1970s Cars | Earls Court motoring show | Drive in | 1976

[@TheLateBrakeShow]

This was a retro treat to watch. You cannot beat filming cars in a dark hall with a cabled mic.

[@rcrestoworkshop]

I miss the old motor shows - was a highlight of my childhood - dragging my dad around and gathering up brochures - I remember trying to get my dad to upgrade his montego HL to a Vanden Plas - he ended up with a Peugeot 405 in the end

[@stuartbritton4811]

It wasn't dark.

[@mrquordlepleen]

I went with two friends of mine to that ‘last day’ they were talking about, I was 19. I worked for a bank - first job from school - which had a bit of sponsorship for some of the exhibitors. We went purely as interested car nuts, no official capacity at all. Paid to get in. I got from work 3 official ‘looking’ blank name badges with the banks logo. We also decided to wear suits that day. When the show ended and the public were told to leave we put the badges on and walked around like we were ‘meant to be there.’ It worked. There was quite a party and we joined in, unhindered. During the day access to the more ‘special’ cars was restricted. Party time and everything was fair game I remember. Back then BMW were quite exclusive, rather special and not a mainstream choice - unlike the cars they make today. Just good cars now like so many others. We got into the 6 series coupe which had been locked all day; as I say BMW were special then. I was a little surprised to see two sales staff dancing on the roof😆 Birmingham NEC is bigger but lacks the soul of Earls Court. Car of the show for me was the Alfasud, nothing else like it. The recycled Russian steel used to build them rusted as you looked at the car of course. They sold so many and were, quite literally, victims of their own success. (I only meant to jot down a couple of lines🙄)

[@wernerbloemwagen6878]

"they" are still searching for the elusive 500 mile range reach in an electric car, 44 years later...

[@Ragorar]

I was looking for this comment, exactly my thoughts!

[@TheCatBilbo]

But, we are flying to work in er, hover cars and all live on the Moon. To 230 years old...

[@bvkcars8349]

Sadly that is true

[@stevepearce6689]

Your're better off catching public transport to the motoring show ... hilarious

[@barryroach1980]

Forget Clarkson, Hammond and May they can take the backseat, these guys Taylor, Bastable and Hudson Evans were the original Three Musketeers for automotive content!!!

[@S7EVE_P]

Cars were unique, all different looks. These days it's just a blur of dull same looking cars on the road. I've said it before, I wish I could go back!

[@batvette]

Dont think it was because things were truly better. In 50 years todays 18 year olds will be boring all their grandchildren with stories about how great things were. Todays cars are just phenomenal, if you have the money you can have things we couldnt even dream of 50 years ago. My honda minivan runs rings around most sports cars of that era.

[@mikemartin2957]

@@batvette cars are lasting better for sure compared to the 60s, 70s & perhaps 80s . When there is a problem with a modern car( 2000s onwards) it doesn't take much to 'write the thing off ' thru being uneconomical to repair, due to complexity of car design . Cars made 50 years ago were easier for most garage workshops & owners to maintain & repair easily; this in most cases started to disappear in the early 90s. Older designs have more character & more driver input( e.g . Lack of power assisted steering even on some large cars like a 244 Volvo, Mk1Granada etc where it was optional, ABS, manual choke, ' keep fit windows etc)

[@EricIrl]

By the time the programme was over, the Lancias had dissolved into a pile of rust.

[@Nooziterp1]

That's what I thought 😆

[@rkgaustin9043]

@4:28 So wrong about the electric car!

[@dazzlingd]

RKG Austin Elon was only 5 at the time, still playing with Hot Wheels.

[@tris7]

Never underestimate the power of big oil

[@SteveM-ly7oy]

500 miles range for an electric car by 1986? Here we are, 44 years after this motor show and we STILL don't have that available. A Mini E does 100 miles, Honda 100 miles, Skoda Citigo Electric 160 miles. Only Tesla's go further and they cost a bomb. Oil companies still making their profits.

[@philnewstead5388]

Steve M For me the main issue is the recharging time, it's all very well being able to travel three or four hundred miles but no good if it needs a three or four hour charge to get back especially if there isn't a charging point near where you are visiting, can you imagine the cost of installing charging points for every parking space at the NEC for example. I think the way to go is hydrogen but as you say with so much of the world economy built on oil I think any realistic alternative is some time away.

[@Decrepit_biker]

@@philnewstead5388 its not that the economy is built on oil, it really is just that hard to make the battery tech work as conveniently as just filling the tank up! Also.... manufacture of the types of batteries used is hugely distructive to the environment. I agree that Hydrogen should be the way forward, especially as existing engines can be converted to run on it.... but keeping existing cars going for long periods to be environmentaly friendly is bad for the economy. The bottom line is money after all......

[@philnewstead5388]

John Dall I agree both the manufacture and disposal of the batteries is bad for the environment and really think all we are doing is moving the pollution and I think battery technology is a blind alley. We know the hydrogen fuel technology has been available for current engine technology for many years as James May did a feature about it on Top Gear about eight years ago and actually drove and refuelled a car that had been modified. I worry that governments around the world will push electric vehicles and spend millions on infrastructure that is inconvenient to use and as with diesel cars will say in about fifteen years this isn't working let's try hydrogen. The only government that appears to seriously looking at hydrogen technology is Japan.

[@Decrepit_biker]

@@philnewstead5388 that is EXACTLY what will happen, but the economist's will love it as it will stimulate the economy twice as each technology is brought in. Hang the consequences to the environment and the added cost to everyone, so long as someone gets richer right?

[@paulkirby5479]

The skoda Citigo has just had the plug pulled on it in this country.

[@paulbroderick8438]

All the fun has gone, or, taken away to tell the truth. Now? Plastic boxes full of sensors!

[@reganarnold3003]

Ahhh The 70s...when you could smoke in pubs, buy a brand new Cortina and wear massive flares...I need a time machine. Damn you, modern world!

[@MarthaMansbridge]

Never seen a Princess as glossy! 44 years later it looks pretty stylish.

[@Decrepit_biker]

No. Just no. 😂

[@blitzroehre1807]

Had one the same colour, but with 4 cyl engine here in Germany. They hardly took off here, many people remarked it looks like a 4-door Scirocco. Ran ok, had a smooth ride and never let me down....

[@betaman7988]

‘I suppose it’s a reasonable bargain at 80p a head’ Well yes Tony, I suppose it is

[@jezstokes8592]

Bit dark isn’t it? Someone put the lights on please!

[@Decrepit_biker]

Lack of 50p's for the meters....

[@QuadMochaMatti]

These are cars of the '70s that were being shown. Are you really sure you would want them to put the lights on for that? 🙄😝😆

[@georgiehogman2001]

80p to get in? My friends dad had a metallic green Datsun Cherry coupe, I loved it, just different to everything else. My dad had a HC Viva, I remember the Speedo which went lengthways across the dash, ..

[@TheHorsebox2]

Is it just me, or did cars look nicer back then?

[@philnewstead5388]

fifthof I agree some of them weren't too good to drive either, especially some of the Japanese cars. They were well equipped and much more reliable than the European equivalents but so boring to drive.

[@TheHorsebox2]

@but ton Agreed 😀👍

[@gulfstream7235]

@fifthof Had a trip in one of those in early 80's from my mothers best friend,was only 7 or 8 at the time. It was a 90 mile journey to my cousins house in Tipperary, took the guts of 41/2 hours. Never once saw the speedo over 35. Still thought it was a cool car, as for the driver...

[@michaelpooley3409]

Brilliant programme from the seventies equally well presented.

[@stevedunn2502]

They thought that electric cars would have a 500 mile range by 1986…whoops…we’re still waiting for that now, nearly four decades on!

[@LesterLovesWatches]

My Mercedes W123, first launched in 1976, is still going strong and there are hundreds of them on the roads in the UK alone. I doubt you can say that for any of the other cars shown.

[@TheHorsebox2]

They'll be the only cars left if there's a nuclear war.

[@brianfearn4246]

I remember seeing all those cars in the scrap yard.. i didn't have to buy new parts for my princess 2.0 . I was lucky enough to buy a gold seal engine from a scrappe for a fiver and it run like a dream.. fond memories.

[@wombat1238marsupial]

Lancia Beta, just 2 years later the body rust scandal and the buy back that ruined Lancia in the UK. The Rover 3500 European car of the year until the build quality ruined that model. The NEC was purpose built having mainline rail right next door.Good year with the then record heatwave. I love that the Japanese were not that big an importer of cars then but now they're built here.

[@FirstDan2000]

Two Star petrol. I almost remember that.

[@MarthaMansbridge]

04:50 - 'In 10 years Electric cars will be doing 80mph and have a range of 500 miles!' - 44 years later, you can pay £30k for a car with a range of less than 200 miles and the likes of VW, Fiat, Mini, Nissan etc. think it's acceptable to sell some models with little more than 100 miles of range. Maybe they didn't anticipate that cars would double in weight and size as a result of ever more EU regulation....

[@James-oo1yq]

The big oil companies are holding back electric cars. If you want a genuine 300 mile range then it's at least £80,000' and only Tesla is putting effort into proper long range. Hybrid cars are still superior in every way

[@philnewstead5388]

James I agree too many vested interests in oil both from oil companies and some governments, I do however think hydrogen fuels are the way to go. They say they want alternative energy sources because it is politically expedient to do so in the same way they say they want everyone to give up smoking but the truth is that both fuel and tobacco are an easy way of raising huge amounts of tax revenue.

[@James-oo1yq]

@@philnewstead5388 Absolutely crazy how much influence and power the countries with large Oil/Gas reserves wield over the rest of us. Until we make strides that we can and need to make then nothing much will change. I think we were told Hydrogen powered vehicles wouldn't work because of problems storing the stuff? but I don't remember exactly the excuse we got for not pushing ahead with that particular power source. No matter what the choices are or will be, or even how much better they are than oil, we won't get these vehicles until governments decide the time is right. The amount of brown envelopes stuffed with cash going between government ministers and every other type of decision maker must be huge! Tax paid by smokers must also be much more than what the government pays out in cancer and other smoking related illness treatments, as it never seemed very sensible to be paying out billions for treatment instead of methods of prevention and rehabilitation. Such a pity we're kind of stuck with governments holding up the strides we could be making. Hopefully that will change sooner than later, especially now we have private individuals with the wealth needed to change direction of motor vehicle manufacturers. I am not a big fan of Elon...but there's no denying he alone is changing direction and making the big motor vehicle manufacturers pay attention to his visions...for more than just cars and the way we power them.

[@charitycharity3316]

Thanks EU thank fuck we have left

[@philnewstead5388]

James I understand that hydrogen can be unstable but there is one hydrogen filling station on the M40 in the UK and a few in the States so it is possible to stabilise it and they say that the process is quite expensive but if there was government will worldwide they would find a way to make the process cheaper and easier, don't forget it was only just over 100 years ago that motoring itself was only for the idle rich. My issue with electric cars is that the batteries are dirty things to make from the raw materials and not very environmentally friendly to dispose of when they expire and I can't help feeling that all we are doing is shifting the pollution elsewhere. That said as a lifelong asthmatic I am very grateful for the advances in reducing the emissions of cars actually driving down the road.

[@AnalogueKid2112]

Was the Vauxhall Chevette as awful as it’s USA built counterpart, the Chevrolet Chevette?

[@mattcrooke8321]

No not at all. It was hugely popular over here, a reliable simple little runabout. Popular as a first car.

[@garysimpson3900]

So in 1976 the "experts" were telling us we could see an electric car with a range of 500 miles within 10 years. In 2023 most will struggle to do that. The presenter didn't tell us how long we would have to wait for the battery to recharge though.

[@Timico1000]

Lancia Gamma! 😍

[@Jay-Kay-Em]

2:09 “The Montecarlo looks and goes”.... sadly no words on how it stops because I think production was stopped after launch to sort the brakes out!

[@edgarbeat275]

The servo caused lock up ...... The cure. Remove servo assistance.

[@11carbuff19572011]

The late & great Shaw Taylor. A genuine pro when it came to the Motor Show and reminding us about being careful on the road.

[@mikemartin2957]

He owned great cars too.; 1933 Armstrong Siddeley, MK2 Zephyr convertible & in the 70s a Jaguar XJ6 . I think in the early 80s he had a Saab 99.

[@11carbuff19572011]

That I read from a book that was published late in 1973 about the very series. One of Shaw's cars was a 1971 Triumph 2000 he used in his Clunk Click advertising campaign filmed in the Tyne Tees area. Registered VJH 702J.

[@mikemartin2957]

@@11carbuff19572011 yes , I have seen the MK2 Triumph 2000 in a Tyne Tees TV safety film! It's like it's been shot on early monochrome video rather than the standard film & is great viewing for old car enthusiasts,, for example; made in 1973 ,he observes various driver's whether it's a short drive to the shops or perhaps a sales representative embarking on a long , perhaps on the early motorway routes even in cars manufactured before 1965. ( which don't require seatbelts, even though they may have been retro fitted) setting off with out reaching for the seat belt & he appears with microphone in hand saying " hello sir or madam, I noticed you didn't clunk click" .most of the driver's would have recognised Shaw , but they had various reasons why they didn't wear seatbelts. It's all in an interesting DVD called " Charley Says" which has all the public information films made by ITV regional companies & safety advisory councils about road safety, door & window security in the home, pickpockets, littering & railway safety etc , it's by Network DVD.

[@11carbuff19572011]

I've actually gotta copy of the DVD. I've had it since February 14, 2006, and I have since only seen five of the 290-piece contents on terrestrial television. To be quite honest, I have no idea of how frequently the broadcasters show any of the contents of that DVD.

[@automotivel3501]

Love the claim for electric car range (500 miles) in the next ten years. Here we are 44 years later and still no EV can do anywhere near 500 miles.

[@Nick_Menicou]

Shaw Taylor RIP was a great all around presenter

[@nkt1]

That SD1 looks stunning.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

One of the best on Earls Court

[@zebedep]

Fascinating to watch this

[@brianfearn4246]

O really. Electric cars lol . Someone must inform the owners that some charging points have now appeared 44 years later..

[@MichaelBosley]

What a brown decade.

[@watchfan6180]

Police 5

[@fishhuntshoot]

In retrospect, this video showcases many of the low quality cars that lead to the death of the British car industry. Sad really.

[@ronmccullock1407]

Good news about Vauxhall, GM really did work hard to save the Vauxhall name

[@brianmarshall4753]

That Richard Hudson Evans from central news

[@michaelmitchell3157]

Leyland have no new cars , that just about sums it up !!

[@robdevaney6518]

Colt before they became known as Mitsubishi

[@MsSteve70]

An 80p entry fee?! Daylight robbery.

[@eitanros]

i guess the lighting guy slept over that day.

[@liverush24]

I had a Celeste coupé. I swapped a mkII Escort for it.

[@user-lx6bl2wd8g]

That was wonderful to watch. Oh to have simpler cars.

[@hujjesb]

this guy looks like Bernard Madoff

[@tonyinit8488]

I reckon Shaw, Tony and Richard hit the local for a bit of a knees up after

[@tonyhancock3912]

Probably got into a ruck aswell after Tony told a few of the locals their fortune

[@Nooziterp1]

Those Lancias were probably rusting while in the exhibition hall. The electric car - top speed 40 mph and a range of 60 miles. And it's tiny. Electric cars have moved on a bit since then...

[@jamesnewman4351]

What a treat!!! How cool were the seventies?!!! Christ i was about 7 years old. Thanks for this!!

[@The_Car_Stalker]

1976 an electric car that does 40 miles and it could do 80 in only 5 years time? shame it took until 2015 to get that in summer at 50mph with no air con

[@sicks6six]

them 3 who wrecked top gear I hope you watching this, a lesson in motor journalism, his predictions for electric cars was exactly as they are now, he had a crystal ball I reckon. . .

[@bensmithkent22]

Goodies given away by gorgeous girls. Back when certain male bbc presenters could get away with groping them too and considered it their right to. Lets hope these chaps were not of the savile and harris school of thought.

[@alihussain4349]

Got to say it, all these cars are horrible to look at.

[@nordic1121]

I went to that motor show, they later renamed it ‘ motor fair ‘ for some reason ? But it moved to the Birmingham NEC .

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Taylor's two worthy sons, Bastable and Hudson-Evans.

[@Jb74W]

As Always in those shows, Will see an awfull electric crap...sorry, car.

[@KevinDoyle-r1w]

I was once the proud owner of a princess. Loved it!!

[@tz6414]

67 LEYLAND cars? Why so many.

[@coolquitepowerful]

2100 £ for datsun 2 door cherry was cheap

[@Steve-gc5nt]

Entry is equal to £7.10 today.

[@markjanfrancisco5156]

Lol at 0:30 scratches his Arse! 🤢right on camera 😂

[@mcatlow8]

My neighbor has an orange TR7.

[@mcatlow8]

john piper yes. It’s a little rough. Some bits are broken. but it’ll run.

[@appalachiahiker853]

Nobody is like Tony Bastable

[@charliemaguire2210]

i went to that show... or was it '75 ....

[@jasonayres]

I remember the '60's pop (/jazz, etc.) English singer, Georgie Fame, on a 1990 tour of Australia, introducing one of his old hits, saying, "This had a revival a little while back.. As a car advertisement." The song? Sunny.

[@ONLYinANTARCTICA]

3rd!

[@cnevill2]

Leland had no new cars? The SD1 was launched in 76, the TR7 only the year before

[@beijingbond]

Electric cars now.....0-60 in 2.5 seconds but crap range.

[@willdatsun]

anyone got more info on that EV?

[@OldSethOnetooth]

Things were crunchier in the old days.

[@Springamatul]

My father drove a red Chevette estate car 😀

[@gerrywatson261]

I went to this show as 16 year old schoolboy. Remember sitting in a Porsche 911 and a Morgan. Didnt realise then that it was for the last time at Earls Court.

[@richardduffy7004]

That Porsche 911 Turbo is alive and well and living in Stamullen Ireland. A rocket on the road.

[@timpriddy349]

THEY "lied to you"

[@charitycharity3316]

If you listen carefully you can hear the lancia and alfas rusting, great Leyland line up same old shite, and 10 years electric cars get 500 miles a charge and 80mpg, 40 years later we are about 150 miles and 80mpg with all the specs cameras and foreigners here you never get the chance

[@janeporter818]

Pretty cool

[@countteddy]

love to see Clarkson pull up go sideways in a mustang and shout "speed and power !"

[@timpriddy349]

......A mustang ll back then

[@Nooziterp1]

Sounds about right for Clarkson.

[@johnodonohoe7602]

What on earth were people earning back then? 3 thousand pound for new car beggars belief!

[@ianhudson9177]

Not a lot....but the 70s and 80s were the decades of top notch inflation

[@christopherhoare5192]

Modah show

[@DaraM73]

That EV 1 was fantastic. 60miles at 40mph range. More than the new Honda EV.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

40 mph flat out

[@briansparks8528]

?

[@BantuEducation]

80p entry..! - said with a grimace as if expensive..!

[@davecapuano2437]

Probably more than a pint of bitter