Retro car review | consumer test | Ford | Volkswagen | Fiat | Renault | Drive in | 1977

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  • Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
  • 'Drive in' Presenter Shaw Taylor looks at the latest 'mini' cars from Ford Fiesta, Fiat 127, Renault 5 and VW polo and give would be buyers a chance for a test run.
    First shown: 23/02/1977
    If you would like to license a clip from this video please e mail:
    archive@fremantle.com
    Quote: VT1410

Комментарии • 1,1 тыс.

  • @tomlanigan4308
    @tomlanigan4308 4 года назад +119

    Thank you ThamesTV for the archived car content - wonderful

  • @zippy963
    @zippy963 4 года назад +188

    All the customers look like Fawlty Towers guests.

    • @ronaldvermeulen9561
      @ronaldvermeulen9561 4 года назад +15

      Don't mention the war then!

    • @notroll1279
      @notroll1279 4 года назад +7

      @@ronaldvermeulen9561 This is typical.... absolutely typical...

    • @ghostinthemachine76
      @ghostinthemachine76 3 года назад +3

      😂😂😂

    • @tonymoruzzi
      @tonymoruzzi 3 года назад +8

      It won’t be long before they’re all beating their new cars with a tree branch to get them started.

    • @jamesnewman4351
      @jamesnewman4351 3 года назад +3

      I'm not a violent man Mr Fawlty ...

  • @Seiskid
    @Seiskid 3 года назад +48

    This is frightening. 9:15 where we learn that your new fiat is guaranteed not to rust out from under you for a whole two years seems incredible now.

    • @benschram
      @benschram Год назад +3

      it's a well known fact and joke that Fiat's are infamous for rusting. I know because I own one and the first question everyone asks is "how's the rust?"

    • @RoadCone411
      @RoadCone411 Месяц назад +1

      I know people say this all the time, but it's worth repeating that rustproofing was not great on any car back in the 1960s and 1970s. Fiats - and most Italian cars - earned a well-earned reputation for rust and rot perhaps because it was less of a problem in Italy than in rainy Britain. Of course, Vauxhalls of the 1950s and 60s also rotted away before your eyes, and although there were improvements in the 1970s, they didnt kick that reputation until the 1990s! Any of these four cars were pretty much rustboxes

  • @georgebogdan397
    @georgebogdan397 4 года назад +191

    Ford Fiesta top specs: seat belts and carpets

    • @bradlemmond
      @bradlemmond 4 года назад +18

      *L U X U R Y*

    • @philpaxton2078
      @philpaxton2078 4 года назад +4

      Static belts on the base model 😁

    • @georgebogdan397
      @georgebogdan397 4 года назад +2

      @@bradlemmond howdy partner

    • @k.j.g.9601
      @k.j.g.9601 3 года назад +1

      Hahaha, was thinking the same thing “my advice, spring for the breaks...that is not standard on this vehicle...” All these cars looked old the second they rolled off the production line

    • @paulsz6194
      @paulsz6194 3 года назад +1

      Yes jerzy bogdan, I thought the same thing. So they are saying that the mandatory safety equipment is standard( plus some carpet, instead of rubber)?

  • @rjft7003
    @rjft7003 4 года назад +27

    Legend says 37 year old Peter Sellers is now a 80 year old Briton still travelling around Europe in a 70's Ford Fiesta.

  • @lanehogger1532
    @lanehogger1532 4 года назад +160

    That rep having to travel 25-30k a year in a 1 ltr car. Poor sod should be driving a Cortina.

    • @philpaxton2078
      @philpaxton2078 4 года назад +20

      40bhp for driving across Europe. Leisurely progress indeed. At least the Polo engine is very refined.

    • @fasthracing
      @fasthracing 4 года назад +29

      Hi has his flat cap and pipe for company though.

    • @philpaxton2078
      @philpaxton2078 4 года назад +12

      @@fasthracing Not only that, but cloth trim and a reclining driver's seat. Luxury indeed.

    • @bid84
      @bid84 4 года назад +8

      A load of ballyhoo if you ask me.

    • @OAKSEY-wd4vs
      @OAKSEY-wd4vs 4 года назад +6

      Or a Granada

  • @donaldasayers
    @donaldasayers 3 года назад +49

    "And the rear door opens." I should bloody well hope so.

    • @ghostinthemachine76
      @ghostinthemachine76 3 года назад +2

      Donald Sayers
      😂😂😂

    • @becconvideo
      @becconvideo 3 года назад +3

      With the Allegro it didn't - that's the punch line.

    • @civlyzed
      @civlyzed 3 года назад

      @@becconvideo Wow, I didn't know that! I'm not familiar with the Allegro, but I recall seeing them on TV when I was a kid.

  • @mickflick8998
    @mickflick8998 4 года назад +93

    The customers look ten years older than their reported age?

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +24

      Good old 70's fashion, probably lack of makeup and poor living conditions for most of their life. The kids today don't appreciate how good they have it.

    • @butterairways
      @butterairways 4 года назад +1

      Yeah they do as well 🤔

    • @timhulio1
      @timhulio1 3 года назад +7

      37 years old sir? You'll be wanting a flat cap and a beige overcoat. Can I also suggest the pipe and slippers?

    • @MMM18092
      @MMM18092 3 года назад +3

      I think people didn't aspire to look younger than their age back then. You entered midlife in your late 20s and stayed there until you turned 65.

    • @silenthunteruk
      @silenthunteruk 3 года назад +2

      @@michaeldawson6309 The people older than this group would have grown up during the war. Very high stress time and that ages people.

  • @herrfister1477
    @herrfister1477 4 года назад +146

    Fiat guaranteed not to rust for two whole years???
    “That’s quite an achievement.”
    Yeah nice one lads.

    • @ghostinthemachine76
      @ghostinthemachine76 3 года назад +8

      Nothing’s changed since.
      They’re still rot boxes now 😂

    • @V8Operator
      @V8Operator 3 года назад +6

      In practise the Polo was totally corroded into car heaven before the Fiat had shown the first rust bubble... but the statement of the FIAT sales guy "thats quite an achievement" was really great... 10 out of 10!!!

    • @sutherlandA1
      @sutherlandA1 3 года назад +7

      The fiat survived longer than the polo

    • @kristallpalats
      @kristallpalats 3 года назад +1

      Not sure how the first 127 were when they came in 1971, but this is from 1977 and then Fiat 127 did well from the rust aspect. Better than most cars. So was the Fiesta. Fiat 127 & Ford Fiesta did manage rust quite ok.

    • @crumplezone1
      @crumplezone1 3 года назад +3

      Yeah it was rotting beneath the `underseal` as they spoke ! but I do miss those times, what a cracking pice of TV that , now all they have is Love Island :)

  • @mattreed3260
    @mattreed3260 4 года назад +54

    "overtake Leyland as market leader in Britain"
    Crazy times.

    • @markfindlay8636
      @markfindlay8636 3 года назад +3

      😂 and two 🌟 petrol.

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 3 года назад +3

      "...Will help Ford overtake Leyland". So it was being eagerly ANTICIPATED that Ford will overtake Leyland as the biggest car sellers in Britain!!!

  • @Ul.B
    @Ul.B Год назад +18

    Information about the cars in this video:
    - PNO 624R (Ford Fiesta) - First Registration: December 1976, Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 23
    November 1989, tax due 1 November 1990.
    - PYF 334R (VW) - Date of first registration January 1977, Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 15 February
    1983, tax due 31 August 1985.
    - PLU 928R (Renault R5) - Date of first registration September 1976, Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 13
    May 1986, tax due: 1 Aug 1986
    - PLM 832R (Fiat) - Date of first registration September 1976, Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 21 July
    1986, tax due 1 February 1988

    • @vlota
      @vlota 5 месяцев назад +2

      I'm glad you did this and saved me the time. It's the kind of nerdy thing I 'd do.

    • @sebastian0107
      @sebastian0107 11 дней назад

      Extraordinary outcome! The Ford outlasted them all! Well, we don't know how they were treated. 10 years average was normal back then.

  • @mustangtel9265
    @mustangtel9265 4 года назад +187

    Back then brand new cars looked like they were already 10 years old.

    • @TVHouseHistorian
      @TVHouseHistorian 4 года назад +10

      I was thinking more like 30 years, but otherwise I am in full agreement with you.

    • @leumamk5259
      @leumamk5259 4 года назад +7

      Nowadays, we have the Mitsubishi Mirage.

    • @Wollie1979
      @Wollie1979 4 года назад

      Lol! First thing I thought when watching those full color lollipop lookalikes

    • @michaelkeen5010
      @michaelkeen5010 4 года назад +14

      Having been a car owner through that era of the mid-late 70’s, I can assure you that these cars were very much up to date back then, bearing in mind that transverse engines and front wheel drive were still fairly new to manufacturers. The Fiesta was the first U.K. Ford with front wheel drive and transverse engine, and the VW Polo likewise for VW. The Fiat 127had been around for a couple years by then and the Renault stuck with a longitudinal engine with front wheel drive. I was a VW Polo man, and owned several during this period.

    • @petetaylor9370
      @petetaylor9370 4 года назад +3

      The engine bay on the Polo looked rusty!! 😂 still love them all though. I’d love a 127!!

  • @notroll1279
    @notroll1279 4 года назад +124

    This is the best cure against car nostalgia. "They don't build them like that any more..." - thank god for that!

    • @stuartaharris
      @stuartaharris 4 года назад +8

      Too broad a brush. There are classic cars and then there's this pile of poop - the worst of the the worst - tinny 70s rot boxes!

    • @jezb9762
      @jezb9762 4 года назад +2

      Not many people dream of owning a base model shopping car anyway.

    • @notroll1279
      @notroll1279 4 года назад +4

      @@stuartaharris So which cars of the 1970s were made considerably better and lasted a lot longer (unless you never drove them in the rain or outside)? And how few cars of the millions made did really attain classic status?
      I think the whining about "they don't make them like that anymore" is too broad a brush... and that's all I'm saying.

    • @notroll1279
      @notroll1279 4 года назад +2

      @Andrew Battersby Many of the 1970 cars were so "meh" nobody actually noticed their rusty disappearance.
      When did you see a Renault 14, a Peugeot 405 or a 1970s Vauxhall Viva for the last time?
      They were mass produced to rot away. I give you that the Renault 5 was an interesting car with its plastic bumpers I wish more modern cars have. But any designer with a brain and some imagination should have realized how dangerous this gear lever was in case of an accident...

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +1

      @@notroll1279 If I think back the Jensen Interceptor was made of fibreglass and looked very cool back in the day. But I guess it had a crash rating of -5 stars :-)
      The Ford Granada was also a nice car 3000E auto was nice and comfortable and fast for its time.

  • @jezstokes8592
    @jezstokes8592 4 года назад +57

    11:34 “join me for a second love” This is great to watch to see how things have changed!

    • @jareknowak8712
      @jareknowak8712 4 года назад +7

      100%!

    • @woodyeckerslyke9676
      @woodyeckerslyke9676 4 года назад +34

      Surprised he didn't pat her on the arse as she walked away.

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 4 года назад +5

      "corpet"!!! Is not that out of Tony Greig's book of pronunciation!!

    • @jezstokes8592
      @jezstokes8592 4 года назад +1

      Woody Eckerslyke Now that would have been so funny!!

    • @bluegtturbo
      @bluegtturbo 4 года назад +2

      Nowadays it'd be straight to HR for a stiff talking to...lol

  • @dafunkester
    @dafunkester 4 года назад +63

    Now that's how you do a car review show.

    • @johnnycage3673
      @johnnycage3673 4 года назад +2

      So you aren't a Supercar Blondie subscriber?

    • @guidopiano8390
      @guidopiano8390 3 года назад +1

      Having cars tested by standard ignorants?

  • @Chris-ln6so
    @Chris-ln6so 4 года назад +63

    ‘Would you join me over here a second, love?’

    • @richardgreenwood3355
      @richardgreenwood3355 4 года назад +6

      😂 I read your comment before I got to that bit in the video. I assumed it was going to be one of the husbands.

    • @ghenkhoash2440
      @ghenkhoash2440 4 года назад

      No

    • @DolleHengst
      @DolleHengst 4 года назад

      Nothing short of Irish xD

    • @tonyhancock3912
      @tonyhancock3912 4 года назад +21

      He'd get a knee in the bollocks if he said that today

    • @scottirvine121
      @scottirvine121 4 года назад +1

      I’m almost sure she is the pornography actress of the 90s

  • @georgebogdan397
    @georgebogdan397 4 года назад +42

    That 37 year old Borat looks like a 47 years old

    • @AlfaGiuliaQV
      @AlfaGiuliaQV 4 года назад +5

      more like 55

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +1

      Wonder if he has a Borat mane down below too :-) That mustache is just a fashion crime along with the clothes. Poor sod I feel sorry for him as he seems so comfortable too with his appearance.
      I had a mate who also drove a MGBGT and he too smoked a pipe ! Must be a MGBGT thing.

    • @gregsmith1070
      @gregsmith1070 3 года назад

      @@AlfaGiuliaQV more like 77

  • @mattp4806
    @mattp4806 4 года назад +28

    This is Sunday morning bliss for me!

  • @sugreev2001
    @sugreev2001 4 года назад +55

    Thought that was Peter Sellers for a moment

    • @jareknowak8712
      @jareknowak8712 4 года назад +12

      It was His lost brother, the Beige Panther.
      :D

    • @aliancemd
      @aliancemd 4 года назад

      From the side, looked like young David Letterman

    • @davewilliams9471
      @davewilliams9471 3 года назад +2

      That’s Shaw Taylor😂 He also used to present Police 5, “keep em peeled” was his catchphrase 😎

  • @fredperry9235
    @fredperry9235 4 года назад +22

    Is this Monty Python?

  • @jareknowak8712
    @jareknowak8712 4 года назад +27

    Wow!
    Free seat belts!
    What a profligacy!
    :)

  • @TheStevenWhiting
    @TheStevenWhiting 4 года назад +147

    Back in the day where 37 year olds look like they are in their 40s. Just like in Bullseye, with the 20 year olds looking like they are in their 40s.

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 4 года назад +23

      That couple; the 39 year old man looked 49. The woman looked at least 45.

    • @infrasleep
      @infrasleep 4 года назад +27

      It was American TV and films like Grease that scared me. I thought the school leaving age in America was 36 and we in the UK would follow suit ;D

    • @mfitzy100
      @mfitzy100 4 года назад +9

      I’m the same age as him and was kinda shocked...he looked about 50 to me on first glance!

    • @Ka9radio_Mobile9
      @Ka9radio_Mobile9 4 года назад +1

      @@infrasleep I think you have! Lol :-D

    • @EgoShredder
      @EgoShredder 4 года назад +10

      I've seen many 20+ yr olds that look in their 40s and 50s, just with better skin. They have that older mature expression on their faces, and the same vibe coming from them.

  • @johnm9845
    @johnm9845 3 года назад +11

    This is an early Harry Enfield sketch. Love his matching coat,tie and shirt. Mr Chumley-Warner with anorak and clutched pipe as accessory- nice touch, seriously considering a Fiat 127 to travel widely throughout Europe is a bit far fetched though. " How do I stop the interior misting up? -Well,on each door you'll see a little winding mechanism which enables you to lower the window. Also, the Fiesta comes with optional sun glasses. All right love,go make me a cup of tea while I talk it over with your husband.

    • @fransb8543
      @fransb8543 7 месяцев назад

      Well it is around 40, 45 years old this clip.

  • @666louis
    @666louis 4 года назад +56

    Back then, when a family car was a small hatchback.
    Nowadays the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cars of the family are just SUVs ranging from monstrously huge and overweight to just mildly obese and just big enough to ruin the sightlines of everyone driving behind.

    • @jeroenjansen2709
      @jeroenjansen2709 4 года назад +2

      I came back from SUVs to a suzuki swift

    • @hugglescake
      @hugglescake 3 года назад +1

      Excluding the Mustang, 2021 is the last year Ford will be selling sedans in the US. Trucks and SUV's will be your only choice.

    • @m4rs12
      @m4rs12 3 года назад +6

      Have you noticed the size of family members nowadays? 😂

  • @briforks7681
    @briforks7681 4 года назад +38

    2 year anti trust guarantee,no one else offers this.That Fiat salesman was a one off.

    • @forresg500
      @forresg500 4 года назад +1

      Fiesta had 6 yr paint warranty back then I think??
      And 1 year unlimited on everything else

    • @ronaldderooij1774
      @ronaldderooij1774 4 года назад +3

      Well you must give the later series 127 that they at least did not rust anymore.

    • @briforks7681
      @briforks7681 4 года назад +1

      @@ronaldderooij1774 not for 2 years anyway.

    • @replevideo6096
      @replevideo6096 4 года назад +3

      I bought a Fiesta L in 1980. Underseal was £100 extra but I got it for free because I was paying cash. The underseal had a longer guarantee than 2 years. I think it was 5. I paid £2100 including underseal and mudflaps for free.

    • @replevideo6096
      @replevideo6096 4 года назад +1

      @@forresg500 The 1 year was a legal requirement under the Sale of Goods Act so all the cars had that.

  • @Aleksandar_M
    @Aleksandar_M 4 года назад +40

    This is back when having a car was a luxury in itself!

    • @Arltratlo
      @Arltratlo 2 года назад +1

      we had 2 Passat, 1975 and a 1979 at the same time...the 75 model been sold by my sister after 20 years, the 79 sold after 12 years... i replaced it with a 1982 Santana turbo diesel!

    • @PiggyWiggyO
      @PiggyWiggyO Год назад

      It was when a couple had 2 cars outside their driveway.

    • @darrenwilson8042
      @darrenwilson8042 11 месяцев назад

      Not necessarily - I passed my test and got my first car just under 3 years later...... a 9 year old Avenger I bought for buttons and towed home from an auction ha ha

  • @Ravensclawed
    @Ravensclawed 4 года назад +20

    You can almost hear them dissolving in the damp weather

    • @sebastian0107
      @sebastian0107 11 дней назад

      Except for the Polo, they all lived up to 10 years; Fiesta 13!

  • @Flughafenkaiser
    @Flughafenkaiser 4 года назад +25

    I always wanted a car with a screen wash function and with seatbelts as standard.

    • @dm5374
      @dm5374 3 года назад +3

      I'm a carpet fan myself...

    • @MarkPMus
      @MarkPMus 2 года назад

      If you’re good I’ll let you have a steering wheel….

    • @fosterfuchs
      @fosterfuchs Год назад

      In 1992, I rode in the front passenger seat of an unmarked Crown Victoria police car in Boston, Massachusetts, after I had become the victim of a crime. The seatbelt had been removed.

  • @Ka9radio_Mobile9
    @Ka9radio_Mobile9 4 года назад +53

    These folks are in there 80s now! :-(

    • @ricomartinez2869
      @ricomartinez2869 4 года назад +10

      ka9radio Or dead...

    • @Ka9radio_Mobile9
      @Ka9radio_Mobile9 4 года назад +15

      @@ricomartinez2869 I was going to say that but I wanted to be hopeful. :-)

    • @hideouslyugly
      @hideouslyugly 4 года назад +2

      They weren't far from 80 then! All looking in their late 40s to late 50s.

    • @TakeMeOffYourMailingList
      @TakeMeOffYourMailingList 4 года назад

      Even the kids?

    • @Twit.Tw00
      @Twit.Tw00 3 года назад +1

      The kids will be around 60 years old 😳

  • @becconvideo
    @becconvideo 3 года назад +3

    Beautiful. Good old England. - 43 years later it looks like commedy - but it was real.

  • @raidsdamaltaportugal3925
    @raidsdamaltaportugal3925 4 года назад +8

    ...with Itens like carpets...”! This reminds me of the days gone by, where the simplicity and choices were pragmatic and focused on usefulness. I remember traveling in a Renault 5 and thinking of how “modern” (integrated bumpers) and “luxurious” it felt, with a specific location for the stereo in the dash!

    • @philnewstead5388
      @philnewstead5388 4 года назад +1

      Times Arrow I have totally given up with Top Gear since Clarkson et al left, whilst I think there is a place for things like the Grand Tour as they are quite entertaining and I do like watching the tests on cars I could never afford I would like to see a return of the old fashioned magazine programmes where they test a car in it's intended environment. Most modern motoring journalists seem to think any car that isn't developed on a track and can't go sideways at 300 mph is rubbish. Unfortunately if I'm buying a Volvo V70 as a workhorse I want to know that I can get everything in with ease and that it has a reasonable level of performance, comfort and refinement and that I don't need an engineering degree to roll the seats flat in the load area. The other thing I don't need is the ridiculous under music so loved on modern documentaries that all but drowns out the commentary. Sorry rant over still love these old clips.

  • @johnsinclair4111
    @johnsinclair4111 4 года назад +51

    Thinking about the price, I paid £2000 for my first flat in 1976!! Could you get a perfectly reasonable flat in 2020 for the price of an average super mini? We are always being told how much better life is today. Don’t think so. Bring back job security and genuinely affordable housing.

    • @DiscoFang
      @DiscoFang 4 года назад +4

      That's £13K in today's money. And you often can't get the cigarette lighter any more!

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +1

      My first car was a 2 years old Cortina Mk3 1600XL it was £2500 in 1979 I loved that car. The biggest problem for the next 20 years was rust the manufacturers were reluctant to fix that until competition forced them to sort it. It was a commercial decision I would say to make a car that rusts after 2 years ... sell more frequently.

    • @Commentator541
      @Commentator541 3 года назад +1

      You can have affordable housing, just don’t live in London.

    • @Deano14397
      @Deano14397 3 года назад +5

      But the morons keep voting Tory

    • @metivs
      @metivs 3 года назад +1

      well, at least "diversity is our strenght", thus you have to pay more...

  • @Spookieham
    @Spookieham 4 года назад +9

    The wife and I used to hammer up and down between London and Plymouth in a little fiesta 1.1 loaded to the gills and it was a great little car.

  • @fahyforever
    @fahyforever 4 года назад +12

    The best way to test seats is to repeatedly jab a biro into them take note Clarkson

  • @woodyeckerslyke9676
    @woodyeckerslyke9676 4 года назад +26

    Peter Sutcliffe and John Cleese talk cars @ 10:46

    • @georgejacob3162
      @georgejacob3162 4 года назад +3

      I thought it was more like Peter Sutcliffe and Boycie myself!

    • @woodyeckerslyke9676
      @woodyeckerslyke9676 4 года назад

      @@georgejacob3162 Yep that'll do as well !

    • @PeteretePeter
      @PeteretePeter 4 года назад

      😆😆

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +3

      @@georgejacob3162 When I was at college in the early 1980's you know the politically correct era ... our lecturer looked the spit like Sutcliff and got the usual jibe hey 'Sutty' where your hammer :-) Oh those were the days when you could speak your mind and have a chuckle.
      I bet these days you can't be seen having a good laugh at a poor sod slipping on a banana skin anymore :-)

    • @gabrielphelps1555
      @gabrielphelps1555 4 года назад

      Actually thought it could have been Noel Edmonds, from Swap Shop to presenting this!

  • @Lookup2Wakeup
    @Lookup2Wakeup 4 года назад +44

    This is like a Harry Enfield charactor sketch.

    • @mickflick8998
      @mickflick8998 4 года назад

      It's John Cleese at 10:39. He's going to flog it or flog it.

    • @mickflick8998
      @mickflick8998 4 года назад

      Just flog it.

  • @BokorRider
    @BokorRider 4 года назад +6

    Great ....any more like this please upload them :D

  • @DashDrones
    @DashDrones 4 года назад +18

    2:04 Automatic boot opening
    Ford was really ahead of it's time...
    😂😂😂

    • @bluegtturbo
      @bluegtturbo 4 года назад +3

      I had a Fiat 127 with automatic boot opening too - it was liable to open at any time.

    • @DashDrones
      @DashDrones 4 года назад +1

      @@bluegtturbo 😂😂😂

    • @DashDrones
      @DashDrones 4 года назад +2

      @@bluegtturbo similar to the bonnet on my triumph herald 😂

    • @bluegtturbo
      @bluegtturbo 4 года назад +2

      @@DashDrones Not a great feature at 50mph on a narrow bendy road! 😂

    • @MrPabsUk
      @MrPabsUk 3 года назад +2

      I`d love to know how they did that, I mean, was John the sound guy laying in the boot with a piece of string tied to the lock rod, waiting for John the director to yell "OK! NOW John!

  • @markfindlay8636
    @markfindlay8636 3 года назад +9

    They look alot older even the little kid looked like a teenager!

  • @neilchapman5145
    @neilchapman5145 4 года назад +8

    My first car was a fiat 127 just like this. Great little car and all I could afford

  • @georgebogdan397
    @georgebogdan397 4 года назад +30

    Being a post office engineer ...what a time to be alive

    • @18in80
      @18in80 4 года назад +12

      Post Office/GPO as it was before British Telecom. He'll be on a good final salary pension scheme like many employees used to get. Sadly not for us younger ones.

    • @insertnamehere5146
      @insertnamehere5146 4 года назад +1

      @@18in80 Dave you are about to be shafted again on the pension. if you are a recent joiner your will lucky if you can get a pension at 80 that you can live on. Post office engineers were on a gold plated pension that disappeared in 1979 ish

    • @manos3790
      @manos3790 4 года назад +2

      Pensions are fast becoming, rarer than hen's teeth.

    • @replevideo6096
      @replevideo6096 4 года назад +1

      @@insertnamehere5146 At that time the PO pension fund had way more money in it than it was committed to pay out.

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад

      We had rubber wings on GPO vans back in the 70's I beleive.
      Being a kid in the 70's I never got to play bumper cars on the road :-)

  • @silverliteway
    @silverliteway 4 года назад +7

    Love the ‘automatic’ screen wash...makes me imagine the manual version and to have a hand pump in the dashboard ;)

  • @georgejacob3162
    @georgejacob3162 4 года назад +15

    10:50. Boycie buying a car instead of selling one!

  • @426dfv
    @426dfv 4 года назад +9

    people's expectation were much lower those days. There's hardly any family of four in 2020 will think about getting a fiesta or polo with 1L engine in it...

    • @simonlloyd7557
      @simonlloyd7557 3 года назад +1

      There's hardly even a family of four anymore...not if you mean a married man and woman parenting their own issue.
      Now, the father is booted out of his own house and the state pays the mother to sit on her arse so that she can complain about oppression.

  • @660einzylinder
    @660einzylinder 4 года назад +14

    Naughty Tony, he transposed the engine sizes of the Fiat and Renault, which should have been 903cc and 956cc respectively. Having driven all of those models, and owned the Renault, I know which one I would buy.

    • @raycroal
      @raycroal 4 года назад +2

      well?

    • @660einzylinder
      @660einzylinder 4 года назад

      @@raycroal certainly not the Polo, they were awful things in that original incarnation, especially the dreadful brakes. Not the Fiat either, to noisy and the ones I drove had fairly awful gearshifts, but they did come with a nice tool kit in a little plastic box. In 957 form the Fiesta always seemed a bit wanting in performance, but was let down most by being heavy on fuel if you drove them hard......so, I would still go for a 5. I had a 956 TL, 1300 TS, 1108 GTL 5 door, and a 1400 5 door Auto. the best of the lot was the GTL, but I really liked the little TL. You could drive it flat out for miles on end and it never faltered, and returned good fuel consumption, all of mine could easily manage over 40, which was pretty good for the time.

    • @raycroal
      @raycroal 4 года назад

      @@660einzylinder as i looked at the cars i was surprised to find i liked the look of the fiat and renault over the other 2. but my god how much more comfortable cars are now

    • @Zeem4
      @Zeem4 4 года назад

      I came here to comment the same thing about the engine sizes, but you beat me to it!

    • @PeterTOrganist
      @PeterTOrganist 3 года назад

      Yes I noticed that. I have had three Renault 5 and still own one now, although it is the later Super Five. The Renault would certainly be my choice of the four.

  • @ijaen
    @ijaen 4 года назад +6

    The mother at 12:50 pushing the kid ever so subtly 🤣😂

  • @jareknowak8712
    @jareknowak8712 4 года назад +2

    Thank You for car content Thames!

  • @keithe8449
    @keithe8449 4 года назад +6

    Good old Shaw Taylor
    Keep' em peeled 👀

  • @jackshit3355
    @jackshit3355 4 года назад +13

    They all look like they are ready for the scrapyard

  • @upsidedown4155
    @upsidedown4155 4 года назад +21

    " I believe Fiat have improved the rust proofing" none of them were great but thats hilarious

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад

      Now Fiat have been shown how to make cars by Chrysler the rust proofing got better :-) but I think the rust issue is now in the past becasue of better prep and etch primer and full electro panel dipping and maybe better grade steel. They sure knew how to cock up a car in those days but were they smart? They sold a lot more and frequently becasue they usually lasted 2.5 years before rust was showing somewhere. :-) Oh the old days. Crap

    • @upsidedown4155
      @upsidedown4155 4 года назад +2

      @@michaeldawson6309 lancia owned by fiat in the 80's when they had to buy back all the cars sold in the uk because they rotted in no time and thats when lancia stopped being a brand in the uk after that, from what i recall it was from using low quality steel in there production and regular strikes,
      Some rumours it was russian steel given to fiat for building a factory in russia but no real evidence of that,
      The last fiat i looked at was a brava, the rear brake pipes corroded and leaked because they were hidden around the fuel tank and having plastic covers that held all the mud and road waste which encased the pipe and degraded it

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +1

      @@upsidedown4155 Can't agree with you more :-) Your correct. Most cars had inbuilt obsolescence. An example on the Cortina MK3 was mud traps behind the from wing indicators and along the rear panel edges. Ideal rust magnets that ensured the panels would last less than 3 years before rust became a problem. No underseal or protection was also common especially inside doors, wings and sills. I find it a crime to build an exposed brake pipe of unprotected ferrous steel. Still it was the 80's live life fast without a care :-)

    • @upsidedown4155
      @upsidedown4155 4 года назад

      @@michaeldawson6309 was it also the mk3 (life on mars car) that had the fuel lines run inside of the car that tended to leak, they tried making that one look american, seemed like they were trying to make a European version of the exploding pinto lol

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад

      @@upsidedown4155 Yes that car in Life On Mars was a Cortina Mk3 2000E excellent car for the time. I think if I remember that you accessed the fuel tank by removing the back seat.

  • @markcross6864
    @markcross6864 4 года назад +2

    Little Mark is the same age as me lol . Love these clips 😊

  • @Dr.D00p
    @Dr.D00p 4 года назад +30

    Even when these cars were brand new they looked like they were about to rust away and fall to bits in front of you...

    • @owrang9756
      @owrang9756 4 года назад +4

      From their look, I thought they were second hand at first

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 4 года назад +3

      These looked as if at least 5 years used. No shine in the paint.

    • @AlfaGiuliaQV
      @AlfaGiuliaQV 4 года назад

      That´s the 70's for ya.. everything looked drab, the weather also. And an explosion of beige.

    • @hideouslyugly
      @hideouslyugly 4 года назад +2

      @@kamrankhan-lj1ng the cars still looked younger than those testers...

    • @CastwenteKampkuiper
      @CastwenteKampkuiper 3 года назад

      And Today's Cars Look Like They Can Be Computer Hacked Every Minute.

  • @MarkPMus
    @MarkPMus 2 года назад +5

    Amazing to think that some cars had basics that we take for granted as options. Reverse lights, seatbelts and rear screen wipe. “But what if I want wheels?” They’ll cost you £30 each….

    • @Nooziterp1
      @Nooziterp1 8 месяцев назад

      And now most cars come with electric windows and air conditioning. How things have changed!

  • @insertnamehere5146
    @insertnamehere5146 4 года назад +12

    browns, greens and orange was very popular colours back in the 70s,

    • @stevetaylor8698
      @stevetaylor8698 4 года назад +3

      Yep, I was a young adult in the 70s. Ghastly decade. Labour governments, suicidal unions, awful, dreary, (socialist) fashions. The eighties was like someone turned on a light.

    • @STARDRIVE
      @STARDRIVE 4 года назад +2

      Don´t forget the purple ;) Even sanitary was in those shades.
      Apart from the music, it´s an era best to be forgotten. A depressing, 2nd dark age. Heavy wooden furniture, huge masonry fireplaces and fake wooden beams on the ceilings.
      The roads were getting crowded, and just about every car interior was plastic with black or brown vinyl. And better buy a brown car, because in 7 years they were rusted out. There was the cold war, and there was little respect for pre-war architecture. Stuff from the 50´s & 60´s wasn´t vintage yet; it was just old junk.
      Indeed, the 80´s were very refreshing. It was more futuristic than today, with a brighter outlook. The 90´s were fine too, but the writing was already on the wall.

    • @popindosin228
      @popindosin228 4 года назад

      Now you cant even get them as option.

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад

      I wonder why White the most popular colour now was avoided like the plague? No prize for the correct answer below :-)

  • @blingblinginyaface
    @blingblinginyaface 3 года назад +3

    My first car was a red fiat 127 GT Sport... such a cool little car wish I still had it

  • @fasthracing
    @fasthracing 4 года назад +28

    Why is every extra on the Renault 5 "about £33 -£35" ?

    • @QuadMochaMatti
      @QuadMochaMatti 4 года назад +2

      Convenience for the accountants tallying up the profits.

    • @owrang9756
      @owrang9756 4 года назад +5

      He should have gone for the GTL which had all the extras he wanted as standard. My first car was a V reg GTL.

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +2

      Lack of SHARP calculators in the sales office.

    • @Twit.Tw00
      @Twit.Tw00 3 года назад

      Sounds like a lady that I used to know last year, in the next town.

  • @timhulio1
    @timhulio1 3 года назад +30

    "It's got everything: radio, headrests... carpet". God these were horrible little things.

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 3 года назад +3

      Not in the western Europe of the 70s!!!

    • @hjorleifuringason2778
      @hjorleifuringason2778 3 года назад

      I did have a new Fiesta in 1978. I really liked it and this car still looks very good

  • @anthonymillar6183
    @anthonymillar6183 3 года назад +3

    Actually enjoyed watching that it’s nuts spec of cars then and now !!

  • @javautube
    @javautube 4 года назад +1

    This is the best Monty Python sketch thus far. Bravo!

  • @user-Jon526
    @user-Jon526 3 года назад +5

    Found this channel when I was searching up 70s cars. Best recommendation. I am 31 years old and I am into a types of cars.

  • @boeingdriver29
    @boeingdriver29 4 года назад +8

    In Australia at this time you either bought a Datsun 120Y or 180B. They were everywhere.

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +3

      At least the Datsun started every turn of the key because it had electronic ignition. But paper thin metal that rusted badly in the UK's glorious weather :-) But a damd good car for the day pitty about the rust though. At least they were on the right track.
      p.s I forgot they also came with a nice radio as standard :-)

    • @kamrankhan-lj1ng
      @kamrankhan-lj1ng 3 года назад

      Of course rust is a no problem in Australia

  • @spankysmp
    @spankysmp 4 года назад +8

    4:27 totally classic 70's driving garb - flat cap, driving coat,kipper tie and driving gloves. I missed the briar pipe at 10:51

  • @MINKIN2
    @MINKIN2 Год назад +3

    "Linda Leigh is 25 and Single"
    Only one of these descriptors I believe.

  • @geoffk777
    @geoffk777 3 года назад +2

    I owned an R5 and can confirm that the shift linkage was quite bad. But the ride and seats were very good, the handling was decent and the car had bags of style. Even the door handles were unique. And it could hold 4 or even 5 people fairly comfortably. Mine also had the big canvas sunroof. Compared to the boring and uncomfortable competition, I think that it was a cracking little car.

  • @Nickos1b
    @Nickos1b 3 года назад +6

    The Fiesta was the freshest design then but if I had a choice between those cars today I would choose the Renault 5. Such a classic design. By the way a friend had an Escort with that high output 1.1 engine they talked about and it was really going!

  • @scottirvine121
    @scottirvine121 4 года назад +6

    Such posh accents! Was this representative at the time? Or just what tv selected back then?

  • @FlorinC1984
    @FlorinC1984 3 года назад

    This is even better than Motorweek's Retro Review! Awesome idea!

  • @michaeldawson6309
    @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +3

    Those were the days when you bought a brand new car with rust already visible at times. That lime green Fiesta looks like a banger how funny.
    One thing you saw a lot less of was white cars due to the rust showing through sooner than a gold or brown car :-)
    My first car was a Fort Cortina Mk3 and I loved that car but rust in the 70's and 80's and even early 90's was the problem. These were the days when you literally changed your car because it rotted away. Thank god we have modern manufacturing processes. I am glad to see the back of this era for car manufacture.

  • @joeebloggs6356
    @joeebloggs6356 3 года назад +37

    You look at those cars, brand new, and they were crap even then.

    • @2Str0k3
      @2Str0k3 3 года назад +5

      As much as i hated your comment at first, i have to say that you are completely right. Those really are heaps of crap even for the era.

    • @timreynolds99
      @timreynolds99 3 года назад +1

      I’ve owned the R5 TL and the 127 and yep! At least Fiat were honest enough to guarantee the car would rust in 2 years!

    • @samisilander9305
      @samisilander9305 3 года назад +2

      I have to disagree when it comes to Fiesta; my parents and I toured central Europe in Ford Fiesta in the mid 80s. We avoided Autobahns though.

    • @lriper4702
      @lriper4702 3 года назад +2

      i dont think they were crap at all

    • @doktergroen
      @doktergroen 3 года назад +1

      Hold on, love, it’s 2020 and I drive a Fiat 127. Call me old-fashioned, but I am old-fashioned.

  • @watchfan6180
    @watchfan6180 4 года назад +7

    He is proud the car is guaranteed not to rust for two years. 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @Callum12able
    @Callum12able 3 года назад +2

    jeez... we have come a long way since the '70s and also cars have too !

  • @tpayling
    @tpayling 4 года назад

    At last, the Thames Drive In/Wheels videos are back! Missed you!

  • @simonmartin4599
    @simonmartin4599 3 года назад +4

    Love the colours!

    • @daveturbo6292
      @daveturbo6292 3 года назад

      Yeah nice colors we have old hag diarrhea green ,turd brown , morbid abyss grey and my favorite , fart.

  • @club1fan552
    @club1fan552 4 года назад +5

    To think the Mazda 323 was released this year and was miles ahead of these tin cans. Even the Honda Accord, which I know was much more expensive but was also released this year and compared to these cars, seemed to come from another planet!

    • @gotham61
      @gotham61 3 года назад

      A Civic would be more comparable.

    • @club1fan552
      @club1fan552 3 года назад

      @@gotham61 You're right.

    • @franzchong4688
      @franzchong4688 9 месяцев назад

      A 323 was a size bigger and it showed.

    • @club1fan552
      @club1fan552 9 месяцев назад

      Yes you're right.@@franzchong4688

    • @club1fan552
      @club1fan552 19 дней назад

      @@franzchong4688 Actually you're right and worth shelling out extra coin if it cost more and one could afford it. A Civic would have been pretty close in size I would imagine and superior.

  • @TheCatBilbo
    @TheCatBilbo 3 года назад +2

    Acid green Fiesta? That's daring for 1977.

  • @davidlima9335
    @davidlima9335 4 года назад +1

    I'd love reviews of cars like this made now. Putting them against today's standards never forgetting their charm

  • @GlossaME
    @GlossaME 4 года назад +7

    It's impossible that Bob is 39

  • @mikeg8835
    @mikeg8835 4 года назад +11

    The greeness of that fester !!!! and underseals a luxury on the Fiat !

    • @mpwheatley
      @mpwheatley 4 года назад +3

      That Fiat will be a rotting mess by 1980.

    • @AlfaGiuliaQV
      @AlfaGiuliaQV 4 года назад +1

      @@mpwheatley That poor girl probably got to see it disappear in front of her eyes.

    • @DiscoFang
      @DiscoFang 4 года назад +1

      The Fiat lasted till 1988 apparently. Some else looked the plates up and ranked them. Only the Fiesta lasted longer - 2 years till 1990.

    • @AlfaGiuliaQV
      @AlfaGiuliaQV 4 года назад

      @@DiscoFang At least we then have a winner of this test :)

    • @gotham61
      @gotham61 3 года назад

      I had a Mk1 Fiesta in that colour

  • @user-wq1cf7ms5r
    @user-wq1cf7ms5r Месяц назад

    I worked in a fiat garage and one of my jobs was to spray the anti rust into the body parts. It was called Ziebart if i remember rightly.
    Loved those cars especially Fiat 124 coupe. Fantastic sound it had. Very throaty.
    Happy days

  • @danielnightingale8085
    @danielnightingale8085 3 года назад +2

    For a minute I thought this was a Monte python sketch. I was expecting John Cleese to turn up with half a tree all fawlty towers...

  • @nitrorory
    @nitrorory 4 года назад +14

    Even brand new those cars looked tired and crappy 😂

    • @PhilOsGarage
      @PhilOsGarage 3 года назад +2

      So do the customers, they look miserable and dead inside.

    • @mikeblatzheim2797
      @mikeblatzheim2797 3 года назад +2

      @@PhilOsGarage
      That's Britain in the 70s for you

    • @jackkruese4258
      @jackkruese4258 3 года назад

      Jesus they’re all half dead it’s a wonder they even had children.

    • @civlyzed
      @civlyzed 3 года назад +1

      @@mikeblatzheim2797 Why was it so bad in the 70's? I don't remember much from the 70's in America since I was only 10 when the decade ended, but when I see old family photos, the clothes and hair stand out the most. I also remember it seemed everyone smoked everywhere when I was a kid.

  • @TheBuccaneer1975
    @TheBuccaneer1975 4 года назад +18

    Listening to the cars they're trading in I'll bet they're kids wished they had kept them.

    • @johnnycage3673
      @johnnycage3673 4 года назад +1

      They aren't kids.

    • @AlfaGiuliaQV
      @AlfaGiuliaQV 4 года назад

      @@johnnycage3673 They are in their 50's now

    • @TheBuccaneer1975
      @TheBuccaneer1975 4 года назад +1

      @@johnnycage3673 lol yes I know that, it's turn of phrase your kids will always be your kids. - I'm 45 XD

  • @guinnessharvey4476
    @guinnessharvey4476 3 года назад +1

    Nostalgia gets me every time:)

  • @davewilliams9471
    @davewilliams9471 3 года назад +2

    Shaw Taylor he was a great presenter on Police 5😎

  • @mfitzy100
    @mfitzy100 4 года назад +13

    The Fiesta looks old already! Still great cars though

  • @simonnelson7770
    @simonnelson7770 4 года назад +15

    Richard surely isn't looking for a small car if he's doing 30k miles a year? And there's no way Bob is 39!!

    • @ricomartinez2869
      @ricomartinez2869 4 года назад +3

      Simon Nelson People look older back in the day

    • @owrang9756
      @owrang9756 4 года назад +1

      Exactly what I thought

  • @philhealey449
    @philhealey449 3 года назад +2

    VW Polo features a polythene bag around the distributor ! Was that listed as an option or standard in the sales brochure?

    • @vlota
      @vlota 5 месяцев назад

      I know it was fitted as standard by drivers of Minis at the time. They were notorious for conking out in the rain, if you didn't bag up the distributor cap.

  • @ABCDEF-yf4yu
    @ABCDEF-yf4yu 3 года назад

    The Chrysler Sunbeam was also launched in 1977, a hatchback but it was the only the rear window that opened. There was also the Vauxhall Chevette hatchback, but this was also a two and four door saloon and estate. Both the Chevette and Sunbeam were rear wheel drive.

  • @anthonyrichard826
    @anthonyrichard826 4 года назад +8

    Christ back in the 70s, nobody had a personality 🤣

    • @michaeldawson6309
      @michaeldawson6309 4 года назад +3

      If we listen to the Woke Left we will soon be back there with style dictated by Corbynista's. You do realise that Corbyn is only 24 !

  • @FOWST
    @FOWST 4 года назад +11

    the 2 kids look so annoyed in every frame

    • @666louis
      @666louis 4 года назад +2

      Today, they would scream and annoy everyone else. I prefer the silently annoyed ones ^.^ .

    • @FernandoDeLeon
      @FernandoDeLeon 4 года назад

      Today those kids would be in their 50s

  • @gotham61
    @gotham61 3 года назад +2

    I had a 76 Fiesta in that same color. Although mine was the base trim version with vinyl seats and rubber flooring. Very basic, but pretty unbreakable.

  • @dnalor7553
    @dnalor7553 2 года назад +2

    That Fiesta already looks like it’s done 100,000 miles!

  • @willemm
    @willemm 3 года назад +4

    I assume all the salesmen were arrested, especially the Fiat one.

  • @weallmakechoices7456
    @weallmakechoices7456 4 года назад +21

    Those were the days. Not overrun with people, and peaceful. Motoring was still an adventure, you could service the cars yourself, and if they broke down, you could normally knock up a temporary repair. I’m glad I was alive back then before the age of mass immigration and surveillance.

    • @YouDingo88
      @YouDingo88 3 года назад +1

      Didn't bother you when you overran half the world.

    • @PhilOsGarage
      @PhilOsGarage 3 года назад

      Are you kidding? It looks dreadful.

  • @garrylawless3550
    @garrylawless3550 4 года назад

    Thank you for adding this feature from Drive. Do you have the full episodes of the series and if so are you able to add them to RUclips? Kind regards Garry.

  • @mrmajeika6101
    @mrmajeika6101 4 года назад +2

    It looks so high tech, I want one

  • @timhulio1
    @timhulio1 3 года назад +4

    Singer Chamois? That's just a Hillman Imp! You're an architect man, buy a Saab!

  • @peterbustin2683
    @peterbustin2683 4 года назад +11

    1:50 I dont think the Fiesta 957cc had a brake servo. Mine certainly didnt !

    • @frankbarratt1165
      @frankbarratt1165 4 года назад +1

      You can see it in the engine bay right hand side.

    • @peterbustin2683
      @peterbustin2683 4 года назад

      @@frankbarratt1165 Not on mine !

    • @Zeem4
      @Zeem4 4 года назад +1

      My 1982 Popular Plus didn't have one, but higher-spec models may well have had them.

    • @alexandermossel6466
      @alexandermossel6466 4 года назад +1

      They offered a boat anchor for £ 35

    • @gotham61
      @gotham61 3 года назад +1

      My 1976 base trim 957 low compression Fiesta didn't have power anything.

  • @seppopakarinen7097
    @seppopakarinen7097 2 года назад +1

    A very down-to-earth consumer review. There was one error in the technical specs, though: Fiat 127 has a 903cc engine and R5 a 956cc engine, not the other way around.

  • @kevinbarry71
    @kevinbarry71 3 года назад +1

    Dual circuit braking system; you mean that was made mandatory in the United States in 1967?