Conference terri::cars_uk

    There is not a motorshow this year as its a bi annual event which is
    always held at the NEC, the dates are 20th oct 1992 - 1st nov 1992.
    
    There is a Motofair at Earls Court 18th oct 1991 - 27th oct 1991
    
    8 quid to get in or 4 quid after 5.30 ( think its open till 10pm)
    
    Regards martin

    Hi Martin,
    
    Thanks for the info ... it's now in my diary.
    
    I didn't realise the Motorshow was now a bi-annual event ( where have I
    been to miss this info !! ). No need to answer that !!
    
    All the best,
    
    Ray.

    I see that some noters have already been to this years Motorfair. Can
    somebody tell me:
    
    a) The best way to get there (what's the parking situation?)
    
    b) What's worth seeing. What's worth missing?
    
    Ian.

    
>    a) The best way to get there (what's the parking situation?)
    
As it's Earl's Court.  Train and tube.  Driving/parking is always bad around
exhibitions. There's a tube station close by, can't remember what it's name is 
but I'm sure someone can supply that.


BTW an added bonus is that if you can't resist something and end up buying it, 
you can drive it away :-)

    
    Definitely travel by tube. After 5 the ticket price is only �4, so if
    you can see what you want to in 2.5 hours and want to miss the crowds
    and save 3.50, go then.
    
    What's worth seeing? 
    
    The new Astra - good little car by the looks of it.
    The Frontera - Looks better put together than a Discovery, but the
    proof of the pudding will be how well it's engineered to cope with
    off road - It'll be interesting to read the road (and off-road) tests.
    The Ginetta G33 - Nice.
    The TVR Griffith - Likewise, but those on the stand didn't seem to be
    finished!
    Mini-Marcos - See if you can fit in one. I couldn't and I'm only 5'
    10"!!!!!! :^)
    Mazda MX-6 - Nice looking, and a real Calibra competitor space
    wise. Pity they had to stick the silly spoiler on the boot.
    All the classics (and there are lots)
    Renault 16v Convertible - Looks good and sensibly priced (16-17k)
    Lots of other things....
    
    What's worth missing?
    
    Unless I missed one lurking, the RS2000 was strangely inaccessible.
    Toyota's stand was curiously lacking in anything new (unless you 
    count the Camry which is boring (IMHO :^)), but it does have Rouse's
    race car on. Interesting to note that Toyota are having to push Celicas
    with cheap credit, something the Calibra doesn't seem to need to sell.
    
    My favourites were the Aston DB4 Zagato and the XJR-15 (both upstairs),
    but realistically the SEAT Toledo (can't rid myself of the vision of
    short tailed Dolomites though!) was a well made looking saloon with 
    definite VW quality overtones. If I'd been looking to buy a car the
    19 convertible would've got a real look in and I'd be booking an Astra
    GSi road test (something I'd never have said of the old one!).
    
    That's about it. I'd say go and have a look, but then I love looking at
    cars...
    
    Mark
    
    PS Nearly forgot. One thing worth missing is the plethora of metallic 
    pink cars!!! A Porsche Carrera, A Jaguar XJ6 and, wait for it,
    
    A MORGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    PPS Missing (as far as I saw) were Rover (definitely), BMW and Nissan.
    

    Recomended route to Earls Court....
    
    Drive to Hatton Cross (Heathrow), park, tube to Earls Court.
    
    JK

    If you go by train you can get into Motorfair for �6 as long as you buy
    your ticket from the BR station.
    
    Spike.

Re: .7

To qualify for the �1 off you must buy a One Day Travelcard or a Saver
or SuperSaver ticket to London.  The Motorfair ticket must also be bought 
from BR at the same time.

jb

	I went, first time in donkeys years. Looking mainly at
	the new/newish models here's some impressions.

	The Clio is very neatly packaged and I liked the general feel
	of the thing but I'll never get along with the blob like styling.
	It always looks to me as if the finished the car then connected
	a pump and inflated it just to the point where it was about to
	explode. Perhaps this is the last stage of production.

	Also much rounded off is the new Astra, which seemed to be 
	much what one would expect ie. competant but bland.

	Anyone looking for an Astra sized car would do well to 
	investigate the Hyundai Lantra. I thought this pretty impressive
	apart from the fuel consumption figures. Top value for money.

	The new Golf, only seen fleetingly, is also rounded off but
	in a restrained manner.

	Not everyone is playing the same tune, the Pug 106 has sharp
	and elegant lines. Drivers won't notice a lot of difference to
	the 205, but the engine now sits like a sardine up front. Will
	do very well in the market, very much the 'new mini'. 

	The 106 makes the other new 'mini', the Mazda 121 look like a
	joke, which surely it is. I think that what happened here was
	that when they pumped this one up only the roof expanded.

	Mazda was the place for sporty stuff. The MX5 now long established
	still looks to be annoyingly unfinished at front and rear, and 
	those squinting lights too. Now there's the MX3, a truly awful
	thing, deeply in competition with new Celica/Alfa whatsit for
	the ugly shape prize, and inconvenient as hell too.

	In complete contrast there's the MX6, all elegant lines highly
	reminiscent of 60s Lotus/Ferrari shapes. If only it had some
	contrasting decoration ie, bumpers, side mouldings or the like.
	Still looked very good though.

	Lots of exotics to look at/buy. A tidy looking Ferrari Mondial,
	albeit in dull grey, probably won't depreciate much below the
	�19K asking price, or there was Keke Rosbergs 308GTS for �33K,
	sadly in black.

	-John

    
    John,
    
    My wife and I both thought the 106 was very much like the Clio in 
    appearance. It didn't look much like the 205 though, with a much
    shorter nose and generally more rounded.
    
    Mark

       I went along yesterday. The Peugeot 106 doesn't look much like a
       205 from the outside, but there's not a lot of difference inside.

       The Honda Beat (on the "Performance Car" Magazine stand) is
       certainly an interesting car. The guys on the Honda stand said that
       the model was not going to be imported to the UK, and were very
       surprised when told there was one just a few steps away.

       I also liked the "Hacker", another convertible, based on Ford
       parts. An interesting name in our line of business. The Renault 19
       must take the award for the best looking practical convertible.
       The best impractical car must be the Ronart, a road going car
       based on a 1950's Formula 1 racer.

       As well as the pink Porsche, Jaguar and Morgan mentioned in .5,
       there was also a pink Cadillac and the a metalic pink concept car
       built for the Ordnance Survey. I hope this isn't the start of a trend.

       Yes Mark, I tried the Mini Marcos for size. I'm 5' 8" and my head
       was just scraping the roof, it would only take a few bumps in the
       road to give me a headache! Apparantly 80% of production is
       destined for Japan, so the lack of headroom shouldn't affect sales
       too much! Mazda must be pleased that the 121 is no longer the
       ugliest car in production. :-)

       Ian.

       P.S. I ignored all the advice both here and in the magazines, and
       went by car. It took 1� hours from Petersfield, straight up the A3
       with very few delays. We arrived at the practically empty Seagrave 
       Road car park directly opposite Earls Court a 9:45. Car park fee
       was �7.

    Last noter was lucky to go by car, its often very busy, and very few
    car parking spaces. If you do get there early enough at the weekends
    though the car park is generally a good bet - �7 being typical these
    days ( as was �2.95 for a tuna salad roll, 90p for a paper cup of
    coffee ).
    
    For me the 106 as the same lines as my 205, the interior very much
    like the 205, but those seats ( I tried the silver 1.4 ) are as 
    good as cardboard on two milk crates.
    
    The Mazda MX6 looked very interesting, but you could not get into it
    and size it up.  The MX3 was a total joke - try it, bash your head as
    you get in, admire those curves, sic.  Th MX5 is a real winner, as they
    said on the box, this is what the MG should have evolved into!.
    
    If you get there early, you can get onto the stands with ease. I tried
    the Lotus Elan first (THE best) and then sat in the Lotus Carlton, all
    �49,000 worth.
    
    The Diablo is a sensation.
    
    The new Astra is quite nice, and the pricing is very competitive.
    
    Finally, for those who are also 'competition competitors' there at
    least 7 to go for, mostly for cars.