Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yeah, but style over substance.

Ery time.

Am I wrong to be quite smitten with this:

https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/e-nv200-combi.html

I love the 70s robot look of it and feel I'd look really good wearing cord slacks, a tight salmon top and a poker visor.

Someone sired Katie Hopkins offspring, so there are definitely strokes for all folks.

But it does look better than a Zafira.

I basically want a small combi for work and for parent taxi duties. And I figure I'd like it to be electric.

https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/e-nv200-combi/technical-information.html#versatility

The interior capacity/layout seems perfect.

And it's so ugly no one is going to want to steal it.

One thing with electric vehicles (I've barely looked into them yet) - can you replace the battery? Or does it come with the car and the car dies when it does?

Only hesitation is that I couldn't do a single run up to, say, Leeds, without stopping which with my current car I can.

Looks ideal, if you're going to be spending all day driving people between a hotel and airport.

They look pretty versatile.

Range is shit though.

Yeah - range is something i just noticed - I couldn't even guarantee I'd get to my folks in Southampton from Devon :/

edit: but looking at other vans, the Nissan seems to offer much more range - others can barely break 100..

sounds amazing tbh

I grew up in a village near Teeside that was mainly populated by managers for ICI they had a choice of company car but all chose a Talbot Alpines SX in silver, On one 1960s development you could see about 8 of them parked outside identical houses. There was confusion in the car park after Swimming Club as all the children walked up to the wrong cars.
After this they all had Vauxhall Cavalier CDi s in gold except one in metallic blue, he was a dangerous rebel and was probably sacked.

My dad had a bright orange Hilman Hunter followed by a Austin Maxi.....I'm bringing this up 45 years later should I get therapy?

My dad had a bright orange Hilman Hunter followed by a Austin Maxi.....I'm bringing this up 45 years later should I get therapy?

Get in line... my dad had an Austin Allegro and a grey Vauxhall Carlton

Quite into the electric Vauxhall Vivaro as well, but 49k for the build i'd want :/

Hold my pint. My father had two Morris Marina Estates. He liked the first one so much he bought another one (technically an Ital but whatever) when the first one died.

Christ. Fair enough... you 'win'

Though i will add that, running concurrently to the MKII carlton was a poo brown Rover Metro so....

My father (in the space of 4-5years):
Volvo 240 saloon in brown, Sierra Ghia, Sierra XR4, Sierra 4x4 estate, Volvo 240 estate, 940 estate
Loved them all ❤️

My parents went through a phase of liking Yugos, we had three in a row, all in different shades of brown shit.

this is going to be three pages of "My Dad's Car", isn't it?

There are loads of these on campus at work, their primary use seems to be distributing bottles of sanitizer from one building to another. They're lovely and quiet.

I really can't see anyone beating Brommers, nice try from Sam_w but although Yugos were bad they never tried to be anything else.

Did anyone hear the Radio4 programme that reunited figures from BL/Rover?Austin etc?
They must be all in their 80s but the manager and union leader kicked off like it was the winter of Discontent again.

Yeah I heard that. Good to hear swearing so early in the day!

I was brought home from the hospital in a poo brown marina. In a basket and no seatbelt no less.... Ah the 70's

Lucky Bastard my Dads Maxi wasn't even the twin carb and his Sierra was a 1.6l he only got the l because the one below only had one wing mirror.
After the Sierra it was a non turbo 1.6 diesel Cavalier god that was slow.

I've sent you a PM btw.

Why do automatics tend to have worse fuel economy than manuals? I'd have thought that having something making the gear changes at the most efficient time would lead to them being more efficient, not less.

Losses in the torque converter, mostly.

Also, autos tended to have fewer gears. No longer the case though.

Vauxhall Carlton

Had a maroon one with a 3.5 six cylinder that couldn't climb switchbacks without overheating.

My C55 was built in the crossover period when automatics were rapidly evolving- all other C class models had a 7 speed auto that was very clever and pretty abstemious with regards to fuel. The C55 has a four speed plus overdrive/maybe five speed box potentially made from girders and rivets from a bridge building supplier. Why? Because the engines torque destroyed the 7 speed in testing, whereas the ante-diluvian 4/5 speed coped fine. Thirsty mind.