I live in the south west of England and our Indian restaurants are a bit behind the times- genuinely one of my local ones has just redecorated with wallpaper that looks near enough exactly like James's shirt.

🤣🤣🤣

😂😂😂

Classic 😂

💀💀💀🤣🤣🤣

I do believe its sometimes tribal loyalty to a brand. .... Think thats bad try Ford pick up v Chevy /GM pick - in the US. People will argue till cows come home which truck is more powerful/better - never ends.

God isn’t that the truth

Your Right One Of The Best Sayings In The World Ever Best Health.

I think that's starting to change, people wouldn't take a second glance at a mk2 Renaultsport Clio 5 years ago, but now they're all the rage it seems.

I had one of these, bought it in 1993, what an awesome machine with an unbelievable engine 🥰 I loved it! So true they they just wanted to go, go, go!

It is modified, suspension for a start. The reason you don't see them, is because they all fell apart and rusted away. Great engine, utter shyte car.

Rusted away or crashed sadly

@@DjNikGnashers So did Fords of this era.

@@TheSimonhammond Yes, agreed. I never really liked the Mk3/Mk4/Mk5/Mk6 Escort's they were shyte lol. I stock with my Mk2 for many years, and owned about a dozen of them.

@@DjNikGnashers Vauxhall did solve their rust problem though; something that VW and Ford STILL haven't done.

here in Brazil we had Chevrolet Omega 4.1 basically an Opel Omega with an old American in-line-6 Chevrolet 12V engine modernized with fuel injection by British Lotus.

EE middle finger with a bearded guy and a olive on its head? That picture comes with more species?

Life storytelling

Spot on👍

Or any old automatic

So true.. youngsters nowadays have no idea what driving is.. they get behind the wheel of a golf R and think they’re Stirling moss.. be a different story trying to hang on to a 205 gti with a mi16 swap on a country road

Vauxhall cavalier?

​@@assettojoyriderok enjoy a narrow goliwog

Digital dash / 150 MPH 😊

Agreed the Astra GTE was top of its game back in the day. Not the joke Vauxhall is today.

right, from the virtually bullet proof Mk3 Cavalier SRi to the piece of junk self destructing Vectras.

If I recall it was newer emissions regs that killed the Red Top which is a shame, as it was one of the best 4-cyl engines ever made.

90s Vauxhalls are pants, the Corsa B, Astra F & G (mk3 & 4) and the Vectra A, all poor cars, however the VXR Range did bring something back before they lost their way Again!

Spot on,I had the ecotec version and it was worse and the cam belt went!

Whey

Me an a mate went half's on a clean H Reg Black 5 door 8v aged 19/20 for a £100. Good Memory's

Nice car you got now too 😏

Thanks, looks like you do too!

The South African version was even quicker than our version (I think it got hot cams, exhaust etc) with at least 10-15 extra bhp. South Africa also got an insane version of the next gen Astra with a 2.0 16v turbo Calibra engine (200bhp compared to our versions 150bhp) South Africa has had a bunch of crazy quick versions of normal European cars (like the Sierra XR8, a XR6 with a V8 under the bonnet!) I'd love to see tests of insane South African cars!

Dave Kennedy yeah dude. We had minters! The XR8’s were very rare though. More of those in Australia at the time

Close but not the same, the super boss was 170bhp and held the world record for torque/litre for a naturally aspirated car until 2009! Only 500 were built. www.speedhunters.com/2019/12/the-opel-kadett-superboss-legend-lives-on/

mips thanks for the clarification. That yellow SB of my aunt’s … phwoar

@@artpereira I nearly purchased a used one around '95 as my first car, luckily a few older/wiser work colleagues brought me to my senses.

Engine help came from Lotus, they designed the head to sit on the 8v block.

My 16V Golf was very nearly as quick,you had to rev it past 5000 up to 7000 with no variable valve timing then,still way quicker than today's eco diesels

@@adams7405 the Golf was heavier and 20-30bhp down on power and only a 1.8 compared to a 2.0. I thrashed my mates mk 2 Golf 16v and it honestly felt miles behind performance wise. The mk 3 Golf was even heavier and needed a 2.8 V6 to match the acceleration (but it did whip it on top end as the VR6 did over 140mph compared to the GTE 16v 136mph) But the Golfs were better built and haven't rusted away like the Astras.

@@bespincustompropsbombarta8300 I think you're talking about the engine in the Chevette HSR. Another great engine but the predecessor to the 20xe.

@@davekennedy6315 your right but, it was the successor, Lotus designed the head on the Ecotec.

Same here mate! I initially had an early 1.8 GTE and then got a F reg red GTE 16v (the first Coscast head version with no cat) I used to do 130+mph daily down the A120 for the 4 or 5 years that I owned it. The Red Top was the best 16 valve engine for years. I drove a mates Golf GTi 16v and it was nowhere near as quick and had nowhere near the torque (had the edge on build quality and possibly cornering though) The Golf felt more like my 1.8 GTE performance wise! Plus as id had GTEs for so long I learnt a bunch of tricks to get the car cornering faster than most would trust (the car often felt like it wouldn't make a fast corner, but as long as you were committed it'd fly round no problems. I miss it just as I do the 90s when I had it, the best decade and best car Ive had!

@@davekennedy6315 I had a white F Reg one with Vauxhall racing stripes down the rear wings. Used to rag the crap out of going down the A127 to Southend on a Friday and Saturday night. Used to get a ton of torque steer and understeer out the corners but not much could stick with it in a straight line. Ended up trading it in for a new 306GTi-6, now that thing could corner !

@@w1ldwesty nice, I probably saw you there no doubt haha! Yeah the torque steer was sometimes worrying, it often used to spin up (in numerous gears!) in the wet and then suddenly grip (with the dash showing about double the speed you were actually doing!) and throw you towards the other side of the road! Entertaining for me, worrying for nervous passengers haha! It used to love high speeds and at 130 or so the revs would be around 6000+, so they were hardly relaxing at speed (you certainly knew that if you crashed that'd be the end for you!) That GTI6 was a fine follow on as they were great cars, the press used to rave about them. You've got good taste!

True, and yet there's that feeling that it could still have been so much better, if only Opel/Vauxhall had put a little more effort into making the interior look juat that little bit more luxurious. That engine was pure gold and the chassis was way better than it had a right to be. I've owned two of it's very underpowered kid brothers: the (in)famous Opel Kadett 1,6 Diesel and later the Kadett 1,6 GT and though severely lacking in power, there was not much wrong with the handling. The fun thing about that diesel was that when it needed new shocks, my local shop advised Kayaba's. Those were much stiffer than the original shocks and they transformed even that humble diesel, showing how well designed that chassis was. It became a sport to me to overtake sporty BMW's and it's likes on the inside lane in the tight corners that are so popular in European cloverleaf traffic points, effortlessly holding the inside lane while laughing at the disbelieving faces of the drivers who were struggling to hold their BMW and other more "sporty" cars in the outside lane. Mind you, as soon as the road straightened out all I saw was their taillights disappearing in the distance, but those short moments in those corners were priceless. My later Kadett 1,6 GT had much of that same vibe: still lacking power but equipped with a close-ratio 5 speed it would accelerate quite nicely and touch 200kph on the speedometer, almost keeping up with the BMW 318's and 320's of it's day in both rolling acceleration and top speed. In my opinion Opel/Vauxhall never did get interiors and suspension setup right, probably due to money saving issues, and that detracted a lot of potential buyers. The comparable VW Golf had an interior that looked and felt so much nicer and a suspension that was just more sorted out. Look back at the brilliant Calibra, a car só advanced in exterior styling that many people are still convinced Opel/Vauxhall could reintroduce that car today without any problems.

Yep the 1.8 engine was as hard as nails!

Loved my XR2 was a buzzy little car great fun. Had to wind it up to get the most out of it. Metallic blue. Also remember one could visit a vehicle scrap yard to get bits if anything needed replacing.

The superboss looks better too. Still isn't pretty but it's got just enough extra on it compared to this that you don't need a 2nd glance to know it's the hot one.

That is a sick name

I believe there was a GSi Boss and then the Super-Boss

The "C.E.O." version was even better yet!

I was thinking that exactly while watching this. My uncle worked for GM and he brought home a black Super Boss once. Crazy quick car.

Was this stay Pontiac LeMans for the us because I don't know if we had the equivalent car here in the US I know Vauxhall is a UK brand name however was this under the Pontiac label

Had an 8 valve and a 16v never had any issue with torque steer once, chronic under steer yes lol until I dumped them 60mm and put on front and rear strut braces which transformed them. But confused when he said great chassis because compared to the RS, GTI and the mk1 GTE the mk2 was not good.

Someone say torque steer? SAAB 900 Turbo enters the chat.

Ferocious Mullet Mazda 3 Mps It would change lanes all by its self

Don't forget the highly predictable lift off oversteer

you're a bit late. They have all rusted through or been preserved

Shone. Dont forget the Senator for the more discerning speed freak.

@@Random-nf7qb I'm not too late. I'm now in the chance of saving up for one I have a well paid job. Currently doing up a 1996 Corsa B GSI Rep build with a SAAB B204 Motor

@notformebeaky I'll give you a race, then you'll eat your negative words.

@notformebeaky who said the road,you probably can't drive!

You must be all legs mate 😂

Spot on

The most other 16valve Engines From this Time had only 1.8Liter but Yeah the C20XE is a real legendary Engine 😍powerful, high torque and Good Fuel consumption

@@ddkadettturbo shame vauxhall cheaped out on the heads after 90/91?

Was the 150 bhp in the clio williams torqueless. Was supposed to be another ok engine?

@@bensmithkent22 The 2.0 16v Williams F7R engine wasn't torque less at all. It had 136lb from 2500rpm all the way to 6800rpm with 1000kg it could pull really well. Not sure it was better than the red top as the F7r wasn't really an engine you could get much more than 200bhp tops without big money being spent. Where some Cams in a red top would get you nearly at 200bhp.

Astra GTE and then Astra GTE 16v, there was quite a noticeable a difference

All shite

Yep and it normally went hedge , garden wall and then house lol

Not a bad induction!

Did it get stolen ? Most of them never seen their owners again after being left for over 60 seconds

Digital dash before the were fashionable. All the trend now...!! 🤪

DJ DJ yeah that piss poor 1.6 made 158bhp in the 91 onwards model in a car that actually handled. Other variations of that piss poor engine made 167 and 182 BHP in Japan. How’s your porous head looking?

My first hot hatch was a ‘92 VTi in Milano Red. Amazing car and drivetrain. Very interesting lift off oversteer that made the 205 look tame but I still miss it!

I'll always remember doing *4*mph in my GTE 16v side by side with a Civic down the A414 to Hertford (England). We just about had enough time to give the thumbs up to each other

I try :)

Except you can. Back in the mid 90's quicker rwd stuff (including V6 engined Capris) were always seen as alternatives to hot hatches by the younger generations of petrolhead

Was 3 camps at college in the late 80s early 90s.....mk 2 escorts and capris.....hot hatch fiesta supersports xr2 golf's......Italian stuff alfasuds 33s. Even when hot hatches were at their height folks still chose rear drive instead of wrong wheel drive.

@@leegoodwin9233 you're forgetting the 2 other groups that use to laugh at these groups in their mirrors, the Quattro, integrale rich boys and the cya mate bikers.

Indeed, the Mi16 lump was more powerful and yet a smaller engine.

I always wanted a Montego Turbo. My mates dad had one as a kid in the early 80's. Felt to me like a rocket ship. I went on holidays with them to Italy one summer in it. The entire thing stunk fish due to the glue they were using at the time not taking well to the heat on the mainland of Europe. Good times. The dash to 12-13 year old me was the best thing ever.

@@ferociousmullet9287 My dad had a black D reg one. I was 10 years old at the time. I remember loving it when he floored it, and vividly remember him battling with the massive torque steer they suffered from.

@@ferociousmullet9287 Montego Turbos were not fast really. I had a Pug 405 1.9 GRi around that time. 120Bhp i think. I could beat my mate in his Montego Turbo much to his annoyance....

@@dj_paultuk7052 I had an 1.9Sri Peugeot which had 128bhp, basically the 205 engine with more torque. Quite the Q car. Lovely broad spread of power, nice and revvy, fantastic chassis. I remember seeing off Jaguar leaving him a flail, trying to stop his car going into a ditch. Good days!!

and moved onto a Wliiiams Clio as Jay also mentions

Richie Btime the cavalier made sense the nova and Astra were so easy to pinch, my mum had a 1.4 Astra starmist which was a special ed which had the GTE SEATS and nice alloys and it got stolen twice! With a screw driver

Indeed. In the 90s *Courtney turbos* would to a turbo kit for the 2ltr and some (2ltr) Novas had 260hp - spin the wheels in 1st 2nd 3rd sometimes 4th gear absolutely mental ! Courtney also did a 300hp turbo conversation for the astra.

Quite a few went in mk1 and 2 escorts. Kit cars etc for rwd fun.

Check with DVLA if it is still on the road it probably isn't.....

For 3 years I owned a Nova GTE. Bought it at 67k miles and sold it on 167k miles. So reliable, great fun. The fuel pump relay went phut and even then spluttered home 2 miles. £20 later, good as gold again. Sold it for £450 and a year later I did an HPi on it and found it had been written off. I had a dream about a month ago that I still had it and was going to bring it back out the shed...if only I had the foresight to have kept it back then :-( White 1990 H reg model.

@Sabretooth Banacle I had the exact same car in 1989. The mk1 was imo a nicer car, it was quick too for what it was used to beat xr3i's easily.

I had the Cav GSI too, it was a stripped out BTCC theme with Safety Devices cage, went to SBD to get throttle bodies, cams and group A touring car bits from Mallock engineering who did Clelands car. The car handled great, stiffer and better than the Sapphire Cosworth imho, the XE engine is brilliant for N/A tuning

I had a Gsi - loved it. Wish I'd kept it. My mate had the 16v Astra at the same time. Preferred my Gsi

Did you ever get to drive one? There were ugly, but a riot to drive. Highly recommend. also had a Peaguoet 205 1.9Gti, also fantastic, but in a different way (and a couple of Golf GTis, but everyone had those).

@@neilhutton2868 no, my brother in law had one, a Mk1 GTE and a 90s GSi. He still reckons the GSi is one of the best cars he ever owned! I preferred the light and flimsy French stuff. Although given current values I regret selling some of them!

Car thieves. These were the wet dream of every car thief in England.

Both rust and car thieves contributed to killing these cars. They rusted from the rear arches outwards. Back in the 90s you needed a decent alarm and immobiliser to beat the thieves.

I don't know why people bang on about the golf so much. They've never impressed me.

I had the GTE 16v too, enjoyed it so much, had a few ( lol ) races on the streets with many cars, on a straight the Cozzy would win but on back lanes or even regular streets the GTE 16v wollops a Cozzy.

It's quality isn't nearly as good as this Astra, though. Ours had less power, worse trim, worse materials and even the wheels look worse. But still, the Chevrolet Kadett GSi was produced and manufactured in Brazil, and I'm happy to see it has an even angrier and better brother in Europe!

Eu lembro meu primeiro vez olha Kaddett GSI e observa motor!!!!!! Eu fala onde 16v motor!!!! Ele informa Brazil nao tem! Meu deus eu nao compra carro