1986 Motor Show - Highlights - Birmingham NEC

[@Artomotive.]

Thanks for uploading this! Used to love going to the NEC for the Motorshow as a kid in t h 80's and early 90's, this brings back so many memories :)

[@MontyMotorsport]

Indeed! 👍🏁

[@cloudninephoto]

If only I could travel back in time and transport 20 cars back with me. That would be my pension sorted. 😂😂😂

[@libbaT]

I owned BOTH a Maestro and Montego from that era........Still haven't recovered from it.

[@skylined5534]

Hilarious. In reality you didn't, but I did. Great motors not that you'd know anything about that.

[@_B.M_]

I had a Montego too. Pile of crap. The Cavalier that replaced it was light years ahead

[@db111]

I was there, apprentice at a Ferrari garage in West Bromwich at the time, remember the Testarossa well, magical times, wish I was back there now.

[@Embracing01]

When motor shows were the place where you could talk to enthusiasts about the cars and not a gossip place to chat to Mike Brewer about why Edd China left Wheeler Dealers and all the fake contrived conroversy. TV motoring presenters today are treated like frigging idols now by their obsessed, worshipping fans, why the hell for?. Noone was arsed when William Woolard, Chris Goffey, Quentin Willson, etc were presenting the old Top Gear series.

[@robtyman4281]

That's because in the old days it was all about the cars. They were the stars - not the presenters. With people like Clarkson, it's all about him and him alone. It was never about the cars. His ego was too big. He couldn't just stand back and let the car take centre stage - he had to take centre stage....and his view was 'bugger the car, what about me?'. That's why TG was axed, as the BBC felt he'd got too big for his boots, and had turned TG from a serious car show, into a raucous lad, boy racer show where lewd behaviour was encouraged, and any serious talk pushed aside. Many men loved him and his approach with TG - but not me.

[@Embracing01]

@@robtyman4281 Completely agree, but I have to say that it was the BBC who made the show worse, they wrote the script, they were ultimately behind its formula turning it from a serious motoring magazine series into the raucous lad boy racer series, IMO aimed at dumbing down viewers and motorists. Clarkson, like his later rivals like Brewer, Edd China, Fuzz Townshend, Ant Antstead, were turned into motoring celebs and what I would term false heroes and roles models. Clarkson was just a presenter who they thought they could use as his humour (scripted) suited the show well and gave it a more light-hearted touch against the serious side. Clarkson when he appeared in 1989 didn't like all buffoony he presented it with a serious tone.

[@tastypymp1287]

​@@robtyman4281Totally disagree and the empirical evidence is on my side. TopGear, under Clarkson, was one of the biggest and best selling international franchises the BBC ever produced. They axed Clarkey because the regime changed at the BBC and became insufferably woke and far left. They were essentially incompatible. The success of Topgear was that it wasn't exclusively about the cars! It was an entertainment show.

[@TrueFilter]

@@tastypymp1287they axed Clarkson because he punched a colleague and called him an Irish cunt whilst they were working. Is that acceptable to you?

[@hassankhan384]

True old motorshows where aboit motors and qulity and the desgins also it was all about cars, now its all aboit garbage and even the cars today arent even real motors and most of them normal people cant afford, also too much about tech and eletric nonsense and all this green talks and better environment all that bs now its not even motor show anymore its gossip and nonsense show.

[@charlesfalconer6231]

Wow , that takes me way back ! great to see the xr3i again

[@mcalii]

Thank you for uploading this video

[@Kiinell]

Thanks for this great upload. Classic BBC...making the interesting utterly dull.

[@TT_1221]

What a throwback to the 80's!. Great to see it. Rover 800 sterling with a Honda engine - 19,000 pounds. Also on offer an identical looking Rover 800 (820E) with a British engine for 11,000 pounds. (!?) Pretty much summed up Rover.

[@pjohnwilliams6941]

Probably the K series head gasket failure junk

[@paulallen6915]

No, it was the multivalve version of the O series, called the M series. The engine they should have put in the MG versions, which some owners eventually did. @@pjohnwilliams6941

[@TheSimonhammond]

​@@pjohnwilliams6941the K-series didn't exist then.

[@rcrestoworkshop]

M16 was a decent engine - the price difference in the spec - she may as well of said “they’re the same because they have 4 wheels and headlights” That 2.5 Honda v6 was a gutless piece of crap - it took them several years to sort it by enlarging it to a 2.7litre

[@rcrestoworkshop]

Audi’s procon ten was genius

[@club_rock]

Hello England The icons of the 80s ? JAGUAR XJ JAGUAR XJS RANGE ROVER Vogue Austin Mini Ford Escort Ford Capri BMW 325i VW Golf GTI

[@Beethoven80]

Ah, the V12, the first maintenance-free unit.

[@AdamRussell-xz7lc]

Mike Smith mentions Satellite Navigation...in 1986??

[@revidual]

GPS started in 1978

[@AdamRussell-xz7lc]

@@revidual Well, I never knew that! 😊

[@threeparots1]

Gm had a nifty prototype car at expo 86. That proposed tape base sattalite navigation. Not sure if it worked, though tape base was getting old at that time already.

[@dingjs1969]

Strada 130tc , still the most fun car i owned, cost me a small fortune though, the local fiat garage charged me trade rates because they felt sorry for me!

[@mattessmotorsport9344]

Great cars. Great decade. Great jumpers.

[@ralfhenke8148]

I beg to disagree ... ... about the jumpers. ;-)

[@memyself717]

Cars in 2023: the Bluetooth doesn't integrate properly with my apps: 😔. Cars in 1986: it's got wheels a roof and windows and sometimes the engine starts: 😍.

[@faheemabbas3965]

Cars in 2033: I don’t own a car because I can’t fix my own car anymore, and the automaker’s repairs are expensive: 🏚

[@elelegidosf9707]

Lol, what was the point of those clowns prancing and poncing about in the intro

[@fasthracing]

Who knows? Early diversity?

[@Kiinell]

Every show needed dancers in those days. Absolutely no idea why.

[@baggierols73]

80s pop star Sanita is one of those dancers...dunno if that makes the dancing more point worthy or not TBF :-)

[@fasthracing]

neutral I would say@@baggierols73

[@memyself717]

It was the 80s

[@grahammcdonald]

Mini Cybertruck at 26:22

[@71bernieboy]

Spaghetti Junction a bit busier than usual 🤔 There hardly a car to be seen!!!

[@ShedTV]

I went to this motorshow when I was 14. Seems like another world.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

The mid 80s to mid 90s was the peak of design perfection for many motor brands as far as looks & individualalaty goes, after that it all went downhill towards bland 'Eurobox' design. I do miss the 'bonnet & boot' style of designs.

[@skeezoideluxe]

People used to say the same thing in the 80s and 90s, that cars of the 1960s were the last classics with the chrome etc and stopped having soul when plastic bumpers came into design. Time moves on and almost anything at 30 years old becomes a collectable.

[@moran68]

Mike Smith was a great presenter but sadly not a very good helicopter pilot 😔.

[@mrstanhope1516]

Sarah Greene was never the same once she went down on his chopper

[@matthewgodwin3050]

Wow. That was great. All those lovely old cars. Don't think I fully appreciated them at the time, but looking back, they were marvelous. Rover 800. Honda Legend. Escort XR3. Austin Mini. Austin Montego. Rover 200. Jaaaaag XJ6. Audi 80. Lotus Esprit. Vauxhall Astra. Fiat Strada. Rolls Royce Silver Spirit. Peugeot 309. Ferrari Testarossa. Absolutely brilliant, and gorgeous, and fabulous, all at the same time. And not a single battery operated Tesla in sight. Excellent stuff.

[@Lar308]

Well the Strada or Ritmo as it was called in Ireland was the biggest POS ever made - rust and interior plastics were terrible. I went to test drive a new XR3i around that time and the interior door card fell off the minute the salesman opened the drivers door for me to get in. We had the montego in the Irish police and they blew so many engines and the sump grounded horribly if doing any fast driving. The Opel Astra was a horrid yoke too - we had them in the police too so dreary. Loved the Opel Vectra they replaced them with though. So put away those rose tinted glasses.

[@tastypymp1287]

​@@Lar308👈What a bummer....

[@skylined5534]

​@@Lar308 I'll take 'things I just made up in a desperate hunt for likes' for $50, please, Alex.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

@@Lar308 Many were everyday cars back then, now some of them are worth an absolute fortune!

[@smith.....]

Skip the part with faith brown

[@funnyfiveminutes]

Unfortunately motor shows on this scale don't exist any more. The current (2023) British Motor Show held in Farnborough is pathetic in comparison.

[@michael5089]

Used to love these highlights programmes. Great memories as well of dad and me going to the Birmingham one and Earls Court. ❤

[@mollyfilms]

Who would have thought the Jenni Murray from radio 4 would be presenting and looked very much slimmer and younger.

[@manchegocheese997]

Imagine going out dressed like Mike Smith in 2023.

[@BungleBare]

Ahhh, the ‘80s. A time when impressionists had to explain who they were “doing”. Rory Bremner certainly moved the game on a lot.

[@mattmiller6857]

She is terrible!!

[@stuartkennedy4202]

I miss the Glasgow Motor Shows they stopped long before anywhere else.

[@Seminal_Ideas]

Absolutely. I remember the 1984 Glasgow show very well

[@SoundEffectsFactory]

Nice find!

[@Seminal_Ideas]

Worth watching just for the pneumatically talented Faith Brown in the satin jump suit. The cars were quite nice too.

[@myname7284]

i had a strada like that drank like oliver reed had more holes in it than a tea bag was a puller on top tbh. needed lots of superglue for interior bits and electrics had a mind of there own. got a cav mk2 after that it was like a rolls compared to the strada

[@tastypymp1287]

Holy Christ, they were woke in the 80s too!

[@Tmuk2]

I thought that!

[@pit_stop77]

What's woke then?

[@tastypymp1287]

@@pit_stop77 Here we go....

[@eurouc]

Well…. The first few minutes…that was uncomfortable to watch 😖

[@iainmclaughlan1557]

Was it EU rules that meant that the Japanese could only have 11% of the market?

[@andypalin3287]

Proper day out back in the day! 🎷👍

[@jaguarskills69]

I dance 💃 like that when I'm shopping in tesco's 😊

[@tangerinedream7211]

The fabulous 80s. 205gti, Golf mk2, Sierra cosworths, Astra Gsi, loud colours, big hair. Whats not to like. Id love to go back and do it all over again

[@CurioByBSpokeDesigns]

Was that Sinitta dancing around at the beginning?

[@byronmills5952]

Yes.

[@TheCienporciento]

It was a bit difficult listening to Nigel Mansell knowing what eventually happened in Australia

[@liamhollin8265]

Your not wrong, I remember it well

[@neildutton8077]

Can still see that tyre explode...😢

[@ecologic786]

The review of the nissan bluebird was hilarious & quite prejudiced!

[@1pdonlon]

"There's bolts in the engine bay!" .... "Dont like this car, it has headlight wipers!" - what total nonsense! 😄😄😄

[@papanoel3999]

Sod the cars😂, it's the jumpers that should have their own show. The 1986, C and A jumper show....

[@RayEttler]

car vandalism must have been a thing in the 80s at least where mike smith was living. he was was uttering some serious concern!

[@monk3yboy69]

Forgot to add, quality control issues with UK built Legends pretty much killed UK production. Thanks Rover….😀

[@skylined5534]

Oh stop talking sh1t, skidmark.

[@Sam-yg7pc]

Judging by his review of the Nissan he feels threatened by the Japanese cars , and rightly so ,

[@bond0666]

I own an xj40 from 89,and x300 from97, and series 2 xj6 from 73, my pension lol

[@Mike-br8zt]

Just think, those young kids are now approaching retirement age!

[@AtheistOrphan]

18:13 - Bus lowers but there’s still three massive steps to negotiate!

[@kriskobling]

i thought they were gonna play beat it in the background

[@1pdonlon]

The opening sequence is cringeworthy 😅😅😅

[@EddieG1888]

26:26, looks like a mini Cybertruck!

[@zzhughesd]

Birmingham International rail station had a monorail !!!!!!

[@project9320]

World's first Maglev no less!

[@zzhughesd]

@@project9320 brilliant. Will google it up

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

Still does

[@memyself717]

Still does, goes to the airport.

[@bentucker2301]

When men were men and dressed like grandmas

[@rjs1138]

Damn; those Mike Smith slacks, the big hair and polyester...not to mention the highly bizarre cringe dance routine. The tash puts them all to shame 😅

[@peterlloyd6337]

Miss the Birmingham Motor Shows! However, do not miss those cars as they were in those days....My grandad used to say to me: ''They don't make cars like they used to''....and I always replied: ''Thank god for that!''

[@Steve-gc5nt]

Still more interesting than all of the EV stuff we are getting these days.

[@urs335i]

😂😂😂

[@matthewgodwin3050]

I'd much rather have any of these cars in preference to today's rubbish. Tesla Model Shite. Hyundai Moronic. Polestar Poo. No thanks. Rover 800. Honda Legend. Jaaaaag XJ6. Escort XR3. Nissan Bluebird. Audi 80. Austin Mini. Austin Montego. Ford Sierra. Vauxhall Cavalier. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. And not a single touchscreen in sight. Fabulous.

[@ivanfernyhough3851]

Nonsense,these 80s cars are superior to todays lousy shitboxes in allmost every way except possibly buid quality.nobody needs the unreliable electronic crap they put into todays lousy styled over priced junk.

[@whynotagain3639]

You're actually wrong they were made better in the 80's yes rust was a problem but built in obsolescence wasn't a thing then and cheap plastic engine parts and sensors were not a thing either, they were still metal etc.

[@amphilbey]

Love this, thanks for sharing. Really miss the motor shows of my youth in the 80s and 90s, wish I could take my son now like my dad took me. Used to come back with bag full of brochures and posters 😂

[@d.c.Jones70]

No maintenance BMW v12 ha ha

[@pit_stop77]

Interesting that things like camera mirrors and anti crash radar were actually already being thought of in the 80's. 30+ years before becoming reality

[@andrewwilliams6936]

this was my first motor show

[@RobSnowden]

The wonderful late Mike Smith.

[@cavturbonutta]

What the hell happened 😭

[@Johnny-Hollywood]

Wow

[@grahamkeeton6643]

I have seen many comments on how clarkson, may and Hammond ruined top gear What utter bollocks What really ruined top gear was the BBC itself it just couldn't stand up to clarkson and the others Also top gear IS supposed to be an entertaining show about cars I thought that the many presenters before clarkson and the other 2 were just boring but and old-fashioned Umm just like the BBC As for Mike brewer well i can't stand him Despite all that I have found that some of these older top gear episodes to be sort of okay a bit boring but entertaining enough to actually watch all the way through

[@vivabusan]

All that timeless and priceless now these days.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Priceless? Nissan Bluebird?

[@thomaswright7562]

How many cars are now rust buckets or turned into tin cans? 😪

[@paulschneider9286]

The opening to this is so cringeworthy..!!😅😂

[@memyself717]

Chances that "Colin and sue" weren't paid actors?

[@grahammcdonald]

Faith & Mansell, nice!

[@stzw613]

The finishing end of the British car industry well displayed.

[@monk3yboy69]

They were kicking the dead horse at this points….

[@iainmclaughlan1557]

Britain has a very high proportion of car exterior designers. There are component manufacturers here. It is best to concentrate on what you are good at. Taxpayers should not be subsidising the car industry.

[@owrang9756]

I had the XR3I cabrio

[@damian-795]

12:15 That Legend still looks good today. That the car I would have brought.

[@monk3yboy69]

Maestro Montego In 1986 , these look out dated. The Rover 200 , or should we say the Honda Ballade, was the only decent offer . For Rover to even try and claim this was their design was a joke. And then of course the Honda Legend . Another car ripped off and passed off as Rover 😂😂😂😂

[@memyself717]

Rover was in trouble even back then. It never recovered from its British Leyland days.

[@sebastian5903]

the british were really bad at building cars.

[@Olizimm]

omg Andrea Pininfarina 😢 he died so young ( 51 years old ) and in this video he was 29!!!! so sad

[@Olizimm]

the ridicolus years '80! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Olizimm]

I ❤ Jaguar!

[@patrickyorke3028]

Great memories, thanks for posting.