Retro The One In Seventy

[slomoshun]

Recently in a room full of 70 people from all walks of life. Conversation went through the usual mindless chatter some right over my head as designer labels and smart phones as passed this sixty something by. Talk got round to cars but utter drivel about new tin and number plates when someone asked me what i owned.
< Retro Rover 820 > the room fell silent with all eyes on me.
< Does it have a heater ? > er yeah air con actually.
< Does it have child locks ? > er yeah.
< Wasnt Rover British ? >
Soon became apparent i was on my own amongst a group of number plate chasers so proceeded to explain i had no interest in modern cars or the gadgets they think they need to survive the school run.
On leaving the venue all were gathered outside kissing n hugging each other and i fired up the Rover currently running a straight through exhaust.
One chap just stood in a trance staring at the Rover whilst his partner tried to usher him along to their tin box.
I felt really good that i was definitely the one in seventy statistic.
And the moral of this rambling is how lucky i am to have the retro world at my finger tips.

[optimusprime]

Had to chuckle at this.
Have been in similar situations ...except my car at the time was an old land Rover 110 ......

"Oh you mean a discovery or Range Rover'?

No i mean a 20 yr old Land rover defender staion wagon, big tyres,roof rack,lights etc etc .... You could see them rolling thier eyes .....

But their kids loved it,wanting to get in and go through the puddles, much to disgust of various number plate snobs ......

Best bit was when it started up ..... It was a V8 ...... I did get get a couple of envious looks then!

[luckyseven]

I had one quite recently when I was lucky enough to be invited by Her Majesty's Constabulary to participate in a Speed Awareness Course (in my defence, I was aware of my speed at the time ). Anyhoo, I managed to turn up late after a lorry spill had closed the main road, so just wedged my FD RX-7 into a space right at the end of new executive Beemers, Passats and other repmobiles and went and did my penance in the course. Fascinating array of excuses in there; they'd moved the speed camera, I didn't get my speed down in time, I was late, I had an appointment... Then we went to leave, and as my FD was shaking the ground with its exhaust and making eyeballs bleed with the waste products of high-octane pre-mix, I could see heads shaking and tuts being tutted. "Oh yeah, I know why he's here," they're all thinking...

...if only they knew I got done at 73mph, at half eleven at night, on a deserted country dual carriageway, by an average speed camera. In the missus' F*rd Focus. Four-up with the kids in the back How's yer luck

[THE_Liam]

I work in an office full of people who lease new A4s, 3-Series, Mondeos and the like through work, and all find my old Merc hilarious.

I love when they say I must be made of money because I average 25mpg and they average 40mpg. Obviously they forget the £400 that gets taken out of their wage each month for a car they'll NEVER own...

Makes me smile!

[Deleted]

Last year l bought a car to drive in Germany and ended up with a 20 year old Audi coupe, the germans in the office though l was mad drive such an old car half way across Europe and disaster was only moments away and shock horror it doesn't have any airbags!!

Then one time l had to bring some parts into the factory and parked it outside the office and from my first floor window it was funny seeing them taking a look at my car, or others asking how's car it was.

and no it didn't brake down and l wasn't killed driving it and l had lot's of fun overtaking much newer, more powerful but grossly heavier vehicles

[JohnK]

When I started using my MK3 Escort as my daily quite recently, it did turn quite a few heads. It attracted many positive comments from people who haven't seen one for years and appreciated one in good nick, it also received some comments along the lines of 'what the hell are you thinking'. Indeed I do get some odd looks from members of the public, bumbling along at *cough* 70 in a suit, shirt and tie, in a 33yr old Escort.

I've always opted out of the company car scheme and taken the £330/month allowance instead. Based purely on the mileage I've been plugging in (33k/year) I ran a 2008 525d as my daily for a couple of years. still have the 525d but my partner uses it now and I change between my Escort and 190E for daily duties. I get bored of using one car everyday, so by having the old cars around I get a bit of variety.

I have had some snide comments from people, but I would rather rock and roll in my Escort instead of their company, base spec Golf Bluemotion. Plus, because I'm not in a finance agreement for the BMW I still work out quids in by not having company car tax to pay and if the mood takes me I can still jump in my modern. My point to those who do make negative comments however is that I do enjoy driving the older cars and that is what is important to me. Very rarely drive the 525d now though, next time I drive it will probably be for an MOT in March and it can be left for the school run these days instead!

[grifterkid]

It's good to be different and it's even better when non-believers turn their heads in envy...!!!

[baggabones]

When I had my old vw splitscreen van it was always 'oh a hippy van, you don't look like a hippy' then when I got my type 3 varient it was 'oh that looks like something from heartbeat'. Now I drive a 924, I just say a Porsche and all is well again in the world (even it's actually worth less than a quarter of my old vws) strange how people's perceptions change

[Deleted]

I'm baffled by the lack of knowledge and\or common sense regarding old cars by the average person. People seem shocked that i dare to drive a 30+ year old car everyday, and one guy would not believe me when i told him i'd driven it 400kms? I didnt even bother saying that i'd gone for a 2x1400km vacation trip with an even older car the year before...

[gary1998]

i work as a nightclub/pub doorman i get right strange looks driving in my suit
in my ratty/crusty t25 diesel panel van or the slammed b3 passat wagon both older than most of our customers
one time leaving the job getting into a mid 60s beetle i heard a lad saying look
the bouncer drives a mini (dumbass)

[bazzateer]

I enjoy explaining to people that my 5 cars cost me in total less than £2,000 to buy, the three classics are fully insured inc Euro breakdown etc for under £90/year and cost nothing to tax each year and the two moderns (95/97 E36s) cost less to insure and tax per year than many of their cars cost them every 2 months in 'rent'.

Oh yeah, and I do all my own maintenance so no main dealer labour charges either. Annnnnd, if I take care of them they'll all be worth more than I paid for them when/if I eventually sell them.

that's when I put on the Clarkson 'smug' face.

[markgenesis]

Jan 26, 2015 17:07:46 GMT @madmaxx said:

I'm baffled by the lack of knowledge and\or common sense regarding old cars by the average person. People seem shocked that i dare to drive a 30+ year old car everyday, and one guy would not believe me when i told him i'd driven it 400kms? I didnt even bother saying that i'd gone for a 2x1400km vacation trip with an even older car the year before...

It's amazing when you find people that cant comprehend someone driving an older car through choice and that you are somehow jealous of thier new car.

Years ago i used to deliver vans to hire places, was in Darlington walking back to the train station with a work mate, as we were chatting i spotted an Avenger in a driveway, a bit later a tidy MK1 Capri, then walked past a Cal Look Beetle parked in the street, said "Wow, a lot of old cars around here" he said "they must be all poor"

Showed this clip to a couple of mates recently,



one with a slight interest in cars asked if it could be driven in the UK, i said you'd need to change the rear tyres and maybe cover the tyres with guards, then said California seems to be a bit more relaxed with stuff like that, the non car guy then said "more tolerant of junk driving on the road ?", had to explain it's not "junk" but it's art, but it was totaly lost on him .

[Paul Y]

For 3 months in 2009 that<<<<<<<<<<<<< was my only transport.

Turning up at meetings, suited and booted caused no end of amusement. To blatantly plagiarise a well known Internet TV show...

Best day at work. Ever.

If you have it drive it, you only realise afterwards what opportunity you could have missed.

P.

[retroade]

Jan 26, 2015 11:18:23 GMT luckyseven said:

I had one quite recently when I was lucky enough to be invited by Her Majesty's Constabulary to participate in a Speed Awareness Course (in my defence, I was aware of my speed at the time ). Anyhoo, I managed to turn up late after a lorry spill had closed the main road, so just wedged my FD RX-7 into a space right at the end of new executive Beemers, Passats and other repmobiles and went and did my penance in the course. Fascinating array of excuses in there; they'd moved the speed camera, I didn't get my speed down in time, I was late, I had an appointment... Then we went to leave, and as my FD was shaking the ground with its exhaust and making eyeballs bleed with the waste products of high-octane pre-mix, I could see heads shaking and tuts being tutted. "Oh yeah, I know why he's here," they're all thinking...

...if only they knew I got done at 73mph, at half eleven at night, on a deserted country dual carriageway, by an average speed camera. In the missus' F*rd Focus. Four-up with the kids in the back How's yer luck

Turned up to one of these in my Del Sol, and at some point P.C. Patronise (retired) went round the room asking what people drove. The usual curse word, base spec repmobiles, MPVs, nothing really of interest. When I said Honda CRX Del Sol he stopped in his tracks, looked at me funny, and made a comment about it being a nice car - he thought it was an NSX. Didn't bother correcting him, quite impressed he thought I'd even be able to afford such a beast.
Best bit was the old boy sat next to me who was like a local Terry Thomas crossed with a naughty schoolboy, he caused all sorts of trouble! Top comedy, he was an absolute hero.
To be honest those courses are a cash cow, and back in the day every one in there, mostly pensioners, were only a few mph over and would have got a friendly ticking off. I did, however, learn a few things so not a total waste of money.

[jules1200]

Slightly OT but those speed awareness courses are a thing of Satan, if you ask me. My misus went on one for the usual 4 mph over thing & came home properly brainwashed.
It's now like 'Driving Miss Daisey' going out with her, proper liability it is. She insists on doing 2 mph under the limit & we have a line of cars behind us all p155ed off, with her saying 'it's a limit not a target', as told by the sanctimonious cock who took the course!!

[86corolla]

Lol after many travels up and down the motorways.you see many a hard shoulder littered with modern metal bonnet up head been scratched to within an inch of there life's..and it always makes me laugh when I cruise by in my nearly 30 year old corolla.
ppl spend to much time looking at gadgets when buying a car and rather than looking at how strong the engine is or how reliable it's going to be...

[DWDarkWheels]

Not strictly retro, but in the vein of looked-down-upon-wheels :

I took the IAM driving test 17 years ago, and in the application form completed the line 'Vehicle to be used for test :" , with "Quantum (kitcar)".

My Quantum coupe (my daily driver) let me down on the day so my mate lent me his Quantum 2+2 for the test. During the test, the examiner did reveal he thought beforehand he'd be dealing with a smartass. I guess his conception of kitcars was something impractical like a beach buggy or a Lotus Seven clone. Funny, 'cos my other car at the time was a Westfield. Imagine if I'd rocked up in that.

[JohnK]

It really annoys me when people look down their noses at us in our old cars as though we are poor.

Don't get me wrong, a few years ago I was scraping about to keep a car on the road, so budget motoring was my forte and something which I a) had no choice in but b) enjoyed.

I'm in a slightly better situation now, however things never stay the same do they. My 6 year old BMW was paid for cash because it suited my needs at the time. If I get made redundant tomorrow I will sell it and bank the cash, not worry when the next finance payment is coming out!

I drive tat out of choice and will have a squeal of excitement seeing an older car on the road, where my mates cream themselves over a white Audi S-Line with anthracite wheels.

Fortunately, although my missus does give up on my habit, she understands and comes to shows and meets with me. It's a lifestyle choice for a lot of people !

[jules1200]

The other side of that is also a lot of them don't have a clue what retro stuff is worth anyway. I am very fortunate to own some nice classics, mk2 RS for example. How many times have you pulled up somewhere & someone will say 'ooh my Dad had one of them' or something similar & then they say 'what's that worth', when you say 'ooh 15 to 20k' or whatever, they're like 'you must be joking', my Audi/BM/VW etc is not worth that & it's only 2 yrs old!
Well who's the knob now?

[JohnK]

^^ that is most definitely true. I'm into cars and sometimes even I am shocked at prices... Some cars have just shot up in price in literally no time at all!