9PM This Sunday on BBC2 May be some VW footage in it
Andy W
Posted by: Old Blue - 05 August 2013 15:48:03
Good mention of the British saving the Beetle, with the Beetle generally coming over as a good car.:beer:
Very unfair on the British car industry I felt. Our highly successful Mini was portrayed as a loss maker which contributed to the British motor industry's downfall, with the Morris Minor being made to sound small chips when compared to the Beetle.:thumbdn:
Posted by: AW - 05 August 2013 17:42:13
Interesting that no mention was made that the press at the time had a big downer on the British motor industry. Also that the products they supplied were of poor quality. I worked at a Rover garage in the last years of there exsistance and they were Poor compered to the other makes. I used to dread going in on a Monday morning to see what the AA had dragged in over the weekend. The program is on again tonight.
Andy W
Posted by: 59 Ragtop - 05 August 2013 21:23:21
Some great footage of the assembly at Wolfsburg in the early days, fascinating stuff. Loved the Mini jumping over the bridge as well:smile:
Posted by: pre67vw - 06 August 2013 15:25:32
[quote=Old Blue]Our highly successful Mini was portrayed as a loss maker which contributed to the British motor industry's downfall, with the Morris Minor being made to sound small chips when compared to the Beetle.:thumbdn: [/quote]
I thought they came out quite well, he acknowledged that they were a great design - but it wasn't enough. In terms of global sales, I think the Minor was small chips compared to the VW - according to [url=https://www.morris-minor.co.uk/p13.htm]this[/url], at the peak of Minor production in 1958 they made about 113k, compared to 451k Beetles. After 1958 the production of the Minor dwindled away whereas the VW was getting stronger - compare 1965, over a million Beetles made whereas the Minor was down to 38k.
If you saw top gear just before it, they showed how much we do still make in this country. It clearly demonstrated that we can and do make stuff in the UK, it's a shame that the battle within the class system between workers and management in the 70's ended up destroying more than it helped.
Posted by: Old Blue - 07 August 2013 12:51:11
[quote=pre67vw]If you saw top gear just before it, they showed how much we do still make in this country. It clearly demonstrated that we can and do make stuff in the UK, it's a shame that the battle within the class system between workers and management in the 70's ended up destroying more than it helped.[/quote]
Top Gear was misleading. Many of the vehicles shown were from foreign owned companies manufacturing here. Not true British vehicles.
Posted by: pre67vw - 07 August 2013 13:03:32
[quote=Old Blue]Top Gear was misleading. Many of the vehicles shown were from foreign owned companies manufacturing here. Not true British vehicles.[/quote]
It wasn't misleading at all, they even said that a lot of the profits went overseas - it was about stuff MADE here.
Posted by: Old Blue - 07 August 2013 13:26:05
[quote=pre67vw]It wasn't misleading at all, they even said that a lot of the profits went overseas - it was about stuff MADE here.[/quote]
Yes I see your point. But the reality is that not much shown was truly British, right from concept to completion. ie Idea, design, tooling, production etc.
Posted by: Rich Oakley - 07 August 2013 16:16:29
[quote=Old Blue]Yes I see your point. But the reality is that not much shown was truly British, right from concept to completion. ie Idea, design, tooling, production etc.[/quote]
You can't be further from the truth there. A high proportion of everything shown was designed and engineered in the UK (I work in the automotive industry). A fair proportion of it is also manufacturered, or at least assembled here. It is true however, that the UK automotive/motor industry is small in comparison to what the Germans have and that very little of it is British owned.
Posted by: heb623 - 07 August 2013 17:31:06
[quote=Old Blue]Top Gear was misleading. Many of the vehicles shown were from foreign owned companies manufacturing here. Not true British vehicles.[/quote]
Today printed in a Belgian newspaper;
[b]Brand new Jaguar F type catches spontaniously fire on departure of motorway!!![/b]:omg:
Specialists of Jaguar are going to examn! Sorry no pic, because my scanner isn't working!! And no its not British its Japanese!!!:p
:twisted: ET
Posted by: AW - 07 August 2013 18:16:05
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It may be Japanese but who bolted it together ??????????????????????????
Andy W
Posted by: heb623 - 07 August 2013 20:47:15
:rofl:
:twisted: ET
Posted by: Rattletrap - 08 August 2013 10:05:35
[quote=pre67vw]If you saw top gear just before it, they showed how much we do still make in this country. It clearly demonstrated that we can and do make stuff in the UK, it's a shame that the battle within the class system between workers and management in the 70's ended up destroying more than it helped.[/quote]
I saw that [i]Top Gear[/i] edition too. What of all those vehicles/machines can be classed as truly British?
I liked the feature of James May using a double deck bus (the new London bus) as a car, but he's not the first. I've been using my own London double decker as a car recently. After a break of around 7 years I had my [i]Routemaster[/i] out and about this weekend. To say that it drew attention, would be an understatement. Camera phones everywhere. In the last 7 years the popularity of this iconic London bus has soared, and the ownership of camera phones has increased remarkably it seems.
[u]Better than a car?[/u] Well I have the use of London bus stops (short term free parking), and bus lanes (leave all the car jams behind). Loads of carrying capacity, everyone wants to talk to you and be friends!
[u]Not as good as a car?[/u] Expensive on fuel, and keeping to bus route roads (too big round side roads, and knowing you've no low bridges on route). Feeling the worse for wear after an hour behind the wheel.
The [i]VW Beetle[/i] the famous iconic car and the [i]Routemaster[/i] the famous iconic bus. Nice to have both :smile:
I hope Rob won't mind, but like the pic of my bus below. [ATTACH]8318[/Attach]
Posted by: RockStock - 08 August 2013 13:25:39
Cool program
First one ive seen that tells it how i feel it
VW, ace product, ace organisation pretty much from the start
Majority of Brit motors - dull, unfashionable, unreliable, poorly made, poor aesthetic detail
You only have to compare a 50s British car parts manual to a 50s VW parts manual to get a feel for this
Metric v imperial, in several languages, great diagrams, easy to navigate, classic layout/appearance, etc etc
Posted by: Rich Oakley - 08 August 2013 22:36:16
[quote=RockStock]Cool program
First one ive seen that tells it how i feel it
VW, ace product, ace organisation pretty much from the start
Majority of Brit motors - dull, unfashionable, unreliable, poorly made, poor aesthetic detail
You only have to compare a 50s British car parts manual to a 50s VW parts manual to get a feel for this
Metric v imperial, in several languages, great diagrams, easy to navigate, classic layout/appearance, etc etc[/quote]
Totally agree Chris.
Posted by: heb623 - 09 August 2013 08:15:12
As promised! The Jaguar F(ire)? A complete melt down!!!:omg:
:twisted: ET [ATTACH]8319[/Attach] [ATTACH]8320[/Attach] [ATTACH]8321[/Attach]
Posted by: AW - 09 August 2013 09:28:40
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
School report would say must try harder.
Andy W
Posted by: Rattletrap - 09 August 2013 14:59:42
[quote=RockStock]Cool program
First one ive seen that tells it how i feel it
VW, ace product, ace organisation pretty much from the start
Majority of Brit motors - dull, unfashionable, unreliable, poorly made, poor aesthetic detail
You only have to compare a 50s British car parts manual to a 50s VW parts manual to get a feel for this
Metric v imperial, in several languages, great diagrams, easy to navigate, classic layout/appearance, etc etc[/quote]
Some of the German 40s-50s brochures are trully art.
Never though much of the Mini...
Posted by: Old Blue - 09 August 2013 16:27:56
[quote=Rattletrap]The [i]VW Beetle[/i] the famous iconic car and the [i]Routemaster[/i] the famous iconic bus. Nice to have both :smile:
I hope Rob won't mind, but like the pic of my bus below.[/quote]
Cool and awesome all in one, actually having your own Routemaster bus. Looks like a beauty too.:thumbup:
Posted by: Old Blue - 09 August 2013 16:35:19
[quote=RockStock]Cool program
First one ive seen that tells it how i feel it
VW, ace product, ace organisation pretty much from the start
Majority of Brit motors - dull, unfashionable, unreliable, poorly made, poor aesthetic detail[/quote]
Three British cars in our fleet, maybe you should try some British cars. The Mini dull, unfashionable and unreliable? The Minor poorly made with poor aesthitic detail?:thumbdn:
Our MGTF is a quality reliable motor car.
The Mini was the great British car that revolutionised motoring, paving the way for the modern day hatchback, including VW Golfs and Polos.
Posted by: GKL 7 - 09 August 2013 18:03:56
[quote=Old Blue]Three British cars in our fleet, maybe you should try some British cars. The Mini dull, unfashionable and unreliable? The Minor poorly made with poor aesthitic detail?:thumbdn:
Our MGTF is a quality reliable motor car.
The Mini was the great British car that revolutionised motoring, paving the way for the modern day hatchback, including VW Golfs and Polos.[/quote]
What a Crock.
Posted by: RockStock - 09 August 2013 19:26:30
Did you say crock?
Posted by: Old Blue - 10 August 2013 11:51:42
[quote=GKL 7]What a Crock.
[/quote]
How about adding something informative?
