Motorshow 1986 - nostalgia!

V8 Interceptor

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yes, those were the good old days. For anyone whining about life in Ireland now, they should look at how tough people had it in the 80s

Perhaps motoring wise but back then you could buy a house and rear a family on one average income. Now both parents have to work fulltime and most can't afford a child or two until they're in their mid-thirties. Which is also why our fertility rate is plummeting leading to a possible demographic collapse in the near future.

But I guess that's for a different forum

JoeA3

road_high wrote: »

89/90 were good years for car sales I think, seem to remember a lot of those around. There was a dip around 91/92, and 94 was the beginning of the car sales boom and coincided with the original scrappage scheme. Tons of old bangers left the road and Fiat were the kings! Think they matched the govt £1000 discount and a new Punto was about then about 7k as a result, suddenly a new car was affordable for the masses as credit became far more accessible and wages/employment opportunities rose sharply. Car sales have always been a fair bellweather for the state of the irish economy.

Yeah sales were much smaller back then. My Dad registered 3 new cars from ‘88 to 93 in Galway. All of them were towards the Autumn of the year and the number was only in the 2500-3500 range. These days Galway reg’s hit that number by March/April.

Back then you could get away with murder too with registration. It was almost the norm to drive a new car for an indefinite time with “For Reg” scribbled on the car! I remember cars being bought in August 87 and not seeing a plate until Jan 88! I think that was finally outlawed around 1993 when the “euro” style plates we have today came in.

road_high

V8 Interceptor wrote: »

Dude is seriously impressed with that 2 litre Accord. Said it went like an F1 car!

Compared to some of the drivel irish motorists were driving it was space age- compare to a Hillman Hunter or Avenger! It was way ahead on technology, performance and features.
I think it still looks smart, that model Accord.

road_high

V8 Interceptor wrote: »

Perhaps motoring wise but back then you could buy a house and rear a family on one average income. Now both parents have to work fulltime and most can't afford a child or two until they're in their mid-thirties. Which is also why our fertility rate is plummeting leading to a possible demographic collapse in the near future.

But I guess that's for a different forum

Yes but people didn't have to "have it all"! Very common to not have all rooms in a house finished, my own parents and aunts/uncles houses were like this. No foreign holidays, no new cars, very little major luxuries outside of Xmas. Peoples expectations were far lower, even those in "good" jobs.

V8 Interceptor

road_high wrote: »

Yes but people didn't have to "have it all"! Very common to not have all rooms in a house finished, my own parents and aunts/uncles houses were like this. No foreign holidays, no new cars, very little major luxuries outside of Xmas. Peoples expectations were far lower, even those in "good" jobs.

Totally! And if you wanted something there was no sticking it on a credit card etc you just saved up for it and bought it when you had the money.

Wishbone Ash

JoeA3 wrote: »

... My Dad registered 3 new cars from ‘88 to 93 in Galway....

Only 3 cars in 5 years? :eek:

JoeA3

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Only 3 cars in 5 years? :eek:

One of them was a Lada

road_high

V8 Interceptor wrote: »

Totally! And if you wanted something there was no sticking it on a credit card etc you just saved up for it and bought it when you had the money.

If you could afford to save interest rates were decent- every cloud! Defo not my poor parents though

road_high

JoeA3 wrote: »

One of them was a Lada

How much was a new Lada at that time? No wonder they made a few inroads, people must have been desperate for cheaper options.

JoeA3

road_high wrote: »

How much was a new Lada at that time? No wonder they made a few inroads, people must have been desperate for cheaper options.

God, I think they were ballpark 6,500 punts. A few K cheaper than say an Escort or Corolla of the time.
I’ve told this story on here before but he actually bought 2 of them within 12 months. The first was bought in October 87 and my mother crashed it a few weeks later (while still “For reg”). The car was repaired but the nightmare was only beginning. A litany of problems followed. Ignition went on fire, door locks failed, the crash repair was crap, it started rusting... Dad took it all the way to Lada HQ and long story short he got most of his money back. And what did he do... he bought another one! They were prehistoric cars obviously but I remember it with a certain fondness! It had cool extras like wipers on the headlights, a nice radio cassette. Rev counter.... none of that stuff was on an Escort. I learned how to drive in that car on Achill beach!
Thar 2nd Lada was relatively bullet proof.
Kept that 3 years and traded that for a “Proton” in 1991. Remember those? They were based on Mitsubishi Lancers.

corks finest

bazz26 wrote: »

corks finest wrote: »

And as for the bluebird- heaps of ****e

I'd disagree with that. The father had an 1988 one of those for about 4 years and it was a great bus, very reliable, the biggest killer on them was rust. The doors rotted on them, just below the window frames. Other than that they were less troublesome than a similar Sierra or Ascona of the time.

Had both second ,and 3 Sierra's,no problems, my 3 buddies had bluebirds, electronic problems, erratic starting,and the rust,oh the rust ( taxi cars both)

corks finest

JoeA3 wrote: »

road_high wrote: »

How much was a new Lada at that time? No wonder they made a few inroads, people must have been desperate for cheaper options.

God, I think they were ballpark 6,500 punts. A few K cheaper than say an Escort or Corolla of the time.
I’ve told this story on here before but he actually bought 2 of them within 12 months. The first was bought in October 87 and my mother crashed it a few weeks later (while still “For reg”). The car was repaired but the nightmare was only beginning. A litany of problems followed. Ignition went on fire, door locks failed, the crash repair was crap, it started rusting... Dad took it all the way to Lada HQ and long story short he got most of his money back. And what did he do... he bought another one! They were prehistoric cars obviously but I remember it with a certain fondness! It had cool extras like wipers on the headlights, a nice radio cassette. Rev counter.... none of that stuff was on an Escort. I learned how to drive in that car on Achill beach!
Thar 2nd Lada was relatively bullet proof.
Kept that 3 years and traded that for a “Proton” in 1991. Remember those? They were based on Mitsubishi Lancers.

Proton reminds me of a bad dentist

corks finest

JoeA3 wrote: »

road_high wrote: »

How much was a new Lada at that time? No wonder they made a few inroads, people must have been desperate for cheaper options.

God, I think they were ballpark 6,500 punts. A few K cheaper than say an Escort or Corolla of the time.
I’ve told this story on here before but he actually bought 2 of them within 12 months. The first was bought in October 87 and my mother crashed it a few weeks later (while still “For reg”). The car was repaired but the nightmare was only beginning. A litany of problems followed. Ignition went on fire, door locks failed, the crash repair was crap, it started rusting... Dad took it all the way to Lada HQ and long story short he got most of his money back. And what did he do... he bought another one! They were prehistoric cars obviously but I remember it with a certain fondness! It had cool extras like wipers on the headlights, a nice radio cassette. Rev counter.... none of that stuff was on an Escort. I learned how to drive in that car on Achill beach!
Thar 2nd Lada was relatively bullet proof.
Kept that 3 years and traded that for a “Proton” in 1991. Remember those? They were based on Mitsubishi Lancers.

Proton reminds me of a bad dentist

JoeA3

The Lada’s also came with a massive toolkit. (I wonder why lol). It would put to shame the poxy little wrench and chocolate scissors jack you get in new cars these days. Would you believe, one of those toolkits is still in his shed today. Still uses the Lada wheel brace :pac:

They definitely had a brief period of popularity in the late ‘80’s but by the time he got rid in 1991, the game was up. Proton were sharing the Lada dealer network and it was the logical progression. That and no other dealer wanted the Lada on a trade.

Mad_maxx

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Well the time of this motorshow was arguably the most depressed the Irish market has been since the late 50s. 85-87 was a horrible time for the Irish economy, and then you could look across to Britain, which was booming, especially the South of England.

Of course comparisons of the top spec Grandad vs a small house are deceptive, as the bloody housing has really gone up astronomically vs cars and wages since 1986.

See the part of the show where the taoiseach garrett Fitzgerald is speaking to the crowd, faces on them suggest they are wondering when this useless fart goes

Old diesel

The kitted out with electric windows/sunroof etc Bluebirds would have been the SLX which was the higher spec.

Usually sold as the 1.8 - I think you could in theory get a 2.0 SLX but I only ever remember seen one of those in Irish spec.

Your normal spec Bluebird would have been a 1.6 LX or the 2.0 diesel LX.

Good cars.

TrailerBob

Brilliant find... Interesting to look at the opinion on new cars that turned out to be flops... Eg Lancia thema. Can't believe Opel let out the kadett saloon with a bootlid that hit the back window! Sat in many of those as a child but didn't know that! Also interesting to see the mention of rear seat belts as standard.. safety has come a looong way.

We had a Bluebird when we lived in Australia back in 1989.. wasn't considered prestige there in the same way as here. Came home later that year and Dad bought a Renault 5.

As for the Peugeot 309... God bless us

Mad_maxx

TrailerBob wrote: »

Brilliant find... Interesting to look at the opinion on new cars that turned out to be flops... Eg Lancia thema. Can't believe Opel let out the kadett saloon with a bootlid that hit the back window! Sat in many of those as a child but didn't know that! Also interesting to see the mention of rear seat belts as standard.. safety has come a looong way.

We had a Bluebird when we lived in Australia back in 1989.. wasn't considered prestige there in the same way as here. Came home later that year and Dad bought a Renault 5.

As for the Peugeot 309... God bless us

Unless you drove a holden commodore or a Ford falcon, you weren't at the races in oz

bazz26

Old diesel wrote: »

The kitted out with electric windows/sunroof etc Bluebirds would have been the SLX which was the higher spec.

Usually sold as the 1.8 - I think you could in theory get a 2.0 SLX but I only ever remember seen one of those in Irish spec.

Your normal spec Bluebird would have been a 1.6 LX or the 2.0 diesel LX.

Good cars.

The 2.0 SLX petrol had fuel injection which was a rarity in that class back then. There was also a 2.0 litre turbo petrol ZX model which was ultra rare on Irish shores.

whippet

My auld fella had the previous generation 2.8l Ghia Granada .. I’m sure it was an 1984 model .. all I remember was it was brutal on petrol .. he swapped it in 1988 for a two year old Sierra (I still remember the reg 457 SZK) .. a 2l auto hatch with the big black foam spoiler. It wasn’t in any way efficient but a dam sight better than the Granada .. and I’ve loved Sierras ever since.

road_high

TrailerBob wrote: »

Brilliant find... Interesting to look at the opinion on new cars that turned out to be flops... Eg Lancia thema. Can't believe Opel let out the kadett saloon with a bootlid that hit the back window! Sat in many of those as a child but didn't know that! Also interesting to see the mention of rear seat belts as standard.. safety has come a looong way.

We had a Bluebird when we lived in Australia back in 1989.. wasn't considered prestige there in the same way as here. Came home later that year and Dad bought a Renault 5.

As for the Peugeot 309... God bless us

Lancia were important back then, they were given a big slot and clearly regarded as important players.

The rattly 309 was supposed to be a Talbot! I think they were reasonably decent, I remember a lot of them on the roads especially diesels and vans!

TrailerBob

I drove a 309 a coupe of times... With a manual choke... It was fairly average and very noisy!

Eric Cartman

its weird seeing a boxy starlet on irish roads without a set of superlite alloys on it and some retard in a baseball cap with a joint hanging out of his mouth behind the wheel.

road_high

TrailerBob wrote: »

I drove a 309 a coupe of times... With a manual choke... It was fairly average and very noisy!

Never driven one, they were a bit before my time. But don’t think they had the dynamic prowess of the 205 or 405 of the time.
The 1.1 L was £7995 according to the Motorshow display. I’d say that was grim motoring but typical of the time

Arthur Daley

They weren't as highly rated as the 205 or later 405, but more than held their own in the class. 309 gti was almost as revered as the 205gti, so they handled well enough.

kyote00

comments on the Renault Espace are interesting also .... ' a 7 seater for business, clubs and groups'....

Irish motoring journos missing the point even back then :cool:

swarlb

kyote00 wrote: »

comments on the Renault Espace are interesting also .... ' a 7 seater for business, clubs and groups'....

Irish motoring journos missing the point even back then :cool:

Maybe there was no 7 person families back then.... like there is now !

whippet

swarlb wrote: »

Maybe there was no 7 person families back then.... like there is now !

There was plenty of large families .. but a 3 door Uno hatch suited fine with five kids on the back seat and one in the boot

Old diesel

Arthur Daley wrote: »

They weren't as highly rated as the 205 or later 405, but more than held their own in the class. 309 gti was almost as revered as the 205gti, so they handled well enough.

The styling was the big issue with 309 vs the 205 and 405.

Other flaws with the 309 were also featured to some degree on the other two cars.

Things like fragile interior quality (the 405 improved here in its end of 1992 facelift), heavy steering if no power steering, head gaskets on XUDs etc.

Old diesel

whippet wrote: »

There was plenty of large families .. but a 3 door Uno hatch suited fine with five kids on the back seat and one in the boot

The small child could sit on a teenagers lap.

The baby could sit in its mums arms in the front seat.

It's bonkers in 2019 terms how things worked in 1986.

JoeA3

Old diesel wrote: »

The small child could sit on a teenagers lap.

The baby could sit in its mums arms in the front seat.

It's bonkers in 2019 terms how things worked in 1986.

My favourite position as a young lad was to stand up on the centre tunnel and hold onto the front headrests :eek: I’d have been a human catapult if the worst had happened!

I remember rear seatbelts in later cars being a real novelty.

Wibbs

I remember going to the show that year with my dad. He got tickets from someone or other. I remember being pretty bored TBH, though the MR2 stood out. Car "styling" then was pretty bloody awful, boxy and clunky for the most part, and I thought that at the time, as did most of my petrolhead mates. It was rare to see an exciting car on the roads among all the boxy stuff. At least the Sierra broke the (jelly) mould of the time.

I love how yer man reckons the Honda Accord goes like a "formula racer" and the power involved would tempt a saint to break the speed limit. Power then and power now are vastly different concepts. Anything much above 100 BHP was "fast" and above 200 BHP was supercar rocketship territory. Handling was another difference. A Ford Fiesta a great handling car? Eh...

CJhaughey

"Fiat was eased into Ireland with Champagne and sausages"
You have to laugh, I can understand the champers but bloody sausages, maybe dietary habits were a lot different then or the sausages were higher quality?

The Pug 505 still looks well, I remember seeing a load of the 504 estates in Tunisia as taxis or as they are known Boite de Mort (Death boxes).

Cars have improved immensely since then if you look at the safety standards you can understand why the road deaths were 4-500 per annum in the 80's and 90's

road_high

whippet wrote: »

There was plenty of large families .. but a 3 door Uno hatch suited fine with five kids on the back seat and one in the boot

Exactly- even they were describing small cars like the Starlet and R5 as family cars- which they are in a way but the Clio and Yaris of today would most likely be only a second car in a family.
We had a Fiesta for a good while and there was three kids. In the back with no safety belts! It was really until the late 90s people started wearing them in the back- it was considered a bit square to wear one. Bizzare I know

road_high

Old diesel wrote: »

The small child could sit on a teenagers lap.

The baby could sit in its mums arms in the front seat.

It's bonkers in 2019 terms how things worked in 1986.

Remember coming back from Dublin and sitting in my mothers lap in the front seat- i kid you not. And hiding me down the footwell at a Garda checkpoint. How we escaped I'll never know. Though i had a close one when my mother had a small tip and i was standing between the two front seats, i flew straigh forward. But i was fine!
If there was the traffic volumes of now, twice the numbers would have been killed.

road_high

CJhaughey wrote: »

"Fiat was eased into Ireland with Champagne and sausages"
You have to laugh, I can understand the champers but bloody sausages, maybe dietary habits were a lot different then or the sausages were higher quality?

The Pug 505 still looks well, I remember seeing a load of the 504 estates in Tunisia as taxis or as they are known Boite de Mort (Death boxes).

Cars have improved immensely since then if you look at the safety standards you can understand why the road deaths were 4-500 per annum in the 80's and 90's

Cocktail sausages I'd bet- a big delicacy of the 80s/90s! But it summed up the mediocrity of the time well...

Old diesel

JoeA3 wrote: »

My favourite position as a young lad was to stand up on the centre tunnel and hold onto the front headrests :eek: I’d have been a human catapult if the worst had happened!

I remember rear seatbelts in later cars being a real novelty.

1987 was a BIG year for me in terms of discovering rear seat belts.

The Sierra Sapphire had them for example - and my late Uncles new in 87 Seat Malaga also had them.

road_high

Old diesel wrote: »

1987 was a BIG year for me in terms of discovering rear seat belts.

The Sierra Sapphire had them for example - and my late Uncles new in 87 Seat Malaga also had them.

Did the law change in 1987? To make them compulsory fitting

Comhrá

Arthur Daley wrote: »

They weren't as highly rated as the 205 or later 405, but more than held their own in the class. 309 gti was almost as revered as the 205gti, so they handled well enough.

I had the dubious pleasure of owning a 309 GTI back in the 90's. Mechanically it was very reliable if a bit thirsty. mid to high 20's mpg. Great acceleration though from the 130 bhp engine. 1.9 if I remember correctly. The interior was terrible and the seat had a lumbar support which broke several times.
Still, it was a real fun-car at the time and had a decent bit of street cred and was a pretty rare car back then.

Old diesel

road_high wrote: »

Did the law change in 1987? To make them compulsory fitting

I don't think so - 1987 is just when I started noticing rear seat belts.

I think you could still buy Toyotas in 1988 WITHOUT rear belts

colm_mcm

We had an 89 Corolla without rear seatbelts.

StereoSound

17,000 for a MR2 in Ireland in 1986.... You could have two of those Starlets and have 1,500+ left over. Lot of money in 1986!

road_high

StereoSound wrote: »

17,000 for a MR2 in Ireland in 1986.... You could have two of those Starlets and have 1,500+ left over. Lot of money in 1986!

I suppose today you could have 2 Yaris for one GT86!

loyatemu

Would company cars have been more common back then? I know my Dad had one and they let him change every few years, there's no way his equivalent today has a company car.

Cee-Jay-Cee

corks finest wrote: »

And as for the bluebird- heaps of ****e

Says someone who probably never owned one.

I owned two of them and my Dad had two of them also, not one single mechanical issue between any of the 4 cars over 12 years total ownership. They were great cars.

JoeA3

loyatemu wrote: »

Would company cars have been more common back then? I know my Dad had one and they let him change every few years, there's no way his equivalent today has a company car.

Yeah I think it was more common and seen as a big perk. I’d say a lot of middle/senior managers would have had a company car.
I think the BIK taxation was very different too, a company car these days can be more of a burden than anything, as it’s taxed heavily if you don’t do much company mileage. So unless you actually need a car for work, e.g. sales rep, then there’s less tendency to opt for one or be offered one.

For Forks Sake

JoeA3 wrote: »

My favourite position as a young lad was to stand up on the centre tunnel and hold onto the front headrests :eek: I’d have been a human catapult if the worst had happened!

I remember rear seatbelts in later cars being a real novelty.

I recall a friends family having a Nissan Prairie like the one below in the late 80's. I'm not sure what the maximum number of young lads that was crammed into it on the way to matches, but well overloaded + sliding doors were a recipe for horror looking back at it now.

Old diesel

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Says someone who probably never owned one.

I owned two of them and my Dad had two of them also, not one single mechanical issue between any of the 4 cars over 12 years total ownership. They were great cars.

I think he said he had one and two of his friends had them.

But your experience is far more normal in terms of Bluebird ownership experience.

Nissan didnt get a reputation for been among the more reliable brands in this era for nothing.

Like any car a Bluebird could go wrong occasionally but the 1986 to 1990 generation was probably the high point of Nissan quality and reliability in my opinion.

They started slipping after that.

JoeA3

I'd imagine the main problem with Nissans (and other jap cars of that era) was rust... but by the mid to late '80's I think that problem wasn't as bad as it was before?!

Jeeez, I remember those Nissan Praire's too. They were relatively common!

swarlb

whippet wrote: »

There was plenty of large families .. but a 3 door Uno hatch suited fine with five kids on the back seat and one in the boot

I was being sarcastic. The amount of people today who insist on a 7 seater, while only having 2 kids !