Motoring Discussion > Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: R.P.	Replies: 50

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:07   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - R.P.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11732595 Last edited by: Pugugly on Thu 11 Nov 10 at 12:07 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:10   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - R.P.

Just FB searched for Marina Morris and found at least five...! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:16   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Chris S

I remember hearing an interview on local radio a few years ago with somebody called Austin Morris. Apparently he'd been arrested because a policeman had refused to accept that it was his real name. Last edited by: Chris S on Thu 11 Nov 10 at 12:17 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:20   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Tigger

There's a well known rugby player called Austin Healey. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:30   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Runfer D'Hills

Arnage Bentley sounds quite sophisticated. Qashqai Nissan could be a fashion designer Volante Aston-Martin would be a great Bond girl. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:30   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - VxFan

>> Just FB searched for Marina Morris and found at least five...! I thought it was Morris Marina, later called the Morris Ital. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 12:37   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - R.P.

The whole point being that a Zoe Renault is the injured party in the case against Renault an their Zoe. A little obtuse of me maybe. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 13:33   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - VxFan

>> The whole point being .... Ah ha! the penny drops. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 13:11   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hawkeye

Load of hot air by deranged publicity-seeking parents. If they are that hacked off about it they can show their disapproval by not buying one, or not buying a Renault. I hope it cost them a few €. Some folk wanted their daughter's name attached to a car eg Mercedes Jellinek's dad. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 14:20   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Armel Coussine

>> Some folk wanted their daughter's name attached to a car eg Mercedes Jellinek's dad. It's not inconceivable hawkeye, but it's a pretty dodgy point. Mercedes was a girl's name long before it was a car's name. Indeed someone thought 'Benz' on its own was a bit boring, and named the car after a friend's daughter... Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 14:32   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Dwight Van Driver

Don't knock the Marina PU. I had a 1.8 Marina Coupe and by god it could go....... dvd Last edited by: Dwight Van Driver on Thu 11 Nov 10 at 14:32 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 14:37   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Iffy

...had a 1.8 Marina Coupe and by god it could go... The 1.8TC was what one might call a lusty puller. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 14:55   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - R.P.

in a straight line ! My family had a 1.8 - fast it was and I learnt a lot about RWD from it very quickly ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 14:53   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Kithmo

>> Don't knock the Marina PU. >> >> I had a 1.8 Marina Coupe and by god it could go....... >> >> dvd >> Yes, but that was when 0 to 60 times of 13 seconds was the norm. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 16:53   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Ted

What a fuss about nothing from this family. I recall Granada TV kicking up a fuss and making court threats over Ford's intended new model name....I can't remember what it was now, but Ford won the day and went ahead Even Jowett's had a model called the Jason before the Hitler spat. Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 19:01   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - VxFan

>> I had a 1.8 Marina Coupe and by god it could go....... Garage lent me a Morris Ital estate as a courtesy car once. I thought it was really slow until I looked at the boot badge and saw that it was a only 1.3 litre. After finding that out I changed my mind and thought the little 1.3 engine was doing well to haul such a big car around. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 19:36   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Tooslow

We'll never see a Jensen Button. Sigh.... John Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 19:39   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Harleyman

by god it could go....... .............rusty! Brings to mind a pet niggle; people who say "Robin Reliant", might be a horrible little car but at least they couild get the name right. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 23:18   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hawkeye

>> Indeed someone thought 'Benz' on its own was >> a bit boring, and named the car after a friend's daughter... >> That was my point. It's got lost somewhere in the ether. "Jellinek stipulated the new engine be named Daimler-Mercedes (for his daughter)" from Wikipedia Mercedes Benz came a bit later. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 20:16   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Kevin

>There's a well known rugby player called Austin Healey. And a well known travel author called Ford Prefect. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 20:27   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - bathtub tom

There's a Hillman Hunter in the sixth book in the, erm, trilogy. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 20:54   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Runfer D'Hills

I used to go to the Isle of Man on business. Always used to hire a car at Ronaldsway airport to get about. There was usually time before going back to the airport to have a thrash round most of the TT circuit, a lot of which has no speed limit. Never very exciting cars but nonetheless good fun. Until one time the rental was a Morris Ital estate. Well I tried my level best to chuck it about but it succeeded only in frightening me even at modest speeds. Bear in mind this was the era of Cortinas and early Cavaliers and Metros so it wasn't being compared to modern machinery. One of the most truly awful cars I've ever driven. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 21:48   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - legacylad

My third car was a Marina coupe TC in purple. Sorry. It was preceded by a Mini Clubman estate which says it all about my taste at the time..... Not much better now cos i have a BMW! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 11 Nov 10 22:55   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Armel Coussine

>> Marina coupe TC in purple. Purple? LUXURY! My dad bought a thunderbox-khaki 1.3 with drum front brakes. It was brand new and he'd specified discs, but didn't notice the ringer until he felt it was too late to make a fuss, the old darling. He often did his own mechanical grovelling. When he was doing the brakes one day the Conservative general election candidate surged up the 20 ft long drive and without looking seized him warmly by the hand. He was still chortling about it days later, although he had nothing in particular against the Conservatives. He was a lifelong civil servant and found politicians a rich source of comedy. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 12:40   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Tooslow

I had a couple of Ital / Marina hire cars. Utter dypsomaniacs. John Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 13:17   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bagpuss

A mate of mine had a Marina 1.3 which was a hand me down from his Mum. It was an automatic as well, so flat out at about 50mph. I don't remember ever driving anything else that understeered so badly. It was even worse than the Maxi my Dad had at the time. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 13:40   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - BiggerBadderDave

I never knew what a poor-handling car felt like until I drove a Morris Ital from Liverpool to Manchester. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 14:23   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hobby

I had a 1.7 Ital for a while whilst I towed the Stock car, it ran rings round the equivalent Fords from that era as a tow-car, it was more economical and had better pulling power... they had their niche in life... just handling wasn't one of them... but many people expected them to corner like an Escort Mexico and then complained when they didn't... gawd knows why... Last edited by: hobby on Fri 12 Nov 10 at 14:23 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 14:36   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Boxsterboy

One day in the early 1980s I drove a Marina Coupe 1.3 in the lovely shade of purple with red vinyl seats (it was truly a car of the 1970s) and it was diabolical. It was far worse than the Minor 1000 that I had before (and with which the Marina had much in common). I think the difference was that expectations from the old Minor were low, whereas the 'modern' Marina should have been so much better than it was. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 14:52   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - bathtub tom

>>I had a 1.7 Ital for a while whilst I towed the Stock car, it ran rings round the equivalent Fords from that era as a tow-car, it was more economical and had better pulling power I got rid of a 1.8 Princess for a 1.7 Ambassador. I used to tow a 14' caravan with the Princess. I didn't even bother fitting a tow-bar to the Ambassador, but spent the first year of ownership trying to find out why it drank so much petrol. I never did. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 15:00   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - AshT

I had a Marina 1.3 HLE (I think!) in that wonderful BL beige colour - as I recall it was called Sahara Sand or something similar. It had the luxury feature of velour seats, rather than the standard vinyl that you ended up sticking to after a few miles. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 20:30   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - AnotherJohnH

>> I think the difference was that expectations from the old Minor were low, >> whereas the 'modern' Marina should have been so much better than it was. The old Minor was very good, in terms of ride comfort, handling, and steering accuracy when it was launched in 1948. It bore no comparison with more recently designed cars as the suspension and steering was virtually unchanged thoughout the production run (to 1971/2). That same suspension and steering was bolted straight onto the Marina. Enough said. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 20:52   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bellboy

you are all forgetting that a marina made mincemeat of fords mpg figures with its fantastic sipping su carb and the fact it would start come hail or shine Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 21:14   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Zero

>> you are all forgetting that a marina made mincemeat of fords mpg figures with its >> fantastic sipping su carb and the fact it would start come hail or shine we forget about that because its a fantasy. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 21:18   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bellboy

we forget about that because its a fantasy. > >>> really? Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 21:20   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Zero

that start hail or shine? Oh yes Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 21:31   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bellboy

>> that start hail or shine? Oh yes >> >> well i never ever ran a BL product (other names available) that let me down in the starting dept on a cold wet frosty morning,but i sure remember being let down by vauxhalls and fords,in fact i can hear the churning turning to a gurning as i cock my head even now,not a pretty noise when you are a waged employee who needs to be somewhere soon Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 01:07   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Armel Coussine

Bellboy is right you know. Those cars were fundamentally reliable and the 1.3 was certainly economical. Like all cars though they had to be kept in tune. And in the days of contact breakers, very few actually were. If the thing started, idled and drove the average garage man would think that was OK. But it usually wasn't. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 21:21   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Kevin

>and the fact it would start come hail or shine and would open and start with anything remotely resembling a key. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 22:36   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hobby

I had a couple of decades of BL cars and never had to use jump leads to start any of them... Rather blew the myth of bad starting from '70s BL cars... The reason the Ambassador 1.7 used so much petrol was because it was a small engine in a big heavy car... The Ital was a fair bit lighter... >> >and the fact it would start come hail or shine >> >> and would open and start with anything remotely resembling a key. >> Though that related to Fords rather than BL cars?! ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 22:48   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Zero

I had a BL product of the early 80's with an SU carb. It got through two cans of eeze start a week. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 12 Nov 10 22:52   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - bathtub tom

I think all cars of that era shared similar problems, as they all shared components from the same suppliers. I do recall something of the Marina press launch. Didn't the motoring journalists approach the company and tell them it was dangerous? IIRC something about the front suspension that was quickly modified on production cars? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 09:03   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hobby

>> I do recall something of the Marina press launch. Didn't the motoring journalists approach the >> company and tell them it was dangerous? IIRC something about the front suspension that was >> quickly modified on production cars? >> Yep they did, it affected the 1.8 more than the 1.3 due to the extra power and a mod was put in, though not all that successful! The trouble in using the Minor front suspension... even Iss's stuff became out of date!Full story on here: www.aronline.co.uk/ Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 09:10   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - BiggerBadderDave

"and would open and start with anything remotely resembling a key" Very true. You've reminded me of an old mate from 6th form college who used to drive his dad's Marina Coupe with a wooden lolly pop stick. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 10:57   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bellboy

You've reminded me of an old mate from 6th form college who used >> to drive his dad's Marina Coupe with a wooden lolly pop stick. >> >>>>wow Telly Savalas lives Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 08:02   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - L'escargot

I understand there's someone called Ford Focus living not far from me. He hasn't complained. ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 09:09   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hobby

Perhaps because he knows they are going to build a hyperspatial express route and he would be going.... or was that the Ford Prefect... all these damn fords... :-) Last edited by: hobby on Sat 13 Nov 10 at 09:10 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 09:43   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Iffy

...He hasn't complained... Ford might. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 11:00   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Bellboy

i was with some friends in a service station one very very early sunday morning when some strange cars pulled into the car park we approached the drivers and recognised the cars as being facelifted marinas with a new nose cone,i asked the drivers if they handled any better than the old model and they all laughed loudly and said sadly they didnt (i forgot to add the cars were pre launch models, not seen by even the press at this time) Last edited by: Bellboy on Sat 13 Nov 10 at 11:01 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 11:15   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - hawkeye

>> i was with some friends in a service station one very very early sunday morning Blimey BB you certainly know how to live it up ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 13 Nov 10 12:16   Renault - Lucky there are no Marina Morris' around eh ? - Zero

Dogging again? Reply to this message | Report message