28 posts tagged “british”

Interesting commentary on ABC’s brand-new hit shows for 2008 in the American TV Week:

Buzz projects: Game show “Opportunity Knocks,” which takes the game show out of the studio and into contestants’ front yards, is gaining steam. An adaptation of British crime drama “Life on Mars” is virtually on the air, although producer David E. Kelley’s involvement is in doubt.

   We know Life on Mars is a remake, but Opportunity Knocks? Talk about reviving something very, very old.
   It began on BBC Radio in 1949 and the Hughie Green TV version on ITV began in 1960 in the UK.
   While this version sounds a bit different (‘contestants’ front yards’?) I can’t help but think it’s somehow the same show—it certainly sounds like a talent show with everyday contestants, as with the original.
   The original was infamous for having a young Su Pollard beaten by a dog and some dude called Gerry Dorsey (Engelbert Humperdinck to most of us) getting rejected at auditions. But it was a solid ratings’ hit for ITV and Thames in its day.
   It was so famous that Benny Hill did a parody of it in 1971, pretending it was on German television:

   Again, I shall be interested to see what transpires, and I mean that most sincerely, folks.

A selection from older entries in Autocade, for British readers. Even as a child I didn’t like these cars. Looking back I don’t even have rose-coloured fond memories of them.

Austin Allegro (Mk I). 1973–5 (prod. 642,350 incl. Allegro 2 and 3). 2- and 4-door saloon. F/F, 1098, 1275 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV), 1485, 1748 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Podgy, undesirable replacement for successful 1100 and 1300 (ADO16), but often mocked as worst car made by BL. Compromises in design process led to bloated appearance. Dynamically, no improvement on its predecessor. Quartic steering wheel meant to be high-tech, came to represent the car’s ills—the item was criticized and BL reneged on its promise to remove it for launch. Still sold well in some countries at first due to value. No hatchback, despite appearance.

 

Austin Allegro 2. 1975–9 (prod. 642,350 incl. Allegro Mk I and 3). 2- and 4-door saloon, 3-door estate. F/F, 1098, 1275 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV), 1485, 1748 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Improved version of Allegro (benefiting suspension, driveshaft, engine mounts, rear legroom), but not improved enough, with similar dumpy looks. Only model of note to some collectors may be the 1979 Equipe, with garish stripes that were always compared with those on the Ford Gran Torino of Starsky & Hutch. Four round headlights on some export models. New estate had some similarity in appearance to contemporary Alfasud Giardinetta, but little more.

 

Austin Allegro 3. 1979–3 (prod. 642,350 incl. Allegro Mk I and 2). 2- and 4-door saloon, 3-door estate. F/F, 998, 1098, 1275 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV), 1485, 1748 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Facelift with plastic bumpers and air dam (and four-headlamp treatment on high-line models) helped improve Allegro looks, but it was far too dated to deal with newer competition from Ford, Vauxhall and the Japanese. Introduction of base one-litre model with A-Plus engine. Sold without Allegro name in some Continental markets.

 

Morris Marina (ADO28). 1971–9 (prod. 950,000 approx.). 2-door coupé, 4-door saloon, 5-door estate, 2-door pick-up, 2-door van. F/R, 1275, 1798 cm³ petrol, 1489 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHV), 1695 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC). Developed as British Leyland’s answer to Ford Cortina, Marina was cheap and conventional, but suffered from quality bugs as with most BL products of the era. Unrefined, poor handling, terrible understeer. Increasingly dated as 1970s wore on, considering it was intended as a stopgap only. Two-door coupé strangely shared doors with saloon. Estate launched 1973. Marina Mk II launched in 1975 but changes mostly cosmetic; diesel from 1977; greater changes for 1978 as O-series 1·7-litre installed and some trim upgrades. Sold as Austin Marina in North America, Morris 1300 and Morris 1700 in New Zealand from 1979 to 1981, though some left NZMC with Marina badges. Australian model built as Leyland Marina, with six-cylinder at top of range.

 

Leyland Marina. 1972–5 (prod. unknown). 2-door coupé, 4-door sedan, 2-door panel van. F/R, 1485, 1748 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC), 2623 cm³ (6 cyl. OHV). E-series Austin Maxi engines powered Australian Marina, plus six-cylinder 2·6 used to challenge local Ford Cortina TC and Holden Torana. As a vehicle, the bid failed: take a worse car and make the front end even heavier. Marina, however, allowed Leyland Australia to field a relatively full range from Mini at bottom end to P76 at top, if only for a brief period. A replacement was planned (P82) but it never saw the light of day. Production shifted to South Africa after Leyland Australia’s collapse in 1975.

 

Morris Ital (ADO28). 1980–4 (prod. unknown). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/R, 1275 (4 cyl. OHV), 1700, 1994 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC). A horrid car in its last appearance before meeting the Grim Reaper. The Morris Marina facelift of 1980 was not designed by ItalDesign, which only handled the productionization; this was a British effort headed by Harris Mann on a shoestring budget. However, the car was named after Ital—probably to founder Giugiaro’s horror. No new front wings—Mann found a way to give the car a sloping grille for the 1980s. Rear end more upright. Underneath, a simple car with a live rear axle. At least they were cheap, and sold on that basis. Two-litre at least one step better than Marina, but it was a rough unit; the 1·3 A-series engine, dating back to the 1950s, was underpowered.  

I had to watch this after the event as I was at Miss New Zealand, but I say: congratulations, Brucie! One of the best moments at the BAFTAs, in my view, with an excellent series of clips from Bruce Forsyth’s career. He’s still working, as host of Strictly Come Dancing. He celebrated his 80th birthday, 25th wedding anniversary and 50 years in prime-time TV this year. Britain’s, no, the world’s, best compère—and a true living legend.

There’s now a second video from the documentary The Saint Steps in … to Colour on YouTube, detailing how scriptwriter Terry Nation would rehash his scripts for different series. This would be fine years apart, but one week he got caught out on US television when The Saint was rerun with a new episode of The Baron.
   Goodness, de Vere before he met Audrey!
   Ian Ogilvy provides the narration.

I may have hung out with plenty of the ladies from Miss Universe New Zealand 2008 but in between times, I did work. And on my travels I saw this slightly worn Jensen C-V8 in Ellerslie, Auckland. It’s still a glorious shape. I drove to the end of the street after recognizing its tail end.

Here’s an Autocade series for the Brits. Remember these? Well, maybe all but the last one. I haven’t put in the data for the MG ZR yet though.

Triumph Acclaim. 1981–4 (prod. 133,625). 4-door saloon. F/F, 1335 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Anglicized version of Honda Ballade, made on the BL production lines at Cowley. Notable as one of the first Japanese designs to be built within the EEC, to bypass the gentlemen’s agreement where Japan limited itself to an 11 per cent share of the European market. Cramped in the rear compared with rivals. Limited-edition Avon Acclaims with more equipment and turbocharger; CD trim model later added as luxury version. Last Triumph car.

 

Rover 213/Rover 216. 1984–90 (prod. 418,367). 4-door saloon. F/F, 1342, 1598 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Nicknamed ‘SD3’ or ‘Ronda’, successor to Triumph Acclaim followed the same formula: begin with a Honda Ballade. This time, Rover input was greater, evident on the cars themselves, which looked more distinctive. Reliable, advanced for its time thanks to 1·3 unit, slightly less up with the play with 1·6 derived from old Austin Maxi unit but still economical. Intended to be a niche player but had very healthy sales in comparison with other Austin Rover products of the time. Facelift in 1987 including revisions that Honda itself adopted for its Civic and Ballade.

 

Rover 214/Rover 216/Rover 218/Rover 220 (R8). 1989–98 (prod. 708,003). 3- and 5-door saloon, 2-door convertible, 2-door coupé. F/F, 1396 , 1590 cm³ petrol, 1769, 1905 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC), 1588, 1590, 1994 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Twin to Honda Concerto with even greater Austin Rover input than prior Rover 200 series, and probably the company’s most competitive range against ageing Ford Escort and even newer rivals such as Fiat Tipo. Some diesels sold with Honda badges but Rover bodywork. Cabriolet from 1992. Three-door launched 1992 with more powerful versions competing as a hot hatch; two-door coupé, codenamed Tomcat, well regarded as a performance derivative, from 1993. Two facelifts, including 1994 one grafting on formal Rover grille. Saloons deleted with launch of R3, but coupé and convertible carried on to 1998 without 200 name.

 

Rover 200/Rover 214/Rover 216/Rover 220SD (R3). 1995–9 (prod. 470,449). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1396, 1589, 1796 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). Originally designed as a replacement for Metro, but BMW and Rover nudged it upmarket where it was a premium product and rather expensive for its size. Smaller than former Rover 200 due to its Metro-replacing origins and cheaply developed at £200 million. Attractive David Saddington-styled car with ideas above its station, promoted by Sting on TV, aimed at the 20-somethings. As an Escort or Golf competitor, far too cramped. Most cars soon badged 200, regardless of engine size. Limited-edition BRM in 1998. Successor was eventually brought down to earth and sold in the Fiesta class.

 

Rover 25. 1999–2004 (prod. 217,620 all 25 incl. Mk II). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1120 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC), 1120, 1396, 1588, 1795 cm³ petrol (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). BMW-influenced facelift for 1995 Rover 200, designed to keep the car current till replacement ready in the 21st century—sadly, that never came. Repositioned lower in the market-place with price adjusted, making 25 seem better value. Introduction of Streetwise “soft-roader”: a 25 with cladding pretending to be an off-roader, but which had the same FWD transmission as others. Laughed at then, but now Volkswagen, Ford, Citroën, Peugeot and others offer similar cars. 

 

Rover 25. 2004–5 (prod. 217,620 all 25 from 1999). 3- and 5-door saloon. F/F, 1120 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC), 1120, 1396, 1588, 1795 cm³ petrol (4 cyl. DOHC), 1994 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). Facelift and new interior—and last hurrah—for British-made 25, codenamed Jewel. Packaging dated but car still fairly handsome and reasonably good value. Streetwise faux off-roader continued. Lasted till April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration, and tooling now owned by Red Chinese state.

 

MG 3 SW. 2007 to date (prod. unknown). 5-door sedan. F/F, 1396, 1795 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Subcompact crossover developed from Rover Streetwise. MG 3 SW (for Streetwise, not Station Wagon) a front-wheel-drive model with Rover 200 platform from 1995, made in Nanjing, China from 2007 after a two-year hiatus caused by MG Rover’s collapse. New to buyers in Red China, where most are sold.    

I’ve inputted some information into Autocade over the last half-hour about the Rover 75*, a model that saw the end of volume British-owned car manufacturing—and which might mean the beginning of two marques in Red China. Here I chart the history of this tragic car, beset by publicity gaffes from BMW and a British press with its claws out, only for it to begin making good produced in Shanghai and Nanjing. Even in Italy it won an award for the most beautiful car when it launched, but the Brits never warmed to the 75. Summary: fairly timeless look, but I still wouldn’t buy one due to quality concerns.

* It took many times longer to copy and paste this into Vox (hours!) than writing and researching all of the below, due to the site crashing my browser due to a script error constantly!

Rover 75 Mk I

Rover 75. 1998–2004 (prod. 169,250, 1998–2003). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1997, 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC), 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC). Retro-themed and too-English Rover styled by Richard Woolley, with lavish use of chrome. Soft ride to distinguish it from BMW cars. Very robust, refined car but never appealed to enthusiasts; suffered from BMW’s indecision on and changes to marketing from launch day onwards, as well as British media apathy. Related MG ZT from 2001, after production shifted to Longbridge for all models following BMW sale of Rover. LWB saloon brought back Vanden Plas tag temporarily.

MG ZT Mk I

MG ZT. 2001–4 (prod. 27,149 all models, incl. Mk II). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ petrol, 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Sporting versions of Rover 75, finally with firmer suspension and better handling. Helped keep MG Rover numbers up for a short time, though package began looking more dated toward the end of the run. V8 model introduced 2003, covered separately.


MG ZT 260

MG ZT 260. 2003–5 (prod. 883 incl. Rover 75 V8). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/R 4601 cm³ (V8 SOHC). MG Rover, on a shoestring budget, sourced a new V8 engine from Ford and, in order to get it working, changed the standard 75 platform to rear-wheel drive. Prodrive did the initial work; MG Rover brought it in-house. Hairy, raw car, in line with MG image, and with few visual cues to signify the larger engine other than badging and four exhausts. Facelift one year in, in 2004; automatics introduced toward end of run (bound to be rarest of all), but production came to an end in 2005, with no Chinese equivalent.

Rover 75 Mk II

Rover 75. 2004–5 (prod. unknown). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1997, 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC), 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC). Essentially carryover technology from Mk I with cosmetic facelift, while Project Drive eliminated certain parts deemed unnecessary to cut costs, which meant less refinement on some models. Never had its full run as MG Rover collapsed and the 75 found its rights sold to SAIC of China. V8 model introduced in 2004, covered separately. LWB model simply called Limousine, rather than Vanden Plas, for these final years.

MG ZT Mk II

MG ZT. 2004–5 (prod. 27,149 all models, incl. Mk I). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ petrol, 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Facelifted ZT with minor changes, but no real mechanical changes—and no real improvement to sales. Production shifted to Nanjing, China after collapse of MG Rover in UK, restarted in 2007.

Rover 75 V8

Rover 75 V8. 2004–5 (prod. 883 incl. MG ZT 260). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon. F/R, 4601 cm³ (V8 SOHC). Short-lived Ford V8-powered version of 75, with platform re-engineered by Prodrive and Rover to rear-wheel drive. Front grille, supposedly inspired by Rover P5B, controversial at the time, accused of copying Audi, and designer’s name not released by MG Rover. No direct predecessor—last hairy Rover V8 was SD1 Vitesse in 1980s. Good performance but car seemed heavy; interior and insulation kept English club-lounge feel. Fuel economy in the high 10s, low 20s (mpg).

Roewe 750

Roewe 750. 2006 to date (prod. unknown). F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Rebodied Rover 75. SAIC acquired the rights to the model in 2005 and proceeded to make its own version on the long-wheelbase platform. British consultants Ricardo did restyle and update. However, SAIC was forced to create a new marque, Roewe, after Ford bought the Rover brand that they wanted; hence, Roewe logo has the same shape as old Rover Viking longship one. Two noses: small grille for lower-spec; large grille (à la last Rover 75 V8) for higher-spec. Not as well built as old 75 according to early reports, with less safety equipment than western markets expect.

MG 7

MG 7. 2007 to date (prod. 13,000 approx.). 4-door sedan, 4-door LWB sedan. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Chinese edition of MG ZT, offered with both Mk I and II grilles contemporaneously. Engines upgraded to comply with latest Euro IV legislation, and quality said to be better than those of the cars coming off Longbridge in 2005 thanks to new factory at Nanjing. Improved specification. No estate announced. Played heavily on MG’s heritage when launched.

George W. Bush’s first car was a Triumph. So was mine. Come to think of it, my mother’s first car was a Triumph, too—I sort of wound up with hers when I started driving and she bought another car. Dad bought a Triumph as his first car in New Zealand, but it wasn’t his first in his lifetime.
   Unless you count toy cars, in which case my first was a Chevy, my second was … you guessed it, a Triumph.
   Rob Muldoon used to drive his Triumph 2500S to work when he was Prime Minister (who needs chauffeurs? Get your lazy butts out of the LTDs!).
   A great brand, now owned by BMW, and unlikely to see the light of day again. Shame, really. I still would be happy to get a nice Dolomite Sprint.

I have been a regular reader of Autocar since 1980 but did not know about this hidden message in the 1992 Road Test Yearbook, which I bought 15 years ago. James May, of Top Gear fame, was one of the team that put the Yearbook together and was known for his regular column in the magazine in those days. He was fired over an incident where he put in a hidden message, using the initial caps of each road test summary in the Yearbook.

   It took Wikipedia to tell me—so it is good for something after all. The message is, with punctuation, ‘So you think it’s really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up. It’s a real pain in the arse.’
   No one had spotted it internally, but readers eventually asked the magazine if they had won a prize.
   On Radio 2, May said in an interview, ‘So I had this idea that if I re-edited the beginnings of all the little texts, I could make these red letters spell out a message through the magazine, which I thought was brilliant. … It took me about two months to do it and on the day that it came out I’d actually forgotten that I’d done it because there’s a bit of a gap between it being “put to bed” and coming out on the shelves. When I arrived at work that morning everybody was looking at their shoes and I was summoned to the managing director of the company’s office. The thing had come out and nobody at work had spotted what I’d done because I’d made the words work around the pages so you never saw a whole word. But all the readers had seen it and they’d written in thinking they’d won a prize or a car or something.’
   Shame he was fired over this. I thought the British sense of humour would have seen him through. But then, he might not have gone on to do his other things.

PS.: I got out my copy of the September 23, 1992 issue and note that eight pages are missing from the above thumbnails. That makes 16 missing characters. The full message is, with punctuation: ‘Road Test Yearbook. So you think it’s really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up. It’s a real pain in the arse.’ 

There has been some more press about Ashes to Ashes and here’s how the première might be shaping up.

• DI Alex Drake is shot in the head before going to 1981. She needed that like a hole in the head. She has a daughter who remains in the present day.
• She has read Sam Tyler’s files so she has more awareness of what is going on than he did.
• The action takes place in London, not Manchester, providing for a bit of north–south conflict.
• In This Is Scotland: the sexist Gene Hunt and Alex Drake have a bit of romance (as many of us knew—Ian Wylie confirms it’s like Moonlighting, which was what the BBC said). The première episode sees Alex undercover as a prostitute to bust a drugs’ ring when she arrives in July 1981. Philip also does not say that Gene will be killed off, which is what the Murdoch Press has reported—just that he does not think that Gene should go beyond the 1980s, nor would he look good in a trilby.
• Montserrat Lombard plays WPC Shaz Granger, who has a crush on Chris (Marshall Lancaster).
• The makers know that the right-hand-drive Audi Quattro was not available in 1981.
• Steve Strange cameos.
• From The Daily Telegraph: the first day’s filming consists of Gene and Alex nicking a villain in 1981—but he’s also her nemesis in 2008. Sean Harris playes Arthur Layton. Presumably this is for the first episode.
• A speedboat rescue scene comes at the end of the episode. This is filmed at the Royal Docks but it’s to double for the area around Tower Bridge, which will be CGIed in later.
• A story arc (according to the Murdoch Press) is the Scarman Report, which was being compiled in 1981. Geoffrey Palmer (not the former New Zealand prime minister!) plays Lord Scarman.

I really need our UK correspondents to extend their reach into TV so they can get to these premières.