Every kid should have to watch this. It teaches an important life lesson. Any material thing you’re currently obsessing over will be scrap sooner than you think.
I watch this at least annually, and it reinforces why I loved cars as a kid. So much choice for the everyman, and hundreds of different engines and specifications to nerd over. If I was a kid with today's car market, I don't believe I'd be an enthusiast at all.
Brilliantly put! Absolutely. It staggers me that these absolute COCKS actually believe that other people care about the spec badge on their Vauxhall Cavalier, or Ford Sierra. Imagine being so easily pleased by such mediocre machines and regarding them as a reflection of your 'success' and 'status' within a company. Truly risible.
I remember back in the 1980s early 1990s when fuel injection was a novelty. Hence the marketing inroducing i to model names vehicles. And these really bought into it lol.
This is amazing. Genuinely. Assuming these people aren't scripted and this isn't a stealth parody of salesmen and their hangups (which seems unlikely; what little the internet has given me about this is that it was a legitimate docu-series), this is a fantastic piece of work. Even tho the drivers themselves are taking themselves very seriously, the film seems to mostly pity and/or disdain them. No matter who they are, how "good" their car is, they're shown all driving the same, empty stretches of barren highway, eating at the same sort of middling lunch holes, stuck behind interchangeable 18-wheelers. If I had to pick only one to follow up with (would love to see an update on the lot, tho), it would have to be the guy and his Ford hatchback who pops up at 18:30 or so. Because he was definitely the most insufferable little weasel I've ever seen. Would love to know if he grew out of it or just became more and more of an irredeemable waste of air as he got older. Willing to bet the latter.
I worked as a sales rep in the late 00s and badge snobbery was a real thing even then and something we all discussed. We all got utterly shite base model Renault Megane "sportshatches" (basically asthmatic 1.5 non turbo diesel estates) whilst the regional managers got Lagunas. The area managers got a choice of higher spec Laguna or a BMW 3 series estate. My regional manager left and got a job working for Nestle where you could pick a car within a certain budget so he managed to get a 2 year old 57 plate BMW 3 series coupe. Much jealousy ensued.
Cars were slow AF in the 90s. They've gotten so fast in the last 30 years, even the boring stuff, that it's easy to forget how slow everything was back then
Why is this so compelling viewing? These people made cars/standing/salary/seniority all in one and make it about cars. I'm totally fascinated. It's almost 30 year ago now, but whatever you think about these people, I'm glad they were honest and we got a view inside this small-minded struggle in their company's. I bet those upgrades from a 1.6 to 1.8 or whatever made those people do extreme hours. They didn't see and didn't value all other perks a job has to offer. Also, the views of near empty motorway's, speeding cars and HGV's(!). I would like to go back in time and drive my current car in those setting. It's stylistic a very nice view, and portray's a sort of emptyness about the roads and the people.
@@joeledger3013 Funnily enough my old manager took on the area managers job for Greggs and got a Maestro Clubman D. Ran into the back of a wagon 1st day and wrote it off. Lost the job a week later! I also owned one for a few years. Last of the line turbo D Clubman. 75mpg was handy but the lack of pas was a nightmare when parking in a tight spot.
@@jimhinks3476 I can never get past assuming some kind of seedy undertone to him paying for a room at a roadside hotel "quite frequentlah". I suspect he may also have paid for some company from time to time.
Everything around the driver looks spot on. All the other cars and road markings/fixtures are time correct. Must be real as too many other vehicles are correct.
I saw this when it was originally broadcast. Even as a 12 year old I thought they were complete delusional, small-minded mediocrities. The Maestro man and Mr Cavalier with his deference for those with headlight washers have stayed with me for nigh on 30 years.
Absolutely fascinating. Also explains why most older sales directors/managers I've had over the last few years have been complete numbskulls having come from this lot.
Really enjoyed this. I was a young boy racer with a Peugot 205GTI 1.9 when this was filmed. Great times for motoring as much less traffic and no speed cameras.
My Dad always hung his jacket up like that too (no hanger just on the hook behind the driver) but he was no salesman...he was a teacher 😂 drove a Volvo 850 estate. Must have been a sign of the times.
This should be used in psychology classes, or show it to every child growing up to teach them that the things you think are really important always turn out to be a heap of dated unloved shite eventually.
Does a struggling salesman start turning up on a bicycle? No, he turns up in a newer car - perception, yeah? They got to trust me - I'm taking these guys into battle, yeah? And I'm doing my own stapling. - David Brent!
Thanks for uploading this. Really interesting. It would be good if they did a version today. Everyone would be much self-aware because of social media.
Totally sad, remember when this was filmed I drove my Granada 2.0i with pride. How things have changed, I now drive a car with no letter or numbers badges anywhere, and rightly so.
In 1993/94 I was at college doing an Access course for mature students. I certainly had no money to run a car but love watching things like this just for the nostalgia for that time in my life.
This looks OLD in 2023! I was only young in 1993, nine but watching this proves I didn't imagine it.... people used to take themselves very, very seriously in those days!
This is fascinating and a fantastic documentary. I was a youngster back when company car culture was rife, but vividly remember both my Uncle and my Dad's 'healthy' competition over it. I remember many company cars on our driveway. When I was just about old enough to remember we had a Calibra (red top no less) as my Dad's then company car. Then came an E36 coupe (318is in white on an early J-plate but with body-coloured bumpers and rear headrests). A W124 200E even made an appearance (in the obligatory white base spec colour of course), which I remember my Dad not being so fond of as it was about 3-years old at the time he ended up with it. My Uncle had a base-spec 318i saloon on a K-plate, then not long after he had a Rover 620 turbo which I thought was actually really nice, and went like a rocket. When my Dad and a business partner eventually started up on their own and took over a business up in Northants, my mum drove a couple of the spare rep cars for a while.... first a white Cavalier 1.6GL and then a white Vectra diesel. The latter must have been dreadful to drive, but all I remember is being wowed by the then novel TrafficMaster updates! The subjects of this documentary are laughable and at the extreme end of course, but it goes to show both how real and slightly pathetic this subculture was back then. Our modern day equivalent fringe benefits are probably remote working and/or health care, amongst other things.
@@sambarker7930yep, he absolutely was. Sadly I think that attitude was far more common than many would like to admit. The subjects of the video just said it aloud, when most didn't make it as obvious but definitely thought the same sort of things.
@@64bakes I find it quite funny tbh (maybe not so much in general, but to the degree the Merc man was absolutely). I think it would be alright to be aware it’s a bit pathetic but still finding it important for yourself. The unaware ones are just sorta unbelievable
@@sambarker7930 Yeah. My Dad never admits it but he felt exactly the same about his company cars. Most of the time it was the first thing he'd ask about with a new job back then. And yes, he worked in sales.
@@64bakes I could imagine! Never really had company cars as a thing with my family. My aunt got two Volvos (a V70 and then a V50) with a job she had quite a few years ago, but I think she only took them because they were offered (her personal car at the time was an old Skoda)
I grew up in the countryside. The richest folk I knew were farmers. They spent 20/30k on their tractors thousands on trailers and farming machinery and at the most about 5 or 6 hundred on cars. I could just imagine these guys looking at the farmers in their cars back then and thinking they were better off 🤣
My old boss used to drive a 17 year old land cruiser with 170000 hard miles on the clock. The front bumper was tied on with baler twine. He got pulled over by VOSA but said it was fine
@@samscott9395 The wealthiest 'old money' folk will run their cars into the ground before considering buying another.They would rather spend money on good food and enjoy life.
Better standards of driving, no complicated and misleading road design. No sudden change of speed limits, it was generally 30 for built up areas and 60 for the rest. What a shit hole this country has become 😢
So true. I seem to spend more time reading the overhead gantries and looking at the speedo than I do on the road. Motorways used to be relaxing driving, now a nightmare.
Hilarious and tragic in equal measure. Thanks for uploading this. I remember watching it when it first came out. It made me roll with laughter then as now, mind you I happily drove a Citroen 2CV at the time!
Fabulous viewing. Hearing how prideful these salesmen are with their 1.6, 1.8 and massive 2.0 litre cars is hilarious and the motorways are so quiet as well.
Ain't nothing wrong with a Maestro. How dare you talk like that about my mum's old car. It was a great runner. Sure, to start it required a sock in the air filter, but that was because of a computer problem. COMPUTERS DON'T BELONG IN CARS!! They belong on a coffee-stained cluttered desk with their user screaming profanities at error messages all day long.
'Wayne from Essex' of today now probably drives either BMW 3-series or A4/A5. Pretty sure the gold chain is still a fixture on the wrist, as well as the badly cut suits.
This is fantastic, I thought it was a spoof documentary or a parody, absolutely in love with this program, yet at the same time I’m disgusted by it..... addictive watching these idiots, yet at the same time would love a mint mk3 cavalier SRI (but not for bragging rights) i is for important ha ha ha....
done watching the family car episode, i think these are briiiiilliant documentaries, would love to see more episodes covering different car owners and their thoughts
I loved my old diesel 309. I used to look in the rear view mirror, see the car behind me and think...... Hmm. There’s a car behind me. That headbanger going on about colour coded bumpers and headlight washers....... I have watched this about 10 times and will watch more. I simply cannot believe what I’m watching. I cannot comprehend what it must be like inside these guys heads and ....... actually, this is way beyond me....but compulsive it is
I suspect it's rather cramped in there. After dealing with a few of these types back in the day, I suspicion is extremely Generous. I wonder what Maestro Man did?
This had a big impact on me when the series first aired in the 90's, my ex-wife's father was so like the nutter talking about the "i" badge, i was a mechanic at the time, i knew that injection engines were more about emissions than performance, but he wasn't listening, the whole family were obsessed with watching cars going past when on the road and looking at the rear badge, in 35 years of being with my ex she always stared at the rear of any passing car to see what badge the car had, it was hilarious, i still laugh when i think about it.
The days of when having "16v" on the back was a big thing. I've got a '94 Escort as a wee project (it's on the road) and it proudly bears the 16v badge on the back as it has the 1.6 16v Zetec EFi engine lol. My mechanic I use is only 31 and he can't believe that was even a thing.
@@JohnnyPaton very funny, incredible boasting on this series from people that would be murdered if I we're stuck in a lift for any more than say 6 minutes with any of those bellends.
Watching this in 2021 as someone working from home it seems like a different world with different rules and benchmarks. Even up to last year when I did go to the office it was on a bicycle. I do own an Astra Saloon, also a 1.6 - but with a turbo - and it's a 2015.
I wonder what happened to the guy in the Maestro. I suspect he didn’t stay with that company for long. Interestingly having checked the car registration the Maestro was first registered in March 1992 and hasn’t been taxed since October 1994 suggesting the car was written off at some point.
One of my colleagues got a brand new E-reg Maestro company car on 1st August. He was parked on an industrial estate, doing some paperwork, when a van ran into the back of it and wrote it off. He hadn’t even taken it home to show the wife.
I often use maps. They don't run out of battery or signal or crash. A quick pre-trip street-view recce, then reading the road signs deal the fiddly bit at the end if I'm not sure.
Every kid should have to watch this. It teaches an important life lesson. Any material thing you’re currently obsessing over will be scrap sooner than you think.
Depends on the car....
Correct. Is it a 1.6i or a 1.8i? 😂
Was thinking the exact same. All those GLi's, shirts and ties, long gone. Was it worth it?
@@SchitzyLipserviceyep. I agree. No it wasn’t.
100%
I watch this at least annually, and it reinforces why I loved cars as a kid. So much choice for the everyman, and hundreds of different engines and specifications to nerd over.
If I was a kid with today's car market, I don't believe I'd be an enthusiast at all.
You could put Alan Partridge in the middle of this and no one would notice a thing.
I know. Scary and funny in equal measures.
I’m not driving a mini metro, I’m not driving a mini metro, I’m not driving a mini metro…
With hints of David Brent
Alan Partridge used to drive a maroon Ford Granada, until he upgraded to the Rover Vitesse Fastback. Back of the net!
@@nicebloke6066they’ve rebadged it you fool!
Imagine being embarrassed of someone looking at your coat hanger on the motorway - nightmare, Hate it when that happens
I would be embarrassed too if I had a Gucci coat hanger.
This is Fascinating... They are literally fighting over crumbs, and have pride over who has the largest.
They’re not literally fighting over crumbs, though it is fascinating I agree.
Brilliantly put! Absolutely. It staggers me that these absolute COCKS actually believe that other people care about the spec badge on their Vauxhall Cavalier, or Ford Sierra. Imagine being so easily pleased by such mediocre machines and regarding them as a reflection of your 'success' and 'status' within a company. Truly risible.
I watched this 10 years ago, i am still as amazed by these people today as I was then
"I said with pride, its not a Honda, its a Nissan Primera"
The rep in the astra is gold. Wants people to see its a CD 😂😂
Snap and I bet the XR2i driver is still a virgin
@@sitaylor1788 😂
JayEmm sent me. Great documentary, it really captured the John Major era for private sector mid-level staff.
Same lol
@and321now nope
"sent you" you silly little asskisser
I sold my M3 as it didn't have an 'i' on the back so I bought a Hyundai i20 instead
Jumbo Whiffy nicely done. That little bit more respect in the company car park.
I don’t stand a chance with a 118D 🙃
I remember back in the 1980s early 1990s when fuel injection was a novelty. Hence the marketing inroducing i to model names vehicles. And these really bought into it lol.
BBC documentaries of this era were just 'art' to me
Totally agree, wont see the like ever again. People would just be too scared to voice theirs openly. Good or not!
@@crimsonpirate1710 People are fake now, always trying to be woke.
You're right, they were masterpieces most of the time, as were the Cutting Edge documentaries from Channel 4
@@crimsonpirate1710 Wonder what they told these people so they would open up and make total fools of themselves, probably without even realizing it.
Totally different world back then. I remember watching Docs like this as a kid and thinking how grown up I was.
Watching this has been the highlight of my working day.
"literally sat down and cried" Totally feel for the guy, I've been in a Maestro.
I’m sure he was also wearing one of those ‘free’ gold watches you could collect from petrol stations back in the day…
This is amazing. Genuinely. Assuming these people aren't scripted and this isn't a stealth parody of salesmen and their hangups (which seems unlikely; what little the internet has given me about this is that it was a legitimate docu-series), this is a fantastic piece of work. Even tho the drivers themselves are taking themselves very seriously, the film seems to mostly pity and/or disdain them. No matter who they are, how "good" their car is, they're shown all driving the same, empty stretches of barren highway, eating at the same sort of middling lunch holes, stuck behind interchangeable 18-wheelers.
If I had to pick only one to follow up with (would love to see an update on the lot, tho), it would have to be the guy and his Ford hatchback who pops up at 18:30 or so. Because he was definitely the most insufferable little weasel I've ever seen. Would love to know if he grew out of it or just became more and more of an irredeemable waste of air as he got older. Willing to bet the latter.
+TrippingThru sharing this comment
Not parody. Legit early 90s motoring with real people. Within 5 years, company cars were on the way out...
Agreed. This is like Louis Theroux minus Louis!
This is an excellent analysis btw.
I worked as a sales rep in the late 00s and badge snobbery was a real thing even then and something we all discussed. We all got utterly shite base model Renault Megane "sportshatches" (basically asthmatic 1.5 non turbo diesel estates) whilst the regional managers got Lagunas. The area managers got a choice of higher spec Laguna or a BMW 3 series estate. My regional manager left and got a job working for Nestle where you could pick a car within a certain budget so he managed to get a 2 year old 57 plate BMW 3 series coupe. Much jealousy ensued.
I love this episode....I always felt sorry for Maestro man too, NOBODY deserved that!
He was a weak sheep and in the sales world they get slaughtered
Made me laugh how even though he was redlining that 200E in every gear off that roundabout, it really struggled to get past the Transit.
That's what I thought! I actually caught myself saying out loud, "wow, it nearly has enough power to get past that van"
Cars were slow AF in the 90s. They've gotten so fast in the last 30 years, even the boring stuff, that it's easy to forget how slow everything was back then
but that's probably no ordinary base model transit. It's the XL with the upgraded sport package. Probably.
@@jameslind1964 Nah, it's the RS Cosworth model.
Have you seen the heavy load the Merc was carrying? No wonder it struggled to overtake the Transit.
10:22. The world's angriest milk man.
I noticed that insane piece if tailgating too!
Guy in the Montego maybe nicked one of his yoghurts.
Saw that! 😂
@@MT-kx2uc it was Earnie
😂😂😂😂
Why is this so compelling viewing? These people made cars/standing/salary/seniority all in one and make it about cars. I'm totally fascinated.
It's almost 30 year ago now, but whatever you think about these people, I'm glad they were honest and we got a view inside this small-minded struggle in their company's. I bet those upgrades from a 1.6 to 1.8 or whatever made those people do extreme hours. They didn't see and didn't value all other perks a job has to offer.
Also, the views of near empty motorway's, speeding cars and HGV's(!). I would like to go back in time and drive my current car in those setting.
It's stylistic a very nice view, and portray's a sort of emptyness about the roads and the people.
Apostrophe alert!
@@vincew8609 sorry, it is not my first language..
It's fascinating
It's like Spinal Tap with sales reps.
Forget Star Wars, forget Titanic, forget Citizen Cane. This is my new favorite movie.
The guy with the Mercedes W124. "I took the 200E badge off the back, because that's just the sort of guy I am." Yes...A massive tit, clearly lol
Can you imagine working beneath such a self-important prize pilchard like that? Talk about over-compensating for your life of mediocrity.
Exactly what I was thinking , self entitled bell-end
He stood as the UKIP candidate for 2015 Oxford East election, considers himself a close friend of Nigel Farage.
@@stevefood7389 I've just tried to look that up, apparently the candidate was just 24? Can't be the same guy.
@@zm321 I entirely made it up, completely believable though, isn't it?
legend has it he still chugs the motorway in the maestro diesel on the way to collect his 2.0i that never was
That diesel Maestro only lasted just over 2 years according to DVLA, perhaps he wrote it off as a protest!!😩🤣
@@joeledger3013 Funnily enough my old manager took on the area managers job for Greggs and got a Maestro Clubman D. Ran into the back of a wagon 1st day and wrote it off. Lost the job a week later!
I also owned one for a few years. Last of the line turbo D Clubman. 75mpg was handy but the lack of pas was a nightmare when parking in a tight spot.
@@GrahamGroovyUK
They certainly were a budget car those Clubman’s!
@@joeledger3013 I think they were £7777 .Slightly more than the new Rover Metro 1.1c. Sandero buyers territory ;)
Nice little budget car!
The first guy must be the only person ever to get excited about a sodding Astra..
Not at all, Mark! 🤣
The very definition of a boring car.
An old girlfriend used to get excited in an Astra, but that is a different story!
he thinks he's living the dream. But it's a nightmare.
When did you last drive one?🤣
I'm not going to be seen sitting in my car doing paperwork...that's for reps!!.....
I had to come and watch this three years on😂👍
Nothing says success like hiring a room at Doncaster Travelodge on A1 (M) 'quite frequently'.
@@jimhinks3476 I can never get past assuming some kind of seedy undertone to him paying for a room at a roadside hotel "quite frequentlah". I suspect he may also have paid for some company from time to time.
@@PluckinA_Connor im sure his wife loved him being gone.
Out of all of them he was certainly the most pathetic
@@sambarker7930him and primera man
23:46 ".. and that's a succes." he says, with a steel face. Priceless!
"you wouldn't see me doing paperwork in the car, that's for the reps" he scoffed
I still can’t tell if this is the best piece of comedy history, way ahead of its time or real
Everything around the driver looks spot on. All the other cars and road markings/fixtures are time correct. Must be real as too many other vehicles are correct.
I can see where Ricky Gervais got his David Brent inspiration from. 🤷♂️
Yeah at 5 mins 30 seconds - the no CD badge on the back and look into the camera!
Notice how much more space you had in the parking bays then. Cars were so much smaller.
I saw this when it was originally broadcast. Even as a 12 year old I thought they were complete delusional, small-minded mediocrities. The Maestro man and Mr Cavalier with his deference for those with headlight washers have stayed with me for nigh on 30 years.
headlight washers were kinda a big deal ya know?!
@@bobbyhorsman9963 You can have all the headlight washers you want but nothing beats the i factor.
Me too! I looked for this programme on the internet today and found it.
ha ha ha
Maestro man was definitely not having a good year
Absolutely fabulous. Such a nice period piece and yet still so true today.
Absolutely fascinating. Also explains why most older sales directors/managers I've had over the last few years have been complete numbskulls having come from this lot.
Guarantee you're a low grade bottom feeder with no closing skills or strength. So many of your kind are weak and pathetic nowadays.
Really enjoyed this. I was a young boy racer with a Peugot 205GTI 1.9 when this was filmed. Great times for motoring as much less traffic and no speed cameras.
I think I will be watching for jackets on hangers in the rear window of cars for the rest of my life.
Mark Janzen especially the fake wood 😂
I remember redline magazine used to dig out the reps badly
My Dad always hung his jacket up like that too (no hanger just on the hook behind the driver) but he was no salesman...he was a teacher 😂 drove a Volvo 850 estate. Must have been a sign of the times.
16:20, this guy wins... check out the way he says "...that's for reps."
What a cock
This should be used in psychology classes, or show it to every child growing up to teach them that the things you think are really important always turn out to be a heap of dated unloved shite eventually.
Thanks for putting this up, I haven't laughed so hard since I first saw it on tv, now I've shared it to people I've mentioned it to 👍👍
Does a struggling salesman start turning up on a bicycle? No, he turns up in a newer car - perception, yeah? They got to trust me - I'm taking these guys into battle, yeah? And I'm doing my own stapling. - David Brent!
This HAS to be sattire. Absolutely brilliant 😂👍
Its real! A first into 'reality tv'
It's a satire!! The other episodes in the series are good too!
I am a certified car nut and at several points during this I wanted to scream "OHMYGODWHOTHEHELLCARES!". These are the most boring people ever.
Still though...bet you watched to the end.
Thanks for uploading this. Really interesting. It would be good if they did a version today. Everyone would be much self-aware because of social media.
Totally sad, remember when this was filmed I drove my Granada 2.0i with pride.
How things have changed, I now drive a car with no letter or numbers badges anywhere, and rightly so.
If I was on it, it would be: this is my mid-range company Honda. It is adequate.
In 1993/94 I was at college doing an Access course for mature students. I certainly had no money to run a car but love watching things like this just for the nostalgia for that time in my life.
Russell Brand in his BMW was pure class. Tapping along to classical music like he didn’t normally listen to Wham. 😂
Absolutely! As soon as the cameras were off he was giving it the full ‘club Tropicana’ 😂
As soon as the camera was off he was belting along to Robin S Show Me Love
ha ha ha ha
Guy thought he was hot shit in a near base spec e36. Did he think the guys driving e39's were gods?
Milkman super tailgating at 10:24 lol
I was expecting to hear a crash when they disappeared off camera
This looks OLD in 2023! I was only young in 1993, nine but watching this proves I didn't imagine it.... people used to take themselves very, very seriously in those days!
Ah the George and Lynn mix of Blowout there at 22:28. License-losing tune in an XR2i!!
This is fascinating and a fantastic documentary. I was a youngster back when company car culture was rife, but vividly remember both my Uncle and my Dad's 'healthy' competition over it. I remember many company cars on our driveway. When I was just about old enough to remember we had a Calibra (red top no less) as my Dad's then company car. Then came an E36 coupe (318is in white on an early J-plate but with body-coloured bumpers and rear headrests). A W124 200E even made an appearance (in the obligatory white base spec colour of course), which I remember my Dad not being so fond of as it was about 3-years old at the time he ended up with it. My Uncle had a base-spec 318i saloon on a K-plate, then not long after he had a Rover 620 turbo which I thought was actually really nice, and went like a rocket. When my Dad and a business partner eventually started up on their own and took over a business up in Northants, my mum drove a couple of the spare rep cars for a while.... first a white Cavalier 1.6GL and then a white Vectra diesel. The latter must have been dreadful to drive, but all I remember is being wowed by the then novel TrafficMaster updates!
The subjects of this documentary are laughable and at the extreme end of course, but it goes to show both how real and slightly pathetic this subculture was back then. Our modern day equivalent fringe benefits are probably remote working and/or health care, amongst other things.
Id have to say the man in the Mercedes was extremely pathetic
@@sambarker7930yep, he absolutely was. Sadly I think that attitude was far more common than many would like to admit. The subjects of the video just said it aloud, when most didn't make it as obvious but definitely thought the same sort of things.
@@64bakes I find it quite funny tbh (maybe not so much in general, but to the degree the Merc man was absolutely). I think it would be alright to be aware it’s a bit pathetic but still finding it important for yourself. The unaware ones are just sorta unbelievable
@@sambarker7930 Yeah. My Dad never admits it but he felt exactly the same about his company cars. Most of the time it was the first thing he'd ask about with a new job back then. And yes, he worked in sales.
@@64bakes I could imagine! Never really had company cars as a thing with my family. My aunt got two Volvos (a V70 and then a V50) with a job she had quite a few years ago, but I think she only took them because they were offered (her personal car at the time was an old Skoda)
The coat hanger broke in the Montego LOL.
You'd be happy with that Merc E class today. The ride quality on them was superb, as was Merc build quality back then
Oldest known footage of texting while driving 8:24
The Patrick Batemans of car enthusiasts.
These men aren't car enthusiasts (two of the three "thumping good points" about the Nissan's engine are the same point)
@@sambarker7930 I saw that as well. Obviously very ignorant. Fuel injection only came about because of cars having catalytic converters fitted!
@@ianmilleris indeed! Men who choose their cars based on the badge on the bootlid
Yep fiesta guy is for sure. Hes a bit edgy compared to the rest
Let’s see Paul Allen’s car…
I grew up in the countryside. The richest folk I knew were farmers. They spent 20/30k on their tractors thousands on trailers and farming machinery and at the most about 5 or 6 hundred on cars. I could just imagine these guys looking at the farmers in their cars back then and thinking they were better off 🤣
I can vouch for that.The extremely rich farmers near me drove old dented Land Rovers!
My old boss used to drive a 17 year old land cruiser with 170000 hard miles on the clock. The front bumper was tied on with baler twine. He got pulled over by VOSA but said it was fine
@@samscott9395 The wealthiest 'old money' folk will run their cars into the ground before considering buying another.They would rather spend money on good food and enjoy life.
Better standards of driving, no complicated and misleading road design. No sudden change of speed limits, it was generally 30 for built up areas and 60 for the rest. What a shit hole this country has become 😢
Go and live elsewhere
So true. I seem to spend more time reading the overhead gantries and looking at the speedo than I do on the road. Motorways used to be relaxing driving, now a nightmare.
No speed cameras too, now they’re everywhere.
Brutally honest surprisingly insight-inducing content.
I was gobsmacked watching this in 1993. I'm still gobsmacked now
They can't see it's a CD Astra - oh, the irony...
Do tell.
No wonder Great Britain is in such a mess - this lot couldn't sell themselves out of a paper bag. The employers should have known better.
This is like a time machine to my childhood. My dad had a Granada then the Sierra so many memorys of ran filled holidays.
Loved watching this again after all these years. I never forgot the guy with the Maestro 😂 Thanks for sharing a wonderful time capsule.
A Maestro diesel, and to rub salt on the wounds a clubman at that!
@@gulfstream7235 and everyone must've hated him for them to leak it to the rest of the staff, then all come out pissing their pants!!
This is worthy of Adam Curtis. Their lives are just so astonishingly inconsequential.
Hilarious and tragic in equal measure. Thanks for uploading this. I remember watching it when it first came out. It made me roll with laughter then as now, mind you I happily drove a Citroen 2CV at the time!
Fabulous viewing. Hearing how prideful these salesmen are with their 1.6, 1.8 and massive 2.0 litre cars is hilarious and the motorways are so quiet as well.
Yep, I remember these times and a 2.0 Gli was a nice car but certainly not much better than an L.😂
29:10 Way ahead of his time
TBF, the maestro would be a "sickening blow" for anyone...what did he do to deserve that?! 🤣🤣🤣
Ain't nothing wrong with a Maestro. How dare you talk like that about my mum's old car. It was a great runner. Sure, to start it required a sock in the air filter, but that was because of a computer problem. COMPUTERS DON'T BELONG IN CARS!! They belong on a coffee-stained cluttered desk with their user screaming profanities at error messages all day long.
'Wayne from Essex' of today now probably drives either BMW 3-series or A4/A5. Pretty sure the gold chain is still a fixture on the wrist, as well as the badly cut suits.
This is fantastic, I thought it was a spoof documentary or a parody, absolutely in love with this program, yet at the same time I’m disgusted by it..... addictive watching these idiots, yet at the same time would love a mint mk3 cavalier SRI (but not for bragging rights) i is for important ha ha ha....
What an amazing insight into some truly vapid existences.
This is amaaazing. I can’t believe this is real!
Brilliant filmmaking.
Having your Cavalier 2.0i replaced with a Maestro Clubman diesel: quiet firing in the 1990s!
Yep being managed out for sure
Unreal. This is such an eyeopener.
You see where Ricky Gervais got his characters from. I thought this was a parody with actors at first. 😂
I had a Maestro all those years ago.. I wonder if its reached 60 mph yet
27:32 is the best line in the whole episode.
done watching the family car episode, i think these are briiiiilliant documentaries, would love to see more episodes covering different car owners and their thoughts
The guy at 29:00 banging on about “everyone saying diesels are better that petrols for the environment” turns out he was right.
Reet smoke coming out of eet ont k plate
Yes for a complete 70553r, he got one thing right in his entire existence.
No longer under Starmer 🙄
@garyparker2541 why is starmer going to mandate us to drive diesels then?
@@pit_stop77 What?... this encouragement began over TWENTY years ago and haven't you been keeping up with the news, in recent times?
I loved my old diesel 309. I used to look in the rear view mirror, see the car behind me and think......
Hmm. There’s a car behind me.
That headbanger going on about colour coded bumpers and headlight washers.......
I have watched this about 10 times and will watch more. I simply cannot believe what I’m watching. I cannot comprehend what it must be like inside these guys heads and ....... actually, this is way beyond me....but compulsive it is
I suspect it's rather cramped in there. After dealing with a few of these types back in the day, I suspicion is extremely Generous.
I wonder what Maestro Man did?
A Rover Maestro? He must have really pissed someone off.
Daniel Sifuentes do not shag the secretary the boss fancies...or else!. You have been warned!
They called it a punishment wagon for reps who missed their targets.
He did say both him and the wife cried the night he brought it home...aww bless lol.
I remember watching this first time round. The cavalier had a great interior. Far better than a contemporary sierra
This makes Marion and Geoff feel like a lighthearted show about a happy go lucky chap.
'it's a bit different from the run of the mill astras'... Sonny, ALL astras are run of the mill, it's the very definition of a run of the mill car.
He was talking as though he'd been given a 2.2 GSi the absolute cocksocket.
I’ve noticed that the roadside kerbs etc were a lot tidier and no weeds about how nice 👍
That's 15 years of austerity for you - if you look at clips from the late 00s you would still see the difference to today. Everything has suffered.
This had a big impact on me when the series first aired in the 90's, my ex-wife's father was so like the nutter talking about the "i" badge, i was a mechanic at the time, i knew that injection engines were more about emissions than performance, but he wasn't listening, the whole family were obsessed with watching cars going past when on the road and looking at the rear badge, in 35 years of being with my ex she always stared at the rear of any passing car to see what badge the car had, it was hilarious, i still laugh when i think about it.
Also amusing is that since catalytic converters became mandatory in 1992 all new cars were fuel injected anyway, i badge or not.
@@DavidDavid-kl4ru Catalytic converters with carbs were a thing on the US market for about 12-15 years. I do not miss them.
The days of when having "16v" on the back was a big thing. I've got a '94 Escort as a wee project (it's on the road) and it proudly bears the 16v badge on the back as it has the 1.6 16v Zetec EFi engine lol. My mechanic I use is only 31 and he can't believe that was even a thing.
@@JohnnyPaton very funny, incredible boasting on this series from people that would be murdered if I we're stuck in a lift for any more than say 6 minutes with any of those bellends.
I’m loving this series. I’m gonna watch all of it while I do admin 😂
Glamorous, they're basically truck drivers without the cab.
This is more Partridge than most Partridge
Lynn, I'm not driving a mini metro.
It's a Rover 100.
@@zippy963 They've rebadged it, you fool!
I remember this from the first time around. Always remember the 'i' man who cracks me up and would glady push off a bridge.
I remember watching this the first time around as well I remember the guy who got the maestro well
Thanks for posting, a great episode!
The guy at 29 min 30 sec !! Turns out he was so right about diesel 👏👏
absolutely brilliant! Alan Partridge on steroids
16:00 ... why does the term "berk in a merc" spring to mind? lol.
Watching this in 2021 as someone working from home it seems like a different world with different rules and benchmarks. Even up to last year when I did go to the office it was on a bicycle. I do own an Astra Saloon, also a 1.6 - but with a turbo - and it's a 2015.
And you own it! Those lot all got a car with the job. It was never theirs in the first place...
I wonder what happened to the guy in the Maestro. I suspect he didn’t stay with that company for long. Interestingly having checked the car registration the Maestro was first registered in March 1992 and hasn’t been taxed since October 1994 suggesting the car was written off at some point.
He probably crashed on purpose just to get rid of it.
One of my colleagues got a brand new E-reg Maestro company car on 1st August. He was parked on an industrial estate, doing some paperwork, when a van ran into the back of it and wrote it off. He hadn’t even taken it home to show the wife.
The Maestro guy, not sure whether to laugh or cry
more like to laugh and maestro
Map pockets!
Really brings home the lack of sat nav !!! 😂
People read maps 👍
I often use maps. They don't run out of battery or signal or crash. A quick pre-trip street-view recce, then reading the road signs deal the fiddly bit at the end if I'm not sure.
Notice how little traffic there was on the motorways during this time.
Or speed cameras, there were none.
The modern equivalent of this lt is your Merc AMG line or Audi S Line. All the show and no go but you can tell your mates ya got an AMG.
I remember watching this when it first aired and thinking it must be a comedy, and my opinion hasn’t changed.
And now everyone has a bmw 3 series!
Imagine driving an Astra and a Carlton pulls up beside you. The ultimate humiliation.
The amount of coping with his downgrade is hilarious, you literally cannot get more run of the mill than a white 1.6 Astra, and everyone knows it
22:26 keeping it real with not only his car but his choice of music! 🖤
JESUS every single one bleating on about badges and peer respect. What a bunch of sycophants. Fair play to the lad in the XR2i though.
He didn't like wearing a seatbelt though! Law requiring it passed a good 10 years earlier...
Nah he's a twat like the rest of them too.
@Paul Matthews you still a rep
@@norwich19661 good on you pleased it worked out - think you made a good choice on the car btw