The Last Reliant Robin - The Breakdown EP5

[@3wheeler1000]

Thankyou for having me, the car and my book. It is the 50th anniversary of the Robin this year, so perfect timing too. The team made me very welcome, and the filming was a pleasure, thankyou!

[@hughrobinson9978]

This was fascinating - as a car designer myself, I can understand all the trials and tribulations of the process. Nice pre - Photo Shop sketches, by the way! Did you study ID at the Lanch? The color really works, as others have commented it's very "Reliant", referencing the Bug. Good job!

[@3wheeler1000]

@@hughrobinson9978 Yes I graduated from Coventry Uni in 1994 on the ID course. The photoshop sketches are retrospective- I was using it in 1997 but just beginning to learn it really..

[@cornishhh]

IMO the original Ogle designed Robin was by far the best looking, but your facelift was a big improvement on the later shape. Again IMO, it's rare that a facelift improves the look of a car, so well done. Why did Reliant abandon the Ogle shape do you know?

[@DollyBoy_1923]

It’s such a beautiful car. I love it.

[@hughrobinson9978]

@@3wheeler1000 Did the Coventry ID Transportation course myself - a bit earlier than you though!

[@R08Tam]

Greetings from Tamworth. My friends live in Robin Close

[@brandywell44]

Great to see someone that really loves his car

[@stevedickson5853]

The colour scheme is spot on really stands out , just like it did on the old Bug.

[@annbullock7622]

A guy at work sold me a 850 van, robin , failed mot , came back from slough on m4 got the thing up to 105 mph and still going, but only had 2 brakes so backed off!!

[@RAINBOW1665]

I had a 1975 Robin in orange and a 1979 Kitten in white. Two of my favourite cars.

[@howardlake6178]

I can remember as a child (pre 1982), we had a Reliant dealer within walking distance, and I can remember saying to my mum I loved the Kitten. Great video 😀

[@seantreen4317]

My grandad had Robins right up to the end of production. Fond memories from my childhood 😊

[@beetooex]

It's such a shame that reliant couldn't hang on a bit longer. With all that experience of fibre glass body shells they were the perfect company to develope ultra light micro city cars for the modern era. With a bit of investment and a licensed kei car drive train from Suzuki or whoever they could have been the British smart car. Later an electric variant. If they could have priced matched a (short range) electric Bond Bug with the Geewiz just maybe you'd see them all over central London...

[@kyle8952]

There's a documentary here on Reliant a couple years before this model came out. A rich bloke had bought the company because they were bankrupt, and one of the first things he discovered is they were making fibreglass bodies as if it was a hobby in the garage. They didn't have any tools and it took ages, and they refused to believe him when he said he'd visited a boat company that would do it in a fraction of the time with modern equipment. On the whole the factory looked like it hadn't been updated in decades. When they stopped making their own cars they moved to importing french microcars. Ready made, no design or manufacturing needed.

[@islaws4589]

​@@kyle8952Yes I remember the doc & the buyer was ex' Jaguar - Johnathon Haynes. The traditional method of hand laying the bodies won out though - I don't think the less labour intense method produced the same quality.

[@3wheeler1000]

@@kyle8952 Yes, I worked there at that time. They had been thoroghly done over by the receivers in the past, and left with nothing. This was the failed attempt to rescue the company. This Robin was actually produced at Fletchers Boats like all Mk3s.

[@cornishhh]

@@kyle8952They imported 50cc Piaggio Apes that could be driven by 16 year olds unaccompanied. I was a bit surprised that they didn't sell better than they did.

[@julianlangdon3456]

nice to see a car that had a valid place in the market, at the time; taken seriously

[@ggj666]

First car i got to drive (well steer) was my dad's reliant van I was about 7 years old at the time.

[@tangfors]

Cool

[@TheBuckspygmy]

I owned both a Robin and Rialto. Great little cars.

[@guttersnipe77]

Nice one Andy 👍

[@nlpnt]

FWIU toward the end what happened was that people weren't getting motorcycle licenses first anymore so the USP became irrelevant, especially since you could always get a real car for the same money - the 1930s Raleigh car cost 105 GBP at a time when the Ford 8Y started at an even 100, and the last one probably didn't cost much, if any, less than the Corsa B whose headlights it used. The early postwar "Export or Die" years must have been lean for a design built to get around UK-specific tax and registration loopholes, too, although LHD examples of late models exist.

[@cornishhh]

Robins, Foxes, and Ants were made in Greece under licence by Mebea. There are Reliants in the Netherlands too; presumably to satisfy some Dutch licencing regulations.

[@regd.2263]

Ah the memories my brother had the van in yellow in the 1960's, and later in the 1980's he had a saloon. I always loved the sporty sound that came from the exhaust.

[@mrjed6912]

Finally a close look at your Robin. Inspirational for me.

[@scuderiapatrinos]

Nice car..nice video..excellent state of the car...this and the Regal 21 E are my favorite

[@chriscoughlan5221]

i owned a reliant rialto in 1988 to 1990, lots of fun, I am sure i got about 90 out of it! i know cuz i was flying down to fast lane on the M1!! Only got rid of it, cuz the gearbox was totally knackered!!

[@philmuskett265]

The way things are going I'm sure there'd be a future for Reliants once again.

[@tettazwo9865]

Nice!

[@chrisbarnes2823]

That’s a great looking car.

[@Jtuesday51]

Best job I ever had working in the body shop but measured day work was bought in and costs escalated as it was piecework before

[@ciaranburke3243]

Cool story, ironic little cars 👍

[@stevenvickers8559]

A most enjoyable watch.

[@leohoward7282]

The closest to a hot hatch by reliant lol orange was a good chose

[@darrenattenborough9848]

My late father drove these he went from a norton 88 to a regal as my mum was expecting. the last one he had was a blue v reg robin sunroof and stainless steel exhaust i remember a holiday in cornwall from kent me my two sisters on the back seat and my little bro sitting on a tool box in the the boot area also towing a small box trailer happy memories

[@raychambers3646]

There is aguy near me who owns some customised Reliants , wide wheels spoiler etc.

[@nzxt1234]

Thaks for releasing this video great to see this peice of history ! First doughnut medias video day before and now this about the robin reliant and befor that i been following the American , youtuber Aging Wheels ,mone of my favorit and i think he has the only one whit this new Body style he claims is the only one in The US fun videos i recommend watching: I just love learning about all this stuff great video this

[@keithmoore5224]

Perfect city car good mpg easey to park lets say your not going fast in a city

[@chrisreeves8402]

Hi great video I have some 20 mm spacers and mini silverlight alloys can I fit 165 on instead of 145 buddy or would they rub

[@liamclarke5761]

I recognise this robin, is that the one that Harry and Simon drove in the smallest vs biggest car video on sidemen

[@stphn44]

I. Had a bond. Bug 1970. And. The. Robin

[@johnbastille5483]

If you feel the front end starting to lift over 70 mph, wouldn't a chin spoiler make sense? That's a relatively low speed to begin experiencing this and the problem is obviously aerodynamic.

[@PRH123]

Seems they would have been an awesome basis for a small electric car, with the batteries and motors available today. And lighting, plastics, carbon, etc....

[@Roblue1091]

Please contact Robert Dunn of Aging Wheels. He has the only Reliant Robin in the USA. Or so we think. I know he definitely has some questions about it lol

[@robert-oq9jq]

Tipping Point, that's a good title for a book on this unstable looking thing

[@starsailor49]

We need a modern equivalent to the Reliant, a cheap fibreglass electric vehicle but maybe not 3 wheels🤔

[@mrjed6912]

If it's limited to 28mph it can be a 3 wheeler. With batteries placed as the centre of mass and independent suspension it would be even more stable.

[@stevetaylor8698]

If the French or Germans had designed this car the UK press would have drooled over it and called it "chic" or some other pretentious nonsense. Beautiful motor.

[@kola100]

Such a misunderstood car - I think almost as related to todays needs as when first conceived!

[@Ianf1x]

I had reliant regale 21e 600cc with 700cc head and pet pistons ie racing pistons from Ford. At 80 mpg the doors started opening at the hinge side and you could see outside. Holy crap.😬

[@nor0845]

I think the motoring world is a poorer place without cars such as the Reliant.

[@smljohnstone]

Did anyone ever get ang decent heat out of the Heater, loved my Robin drove all over the Country in it , I would really love another one and I would buy one tomorrow if I had a drive to keep it on, One thing that pisses me off are these Idiot who make jokes out of it possibly helping towards its Demise, they were a brilliant car even though it took me the best part of a day to change a starter motor😅😅 loved them

[@robert-oq9jq]

They lost an opportunity that was one of the sleekest Econo box designs ever if it had four wheels instead of the goofy three-wheeler format they could have taken on the rabbit and the escort and Fiat and everybody with the actual car version of this

[@mrjed6912]

Reliant made the 4 wheeled Robin. The Reliant kitten in 1975 and the Reliant scimitar, the Fox. Reliant did try that.

[@2Truth2you]

Almost a car.

[@mrjed6912]

It is more than most cars.

[@simonspider]

He did a good job, pity he's known for nothing else, good stylist