Other marques you wouldn't own?

[a11y]

I'm quite suprised by some of the replies in this thread. Perhaps I'm too young and not had enough experience of some marques in my 13 years of driving, or perhaps I'm just less bothered about a badge

I like a lot of French cars and would take another Clio 172 (best small hot hatch ever) if the reliability was better.
Skoda - they ARE VW's now, no reason not to buy one IMO.
VW/VAG - I'd happily go there.
Fiat - hmm, but I owned Punto's for 6 years with zero problems and part of me still wants a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo!
Anything German - oh yes.

The brands that I doubt I'd own are the likes of Chevrolet in the UK (rebranded Daewoo), Proton, Kia, etc


TBH if a car had a good reputation for what I want it for, I wouldn't care less about the badge it wears.

[Tweed]

Nothing French, hateful cars! My Dad's ended up with several Renaults, somehow... hated the lot.
Absolutely nothing Korean, or pretty much oriental in any way... with the exception of Nissan. Don't mind VW, but wouldn't have a Golf (know far too many people who've been threatened in their beds for the keys!) or a new Beetle (it's NOT a Beetle!). Ford I'd have no problem with, if times were hard and I needed a run-about, but would always be a car of necessity, I'd never choose one over anything else.

Until I can afford that Aston DB5/Ferrari 250 GT california/1960 Corvette Stingray/1966 Mustang 390 Fastback, I'll be sticking with BMW. Though I suppose I could be tempted away by a new Mustang.

[Smokin]

a11y, you also have to understand that some of us don't get all those marques. WTH is a Clio? The only French cars we ever had were Renault (kinda liked the styling back in the '70s) and that bastardization that was Eagle (iirc, Renault + Chrysler). We also have no Skoda, Vauxhall, etc. Until recently, Ford didn't bring in the Euro Fords, but they've seen the error of their ways.

Major brands we get, off the top of my head:
Ford
GM
Chrysler
Fiat (now that they own Chrysler)
BMW
Mini Cooper
MB
VW
Audi
Porsche
Aston(rare)
Rolls
Bentley
Rover (Land and Range, no cars)
Ferrari
Lambo
Maserati
Volvo
Saab (well, it's now "dead")
Toyota
Nissan
Honda
Lexus
Accura
Infiniti
Hyundai
Kia


I've probably forgotten some......

[a11y]

smokin', I take your point - you're actually lucky in many ways as you've been spared some horrific cars that we get landed with. But I suppose the same could be said the other way around too

French manufacturers have a history of producing excellent small "hot hatches" and that's probably where my appreciation comes from: I turned 17 and started driving in the late 90's and these were the cars all young guys wanted at the time.

Basic formula for a hot hatch: take a shopping car, still a bloody big engine in it, give it some decent suspension and a set of alloys...

Peugeot 205 GTI


Renault 5 Turbo


Renault 5 GT


Renault Clio 172 (1998cc engine in a car weighing 1100kgs = fun )


Citroen AX GT


Peugeot 106 Rallye

[cj_eds]

Would agree with Ally - I was 17 in '97 and a lot of people our age did want French hot hatches - Pugs, Citreon's along with stuff like XR2's etc etc. For me it was a (real) Mini I wanted. (Specifically an ERA Turbo for those in the Mini know). My experience and of too many people around me was that French cars seem to have a higher than most instances of breaking down and it's hard to shake an image like that once you've got it. But then you'd have said the complete opposite of Toyota until a month or two ago!
I said in the first post I'd never have a Vauxhall/GM. The American reponses made me think - I'd make an exception for some Aussie GM's. They're traffic cops might have a reputation for being a bit draconian but they know how to make some proper cars.

[ZermattV]

106 Rallye..... now that was a proper hot hatch...

[a11y]

Ha, I was thinking there's no Vauxhall* that I'd buy, but I forgot about the VX220 and this:



I want


*although technically the VX is a Lotus and the Monaro is a Holden...

[lacroupade]

what a fantastic sound track Ally!!!

[a11y]

what a fantastic sound track Ally!!!

It's only in the past 12 months or so that I've got addicted to the noise of a decent engine - I suppose my Civic Type R at full chat started that off briefly before I turned to the dark (diesel) side for a couple of years. The Z4 6-cyl sounds good but the V8s (LS1, LS2 or LS3 depending on age) in the Monaros are in another league, especially with aftermarket exhausts like that one (Wortec). Crazy VFM at the moment too, although I suppose 15-18mpg puts most folk off

One day, one day I'll own one. Maybe

[RichardG]

Only Vauxhall I ever wanted was a Lotus Carlton, went through some roadworks one time behind one when I had my MI16 and the way he left me when we came to the end of them I thought I'd hit reverse.

[a11y]

I've just realised there's a distinct chirrup from the tyres breadking traction when that Monaro changes from 1st into 2nd gear. Not that I was listening to the video, again...