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Cars in the UK

780 views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  mgescuro 
#1 ·
Just a few general observations from my trip to England last week:

I was surprised at how many Fords and Vauxhalls there were. Particularly Fords. You really don't see all that many in France, but they were everwhere I looked. I was getting sick of seeing the Ka! Was there a Ka giveaway last year or something? Saw several Scorpios, which isn't a good thing, as it's one of the most unbalanced designs I've encountered. There were tons of old Opels around, which again I found interesting, as I don't see all that many 15-20 year old cars where I am. I think I probably saw more of the current generation of Corsa than anything else, though I was shocked at the number of Mondeos too. In London, most of the police cars I saw were Mondeos, BTW!

Most of the most recent Rover and MG lineups are really sharp. I love the profile of the Rover 75. The fenders and doors follow a nice arc. The headlight surrounds are a little overdone, but otherwise, I thought they were very attractive. And I saw the 75 all over the place. Not sure how well they sold, but I didn't expect to see so many. Saw many MG convertibles too, which appeal to me way more than the Miata.

I didn't see many Toyotas or Hondas, though lots of Nissans. Most were late 90's, and I think late 90's Nissans are pretty gross. The Primera had such an odd rear end, and the grille and nose is awkward. Still, I hope that it wasn't just me, and that Toyota and Honda haven't advanced as far into the UK as they have the US.

I was also surprised at the number of Chrysler vehicles I saw. Mostly PT Cruisers. I am officially sick of seeing the PT. There were a decent number of Grand Cherokees, which I didn't expect.

Oh, and driving on the other side of the road isn't as exciting as I thought it might be. Had to remind myself on right and left turns, but otherwise, I was expecting it to be more fun. I was in my LHD car, though, so next time I'll rent a RHD, which should be more entertaining.

Finally, I don't think there are car owners in London. All I saw were cabs and scooters. Really. Is New York like that?
 
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#2 ·
I don't agree with you totally about the Scorpio - I think it was just adorable in its majestic grace. Ka is a very nice car too - no wonder it's selling so well in spite of its age. It's inexpensive and thanks to the Fiesta underpinnings, it rides great. And it's a Ford, and Ford and Vauxhall have been alternating as the most popular make in the UK during the last decades, with Ford having an upper hand recently IIRC.

Cars are generally quite expensive in the UK, more so than in coninental Europe, so I have also observed the tendency to conserve older cars more than in other Western countries. Besides, English people (at least some) just love old things.

You do realize that most of the Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans are "domestics" in the UK? I really don't know why you saw more of the latter than the former two. AFAIK, Honda is actually the most popular. The late 1990s Primera was truly awful (here is where you should talk about "imbalanced"), but the original Mk2 Almera with the surf tail was actually a quite cute nice little car - the little was the wrong thing here, it is really cramped inside for a car that's supposedly compact. And I also liked the second Micra all through it's long life.

The Mondeo is the UKs official family and company car, it's the British Camry, though seen with perhaps less disdain. Check out Mondeo Man on Wikipedia for more. Mondeo and Focus repeatedly win "best buy" and such awards, they are pretty much the default choice for new and used cars.

The Grand Cherokee has actually been very popular in Europe for quite some time now, IIRC it was the first vehicle to be manufactured in Graz for Europe.

You do realize that MGF and MGTF roadsters are mid-engined, don't you?
 
#4 ·
paul8488 said:
Finally, I don't think there are car owners in London. All I saw were cabs and scooters. Really. Is New York like that?
Thats because they have to pay to enter downtown London and there are traffic cameras everywhere so its hard not to get a ticket. Its London's attempt at curbing traffic congestion.

And no New York is not like that, at least not in '93 when I went. The thing to watch out for in New York is that the cabbies only think they know how to "drive".
 
#5 ·
paul8488 said:
Finally, I don't think there are car owners in London. All I saw were cabs and scooters. Really. Is New York like that?
In Manhattan, most (not all) who are not in a cab, bus, or scooter/bike are probably tourists. It's only because New Yorkers live fairly close to work and rush hour Traffic is unbelievable.


Those are some interesting observations. I hope to visit London some day.
 
#6 ·
Good to hear that Ford is doing good in the UK, I didn't know it was popular over there. Too bad they drive on the wrong side of the road, LOL, I personally can't stand it, I can't drive like that and the interior looks weird. I think I can't drive a car with a manual tranny and using my left hand to shift.
 
#7 ·
Still not sure about the Scorpio... though I guess I understand what you're saying. Same with the Primera... at first glance I think they're ugly, but that's the very reason I love my Nubira. They stand out somehow. But I don't think I can love the droopy Scorpio... looks like a J30 that's let itself go.

I kinda like the Ka, so didn't mind seeing it... was just shocked at how many there were. I'd buy one... did they ever make a convertible? I think you hit it on the head... the higher cost of cars encourages people to keep them longer in the UK. The UK is just flat-out super expensive for a Canadian to visit... I had to stop converting pounds to dollars, because it was depressing me.

Can't say I recall seeing many Hondas, aside from the occasionally Civic. Maybe because I don't care about them, they blended right in. I didn't know many Japanese cars were built in the UK though.

I did notice that those little MGs were RWD, mainly due to the air ducts ahead of the rear wheels. I should buy one and throw on Fiero badges! Do (did) they sell MG/Rover all over Europe, or just in the UK? I really never see any here.

I didn't know that there was a fee to drive in London. I took the train and subway, because I find traffic there insane. London was so smart to write 'look left' and 'look right' at the start of crosswalks (on the ground)... otherwise, it's confusing trying to figure out from which direction you will be run over when crossing the street.
 
#9 ·
paul8488 said:
Finally, I don't think there are car owners in London. All I saw were cabs and scooters. Really. Is New York like that?
New York is nothing like that. It's a mish-mash of cars of all shapes and sizes and scooters. ALong with the NYC Cabbies. :D

On a sidenote.... San Francisco cabs are starting to use the British style cabs. :blink: It's odd. THey started fairly recently. I don't konw if there are any other US cities that use the British cabs.
 
#10 ·
Stepmom and little sis came to visit, and we spent one week in France and one in England. I'd been there before, but had to redo all the tourist stuff with them. Stonehenge was new for me, which I loved. Alone I like the Eurostar, but with people a road trip is more fun, and not all that far from the Paris area to London.
 
#11 ·
paul8488 said:
Stepmom and little sis came to visit, and we spent one week in France and one in England. I'd been there before, but had to redo all the tourist stuff with them. Stonehenge was new for me, which I loved. Alone I like the Eurostar, but with people a road trip is more fun, and not all that far from the Paris area to London.
I had planned a road trip... but it all fell through. I was supposed to go to the UK and work with the Prime Minister on a Trans-Atlantic internet chat with then prez-Clinton. It didn't happen. TOo bad too. I was really looking forward to driving the British countryside.

Maybe some other day. :D

Did you have to do the London toll road thing? Whatever that is?
 
#12 ·
I didn't end up driving in London, so no fee. You travel in impressive circles, my friend! I was hoping Queen Liz would have invited me in for tea, being an ex-citizen of one of her colonies, but alas, no such luck.

Oh, and another vehicular thought... I saw a Range Rover on the highway... I forget the name, but it's the really hot sport model... and I think it's probably the best looking SUV in the world. I love the Escalade, but the RR is something else. Is it labelled HSE, maybe?
 
#13 · (Edited)
Paul, if you've ever seen any Nissan Micras, they're built in Sunderland, in the north of England. That Range Rover you're talking about is maybe the "Vogue" version (yes, Vogue, after the magazine of the same name!).

Oh, and for the congestion charge thing (similar to the EZ-Pass), check out these websites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/congestion/index.shtml
http://www.cclondon.com/

I went to Ireland my sophmore year and England and Scotland my junior year, and honestly I could see a difference. Most of the UK cars in Ireland (I'm assuming either tourists or people from NI) were mostly Vauxhalls and Toyotas, which is suprising since Ireland hasn't had new Vauxhalls sold since the 1980s, at least unless if it's grey-market. Instead, it's Opels all the way. Even then, most of the Opels I saw were owned were owned by the Gardai, since it was mostly Peugeots, Volkswagens, FIATs, and old cars that I saw. The Ford Cortina and Sierra must've been popular in Ireland cause I saw a lot of them. When I went to Ireland, the Luas electric tram in Dublin recently opened, so at least I have my claim to fame of being in Dublin near where the Luas officially opened (at St. Stephen's Green!). As for the UK, I did see a lot of Vauxhalls, Fords, and Nissans, but I also saw a lot of Rovers, Toyotas, Renaults, and Mercs, oddly enough. I even saw a few Daewoos here and there. No Chevy-badged ones. The UK has better B-roads than Ireland's R-roads, though Ireland's N-roads were just as good as the A-roads and the motorways were about the same, though Ireland's motorways are newer.

I would love to drive in an RHD country. Must be my left-handedness, but I think that if I drive in RHD, then that would be the most natural thing for me. I feel uncomfortable driving in LHD in certain circumstances, so who knows?
 
#14 ·
Was the Vogue named after the magazine? I thought it was named after, well, vogue.


The Scorpio is actually a fully-inflated J30. Nissan was short of breath, apprently.




Oh, MGs and Rovers were of course sold all over Europe. They weren't especially popular in France (no wonder), but they had quite a following in Italy or the Netherlands.
 
#15 ·
paul8488 said:
I didn't end up driving in London, so no fee. You travel in impressive circles, my friend! I was hoping Queen Liz would have invited me in for tea, being an ex-citizen of one of her colonies, but alas, no such luck.

Oh, and another vehicular thought... I saw a Range Rover on the highway... I forget the name, but it's the really hot sport model... and I think it's probably the best looking SUV in the world. I love the Escalade, but the RR is something else. Is it labelled HSE, maybe?
Believe me... I was shocked when I was told I'd be going to the UK to work with the Prime Minister and his staff. Those were the heady days of the Dot-com boom, I guess, huh??

I think you saw the Range Rover Sport HSE. :D
And you're right... the Range ROvers give the Escalade a run for the money... in performance and even in bling. They're the SUV to beat.
 
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