1960s Car of the Year - a Peach or a Lemon?

Did the judges of the European Car of the Award pick winners, or losers? I'm going through each decade to find out!
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[@nadeemchaudhry6585]

Happy Xmas to you and your family, and thank you for all the effort you have made, keeping us entertained during 2024!!

[@marnuscoreyempanadaslooseb6760]

It is 8pm on Christmas Day here in Melbourne, Australia. I hope you and Mrs Big Car have a good Christmas 🎄

[@chankrstic533]

Merry Christmas, fellow Melburnian!

[@amaccama3267]

You too?

[@JesusSaves-007]

Merry Christmas from Ireland! 🎉

[@Nickyyy-g2t]

Im from Melbourne too ! Mornington Peninsula 😊merry Christmas 🎉

[@melihcakmakli]

Merry Christmas from St. Kilda 🙂

[@henktulp4400]

Dear Mr. Big Car!! I never skip a vid since the first one; you have set a standard for Automobil History Jounalism!! Thanks ever so much for your contributions on KZbin!! I wish you and Mrs. Big Car a Very Merry Christmas and a Superb New Years Eve!!! Kindest of Regards from the Netherlands, yours truly, Henk.

[@hmao4466]

Watching at 11.45 pm in Vietnam. A great way to end a wonderful Christmas day.

[@neepheid]

Merry Christmas and thanks for the vid! My dad had a Peugeot 504. I have a childhood memory of us being driven to a family holiday and the brakes were seizing. My dad burned his fingers trying to get the white hot wheel cover off, saying some rather naughty words in the process!

[@robertjacob5dmk3]

MEERY CHRISTMAS FROM AUSTRALIA

[@joãoAlberto-k9x]

MERRY

[@Largeone1968]

This would be even better if each car had its own 15 minute video. That would be a good few months worth of quality content to look forward to.

[@BigCar2]

Yeah, that would take more time than I have! There's 61 cars on the list.

[@Largeone1968]

@@BigCar2Bah Humbug! Oh well, the idea is there for the future!

[@worldtraveler930]

I had an uncle who owned both the Rover P6 and the Peugeot 504 Station wagon when he was stationed in Scotland and brought them both back and drove them here in South Carolina and Texas!!!

[@AlteredCarbonite]

A very Merry Christmas @4am local in Canada, I've greatly enjoyed both watching on KZbin and listening on Spotify this year. Thank you from a fellow car geek for the excellent content.

[@starlordlake2133]

Merry Christmas and thank you for a great video!!!

[@martinherrington9499]

Thanks for teasing us with all the video of the Hillman Imp. Honestly, you could have done a whole video on each of these cars! Merry Christmas.

[@techman2471]

It's 4v AM in Maine USA! Merry Christmas to all!

[@Cankersaurus]

NJ here. Why are we up? Waiting for Santa?? 😀 Merry Christmas all!

[@fosterfuchs]

2:09 - At the advertising agency: "How should we market the car?" "How about showing it being driven along a coastline, while passing people who are working on their fishing gear. That'll sell it!" It seems so random. But the 60's were different times. Maybe it made sense back then.

[@MrDuncl]

Far less silly than an advert from that era which suggested that if you walked through a similar scene smoking a pipe filled with a certain brand of tobacco pretty girls would start to follow you like the Pied Piper.

[@sos10]

My father was in the car industry in the 1960-70’s and told me about a well known jury member who could be “convinced” to vote for your brand.

[@davidbeard7262]

Landcrabs, the MKI at least, were relatively popular in Oz. I've owned a few and still have a '69 model (late MK I) in the shed. If you weren't mechanically minded you soon learnt to be! Merry Christmas from Monbulk, Australia.

[@mauritsvw]

It seems everybody hates the looks, but I get the impression that it was a roomy and practical vehicle.

[@paulketchupwitheverything767]

Great idea for a series. Even from this decade several of the cars are familiar from models my parents or friends families owned. Maybe I'm less interested these days but the award doesn't feel like it caries the prestige that it one did.

[@andreamassara590]

Big Car = Big Videos, that's guaranteed. Merry Xmas from Italy..

[@robontube12]

Merry Christmas from Germany to you all!

[@BarryHWhite]

u 2 from Scotland

[@johng7390]

Merry Christmas to you and yours and all the fans of your videos. Great memories. My first car was what I believe was a renamed Austin 1100 for the USA as an Austin America.

[@rafthejaf8789]

My dad had two NSU RO80's. The first one suffered from the well known engine problem but he traded it in for another one in what was a very good deal and that one ran beautifully. It was a car way ahead of its time and it still looks modern today. Later on my mum had a Renault 16 TS and that too was a brilliant car, great to look at and also to drive. Thank God neither of them owned a Landcrab! Imagine being a teenager and having to look at that everyday!!😅

[@danieljames2015]

@@rafthejaf8789 My Dad had an 1800 when I was a tiny lad. I remember it being enormous inside and a good riding Car, nu yes, even at that age, I thought it was deadly drab inside.

[@EyesWideOpen61]

Hey, why does the kid at 0:20 have a beer there? 🍺

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

Great video! There is not a single car in this lineup, that I wouldnt love to own today☺️ But the RO80 really is a childhood dream! Interersting to see the production life of cars back then (and development time), compared to the moder EVs that are "burped out" every year.

[@truthboomertruthbomber5125]

I wonder if a V4 could be shoehorned in? Are there even any derelict Ro80s left?

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

@ Think the wankel is half the joy of the car....

[@NicholasSadlier]

Great work! I will now wait impatiently for the 1970s!

[@jamesmair2512]

Merry Christmas, thanks for all your entertaining videos this year, I enjoyed every moment.

[@DystopianOverture]

All the merry Christmas man! Thank you for this extra gift video. Love what you do

[@danr1920]

In 1960 in the U.S., Motor Trend picked the Chevy Corvair. Decades later it was controversial as rear engined cars handle differently. It was a good choice as it was a great car and very very different engineering. Rear engined, flat six, air cooled and four wheel independent suspension. Fun car to drive. I own a '65 convertible.

[@petervanriemsdijk4968]

Thank you for all your great video's! I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas!

[@paulwilkinson7746]

Ah brilliant, thank you very much. My Mum used to be very proud that her old Renault 9 was a car of the year! Merry Christmas to you and your family 🎄

[@Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

All the best to thee and thine from me and mine here in Australia. I love watching your videos and learning about the cars I grew up with- some that I lusted after then, and now- and a lot of cars that just didn't make it from Britain or Europe to the other side of the planet. The Rover was an option my parents considered in 1975, but we ended up getting a Lancia Beta.

[@friendlypiranha774]

I like the COTY idea, except for one factor and that is the affordability of some of the placings. Runner up for 1964 was the Mercedes-Benz 600... For 99.99999% of the population, just getting a ride in that car is about as remote as getting a flip in the Space Shuttle. I am an absolute car nut and have only seen 3 in 60 years. Same logic applies to the 1966 runner-up (Rolls-Royce) and the 1974 and 1978 winners (Mercedes-Benz W116 450 SE and Porsche 928). These aren't family cars that the average, or even rich, neighbour could buy. You had to be fabulously rich to have been able to purchase one of these cars. Then 3 years after the Mighty Mercedes won, the humble Ford Escort took first place. SPOT ON!!! Many, many, many of our neighbours, friends and family drove that car... For YEARS. I feel that the cost of the car should have been factored into the equation on something like a logarithmic scale. That would have been much more representative of the real world car purchasing public.

[@mr-rk394]

Feliz Natal a todos! Sr. Grande Carro, um feliz Natal para você e sua família. Eu ia escrever em inglês, mas hoje em dia temos o Google tradutor para isso hahaha.

[@AaronOfMpls]

Nice! Looking forward to the rest of the series. 😁 One of the attractions of _Top Gear_ UK for me was seeing European cars that we never got here in the US -- and your videos have taught me a lot more about quite a few of them.

[@porcelainthunder2213]

Really churning out the content this month! Thanks! Happy Christmas.

[@colrhodes377]

I have recently acquired a Landcrab, and I love it.

[@NeilVanceNeilVance]

This is such a pleasant treat on a lovely Christmas morning. Thank you so much, I really enjoyed this. Happy Christmas! Ho-Ho-Ho!

[@simonjones7727]

The NSU Ro80 was an exceptional car for its beautiful looks. The way the lights and grille are integrated and the overall proportions are at least a decade ahead of their time, and it would still look modern in 1990.

[@dhdove]

Thanks so much for all your vids this year BC, I’ve loved them all, a very happy Christmas to you and yours.

[@garrylawless3550]

Hi it's 15:43 in the North of England as I type this, took a break to do some washing up and decided that it was a good time to watch your first installment of 'car of the year'. Excellent. Thank you and I wish you and Mrs Big Car a very merry Christmas. 👍🏻🎄 PS - another not white Christmas in the UK, near Manchester! 😄

[@Conservator.]

Fantastic idea to make a series around the car of year!

[@BigCar2]

I can't take the credit - it was a suggestion from a viewer.

[@JohnnoDordrecht]

happy X mas everybody , and with a nice video .

[@BarryHWhite]

u2

[@storkythepunk]

Merry Christmas, I stopped watching TV a couple of years ago, I'm a happier person these days, and my bank account is happier too.

[@JTA1961]

Amen

[@tomlobos2871]

according to the background i'm obviously at the "big coffee" channel. that price appears to me as a general advertising for european automotive industry, fearing foreign imports. at one point domestic car magazines started to make their own "car of the year" price, wich dropped the "affordable or innovative" part for "sporty and stylish"

[@truthboomertruthbomber5125]

The Rover had a crazy front suspension. In the mid 80s I was at a party and one of the partygoers rode up in a 2000. Most of the men and some of the women were engineers of various persuasions so I dragged all of them out to look under the hood.

[@henkormel5610]

The front suspension was designed around the prospect of a gas turbine engine. The gas turbine never materialized but the 3.5 liter Buick V8 did. Without the front suspension being designed as it was the V8 would have never fitted in the engine bay.

[@kamata93]

I never understood Engine of the year awards. They should be given after at least 5 years and 150k km. We all know the Engine of the year - Ecoboom.

[@marcvanartevelde5586]

Stellantis 1.2 puretech is arguably even worse.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

I don't think they give this award anymore since every awarded engine was a disaster.But It's not just PureTech. All modern engines are overpowered while running on too thin 'resource conserving' oils, and are overcomplicated with things like electric locks on water pumps. If a modern engine lives up to 300k km or 150k miles, it's already one of the best, while in the 90s and 00's that would have been a disaster.

[@obelic71]

@@marcvanartevelde5586 This year a reworked version with a timingchain engine were installed in Stellantis models. The new failure stats (original one had an insane high failure rate in the first 60.000km of use) are not in yet due to less sales (gues why 🤦‍♂) then previous years. If the reliability problem isn't solved it will hurt Stellantis big time. Law suits, forced recals by goverments, warenty replacement engines it already costs Stellantis alot of money. Volvo, BMW and Ford also bought those engines making it one of the most used engines in Europe!

[@negativeindustrial]

All of that sounds abysmal. I think I’ll just keep driving my small fleet of 1990s Toyotas.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

@@obelic71 Chain will definitely help, but the other problem is that best engine-protection wise multipurpose oil needs viscosity of 0W40 or 5W40 and full-SAPS composition. However engines running on such oil are unable to meet Euro 6d norm and Euro 7 is coming next year, so cars get low-SAPS 0W20 which gives much worse protection and is prone to leaking through piston rings and burning in the engine. The result is high consumption of expensive oil and accelerated engine wear. If that wasn't enough, to meet Euro 7 they will be going further down to 0W16 and 0W8. Use of such low viscosities is most likely to result in gigantic oil consumption and high risk breaking oil film under acceleration or in high temperature.

[@user-ff2lr1eq6f]

your videos are all masterpieces , thank you merry Christmas

[@danieljames2015]

0900am in grey old England. Great Video. Merry Christmas to everyone except little putin.

[@michaelloach9461]

Yet another great video, thanks....Oh, Happy Christmas to Yourself & all around you...

[@markallen5353]

Thanks for all your videos, really appreciate your channel

[@NLBassist]

Happy Xmas and cool series!!!! Can't wait for 2025 and more content!

[@alancobbin]

Cheers Fella ,Happy Christmas 👍

[@davidhinkson8856]

Merry Christmas to you and yours! I wanted to see how you'd break this down. Love some of the cars you featured here, and some I haven't seen in years. My father owned a Peugeot 504 when we lived in the UK between 1977 and 1982.

[@steve050867]

What would have been better if you'd go into the cars in more depth with a half length video on each. Years of content. Happy Christmas.

[@mauritsvw]

I think every one of these cars warrants a full video to be honest.

[@tomwinch9107]

Great first episode and a great series idea - looking forward to the 70s tomorrow Happy Christmas everyone! My dad bought a new Renault 16TS in early 72 (K suffix, right hand drive, UK spec) with (likely dealer mounted) wing mirrors which lasted into the early 80s before oxidation termination - lovely car with interesting mechanicals and flexible use of space

[@JWB671]

not xmas for another hour here in Hawaii…:)

[@mickspencer4171]

Merry Christmas Big Car

[@AliMackMechanical]

Merry Christmas to you and your family 😊

[@michaelarchangel1163]

I haven't actually seen one on the roads in the UK for many years, but do recall, perhaps about ten years or back, a Peugeot 504 for sale on eBay, to which someone had fitted an XUD turbo diesel.

[@esKeptiko]

Merry Christmas Mr and Mrs Big car xx

[@77gmcnut]

I find the content of your channel to be interesting and informative. Wishing you a great 2025.

[@KyrosTheWolf]

5:40 that's the first time I've ever heard someone pronounce Kenya as "Keenya". Merry xmas!

[@dhdove]

Ah the innocence of youth. At on time everyone in the U.K. said “Keenya”……..but the U.K. was a very different place then.

[@BigCar2]

My father in law said it that way and he lived there for decades.

[@dietgilroy]

happy christmas! i shall now wait for the 2000s era

[@BoxInThisLapVR46]

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 Andy

[@bigsarge2085]

🎄Merry Christmas to all!🎄

[@gnashings]

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@neilmustow368]

Merry Christmas Andy from Cumbria UK

[@CUTEANDQUIRKYSLAY]

It’s 9 am on Christmas morning here in Albuquerque New Mexico, Christmas wishes to you and your family! 🎄🎅🏻

[@lachlanmaccormack5427]

I was fortunate to own an immaculate P6 2200, some years ago. A 1973 manual in Lunar Grey with a Herring Bone interior and a Webastow roof. A joy to drive.

[@MrDuncl]

The headmaster at school had one. For some bizarre reason his secretary had the coolest car in the entire staff, a Lotus Eclat.

[@emilianocozzetto-m7i]

Great channel so informative merry Christmas to you and your family

[@thomasfrancis5747]

Issigonis couldn't seem to get car widths right - the 1800 was too wide and the Minor too narrow until they added 4". Could be worse - his original XC prototypes looked like Minis with stupidly long bonnets. Shame they didn't do the same as the 1100/1300 and get an Italian styling house to design an attractive body.

[@skylineXpert]

British Leyland sure made for good punchlines on top gear.

[@NickAsh-jl5nq]

Merry Christmas to you big car from France🙏.

[@horia-cor]

Great idea! Merry Christmas!

[@goncalo33]

Merry Christmas!

[@amaccama3267]

Merry Christmas everybody. Ah the 504. Electricity via The Prince of Darkness himself and a rather unfortunate habit of burning to the ground in your driveway.

[@KyrosTheWolf]

I had no idea the P6 was built as early as 1964, it looks so ahead of it's time I thought production began around 1970!

[@marcvanartevelde5586]

Ah, wish I could go back and pick up some of those simple to fix cars that weren't effectively five computers strapped to a skateboard, an "engine" and a satnav...

[@jonathangat4765]

Merry Christmas from Uruguay!

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

I have never seen a Renault 16. Merry happy day off.

[@bm6563]

The Renault 16 was quite a common sight on UK roads in 1970s and into the 1980s too 👍🏼

[@mauritsvw]

Probably depends on one's age. If you were alive in the sixties, seventies or even eighties in Europe or a country which imported cars from Europe it would probably have been a common sight.

[@macjim]

The P6 was a beautiful car and ahead of its time when it came out. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The princess was, well, a lemon. It was designed as a hatchback but launched with a boot which was, much later, rectified.

[@jims4539]

Merry and Happy Christmas.

[@landiahillfarm6590]

Merry Xmas from America!

[@Ducatista749s]

Big Christmas car! Merry Christmas

[@physicswithpark3r-x3x]

On the first day of Christmas...

[@robertinferno7862]

Merry Cristmas to you, too!

[@seanfinlay7393]

Our vet had a 504 with a diesel engine, rattly engine but the thing was like a tank for getting around rough country lanes. No wonder it continued in production in African countries for so long.

[@DriftStreet235]

Merry Christmas from Brazil.

[@jamesstuart3346]

My geography teacher Mr Anderson had a BRG P6 back in the day. It was called a 2000TC where I live. It was cool but then the music teacher showed up in his Moby Grape Challenger 340. Those were the days

[@adamanthony7465]

Christian greetings and thanks for the work done 🎉

[@SquidwardhatesEVs]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[@philipmordaunt5341]

Great job!

[@BobAbc0815]

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year🎄🍾

[@UrbanoDagrippino]

Great model

[@OneDullMan]

Happy Merry from Long Island in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

[@mohammadfaizal8461]

Merry Christmas mate...

[@MrDuncl]

Before even starting the video I was thinking about quality control and reliability, and the RO80 proves the point in a dramatic way. People will quickly stop buying the "car of the year" if a year is the life of the engine. In contrast Ladas were always marketed as being rugged utilitarian cars that wouldn't let you down.

[@donkee011]

I still adore that Peugeot 504.

[@TheStobb50]

All the best to you and family

[@juppzmuda9725]

5:30 The Peugeot Coupé was a real beauty and became the "Queen of Africa" in all those grueling Rally events!

[@AndreasErichKral]

Frohe Weihnachten aus Deutschland

[@BarryHWhite]

u 2 from Scotland

[@runoflife87]

Real Christmas is being celebrated in January, not this clown day.

[@JTA1961]

End of year sales pitch & all that, don't jew know...

[@runoflife87]

@JTA1961 I'm not jew or anyone else, dumbhead.

[@RachaelSA]

In South Africa.... its xmas.. Merry Xmas 😁.