At launches this year for new Focus and Astra models I’ve been impressed at the automakers’ willingness to chuck the keys to near-irreplaceable ‘heritage’ models to assorted hacks without any foreknowledge of said hacks’ sympathy to old cars.
Yet, as March snowflakes still swirled and salt – any old car’s nemesis – was still being sprayed on asphalt, Ford lined up an old sit-up-straight Prefect, a V4 Corsair and a V6 Sierra automatic for a drive within the grounds of Ye Olde Pile where the Focus was making its UK debut.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The old timers serve, to my mind, two key purposes – they remind those like me, old enough to remember some ‘heritage collection’ cars new in showrooms or at media launches, of how relatively far the auto industry has come in four decades or so and show the younger writers of today how horrible old cars can be to drive and how advanced the new stuff we’re there to sample is.
The V4 Corsair – whaddya mean no power steering? Notchy shift, wheezy, rattly old bent-four, feeble wipers, barely any heat or vent. The Sierra wasn’t much better. A model I once thought was the zenith of European volume car design was noisy and slow though everything in and on it worked.
This week it was some old Vauxhalls. The droop-snoot Firenza with 2.3 OHC slant four and a reverse-pattern five-speeder had no door mirrors, no power or electric anything and amazing levels of wind noise. Plus a rattly engine and a heavy clutch which took up in the last half inch. Just like any HC Viva I ever drove.
Things improved with the Astras, though. The late 1980s GTE with the later 16 valve update felt almost modern and took me back to my first Antipodean drive of an Opel-badged eight-valver. And the two generations back Turbo coupe? Simply a hoot to drive.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataIt’s great to see these cars, and others, lovingly preserved. GM has loads more back at base (it also showed off an original ‘Mark One’ Astra GTE), as does Ford, and I’m aware other automakers have them as well – Jaguar has a delivery miles, US-spec E-type convertible that once criss-crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary; Toyota has a well-restored shovel-nose Corona.
But it’s great to be able to drive some without any palaver or supervision and, for that, Vauxhall and Ford can take a bow.
As one Vauxhall PR put it: “They’re meant to be driven.”
Far better that than simply a museum piece.
