Austin Rover - Austin Montego - Salesman Training Video (1984)

[@tjfSIM]

Dreaming of Montego Bay, and then waking up to remember you own an Austin Montego. What a feeling.

[@neildempster2827]

Ahahaha

[@General.Longstreet]

That wouid sure be a downer.

[@Spookieham]

I was married in Montego Bay - full of seaweed☹️

[@tjfSIM]

@@Spookieham oh dear! :(

[@nygelmiller5293]

To TJFSim. Well, if you're going to be like that about the subject, I'm afraid that YOU wouldn't be able to engender much enthusiasm, either! Not being personal about YOU, of course, but this attitude of running own efforts down, as some kind of sport in the pub, is really BRITISH! Whereas the Germans always have the OPPOSITE culture. THEY take PRIDE in things. THEY would "put their best foot forward". What about the Montagu's slick , glossy (highly lacquered) metallic turquoise or silver paint finishes, for example. Or the highly TALKING COMPUTER people enthused about, when such things were new! These are features that would have sounded good, when "tonight's star prize" cars were described on T.V. game shows! Tata boy - you're my challenge! I'll make a salesman out of you yet!

[@TheCatBilbo]

Brilliant video, so many recognisable faces! Lindsay & Egan were great - saw Egan on stage and he was wonderful.

[@Nimmo1492]

Sold him an Ital? No wonder he didn't come back.

[@stuartwilkie4887]

Hahaha, yeah we had a company car one. A dark blue "HL." Not sure what was ever HL about it. At least dad never felt guilty kicking the crap out of it.

[@davidscottnoble303]

I JUST SPAT MY WINE OUT ALL OVER MY LAPTOP!! QUITE RIGHT!!!

[@dez7250]

They paid him to take it away.....my old headmaster at primary school had a brand new X regd silver Ital with dark orange trim..😆

[@General.Longstreet]

He even managed to flog an Ambassador to some poor sap.

[@daveslife9486]

I've watched this every month since I found it top top top TV love it

[@sarjim4381]

I have to admit that part at the end was pretty hilarious. I can see a dealership operating just like that too.

[@Nimmo1492]

Robert Lindsay has come far since this video!

[@TheMrBennito]

what a great upload! Have been entertained throughout!

[@rovr]

Thanks! :)

[@stuartwilkie4887]

Not sure why everyone is so down on the Montego. My mate's dad had one and his son kicked the hell out of it. It was a lot tougher than it looked. The engine was well isolated from the cabin from NVH and it was reasonably quick. If it wasn't owned by a test pilot, I'm sure it would have made a great family car. The one problem the early cars had was the ECU, but in about 1993 What Car rated them as about the most reliable car you could buy. The future was FWD, Ford's drive train was antiquated by then. I remember struggling to keep up with a Montego in the wet (albeit in a Ford Cortina V). It was so capable the guy had a young family in it, no doubt wondering why this maniac in a relic from history behind him was sliding all over the place.

[@stuartwilkie4887]

@King Brilliant Because people like you know nothing.

[@doctordiesel77]

@@stuartwilkie4887 I could never work out how ford managed to sell so many sierras, they were basically a rebodied cortina with independant rear suspension thrown in..not exactly the most attractive body either 😂

[@darrensmith6999]

I was at the launch of the Montego back then i worked for an Austin Rover Dealer, we were given a cassette to play in the showroom and it was Peter Egan who narrated it (: " Hello Martin " (:

[@daveslife9486]

Nice bit of nostalgia 👍 I've watched it again I love this video again! I'm gonna get a Montego or a Rover 75. God I was born out of my time I just love the BL, Austin Rover, and Rover era it's so nostalgic and proper I'm just an old hat!!

[@daveslife9486]

OMG there was actually another video after this ....I had no idea even after three years jesus😮

[@stuartwilkie4887]

I don't know what particular experiences people have had with the Montego. But when I say my friend kicked hell out of his dad's one: I'm talking about 35/nearly 70/nearly 100 in 1st 2nd and 3rd (disrespectfully). Also handbrake turns everywhere. He told his dad once it needed new tyres. Dad's reply "because you've left them all the way down the road!" Still the car started first time and every time. And never broke down. I believe it had a tiny bit of surface rust on the lower door panels when they sold it. When they when to trade it in the dealer inspected it. Basically he confirmed that the front panels were misaligned (heavy frontal accident repair), it was burning oil, having had miles and miles of hard - and I mean hard abuse. He said that the only thing right with it, was it's roof. On the way home actually he realised that he had managed to wreck the sunrooof as well. The car started first time and every time, and had it not been driven like that it would have made a perfect family car. The father liked it so much, he bought another one. I've thought long and hard about comments about them being, awful, rusty and generally terrible. But for the life of me, I can't see how that's true. The only thing it really needed was power steering, or perhaps a 2 litre. But they were options, and the 1.6 wasnt too slow, so can't complain really.

[@Merseysiderful]

A shame Austin Rover went bankrupt in 2005 and the Longbridge factory is demolished. Depressing at the time watching the news and seeing the redundant workers leaving the factory with their belongings.

[@nudisco300]

I prefer to think of it as Austin/BL going bankrupt. Originally Rover came from Solihull where they made P5, P6, SD1 along with Land Rovers - and they still do today from that original factory. Rover and Jaguars biggest mistake they ever made was getting mixed up with those clowns at British Leyland however at least somehow they've both survived.

[@garethjones8047]

The workers were always against their employer and contributed to the failure.

[@Arltratlo]

but no problem, BMW still existing and building cars! you have to see the real benefits... the Brits are good enough to buy real cars, so why cry because they cant build themselves!

[@Arltratlo]

@@nudisco300 i watched a German car show from the 60s, about the P6... its didnt start in the cold chamber at just -15°C... its not a defect, its a perk not to be able to drive it in the winter!

[@h3rjp]

I couldn’t stop watching!

[@billy4072]

subscribed, this is comedy gold.

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

I think the Bowtie guy is part of the Q continuum who was bored that day.

[@MajorKlanga]

You've got superpowers that enable teletransportation, mind reading, uploading information into brains, mind control etc. So what do you use these powers for? Bringing about world peace, ending poverty, enabling justice, saving our environment or helping Citizen Smith sell Austin Montegos?

[@0898007]

Well it is a very good looking piece of motorcar

[@stuartwilkie4887]

S-series-overhead cam 1.6 developing 86 braked horse POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!

[@davidhayes4814]

These training videos were everywhere, in the 80s. They now have a near-comic cult status.

[@isthereanybodyoutthere9397]

I remember Peter Egan, but Robert Lindsay will always be Woolfie Smith to me. Power to the people!

[@jaapseiye2246]

Power to the people! I had a turbo diesel ex taxi ( before every private hire was Skoda) They were popular , but had a mk 2 cavalier 1.6 l in that colour and it was fantastic.

[@robfuller7841]

I wonder if the Product Insight had the fact they would rust the minute they left Brum.

[@EddieG1888]

POWER TO THE PEEPEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!

[@user-ir7io3hv6v]

typical trick on legroom. Front seat far forward when he is in the back.

[@roystonvehicles9129]

Remember doing 120 mph in a montego turbo, seemed awesome at the time.

[@alistair-01]

Next time we've got to be organised.

[@stevealexR1]

It would have looked so much better if only they had angled the rear windows behind the C-pillar down towards the rear door window line…

[@Blue-moon12]

Ah the days of the MG Maestro and Montego. The turbo versions!

[@midnightcowboy3611]

I really liked the montego, it was a proper car, and brilliant handling. The looks were subjective, but I liked it. What went wrong? From what I remember, the build quality was the biggest issue.

[@ChosenHandle117]

Yep, I had one for a while, late model. Well made by then, super comfy and nice to drive. But the 1.6 was bad mix of low bhp and high mpg.

[@Arltratlo]

its been called the English disease.... and the rot is still there, in the UK!

[@Nimmo1492]

It's 2018 and I work in aftersales. Why am I watching a sales training video from the year I was born?

[@stuartwilkie4887]

@King Brilliant if anybody is worthless. It's you. You sad sad man. You're no king, and you sure as hell aren't brilliant. Go and find something better to do than criticize everyone, like say... get a life.

[@stuartwilkie4887]

If anybody is worthless. It's you. You sad sad man. You're no king, and you sure as hell aren't brilliant. Go and find something better to do than criticize everyone, like say... get a life.

[@jackhinson4743]

No idea why I've just watched this but glad I have. Comedy gold. 9:05- it's got a boot! 31:09 - I dare say he already has 😂

[@MartynStanleyAuthor]

Brilliant! Hilarious step back into the past!

[@boleynali]

Wolfie Smith finally got a job then.

[@houndofulster12]

upton parka freedom for Tooting 😎

[@TonyWilliampianoman]

Oh, I've lived through this lot. My very last Austin was an Ambassador. I've mostly bought Japanese since. Montego was a good car. It had to follow a most appalling double act of Marina/Ital. But the Cavalier/Sierra domination was too much, and then when Montego was getting long in the tooth along came Primera which was a superb bulletproof design with class leading roadholding and suspension - so anyone looking for "something different" may have gone this way. I enjoy your ROVR videos - thanks!

[@stuartwilkie4887]

Tell me about the Ambassador. Did you buy it new, what spec was it? Etc

[@stuartwilkie4887]

@Anthony Superior black race Joshua You had one as well?

[@TheRetrospective81]

Love Austin Rover, Love the Montego, Loved this! but also at 29:48 He is the guy who played Mr griffiths the caretaker of Grange hill school 1986-1992! Also worth noting from range Hill, is that Mr. Bronson drove a Y registered blue Austin Meastro! I think it was a 1.6L!

[@pukepanther9072]

+TheRetrospective81 seen just one in my hometown of galacz, romania. impressive.

[@stuartwilkie4887]

Must have been a 1.3. Bronson would definitely have gone for frugality and the tried and tested power plant. YOU THINK I NEED TO DO 110 mph AND GO FROM 0.60 IN 11 SECONDS? BOY?!!!!

[@jonmortermusic]

Also there from Grange Hill was Mr Hopwood (Brian Capron)

[@rcrestoworkshop]

My dad had one - it was a perfectly decent car - he got about 6 decent years out of it - never really looked after it properly either

[@Blue-moon12]

Is that Robert Lindsay?? Yes the credits just confirmed haha

[@nigelpearson6664]

If Rover, Honda and Volvo made a team it would have worked. The Honda engineers were broken hearted when they couldn't buy Rover. Not my theory, it's the Honda people I knew. Honda very nearly sorted out Rover. Staff training was excellent. The new Mini was complete when BMW moved in. Same Cowley staff that were said to be useless.

[@omenapiirakka-in4gr]

FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS

[@musoseven8218]

AR might have done better if they'd employed unknown actors for a mere training video. The Montego was a half decent car, I knew several with later models and they were really good workhorses.

[@roystonvehicles9129]

Had a 1.3 one, mini engine looked lost.

[@BennysBenz]

53 MPG!!!!! The end was so funny :-)

[@18Burgie]

Austin rover cars have reliability and quality, tell me another joke lol

[@CycolacFan]

Sending out invitations on the day before the event, that shows faith in the Royal Mail and a hope that no potential Montego owner needs prior notice or has anything better to do.

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

Wolfie is on a bad trip.

[@andrewscott1253]

A hilarious admission that they are struggling against a very strong opposition.

[@RoadCone411]

+Andrew Scott Omission? Do you mean 'admission?'

[@andrewscott1253]

yes.

[@RoadCone411]

+Andrew Scott Well, for what it is worth, I agree. The Maestro/Montego did actually sell quite well in the UK, but unlike Ford's Sierra or GM's J-cars, it did not have a big international presence...and although the initial quality was far better than the rubbish BL produced in the 1970s, there were still long-term issues with rust. The truth is that the Maestro/Montego were at least competitive in their classes when launched, and presented a decent value for money, but the other car makers were coming out with better and improved models that AustinRover could not compete with. Hard to believe that the Maestro/Montego survived until the mid-1990s.

[@robinwells8879]

I always hankered after a ?Perkins prima? diesel estate version Montego which I used to think was rather an elegant looking car. Austin Rover had a rather conformist middle class golf club vibe going on that was entirely at odds with the ford Vauxhall style. Chalk and cheese really. Arguably you will see traces of Montego technology in cars today but Sierras were stone simple pieces of cost engineering already obsolete in their day but not necessarily the worse for that.

[@clairebannister4749]

powa to da people!

[@jackyounger5678]

Im sure that's Ben Harper from my family

[@scottirvine121]

jack Younger it said Robert Lindsay in the intro so yes it is

[@sjaguartype]

Hey is the guy in the photo not from V for Vendetta??

[@mikeswatches2480]

Shame he didn't shout "Power to the People" at the end !

[@TheWitchfinderGenral]

If I had godlike superpowers, I'd definitely use them to get a sneak preview of a dreadful 80s saloon car.

[@bloodyliar]

I need to buy a Sierra

[@Simon-qn5wm]

Never knew Tom Darblay drove a sierra

[@jeffers365]

Robert Lindsey looks like Matt Hancock there. Hancock used to remind me of a second hand car salesman anyway.

[@pit_stop77]

That's a young wolfie 😂

[@insertnamehere5146]

nope he did this after citizen smith on the BBC so he was actually older

[@christopherhulse8385]

Montego Vs Sierra......what a choice!

[@weallfollowmanutd]

The bodywork side panels look like someone has sprayed it with a halfords can.

[@guitarlover302]

like every car purchase - good cars and products sell themselves ! whatever fancy marketing you do - customers want reliability and durability , low depreciation

[@jeroenjansen2709]

Not bad looking but how long before ir rusts away?

[@Spookieham]

There was serious money in making these in the 70s and 80s. Kept a lot of actors in money and made John Cleese wealthy : before his ex-wives took it all

[@luigiambrosino7875]

Happy man......😅

[@insertnamehere5146]

Robert Lindsey acting gigs must have taken a dive after he did citizen smith for him to take a Rover training video in 1984

[@Spookieham]

On the contrary - there was really good coin in doing these. John Cleese made a fortune running a company making them, many of which he was in. It was called Video Arts

[@philhealey4443]

The vault-like security of the boot must indeed have created a stampede of eager customers.

[@MrEdwardsg]

Good reliable Motor

[@timwingham8952]

Hell's bells this is a trip back to awful hair, awful suits and cheesy actors!! But - one positive - the Montego estate was a great load carrier.

[@b10xtn]

What did I just watch!? Lol

[@neildutton8077]

Funny stuff, I was selling Cavaliers at the time, in the same garage that rallied Russ Swift's Astra and Nova.

[@Bates.N1]

Funny how they didn't compare it to a Honda accord better than both of them

[@hfvhf987]

They were desperate to bring more than just the cars up to a world standard back then aye lol

[@S7EVE_P]

Imagine if despite being a shit unreliable vehicle this had found an enthusiast following of people willing to spend every spare bit of money they had on winches and tyres and repairs and breakdowns.... One Life - Live It in a Montego.

[@guitarlover302]

Poor Citizen Smith reduced to this 😥

[@RevStaplehurst]

Wolfie's sold out! ;oD

[@frankmoseley3214]

At the Montego vs Cavalier "stop tape" moment, I'd say, "I'm off to a Vauxhall dealership"....

[@RWL2012]

I do like me some decent *_roldholding_*

[@Realroyrogers]

Assembly in Cowley, had to be kept in a garage because they could not fix a boot leak.

[@Darwinion]

19:28 customer buggered off and bought a Reliant

[@ianhudson9177]

Trying to big up a Montego. ..no mean feat even for actors. ..I bet the fees were good

[@grahamariss2111]

The reality was that they knew the car was flawed both in styling and reliability before the launch, the failure of the styling led them to bringing in Roy Axe he wanted to scrap it but the money had already been spent on the tooling, but reliability was down to BL's lack of development and investment resources as it had been with the Allegro, Princess, TR7 and SD1. But the real killer was that Ford and GM had a European wide sales network, BL's network on the continent had disappeared during the 70s, with the failure of the Allegro and Princess and the failure to offer a SuperMini which is where the market growth had been in the 70s. This meant that they could shift volumes BL could only dream of and so they offered significant discounts that BL could not make a profit at.

[@EdgyNumber1]

If only ARG had got their shit together 2 years earlier and launched it then.. they could've done some serious damage to the rivals... as it stands they launched it too late.... and kept it going too long.

[@malcolmwhite6588]

It is cockney accent: considering I’m doing 20,000 a year and I’ve only had the odd but of mechanical trouble😂honest at least!

[@billy4072]

Hoist with his own petard. lol.

[@nigelpearson6664]

I proposed a Volvo clone to the man at Rover who could have made it happen. He said " You know it. I know it and they know we are wrong " There were a few people above him who blocked these things. He was paid to keep quiet. The Volvo clone was to sell on it being a workhorse. The Montego was a better car than most realise, BL didn't think rust important alas. If you go to the Gaydon museum there was a prototype. The 820 was the wrong one to use for this, likely that would have been chosen. I didn't work for Rover. My drinking buddy was a boss. Do you know I can't remember his name now. That's him being quiet. MDi engine was by Perkins. Perkins are or were best of the best.

[@juanlauda2300]

Good grief. Excruciating.

[@davarosmith1334]

The sierra driver in the real world would never buy a shity montego!

[@video99couk]

But if he's got any sense he'll by a Cavalier instead, and most did. Let's just ignore the fact that all three cars were complete rust buckets.

[@petermooney2228]

Mince

[@augnkn93043]

Robert Lindsay might be a great actor but he was a crap car salesman

[@anthonyperkins7556]

The early Montegos were badly built, with loads of quality issues galore. The later ones were better.

[@billy4072]

courtesy light delay... Where did it all go wrong? after the ww2 I guess. when the upper class were found out, and the working class had had enough.

[@bEEBO178]

To be fair the Montego was dogshit. Depreciation and rotting festering bodywork as well as crass build quality all enemies of the Rover brand.

[@jamesstasiak]

Despite all this, Montego's were shite

[@stephenhughes2775]

Worst car ever made. Thankfully my company returned them for Ford Sierra

[@rheijm9201]

The fiat regatta is the European cheap option. Cause you re in the cheap and not so premium arena. You realize this, or you ll go bancrupt! Now the Regatta is only 21000 guilders, but its based on the Ritmo. It is not precisely new. But it is not evident what to focus on, you look at the customer 1st. Within the country Italy has appealing modern cars. England..Montego is the least bad. 1984..hope Honda saves ya.. They have a secret extra, the seat Malaga is a cheaper version of the regata. Its 1.2 engine of a audi 50 all in all, they call system Porsche and its in fact a drehfreudig one. But it isn t fast. Usually -marketing heard of it? - customers have never heard of the Malaga. Proceeding with thee Nissan Bluebird..

[@davidscottnoble303]

These cars where awful. apart from the diesel models (which where slightly okay ). but the styling christ. looked like they'd all been in accidents before they had left the showroom.

[@nygelmiller5293]

This is a singularly boring film! Training films are usually lively, and proud of something special! This is deadly dull and clinical! It's just full of endless facts, like a phone book, or a dictionary! There is NOTHING emotive about this at all. Look how enthusiastically a new FILM gets promoted, for example!

[@BoliBompa-gw8bt]

What a sad job… to sell these tossmobiles to people who think these were good cars..🙈🙄