Hate to say it but those old Micras are tough as old Harry and if one is so inclined can by driven quite ferociously without harm. But possibly better to that in stealth mode rather than advertise the fact with a rorty chrome twin exhaust.
I saw an ad for the new Capri on Instagram this morning (featuring Eric Cantona, no less). There were thousands upon thousands of comments BTL and I gave up looking for a positive one after about 15 minutes of scrolling. The hate was visceral. Speaking of reborn legends..... Ladies and gentlemen, the 2024 Honda Prelude.
Oh dear, just seen the pics and visceral hate is entirely understandable. Yet more infantilisation of a products style - Fisher Price ages 5 to 8. From the roof down to the swage line it's silhouette is vaguely Ford Capri ish if you squint a little but below that is the usual deep slab sided doors no doubt to take into account the battery pack & sundry gubbins under the cabin.
In the same vein, the new electric ‘Mustang’ is another ghastly and disrespectful application of a once iconic name
So they’ve now taken the Mustang name and trashed it and the Capri. The vehicles themselves are probably good for what they’re designed for but why trash all that heritage. I don’t get it, if they’d called this one The Escort for example it would be far more appropriate. What amazes me is the amount of people who sit around in companies, discuss and approve decisions like this.
This is precisely the point to me. They’ve got these gorgeous old cars that are bursting with heritage and old school charisma that they could successfully reinvent, even with electric/hybrid drivetrains that would appeal to a huge number of potential owners with the clout to purchase them. They could employ some cool as feck retro styling with some modern practicality and efficiency and create a dream little sporty number for the world to admire. But nooooo, the designers clearly siit around a table and utilise a healthy chunk of dozey fuckery towards a new vehicle and just think whacking a magical old moniker on it will reinvigorate our aging and reminiscing memories and we’ll part with our hard earned for it. I actually feel insulted by the whole concept. Ford are seriously buggering this up, big style.
It's never going to happen. Economy of scale rules the game. The top 4 selling cars in 2024 are the Ford Puma, Kia Sportage (sic), Nissan Quashqai & Nissan Juke and they amount to ~100k of sales. The next two are non SUVs i.e. the A3 & Golf at 20k a piece and then the first 'sporty' car the BMW 1 series at 17k. Then we are back to SUVs with the MG, Hyundai Tuscon & T-Roc at ~ 16k each. So 80% of the top ten cars sold in 2024 are SUVs. These are the cars the buying public want to drive & buy. Easy access in the front for the old un's, spacious, comfortable & roomy, great for busy families with loads of 'stuff', easy access for kids safety seats in the rear etc etc. The fact they have been styled to appeal to 7 year olds is of no consequence, and is possibly an attraction to potential owners. The same applies to naming & marketing them, most buyers probably weren't even born when the last Capri rolled off the production line so the only memory they have of them is the name and some vague idea they were exciting. So when a manufacturer decides to build a new range of cars & it costs a billion to develop the platform what are they going to concentrate on, the market sector that accounts for 80% of sales or 5% or less of sales? And how are they going to market them, by sprinkling a little of yesteryears fairy dust on them. Cars, are just white goods nowadays. Now, motorcycles, that's where the excitement still is.
I have VX220, Stage 4+, beyond exciting, but Apparently vauxhall lost £5k on everyone they sold, as the above says, it doesn't make economic sense, so manufacturers don't make them, might post a pic here as it's a bit of a shed
I get all that, but calling it a Capri is still bloody stupid. Of all the cars they could have named it after, the Capri is probably the furthest removed from that monstrosity.
It strikes me as unimaginative and lazy of a marketing department to recycle a name that means nothing to a new generation of know-nothings who will not associate the name with anything that has gone before - why not come up with something new to capture their imaginations? EV Cockroach, Plug In Hunchback, Sucky SUV, Ugly EV Bastard, Shit The Bed Hybrid etc all have a good ring to them…
Dude, you clearly know far more about the car trade than I do and have access to the facts and figs. I bow to your knowledge. But I genuinely do wonder if the sales you mention are because there’s nowt out there that’s exciting at “middle money” that folks really wanna buy. They’re all just a little dull if you ask me. And as for the age these cars are aimed at, I’m mid/late 40’s and I reckon these care are aimed pretty squarely at folks in my age group with a genuine bit of disposable to drop on a whim like this. I reckon a shared platform (like everything is now) and a sexy cool body dropped on it with a tag of mid to high £40k, would have folks super interested. But hey, that’s just me. like you say, bikes, that’s where the fun is!
