Full circle

[Sturdybloke]

Yesterday I saw (on T.V) a advert for the "new" VW Jetta. Is it me or do I seem to be having a case of deja vu as im sure that its been round before........No wait it has been round before . So it was called Jetta, then they gave it a few tweeks in 1994 and then badged it as Vento (still the same underpinnings) . Then a few more years went by and they gave it a new nose and rump tweak and then decided to call it the Bora (even though its a streched Golf underneath thus still making it a Jetta) and now 12 years later they have gone back to the Jetta tag. Watch now as Vauxhall and Ford follow the same path and relaunch the Belmont and Orion........

[Ross_K]

The Vento and Bora were badged as Jettas in the US since the mid-90s(and probably other countries as well...).

[Stuart McB]

Vauxhall Belmont. The name just ooooooozes quality, I want one now. LOL

[ACTIVE8]

Ford used the name Anglia years ago, and it has recently thanks to the Harry Potter films become more well known by the younger generation.

Although now Vauxhall are using a name for one of their models, which is quite close to Fords old name, it's called the Agila.

It seems that the manufacturers are stuck for names, to call their new cars.

[Sturdybloke]

Ross_k - Yes you are right they have always been called Jetta in the US and Brazil and Canada IIRC, but I was talking about the badge in sunny blighty.

Stuart Mcb -

Vauxhall Belmont. The name just ooooooozes quality, I want one now. LOL

- mmmm classy.

ACTIVE8 -I think that you have hit the nail on the head. Just look at the Toledo - SEAT and Triumph. And Sierra has been used by Ford and GM.

[Ross_K]

Where does the Jetta fit into the scheme of things in the VW range anyway? I mean, you've got the Golf, Golf Plus and Passat - is there room for another car in there? The Jetta and the Bora didn't exactly fly out of the showrooms in their day, did they?

Anyway, you'd have to be a real VW label junkie to fork out the best part of £14,700 for the base model 1.6 Jetta, when you could move up a size and get a 1.8 turbo Octavia for £800 less.

[Paul Mi16]

In the UK saloon versions of hatchbacks are like insane relatives. They exist but you rarely see them.

[bxbodger]

PSA do the same sort of thing- you can get a new C2 for less than a new C1, mind you, if you're sensible, you buy your C1 with a Toyota badge on!!!

[Kowalski]

PSA do the same sort of thing- you can get a new C2 for less than a new C1, mind you, if you're sensible, you buy your C1 with a Toyota badge on!!!

The Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are made in the same factory, so you're choosing your price, badge and your dealership. I suppose the Peugeot / Citroen dealers will have plenty of experience of fixing "teething troubles" on new cars, where as the Toyota dealer won't. [ducks]

[bxbodger]

Ah, but the difference is depreciation!! Toyota's are percieved, and rightly so, as quality engineered cars, and you will be able to sell the Toyota badged one a lot easier and for a lot more more money when the time comes to change.

The French branded ones, although the same cars from the same factory, will be perceived in the market as troublesome cheapo French cars- their resale will plummet like a lead balloon compared to the Aygo: you usually find that once people finalyl bring themselves to buy far eastern, they never go back to European cars.

Its the VW/Skoda divide, only worldwide!!!

[reblack68]

Both Escort and Capri were resurrected names from 1950s Fords. The Escort was an estate version of thePopular/Prefect/Anglia and the Capri was a coupé version of the Classic.

Rootes/Chrysler etc were champions at dragging up old names. Sunbeam, Alpine, Rapier, Talbot and Tiger were all recycled in the 70s and 80s.

[bxbodger]

Both Escort and Capri were resurrected names from 1950s Fords. The Escort was an estate version of thePopular/Prefect/Anglia

Sorry, I cant resist it-It certainly was,and here's one with a small me in the back!!!



It was bough as a stop-gap after my dad rolled our A55, and it was awful-vacuum wipers and about 55 flat out, at which speed the wipers slowed dramatically....... ...it was soon replaced with an A60.

Its a cool looking motor now, however!!!

[reblack68]

That's a great picture! It's nice to see a car like that in its natural habitat rather than press shots.

How old would the car have been then? I don't think I've ever seen one in real life, they must have been nearly all gone by the time I was becoming aware of cars in the early 1970s.

[jeremy]

As well as the Escort there was I think a 'Thames' which was a van version (ie no side windows and so no purchase tax.) and also I think there was a 'Squire' which may have been a superior Escort.

There were loads of car derived vans then (eg Morris Oxford (pre farina) vans and pickups - even a Triumph Herald one - the Courier) but sadly few survive today.

[bxbodger]

How old would the car have been then?

I don't know!!

The picture was taken in the winter of 67/68, and the reg was pre 1963- it was VKV2, which would probably be worth money in itself now. I do recall it as being pretty much past it and although it looks o.k. in the picture, I remember being told off for poking the rust bubbles in the paint.

In those days, a car was well past it at even 8 to 10 years old- its hard for younger people to believe nowadays exactly how bad cars were. If you went looking for a cheapie stopgap car today, you could probably go home by teatime with a pretty good Xantia or ZX for under £500.

I paid £400 for my BX, with 158000 miles on it, and I've put nearly another 70000 miles on it, and expect a lot more use from it yet; that would have been inconceivable in the sixties or seventies.

You're right about the courier van, Jeremy- the Sports Six club have a nice signwritten one, but they were more expensive when new than the Ford or BMC equivelant, and many died to donate their stiffer spring set up for budget Vitesse saloon car racers.