Nice. I was a serial brochure pilferer, I must have had many dozens. I don't anymore, they got lost in many house moves and a lifetime of chnages and indecision. Just a quick word of advice, don't throw anything like this out. You probably don't need to be told.
My Grandma had Metros for decades (my Grandparents practically kept WHG (Winchmore Hill (Rover) Garage) in busy with their loyal brand buying). She drove a Manual Metro until she bought a 100 with an Automatic Gearbox. Amazingly with an Automatic Gearbox Rover could fit Power Steering due to lack of space with the bigger gearbox whereas with a Manual it could be fitted in. Think the her last Rover Metro/ 100 was either P or R registration as three years later (they both chopped their cars before the First MOT) she made the move over to a Micra as it had both Power Steering and an Automatic (CVT) Gearbox. Also Melvin is the Wikipedia picture for the K Series!!!!
Can we take a moment to appreciate Rover’s use of font in their brochure and on the cars them selves? A fabulous detail, that lends an air of sophistication to both! Pure marketing at its finest, and I am 100% in to it.
I remember the ads for the new Rover metro, yes it shared the base body of the original, the car was a huge leap from its predecessor, much more refined in every way, it was new hope and new times for Rover, it always were made feel special when it was a Rover. So wish we still had the Rover brand today.
I totally get it, because the level of passion you have for the metro, I have for the Smart Fortwo. Not everyone will understand and many a critic will have negative things to say but it’s great to have enthusiasm around a machine you have an affinity to.
I loved advertisement on TV for Rover metro k series. With the robot error of the engine not fitting from the top. Great ad, as I remember it still. Loving you love for old cars.
The photography in this brochure is gorgeous, and I do like some of the touches that were added to the early 90s Metro. I remember the Rover dealership in my home town and the burgundy emblem on the front cover reminds me of the sign above the plate glass window with Metro/100s, 200s, 400s, 600s and 800s on display at various times. This may be a controversial thing to say, but I remember being big into cars at primary school age, and thinking that Rovers were for old people. The burgundy theme and chrome didn't help. The images of the P4 and P5 worked extremely well in the 50s and 60s, as English gents were cool, plus you had suicide doors, a cyclops third headlight, 4 door coupe and 6 and 8 cylinders plus the gas turbine entering Le Mans. I just think it was an awful decision (with hindsight) to do a U-turn on the contemporary designs and images of the P6, SD1 and early 800, and instead look backwards. A small, fun car like the Metro should have literature to match, like the 1981 brochure: bright and colourful. At the same time however, I do remember every TV advert in the early 90s was chic, classy, a minimalist room shot in black and white with a grand piano, a single rose in a vase, the French doors open wide with the curtains blowing in the breeze. And so that was the image for the original Renault Clio. But then, the Clio was a fresh new departure from the old R5 it replaced, and it ended up receiving one face-lift. One! I think that if a car company is considering a second face-lift to any of it's models, then it should be considering shutting up shop. Volvo being the exception obviously. I know that times were hard for Rover by the very end, but the third face-lift of the 25, 45 and 75 made me cringe with embarrassment, like when the 75 was originally launched at the Frankfurt motor show draped in the Union flag with God Save the Queen playing. Poor taste. Absolutely terrible, insensitive judgement. And then there was the City Rover.
Ed, you're the only youtuber that can make me spend 30 minutes watching a video on a car brochure. I thought that Rover got the "Twin Cam" logo from you..... Great job.
I do find the leather and wood interior gorgeous, I remember having seen one many years ago with the leather interior and it reeked expensive car vibes. However, the Metro was rather expensive here in Spain in all trims compared to opposition and, while not rare, it wasn’t too common either and I haven’t seen a Metro/100 for years. Not sure about the redesigned metro, but the 100 had optional aircon which doesn’t appears in this brochure
I was gutted when VW announced they’d stopped producing brochures in 2017 I’d collected everything from the 70s beetle to my current gtd. Websites aren’t the same 😥
Very interesting indeed. Some of what you point out explains why the Metro was never sold here in North America. Hardened valve seats and the ability to run on unleaded fuel was mandated for 1972 on both sides of the border. The bumpers would never have met the Canadian standards, either. They allowed zero damage to the bodywork after all 8 impact tests had been performed at 5 mph. The standard was strict enough that Morgan had to revise the frames under the 4/4, Plus 4, and Plus 8 on Canadian market cars. By 91 there were only 2 engines with carburetors still on the market. The Oldsmobile 307 (5.0 litre) used in some full sized GM products and the Ford 351 (5.8 litre) Windsor engines as used in the Panther platform cars. That 5.8 was an RPO in Canada for the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis sedans, but was restricted to Government fleet cars in the US.
I remember the Metro being slated for rust I have painted many, saw just about all of them get new wheel arches, doors wings valances, other welding, fun to drive, GTA was fun to drive, watch for oil burning and head gasket failure, but a fun little car to drive
Great video I wish I kept my old childhood car brochures. My Dad took me to the Earls Court motor show in 1969 or 1970 when I was 9. I was obsessed with cars and collected all the brochures that they used to give out. This was the time when the first Capri and Range Rover was premiered if only I had kept them….if only
The improvements also highlighted the age and drawbacks of the carryover parts which destined it to a short production life. If it was allowed to die out and be replaced by the R3 as originally intended I think the R6 would be remembered more favourably
Oh great, I remember this brochure. I'm sure thai I still have he German version of this (and other Rovers of that time period. From the late 80s to the mid-90s I used to go around the local area by bus to all car dealers within reach to look for new brochures. Probably making the sales people run away in a desperate attempt to not have to deal with that fat nerdy boy AGAIN! ;-) There still must be thousands of them here. I loved the glossy longship on the covers and the photography in these brochures. I spent hours looking through car brochures when I was a kid and now I'm a graphics designer... ;-) Thanks for your great videos, I absolutely love them. Never thought that I'd watch half an hour of someone cleaning the brakes of a Metro, but when the video was over I was sad that it didn't go on for much, much longer!
I have a few Rover brochures from this era still. And I did some work experience at the company that designed and printed these brochures, as well as Car magazine at that time.
Very enjoyable video. Your enthusiasm for the Metro completely shines through. If anyone told me that watching a half hour long video of someone waffling along about a car brochure would be so well worth watching, I would never have believed it. But that really is the case here. Thank you.
Thankyou! I remember having this brochure while looking for my first car, along with the Citroën ax, seat ibiza, peugeot 205 etc. Ended up buying a '75 dolomite sprint! (Another excellent video of yours) Keep up the great content
Love these little cars! Just got back from 15 days in the UK, drove around a lot in a rented Chinese MG which I actually quite liked. I don't think I saw a single Metro in the wild. :-( I did see some at the British Motor Museum so that was a treat. Good luck building your collection of brochures, your narration videos are great.
Great videos, always appreciated the brochure videos alongside the walkarounds. I've always thought that the K-series Metro was the best looking of the Metro/100 line.
Enjoyed that Ed. Really good observations and I would agree… the brochure was a “class above” like the car it serves to market. I sold my MG Metro in 1991 and was then sat in the Rover Metro 1.1S. An early carb fed model. It felt so much more spritely and smooth. Although… I love the character of the MG.
Ed said that his favourite spec Metro is the 1.4 SL, mine is the GTa. On the later Metros & 114s I noticed that the centre round bits on the wheel trims were painted black. When the Rover Metro came out I had a hard time telling the difference between the 1.1 C, L and S spec models because (as mentioned) they all had those starfish wheel trims. I think that there was too much of an overlap with these 3 specs.
Wow Edd , what a wonderful video. You make brochure read throughs so interesting and this one is extra special because its Metro. Think I agree with all your comments and I always loved the 1.4 SL aswell. I can only imagine the look on some of the faces when they were shown the new revised 1.1C . I am sure I once heard tales of some dealers retrofitting the full width bumper to the 1.1C because they were so embarrassed with the three piece arrangement.
I lived though this time and have most of the brochures. As a young Austin Rover fan at the time it was all quite exciting. I need to do some digging but I think the mini might have been first to get the catalyst, believe it or not. It was standard on the relaunched cooper in 1990 and optional on all models.
Looking at the back of your hands Ed you have been applying fake tan yeah? Always decent were Metro's although the A series ones knew how to rust - the K's were a delayed but welcome complete refresh of the concept - it was that delay that cost - by the time of launch the opposition were all 5 years further on in design and production terms
Ed, have you checked out the latest video on the HubNut channel? Ian goes to a local car show and it features a beige Mini on 10 inch alloys and (one of 6 left) a white Metro Mosaic! Both immaculate, and well worth a watch.
Thanks for this. I remember this brochure well, spending quite some time studying it. I almost bought a 1.4 GTa, but in the end the Peugeot 205XS won out. Got to admit though the Rover brochure was far more classy than the Peugeot brochure.
I had an A-series 1-litre, followed by a K-series 1.1 back in the day. The base models of the K-series came with no radio as standard! Did any cars come with electric front windows? Maybe something reserved for the GS. I think they made a mess of the seats when they renamed the car Rover 100. On he pack with the L next to the GTI, if you look t the headlight, you can see how badly the indicator light fitted!
I would much prefer a brand new base model metro to any of the current cars. (screaming into the void about the stupidity of suv/crossovers). Now if you will excuse me I am off to pine over my Skoda Estelle brochures....
Interesting about the wheels, I thought the 'base' wheels fitted to your car never quite looked right. Too large maybe. I take it they are measured in inches and not the metric ones?
Nice. I was a serial brochure pilferer, I must have had many dozens. I don't anymore, they got lost in many house moves and a lifetime of chnages and indecision. Just a quick word of advice, don't throw anything like this out. You probably don't need to be told.
My Grandma had Metros for decades (my Grandparents practically kept WHG (Winchmore Hill (Rover) Garage) in busy with their loyal brand buying). She drove a Manual Metro until she bought a 100 with an Automatic Gearbox. Amazingly with an Automatic Gearbox Rover could fit Power Steering due to lack of space with the bigger gearbox whereas with a Manual it could be fitted in. Think the her last Rover Metro/ 100 was either P or R registration as three years later (they both chopped their cars before the First MOT) she made the move over to a Micra as it had both Power Steering and an Automatic (CVT) Gearbox.
Also Melvin is the Wikipedia picture for the K Series!!!!
Can we take a moment to appreciate Rover’s use of font in their brochure and on the cars them selves? A fabulous detail, that lends an air of sophistication to both! Pure marketing at its finest, and I am 100% in to it.
Ed. What a tour de force! I love your brochure videos. More please!!
Yes, another brilliant, intelligent, articulate and nostalgic brochure analysis. Thank you so much for all your hard work and passion.
Old brochures are so great to look at..
As my relative says: "Interior photos are so good you can smell that new car smell from the 80s" :)
I remember the ads for the new Rover metro, yes it shared the base body of the original, the car was a huge leap from its predecessor, much more refined in every way, it was new hope and new times for Rover, it always were made feel special when it was a Rover. So wish we still had the Rover brand today.
I totally get it, because the level of passion you have for the metro, I have for the Smart Fortwo. Not everyone will understand and many a critic will have negative things to say but it’s great to have enthusiasm around a machine you have an affinity to.
I loved advertisement on TV for Rover metro k series. With the robot error of the engine not fitting from the top. Great ad, as I remember it still. Loving you love for old cars.
The photography in this brochure is gorgeous, and I do like some of the touches that were added to the early 90s Metro.
I remember the Rover dealership in my home town and the burgundy emblem on the front cover reminds me of the sign above the plate glass window with Metro/100s, 200s, 400s, 600s and 800s on display at various times. This may be a controversial thing to say, but I remember being big into cars at primary school age, and thinking that Rovers were for old people. The burgundy theme and chrome didn't help. The images of the P4 and P5 worked extremely well in the 50s and 60s, as English gents were cool, plus you had suicide doors, a cyclops third headlight, 4 door coupe and 6 and 8 cylinders plus the gas turbine entering Le Mans. I just think it was an awful decision (with hindsight) to do a U-turn on the contemporary designs and images of the P6, SD1 and early 800, and instead look backwards. A small, fun car like the Metro should have literature to match, like the 1981 brochure: bright and colourful. At the same time however, I do remember every TV advert in the early 90s was chic, classy, a minimalist room shot in black and white with a grand piano, a single rose in a vase, the French doors open wide with the curtains blowing in the breeze. And so that was the image for the original Renault Clio. But then, the Clio was a fresh new departure from the old R5 it replaced, and it ended up receiving one face-lift. One! I think that if a car company is considering a second face-lift to any of it's models, then it should be considering shutting up shop. Volvo being the exception obviously. I know that times were hard for Rover by the very end, but the third face-lift of the 25, 45 and 75 made me cringe with embarrassment, like when the 75 was originally launched at the Frankfurt motor show draped in the Union flag with God Save the Queen playing. Poor taste. Absolutely terrible, insensitive judgement. And then there was the City Rover.
Ed, you're the only youtuber that can make me spend 30 minutes watching a video on a car brochure. I thought that Rover got the "Twin Cam" logo from you..... Great job.
I do find the leather and wood interior gorgeous, I remember having seen one many years ago with the leather interior and it reeked expensive car vibes. However, the Metro was rather expensive here in Spain in all trims compared to opposition and, while not rare, it wasn’t too common either and I haven’t seen a Metro/100 for years. Not sure about the redesigned metro, but the 100 had optional aircon which doesn’t appears in this brochure
I'm a geek for these brochure videos, please continue them!
I was gutted when VW announced they’d stopped producing brochures in 2017 I’d collected everything from the 70s beetle to my current gtd. Websites aren’t the same 😥
Very interesting indeed. Some of what you point out explains why the Metro was never sold here in North America. Hardened valve seats and the ability to run on unleaded fuel was mandated for 1972 on both sides of the border. The bumpers would never have met the Canadian standards, either. They allowed zero damage to the bodywork after all 8 impact tests had been performed at 5 mph. The standard was strict enough that Morgan had to revise the frames under the 4/4, Plus 4, and Plus 8 on Canadian market cars. By 91 there were only 2 engines with carburetors still on the market. The Oldsmobile 307 (5.0 litre) used in some full sized GM products and the Ford 351 (5.8 litre) Windsor engines as used in the Panther platform cars. That 5.8 was an RPO in Canada for the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis sedans, but was restricted to Government fleet cars in the US.
Just bought a few brochures for my 416 and you're right, rover knew how to make a good looking brochure
I remember the Metro being slated for rust I have painted many, saw just about all of them get new wheel arches, doors wings valances, other welding, fun to drive, GTA was fun to drive, watch for oil burning and head gasket failure, but a fun little car to drive
Great video I wish I kept my old childhood car brochures. My Dad took me to the Earls Court motor show in 1969 or 1970 when I was 9. I was obsessed with cars and collected all the brochures that they used to give out. This was the time when the first Capri and Range Rover was premiered if only I had kept them….if only
The improvements also highlighted the age and drawbacks of the carryover parts which destined it to a short production life. If it was allowed to die out and be replaced by the R3 as originally intended I think the R6 would be remembered more favourably
This is an excellent and articulate review of the change in Rover’s marketing material at that time. Thoroughly engaging.
Oh great, I remember this brochure. I'm sure thai I still have he German version of this (and other Rovers of that time period. From the late 80s to the mid-90s I used to go around the local area by bus to all car dealers within reach to look for new brochures. Probably making the sales people run away in a desperate attempt to not have to deal with that fat nerdy boy AGAIN! ;-) There still must be thousands of them here. I loved the glossy longship on the covers and the photography in these brochures. I spent hours looking through car brochures when I was a kid and now I'm a graphics designer... ;-) Thanks for your great videos, I absolutely love them. Never thought that I'd watch half an hour of someone cleaning the brakes of a Metro, but when the video was over I was sad that it didn't go on for much, much longer!
I have a few Rover brochures from this era still. And I did some work experience at the company that designed and printed these brochures, as well as Car magazine at that time.
Very enjoyable video. Your enthusiasm for the Metro completely shines through. If anyone told me that watching a half hour long video of someone waffling along about a car brochure would be so well worth watching, I would never have believed it. But that really is the case here. Thank you.
Thankyou!
I remember having this brochure while looking for my first car, along with the Citroën ax, seat ibiza, peugeot 205 etc. Ended up buying a '75 dolomite sprint! (Another excellent video of yours)
Keep up the great content
Love these little cars! Just got back from 15 days in the UK, drove around a lot in a rented Chinese MG which I actually quite liked. I don't think I saw a single Metro in the wild. :-( I did see some at the British Motor Museum so that was a treat. Good luck building your collection of brochures, your narration videos are great.
I still have this brochure in dutch. My red GTa was already gone at the end of the nineties.
Great videos, always appreciated the brochure videos alongside the walkarounds. I've always thought that the K-series Metro was the best looking of the Metro/100 line.
Enjoyed that Ed. Really good observations and I would agree… the brochure was a “class above” like the car it serves to market. I sold my MG Metro in 1991 and was then sat in the Rover Metro 1.1S. An early carb fed model. It felt so much more spritely and smooth. Although… I love the character of the MG.
Ed said that his favourite spec Metro is the 1.4 SL, mine is the GTa. On the later Metros & 114s I noticed that the centre round bits on the wheel trims were painted black.
When the Rover Metro came out I had a hard time telling the difference between the 1.1 C, L and S spec models because (as mentioned) they all had those starfish wheel trims. I think that there was too much of an overlap with these 3 specs.
Wow Edd , what a wonderful video. You make brochure read throughs so interesting and this one is extra special because its Metro. Think I agree with all your comments and I always loved the 1.4 SL aswell. I can only imagine the look on some of the faces when they were shown the new revised 1.1C . I am sure I once heard tales of some dealers retrofitting the full width bumper to the 1.1C because they were so embarrassed with the three piece arrangement.
I lived though this time and have most of the brochures. As a young Austin Rover fan at the time it was all quite exciting. I need to do some digging but I think the mini might have been first to get the catalyst, believe it or not. It was standard on the relaunched cooper in 1990 and optional on all models.
Looking at the back of your hands Ed you have been applying fake tan yeah?
Always decent were Metro's although the A series ones knew how to rust - the K's were a delayed but welcome complete refresh of the concept - it was that delay that cost - by the time of launch the opposition were all 5 years further on in design and production terms
Ed, have you checked out the latest video on the HubNut channel? Ian goes to a local car show and it features a beige Mini on 10 inch alloys and (one of 6 left) a white Metro Mosaic! Both immaculate, and well worth a watch.
Thanks for this. I remember this brochure well, spending quite some time studying it. I almost bought a 1.4 GTa, but in the end the Peugeot 205XS won out. Got to admit though the Rover brochure was far more classy than the Peugeot brochure.
Well done. Very informative with excellent narration.
Hmmmm I actually got a really cheap Metro GTI 1.4 on my hands... needs a new roof and some other bits... but still... I am tempted!
Have to say I prefer the later 1.1s seats amd interior, maybe that's because I have fond memories of my aurntys
Lynn Benfields favourite car.
Ford's brochures of the time were similar, I think it was the style of the late 80's/early 90's
I had an A-series 1-litre, followed by a K-series 1.1 back in the day.
The base models of the K-series came with no radio as standard!
Did any cars come with electric front windows? Maybe something reserved for the GS.
I think they made a mess of the seats when they renamed the car Rover 100.
On he pack with the L next to the GTI, if you look t the headlight, you can see how badly the indicator light fitted!
Just wondered if you took this car (metro) to the Lytham classic car day on Sunday 19th June. only saw 1 on display
Wouldn't want to have a crash in one!!!!!!
I would much prefer a brand new base model metro to any of the current cars. (screaming into the void about the stupidity of suv/crossovers).
Now if you will excuse me I am off to pine over my Skoda Estelle brochures....
Late 80's/Early 90's all car brochures looked like this.
They didn’t. I have lots of them.
How is the mini spares oil going because I’m consider using it .i usually use millers classic 20 50 but the price is getting Beyond a joke
Love the brochure vids, but you spelt Valencia wrong.
Where? In the subtitles? I can’t remember what I said 😅
Do you often get the follow up comment; my grandmother had one of those
Interesting about the wheels, I thought the 'base' wheels fitted to your car never quite looked right. Too large maybe.
I take it they are measured in inches and not the metric ones?
Funny how the original Mini is idolised but the Metro which is basically a revised Mini is vilified at every turn ?