Another day, another few hundred km’s for our group in Ireland – Today we drove through the Western Ireland hamlet of Adare, which according to my wife’s research is supposedly the most picturesque town in Ireland. I don’t know about that, but not because it isn’t picturesque, it’s just that EVERY town here is so damn picturesque, how do you decide which is the most so…In any case, at the Tourist Information center they had a large display with some of those “Then and Now” pictures. Except that the “Now” part was around 25 years old so it was perfect for this as there were three pictures of the main streets with lots of Curbside Classics.
I think the newest cars I see would be around 1987 vintage or so, but I really am not seeing anything that dates to the 60’s or even the 70’s really. The picture above has a surprising bonus in it, that being an early edition of America’s Sweetheart (TM), what looks to be a 1984 or so Toyota Camry. We’ve been here a week and counting this image, I have only come across a total of four Camry’s of any vintage whatsoever…
What’s the newest car that we can see? And what’s the most interesting? And what else? Note that many of the european models were available here often a year or more in advance of when they crossed the pond to North America- for example the Audi 80 with the trailer hitch in the first picture was available in 1986, while we still had the Type-85 Audi 4000 (80/90) through the 1987 model year.
The above image was included in the display, apparently the “Before” images that I didn’t include were from 1929 (there were not only no cars, but no other means of transportation or even people visible in the shots), but former US President Bill Clinton visited Adare and was inspired enough to send a nice Thank You note to his hosts.
In the first picture a cyan coloured Opel/Vauxhall Corsa B can be seen.
So this picture is taken in or after 1993.
The Ford Escort in front of it was built from ’93 too.
In the first shot there’s two 1990s models – Ford Escort, 1992-5 (1st facelift of 1990 model) and immediately behind that in blue a Vauxhall (or Opel?) Corsa 1993-97 model. Not newer, but behind the Corsa is a Peugeot 309, the car that just missed out on being a Talbot and then a last generation Vauxhall Cavalier (or 1st Opel Vectra).
By the early/mid-1990s most 1960s and early ’70s cars had oxidised!
There’s still several of those model Corsa running around locally, though the red ones have mostly faded to pink. Still, they haven’t succumbed to rust like a 20+ year old car in 1993 would have.
Great pics, roughly the same cars and models that could be found on the streets here back then. And that includes the Volvo 340 in the 2nd picture.
Another one that stands out is the (green) Citroën BX Break in the 3rd picture.
I’ve noticed that Toyotas like the Corolla and Starlet are quite prevalent in photos of Irish streets in the 1990’s, possibly because it is a non-car producing country which I presume does not have much national car brand preferences. The black car approaching the curve in the second photo looks like a Mitsubishi Galant.
Hard to see, but I thought it’s a Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 (Opel Vectra A). With wide tires.
Johannes, I think you might be correct about the black car being a Vauxhall Cavalier.
Wouldn’t it be an Opel in the Republic?
In that case my question is: does Ireland get Opels or Vauxhalls ?
The Republic gets Opels. Northern Ireland (pop. 1.8 million) has a Vauxhall dealer network.
I don’t know whether Vauxhalls were sold in the Republic at one time, but I do remember Opel sponsoring the RoI football team as long ago as the ’94 World Cup.
In the 70s Toyotas became available and popular because Corollas were made in Japan, and didn’t go wrong. Kadetts were the alternative. Anything else might go wrong, and you couldn’t depend on the dealer being able to fix it. Starlets, like Renault 4s and Beetles, were assembled in Ireland from kits ( to enable the Importer to bring in larger models ready built) and if they didn’t go wrong they certainly went rusty because the assemblers couldn’t afford sophisticated dipping and painting facilities.
There are few Camrys left here. The original ones were 1.8 litres and were popular, The next model was 2 litres so less popular. Finally they went to 2.2 and that was un-affordable for Toyota customers. If you were going to pay the annual tax on a 2.2 then there had to be a three-pointed star on the bonnet.
My mother’s parents are Irish, I have always wanted to visit, and see the “real” Ireland. Then I saw the BBC series: Ballykissangel (sp?) and while I know it’s not real life, I REALLY wanted to go and find where my grandparents came from.
Camrys were never big sellers in the UK, ever. People preferred to buy Audi A4, BMW 3’s or MB C class for the same money / running costs. Toyota gave up trying, and withdrew them from the market over 10 years ago, with no equivalent replacement, other than Lexus of course.
I’d consider the Avensis the spiritual European version of the Camry. Somewhat anonymous, relatively popular (among Japanese cars, not as compared to the overall market like the Camry in North America). Yes, it’s a size (or half a size) smaller than a Camry but that kind of fits over there.
In the nineties Toyota did well in Europe with their D-segment models, the Carina E and its successor, the first gen Avensis. The Camry was always their E-segment top model.
Below a second gen Avensis, which automatically became Toyota’s top model sedan / wagon when the Camry was withdrawn from the Euro-market.
The current Avensis though…that’s another story. It just has to be Toyota’s worst selling D-segment model of the past 40 years.
If you want a “Big Toyota” these days you simply buy a Land Cruiser…
Now about the new Toyota C-HR, you either love it or hate it, did you spot them in Ireland ? The model was introduced on the market in late 2016, but they are already all over the place here.
When the C-HR debuted, I commented with a friend that it would sell a lot based on looks alone.
A couple of months later, it’s all over the place in Portugal too. Most are hybrids. I kind of like it, but I would probably buy a SEAT Ateca TDI, as there is no “shorter” Skoda Kodiaq…
BTW, is the Ateca selling well in the Netherlands too? I already start to notice them too…
Yes, the new Ateca is starting to look familiar on our roads. An affordable, neat compact SUV (or is it a CUV ?), just the kind of car that a family wants these days.
As an aside about the Toyota C-HR, from first hand I know that Toyota wants to register it as a C-segment hatchback in my country. Simply because companies don’t want their employees to drive an SUV as a lease car…
I quite like the Ateca. Not as much as the Leon, but still a good looking car (Seat is getting the range right for the first time in a years!)
Toyota wants to register it as a C-segment hatchback in my country. Simply because companies don’t want their employees to drive an SUV as a lease car…
They are really eager to sell them. I only hope that’s not the end of the Auris, though.
SEAT Leon is simply brilliant. A Golf, but 20% cheaper and better looking. My FR TDi regularly gets over 60mpg
I like the looks of the first Avensis a lot. Not too stodgy, not too striking. It just looks right.
And the 2nd gen Avensis, in wagon shape with the 2.2 D-CAT diesel engine was a hidden gem of a car and commands quite high prices in the used market…
I saw a couple of C-HR’s and they are certainly distinctive. However I saw a lot of new VW Tiguans which look much better in the metal than in pictures, especially the rear. Overall a much more attractive package than the outgoing version.
The Avensis competes with the Mondeo & Insignia, whereas the Camry competed with the Granada/Carlton/Omega, not the Sierra/Cavalier which are the Mondeo/Insignias predecessors.
In the UK, Camrys tended to be fairly well specced, bought by middle aged men who might otherwise drive a Granada Ghia. These big squishy cars seem to have gone totally out of fashion – I’m not sure what that sort of person would drive now. Some big CUV? An Accord?
there’s a beige original shape fiesta in the second pic
Something that must be relatively rare is the 3rd photo with an E90 model Corolla 3-door van, with metal sides instead of windows.