Re: Talbot Horizon

Why? Or in other words, why not? People do things for different reasons

- like maybe the challenge. My head tells me that my Herald and Wolseley would be better broken for spares. My heart says otherwise. Why do it? Because I can. For the feeling of pride when the car gets its MOT after being off the road for 12 years (Austin). Tell me to get a life if you want, but I've got one, and it's full to bursting. And I still get those few minutes to weld patches into panels most people would rip off and replace. Because I can.

Probably. But I still wouldn't consider towing with anything less than two litres any more.

OTOH my son now has a 1.3 Capri, but that's a completely different story!

YDNRC - he said _original_ Fiat Multipla.

"Chris Bolus" wrote

I would love to have my first-ever car back so I could restore it. 1985 Mk 1 Orion 1.6i Ghia, white, did 67,000 in it in 2 years...great fun, but they've all been buggered up by Essex plebs these days.

R. N. Robinson ( snipped-for-privacy@frumiousbandersnatch.freeserve.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Indeed. He lost two CXs the same way as well - the second one was seen as it left - Ford Cargo with Hiab, CX on back, wheelspinning out of car park!

The one good thing about the collapse of scrap car prices is that doesn't happen any more. They're more likely to leave you one, though....

Schimerak ( snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

How about the Citroen Traction Avant Familiale? Three folding jump seats between front and rear benches.

I'd put money on that not being the first, either, although 1935's got to be a fair contender...

I guess this would depend on how you defined a "people carrier" :-)

Six seater estate versions of a car could be argued as being simply that, a large estates, whereas a people carrier is possibly something designed from the off (or at least very distinct from its origins !) to carry six or so people.

like

Not all of us ;-)

Some of us are even old enough to remember a certain Professor Joad of 'The Brains Trust' on the wireless (as it was called then). He always started his answers by saying "Well, it depends what you mean by. . ." What do you mean by a 'people carrier'? If it's any car that carries more than 5/6 people, then almost any big estate (2 box) car qualifies, but nowadays the term is usually used as an alternative to 'multi-purpose vehicle' or minivan as they are called in the States. This is a one box car (normal saloon being 3 box - bonnet, passenger compartment & boot) and was started over there by Chrysler, well actually a very ugly Dodge, somewhere around 1985, IIRC. AIUI, the firm had plans for a car of this type to be built in Europe but, having got themselves a design team all set up and running, they chickened out, whereupon the aforesaid team decamped to Renault, hence the Espace.

Ron Robinson

I think the Renault Espace was the first at July 1985 over here, some months earlier in France.

Martin Palmer

Sorry, not been following this thread, and I suppose someone has already mentioned the Fiat Multipla (1956), but the earliest one-box design I can recall is Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion of 1933.

There were several designs in the '30's (IIRC) relating to streamlining and the teardrop shape, was his one of these ? Though I had a feeling they were often of German origin.

And did they ever make it into production ?