New new new new Top Gear

[DaveE]

I thought it was excellent, and very moving too.

I actually found it quite sad as I don't really have any memories like that with my Dad.

About the only memory I do have was when he test drove a Rover v8 (the Z-Cars type thing, with a spare wheel on the boot lid).

We did 100 mph for the first time in my life - it was amazing.

He ended up buying a burgundy Princess in the end.

I fast forwarded past the "sitting on someone's knee" bit - I'm sure there'd have been some LOLs, but it just seemed to really jar with the rest of the content. Almost like "This is Top Gear, we have to do something silly" - the whole episode could have been them just driving those cars and talking about their feelings and memories IMO...

[integrale_evo]

So, very much cars that begin with A then!

Yep, they would have been Austin minis too

He hated the bmw, it snapped a cam belt needing a £1k rebuild, was broken into and had the radio nicked, seemed to have constant rear wheel bearing issues and got shunted into in traffic needing substantial repair. No wonder he went back to Alfa’s.

Amused me that several years later I ended up with a bright red e30 m3, the complete opposite end of the e30 range to the car he had

[Mito Man]

My dad's first car was a battered VW Type 2 which he hated, he really wanted a 70's Trans Am but needed the VW because he had to sleep in it as he drove hundreds of miles everyday. To this day whenever he sees a Type 2 he swears at them due to the misery of having to sleep in one when it was below freezing He did wrap that chapter up recently when he bought the Camaro, which he calls the Trans am when he's in a nostalgic mood.

Then he had a Fiat, I still don't know what model but he hated that too which was replaced with a B3 Passat which is the first car I remember.
BMW 318 - he actually liked this one but there was a cheap E28 M535i up for sale so he traded it in for that one. He still claims the 535 was the most thirsty car he's ever owned. My only memory is him crashing it into the side of a mountain with steam pouring out the radiator.

Then we moved from Sweden to the UK. He bought a Ford Scorpio V6 as a temporary car. I remember this POS well because whenever it rained it dripped onto me. Then he ordered a new 1999 Civic (the one that looked like a Rover). It had VTEC and comfortable seats which was the only good thing about it but he said it's the reason he never bought a Japanese car again

A few years after the Civic he ordered an E53 X5 but the waiting list was so long he had to wait until the facelift model. He gave away the Civic to a friend of my mum who wrote it off a week later.
The E53 was the most unreliable car after the Type 2 but my dad otherwise liked it so he ordered the E70 X5. This point onwards he's kept every car.

[JonMad]

About the only memory I do have was when he test drove a Rover v8 (the Z-Cars type thing, with a spare wheel on the boot lid).

We did 100 mph for the first time in my life - it was amazing.

Similar memory here of an Uncle with a Datsun 260Z. That was 100 for the first time for me.

[Simon]

I assume his dad is longer with us (?)

He said towards the end that he lost him 20 years ago or so....

[Jimmy Choo]

I vaguely remember some old Austin 1100 but to me, Dad's car was a blue P reg 520i with a leaky, full length, aftermarket sunroof.

I think I'd rather have the car than him, to be honest.

On the other hand, my Stepfather had a Triumph Stag (in the 90's) that he had converted to a manual with the Rover V8. I think that's the only V8 I've ever driven. He's currently restoring a Gilburn Invader.

[McSwede]

I really enjoyed NNNNTG last night. Great stuff.

My Dad's was varied to say the least.

Metallic purple MG BGT which mum wrote whilst up the spout with yours truly.

DAF variomatic which he bought just because it's go as fast in reverse as it would going forwards.

ETA a metallic copper/brown 3.0 Ghia Capri

Honda Accord
Lancia Delta 1.5 in metallic brown (identical to link below)
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1094693
Fiat Uno
Fiat Uno

R5 turbo phase 2 -awesome little thing!!

Cavalier 2.0 CD
Vectra

Peugeot 406 Sri wagon 2.2hdi one of only 3 specials from Peugeot for management members. We bought from a mate at Peugeot. Bloody lovely!!

Astra
C-Max
Citroen C5 Aircross
2005 MR2

Plus various motorbikes.

[Jobbo]

Quite enjoyed it, though I'd seen Harris's Sian piece on Youtube already (most of it anyway). I wish they'd release stuff online after it's broadcast, not before.

My dad's car history (as much for my benefit as anyone else's, to see if I can remember it):
- Standard Eight
- Austin 1100
- Ford Escort mk1
- Triumph Spitfire
- Austin Maxi
- VW Scirocco mk1
- Audi 80
- Audi Coupe (which I now realise is the only car he's ever owned with more than 4 cylinders)
- Vauxhall Cavalier
- Saab 9000
- Saab 9000CS
- Saab 900 (GM version)
- Saab 9-3 (the facelifted version of the above)
- Audi A4 Avant (B6)
- Jaguar X-Type estate
- Audi A4 Avant (B6 facelift)
- Land Rover Freelander 2
- Land Rover Discovery Sport (and a current Fiesta too, because he couldn't resist the cheap finance deal )

[DaveE]

Quite enjoyed it, though I'd seen Harris's Sian piece on Youtube already (most of it anyway). I wish they'd release stuff online after it's broadcast, not before.

My dad's car history (as much for my benefit as anyone else's, to see if I can remember it):
- Standard Eight
- Austin 1100
- Ford Escort mk1
- Triumph Spitfire
- Austin Maxi
- VW Scirocco mk1
- Audi 80
- Audi Coupe (which I now realise is the only car he's ever owned with more than 4 cylinders)
- Vauxhall Cavalier
- Saab 9000
- Saab 9000CS
- Saab 900 (GM version)
- Saab 9-3 (the facelifted version of the above)
- Audi A4 Avant (B6)
- Jaguar X-Type estate
- Audi A4 Avant (B6 facelift)
- Land Rover Freelander 2
- Land Rover Discovery Sport (and a current Fiesta too, because he couldn't resist the cheap finance deal )

- Saab 9000
- Saab 9000CS
- Saab 900 (GM version)
- Saab 9-3 (the facelifted version of the above)

You have become your Dad - now it all makes sense

[Jobbo]

I'm no longer in a long line of 5-series Tourings, Dave!

[dinny_g]

I suppose it's because my dad's not "a car guy" that I don't have many car related memories as the lads seem to have but my earlies memory (of any kind, not just car memories) was waiting at the front window for my Dad to come home "With a NEW car" and the disappointment when he came home with an identical White Hillman Hunter - "That's not a new car, it's exactly the same" - I think I was 3 or 4

And doing timing one mile high speed run when he got the Fiat 132 on a long straight stretch of road between Dublin and Limerick - I clearly remember 35 seconds as we wanted to top 100mph average. He never drove near that speed before or since.

But by God you didn't adjust the radio, the heating, the seats for fear of death!

[Pete_]

My dad used to reminisce a lot about his old Renault 4, but I'm not sure what else he owned before I was born. When I was very young he was a Mazda salesman so we had various Mazdas in the mid 90s, then a Renault Laguna which we towed a caravan behind to go on caravan holidays. In 2003 they got the Civic which is what I eventually drove for the first few years after passing my test, and got a Ka in the mid 00s as well. Then the Ka was replaced with an MX5 (which he let me drive around carparks aged 14/15ish) and that was replaced with a Twingo in about 2013 which my sister still owns now. The Civic kept going until about 2014 when it was replaced with a Focus 1.0 which my dad crashed drink driving, then that was replaced with a DS3 which he also crashed drink driving. He doesn't drive any more!

[speedingfine]

His main toy was a Jeep. I will post some photos later.

A guy from one of the owners clubs built it up for us to sell after my dad died, photo was taken around 1993 I would guess. My mum said I could learn to drive in it Can't believe I said no. Would love to know where it is now and it's history, knew nothing about it as a kid. Sadly it's not MOT'd now it seems.

[RobYob]

. My mum said I could learn to drive in it Can't believe I said no.

I mean discounting all those sensible things like not having fancy modern stuff like synchros, or doors or a roof. What were you thinking?!

[Zonda_]

His main toy was a Jeep. I will post some photos later.

A guy from one of the owners clubs built it up for us to sell after my dad died, photo was taken around 1993 I would guess. My mum said I could learn to drive in it Can't believe I said no. Would love to know where it is now and it's history, knew nothing about it as a kid. Sadly it's not MOT'd now it seems.

It’s too old to need an MOT

[JonMad]

You just reminded me my Dad had a Morris army truck in the garage for many years (and if even came out of the garage sometimes)

[speedingfine]

His main toy was a Jeep. I will post some photos later.

A guy from one of the owners clubs built it up for us to sell after my dad died, photo was taken around 1993 I would guess. My mum said I could learn to drive in it Can't believe I said no. Would love to know where it is now and it's history, knew nothing about it as a kid. Sadly it's not MOT'd now it seems.

It’s too old to need an MOT

Good point

[Barry]

Series1 LR
Renault 16TL
Citreon Ami
Renault 20TL
Renault 18GTL
BMW 318i
Volvo 740GL
Citreon XM 2.0
Previa 2,4
Merc S280

R18 is the one I remember doing the most holidays in, and ma nearly crashing when I told her it was slow and she tried to prove me wrong (90hp 1600)

[Jimmy Choo]

Which circuit was the Sian at? I couldn't place it.

[NGRhodes]

Good episode, not only the Dad aspect, but the Lakes which really want to visit again (pre-covid we would go 2 or 3 times a year).

My Dads car list

MIni (I stood on the handbrake and it rolled down the drive with me in it, I was about 4)
Citroen Visa (I remember the exhaust dropping off and making a horrid noise), helped him service it, remember going in it to watch stock car and banger racing.
My dad then got a thing for older cars again ...
Cortina Estate (bottle of milk exploded on the back vinyl seats in summer, car stunk for the rest of the year, even though we tried washing it out a few times)
Renault 12 Estate Yellow (my Dads favourite colour, used to overheat towing the caravan in traffic).
Volvo Estate (cant remember much about it apart from being brown and making my brother travel sick as it was rubbish round corner)
VW auto camper van (work was paying his fuel bills so he didn't care that it struggled to get 20mpg)
Renault Fuego (used to pick me up from School on a Friday afternoon, only a 1.6, but sounded great with the twin choke webber )
305 D Estate (Learnt to drive in this, fond memories of driving around the Dales with L plates on)
He then started to like modern cars again...
Cavalier 1.8 GLS (1990 model bought 3 years old, first time I drove it, a taxi reversed into the back of it (thank god for the tow ball))
Audi 80 2.8 Quattro (utterly mint condition, superchipped, ram air induction kit, stainless system, rebuilt engine due to a disintegrating spark plug), wanted to buy it off him, but my first 205 GTi was not worth enough to cover how much it was worth)
After I moved out my Dad started buying MPVs
Scenic
Nissan TIno
Kia Carens