Life before 8s - What's your story?

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Singer Chamois (Hillman Imp).

My Dad had an Imp for several years. I have a lot of fond memories of going on family holidays, car and roof-rack full of cases and my sister and I squashed up in the back. I remember one time a hole appeared in the floor (due to rust) where I was sat. Until my Dad was able to fix it (which he did by pop-riveting a sheet over it), I can remember sitting with my feet either side of the hole, watching the road below. At times, I felt like sticking my legs through it, Flintstones-style, to assist the tiny engine.

One thing the Imp had in common with AWD Audis (and possibly the only thing they had in common) was good traction in snow and ice. I can remember snowy days cruising by stranding vehicles in our Imp, thanks to its rear-engined RWD layout, at a time when most vehicles were front-engined RWD.

Originally Posted by The_Laird

My first car was a 1965 mini, bought when I first went to university in 1972.

My sister's first car was a mini of a similar vintage, an early 70's model I think, a mixture of bright orange and rust (my Dad warned her how rusty it was before she bought it, but she insisted on buying it because she liked the colour). Until I was old enough to drive, a couple of years later, I did a few repair jobs on it for her and fitted radios, etc, in exchange for the occasional lift. One thing I remember about those old Minis, and something which probably applied to a lot of the cars of that era, was how poor the lock security was. On one occasion, she came out of a pub and got in the wrong car. Her keys fitted the door and started the engine; it was only as she was about to drive off, when she noticed the car had a more sportier steering wheel then her car had, that she realised there was something amiss.

[tersono]

My car history is way too long to list, but the XMs in the OP's post lead me to mention that I was a major Citroen CX fanatic back in the day - I owned 5 of 'em in succession - the last being a GTi. Lovely old things they were - incredibly comfortable and quite entertaining to drive as well.

Highlights from the rest include an early Aston DBS (back when they could be had for fairly sensible money - running it was another matter, however ), a BMW M635csi, a couple of Datsun/Nissan Z sportscars (280zx targa and a 300 twin turbo), several Saabs (another long-term obsession of mine - first being a 96v4, the last a 9-5) and a Lexus GS. The Saab 9-5 and the GS were what filled the gap between my first A8 and my current one.

The CXs and the Lexus were the only things that came close to being as comfortable as an 8.

[PsYcHe]

Had a couple of mingers.. mostly medium-term hires waiting on company cars when starting a new job..

Mk1 Astra 1.3 LS (in pine green metallic with hideous interior, which I mostly swapped for a GTE one, before someone ran into the side of it).
Austin Montego 2.0 More rust than paint

Then on to company cars..
Mk1 Mondeo 1,8TDI (possibly the worst engine I've ever driven)
Cavalier SRi 130
MK 3 Astra 1.8 Estate
Rover 620Ti
Renault Laguna 2.0 Exec
Passat 1.8T Sport
Passat 1.8T Sport (yes.. another one.. we liked them so much, we bought the missus one too)
Astra H Sri 200

Then on to '8s..
D2 PF 4.2 Sport (which became SWMBO's car for a bit)
D3 PF 4.2
D3 FL 4.2TDi

And then it all went a bit wrong and I bought an A7

[mannyo]

I've had so many cars, oddly also including a G Reg XM (pre facelift one). I went with the 2.0SEi, and it was a great car to look at. However I sold it after 8 months, it let me down twice in big ways. 1st time, total failure of the hydraulics caused by one of the pipes supplying the brake lines. Drove the remaining 10 miles to work, and by the time I got there the suspension was on the decks and the brakes almost non existent, car recovered by the AA back home for repair. 2nd time the heater matrix decided to fail and fill the cabin with steam at 70mph on the M25, could not see anything out the windscreen, this time the AA bypassed the heater matrix to get me going again. The day it went in P/ex. the LHM fluid was once again leaking out from under the car. I suspect an issue with one of the green accumulators and the relief valve causing to much pressure.

Car history
Number, year of car, make/model.
1. 1974 Austin Mini 1000
2. 1985 Austin Metro City 1.0
3. 1986 Vauxhall Astra Merit 1.2
4. 1988 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 Celebrity 88 Special Edition
5. 1978 BMW 320i Auto
6. 1988 Rover 216 Vanden Plas SEi
7. 1985 Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia Auto
8. 1987 Jaguar XJ6 2.9 Auto LHD
9. 1990 Citroen XM 2.0 SEi Auto
10. 1989 Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet
11. 1988 BMW 520i SE
12. 1992 BMW 320i SE
13. 1997 Mercedes C180 Classic
14. 2001 Skoda Octavia vRS (Track car), 1994 Ford Mondeo Ghia (Commuter)
15. 2000 Porsche Boxster S (Fun car), 1997 Ford Mondeo Ghia X Auto (Commuter)
16. 2005 Skoda Octavia MK2 2.0 TDi Estate
17. 2008 Skoda Superb MK2 2.0 TDi.
18. 2001 Audi A8 3.7
19. 2004 Audi A8 3.7

So that's 21 cars since passing my driving test.

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by mannyo

also including a G Reg XM (pre facelift one). I went with the 2.0SEi

My first XM was a pre-facelift too and, now that I think of it, I think it was also an SEi. I know for certain it was high-spec' 2.0 Turbo petrol, just not sure exactly which (though I've probably still got some paperwork for it somewhere).

Mine was an L Reg, dark green paint and black leather interior. Lovely car and in great condition when I sold it (to a friend of a friend). Unfortunately he lived in not-so-desirable part of Manchester and the car was torched outside his house just a few weeks later.

The pre-facelift XMs did have a few extra reliability issues, especially the earlier ones. By the time the facelift models were released, most of the reliability issues were fixed, but they'd already gained a poor reputation so sales plummeted.

Personally, I preferred the interior or the pre-facelift XMs, it was more suited to the exterior styling I think. It was less modern, but somehow more futuristic.

[Greg66]

First car, 17 years old, freshly through the driving test: Mark 1 Escort. Ropey. Held it for a year to get the NCB then had a mk I Scirocco. Loved that. It felt like a race car in comparison.

Then went to University, started work in London and neither needed nor could afford a car for a while. Eventually lined up a Mk II Golf GTi 16v. Oak green, leather and after market ac. Now that was fun.

Then late 20s, bit of cash, so went for a BMW 325i coupe on finance. First new car I bought. Swapped it at three years for a E46 328i saloon to accommodate newly arrived 66 major. Last new car I will ever buy. Found out fairly quickly that Mrs 66 doesn't do light packing and a 3 series was completely inadequate. Took a big bath selling that. Cast around and a mate suggested trying an A8 (he'd just been landed with a company 7 series but had been very tempted by an 8). Managed to find a dealer principal's car at 5m old coming up for sale. The smartest thing that salesman ever did was say "of course you ca. Have a test drive Sir. Keep it for the weekend".

Two days (one, in truth) and I was hooked. Made me realise there are cheap toy cars and there is the real thing.

Kept it for 14 years, with the kids literally growing up in it. Very sad family day when terminal gearbox failure arrived.

Now have a FFRR for Mrs 66 (which she isn't fantastically keen on, but which I like a lot and which makes an excellent family bus) and the D3 S8 for me (which she likes a lot but unfortunately doesn't get to use much BECAUSE SHE LOST HER ****ING KEY!!!)

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by Greg66

Found out fairly quickly that Mrs 66 doesn't do light packing and a 3 series was completely inadequate.

Same here. Good thing '8s have such big boots!

We set off for this year's meet with a completely full boot. Bear in mind we were only staying TWO NIGHTS and my stuff consisted of one small bag and a laptop. It's a complete mystery what was in all the other bags!

Originally Posted by Greg66

and the D3 S8 for me (which she likes a lot but unfortunately doesn't get to use much BECAUSE SHE LOST HER ****ING KEY!!!)

[tonupkid]

Quite amusing the number of Citroen XM's cropping up here, considering that the XM was the car so mercilessly chased down by the S8 in Ronin.
Seems people were watching and learning

[moltuae]

Originally Posted by tonupkid

Quite amusing the number of Citroen XM's cropping up here, considering that the XM was the car so mercilessly chased down by the S8 in Ronin.

It is.

Funny thing is, it wasn't until after I bought my first '8 that I watched Ronin for the first time. So for me it was purely coincidental that both the main rival cars in the film consisted of one that I had owned for years and one that I now owned. You may have noticed my present avatar image is actually a screenshot from Ronin of the two cars battling it out.

I always thought the XM was an odd choice for the movie, since they were never particularly powerful cars, but an interesting choice nevertheless. XMs did have their strengths though, such as impeccable road holding, even over very rough terrain, so there are a number of times during the chase scenes that XM has the slight advantage but I think overall the S8 is the far superior vehicle.

[johnny_quattro]

1973 Mini 1.0
1987 Renault 5 Rio
1988 Renault 5 GTX 1.4
1988 Ford Orion 1.6i Ghia (cheaper insurance than XR3i, plus bigger boot for my 'sounds')
1993 Honda Prelude 2.0i-4WS-16 (one of the best cars I've owned, let down by roof leaking water in copious amounts due to blocked drainage channels - benefits of hindsight and the tinterweb)
1996 Citroen Saxo 1.4 (SWMBO was learning to drive a manual)
1994 Honda Legend saloon - great car, very comfy and quite rare.
1999 Audi A8 4.2 my car before I left the UK for Uruguay
2000 Audi A8L my current one.

Interesting note - my crazy parents decided to buy a Bedford CA ambulance (ALR 656B reg.) in the 70s and then took us all on a cross-Europe trip to Billund, Denmark to go and see the original Legoland. Looking back now, that was a bit mental. 1500cc engine and a three speed gearbox. I do remember us being stuck in a lorry park in Antwerp whilst my resourceful father went looking for someone to fix the starter motor, a problem that couldn't be fixed with the usual 'whack the starter motor with a hammer to release the stuck solenoid' fix ;-)