Back in 1980 there was only one story at the Motor Show – the launch of the new Metro, seen as a make-or-break model for British Leyland, then under the management of Sir Michael Edwardes, in the face of scepticism from the recently elected Thatcher government.
At some unearthly hour – I think it was 5am - my equally car-mad school pal Bruce and I got a lift from Bruce's dad to the station for the long journey from deepest Essex to Birmingham. If I remember correctly, we arrived at about 9.30 but the official opening time was 10. Even so, in the excitement (yes, I agree this seems fairly sad from today's perspective), we ran for what felt like miles through the station and the NEC complex to the exhibition entrance, and were rewarded with the discovery that the doors were already open. For a short while, we had the show more or less to ourselves, and made an immediate bee-line for the Metros on the BL stand. We sat in that year's hottest car and gave it a quick once over before deciding to come back later on for a proper look. Of course, when we returned, the BL stand was just one enormous bun-fight with hundreds of eager punters all clamouring to touch or even just catch a glimpse of the Metro, and we couldn't get anywhere near the cars again.
The Metro was a success but it had to soldier on well beyond its sell-by date – its replacement would have been the MINI but BMW kept that for itself, so the short-lived City Rover, based on Tata's Indica had to do the job for MG Rover instead.
Bruce and I have attended many motor shows together since, including, most recently, the latest London show at Expo in Docklands last year. But none have matched the 1980 Brum show for excitement.
Showing posts with label Indica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indica. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Great spots 4 - Proton Gen-2
Spotted this one today in a McDonalds car park near Manchester.
You don't see many of these around but this example provides a reminder that the Gen-2 is a handsome car. Many of the fundamentals are pretty sound as well - there was a certain amount of input from Proton-owned Lotus after all.
Unfortunately, this model was let down at launch by its cabin trim, which was rather flimsy and a bit too beige for most tastes, although Proton has recently changed the Gen-2's interior colour scheme by introducing the sorts of dark grey shades that European buyers prefer - and is offering free leather upholstery at the same time. I haven't seen the revised Gen-2 cabin up close, an omission I am hoping to rectify at this year's SMMT test day on Tuesday, but Proton's recent work on the interiors of the Savvy and Satria Neo does provide a certain amount of encouragement.
While UK Gen-2 sightings are, and are likely to remain, fairly rare events, things could have been very different. It was widely reported a few years back that MG-Rover was considering a deal to use the Proton as the basis of a Rover 45 replacement. I think this might just about have worked if Rover had carried out a thorough revamp of the interior while preserving the Gen-2's basic strengths such as its smart exterior styling, eager (if rather noisy) engine and keen handling.
Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that such a happy outcome would have been unlikely. MG-Rover had already taken the approach of borrowing and then adapting another manufacturer's model to fill a gap in its own range by using the Tata Indica as the basis for a Rover 100/Metro replacement, the City Rover. It is now widely agreed, I think, that not enough was done to adapt the Indica to European standards; I suspect that MG-Rover would have been tempted - or forced for reasons of financial necessity - to take similar short-cuts with any adaptation of the Gen-2, with similarly disappointing results.
Anyway, I have to confess to having something of a soft spot for Proton and its quirky ways, so more on the cars and the company another time, I'm sure.
You don't see many of these around but this example provides a reminder that the Gen-2 is a handsome car. Many of the fundamentals are pretty sound as well - there was a certain amount of input from Proton-owned Lotus after all.
Unfortunately, this model was let down at launch by its cabin trim, which was rather flimsy and a bit too beige for most tastes, although Proton has recently changed the Gen-2's interior colour scheme by introducing the sorts of dark grey shades that European buyers prefer - and is offering free leather upholstery at the same time. I haven't seen the revised Gen-2 cabin up close, an omission I am hoping to rectify at this year's SMMT test day on Tuesday, but Proton's recent work on the interiors of the Savvy and Satria Neo does provide a certain amount of encouragement.
While UK Gen-2 sightings are, and are likely to remain, fairly rare events, things could have been very different. It was widely reported a few years back that MG-Rover was considering a deal to use the Proton as the basis of a Rover 45 replacement. I think this might just about have worked if Rover had carried out a thorough revamp of the interior while preserving the Gen-2's basic strengths such as its smart exterior styling, eager (if rather noisy) engine and keen handling.
Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that such a happy outcome would have been unlikely. MG-Rover had already taken the approach of borrowing and then adapting another manufacturer's model to fill a gap in its own range by using the Tata Indica as the basis for a Rover 100/Metro replacement, the City Rover. It is now widely agreed, I think, that not enough was done to adapt the Indica to European standards; I suspect that MG-Rover would have been tempted - or forced for reasons of financial necessity - to take similar short-cuts with any adaptation of the Gen-2, with similarly disappointing results.
Anyway, I have to confess to having something of a soft spot for Proton and its quirky ways, so more on the cars and the company another time, I'm sure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)