established offerings from DeLorean, Rootes and, er, Ford.

Enjoy!

Old knackers, Other manufacturers

Keith Adams

With the Rover 3500 back on terra firma in the UK and in the safe hands of MOTest at Farnham, it looks like I have another project to sort out in the coming months. Back in 2008, I put my Saab 9000 Aero in for a repair which, although complex, should have been done reasonably quickly.

Unfortunately, following a long and horrible story which I won’t bore you with right now, I’m left – two years down the line – with the car in rather a worse state than it was when I left it and with what looks like a fair bit of work to do on it.

My question, then, would be – after seeing these pictures – is there anyone out there who can recommend the services of a good welder who fancies having a crack at that bulkhead panel? Alternatively, should I be more sensible and break the car, keeping all the shiny bits, and find another 9000 to fit them to?

Frankly, I don’t have the energy for another project right now and just looking at these pictures depresses me somewhat. The picture at the top shows what it was like in the long hot summer of 2007… ah, the memories.

Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated!

Old knackers, Other manufacturers

Keith Adams

I can already sense the barrage of criticism we’re about to receive for this one but, in choosing the MINI (2000-2006) for AROnline’s Car of The Decade, I’m looking at a number of factors.

However, before you comment, read the full article and look at the picture gallery…

Other manufacturers, Random stuff

Keith Adams

Alfa Romeo Alfasud

Now my Rover SD1 is well on its way back to recovery, there’s the thorny issue of my Alfasud. It’s been languishing in storage now for about three years and I really must do something about it. Although it’s not too evident from this shot, the whole thing was welded up to within an inch of its life, then MoT’d… and I ended up driving it once before putting it into storage for the winter.

That was three years ago so now the question is – do I pull it out, get it running again, MoT it and use it? MoT and sell it? Or sell it as is? Thing is when I had it, I really enjoyed it – but it was around before I bought my SD1 and I suspect that, had the SD1 been in my life back then, I’d probably not have bought it.

However, one thing buying the ‘Sud did prove to me was that they are just as good as everyone says they are. Even though this one’s a fairly undesirable four-door version with plastic bumpers, there’s still something rather magical about the way it drives… and part of me wants to find that out again. Hmm.

Anyway, with the car still safely languishing in storage and probably a clutch slave cylinder, some brake pads and a coil away from an MoT, I am now starting to wonder and focus (not a Focus!) on what I need, so someone please save me from myself!

Alfasud: not far from being back on the road?

Old knackers, Other manufacturers

Keith Adams

The Autobianchi Primula - is this the true forerunner of the modern car?

I’m sitting here feeling a little sorry for myself, suffering from a pair of cracked ribs and a dented ego (yeah, I don’t practice what I preach when working on my cars) and, between bouts of writing for Octane, I’ve found myself going on a few car-related tangents. This one’s actually about the forgotten generation of small family hatchbacks that sit in what – since 1974 – we’ve called the ‘Golf class’.

This thinking’s been sparked by my placing the Simca 1100’s development story on this website (without World War Three breaking out, either) and the consequences of front wheel drive on the mass-market. In the UK, we’ve traditionally tended to think of the Mini and 1100 as the true precursors of the modern car but, in reality, as successful and influential as they both were, they were evolutionary dead ends.

The Mini and 1100 were both beautifully packaged and desirable but the compromises (in terms of cost and production engineering) inherent with their transmission in sump layout and rubber suspension meant that, when rivals came to producing their own facsimiles, they’d go their own way.

Here, then, are the most important small family cars that followed the BMC 1100, but pre-dated the Golf  - each, in their own way, vitally important in the evolution of the mass-market automobile. You’ll notice I’ve not included the Austin Maxi and Renault 16 and that’s because they were aimed at a higher market segment; nor have I included the Citroen Dyane and Renault 6 as they were much, much cheaper and they all had weird mechanical layouts.

1964: Autobianchi Primula

Autobianchi Primula: looks like a BMC 1100 doesn't it?

Dante Giacosa’s engineering genius is legendary and he was easily the equal of Alec Issigonis. Giacosa’s primary legacy is that he motorized Italy with the creation of the Fiat 500 but it’s his later projects that are arguably more influential.

His first front wheel drive hatchback was the Autobianchi Primula and, as much as he believed that FWD was the way forward, Fiat wasn’t confident enough to take the plunge, deciding instead to go down this route via its subsidiary. Technically, the Primula was a masterpiece: it was powered by the 1221cc ohv ‘four’ from the Fiat 1100D mounted transversely, which took its drive through an end-on four-speed transmission (the first four-stroke application). Rack and pinion steering (a Giacosa first) and unequal length driveshafts with Rzeppa CV joints added to the package.

Mind you, although it is correct to acknowledge the Primula’s role in automotive evolution, it wasn’t quite in the modern idiom thanks to its column gearchange and suspension set-up: wishbones and transverse leaf spring at the front and a dead axle with half-elliptic springs at the rear. However, that aside, the appealing Pininfarina-styled hatchback was influential enough for Fiat to have faith in the concept  and that encourged Giacosa to continue with the project.

1967: Simca 1100

Simca 1100: five doors and compact.

What makes the Simca 1100 so special is that it had been conceived in response to customer research in France which showed that buyers expected FWD in their small cars  – and that it was designed to meet that demand. The Simca 1100 could, then, be described as the world’s first second generation FWD hatchback.

Development started in 1962 and, unlike Fiat and its faltering beginnings, Simca put its rescources 100% into the project –  once, that is, the company had decided it was going with the new concept. Like the Primula, Simca ignored BMC’s transmission in sump layout, going straight for an end-on arrangement that aped Giacosa (and, of course, unknown to both – Issigonis’ design based on a FWD Morris Minor-based mule from the 1950s), although this would not have been unexpected given Fiat and Simca’s ties at the time.

Although the 1100’s engine was new, it was based on the Mille’s ohv power unit and was therefore something of a known quantity for Simca engineers. When Chrysler took a controlling stake in Simca in 1963, it gave the project its blessing – and Simca pushed for a 1967 launch, some seven years before the Golf.

However, the 1100’s suspension layout was at variance with subsequent industry practice, featuring an independent front (double wishbone) and rear (trailing arm) suspension using Chrysler-style torsion bars. Advances included the canted engine (not uncommon these days) for a lower bonnet line and a muliple range of body options, including three- and five-door hatch, five door estate, panel van, sports coupe and a ground-breaking lightweight SUV version (the Rancho).

How modern does that seem now?

1971: Zastava 101

Zastava 101: the first true modern hatchback?

Yes, I know what you’re thinking – it’s just a Fiat 128 in drag, built in an command economy country  but the genius of this car is that, in many ways, it improves on the car it was based on. Once again, Giacosa showed his mastery of engineering with the Fiat 128, taking the best points established with the Autobianchi, and moving them on several stages.

In came a wonderful new belt-driven ohc engine (which was incredibly advanced and long-lived), as well as a contemporary sounding all-independent MacPherson strut suspension layout. Architecturally, the modern car had truly arrived, even if it was packaged in a three-box body that did all it could to disguise that ultra-modern envelope.

However, Fiat’s long-standing partners, Zastava, took the 128 and were able to improve on it by adding a hatchback. It’s not clear, as I write this, whether the hatchback had always been a part of the 128 programme but one assumes that it was.  More to the point though, if it was, why the hell didn’t Fiat make it as well?

Either way, the Zastava 101 can probably lay a genuine claim to really creating the Golf class –  it was the first FWD mid-liner that had all of the ingredients of modernity. Not bad for a car launched at the same time as the Morris Marina and produced in a Communist country…

The question that we may not dare ask, but will do anyway is… was the Zastava 101 more of a ground-breaking design than the Mini? You tell us.

Zastava 101: all the benefits of the Fiat 128, but with one vital extra

Old knackers, Other manufacturers, Random stuff

Robert Leitch

Triumph Mayflower: an innocent victim of Scrappage

If you don’t want to know how BMW and their Dealers regard their corporate heritage, look away now…

My letter:

BMW (UK) Limited
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8TA

For the attention of Mr. Tim Abbott – Managing Director

Dear Sirs,

This morning I was in conversation with a member of staff at Crossflags in Dumfries, when I spotted a Triumph Mayflower in the furthest corner of their premises. I made mention of this and was told that it was ‘a sad tale’. The car had been traded in for a new MINI under the Scrappage Scheme and, as disposal of scrappage cars is dealt with centrally by BMW UK, the Dealer has no control over its fate.

It had a look at the car – not a concours example, and the Mayflower was not remembered as a high point in Triumph’s distinguished oeuvre. However, there is something wrong when a very rare car which is roadworthy after 58 years is condemned to enforced destruction.

I know that this is down to its owner’s financially-based decision and is no fault of BMW or their Dealer. Nevertheless, being innocently complicit in what is possibly the oldest and rarest scrappage trade-in is scarcely a feather in the cap of the custodian of two of the greatest surviving names in British motoring history.

I also note that BMW own the Triumph name, a company founded by Siegfried Bettmann from Nuremberg in the 1880s, and the oldest and most successful previous example of an Anglo-German automotive enterprise.

There is surely still an opportunity to turn a rather sad story into a bit of “feel-good” publicity. There must be museums and enthusiasts clubs who would happily take care of this rare and rather charming car.

I eagerly await your response on this matter.

Yours faithfully
Robert Leitch

BMW’s first response:

BMW Customer Service
(01 344) 426565
(01 344) 480545
customer.service@bmw.co.uk
September 29, 2009
Triumph Mayflower

Dear Mr Leitch
Thank you for your letter dated September 19, 2009 addressed to Mr. Abbott.

Your letter has been passed to me as I am responsible for the investigation and response to all customer-related queries of this nature. I am currently investigating the issue you have raised and when I have completed my enquiries I will be in a position to offer you a further response.

In closing, l am sorry you have had cause to contact us under such circumstances and would like to thank you for bringing your concerns to our notice.

Yours sincerely

Jonny Combe
Customer Service Manager

Received today:

BMW's Mayflower Scrappage response

I am put in mind of the response of Ayatollah Khalkhali, the hanging judge of the Iranian revolution in relation to the sentence served on Amir-Abbas Hoveida, former Prime Minister of Iran under the Shah:

‘Stories of his cruelty were legion. One of his first victims was Amir-Abbas Hoveida, the Shah’s Prime Minister for eight years. After sentence had been passed, pleas for clemency poured in from all over the world and it was said that Khalkhali was told by telephone to stay the execution. Khalkhali replied that he would go and see what was happening. He then went to Hoveida and either shot him himself or instructed a minion to do the deed. “I’m sorry,” he told the person at the other end of the telephone, “the sentence has already been carried out”.’

Scrappage: Triumph Mayflower. 1951- 2009. Requiescat in Pace.

Old knackers, Other manufacturers, Scrappage Scrappage

Keith Adams

Would you chop this for the promise of £2000 against a new Hyundai? Neither would I

I found myself sporting a heavy heart as I listened to the news that the Government’s Scrappage Scheme has been extended (and now includes cars up to V-registration). Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that a strong new car market benefits us all, but the current Government sponsored initiative really, really smacks of hypocracy to me.

On one hand they tell us that getting us all into greener cars but, as we all know, the greenest form of motoring is to run old cars as long as possible with regular maintenance. Sustainability is not a difficult to grasp and yet, in the interest of short-termism, this has been overlooked in a doomed attempt to keep new cars rolling off the line.

I suppose my problem is this: the production of new cars takes up massive resources and it’s highly unlikely that the huge environmenal cost has been amortised during the ten-year period that manufacturers and legislators believe that new cars turn into scrap. Think about it for a moment: go outside, take a look at the next V-registered car you see and then tell me, all it’s good for is to allow someone a £2000 discount on an over-priced new car.

For a laugh, I took this Saab 900 to my local Volkswagen dealer – the young salesman was, of course, positively salivating at the thought of scrapping this so I could get into a new Polo. Indeed.

Yes, then, I do object to the fact that, amongst all those cars now being traded in under the Scrappage Scheme, there’s a huge number of perfectly useable, desirable cars that would serve well for years to come. Yes, they need servicing and parts – and that keeps the UK’s garage and parts supply industry in business – but running them would be far less stressful than the new car people would have you believe. More importantly, there’s no monthly payment to worry about.

That’s really my main beef with scrappage – buyers are being encouraged to go into long-term financial arrangements. How many of those buyers would have been happy with their old cars as they were? How many of those new car buyers can really afford to go into hock? Just what caused this bloody recession in the first place?

In short: let’s borrow more so we can buy more economic misery…

Old knackers, Other manufacturers, Scrappage Scrappage

Sam Skelton

“A new vehicle concept” and the SD1: not dissimilar ideas…

I’d like to talk about Audis and BMWs in this blog. There, I’ve said it. Those who may be outraged by such talk on this site, please feel free to keep quiet. However, I have a very good reason for doing so, and it involves possibly my very favourite of all BL’s products.

Audi have recently launched their A5 Sportback and BMW the competing 5-Series GT. These cars are both, as far as I can see, pointless. The Audi A4 and BMW 5-series are already available as a saloon, or for those who want a tailgate, as estates and so, naturally, we need hatchback versions of both to plug the gap in the middle. I may, of course, be missing the plot spectacularly here – after all, German execs are not my thing. They might be aimed at someone wanting something more exclusive than an A4 or 5-Series, in which case they will achieve their aim. For about ten minutes, until everyone has them.

Alright, I’m being overly cynical. But this is because both companies, as far as I can see, cater for the markets these cars are aimed at already. The idea of a large and upmarket hatchback is one that appeals to me greatly. Which brings me nicely into the BL themed bit of the blog.

The point I’m making is this: Audi’s press release states that the Sportback is “a new vehicle concept” and “setting new trends in vehicle design”. BMW haven’t been quite so fatuous as to assume that they originated the concept of an executive hatch – their press release bangs on about a cross between a classically styled GT and a saloon car. However, in each case, it is implied that the concept is new. In 1976, Rover replaced the P6 range with the SD1 range.

This was an executive hatchback and, unlike the Audi or BMW, it can rightly claim to be a first. And it was a hit – it was upmarket, and made by a company with a history of producing good executive cars (albeit under the umbrella of BL, so quality wasn’t always quite right). It spawned many imitators, but the Rover is the one everyone remembers. It was replaced in 1986 by the 800 – available as a fastback by 1988.

The 800 was a cop-out in my opinion; offered in saloon form for those who didn’t see the appeal of a hatch – thought was even given to market the hatch as an inferior model under the name of 600. With the exception of Vauxhall’s Signum, executive hatchbacks pretty much died with the 800 in 1999. They didn’t even bother by the time the 75 came along. Since then, the genre has more or less ceased to exist. And everyone else who tried seemed to fail in this sector. How many Renault Safranes, Fiat Cromas, Ford Granada MK3s, and Citroen XMs have you seen recently?

The press, though, will love the A5 Sportback and 5-series GT, stating that a large executive hatchback is a great idea. The reason? Because the two companies doing it are the darlings of the popular motoring press: Audi and BMW. Yet I doubt the idea will take off again, because they’ve done it the wrong way. Going back to the top of the blog for a second, both cars already have an equivalent saloon and an equivalent estate and I am yet to work out quite why we need more choice than that. I mean, if neither an A4 or A4 Avant suits you, there are several other perfectly good executive saloons for similar money. If you want a medium-sized Audi, what’s wrong with the normal A4 or Avant?

Rover got it so right it was untrue by launching their new executive car with this one body style in 1976 . No choice, you took it or left it and they cleaned up. I’d even go so far as to say that, had they continued with the theme of the large executive well-appointed hatchback – preferably V8-engined and with RWD – but it needn’t even be that, Rover may well still be here.

Other manufacturers, Random stuff

Keith Adams

Will this be instrumental in my plan to get the SD1 back to the UK?

There are rumours flying around our little corner of the Internet that I’ve bought a BMW 5-Series. Well, I better quash that one right now: that is certainly not true. The guys who run the Team With No Name on the CzechWrecks rally let me have their BMW 520iSE in exchange for a lift to the airport…

Andrew Elphick and I flew out to repatriate Rob Bambridge’s Audi Coupe (well, it’s actually his mate Tony’s – something we could have done with knowing in Calais, but that’s another story) and ended up adding another car to the fleet. But why? I suppose I hate the thought of seeing a perfectly good car going to waste (yes, I know it’s a BMW, but you know what I mean) and it occurred to us that here is a car in the locality of my Rover SD1 (relatively speaking) that could act as a great car should I choose to drive it back. I certainly prefer the idea of driving the Rover back – but like the idea of having some back-up if push comes to shove.

Anyway, here’s the plan – Elphick and I (along with, hopefully, someone with some spannering skills) fly to Prague, drive the 520i to Czestochowa, collect the Rover (and pay for it), then drive back in convoy. We did have thoughts of painting the BMW in Smokey and the Bandit style,  so as to attract police attention away from my Rover – but we’ll see on that. Organization is not our strong suit.

Okay, so the puddle of coolant pouring from the BMW doesn’t inspire confidence, and it could well mean the Rover backs up the German car, but I guess it all adds to the adventure.

As an aside, it looked like the guys on the CzechWrecks rally had a great time (there were 58 teams) and the tales we heard were as hair-raising as ever. Did driving the Audi back make up for the fact we didn’t do the rally? Yes, partially, and the night in Prague was excellent, made all the better by meeting Dave Smart (a veteran and my team-mate last year), who just happened to be travelling around Europe in his Union Flag-schemed Mini 1000. With his spud gun. Don’t ask…

Pushing on at 120mph in Germany in a 23 year old Audi...

Did we get into any scrapes with the Audi? No – it was fine… and impressive given the 210,000 miles it has on its clock. We did get fined in Prague (what’s new?) and grilled by UK customs in Dover (what’s so implausible about our story?) and, contrary to predictions, Andrew and I are still talking to each other.

Can’t wait to do it again.

Old knackers, Other manufacturers

Keith Adams

Rover Metro has hidden talents...

I’ll say one thing – there’s certainly plenty of variety in my driving life at the moment. The week started with a Ferrari 599HGTE and Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV, which provided some entertainment – but this morning the nice people at Hyundai left a Rover Metro 1.4LD at the office for me to test drive.

Most of you will be aware that Hyundai has bought a number of old Rovers and is lending them out to journalists, along with brand new cars from its range, in order to sell the benefits of the Government’s Scrappage Scheme. Hyundai’s approach to the scheme has been pragmatic and, as a result, scored a top ten best-seller in the UK during July. Its first ever time…

Obviously, Rovers have been a prime old car choice for Hyundai. The British company’s no longer around, so there’s no bad blood with any of the other press offices out there and, well – how many pre-1999 Ponys are there out there? Exactly.

The trouble is, I rather like the Metro. A quick jaunt in it this afternoon confirmed that although the styling left a little (well, a lot, actually, but that’s another story we all know the reason for) to be desired, the interior packaging is marvellous. There’s loads of room inside considering the small footprint it takes up on the road. Also, once underway, the PSA TUD engine gives it just enough get up and go to keep up with the flow (while delivering a potential 60mpg).

But the real revelation is the suspension set up. Considering how small and light the car is, the ride quality and damping control are astounding – and it’s a real testament to how good a well-sorted Hydragas set-up actually is. The steering, too, is direct, positive and full of feel. It lacks PAS, but who needs it in a car so light?

Of course, a 15-year old Metro is going to lack the neighbour-impressing kudos of a brand new Hyundai (the i20 is actually very, very good, by the way) but, if you’re not one of those who cares what other people think and aren’t too worried about the odd breakdown, a little DIY, regular breakage and servicing, then serious questions need to be asked about just why we’re scrapping perfectly servicable cars like our Metro (which are also actually surprisingly good to drive) for the sake of getting a new car on the driveway?

However, playing devil’s advocate for a moment, one thing is clear: scrappage has kick started the market and, in these tough times, that’s no bad thing…

Discuss…

Rover Metro

Old knackers, Other manufacturers