Re: Vauxhall Astra 1.4i - £495ono - Southampton

ANDREW ROBERT BREEN ( snipped-for-privacy@aber.ac.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Mk1 GTE?

In news:Xns95808B6669435adrianachapmanfreeis@130.133.1.4, Adrian decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Nah, it'll never be a classic. No front wheel drive Vauxhall ever will.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that apart from possibly the Oldsmobile Toronado, no GM FWD product has been, or will ever be, a classic. Not many of them have ever been any good, never mind classic.

Some of the RWD stuff, on the other hand..

Monza GSi, Manta 400, Shoveit HSR, late 60's Camaros.. all good.

Um, well surely there was .

No, you're right. Maybe some of the early FWD Cadillacs might have the same "entertainingly bad" appeal that some big (RWD) Fords have also had? But you're still right.

Ascona 400 :) _Nice_.

I was very tempted by a rahter nice last-of-line Vauxhall Senator

Since we're being picky about classic-status I 'ope that's a V6.. ;)

The 4x4 Sierra certainly makes it. Always reckon it's a shame they didn't do the Estate with an autobox. And coming back to GM - isn't it a pity they never productionised the FF Monza and Senator? Those would have been nice indeed..

In news:ckgn70$59bo$ snipped-for-privacy@central.aber.ac.uk, ANDREW ROBERT BREEN decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Unfortunately not, it is however, a truly immaculate 2.0 Laser. I know it's not an excuse, but it really is clean

Indeed, I have a soft spot for the early Senators. I think it was because they were available in "Kojaks' Buick Regal Browny Bronze."

Used to have a Monza. 3.0E one. Green with green velour..

Pete M ( snipped-for-privacy@blue-nopressedmeat-yonder.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

In news:Xns95809D124E456adrianachapmanfreeis@130.133.1.4, Adrian decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

In the same sense as an original XR3.

Interesting in a sociological sense and possibly classic, but still pikey. You'd admire the effort behind a well-preserved one, but you wouldn't be seen dead driving it.

I like one of the definitions bandied around uk.rec.motorcycles.classic, detailed here:

^^^^^^^^^^^^ I initially parsed that as "pathological". Can't think why.

I _like_ that algorithm. There's a very substantial degree of truth in it.

I'll have to have a go at applying it to some of the stuff I've owned :)

The SOB(tm) is a useful concept, too - I've certainly owned several SOCs, as well as the odd soc.

To come back to the beginning of this thead - Astras are /definitely/ soc.

Yeah, it's cool, isn't it. A McClaren F1 makes it because it's new and interesting. A Fiat Strada Arbath would (maybe) by virtue of the Special Interest Multiplier, but a school-run Strada wouldn't. A Morris Oxford gets in largely through age.

hell, yeah!

Are Subarus clasic ?

Nice cars, but shame about the burberry-clad drivers. Is that enough to devalue the whole marque ?

Don't see why not - interesting design, not bad old beasts. Worth a SOC-rating, going on classic in a few cases (esp. the early ones that haven't rotted away, and the Legacy has to be a smart bet for classic status real soon now)

Ah. You mean the Impreza, nyet? Nice car, I'd imagine, and with a pedigree as good as things like the Delta Integrale passim, but you're going to have to wait for the current mob to autodawinate before it gets classic status (well, it worked for the RWD Escort and for a maul of other things...)

Heh, it's his camera I was using. He doesn't like cameras...

Oh, I'd have said the Strada Arbath makes it through sheer barminess

- a stupid device, and therefore one with appeal. Or is it that you just said?

Running things-owned-in-the-past through it is interesting. The VW

Yep. Works for me.

In news:ckjumc$ce3p$ snipped-for-privacy@central.aber.ac.uk, ANDREW ROBERT BREEN decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

turbo technics Ford 2.9 V6 in there, y'know it makes sense.

Not at all sure of that. Robin Rew used to do turbo'd Scimitars, but particularly in a SE5 I'd be /really/ worried about under-bonnet temperatures. Over and above that, the character of the Scimitar suits a big, low-revving engine (my last one was turning over at just over 2000rpm at an indicated 80 in lock-up 4th :) It's the whole thing of "lots of performance with minimum effort", which (IMO) best comes from lots of cubic capacity and very little weight. So I'd tend towards the V8, particularly as it weighs a little less than the Essex..