Morris Minor Owners Club

I heard somewhere the other day about how car brands are always aiming above their stations and thought id share my views on this.
Ford, for example, maybe at one time 'peoples car', but theyre hardly budget brand anymore. Yes, they have one of the best selling cars in the fiesta, but thats only because its the best out of a pretty bad choice.
Now the likes of Dacia, id say, has took the title of modern day 'peoples car'. Many car brands now, and I look at VW when i say this, are now semi-premium cars, not peoples cars anymore.
Yes, Ford are still priced competitively, but they they dont really offer anything more than any other car brand nowadays.
'Affordable technology' their slogan, well, not really, as you still have to get a pretty specced out model to get that all that technology.
I believe a mid range fiesta isnt priced much lower than the Audi A1? With pretty much the same options?

Look at Skoda. Theres not much price difference to Skoda and its parent company, VW anymore? Go figure. Theres only Dacia that offers back to basics motoring. I believe they have a car priced at just under £6000.

Ive read that Fiat are now looking at launching a 'sub budget brand'. Really? I always thought Fiat were budget brand, but apparently they have their sights aimed higher.

I think that if current manufacturers dont start to lower their sights, the lower end of the market will be awash with Chinese cars in the near future. Probably with brands we have never heard of.

what are your thoughts on this?

Hah! The 'poverty' Dacia is a very basic Renault Clio - not even a radio. All very well - it has the excellent 16V 1.2 engine etc and good wide tyres on steel wheels, which is fine. BUT - it is ONLY available in stark white, with huge black bumpers front and rear - and looks terrible....... If it had been just about ANY other colour the black bumpers would be fine -but against the white - it marks the car out for what it is. The idea of course is to suck you into the showroom -where they flog you the better model with decent colours and bumpers - for a LOT more cash!!

bmcecosse wrote:Hah! The 'poverty' Dacia is a very basic Renault Clio - not even a radio. All very well - it has the excellent 16V 1.2 engine etc and good wide tyres on steel wheels, which is fine. BUT - it is ONLY available in stark white, with huge black bumpers front and rear - and looks terrible....... If it had been just about ANY other colour the black bumpers would be fine -but against the white - it marks the car out for what it is. The idea of course is to suck you into the showroom -where they flog you the better model with decent colours and bumpers - for a LOT more cash!!

I agree, but at least they do offer a cheap car if you want one.

I agree, its does scream 'poverty'. However, I think this shows a major flaw in modern automotive design more than the fact the car is 'budget'. Take a 'steel wheel' for example. The first 'easicleen' wheels fitted onto a series 2 Morris Eight, look nice. Now look at a modern day 'steel wheel'. There just so ugly.
The morris minor was a budget car, but doesnt have the hidious plastic on it, has basic but nice looking wheels. A budget car from yesteryears look nice, even though they didnt aim to be stylish. A budget car nowadays, yes, do look hidious. I also blame car safety for having an ugly effect on the modern day car. Cars now have to have those plastic bumpers to crumple etc.

Despite the fact I dont feel particulally more safe in a modern, they just feel flimsy.

Renault made an effort with steel wheels on a budget car in the early 90s. I was quite impressed with the spoked wheels on my winter runabout - its down to personal opinion wether you think they made them look like alloy wheels or like cheap plastic wheel trims! At least there's no lump of plastic to fly off into a hedge and litter the countryside.[frame][/frame]

What about the Toyota Aygo and equivilant pug/citroen?

Tata, India the most populated bit of real estate there is,and the cars to mobilise the Nation
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tat ... &FORM=IGRE

Is that an Ital station wagon in the background, Iain?

I had a Dacia for a hire car in Sardinia,drove very well ,bit cheap in side but no worse than others in a higher price range

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:Is that an Ital station wagon in the background, Iain?

It's a Mk3 Marina actually, not that you can tell it from an Ital in that pic. Been inthe family a fair few years now, but very crumbly around the back end. Worth far more in bits as a doner for a Minor, but I'm awkward enough to consider saving it with a huge weldathon just on principle because I can....
It was a very pleasant cheap daily driver when it was on the road. Loads of space and simple to fix.

I approve.

My wife 2004 Ford Mondeo went for scrap uneconomic to repair. I have owned 8 Skoda Octavia s since 2001 only 3 are on the road now. The oldest 2005 with 420000miles on the clock My morris will be still on the road when all the Skoda s I have owned have gone.

I love marinas Tr7,s in fact most 70,s 80,s cars as they all need saving

Thanks for the support. I could have sold it for the bits many times now (or even used them myself) but fancy being different and having all the Marina bits attached to a Marina...

Always thought the marina was or is a good car. I'v never understood why is has always being classed as national joke. perhaps I'm lacking something there.I do hope you decide to put it on the road again,& not break it just to make our moggies into something they are not designed for

Audrey1955 wrote:[edit]
I think that if current manufacturers dont start to lower their sights, the lower end of the market will be awash with Chinese cars in the near future. Probably with brands we have never heard of.

what are your thoughts on this?

Agree completely, the bread and butter 'appliance' cars are where the money really is and the massive markets of India and China will allow economies of scale. On top of that in Europe most countries have a minimum wage while China for example doesn't. Not getting too far into the politics of wage control but if Europe doesn't put a wage control on all things it imports it constrains the domestic producers. Eg If that car is to be allowed to be imported into Europe, all the people who worked on it must be paid a minimum wage of X. Add to that the environmental production rules that factories in Europe follow and outside doesn't and perhaps the market will be more competitive.

There will always be quality options I hope but the 'appliance' market for cars will be hit I think.

If you look at the motorbike market, in the scooter and small learner bike segment there are lots of Chinese bikes appearing, often using licensed copies of old Japanese engines. They are cheap and throw-away but that's what the market seems to want.

Thereagain, to contradict myself, the lower end of the market is also catered for by the 10 year old quality brands too. The choice between a 10 year old VW that might need a bit of fettling to get right or a brand new appliance car with a 3 year warranty for the same money