Austin - Montego - Showroom Video (Fleet) (1984) Fleet POS Showroom Video from 1984 for the same video with a retail voiceover see here: • Austin - Montego - Sho...
You can hear the brummie goods in supervisor right now, when taking in a delivery of sheet tin for the body panels: "Oh just stick it over there me duck, next to that pile of road salt. I'll cover it with a tarp, when this rain dies off. Ooh is that the time? 5 more minutes and i'm officially on holiday"
People who remember having one of these, or their parents having one, usually remember them fondly. Perhaps the most sorted Austin Rover car. With better styling, maybe it could have saved the company from terminal decline.
But sadly, it didn't. Despite a peicemeal facelift in the early 90's they were still churning out cars with horrendous corrosion problems, and tired old BMC engine designs. The writing was on the wall a year or two after the Metro was launched, when owners complained about the rampant spread of rust across the body panels. That, plus the fact that other manufacturers were years ahead in terms of quality and technology.
@@hermanmunster3358 Fords rusted like mad in the '80s too and they didn't offer much in the wau of technology either. The Sierra was as basic as they come. All-iron engines, RWD, only 4 speed manual as std on most cards (Maxi was 5 speed in the '70s but it looked dreadful).
@@hermanmunster3358 That didn't seem to be a problem for Ford selling Sierras. Noisy cast iron Pinto and crossflow engines, similar rust issues, antiquated RWD platform, and extremely basic unless you got the Ghia version. Technically the Montego was superior in almost every way. However, the build quality was probably better in the Sierra. BL never seemed to get that right.
"Handles and holds the road impeccably" Not during the marketing shoot it seems, where the near side front corner barely avoids scraping the road. They should have done it at 10mph, then speed up the film afterwards. They also failed to mention that due to cost/weight savings, you would also have to fore go galvanised body and floor panels. So the shelf life of your shiny new Montego, and Maestro, is five years less than the competitors. Austin Rover became synonymous with the term "bag of shite"
i love the way they talk about the potential client. it has this for HIM and that for HIM. It's the same way pet food adverts talk about the animal. it's got real fishy chunks because that's what he loves.
@@Juliukas101 Nah, women are boring when it comes to cars, as they see cars differently to men on the whole. They just want something nice to ferry the kids around in, as long as it goes. There are exceptions of course, Vicky Butler-Henderson (whom I need to have in my life) and Sabine Schmidt, RIP. They are/were the only female petrol heads I know of.
My dad owned a montego and kept it for years it was a really great car. I think there might of been a minor problem with the automatic choke but as soon as that was fixed it was brilliant and lasted my dad years. I myself also owed a newer maestro when my dad still had his montego and the maestro was a great car as well although the 1300cc which I owed badly needed a fifth gear however both great cars and so why they had the bad press i don’t know.
I had a 1.3 Maestro as my second car, and what an utter pile of shite it was. I was embarrassed to park it in front of my house. The 1.3 Maestro didn't go fast enough to justify a fifth gear imo. And was dull as dishwater with no real creature comforts. A basic tin box with wheels is what it was, but it was quite fun to chuck round corners, as the relatively low weight meant it dudn't pitch and lean too much. I got rid after six months, and inherited my dads Escort ghia, which was leagues ahead in terms of comfort, reliability, and technology.
We had this (in silver) as a family car for mum and the two kids, Dad had a rover 800. To think of this as a 'business car' slightly jars with how i remember it! For a start it was forever at the mechanic being fixed for one thing or another. Going into a carwash was also fun. we'd sit inside screaming as little kids when the water came in through the window 'sealants'..
I liked the 70's, the decade of my childhood. The 80's were a bit superficial imo, where materialism, and the need to impress your peers ruled above all else.
My Uncle has 2 Montegos and a Maestro all `brand new` in his barn, he was partner in a Austin Rover dealership that folded in the mid 80`s following a dispute with the partners and the bank. A few of the cars including a 2600 SD1 VP from the closing inventory found their way into his barn 1985 and have been there ever since, they still have plastic on the seats , I joke one day I will ebay them when he is gone ....
he has already been approached by a car magazine as someone took a photo and put it on a forum , I guess he is scared that the place will get unwanted attention and he is not ready to let go of his treasures just yet :-(
There were worse cars, The Trabant for example, and Soviet Era Skoda's, and the awful, forgettable FSO Polonez. But even Lada's managed to outlast most AR offerings. And most were exported back to Russia, to comply with new emissions regulations. They weren't allowed to sell new Lada's without revisions in this regard. Hence why Lada produced the Samara, but they turned out to be piles of shite too, and sales were very low. So Lada pulled the plug on exports to Europe. Shame really, because Lada gave AR something to aspire to. My dad had a Lada Riva Estate, 1.5L, and it was a great car. Robust, comfortable, with a great heater for winter mornings. They weren't a quick car, but highly comfirtable and practical. And my dads was reliable enough for him to keep it for a few years, before trading it against an Escort ghia, which I inherited when he died.
The only Montego I liked was the practical diesel 7 seater Austin Montego Countryman estate, with its flexible interior, great practicality, and superb economy. Shame it was an absolute rustbucket though with lack of proper rustproofing.
I worked in sales and they would give you one of these as a starter car. Hit your targets and a lovely BMW would be waiting. Miss your targets and back to the Montego. Thankfully I think they had rusted away before I had a bad sales month.
I had one of these, it was a dreadful car...possibly the worst car I’ve ever owned, but I’m loving this ad and Peter Egan’s voice is almost selling it back to me
Had a 1.6 LX estate on a 'G' reg in 1991 as a company car, had electric windows, electric sunroof & central locking which were all firsts for me. Otherwise a wholly unremarkable car from memory.
Had a 2nd hand 1.6 HL..... roomy, comfortable, economical but plenty of power. Underrated and better than the boring Sierra at the time. Vauxhall Cavalier overtook both and became the best seller.
After some searching I was able to find the backing music used in these videos. Three tracks are from Bruton Music's "New Concepts" album (BRL 15) from 1984 - "Origin" (intro section), "New Concept 1" (fanfare) and "Pristine" (for most of the video), by Patrick Wilson. th-cam.com/video/DqP0jMWQDFo/w-d-xo.html The section on handling and storage space uses the track "Digital Effects" by Kevin McAlea, Andrew Jackman and Greg Jackman, from Bruton Music's "Technocraft" album (BRL 14) from 1983. th-cam.com/video/2aqvR-QeZH4/w-d-xo.html
I Would LOVE To Have An AUSTIN MONTEGO. 🤗. THE AUSTIN MONTEGO Would Make A Good Appearance If I Ever Had The Chance To Create My Own Song. 🙏. Of Course I Will Need The Instrument's Like The Polymoog SYNTHESIZER, Drums And Maybe An Electric Guitar. It's All About Keeping A Piece Of History ALIVE.
How ever hard they polished it, they could not hide the fact that it was a lash up, intended originally as a booted Maestro, when Roy Axe took over as Austin Rovers stylist, he was shocked to see what they had done, there was not much he could do with the Maestro as the tooling had been commissioned for it, however adding lots of plastic trimming and tweaking the panels that were unique to the Montego he managed to make it look contemporary. Sadly though, lack of resources meant they relied on warmed over E and O series engines, which in my experience when with a fleet driver who gave them respect they were reliable enough, but give them to a driver trashed them, then you ended up with endless grief, and an oil consumption so high we used to joke about the S series engine being 2 stroke. Cavaliers and Sierras could take such abuse in fleet but Montegos just could not and so earned a reputation for poor reliability.
I dont think so. I own 3 Maestros and they've never died on me. Compared to out modern fleet its always those 3 that come to the rescue even after months of not usisg then turn of the key and they fire into life
Roy took over when David Bache was shown the door following a row with Harold Musgrove. Musgrove held grudges against Bache during the Montego development phase and I believe Roy was better at designing cars with a dropsnoot style front end as seen on the Montego.
Manufactured to the highest standards of quality ( for an Austin Rover product) with the cheapest available materials, to give you, the driver, untold amounts of stress and frustration (when the 1 year warranty expires).
Haha I had one of these, I liked it, but those bloody TD wheels and tyres! Should not have been a thing! Just like run flats should not be a thing today! I'd actually love to have a MG Maestro or Monego Turbo. Those things were kick ass. Poor old Rover!
So they used exactly the same video for fleet sales, changed the luggage to boxes for boot loading demo & said / pushed the word business in to the voice over as many times as possible.
PROPER cars? Is that what you call them?? What about all the other cars from the same period, which were light years ahead of these, with their 40 year old engines?
@@Victor-DOOM Far be it from me being a critic of your preferences, I would only criticise the cars themselves. As my memories of 80's AR products are not good. I tend to think that those who say they were good products, were just lucky not to be sold a Lemon Because for every driver that says anything good about them, there seems to be another ten drivers who remember the woeful build and durability of AR/BL cars.
@@hermanmunster3358 I was brought up with those cars I own a morris ital myself for fun and nostalgia its not as good as my Dailey driver Mercedes w202 but its an interest I love old BL tat I think its an illness lol.
@@Victor-DOOM I love the SD1, and wish they'd carried on updating it and manufacturing it. I also love the Triumph Dolly sprint, Spitfire, TR6, TR4, and who couldn't love the original Mini? I also liked Riley's, Wolseley's, and Austin 11/1300 range. But the Montego, Maestro, and Metro were a watershed moment for British car manufacturing, and not in a positive way imo. You have to admit though, BL/AR made some shocking cars, mainly through lack of investment. I actually think the Ital was a good improvement on the Marina, which always looked overweight and bloated to me. Just a shame MOST BL cars were so poorly and cheaply built. Just saying it as I saw it, I have no badge envy or preference really, but after driving Saab's and Volvo's, i'd struggle to find anything better from non German manufacturers. I don't like or rate French and Italian cars, and am not really a fan of Asian marques neither. So for me, at this time, I would only choose a German or Swedish marque. Or an Aston Martin, if I had the money.
Hold on this was after 1965 obviously (when general speed limits were imposed on roads, outside populated areas and a much hated 70mph permanent speed restriction on motorways). Thought publishing top speed would be banned by now.
Actually a decent car ( maestro too) but only austin rover could have shot themselves in the foot as they did with the journalists cars. They never recovered from the engine overheating and welding the dipstick and oil cap to the engine. And people hated the constant nagging from the cars voice info system. Late 80's on ( mk2 facelifted ones) were better than their competition but too late
@@neildempster2827 Not really. Most people aren't going to be doing crazy speeds through corners. The Montego was setup for comfort and refinment, and they were *very* comfortable.
They were quite nice cars eventually, but for the first few years they were not fit for purpose and had all sorts of niggles with rust and stinking of fish in the summer due to the glue they used in the manufacture. My brother in law hated his early one but my mate loved his later model version.
It was a classic design that still looks good today. But poor BL/Austin Rover was so weak financially that it’s a miracle the company survived as long as it did. But it’s legacy is JLR one of Britain’s great companies.
That is pretty much what I remember, about Austin cars. The Rovers were somewhat better though, the 600 and 800 especially. As they were built to compete in the executive sector, and it showed. The Metro was the defining moment in British car manufacturing. It really showed the contempt held by the car manufacturing Execs and bean counters held towards the working class if this country. No matter how shite the product, the attitude was "it will do for the masses" They despised the thought that "some may have delusions of grandeur, if we give them anything too good". But then, buyers just went elsewhere to find QUALITY products that fitted their image and lifestyle. Then AR were in real trouble, and the rest is history. Could you EVER have imagined that Michael Edwards would've settled for a 1.0L Metro City? No, nor can I.
beebo I have to admit, I do too, in a montego. If only I had one back in the day I'd be flying over speed humps in one in order to reach sales targets.
All but gone… according to www.howmanyleft.co.uk, only about half a per cent of the Montegos on the road in 2001 still were in 2018. I didn't add up all the specs and engine evels - but in total, it must be less than 50 Montegos left on British roads. Probably less than there are surviving Gordon-Keebles...
Interesting video. I can just about remember these when new as we had one on test for a couple of weeks, yet when my dad came to choose his new company car we got a Granada Ghia instead - he thought the Montego was a bit rubbish by comparison! In my late 20's I briefly owned an MG Montego turbo (dubbed "the Monstrous-e-tego" by my mates). Blisteringly fast but it completely failed to make you feel special when driving it.
Did your dad get a promotion, in order to secure a Granada Ghia? Cos they were a completely different market segment to the Montego. Montego's were marketed to compete against the Sierra, and Peugot 405. Whereas the Rover 800 was built to compete against the Granada, and many others, such as the Audi 100, and BMW 5 series.
I think it was more of a courtesy car now you mention it. He went on to have 5 mk3 Granadas brand new every 3 years, from the beginning to the end of their production run
@@dj_efk Lucky man, and wise too. So he never had to MOT a car during that time neither then! And effectively, he could trade up each time, and get a new car for around half the ticket price. Did he buy them, or lease them?
From all these videos I've been watching it seems Rover were obsessed with Fleet Sales. What about just making a nice car for the common man or taking the Contina's lead and build a kick arse good taxi. If fleet sales is what you got your eye on you are hardly going to build an exiting motor car.
Because fleet sales are the main market for NEW car sales. Most medium to large cars you see on the road were probably fleet cars at some point. Then after two years or so, they enter the USED CAR sector, which is when everyday ordinary people buy them.
Anything to come out of Austin Rover at that time was going to get a Bashing. My Grandad ran various maestros and a Mg montego back in the day and there was nothing wrong with them. Ford and Vauxhall’s also rusted and had there faults but it’s just easy to knock BL cars
@@carlosduque4692”Impeccably styled down to the very last detail?” The styling was a pig, and out of date by the time the car was finally launched. Front wheels hard up against the (Maestro) doors, ungainly C pillar/rear window treatment, swage line that made the car look like it was drooping at the rear, the door capping bodge to disguise the extremely low belt line, and so on. David Bache produced some superb designs, but the Montego was not one of them.
Rovers were excellent until Leyland took full control around 1970. Their cars from the early '90s until it went under were very good too. BMWs buyout (and asset stripping) was the real reason it died.
My mum had a new one, it literally fell to bits, rusted over night, filled the interior footwells with water, melted its ecu, and the front screen cracked when we went to change a flat tyre, it was the worst car my mum ever owned, it also rattled inside like a tea tray full of crockery, the sierra sapphire ghia she got when the montego went was a far far better car, never put a foot wrong
I had a 1990 G Reg MG Montego Turbo and I can confirm the torque steer. It was rapid though. Pity new rust patches appeared almost every time it rained....
Brilliant. My dream is to own a montego, loads of childhoood memories in my late Dad's car.
My mum had a 1990 MG Montego and it looked stunning, the only problem was the tin worm that got most of these cars in a short time!
You can hear the brummie goods in supervisor right now, when taking in a delivery of sheet tin for the body panels:
"Oh just stick it over there me duck, next to that pile of road salt. I'll cover it with a tarp, when this rain dies off. Ooh is that the time? 5 more minutes and i'm officially on holiday"
The spare wheel lifter is ingenious!
In theory, a great idea. But in practice, no good for a sales rep with a boot full of samples, which is who these cars were aimed at.
I am very fond of the montego. I used to hire them from British car rentals back in 1989. It is a car I really liked.
People who remember having one of these, or their parents having one, usually remember them fondly. Perhaps the most sorted Austin Rover car. With better styling, maybe it could have saved the company from terminal decline.
But sadly, it didn't. Despite a peicemeal facelift in the early 90's they were still churning out cars with horrendous corrosion problems, and tired old BMC engine designs.
The writing was on the wall a year or two after the Metro was launched, when owners complained about the rampant spread of rust across the body panels.
That, plus the fact that other manufacturers were years ahead in terms of quality and technology.
@@hermanmunster3358
Fords rusted like mad in the '80s too and they didn't offer much in the wau of technology either. The Sierra was as basic as they come. All-iron engines, RWD, only 4 speed manual as std on most cards (Maxi was 5 speed in the '70s but it looked dreadful).
@@hermanmunster3358 That didn't seem to be a problem for Ford selling Sierras. Noisy cast iron Pinto and crossflow engines, similar rust issues, antiquated RWD platform, and extremely basic unless you got the Ghia version. Technically the Montego was superior in almost every way. However, the build quality was probably better in the Sierra. BL never seemed to get that right.
I had the diesel estate. Crashed it on the M3 in 1999. Ran it on red diesel from the day i had it. Never missed a beat.
Me too, that Perkins engine would run on raw sewage, legendary lump.
@@Luton-Mick Amazing old engine that. Slow as lava but Christ it was bulletproof
In the 80s my then boss had a Montego estate as his company car. Very comfortable, but it had all the handing finesse of a canal barge.
I had one of these, an estate. It was pretty good to be honest, nice level of extras and reliable.
I loved the " o" series engine! It was so durable and reliable.
"Handles and holds the road impeccably"
Not during the marketing shoot it seems, where the near side front corner barely avoids scraping the road. They should have done it at 10mph, then speed up the film afterwards.
They also failed to mention that due to cost/weight savings, you would also have to fore go galvanised body and floor panels. So the shelf life of your shiny new Montego, and Maestro, is five years less than the competitors.
Austin Rover became synonymous with the term "bag of shite"
If the floorpan rusted through, in case of a breakdown you could always get to the nearest garage flinstone style
i love the way they talk about the potential client. it has this for HIM and that for HIM. It's the same way pet food adverts talk about the animal. it's got real fishy chunks because that's what he loves.
Women and cars don't mix! That's why you don't find many women on car shows. It's just not right!
@@Juliukas101 Nah, women are boring when it comes to cars, as they see cars differently to men on the whole. They just want something nice to ferry the kids around in, as long as it goes.
There are exceptions of course, Vicky Butler-Henderson (whom I need to have in my life) and Sabine Schmidt, RIP.
They are/were the only female petrol heads I know of.
to suit the business drover and his business miles
Great car. I had mine serviced at a Ford garage in Newmarket. The manager was embarrassed it pissed off the equivalent Sierra 1.6l
I had one as a rep in 1984, C844GPU Then I bought one second hand for my young familty D951WCH in the 90s. Henry Ford philosofy?
My dad owned a montego and kept it for years it was a really great car. I think there might of been a minor problem with the automatic choke but as soon as that was fixed it was brilliant and lasted my dad years. I myself also owed a newer maestro when my dad still had his montego and the maestro was a great car as well although the 1300cc which I owed badly needed a fifth gear however both great cars and so why they had the bad press i don’t know.
I had a 1.3 Maestro as my second car, and what an utter pile of shite it was. I was embarrassed to park it in front of my house.
The 1.3 Maestro didn't go fast enough to justify a fifth gear imo. And was dull as dishwater with no real creature comforts. A basic tin box with wheels is what it was, but it was quite fun to chuck round corners, as the relatively low weight meant it dudn't pitch and lean too much. I got rid after six months, and inherited my dads Escort ghia, which was leagues ahead in terms of comfort, reliability, and technology.
We had this (in silver) as a family car for mum and the two kids, Dad had a rover 800. To think of this as a 'business car' slightly jars with how i remember it! For a start it was forever at the mechanic being fixed for one thing or another. Going into a carwash was also fun. we'd sit inside screaming as little kids when the water came in through the window 'sealants'..
The design for its day was actually quite stylish if nothing else!! Lol
The 80s was the best decade ever!
I liked the 70's, the decade of my childhood. The 80's were a bit superficial imo, where materialism, and the need to impress your peers ruled above all else.
I found It was great fun polishing rust
I grew up with BL cars and remember them fondly. I had an F reg montego 1.6 L - loved it and never let me down.
Absolutely STUNNING!
Bahaha
My Uncle has 2 Montegos and a Maestro all `brand new` in his barn, he was partner in a Austin Rover dealership that folded in the mid 80`s following a dispute with the partners and the bank. A few of the cars including a 2600 SD1 VP from the closing inventory found their way into his barn 1985 and have been there ever since, they still have plastic on the seats , I joke one day I will ebay them when he is gone ....
What a legend. Make sure you give us first refusal !
marshalllucky
I would live to come and photo them for their rightful place in history 👍
he has already been approached by a car magazine as someone took a photo and put it on a forum , I guess he is scared that the place will get unwanted attention and he is not ready to let go of his treasures just yet :-(
Eighties-tastic! My dad had an E-reg one of these when I was a bairn, and it was far from the worst thing he ever owned.
There were worse cars, The Trabant for example, and Soviet Era Skoda's, and the awful, forgettable FSO Polonez.
But even Lada's managed to outlast most AR offerings. And most were exported back to Russia, to comply with new emissions regulations. They weren't allowed to sell new Lada's without revisions in this regard. Hence why Lada produced the Samara, but they turned out to be piles of shite too, and sales were very low. So Lada pulled the plug on exports to Europe. Shame really, because Lada gave AR something to aspire to.
My dad had a Lada Riva Estate, 1.5L, and it was a great car. Robust, comfortable, with a great heater for winter mornings. They weren't a quick car, but highly comfirtable and practical. And my dads was reliable enough for him to keep it for a few years, before trading it against an Escort ghia, which I inherited when he died.
I'm a sucker for a split folding rear seat!
The only Montego I liked was the practical diesel 7 seater Austin Montego Countryman estate, with its flexible interior, great practicality, and superb economy. Shame it was an absolute rustbucket though with lack of proper rustproofing.
Thank you for sharing i have the Dealer AR video of this and the cassette tape also featuring Peter Eagan narrating.
But nothing to play them on, sadly!
This car has HUGE legroom, wow
I worked in sales and they would give you one of these as a starter car. Hit your targets and a lovely BMW would be waiting. Miss your targets and back to the Montego. Thankfully I think they had rusted away before I had a bad sales month.
I had one of these, it was a dreadful car...possibly the worst car I’ve ever owned, but I’m loving this ad and Peter Egan’s voice is almost selling it back to me
Music is dope
Had a 1.6 LX estate on a 'G' reg in 1991 as a company car, had electric windows, electric sunroof & central locking which were all firsts for me. Otherwise a wholly unremarkable car from memory.
Had a 2nd hand 1.6 HL..... roomy, comfortable, economical but plenty of power. Underrated and better than the boring Sierra at the time. Vauxhall Cavalier overtook both and became the best seller.
My Dad had a Vanden Plas Montego, was a nice car.
Only about 225 left in Britain today and 40 are the MG models. My uncle had one as a company car.
The poor montego was rushed to market a bit too soon. Typical BL let the customers finish development. Later cars were sorted but the damage was done.
After some searching I was able to find the backing music used in these videos.
Three tracks are from Bruton Music's "New Concepts" album (BRL 15) from 1984 - "Origin" (intro section), "New Concept 1" (fanfare) and "Pristine" (for most of the video), by Patrick Wilson. th-cam.com/video/DqP0jMWQDFo/w-d-xo.html
The section on handling and storage space uses the track "Digital Effects" by Kevin McAlea, Andrew Jackman and Greg Jackman, from Bruton Music's "Technocraft" album (BRL 14) from 1983. th-cam.com/video/2aqvR-QeZH4/w-d-xo.html
I Would LOVE To Have An AUSTIN MONTEGO. 🤗. THE AUSTIN MONTEGO Would Make A Good Appearance If I Ever Had The Chance To Create My Own Song. 🙏. Of Course I Will Need The Instrument's Like The Polymoog SYNTHESIZER, Drums And Maybe An Electric Guitar. It's All About Keeping A Piece Of History ALIVE.
How ever hard they polished it, they could not hide the fact that it was a lash up, intended originally as a booted Maestro, when Roy Axe took over as Austin Rovers stylist, he was shocked to see what they had done, there was not much he could do with the Maestro as the tooling had been commissioned for it, however adding lots of plastic trimming and tweaking the panels that were unique to the Montego he managed to make it look contemporary. Sadly though, lack of resources meant they relied on warmed over E and O series engines, which in my experience when with a fleet driver who gave them respect they were reliable enough, but give them to a driver trashed them, then you ended up with endless grief, and an oil consumption so high we used to joke about the S series engine being 2 stroke. Cavaliers and Sierras could take such abuse in fleet but Montegos just could not and so earned a reputation for poor reliability.
I dont think so. I own 3 Maestros and they've never died on me. Compared to out modern fleet its always those 3 that come to the rescue even after months of not usisg then turn of the key and they fire into life
Fantastic car's
Roy took over when David Bache was shown the door following a row with Harold Musgrove. Musgrove held grudges against Bache during the Montego development phase and I believe Roy was better at designing cars with a dropsnoot style front end as seen on the Montego.
Manufactured to the highest standards of quality ( for an Austin Rover product) with the cheapest available materials, to give you, the driver, untold amounts of stress and frustration (when the 1 year warranty expires).
Haha I had one of these, I liked it, but those bloody TD wheels and tyres! Should not have been a thing! Just like run flats should not be a thing today! I'd actually love to have a MG Maestro or Monego Turbo. Those things were kick ass. Poor old Rover!
Do you reckon it was aimed at business users?
So they used exactly the same video for fleet sales, changed the luggage to boxes for boot loading demo & said / pushed the word business in to the voice over as many times as possible.
head gasket and rear wheel bearings kept many a garage in work till most of em were scrapped!!
Did he say lively 1.3 power unit!?
I miss proper cars like these
PROPER cars? Is that what you call them??
What about all the other cars from the same period, which were light years ahead of these, with their 40 year old engines?
@@hermanmunster3358 depends what other cars you have in mind I might like them too I have had montegos and maestros metros i like them.
@@Victor-DOOM Far be it from me being a critic of your preferences, I would only criticise the cars themselves. As my memories of 80's AR products are not good. I tend to think that those who say they were good products, were just lucky not to be sold a Lemon Because for every driver that says anything good about them, there seems to be another ten drivers who remember the woeful build and durability of AR/BL cars.
@@hermanmunster3358 I was brought up with those cars I own a morris ital myself for fun and nostalgia its not as good as my Dailey driver Mercedes w202 but its an interest I love old BL tat I think its an illness lol.
@@Victor-DOOM I love the SD1, and wish they'd carried on updating it and manufacturing it. I also love the Triumph Dolly sprint, Spitfire, TR6, TR4, and who couldn't love the original Mini?
I also liked Riley's, Wolseley's, and Austin 11/1300 range. But the Montego, Maestro, and Metro were a watershed moment for British car manufacturing, and not in a positive way imo.
You have to admit though, BL/AR made some shocking cars, mainly through lack of investment.
I actually think the Ital was a good improvement on the Marina, which always looked overweight and bloated to me. Just a shame MOST BL cars were so poorly and cheaply built.
Just saying it as I saw it, I have no badge envy or preference really, but after driving Saab's and Volvo's, i'd struggle to find anything better from non German manufacturers.
I don't like or rate French and Italian cars, and am not really a fan of Asian marques neither. So for me, at this time, I would only choose a German or Swedish marque. Or an Aston Martin, if I had the money.
breakthrough in td tyre technology lol, try getting a tyre for it now!
Paul Egan from Ever Decreasing Circles doing the narration if I'm not mistaken, and I'm not..
"a remarkable 543.3 BUSINESS miles per gallon" ?! is a business gallon different to a 'normal' gallon!?
something to do with claiming VAT back on the fuel I think
the mg turbo was awesome In a straight line
Just a shame it wanted to carry straight on at corners...
Hold on this was after 1965 obviously (when general speed limits were imposed on roads, outside populated areas and a much hated 70mph permanent speed restriction on motorways). Thought publishing top speed would be banned by now.
This must be the most 80s video on TH-cam.
It is very reminiscent of the opening titles of the Krypton Factor , or in this case the Crapton Factor
I had a 1.6 LX saloon which returned 45mpg all the time
“Handles the road impeccably” - shows car almost out of control going round a corner slowly.
great cars,,if only build quality was up to scratch
Nothing wrong with them
The 2.0 litre Montego will _thrust_ you! 😁
Actually a decent car ( maestro too) but only austin rover could have shot themselves in the foot as they did with the journalists cars. They never recovered from the engine overheating and welding the dipstick and oil cap to the engine. And people hated the constant nagging from the cars voice info system.
Late 80's on ( mk2 facelifted ones) were better than their competition but too late
I don’t ever remember mine speaking to me - so was that a feature I never discovered or was it only in a certain model?
Early MG versions had the voice synth but dropped it due to complaints 😆
MG Montego
3:04 PML
It fell out of the curve there!
Check out the way the thing wallows into the corners! Scary stuff. They don't make them like this anymore!
Thank Christ!
Luvly cars think of the year they were made Ford and vauxhall were rot boxes 😁
@@neildempster2827 Not really. Most people aren't going to be doing crazy speeds through corners. The Montego was setup for comfort and refinment, and they were *very* comfortable.
They were quite nice cars eventually, but for the first few years they were not fit for purpose and had all sorts of niggles with rust and stinking of fish in the summer due to the glue they used in the manufacture. My brother in law hated his early one but my mate loved his later model version.
i nearly bought a second hand one when i was about 17. Nearly...lol
Lucky!😃
It was a classic design that still looks good today. But poor BL/Austin Rover was so weak financially that it’s a miracle the company survived as long as it did. But it’s legacy is JLR one of Britain’s great companies.
My mate's Dad had an F reg, and it wasn't half bad at all.
Can honestly say I'd have mg montego than any cavalier and sierra
Look at the comedy understeer !
2:48
SD1 looks excellent !
" Dow Dow......dow-de-dow-dow!"
We had one, which we called a ‘Monte-no-go,’ as it was forever breaking down!
That is pretty much what I remember, about Austin cars. The Rovers were somewhat better though, the 600 and 800 especially. As they were built to compete in the executive sector, and it showed.
The Metro was the defining moment in British car manufacturing. It really showed the contempt held by the car manufacturing Execs and bean counters held towards the working class if this country.
No matter how shite the product, the attitude was "it will do for the masses"
They despised the thought that "some may have delusions of grandeur, if we give them anything too good". But then, buyers just went elsewhere to find QUALITY products that fitted their image and lifestyle. Then AR were in real trouble, and the rest is history.
Could you EVER have imagined that Michael Edwards would've settled for a 1.0L Metro City? No, nor can I.
A171 YAB has never had an mot
It will have had one, but the online checker only goes back as far as 2006.
I want to be thrusted from one appointment to another. Hooning it through those 30mph zones
beebo I have to admit, I do too, in a montego. If only I had one back in the day I'd be flying over speed humps in one in order to reach sales targets.
All but gone… according to www.howmanyleft.co.uk, only about half a per cent of the Montegos on the road in 2001 still were in 2018. I didn't add up all the specs and engine evels - but in total, it must be less than 50 Montegos left on British roads.
Probably less than there are surviving Gordon-Keebles...
116 registered on the roads. Couple hundred more on SORN.
loved mine in the day but the engine leaked
like a sieve
Ladies and gentlemen ..the 80s
Interesting video. I can just about remember these when new as we had one on test for a couple of weeks, yet when my dad came to choose his new company car we got a Granada Ghia instead - he thought the Montego was a bit rubbish by comparison!
In my late 20's I briefly owned an MG Montego turbo (dubbed "the Monstrous-e-tego" by my mates). Blisteringly fast but it completely failed to make you feel special when driving it.
Did your dad get a promotion, in order to secure a Granada Ghia? Cos they were a completely different market segment to the Montego.
Montego's were marketed to compete against the Sierra, and Peugot 405. Whereas the Rover 800 was built to compete against the Granada, and many others, such as the Audi 100, and BMW 5 series.
I think it was more of a courtesy car now you mention it. He went on to have 5 mk3 Granadas brand new every 3 years, from the beginning to the end of their production run
@@dj_efk Lucky man, and wise too.
So he never had to MOT a car during that time neither then! And effectively, he could trade up each time, and get a new car for around half the ticket price.
Did he buy them, or lease them?
From all these videos I've been watching it seems Rover were obsessed with Fleet Sales. What about just making a nice car for the common man or taking the Contina's lead and build a kick arse good taxi. If fleet sales is what you got your eye on you are hardly going to build an exiting motor car.
Because fleet sales are the main market for NEW car sales. Most medium to large cars you see on the road were probably fleet cars at some point. Then after two years or so, they enter the USED CAR sector, which is when everyday ordinary people buy them.
Even brand new and in the promo film it looked like it needed to be towed to the scrap heap.
Shut the fuck up.
True.
Idiot great cars👍pigs are shitty with brains to match
Bought one to drag round a field and smashed it into a wall
It's a shame that they were rust buckets but my dad had one MG version computerised. Was a nice car
What sort of buissness
Would you hope to have with a
Car like like I wonder ?
Probably a scrap metal business.
They went through ECU's for fun
Mum had a VDP 2.0 litre went well, but compared to dad's '81 2.3 Cortina, handled like a pig when doing 80+ thru the bends
Death trap.
I preferred the Ford Sierra myself never a B.L fan
That far how ever did it fail
My god. No wonder the British car industry went to the dogs. 🤦🏻♂️
Anything to come out of Austin Rover at that time was going to get a Bashing. My Grandad ran various maestros and a Mg montego back in the day and there was nothing wrong with them. Ford and Vauxhall’s also rusted and had there faults but it’s just easy to knock BL cars
Vauxhall ascona
Austin montego look alike Vauxhall Ascona
The self delusion from Rover continues un-abated...
Why?
@@carlosduque4692”Impeccably styled down to the very last detail?” The styling was a pig, and out of date by the time the car was finally launched. Front wheels hard up against the (Maestro) doors, ungainly C pillar/rear window treatment, swage line that made the car look like it was drooping at the rear, the door capping bodge to disguise the extremely low belt line, and so on. David Bache produced some superb designs, but the Montego was not one of them.
Hysterically funny. BMC. BL. ROVER. All failed to put real money and integrity into their rubbish cars from the 1950s on.
Rovers were excellent until Leyland took full control around 1970. Their cars from the early '90s until it went under were very good too. BMWs buyout (and asset stripping) was the real reason it died.
There are quite a few blatant whoppers told in this infomercial. Absolutely shameless 🤣🤣🤣🤣
My mum had a new one, it literally fell to bits, rusted over night, filled the interior footwells with water, melted its ecu, and the front screen cracked when we went to change a flat tyre, it was the worst car my mum ever owned, it also rattled inside like a tea tray full of crockery, the sierra sapphire ghia she got when the montego went was a far far better car, never put a foot wrong
pissing myself laughing
FUCK YOU
me too
Fuck off prick
You're not alone.
Fucking crap. An embarrassment best forgotten.
Bloody liars as far as handling. It handled like a sherman tank. Dreadful understeer and torque steer.
I had a 1990 G Reg MG Montego Turbo and I can confirm the torque steer. It was rapid though. Pity new rust patches appeared almost every time it rained....
Nonsense learn to drive😂