Top Gear with Quentin from 97

[dapper]

You will not believe the line up on this...




I remember looking at cars like these with the same background for half the prices he quotes up until a few short years ago.

How times have changed.

"Hearing aid beige" ;D

[morrisoxide]

Well dash my buttons that Oxfords clean ;D

[optima21]

you have to laugh when he emphasizes the "genuine" low mileage on the cars.......especially when he was convicted of clocking cars a few years earlier

I think my mk2 polo wasn't too expensive, as it was bought a year later, and was a year older, but cost me £1000. its now just worth scrap value though

[MK2VR6]

Great find. Interesting to see the sunbeam lasted a mere 7 years after the programme, despite its low miles, yet the Oxford is still well and truly with us.

[Doc]

Quentin much better than cllarkson and current dimwits!

[Brian Damaged]

Dec 2, 2012 12:09:36 GMT MK2VR6 said:

Great find. Interesting to see the sunbeam lasted a mere 7 years after the programme, despite its low miles, yet the Oxford is still well and truly with us.

Almost certainly donated its' bodyshell to a rally team. My mate broke a fair few mint roadgoing Sunbeams a few years back either for the bodyshells or parts. Getting very hard to find now!

[DavidB]

Did he advise 'If you see any residue of car polish' then you should walk away. I've heard him say that as part of used car buying advice a number of times, Quentin's a prize 'A' mercenary cockend.

[accord83]

I remember him advising buying used Police cars, as they were driven by trained drivers and excellently maintained. Mmmmmmm, chin scratching moment while my nose grows after typing that.
Clarkson's annoying, but not as smug as Quentin Willson.

[tali100]

Dec 2, 2012 8:49:17 GMT optima21 said:

you have to laugh when he emphasizes the "genuine" low mileage on the cars.......especially when he was convicted of clocking cars a few years earlier

from wiki
"removed potential libel

I have removed a claim that he was convicted of selling a clocked car (which seems to have been reduced from the even more serious claim that he did the clocking without either being cited) on the very simple basis that there is no evidence for a serious allegation being made against him. This is covered by WP:BLP. Some web research suggests there have been other rumours to that effect but nothing from any reliable sources. I've read some of his advice on used cars and at no point does he say "I was actually caught out myself by this", so it's either true or a very damaging claim to make. Billwilson5060 (talk) 17:01, 1 December 2008 (UTC)"

[MK2VR6]

Regardless of what Wilson did or didn't do with clocking, he seemed a decent enough chap when I met him at the motorshow, the year of the launch of the Audi TT. He had plenty of time and advice to give when I quizzed him about the ins and outs of getting into motoring journalism. Thinking about it, I'd still be interested at some point.
To sum up though, Wilson went out of fashion at around the same time posh accents were replaced with regional ones and presenters had to be 'funny'.

[fred]

Something quaint about the old Top Gears, before they entered the stupid stunt era,
enjoy watching them even with Quentin in them

[hairnet]

william woolard - KING

[Deleted]

how things have change who buys an autotrader these days? when you can play russian rullet with fleebay!!

[Sealtainn]

Tony Mason doing a Top Gear Rally Report in Wales and getting smacked in the side of the head by a snowball

[DWDarkWheels]

Quentin's prose in features was "superbly melifluous". I have no idea what melifluous means, but he was a real wordsmith. Was it perhaps due to his era being Bulgin and Setwright?
Clarkson was more of an oik at the time, but in fairness to the current TG team, any of the 3 of them can produce the right sort of feature that reminds you they really are enthusiasts.
I do miss Quentin though.

[DavidB]

Dec 2, 2012 20:12:50 GMT fred said:

Something quaint about the old Top Gears, before they entered the stupid stunt era,
enjoy watching them even with Quentin in them

I'd watch reruns of that any day over the modern variant! I downloaded all the old stuff when they were up on bit-torrent many years ago.

[Rob]

the morris is still taxed till next april. the sunbeam died in 2004. the triumphs still good till next october!