Somewhat inspired by comments on the Vectra...
You just have to remember that the motoring press and many people besides, loathe Vauxhall. Their bad rep from a little while back and the none to clever Frontera are usually what people quote when slating Vauxhall.
Mention the Lotus Carlton and people say, yeah but it's a Lotus blah blah, nothing to do with GM owning/part owning them and co-operating with them to build a car that is still the fastest standard production saloon in history.
Mention the VX220, that's just a Lotus Elise with a different chassis and badge, yeah lotus had a hand in setting it up as well.
However, so many people think the sun shines out of Ford's exhaust, I have had 2 but would never buy another out of choice and I am far from being alone on this. I know they are popular, proven blah blah blah and the new mondeo, focus are all 'good' cars. In recent history Ford have perhaps made better cars. The new corsa is cack, I quite like the new Fiesta, to look at anyway. But Fords feel sloppy and gutless.
If all you want to do is get from A to B (not via donnington on the way to work, pointing into a corner 10 seconds before you get there) then Fords do their job. The new breed are cheap and reliable to some extent. But if you enjoy driving then I wouldn't have another Ford. Performance wise the Vauxhall will always win, especially in the days when cars were the most appealing.
Ford seem to aim at the family and small car market with the 'individual' Ka, Fiesta and Focus. Seems Vauxhall still have the bearings to take on BMW's and the performance niche.
Technology has advanced a lot with regards to cars and they are 'better' in many respects than 10 years ago, but don't you think you have to spend entirely too much money to get something 'as' fun?
Look at all the Jap/Korean stuff available, Daewoo, Kia etc etc if you like cars you wouldn't own one. Subarus are excellent cars but notorious for burning clutches if driven hard, parts and insurance are very high too.
I am well aware that some people on here think I am a Max Power idiot stuck on the wrong BB, but that's not really fair or accurate. I just think Vauxhall make very good cars and they get entirely too much grief. My opinion.
I prefer older cars, but yes they do have their problems, new cars are clean and perhaps more reliable so it is largely horses for courses.
If I had the money I would probably own something with more pedigree, however until such time i'm more than happy with my Vauxhalls.
Give me a Vectra GSi over an ST200 any day.
Rant over... let the abuse commence! ;o)
P.S To my mind the best things Ford ever made were usually created with some people called 'Cosworth' or something.
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Yeah I've driven a few Mondeos in my time and they're great.
However it's interesting that the *new* Fiesta will have a OHV engine from the late 50's in it.
An OHV engine in a new car in 2001?
What a rip off!!!
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Why buy any tarted up 'sports' models of a normal car anyway?
They invaribly cost more, both to buy and insure, depreciate the most, have the smallest second hand market to sell into, have dubious plastic bits stuck onto any available surface and ride more uncomfortably compared to the bog-standard model. And the tyres cost stacks more as well....
A normal 1.8 Mondectra is perfectly capable of providing a fast and safe enough driving experience. If you want the extra acceleration then the fortune you spend on the hotted up version to drop .5 or even 1 second from the pointless 0-60 time is a waste of money. You can get a proper sports car as a second vehicle which will do a much better job. Buy sensibly and you'll insure it for £200 and won't lose anything in depreciation.
And I think Fords are better than Vauxhalls (at least Ford don't have to rebadge a Ford in order to sell it on 'heritage' like GM do with Opal. X-type doesn't count).
Piers
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Over the last 20 years we've had a string of good experiences with Vauxhalls (including periods when I've been in charge of fleets) - never had a Vectra though, just recently I've been tempted to buy one because I can't believe they are as bad as people suggest!
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I had a Y-reg courtesy car. 2.2 LS, didnt make the earth move for me performance wise, though still not at all slow. But couldn't fault it otherwise. Lovely car.
190bhp+ Vectra Gsi with all it's toys and refinements would be quite something I believe.
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Actually, I had cause to look under the bonnet of an M-plate Ford Maverick the other day. So far on its third gearbox, it was being prepared to sell. Because I own old cars, and have to do bits and pieces of rust repair now and then, my friend asked me to take a look at what he described as "a problem". Even on fifteen year-old cars I have never seen as much rust in an engine bay as there was in this thing. The chassis beams and inner wings were covered in it. And not just surface, either. Real, deep-down crumbly stuff. I hope they've sorted that out, because I would think the Maverick has a tough paint job in comparison with true road cars. What are M-plate Mondeos like, I wonder? I left him with a wire brush and the thought that he would probably hack so much off there would be a noticeable improvement in fuel consumption.
And another thing. How come they advertise "fully independent suspension" on the Focus as a major step forward? Peugeot/Citroen have been doing that for decades.
Chris
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Yeah and my cav Gsi, which I rate higher than a lot of 'modern' saloons has independent rear suspension. That's a 10 year old car.
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Hold up a minute here. They are sold as Opel as thats the company that makes them. GM simply bought them all including Vauxhall and Holden in Australia.
You seen Jaguars being sold under the Jaguar name and not the Ford one right ?? Talk about selling under "heritage"
Or, is that different somehow ??
Rich
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By chance I've just spoken to a friend with a 4 month old Mondeo. Its been off the road 11 days in that time and has just been towed away by the dealer again today. Ford dont want to know about the problems and the dealer is at a loss to resolve the situation. He is now trying to return it and get the money back. All to do with electrics and ignition apparently. Personally i'm sorry they ever stopped making the Granada/Scorpio. Ok not everone liked the looks but so much room in the estate.
John
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John wrote:
>
> By chance I've just spoken to a friend with a 4 month old
> Mondeo. Its been off the road 11 days in that time and has
> just been towed away by the dealer again today. Ford dont
> want to know about the problems and the dealer is at a loss
> to resolve the situation. He is now trying to return it and
> get the money back. All to do with electrics and ignition
> apparently.
My dad had 5 mondeos. All great cars in my opinion. (as is the Vectra) One had a permanent misfire from new until 2 years old.
Went to auction without solving the problem.
The Ford dealers so called "mechanics" just replaced HT leads which fixed it for 200-300 miles so they could claim to have fixed it but it always returned.
This proves:
a) Dealers are thieving scum. (With the usual caveat that the guys on this side have proved beyond doubt that they know their stuff.)
b) It's possible that there may be problems with Mondeo ignition...
But yeah. Modectras are great cars.
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on my 7th Cavalier CD, a model I love - tried a Vectra (for a weekend) and could never live with either its looks, handling or build quality .. now am moving on and buying quality car that will retain some decent value, have all toys in the price and prove reliable - a Lexus, by the way.
Sorry Vauxhall
Andrew Wills
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No need to apologise. Lexus are very very nice. I'd have one. But for now I will have fun picking off the lower models in my GSi ;o)
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I'm a fan of Vauxhalls. I had a 1994 Astra 1.7d estate as a student from 96 to 2001 and it's reliability was faultless over the 60K miles I had it. I sold it to my dad recently with 100K on the clock and the engine is just about run in, with an average fuel consumption of 52 MPG!
Anyway since February this year I have been driving a W reg Vectra 2.0 DI 16V saloon which is an excellent car. Smooth, quiet, torquey responsive engine and an average fuel consumption of 49 MPG!
I have driven 11K miles on it to date (7K on it when I acquired it) and I simply cannot fault it in any way! Much better than the recently discontinued version of the Mondeo which I often use on business....one of which kept cutting out at junctions when cold! Very dangerous!
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I seem to remember Max Power being mentioned in another thread recently (Journalist or similar). I had never seen the magazine until today when one of my staff brought in half a dozen older copies. Huuuum I have been missing out on somthing here, or maybe it was very, very different 25 years ago. Girls of 16-24 being asked what position is best, spit or swallow, pink or brown. Is this motoring journalism, or am I just dead jealous?
Bill
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Bill Doodson wrote:
>
> I seem to remember Max Power being mentioned in another
> thread recently (Journalist or similar). I had never seen
> the magazine until today when one of my staff brought in half
> a dozen older copies. Huuuum I have been missing out on
> somthing here, or maybe it was very, very different 25 years
> ago. Girls of 16-24 being asked what position is best, spit
> or swallow, pink or brown. Is this motoring journalism, or
> am I just dead jealous?
>
>
> Bill
Bill
I think that it is a case of different hats.
"what position is best" = Which Career
"spit or swallow" = wine taster weekly
"pink or brown" = sports illustrated
Humourously
Jonathan
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Nah, the world is obsessed with drugs,sex and cars, sometimes in that order. When mentioning Journalism, my first attempt at a website drew parallels with Max Power because:
a) I drive a car that is modified and from the 'good era'
b) I like quoting performance figures, not boot space and mpg.
c) I'm 23 not 53 so I still like driving fast.
d) Cars are a hobby for me not just functional transport.
Max Power is not my fave magazine at all. Total Vauxhall is now available and is much more to my liking since it is more a Vauxhall Motoring Enthusiasts mag than porn with cars in it.
However, I have to say I am surprised by the responses to this post. I was expecting to get slated for liking my Vauxhalls, but seems to me that's not the case.
I am on my 4th Vauxhall and all of them have been excellent. My cav Gsi would have cost £18k or so when new so it's far from a typical boy racer car. It also affords me the luxury of very cheap performance. With some sensible engine modifications it's quick enough to trouble 90% of the things on the road and it still looks great too.
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