Born with a Silver Shadow in your mouth?
Discussion
Inspired by some of the comments in the "Driven a car older than you?" thread, I was looking at the cars that were introduced in the year I was born, and comparing them to how cars look now.
Obviously, the older you are the bigger the delta between technology available then and what we have now, so younger readers might struggle a bit, but on the flipside there should be some interesting comparisons for the older folk.
Rather than focus exclusively on supercars I thought it would be fun to include the following:
- "ordinary" family cars
- luxury / prestige cars
- sports cars
- a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above.
Your own thoughts and input welcome, but to kick off I offer the following from my date of first registration - 1968:
Ordinary family car: Peugeot 504, many of which are still in use as taxis to this day.
Sharply-styled, robust and comfortable, these things were everywhere when I was a kid. They stood out among the British fare available at the time (we still had the Morris Minor and Austin Cambridge) and proved that you could make a modern-looking product with well proven (read: old) components.
Luxury / prestige car: Jaguar XJ. Could have gone with Mercedes W115, or 300 SEL 6.3, Audi 100, BMW E3 or Volvo 164, but the Jaaag felt more influential.
Still considered a paragon of refinement and good value, the basic profile lasted well into the nineties but probably became a bit too ubiquitous to be considered prestige or exclusive. Despite wood 'n leather image these were cutting-edge at launch.
Sports cars: tricky - could have gone with Dino 206 / 246, Ferrari Daytona, Corvette C3 or Morgan +8, but again for impact I'll choose the Lamborghini Espada.
With the possible exception of the gorgeous Dino, the first "junior" supercar, nothing here broke any real new ground except the Espada, which brought supercar performance to the family man / woman, providing their offspring weren't too big. Chrome details apart, I reckon these still look modern after 55 years.
And finally, a personal favourite simply because, the Ginetta G15:
A delicate slip of a thing, largely unremarkable but a good example of small-scale manufacturers being able to create something that could punch above its weight.
Obviously, the older you are the bigger the delta between technology available then and what we have now, so younger readers might struggle a bit, but on the flipside there should be some interesting comparisons for the older folk.
Rather than focus exclusively on supercars I thought it would be fun to include the following:
- "ordinary" family cars
- luxury / prestige cars
- sports cars
- a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above.
Your own thoughts and input welcome, but to kick off I offer the following from my date of first registration - 1968:
Ordinary family car: Peugeot 504, many of which are still in use as taxis to this day.
Sharply-styled, robust and comfortable, these things were everywhere when I was a kid. They stood out among the British fare available at the time (we still had the Morris Minor and Austin Cambridge) and proved that you could make a modern-looking product with well proven (read: old) components.
Luxury / prestige car: Jaguar XJ. Could have gone with Mercedes W115, or 300 SEL 6.3, Audi 100, BMW E3 or Volvo 164, but the Jaaag felt more influential.
Still considered a paragon of refinement and good value, the basic profile lasted well into the nineties but probably became a bit too ubiquitous to be considered prestige or exclusive. Despite wood 'n leather image these were cutting-edge at launch.
Sports cars: tricky - could have gone with Dino 206 / 246, Ferrari Daytona, Corvette C3 or Morgan +8, but again for impact I'll choose the Lamborghini Espada.
With the possible exception of the gorgeous Dino, the first "junior" supercar, nothing here broke any real new ground except the Espada, which brought supercar performance to the family man / woman, providing their offspring weren't too big. Chrome details apart, I reckon these still look modern after 55 years.
And finally, a personal favourite simply because, the Ginetta G15:
A delicate slip of a thing, largely unremarkable but a good example of small-scale manufacturers being able to create something that could punch above its weight.
1978, so I'd go:
Family: Vauxhall Carlton
Prestige: Struggling, I can't think of anything that was introduced new in 1978 that meets the requirements.
Sports: RUF SC/R https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruf_SCR
Other notable: BMW M1
Family: Vauxhall Carlton
Prestige: Struggling, I can't think of anything that was introduced new in 1978 that meets the requirements.
Sports: RUF SC/R https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruf_SCR
Other notable: BMW M1
1963, so.....
Family: Rover P6 (Jaguar S-Type instead if I can get away with that
)
Luxury/Prestige: Got to be a Mercedes-Benz 600
Sports: Chevrolet Corvette 'split window coupe' with the L84 Fuel injected engine, and famed Z06 Performance Equipment package options
Personal favourite: Lotus-Cortina
Family: Rover P6 (Jaguar S-Type instead if I can get away with that
)Luxury/Prestige: Got to be a Mercedes-Benz 600
Sports: Chevrolet Corvette 'split window coupe' with the L84 Fuel injected engine, and famed Z06 Performance Equipment package options
Personal favourite: Lotus-Cortina
Family car: Morris Oxford Farina
Luxury car/Prestige: Bentley S2
Sports car: Austin-Healey 3000
Personal favourite: Mini
Interesting thread. I had quite a few to choose from under each heading, but the most difficult was the last one. There were a number of cars in my year that ticked the box for different reasons, but i plumped for the Mini for nostalgic memories and intrigue
What was also interesting is that I obviously don't remember anything about 1959, but a lot of the cars from this year would have been on the second hand market 10 or 11 years later, which is clearer to me .
Luxury car/Prestige: Bentley S2
Sports car: Austin-Healey 3000
Personal favourite: Mini
Interesting thread. I had quite a few to choose from under each heading, but the most difficult was the last one. There were a number of cars in my year that ticked the box for different reasons, but i plumped for the Mini for nostalgic memories and intrigue
What was also interesting is that I obviously don't remember anything about 1959, but a lot of the cars from this year would have been on the second hand market 10 or 11 years later, which is clearer to me .
I was born in 1990
"ordinary" family car : Citroen XM estate - I've always liked big Citroens
luxury / prestige car : Bentley Turbo R
sports car : this one's a real tricky one. There were some absolute belters around (NSX, F40, XJR13 etc) but none really tickle me, I admire them, but I wouldn't want any of them. I'd probably go for an Aston V8 Vantage I think (I know they were replaced by the virage in 1990)
a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above: the 2cv was exceedingly long in the tooth by 1990 but it was the last year of manufacture so I might put one of those on my list, although obviously the 1950s ripple bonnet, suicide door version is the one I'd really want, although not with the original asthmatic engine
"ordinary" family car : Citroen XM estate - I've always liked big Citroens
luxury / prestige car : Bentley Turbo R
sports car : this one's a real tricky one. There were some absolute belters around (NSX, F40, XJR13 etc) but none really tickle me, I admire them, but I wouldn't want any of them. I'd probably go for an Aston V8 Vantage I think (I know they were replaced by the virage in 1990)
a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above: the 2cv was exceedingly long in the tooth by 1990 but it was the last year of manufacture so I might put one of those on my list, although obviously the 1950s ripple bonnet, suicide door version is the one I'd really want, although not with the original asthmatic engine
My mate loves a 504, he has 36 of the bloody things, and a few 404,s, and a few 604,s, he drives a Mercedes 
Cars launched or available in year of birth ?
Go with available for now.
Family: Mk1 Cortina
Luxury: Rolls Siver Cloud.
Sport; Jaguar E type.
Personal choice: Ford Zodiac MK2 Convertible, dad had one.
Cars launched or available in year of birth ?
Go with available for now.
Family: Mk1 Cortina
Luxury: Rolls Siver Cloud.
Sport; Jaguar E type.
Personal choice: Ford Zodiac MK2 Convertible, dad had one.
Edited by anyoldcardave on Thursday 29th August 21:56
anyoldcardave said:
My mate loves a 504, he has 36 of the bloody things, and a few 404,s, and a few 604,s, he drives a Mercedes
Cars launched or available in year of birth ?
Go with available for now.
Family: Mk1 Cortina
Luxury: Rolls Siver Cloud.
Sport; Jaguar E type.
Personal choice: Ford Zodiac MK2 Convertible, dad had one.
Thanks Dave. I meant it to be cars launched the same year as you, but rules are for breaking, eh?Cars launched or available in year of birth ?
Go with available for now.
Family: Mk1 Cortina
Luxury: Rolls Siver Cloud.
Sport; Jaguar E type.
Personal choice: Ford Zodiac MK2 Convertible, dad had one.
Edited by anyoldcardave on Thursday 29th August 21:56
Great contributions so far - Thanks all
Mr Tidy said:
I'm the same year as you MisterNick, so it keeps coming back to the Mini even though I've never liked them!
My nan and granddad had them, I used to sit in them in the garage and pretend to drive all over the place when I was 7/8. Total focus in becoming seventeen and learning to driveYou may find this interesting;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cars_introd...
Ambleton said:
I was born in 1990
"ordinary" family car : Citroen XM estate - I've always liked big Citroens
luxury / prestige car : Bentley Turbo R
sports car : this one's a real tricky one. There were some absolute belters around (NSX, F40, XJR13 etc) but none really tickle me, I admire them, but I wouldn't want any of them. I'd probably go for an Aston V8 Vantage I think (I know they were replaced by the virage in 1990)
a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above: the 2cv was exceedingly long in the tooth by 1990 but it was the last year of manufacture so I might put one of those on my list, although obviously the 1950s ripple bonnet, suicide door version is the one I'd really want, although not with the original asthmatic engine
"ordinary family car : Citroen XM estate"!"ordinary" family car : Citroen XM estate - I've always liked big Citroens
luxury / prestige car : Bentley Turbo R
sports car : this one's a real tricky one. There were some absolute belters around (NSX, F40, XJR13 etc) but none really tickle me, I admire them, but I wouldn't want any of them. I'd probably go for an Aston V8 Vantage I think (I know they were replaced by the virage in 1990)
a personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above: the 2cv was exceedingly long in the tooth by 1990 but it was the last year of manufacture so I might put one of those on my list, although obviously the 1950s ripple bonnet, suicide door version is the one I'd really want, although not with the original asthmatic engine
You must have lived in an affluent area.
1976 and you can't get more ordinary than a good old...
Other ordinary/family cars included Honda Accord
and the Volvo 300 series
Luxury and prestige cars were aplenty with the introduction of the absolutely wild wedge shaped Aston Martin Lagonda
The mighty W123
and the venerable SD1
Sports and supercars were also in plentiful supply with Ferrari 400
BMW 6 Series
and Lamborghini Silhouette
Personal favourite was a difficult one, but went to Maserati Kyalami in the end, due to being the most memorable car from a Top Trumps pack I had back in early 80s. For some reason, I remember nothing of any of the other cars in the deck, but I still remember the Maserati Kyalami card to this day, it was a fascinating car and a fascinating name.
Other ordinary/family cars included Honda Accord
and the Volvo 300 series
Luxury and prestige cars were aplenty with the introduction of the absolutely wild wedge shaped Aston Martin Lagonda
The mighty W123
and the venerable SD1
Sports and supercars were also in plentiful supply with Ferrari 400
BMW 6 Series
and Lamborghini Silhouette
Personal favourite was a difficult one, but went to Maserati Kyalami in the end, due to being the most memorable car from a Top Trumps pack I had back in early 80s. For some reason, I remember nothing of any of the other cars in the deck, but I still remember the Maserati Kyalami card to this day, it was a fascinating car and a fascinating name.
williamp said:
sorry everyone: I win. I'm the same age as Star wars. And...
Oh, and
Actually that aston is M reg so 1973 by which time they'd been on the market 4 years, i.e. released in my year of birth.Oh, and
So my choices are:-
Family = Fiat 130
Prestige = Aston Martin V8
Sports = Dino 246GT
Personal Fave = Iso Lele
1969 doesn't appear to have been a busy year really.
I could've also chosen Nissan GT-R though.
1967:
But in reality this is much more like it.
Then I got to thinking that in the US in the 60s this was more my idea of a normal family car...
One of these it turns out. Could be an 'ordinary family car' but in reality it was more than a few rungs above an Escort!
What better than an Italian Lampredi engined coupe?
Well, how about an Alfa V8 DOHC
Or, to keep the Italian theme going (with more than a hint of Americana), an even bigger V8 engined Mangusta.
Even better than all these Italian thoroughbreds, the rise of the far eastern sun. Pretty, delicate and nigh on perfect:
But in reality, the tempation of a Northern son is always too strong - the original Brawny British Bruiser:
- "Ordinary" family cars
But in reality this is much more like it.
Then I got to thinking that in the US in the 60s this was more my idea of a normal family car...
- Luxury / prestige cars
One of these it turns out. Could be an 'ordinary family car' but in reality it was more than a few rungs above an Escort!
- Sports cars
What better than an Italian Lampredi engined coupe?
Well, how about an Alfa V8 DOHC
Or, to keep the Italian theme going (with more than a hint of Americana), an even bigger V8 engined Mangusta.
Even better than all these Italian thoroughbreds, the rise of the far eastern sun. Pretty, delicate and nigh on perfect:
But in reality, the tempation of a Northern son is always too strong - the original Brawny British Bruiser:
- A personal favourite that might not fit into any of the above.
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