It was that reliability that killed the British car manufacturers. Not only did you get that reliability, but basic equipment levels were so much better in Japanese vehicles. Toyota fitted radios, heaters, carpets that weren't always fitted to BL, Ford etc.
Nevr knew they started in West Norwood, nice oneWell blow me! The same company that made the legendary Cobra, who would have thought it! Originally founded in West Norwood.
Had a smilar experience in my Aunt's Reliant Robin van. My brother and I (about 7 years old) were bundled into the back and rolled about bouncing off the walls the whole journey. She wrote it off, inevitably, just glad I wasn't in it at the time.
Great cars. I loved my Bluebird. First car I had that I never needed to fix. I knew when I got in it it would get me to where i wanted to go
You don't see these anymore because the government had them all destroyed. They probably created more disabled people than they helped.
I remember getting a lift in one from my Great Uncle Jimmy's friend 'Bernie' in the late 70s. Even at the tender age of 11 I could sense that this vehicle had an air of wrongness about it.
It wasn't a Bluebird but I had a Nissan Stanza and it was the same, it just worked, every day, well I think it had to go to the garage once in 2 years.
It was called Strada in the UK. There was an Abarth version which was quite good.
I honestly and truthfully promise that at no time ever since the late 70s or so, did schoolkids (like us wronguns at that time) ever refer to those as 'spazz chariots' ever again ....
