Check your facts the mid 90s reshell of the 200/400 was prematurely forced on Rover by Honda, the hence the lack luster styling of the 400 was all Honda with Rover having less input than they had in the previous hatchback incarnation. The current 400/45 is based on Honda Civic shell floor pan suspension except for the front suspension which different to accomodate some of the older generation Rover engines, the 200/25 is on a chopped off 45 floor pan pressing with Maestro/Montego style torsion beam rear suspension grafted on. The engines and gearboxes currently to the 25 & 45 are however all Rover except for the Pug diesel.
Are you talking about the 1970s Austin Princess or the earlier Princess?
I had a lovely T-reg Princess for a couple of years when I was a student in 1991, but it was the 4-cylinder 2-litre. Lovely car. With the twin round headlamps and the grill, a Norwegian friend of mine, who presumably hadn't previously seen one, said that somehow the front gave it the look of a wolf.
Like any car by Rover/Austin/BL (whatever, whenever) it had a far more comfortable driving position than most other contemporary cars by other manufacturers.
Well, I just drove 510 miles from Cambridge to Dijon, in Burgundy, in my Vitesse, in the snow last Wednesday, and I didn't feel too unfresh at the end of a 12-hour journey (total time inc. Tunnel, lunch, etc).
The SD1 is *the* most comfortable car I've ever sat in, of any age.
Err, as much as I hate not to blow the SD1 trumpet, I'm afraid on average they're not at all cheap to maintain. You'd be shocked how much I've spent on my two Vitesse TPs in the last few years, and the couple of SD1s I had before them...
Next time you belt off for a nice trip in that SD1, come to Scotland. I'd like to see what a properly sorted one is like; my only SD1 experience was an asthmatic 3500-V8 which my P6 3500S left for dead.
The '70s Wedge. I'm no fan of the Farinas, they just don't shine in any particular way.
Heh... I like that general look. The P76 Force 7 has the same idea, and the Ogle-designed Princess with the glass 'estate' - but I prefer the Wolesley front to the flat front most of the lower (square light) models had.
Having never driven a Princess, I can't comment on that. I found the SD1 pleasant enough to not be memorable, the P6 was 'relaxing'. Allegro, again, is just a little too good a concept to actually remember too much about it - it really was the build quality and the A-series engine that did the Allegro in as a 'car ahead of it's time' contender.
I know I find the Vauxhall FE to be very comfortable. But then, I think most cars designed before crumple zones, packaging and such had room to play with, they could make the footwell as wide as the car and not worry that your legs would be amputated in a side-on collision. Now, of course, only the French do that, but then they put the pedals in the middle - saves on LHD/RHD conversion.
(Adrian, you know I don't mean the XM)...
The search for a new car has really amused me; I can't wait to be rid of the Peugeot, but finding something that is /everything/ I want new is impossible. I can't run a classic car for a daily driver/business car, otherwise there would be a mid 80s Bentley parked outside right now. Fuel consumption be damned; if I'm getting faxed copies of "Mitsubishi
4Life" and other horrors, then I'm not going to care if my car doesn't do over 30mpg ;)
Well, there's always room at Kelso - I've scrapped the CX that was there, in fact there are now just two cars, and one is in the coach-house under cardboard (the XM) to keep the ivy from dripping on it.
I've managed to get 4 cars in the yard here, but since I'm trying to cut down, there's plenty of room at Castle Anthrax (as my friend Joel amusingly referred to our new place).
If it was an early one with the HC engine, I suspect it produced more real power than the SD1. The later LC (4 star) engine was well down on power - despite the figures quoted.
worst car I ever owned was a VW Karmann Ghia.Totally reliable as VW's are supposed to be but dreadful in every other respect.No torque,stalled all the time when cold,thin body panels,useless heater,drab plastic interior,poor ventilation,awful driving position with the pedals uncomfortably offset and suspect handling.I even tired of the shape-I now think they look bulbous.I hated driving it and it spent most of it's time sat gathering dust in my garage.I sold it to the first person who made me an offer (and well below what they are supposed to sell for)and was glad to see the back of it.Overpriced and overrated junk.
Just to rub some salt in, it was also one of the few "sporting coupes" which was actually slower than the saloon it was based on. The Volvo P1800 was another one. As usual, personal opinion, I rather liked the Volvo particularly when it became the estate vesrsion - very good looking (to me), adequate performance from the injected 2 litre engine. And I really, really hate the VW Beetle in all its incarnations, no matter what designer clothes it was wearing.
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