Auto Express' Top 50 all-time greatest British-built cars

falkor

Active Member
Christmas jolly : name 1 from Auto Express' TOP 50 and give your reasons

well there are some absolute corkers in that Top 50 and being confined to just one is hard, but out of all 50 I would probably go for no 44 the holy Viva

back in 1974 I was going out with a girl from Surbiton, their parents had that exact car as pictured (I am sure) parked on their drive and as I went over there a lot I saw a lot of that car
10 years later ' I was a thing of the past' but happened to be driving along that road on an entirely different mission when I happened to spot that same car still sitting there (made my day)

have you got a story for one those 50? happy Christmas people!! :cuppa:
 

Attachments

  • no 44 the Vauxhall Viva.jpg
    no 44 the Vauxhall Viva.jpg
    473.1 KB · Views: 8
Very few of the cars from my childhood are in there, it seems to be all about the sports car and ignores the "daily" cars. But I suppose that's inevitable with the remit they set themselves...

Personally I'd go for the Mk2 Cavalier, had three of them over the years, nice and reliable and knocked the Sierra into a cocked hat, the only car of that era that came close was the Montego, much more space but not as good handling.
 
I had a number of Montego Diesel estates as management vehicles and I found them excellent, frugal on fuel and plenty of torque . They did eventually rust round the rear wheel arches but as we only kept them 7 to 12 months it was not a problem. I think I only had a couple of Warranty claims, one for leaking sunroof, lap full of water when I first braked in a morning , and brake light switch stuck on ,stopped by two very aggressive police motorcyclist in Lode Lane on my way to work.
 
My dad had a couple of Heralds, a 1200 and a 1360. A couple of weeks before we were due to go to Dawlish for annual holiday, about 1975, the rear subframe or something went. At the top of our road was a small factory that built metal tanks, still there as it happens, and they offered to fabricate a whole new back end for the car. So that’s how 5 of us managed to get from Preston to Dawlish and back. Don’t remember much of the journey apart from we ran into the back of another car at some point, very slow speed and no injuries or damage, apart from a dent in the bonnet. Happy days!
 
No, this was the seventies, before such nonsense. I wonder if I could put a claim in retrospectively......!
 
Very few of the cars from my childhood are in there, it seems to be all about the sports car and ignores the "daily" cars. But I suppose that's inevitable with the remit they set themselves...

Personally I'd go for the Mk2 Cavalier, had three of them over the years, nice and reliable and knocked the Sierra into a cocked hat, the only car of that era that came close was the Montego, much more space but not as good handling.

Yes all seems terribly elitist apart from the Vauxhalls, Morrie Minors and Heralds.
 
Really, the Herald? A warmed-over standard 8 in a zoot suit which was even more obsolete than a Morris Oxford by 1971?
 
Another one of those silly articles, especially when their reasoning for inclusion are oxymorons.
The Stag: "On paper it was more than a match for rivals...theory didn’t take into account the poor engineering, shoddy production and industrial disputes"
If from all the British cars they need to make up the numbers by including cars wtih poor engineering, no wonder the British Car manufactures didn't last much longer.
As for the limited or low production run cars, for example the GT40, come on, how many British cars were sold for road use? A dozen maybe.... hardly a Top50. Desirable absolutely.
As for the Cobra, I only have one if I already had a P6, even if it was blue.... ;)

O well, they got us all to read their webpage and sell some advertising.

p.s. This forum software should use AI to turn the Post reply button, into Post Rant.
 
Where’s my Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire or Sunbeam Talbot 90? I’ll take either of these over any Vauxhall Viva ever made
 
Last edited:
Another one of those silly articles, especially when their reasoning for inclusion are oxymorons.
The Stag: "On paper it was more than a match for rivals...theory didn’t take into account the poor engineering, shoddy production and industrial disputes"
If from all the British cars they need to make up the numbers by including cars wtih poor engineering, no wonder the British Car manufactures didn't last much longer.
As for the limited or low production run cars, for example the GT40, come on, how many British cars were sold for road use? A dozen maybe.... hardly a Top50. Desirable absolutely.
As for the Cobra, I only have one if I already had a P6, even if it was blue.... ;)

O well, they got us all to read their webpage and sell some advertising.

p.s. This forum software should use AI to turn the Post reply button, into Post Rant.

I couldnt agree more. A pointless list from a pointless magazine.
 
Back
Top