What about clever or thoughtful design? I'm well over 6ft tall and can't get in a lot of cars but the use of space in the Felicia means I can get a comfortable driving position and still have someone sitting behind me. Other cars I've owned I've had to unbolt seat brackets and reverse them.

I think the variable speed interemittent wiper is another clever idea - much better than the 3 or 4 presets on our Fabia.

On the diesel there's the glow plugs that come on as soon as you open the front doors so there's no hanging around for the little light except on the coldest mornings. I don't think many others that age had that did they?

It's a classic in my book.

On the diesel there's the glow plugs that come on as soon as you open the front doors so there's no hanging around for the little light except on the coldest mornings. I don't think many others that age had that did they?

yer the polo, golf, passat, Ibiza, most vw diesels of that age have it....

I still think the felicia has classic appeal though, but the thing I've noticed recently is that the numbers are difinitely on the decline, there's not nearly as many in breakers yards any more either which means they've all been crushed because the parts aren't selling, whereas say 5 years ago there were so many ore of them about.

The scrappage scheme saw the demise of a lot of mundane (and not so mundane)cars which are not seen now. The lure of £2K off the nose of a £5.5K Picanto to ride off into the sunset of your dotage saw lots of good condition low value cars of the retired, become fridges in China.

I wonder, what might the Favorit have over the Felicia (and vice versa) in terms of 'classic appeal'? Classic appeal used loosely of course.

When asked what car I drive, scarcely anybody knows what a Skoda Felicia is - I was about 2 years old when they came out but nobody of an age to remember them well seems to actually remember them, and those who do who are usually thinking of the Fabia. The Favorit strikes me as being even less well known, as I understand they were designed and the early ones produced when they weren't under VAG.

Then, car reviews seemed mainly to compare the Favorit to the likes of Lada Samaro, the Rover Metro and the Fiat Cincecento (however the hell you spell it).

The Felicia was compared to the more upmarket but still budget Ford Fiesta, Citroen AX and Vauxhall Corsa.

The Favorit was the model that signalled a big change for Skoda, and these days they are fairly well respected, particularly those wearing the VRS badge. I also have yet to hear from anybody who thinks that the Skoda Superb isn't a great car. I have ridden in one at work. I was amazed, it was like a friggin limo both in interior dimensions and comfort. Would love to have a drive of it, but it's for management types, not for lackeys like me.

I digress, as usual.

I don't think cool, retro, age, desirability, eyes of beholders etc have anything to do with classic, but is a general term used for insurance purposes etc. vintage, postwar, prewar and veteran define eras.

A classic car is one that has set a standard, (or will become known (post-production) as one that did so). They are a bench mark that others hope to measure up to, or have to to keep up with the times. Cars like Marinas and dare i say it favorits and felicias are generally known as grey porridge (a derogoratory term). There is a need for grey porridge (cheap run-abouts), but when say, Audi come up with something new, it's crucial for BMW to keep pace. It's all relative I suppose. Cars i'd list as classics for example would be: Audi quattro, VW golf GTi, Escort XR3, Citreon DS (mentioned by someone here), Range Rover, Issigonis Mini, Escort Mk1? (lightweight monocoque shell), Model T ford! Some cars set bench marks however that others ignored such as the Austin's Maestro (the talking car) and Fiat multipla blah, blah, blah...They are not classics but will one day be vintage.

Edited 1 March, 201313 yr by yorkshirecoble

I don't think cool, retro, age, desirability, eyes of beholders etc have anything to do with classic, but is a general term used for insurance purposes etc. vintage, postwar, prewar and veteran define eras.

A classic car is one that has set a standard, (or will become known (post-production) as one that did so). They are a bench mark that others hope to measure up to, or have to to keep up with the times. Cars like Marinas and dare i say it favorits and felicias are generally known as grey porridge (a derogoratory term). There is a need for grey porridge (cheap run-abouts), but when say, Audi come up with something new, it's crucial for BMW to keep pace. It's all relative I suppose. Cars i'd list as classics for example would be: Audi quattro, VW golf GTi, Escort XR3, Citreon DS (mentioned by someone here), Range Rover, Issigonis Mini, Escort Mk1? (lightweight monocoque shell), Model T ford! Some cars set bench marks however that others ignored such as the Austin's Maestro (the talking car) and Fiat multipla blah, blah, blah...They are not classics but will one day be vintage.

For the insurance companies its basically anything over 16 years old qualifies for classic car insurance.

Perhaps what you describe as classic cars are better described perhaps as iconic or historically important or engineering landmarks. They are classics, but do not define the term as most people understand it.

If you read "Practical Classics" its basically any older car, so perhaps the insurers have got it right.

http://www.practical...2Priceguide.pdf

The original (1956) Fiat Multipla of course is already considered a classic (even by your terms as it was arguably the first MPV).

Perhaps the Maestro deserves preserving as the car when British Leyland stopped its eccentricity of putting the gearbox in the sump of transverse engined fwd cars but unfortunately didn't even have the resources to develop its own end-on gearbox.

Edited 2 March, 201313 yr by juan27

is a T plate classed as a classic yet as on the hunt for a fun so wanna see if i can get classic on my car and use fun as a daily

In my opinion a classic car is one that set new standards or precedents when introduced and which time has not dimmed the significance of those advances.

Age alone does not confer classic status, as if it was a dog back then, well it still will be now.

Obviously for insurance companies, age is an easy yardstick to use but it certainly is meaningless in determining classic status.

In my opinion a classic car is one that set new standards or precedents when introduced and which time has not dimmed the significance of those advances.

Age alone does not confer classic status, as if it was a dog back then, well it still will be now.

Obviously for insurance companies, age is an easy yardstick to use but it certainly is meaningless in determining classic status.

By that definition an MGB isn't a classic car!

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By that definition an MGB isn't a classic car!

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And a Marina less so, since it's basically an over-bodied Morris 1000, with the option of an MGB engine.

And a Marina less so, since it's basically an over-bodied Morris 1000, with the option of an MGB engine.

Yes but my point is the Morris 1000 and MGB are "classics" in most peoples eyes but arguably neither moved things forward or were even particularly good in their.time.

And a Marina less so, since it's basically an over-bodied Morris 1000, with the option of an MGB engine.

I'd disagree: Marina was a classic..................................example of how not to do it.

There are some very strange examples of what are "classic".

For example, a Pug 205 Gti is now called a "classic" but the standard saloon isn't. Ditto the Golf Gti versus the standard saloon and the Dolomite Sprint against it's lesser brothers.

The Marina isn't so much "classic" as rare, since so many have either rusted away or got dumped. I owned one and in it's time it was a good family car. The problem is we forget just how "poor" all cars were at that time compared to what we have now.

Well if it was a choice between a Marina or a daewoo Matiz I think id rather get the bus.

Well if it was a choice between a Marina or a daewoo Matiz I think id rather get the bus.

The Matiz interior can be best described as "intimate"; some years ago I shared one with a lady friend, and we both had one shoulder rubbing the B-pillar and the other shoulders (her left, my right since it was her car) rubbing each other.

Yeah, they are truly awful cars, I got given one as a courtesy car that only had about 200 miles on the clock, they should have fitted the wheels with little bells or something so that it jingles when it goes along, and they should have made the buttons make squeak noises when you press them too because that way you could sound like noddy as well as looking like him in your car. I honestly don't know how they even managed to sell ANY of them, I mean who in their right mind would take one of those out for a test drive and then say "ooooooooooh yes please I'll buy one", it really beggars belief that they could build a car so bad in this modern day and age.. Appalling brakes, mr soft handling, tesco value interior plastics, shocking panel fit, and it looked bits of it had been resprayed too, but really badly... When I had that car, I took it back to the dealer after like 2 hours and told them I'd take my chances on foot instead. I honestly didn't feel safe driving it...

however they may become a classic one day....

By that definition an MGB isn't a classic car!

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MGB is a classic as they did move the mass market sportscar on by a big margin in terms of equipment and comfort.

Think of flapping soft tops, rattling and leaking sidescreens just to mention a couple of items that were the norm in 1962.

Admittedly at the same time the Lotus Elan moved things much further in the performance and handling stakes but that was much more expensive.

I have owned both of these and done high mileages in both and altho my heart would say Lotus, my head says that the MG was a better allrounder as long as ability to cover the ground as fast as possible was excluded from the requirement

I still say classic car just means old. As in "Classic Skoda Owners" (I assume that's saying the cars are old and not us)

The Matiz interior can be best described as "intimate"

I mean who in their right mind would take one of those out for a test drive and then say "ooooooooooh yes please I'll buy one",

We have a rather nice young lady in the office who passed her test not so long ago. She keeps missing the gear-stick and tries to change gear with her passenger's knee. No shortage of volunteers to help her do the lunch run. ;)

On a slightly more serious note: It's cheap for her to insure and run, which suits her needs at the moment. She's in the first year (six months!) of having passed her test. In the current climate, cheap is what she needs. (She did used to catch the bus, but she lives out in the sticks, so buses are rare)