What does your car say about you?

[Tetleysmooth]

Anyway, I have a 2004 Rover 75 1.8 non turbo. I'm trying to stay as retro as possible while telling Mayor Kahn to go fuck himself for his £12.50 per day.
I've never had a Standard 8 or 10, but I would definitely like to try one, preferably with wide steels or Minilites on.

[59Impala]

I've never understood this continued berating of grey porridge motors. We all know they were largely limited in lifespan, ability, desirability and performance but fuck me most people in the 50s and 60s wouldn't have got near a car unless they had very enthusiastic and/or wealthy parents.

Folk who preserve and enjoy Minxes, Standards or Triumph Mayflowers impress me far more than those who go and buy plastic-painted E TypeJags on a whim....

I agree, the pissing and moaning about a particular old economy car is getting rather tedious. Oh it hasn't got a boot lid, well neither did the Metropolitan until late in its production. See also Frogeye Sprites and er, some Corvettes. And sliding windows, Minis had them too. Better not mention the single brake light or heads will explode. The main thing about grey porridge motors was that they were intended to be a reasonably cheap economical way of motoring as Britain continued to recover from WW2. They were okay at that and did the job. My dad passed his test in 1957 and I believe his first car was a 1933 Morris 8 as that was all he could afford. Eventually in 1961 after a succession of pre-war Morris's he bought his first modern car, a 1959 Anglia 100E. The sheer misery of it, side valve engine, only three gears (no synchro on first, the shame) and vacuum wipers. In reality it was a good little car that was well built, always started (even through the harsh winter of 1962/3) and did its job of carting us around with no problems. Oh and I did own a 1955 Standard 8, in 1972 a customer of the chip shop I worked in gave it to me after he upgraded to a Mark 2 Zodiac. I had though bought a 1962 Anglia 105E so the Standard, which ran very sweetly and was quite solid, sat outside our house until some moaner reported it so the council took it away. Had I not had the Anglia I would have happily bimbled around in the Standard until I could afford a newer car. So there

[mercrocker]

Excellent rant and well justified....

[FhakeConcern]

I happen to be currently reading a book about Beryl Burton who was a fantastic English Cyclist in the 60s/70s and just read this bit..
"....they awarded Beryl and Charlie a three wheeled car. Beryl said that the new car seemed to us like owning a Rolls Royce" and that they could now "travel in style" to more events..." This was 1960.
I can't find any more details about this in the book (but I haven't finished reading it yet) and no pics on the internet but I imagine it must have been a Bond of some sort. It shows how even a car of this sort was such major life changing acquisition in those days. It also reminded me that my dad having had motor bikes and then plus a sidecar when my elder sister was born, got a Bond he could drive on his motorbike licence when I wqas born. Things were very different in those days. So if that was a Bond a Standard 8 would have been out of this world!
Pic of one of the Bond 3 wheelers my dad owned before passing his driving test.
This shows my mum with me in our front garden in Herne Bay. The dog was called Mutty (because pedigree) and had just been knocked over by a car having run off as he did each spring. Bond in background.

IMG_2948.JPG (391.16 KiB) Viewed 521 times

[JimH]

I agree, the pissing and moaning about a particular old economy car is getting rather tedious. Oh it hasn't got a boot lid, well neither did the Metropolitan until late in its production. See also Frogeye Sprites and er, some Corvettes. And sliding windows, Minis had them too. Better not mention the single brake light or heads will explode.

It not tedious in the least. It has always fascinated me why some cars stick and others don't. What drives someone to lock themselves in their shed until they have created a showroom fresh Toyota Tercel?

For me this is all about my interpretation of the designer's intention. Some vehicles are capable, pleasant and memorable because they were pared to the bone not despite it and often the line is very thin. Minis are easy to forgive because of their dynamic ability. 2 CVs and Pandas were a joy because of their humane and versatile interiors. This is nothing to do with wallowing in poverty, they were cars that brightened people's lives. Sure they stuck around too long and perhaps they fell into the hands of toss pots who thought they were cute or had read too many Hot VWs when they were a kid but that doesn't detract from what the designers did. Other cars just feel like no one gave a toss. The Standard 8, Triumph Mayflower, Escort Mk6 and Astra Mk3 all belong in that slop bin.

The Nash Metropolitan didn't have a boot lid and that was shite yet the Frogeye (and Bristol 404 so it wasn't just scum transport) also didn't have one and they were a joy. This isn't about specification or cost cutting rather the little details that suggested whether a design team was trying or not.

If we are going to use the term porridge cars then the term needs to be defined more carefully. It isn't a term that should be applied to a particular price point or market segment. It should be applied to cars that were ground out because someone somewhere needed some wheels. By that definition Standard made more porridge than Quaker. Please don't disagree with this. If anyone disagrees with this I shall support my point with a picture of a Triumph Mayflower and nobody wants that.

[FhakeConcern]

I was wrong!
I've now read the whole book (see above) and despite flicking through it I missed the pictures of a Reliant Regal! Apparently Beryl's husband drove this on his motorbike license, I thought these had reverse gear? It seems he never took a car test anyway even though their next car was a Mk1 Cortina Estate and after that a Lada!

IMG_6400.JPG (442.11 KiB) Viewed 400 times

[mercrocker]

Driving a three-legger on a bike license hasn't been restricted to those with forward gears only since 1963.