Thread: What was your most Crap Car?

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

We had a few as company cars at Leyland Truck & Bus. Quite quick but dangerous understeer with that heavy lump of an engine hanging out front. The reps that had them hated them with a vengeance and they had an appalling accident record.

People who formulate fleet buying policies are rarely high mileage drivers. They are usually accountants who buy cheap. They never realised that if the staff who drive their selections hate them then they will go out of their way to destroy them. One rep at Tutts Machinery Group used to drive his Sigma brisbane to Goondiwindi in second gear hoping to blow it up. Others aimed them at every pothole

Years ago when the Sigma's were new the guy next door to us was a service rep for Mitsubishi , he was telling me they were never meant to be company reps cars they were meant as a second family car , with the reps doing high mileage in then the motors didn't last.

Originally Posted by 4bee

As I recall, LADA never really achieved a good name. Ever.


Probably the same one who hung her handbag on the Choke knob.

Then went down to the local offroad track before going to Evensong.

i like lada but they havent improved much,watch putjn trying tk start a new kne a few gears back..

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

We had a few as company cars at Leyland Truck & Bus. Quite quick but dangerous understeer with that heavy lump of an engine hanging out front. The reps that had them hated them with a vengeance and they had an appalling accident record.

People who formulate fleet buying policies are rarely high mileage drivers. They are usually accountants who buy cheap. They never realised that if the staff who drive their selections hate them then they will go out of their way to destroy them. One rep at Tutts Machinery Group used to drive his Sigma brisbane to Goondiwindi in second gear hoping to blow it up. Others aimed them at every pothole

Oh yes, that is true, a couple of instances from my apprenticeship:
We were a service organisation run by NSW Govt Stores and used to fix everything from two way radios to spirit duplicators. About 80% of our clients were schools and our setion was based in Orange with a patch that spread from there north to the Qld border, around in an arc through Broken Hill and down to Mildura. we also went as far east as Oberon and Lithgow and south to Young. There were other offices in Wagga and Tamworth. Our main fleet was WB vans and later Falcons with a few left field ones like 1 tonners with pantech workshops on the back and a similar F250 that I got my truck license in. Every now and then a bean counter would decide that these vans were too impractical and issue us with something else. They gave us a Mazda Econovan that had been used in Newcastle with about 35000KM on it. I drove it back to Orange after block release TAFE and every parts box on the dexion racking in the back was on the floor after the first 50 KM, it was thoroughly hated and even I was surprised the day that I went out with the tech that it had been issued to and he valve bounced it in third gear for 50KM. It had already had the engine rebuilt when we got it and it was decreed that it was not to be replaced until 60,000 KM to recoup the costs. It eventually got to 60,000 after two more engine rebuilds.

A Magna wagon that we had later was similarly hated but like the Pajero you couldn't kill it. The tech that had it drove it in second gear for hundreds of KM trying to do so unsuccessfully.

Regards,
Tote

Originally Posted by 1950landy

Years ago when the Sigma's were new the guy next door to us was a service rep for Mitsubishi , he was telling me they were never meant to be company reps cars they were meant as a second family car , with the reps doing high mileage in then the motors didn't last.

We had them as rep's cars at Tutts Machinery Group. No need for high mileage. Several were guzzling oil after 30,000 - 50,000 k's. Mitsubishi would not accept this as true and arranged for the cars to have their oil dipped at the local dealership, accurately topped up, and a log book kept. The SW Queensland rep asked for log books at Goondiwindi, Roma, St. George, Charleville as well as Moorooka. "Why?" asks the Mitsubishi service rep. "Because if I drive to St. George I have to put in 2 litres to come home." Nor did Mitsubishi acknowledge the heavy fuel usage and the major dust entry problem. If you took one of them out bush you wrapped your suitcase in a tarp or blanket to keep the dust out of your gear.

Two former reps took common law claims against the company for negligence claiming their degeneration of the cervical(spelling? Ron) spine was cause by driving hunched up in an early Sigma with the low roofline.

Originally Posted by Tote

Oh yes, that is true, a couple of instances from my apprenticeship:
We were a service organisation run by NSW Govt Stores and used to fix everything from two way radios to spirit duplicators. About 80% of our clients were schools and our setion was based in Orange with a patch that spread from there north to the Qld border, around in an arc through Broken Hill and down to Mildura. we also went as far east as Oberon and Lithgow and south to Young. There were other offices in Wagga and Tamworth. Our main fleet was WB vans and later Falcons with a few left field ones like 1 tonners with pantech workshops on the back and a similar F250 that I got my truck license in. Every now and then a bean counter would decide that these vans were too impractical and issue us with something else. They gave us a Mazda Econovan that had been used in Newcastle with about 35000KM on it. I drove it back to Orange after block release TAFE and every parts box on the dexion racking in the back was on the floor after the first 50 KM, it was thoroughly hated and even I was surprised the day that I went out with the tech that it had been issued to and he valve bounced it in third gear for 50KM. It had already had the engine rebuilt when we got it and it was decreed that it was not to be replaced until 60,000 KM to recoup the costs. It eventually got to 60,000 after two more engine rebuilds.

A Magna wagon that we had later was similarly hated but like the Pajero you couldn't kill it. The tech that had it drove it in second gear for hundreds of KM trying to do so unsuccessfully.

Regards,
Tote

They bought the wrong model. Your one was obviously the "Rep's Model", known to do 90mph in reverse.

Originally Posted by sashadidi

i like lada but they havent improved much,watch putjn trying tk start a new kne a few gears back..

I'm glad he did that Sash, I hope he still has that knack when he thinks about getting into a WW3.

Originally Posted by 4bee

They bought the wrong model. Your one was obviously the "Rep's Model", known to do 90mph in reverse.

Made for the Italian Army.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

Made for the Italian Army.

That is right & I think the French were part of the Bulk deal although I think they also manufactured their own QGAWV.

QGAWV = Quick Get Away Vehicle. Forward Gears. 3 Reverse Gears. 20. Max Speed, Warp Speed & Allwheel drive. What could have possibly have gone wrong?