#1
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Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 CDX!
Yet another classic presents itself to us!
First car I went over 100mph in! My friends Dads company car.
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'09 D3 S8 - Most of the bells and whistles (B&O, Audi Exclusive brown interior and exterior paint, soft close, ACC etc) de-flapped manifold! |
#2
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Quote:
At the beginning of the 90s, aged around 20, I was working for a small Audio Visual company, mainly workshop-based as an electronics design engineer. My two bosses both had Carltons -- pretty high-spec they were too, complete with fitted car phones. Whenever an urgent job came up, and all the site engineers were out (in their vans) working on installations, it usually fell on me to go to site and fix any problems. The inconvenience of having to drop everything and go was somewhat alleviated when I asked the boss "which vehicle should I take?", knowing full well that all the vans were out, and trying not to grin as he passed me the keys to his brand new Carlton. I remember how driving at 120mph+ seemed so effortless and luxurious. Though to be fair, compared to the banger I had at the time (a Morris Ital), anything was an improvement.
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Mark ------------------------------------------------------ 2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ Cars Owned: The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present) (Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability) The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present) The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust Last edited by moltuae; 5th July 2017 at 08:00 PM. |
#3
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That reminded me of the first car I drove "quite quickly", a P6 Rover 3500. The infamous 4-door 2-seater.
Took it down to Cornwall in that baking summer of 1976, the only problem was finding the 5-star petrol it demanded. Pretty sure it didn't have aircon, we just drove around (from stone-walled pub to stone-walled pub as they were cool) with the windows all down. Some pubs ran out of beer! Soon after that I bought a brand new Dolomite (1850 not Sprint) and that was pretty sprightly too!
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.). 2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one! Finally: gone, but not forgotten..... 1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors. e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later) 1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer. And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850! |
#4
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Big brother to my Cavalier Turbo!
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#5
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Great cars. Step Dad had a Carlton and a Senator with the 3.0 straight six. The Senator had great spec, great smooth silky and powerful engine but GREAT amounts of rust. Was a shame to get rid of it.
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2010 A8 SE Executive 4.2 FSI D4 2007 Mini Cooper S R56 2008 D3, gone, but not forgotten after 9 years and 90k. |
#6
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Still have fond memories of my 1988 Senator 3.0 CD. I miss the dark blue sort of puckered up velour seats. Way more comfortable than leather in hot or cold weather. Excellent stereo, ate the miles in comfort. And visually.... similar to a D3
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A journey of a thousand+ (epic) miles, begins with a single step, (to the door of an 8). Lau Tzu |
#7
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Everytime I saw one of those on the road I slowed down... plod favourite!
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#8
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Maybe that's why it felt faster than anything else on the road
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A journey of a thousand+ (epic) miles, begins with a single step, (to the door of an 8). Lau Tzu |
#9
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I still have a Carlton 2.6i Diplomat Auto, with working AC (hence user name)
It is incredibly stable at speeds well over 100mph. It averages over 30mpg too, although around the town that goes to 23/24. I'd recommend them as a good daily runner, except when I last looked there are only 5 roadworthy 2.6 Diplomats available. To me, the point of a Carlton is that they don't cost any more to run than a Fiesta, except fuel. Parts and any job you could ever tackle are all incredibly simple. I'd put some pictures up, but the Photobucket account has suddenly decided they want to charge me. |
#10
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