Today I got stuck behind a rover. I've lost count of the times that it's happened before, but as I followed him at 35-40 mph on a 60 I had time to examine his car.
A large piece of plastic stuck to the rear of his car. I presume it was meant to be a spoiler but he didn't seem to be making use of it today.
A piece of metal surrounding the end of the exhaust area. Is this designed to protect his car's body work from the red hot gases coming from his exhaust as he pushes his car to the limits?
Low profile tyres - it didn't seem to be helping him go round corners as he went extra slow each time he approached one.
I would really like to know from a rover driver
- why do most of you drive like you're brain dead?
- why do you do 40 in a 60 and then carry on at 40 in a 30?
- why do most of you wear hats when you're driving?
- what will you drive when the last rover falls apart because of all the tat added to them?
- do you have to pass a special exam in bad driving to drive a red or gold rover?
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>>- why do most of you drive like you're brain dead?
- why do you do 40 in a 60 and then carry on at 40 in a 30?
- why do most of you wear hats when you're driving?
- what will you drive when the last rover falls apart because of all the tat added to them?
- do you have to pass a special exam in bad driving to drive a red or gold rover?
Luckily we are not all the same.But would suggest you dont put most rover drivers!. I can think of many other manufactured cars not made by rover doing the same thing.And having same comments made.But not to most drivers of this car
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Steve
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One swallow doesn't make a summer...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Dear oh dear, just substitute Rover with, say Volvo or skoda or Wartburg and your post is universal. I suggest that you have an inbuilt blindspot that equates Rovers et al with slow drivers, or more likely drivers that go slower than you would wish. Grow up sunshine.
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For Rover substitute: Corsa, Nova, Saxo, Fiesta, Escort,etc..
madf
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Hasn't the driver in front got the right to go at any speed they like as long as it's safe, at or below the speed limit and on motorways, above the minimum speed limit also?
For all you know they may have been going on a sight seeing tour, taking in the country, looking for a turn off or just plainly not in a hurry.
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In a word No!.
Any driver should be aware of the traffic around him and take apprpriate action. If driving at 40mph in a 60 limit means a queue of traffic behind - then pull in, or speed up, but stop causing a jam.
remember the tractor driver in Cornwall several years ago. He got a big fine and points because he did not pull in to let what became over a mile of traffic behind him get past - he was doing 15mph.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Wartburg?Cannot imagine there are any of those left.
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Agree with the above - one shouldn't generalise. But the reason why quite a lot of the trilby-hatted brigade drive Rovers is that they are very patriotic and their natural underpowered habitat, the Hillman, is no longer made. That isn't the fault of Rovers, and we shouldn't tar all Rover drivers with the same brush.
A challenge - is there anyone out there who had a Hillman and loved it? I have to say that it was never a marque that I aspired to in my youth. They all seemed to have engines too small for their bulbous bodies, and they weren't very reliable either, with a lot of problems with starting.
I'm thinking of the Minxes, Hunters etc rather than the Imp - I think some people did love their Imps.
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When I grew up in the North East, my mate boasted about his Dads Avenga (his pronunciation). Come to that I new people who towed a caravan with a Hunter, and I dont think it was the Holbay 1750.
(Ime older than I look)
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My father had a Hillman Minx. He bought it new in around 1954 so it was a sidevalve jobbie (I would have been 6 at the time so forgive my somewhat inexact memories). He only used it occasionaly during the year except on holidays when it transported family from Edinburgh to South coast England.
I recall one journey taking ages due to clouds of steam issuing regularly from the engine .IIRC it was the water pump.
Bulbous? Yes. Underpowered? Yes but by the standards of the early post war cars it was modern. Ford were building situpand beg Populars, the Morris Minor was sidevalve and the roads were relatively empty. Motorways and dual cabbageways were not even a dream then.
Show my age:-). He sold it after 6 years bought an 1100cc Morris Minor and then an MG1100. So you could say he was a Rover driver:-)
In those days a 997cc Mini Cooper S was the beesknees. Today it would be outperformed by a Saxo 1.1 Standards have changed..(and they were not very good cars as very prone to rust..)
madf
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In those days a 997cc Mini Cooper S was the beesknees. Today it would be outperformed by a Saxo 1.1 Standards have changed..(and they were not very good cars as very prone to rust..) madf
Most cars were very prone to rust in those days.
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In those days a 997cc Mini Cooper S was the beesknees. Today it would be outperformed by a Saxo 1.1 Standards have changed..(and they were not very good cars as very prone to rust..)
I remember hearing that one front wing on a Mini used to rot away and the other used to survive due to the transverse engine having a side-mounted radiator which dried one side of the car out - am I right or did I dream that?
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You and I are the same age, madf (1948 was an excellent year for port!). My father had an A40 Devon which would seem convnetional now but was ahead of the competition in its day by having an OHV engine, four gears and (I think) independent front suspension).
It was also pretty reliable by the standards of its day - I don't remember it ever stranding us. My first car was a 1955 A50 bought when it was 14 years old and that never let me down either.
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You and I are the same age, madf (1948 was an excellent year for port!). My father had an A40 Devon which would seem convnetional now but was ahead of the competition in its day by having an OHV engine, four gears and (I think) independent front suspension). It was also pretty reliable by the standards of its day - I don't remember it ever stranding us. My first car was a 1955 A50 bought when it was 14 years old and that never let me down either.
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Yes 1948 was a wonderfull year to be born. 1947 and 1949 were great years for Claret, but I've never bought a Rover.
I have always thought that old Vauxhalls were the worst driven cars around.
A pal of mine wants a Rover 75 diesel, with leather, I wonder if there are any around?
PS I wish I had been born in 1968/1978.
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When I grew up in the North East, my mate boasted about his Dads Avenga (his pronunciation). Come to that I new people who towed a caravan with a Hunter, and I dont think it was the Holbay 1750. (Ime older than I look)
I knew someone who towed a caravan with a 1500 Hunter too. I drove one for a short while back in 1977 and I must say I didn't consider it was a bad car for the time.
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why do you do 40 in a 60 and then carry on at 40 in a 30?
and presumably followed him at this speed in the 30? ;-)
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"and presumably followed him at this speed in the 30?"
good point wise guy ;]
however not the case. when i'm doing 30 they're pulling away at a steady rate.
this rover style of driving (CRV - constant rover velocity) is especially annoying when you know the road well and come to a village which is followed by a long straight. you slow to 30, the rover carries on. by the time you've left the village and speeded up the rover is half way down the straight, and by the time you've caught up with him you've run out of straight.
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>>this rover style of driving (CRV - constant rover velocity) is especially annoying
I forget the times this has happened to me.But its a fact of life annoying as it is.Though its not always a rover thats doing it.As implied
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Steve
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Ho Chi,
"Today I got stuck behind a rover. I've lost count of the times that it's happened before, but as I followed him at 35-40 mph on a 60 I had time to examine his car."
So you really had time to examine his car? Well you can't of examined it that well because from your description it sounds more like an MG than a Rover... So perhaps you were brain dead at the time?? ;-) Or perhaps you're just being ignorant, like many people seem to be when they refer to MG's as being Rovers?? ;-)
As already pointed out on here, the points you've raised can be said for most manufacturers. Hondas for example seem to be frequently driven by the elderly. Likewise Toyotas, Nissans and Hyundias. Fords, Vauxhalls, Mercedes, VWs and even BMWs can also driven by old people. This "old man" image that has been attached to Rover definitely didn't exist 15 years ago.
"what will you drive when the last rover falls apart because of all the tat added to them?" - Hopefully they will be driving the same make and model as you're driving. I wonder if then you'd be more tolerant toward them?
From what I've seen I would guess that the average age of the MG ZR, ZS and ZT driver is significately lower than the equivalent Rover models, although like almost any make and model you will get older people driving them too. In fact I must confess to knowing a 65 year old that drives an MG ZT - my father. I would say he's one of the oldest people I've seen driving one of the MG Z cars. I've been in the car with him when he's been driving at 40mph in a 60. I've also been in the car with his when I've had to cling on for dear life!!!
Perhaps the guy you followed was just sightseeing and wanted to take his time??
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MGs are Rovers. When MG made completely different cars they could be called MG's. When they rebadge 10 year old cars and put silver on them , they only deserve to be called Rover.
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Adam
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While MG's are the old, re-branded Rovers, they do attract different people...however, while I've seen plenty of younger folk in the MG ZR, and a few in the ZT, it seems the ZS and the majority of ZT drivers, are in fact, elderly.
Rover's (or MG's, whatever) have been the preserve of those who value 'tradition', epitomised by the wood-laden interiors of the cars, who typically are of a 50+ age. But I find it helpful, because seeing a Rover up ahead is a bit like the driver wearing a sign saying "I could do ANYTHING next: be prepared!"
Rover provided a valuable service Ho Chi, so don't knock em. Cause these people will hold up our roads, turn left indicating right, and brake for every bend no matter what their speed, if the majority of them are in Rover-group cars, we're all that bit safer cause we know to be ready for it.
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Well until recently, I had a MGZT. Utterly brilliant car. I'm 37 (just) and have held a Police Grade 1 Advanced qualification for 8 years. Every driver is different. This appears to be yet another thread started with the intention of knocking the cars, for no good reason.
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THe ZT is a little different mlc because it's based on a newish car. I for one wasn't knocking that, I was knocing the the old MG 214's etc - for a very good reason.
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Adam
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The ZR and the ZS are also different to their Rover equivalent. Even most of the motoring press acknowledge this, with the ZS especially having a fantastic chassis, embarassing many so called "newer" rivals in the handling and steering department.
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Ok. I'm happy for the people who have ZR and ZS's. Personally, even if they had Rolls Royce Merlin engines I wouldn't have one. New chassis or not, they're old Rovers.
In any event, that is not what this thread is about.
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Adam
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The ZR and the ZS are also different to their Rover equivalent. Even most of the motoring press acknowledge this, with the ZS especially having a fantastic chassis, embarassing many so called "newer" rivals in the handling and steering department.
So the MG ZR has a different chassis from the Rover 25? I thought that they'd just sorted the suspension out to make it a bit firmer and stuck some low profile alloys on it.
I agree, when i drove it, the handling was good around the bends. It's just a shame that many of the cars newer rivals cause it much embarassment in every way other than the handling and performance. I wouldn't even contemplate buying one after I looked at them, I went in with the cash ready to buy a brand new one and was so put off by it's appalling levles of seating adjustment and generally poor build that I ran a mile.
I'm sorry, but the entire MG range, with the exception of the TF, is just rebadged Rovers with better suspension and more highly tuned engines. If someone tells me that they actually use different chassis and floorpans for the MG range then I would question why on earth they didn't just design different cars altogether.
Blue
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Perhaps the guy you followed was just sightseeing and wanted to take his time??
You're saying it is OK for someone to drive slowly because they are concentrating on the scenery, not the road ?
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"This appears to be yet another thread started with the intention of knocking the cars, for no good reason."
Wrong. Knocking the drivers.
And incorrectly :-)
I would not be seen dead in a Rover..
madf
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Many people are as quite a few have been converted into hearses!
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>> Perhaps the guy you followed was just sightseeing and wanted to >> take his time?? >> You're saying it is OK for someone to drive slowly because they are concentrating on the scenery, not the road ?
>
OK, that wasn't one of my best statements!!! Perhaps his passengers wanted to sight see??
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So you're saying it's OK for someone to deliberately hold up traffic so his passengers can look out of the window? ;-)
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Adam
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I don't think people need to get upset by this thread, and I'm glad that the moderators have let it run. Everyone's entitled to their opinion: most of us don't like bad driving, some don't like Rovers (I think unfairly but that's just my opinion), and some decry MGs as just hotted-up Rovers.
To the last I can't resist pointing out that the first MGs were hotted-up Bullnose Morrises, in the mid-1920s, several years before the first Midget appeared.
My first new car was an MG 1300 in 1971; although it could be termed a hotted-up Morris, it had a 70 bhp version of the A-series engine whereas the MG Midget at that time had only 65 bhp (I never discovered why). It had four seats, was far more practical and cost half as much to insure for a 23-year-old. I had a folding sunroof fitted and that was at least partial open-air motoring.
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I don't think people need to get upset by this thread, and I'm glad that the moderators have let it run.
We did have one comment sent to us that they didn't feel the need to be called brain dead because of the car that they drive and that plenty of other people drive different types of cars in the fashion mentioned.
I replied that it's the stereotypical society in which we tend to live in unfortunately. The likes of Top Gear and other motoring programmes do tend to brainwash people into thinking that Rover drivers are old men in trilby hats with the tartan rug on the parcel shelf - that's not my personal view, btw, just how I percieve thje comments given on motoring programmes in general.
In a similar vane lots of people don't bother indicating but it's generally the BMW, Mercedes & Volvo drivers that always get the blame for not doing so.
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I think a few of us are taking this a little too much to heart. I'm pretty sure ho chi whoever didn't mean to insult everyone - that's why he/she said "most Rover drivers" ;-)
Plus the fact, it was only a lighthearted post. No-one really thinks that the moment you buy a Rover you become "braindead" or "slow". If my Dad bought one, I'd take the mick out of him but his driving wouldn't change.
It's just a bit of a joke - nothing serious.
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Adam
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well back to the subject:-)
HCM asked "what will you drive when the last rover falls apart because of all the tat added to them?
- do you have to pass a special exam in bad driving to drive a red or gold rover?"
To which I answer:
Many Rover drivers have graduated to other cars - more tat on Saxos than Rovers imo.
Obviously bad drivers graduate from Rovers to Saxos..and drive a lot faster as they become more proficient - like 60 mph outside our house - in a 30mph limit and 100 metres away from a school:-(
So Rover drivers are clearly not the worst. Give me a dawdler in a Rover anyday to drivers like the Saxo I refer to ( a gold car!:-)
Are all Saxo VTR/VTS drivers brain dead as well? :-)
madf
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I think you are missing the point Adam.The post was directed at rover drivers.Ie most,original message about what rover drivers do is in my opinion not a valid one.Had it been put some drivers do this.not specificaly pointing out a certain motor.Fair comment,as I was first to post I dont think certain things should have been said.It generaly says most rover drivers are the same.I really dont have a problem with original post apart from that.I suspect from wording it was serious.TBH I really dont care.So wont say anymore!We are not all the same...Rather hope this thread is forgotten
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Steve
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I know it was directed at Rover drivers Steve - I just don't think it should be taken as that much of an insult. Just a lighthearted comment.
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Adam
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Light hearted comment?????
As a 75 year old Rover Driver I am deeply insulted. I am going for a drive shortly and will wear my floppy white hat to express my opinion. BMW drivers please try to keep up round the twisty bits.
Cannot find my tartan rug so will put pink blanket on back shelf instead.
Happy Motoring Phil I
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I think the insults in this thread warrant your tweed flat cap Phil. Don't you?
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Adam
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Not quite that bad Adam. I always think the flat cap looks a bit peculiar worn back to front....
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I would have replied to a couple of the points made, but I've been stuck behind a Rover for the last few days and was delayed in getting home.
Firstly - of course my original post was light hearted.
While I agree that any car can be driven by any fool, i.e. badly, my point was that, from my experience, a greater proportion of Rover drivers do drive slowly and badly.
I'm not saying that all people should drive fast for the sake of it. Simply, that if you are holding up several vehicles, (whatever your model of Rover or MG ZT, ZR, ZR-tat, zzz) it doesn't take much energy to pull over and let them past.
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I'm not saying that all people should drive fast for the sake of it. Simply, that if you are holding up several vehicles, (whatever your model of Rover or MG ZT, ZR, ZR-tat, zzz) it doesn't take much energy to pull over and let them past.
Or indeed if you're driving any car slowly.....
I ust admit, I don't see the Rover stereotype round here so much.
We do seem to have more than our fair share of Rovers, but sunday drivers do seem to come in a variety of cars. Some are holiday makers taking in the scenery, others are just slow anyway and some drive tracters and JCBs etc.
The tracters and JCBs and those who know they're driving slowly pull over on a regular basis, as I do if I'm towing my 2.7 tonne trailer fully laden if I need to. The problem we have around here is some (but not all) slow drivers in cars with/without caravans, and camper vans.
Why - I don't know. I can only assume that they are often not aware of people behind them, or they don't feel they're driving that slowly.
The problem is that any indication/reques for them to let you pass safely is so often interpreted as agressive. In this situation I try to be patient and wait for some straight road to overtake. I have occasionally been known to flash the lights and indicate right whilst keeping a distance. That has worked but more often that not, it is ineffective. So I am then stuck behind them. Tough.
On the other hand, how do we all behave when we're driving at what we believe is a sensible speed and someone wants to overtake us?
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