My late dad bought a new hillman avenger GL new in 1973 WDJ329M. When just over 2 years old it needed (1975 money) needed nearly £300 spending on it. Spent the rest of his life buying Toyotas...
I cannot understand why Talbot kept it going as long as they did. It was an internal competitor to the Horizon, Alpine and Solara. It did give them their one and only estate.
I see by 79/ 80 there was no mention of the 2 door model. The hillman avenger had a 2 dr model , no performance version either like the "tiger" . Great video as always thanks 😊.
Last throw of the dice for the Avenger and Linwood factory both of which would be gone in 1981, despite offers of cash from the UK Govt to fund the Scottish factory.
Memorable trips from my childhood. Here they were sold under the names, Sunbeam or Chrysler Sunbeam Avenger. I prefer the look of the original model. I think the import of Avenger to Finland was stopped before the name was changed to Talbot.
I think by the time the Avenger was given the Talbot badge, it was only older people buying them, anytime I remember seeing them in the late 80s and 90s they were driven by elderly people, I Drove the Chrysler Avenger at Drive Dad’s Car and I really liked it, drove a lot better than I thought it would have been
The MK1 Avenger was a distinctive design, especially in Tiger form. All the unique features, like the hockey stick tail lights were literally blanded out when the MK2 came along. The higher spec model looks like it's got wheel covers from Halfords. Amazing to think they were squeezing more life from it when the Horizon, Solara and Sunbeam and Alpine were well established. The panel fit of the estate was noticeably poor. For all that, im sure it found many happy buyers. A very pleasant and relaxing video.
I think this is second only to the ADO16 as a single model sold under the most marques. As well as the Rootes brands in different markets, it was also a Chrysler, a Talbot, (obviously), a Plymouth, a Dodge and a VW! A mate of mine had a Tiger in the late '70s with that lairy paint job, black bonnet, and huge graphics. So '70s!
Interesting point about the Chrysler pentastar badge still being used in 1980. My parents' 1980 Horizon 1.3 had the same badge, despite it being a Talbot.
These seem to have been better than Marinas in a lot of ways...I'm something of a BMC man, but I would probably have chosen an Avenger over most 1980 BL products (Mini excepted...always Mini!)
A mate of mine bought a 1971 1500 GT with special wheel trims and go faster stripes. It was well equipment and was quite quick. Pity it did not have a no loss cooling system as we had to carry around 2 gallons of water as it kept overheating. Would have been worth a lot of money in today's market as there won't be many left on the road
All the above / below incarnations of the Avenger were ALL available in New Zealand 🇳🇿 A former colleague of mine whom married an American wife commented once, the American Avenger was known as the Plymouth Cricket 🏏 😀 ❤
The fit and finish of the trim on the front drivers wing and leading edge of the bonnet was laughable especially as it was going to be pictured for the brochure. Interesting to see again,it looked incredibly out of date though
Good review. Very dated by this time but still not bad looking I think. More character than the bland Horizon, Alpine and Solara and aimed very much at the value-conscious buyer. No Chrysler Pentastar in the grille on the cover picture car I notice. Popular with the police as patrol cars around this time as Avengers were relatively inexpensive and quite tough and reliable. Definitely yesterday's car by 1979/80 (I think production ended February 1981) but you could have done much worse than choose an Avenger. I wonder what brand of cigar Avenger drivers smoked? Probably Hamlet or Castella!
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My late dad bought a new hillman avenger GL new in 1973 WDJ329M. When just over 2 years old it needed (1975 money) needed nearly £300 spending on it. Spent the rest of his life buying Toyotas...
I cannot understand why Talbot kept it going as long as they did. It was an internal competitor to the Horizon, Alpine and Solara. It did give them their one and only estate.
I see by 79/ 80 there was no mention of the 2 door model. The hillman avenger had a 2 dr model , no performance version either like the "tiger" . Great video as always thanks 😊.
This car had an interesting career. It was a Hillman, a Chrysler and then a Talbot.
Last throw of the dice for the Avenger and Linwood factory both of which would be gone in 1981, despite offers of cash from the UK Govt to fund the Scottish factory.
Memorable trips from my childhood. Here they were sold under the names, Sunbeam or Chrysler Sunbeam Avenger. I prefer the look of the original model. I think the import of Avenger to Finland was stopped before the name was changed to Talbot.
I think by the time the Avenger was given the Talbot badge, it was only older people buying them, anytime I remember seeing them in the late 80s and 90s they were driven by elderly people, I Drove the Chrysler Avenger at Drive Dad’s Car and I really liked it, drove a lot better than I thought it would have been
The MK1 Avenger was a distinctive design, especially in Tiger form. All the unique features, like the hockey stick tail lights were literally blanded out when the MK2 came along. The higher spec model looks like it's got wheel covers from Halfords. Amazing to think they were squeezing more life from it when the Horizon, Solara and Sunbeam and Alpine were well established. The panel fit of the estate was noticeably poor. For all that, im sure it found many happy buyers. A very pleasant and relaxing video.
"Victor Meldrew - the Crimson Avenger!"
I think this is second only to the ADO16 as a single model sold under the most marques.
As well as the Rootes brands in different markets, it was also a Chrysler, a Talbot, (obviously), a Plymouth, a Dodge and a VW!
A mate of mine had a Tiger in the late '70s with that lairy paint job, black bonnet, and huge graphics. So '70s!
Interesting point about the Chrysler pentastar badge still being used in 1980. My parents' 1980 Horizon 1.3 had the same badge, despite it being a Talbot.
These seem to have been better than Marinas in a lot of ways...I'm something of a BMC man, but I would probably have chosen an Avenger over most 1980 BL products (Mini excepted...always Mini!)
A mate of mine bought a 1971 1500 GT with special wheel trims and go faster stripes. It was well equipment and was quite quick. Pity it did not have a no loss cooling system as we had to carry around 2 gallons of water as it kept overheating. Would have been worth a lot of money in today's market as there won't be many left on the road
All the above / below incarnations of the Avenger were ALL available in New Zealand 🇳🇿
A former colleague of mine whom married an American wife commented once, the American Avenger was known as the Plymouth Cricket 🏏 😀 ❤
The fit and finish of the trim on the front drivers wing and leading edge of the bonnet was laughable especially as it was going to be pictured for the brochure. Interesting to see again,it looked incredibly out of date though
So so similar in looks to the Marina.
I never understood the vinyl roof thing at all.
Good review. Very dated by this time but still not bad looking I think. More character than the bland Horizon, Alpine and Solara and aimed very much at the value-conscious buyer. No Chrysler Pentastar in the grille on the cover picture car I notice. Popular with the police as patrol cars around this time as Avengers were relatively inexpensive and quite tough and reliable. Definitely yesterday's car by 1979/80 (I think production ended February 1981) but you could have done much worse than choose an Avenger. I wonder what brand of cigar Avenger drivers smoked? Probably Hamlet or Castella!
Fabulous comment - appreciated for both viewing and commenting
😂nice too see this Talbot averager, this model limited model that time, in the UK how many this model left in UK road now
I had the 79 Chrysler Avenger was a 1.6 4 speed manual it would of gone better if it was 5 speed was an ok car at the time