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Keith Adams

Talbot Tagora
Talbot Tagora

Clicking on this link might seriously damage your health if you dislike the idea of this site containing information about cars produced by other manufacturers. However, if you’re like me, and love a good automotive yarn, this might well be right up your street.

As you can see, I’ve uploaded the Talbot Tagora development story which I penned a few years back for www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk, a site I originally set up to be that manufacturer’s equivalent to AROnline and BMC>MG. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have the sheer amount of time needed to build the site succesfully and passed the concept on to the people who run Allpar in the USA. However, I did put a mirror of my original site online at NTLWorld and left it to rot there.

I have, though, periodically wondered whether it’s time to expand the remit of AROnline, often taking the idea off the shelf, dusting it off in the forum, only to put it away again as time went on. I’ve done it again only, this time, I’ve plonked the story online as a trial to see how you feel that it fits…

…and to work out whether the site’s readership is predominently comprised of BMC>MG enthusiasts – or a wider range of car enthusiasts.

Please, then, read the story (and forgive the fact that it was written years ago) and let me know if you’d like more of the same. Without your feedback, I’d hate to end up stumbling in the wrong direction!

Keith Adams
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16 Comments

  1. I support the idea of an extended of the site or certainly a Rootes / Chrysler Europe sub site. My reasoning is that, with the UK operation being based in Coventry, many of the employees who did time in Rootes/Chrysler also worked at BMC, Standard, Rover etc. Roy Axe is a prime example – you can see his influence in the Tagora and the work he did on the LC10 and subesquent Rovers, such as the R8, very much as evolutions of the Chrysler Alpine styling.

  2. Yes please Keith! Be great to look at the Rootes-Chrysler stuff without all the irritating features of the Allpar version! All part of our motoring heritage, so why not?

  3. Are you thinking of just reviving the Rootes-Chrysler site or looking at all the UK-based makes – like Ford UK, Vauxhall etc. ?

    Either way it would be very interesting, another way to annoy my wife by reading about “naff old cars all the time.” 😉

  4. I would welcome the chance to read similar stories about various marques and models on this website. I often search the internet for similar sites to AROnline but am disappointed that there is nothing comparable for Ford or Vauxhall for instance. To add some new material to the site would be a great way to add fresh impetus to it.

  5. I am interested in most 70s, 80s, 90s cars’ history and enjoyed reading the Rootes-Chrysler page a few years ago. However, I think there should be a separate section for non-MGRover cars – perhaps “Other Cars” rather then “Cars”?

    Not that I am a hardcore MGRover purist, but just to keep the site organised 🙂

  6. I think there’s room for information about Rootes and other British marques but I think the strong character of AROnline is that it is, well, AR-related. That’s quite some scope! I agree with Will. I’d say give the other marques a sideline, but keep the Mercs, VWs and Toyotas separate please.

  7. @Chris Linford
    Hi Chris – no need to worry. There’s no danger of Mercedes-Benzes, Volkswagens or Toyotas appearing on this website. No chance at all. There needs to be a British theme for a start, and I think that Rootes is strongly weighted in that direction… I’m still checking out my options really…

  8. I can’t get enough of this sort of article, so yes please. More.

    I used to visit the Rootes-Chrysler site (my 1st car was an Avenger) and also visit the Allpar site from time-to-time. I agree that perhaps it doesn’t fit in the A-R site too well – apart from the Roy Axe connection – so I agree with Will that if there isn’t a call for a separate site, how about a specific LH navigation for non-AR/BMC/BL cars?

  9. A limited amount of discussion about cars of the same time periods, competitors of A-R brands made in the UK, is sound and proper. You could point out their good and bad points in comparision to the equivalent A-R models.

  10. The Talbot site is as fascinating as the A-R one, with the same combination of never-before-seen prototype photo’s and illuminating text. If you’re proposing to extend that kind of content it’s extremely welcome. Don’t mind whether its hosted on the A-R site or somewhere else.

  11. I’d rather read about Talbot Tagoras than BMW Binis, Roewes and rehashed Chinese MGs any day of the week.

  12. In my opinion this is the very best car site on the web. We here all know why, therefore I won’t bang on about it. But I will say it’s not necessarily the exclusively BMC>MG content that makes AROnline what it is. I’m sure there’s room on the servers for equally interesting stories about other British cars. Any expansion of the site’s scope is fine by me provided the quality and atmosphere remain the same.

  13. More of the same about British Cars please – your old site rootes site is still informative and more about the other British built motors would be greatly appreciated – Ford, Vauxhall, Citreon, Peugeot etc.

  14. Keith,

    Yes, yes, yes. However, I agree with Will and with Chris Linford that it should be kept seperate. Perhaps an ‘Other marques’ menu (yellow bit) on the left, with seperate sub-menus (white bits) for each marque, and further sub-menus in the right hand pane for each different car – if my idea isn’t clear but it interests you let me know and I’ll do a photoshop mock-up of what I mean.

    Sam.

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