Cars We Loved
5 total works
The 1980s car era had been brash and loud – but the 1990s that followed was markedly more sober, stylish and sophisticated. A period when safety and durability improved . . . even though insurance hikes, speed cameras and the introduction of the separate theory test made driving more...
Read moreThe 1980s car era had been brash and loud – but the 1990s that followed was markedly more sober, stylish and sophisticated. A period when safety and durability improved . . . even though insurance hikes, speed cameras and the introduction of the separate theory test made driving more of a challenge. Britpop bands battled in the charts as CD players became the ultimate in-car accessory. In the latest addition to this classic series, Giles Chapman investigates the newly nostalgic motoring decade of the 1990s, looking back in entertaining style over the induction of such memorable icons as the Peugeot 106 and 206, Fiat Punto, Jaguar XJ, Toyota RAV4, Subaru Impreza Turbo, Audi TT, TVR Chimaera and Ford Focus MkI.
It was brash and it was loud – the 1980s put paid to the glumness of the ’70s and nowhere was that more obvious than in the cars we drove, which took a quantum leap in durability, performance, equipment and style. They had to: Japanese quality and European design...
Read moreIt was brash and it was loud – the 1980s put paid to the glumness of the ’70s and nowhere was that more obvious than in the cars we drove, which took a quantum leap in durability, performance, equipment and style. They had to: Japanese quality and European design were luring away ever more customers. Features such as fuel injection, turbochargers, computer-controlled systems and four-wheel drive became commonplace. This was also the decade that brought us the people-carrier and the off-roader, new classes of car that radically reshaped family transport. Meanwhile, seatbelt-wearing became law, the M25 opened, speed cameras appeared and ram-raiding was the new motoring nemesis. Relive everything car-related in Britain in the 1980s with Giles Chapman.
After the Second World War, cars in Britain were very hard to come by. Most new models had to go for export or were reserved for those drivers who needed them the most, such as doctors. Petrol was still rationed, roads inadequate and modern technology lacking. With the arrival...
Read moreAfter the Second World War, cars in Britain were very hard to come by. Most new models had to go for export or were reserved for those drivers who needed them the most, such as doctors. Petrol was still rationed, roads inadequate and modern technology lacking. With the arrival of the 1950s, things slowly began to change: Morris, Austin and Ford put increasing numbers of British families on the road, new sports cars from MG, Jaguar, Triumph and Austin-Healey promised a thrilling drive, and innovative motors such as the Land Rover and the bubble car emerged. By 1958, new car buying was leading a consumer boom, and Britain’s manufacturers still had the market to themselves. Giles Chapman investigates the fascinating motoring history of the 1950s.
The 1970s saw some ground-breaking new metal in British showrooms: the Renault 5 established the new ‘supermini’ class, the Volkswagen Golf gave the average family car a hatchback and top quality, the Ford Capri made sporty cars available to everyone and, despite all of this, that old favourite the...
Read moreThe 1970s saw some ground-breaking new metal in British showrooms: the Renault 5 established the new ‘supermini’ class, the Volkswagen Golf gave the average family car a hatchback and top quality, the Ford Capri made sporty cars available to everyone and, despite all of this, that old favourite the Ford Cortina continued to rule the sales charts. It was a funny old time to be a driver, and Britain started to experience a love/hate relationship with the four-wheeled machine that previously symbolised nothing but speed and freedom. The economic rollercoaster sent fuel prices soaring, while the country’s roads left something to be desire, and then there was the issue of those cars themselves: it seemed British manufacturers, beset by striking workers and falling quality standards, were stalling as Japan’s Datsuns and Toyotas cruised off with contented customers. Giles Chapman documents the whole turbulent decade stunningly illustrated book, from the cars that dominated our motoring lives to the much-maligned Morris Marina and Reliant Robin actually helped drivers out of a jam.
If you owned a car in 1960s Britain, then you’ll love this blast back in time to when driving was still fun, highway speed limits were unheard-of (well, until 1965 anyway), and buying a new car was a thrilling family event. It was a golden period for iconic classic...
Read moreIf you owned a car in 1960s Britain, then you’ll love this blast back in time to when driving was still fun, highway speed limits were unheard-of (well, until 1965 anyway), and buying a new car was a thrilling family event. It was a golden period for iconic classic cars – the Mini Cooper, Jaguar E-type, AC Cobra and MGB – but also a time when British manufacturers really got their act together with stylish family models. Who can forget great little runabouts with evocative names like Anglia, Herald, Imp, Viva, Cortina and Hunter? Meanwhile, Rovers, Triumphs and Jags were delighting executives as they cruised along near-empty motorways. It was too good to last, of course, with regulations looming and fancy foreign cars creeping on to Britain’s driveways by the end of the decade. In this richly illustrated book, Giles Chapman recalls all the key cars of the era that you probably owned – or at least coveted – and brings the swinging ’60s back to life.