I had a '74 Austin Marina GT (US) and I would say the best part of it was the engine and transmission combination. The engine was the MG 1800 with a British Borg Warner automatic. It had torsion bars in front and lief spring in the rear. It was a bit unstable in frosty weather. I drove it to work here in Vancouver, Washington (US) for many years.
I'm not really interested in hyper-mileage cars, personally. I just think that it's wrong to call the Prius the worst car ever. We may not like what it started and the direction things are going, but you should appreciate it's engineering at least. They got something to work that no one would have believed just 10 years ago. As much as I fear for the future of internal-combustion, I'm more worried about cars that drive themselves. Now THAT'S a piss-poor car, if they finally make it.
@justforever96 actually there are many cars just like Prius, in Europe. Prius was just the only one in America. And since Americans thinks they are "the only in world" thats why its saying "prius is the ONLY ....". How pathetic is that ...
@HowkeyLL I'm going to resist using bad language, although I resent your suggestion that I'm an arrogant American that thinks I'm better than Europeans. I do not. In fact I have a low opinion of most of my country these days. But I am curious...where did I say that the Prius was the only hybrid? I implied that the Prius was the FIRST (mass-produced), not the ONLY hybrid. Is that incorrect somehow? And in any case, it doesn't credit the US much being after all, a Japanese car.
@justforever96 You didnt, but many did. Also sry for that USA opinion but sadly as you see its many times true. Also many American cars cant even run in Europe due to emissions etc. Yes its first mass-produced, but many people confuses it with "first". I dont hate Prius, its just that i can get same mpg with many better built cars. Yes i like that there is "try" to make new sources of energy in cars. For example o look really forward to see Octavia E line.
@HowkeyLL Truely; If I was looking for a car that got great MPG, I could find one that did it as well with far less complexity and cost. The Prius isn't worst car ever, but I wouldn't want to drive one. Most people buy them to feel warm and fuzzy for saving the planet, when they'd do better to just walk to the store instead. And it's funny how so many US cars can't run in Europe, while in the past we couldn't have Euro diesels because they weren't "clean" enough.
@justforever96 The worst part is that in US many people say "lets go all electric-ecologicly" but the main issue is that 45 percent of energy in US is still from Coal plants. In Europe its about 10 percent or less.
I dunno...I wouldn't mind driving a funky, ugly old car like one of those. But what's up with the 4 rear-view mirrors on the Marino? Doesn't that get points for innovation, or was that common on old English cars?
@justforever96 I had a 1972 Marina, and it only had one rear-view mirror - on the driver's door. I believe to have two would have been an 'optional extra'.
Before the 1970s, cars often had their mirrors on the front wing, but I'm assuming this one would only have had the one mirror fitted originally. You wouldn't normally have two sets fitted like this.
Well I like both of em...no one nowadays have a design like that (funny one:allegro) and a "near" beauty (marina), know both for most of the brit soldiers here in germany had either one of the two, or another crapcar: leyland princess...
? its famous (princess) for its unreliability and crap-quality (rust, engineering etc) and it was not cheap, you could by a vw or a opel for the same money. but back then (mid-end 70s) on my way to school only the brit-cars (maxi, princess, mini, allegro, marina, 1100s etc) were the eye-catchers to me, they were like "cars from outer space " or so...
@peaceman1234567 Agreed, but amusingly, Citreon beat all the german manufacturers in the 2010 reliability survey. So did Ford :-D . Peugeot and Renault (the Clio being the exception) however...at the bottom where one would expect them to be.
@peaceman1234567 Yea, but Citroens were atleast very comfortable, looked nice, very nicely made and were very advanced technologically, these pieces of crap were soft and leaning in corners, and still were uncomfortable.
my father a marina mk8 ITAL when I was 11.It was utter shite.The prop shaft broke after less than 10000 miles.Something went wrong with it every year.The only good points was it high quality steel and good paintwork.We had it 8 years before it was scrapped.Not a single cm of rust.
@edwardszzz Hi there something wrong there pal.The Marina only went up to the MK3 and they never made a "Marina MK8 Ital,but more strangly is the high quality steel used in it's manufacture (a fact that i have to admit as a Marina fan that the Ital was not known for) and to keep a "shite" car for 8 years surely it can have been that bad?
Unless of course i have incorrectly read your post and indeed your father is indeed "a Marina MK8 Ital" if so is that some kind of android or cyborg life unit?
Yeah yeah same old tune, can't British journalists come up with something new. Yes the allegro had a whiny gearbox and the marina had slightly mushy suspension. Almost every other car of similar price had far worse faults.
Both cars resisted serious rust well, both were economical with solid chain driven engines. renault 12 wet road handling anyone? golf mk1 brakes, rattles and wet road grip, Sud electrics, datsun rust? citroen servicing ahh!!!! We've got no industry because of pricks like JC
@bluedick321 Chain driven engines? Are you refering to the drivetrain, or to the camshaft drive? I suspect the latter, but it's a real suprise if it's the former.
@justforever96 Yep the cam chain, modern engines/cars esp french need scrapping when the cambelt jumps, stretches or snaps.( bitter former £16k Renault owner, had to dump 6 yr old car on ebay for 600 quid.)
@bluedick321 That's what I thought. But there have also been belt driven cars; I've just never seen a FWD one. Sadly, I think that most engines are belt drive now. They are supposedly quieter (if that sort of thing interests you), but I'd guess they're also cheaper to make, and it's not in a makers interests to make cars last too long; just enough to get out of warranty. I had a belt go on me, but luckily the Ford CVT engine is non-interference so the valves didn't hit the pistons.
The Allegro I say is hideous but the Marina wasn't so ugly it would stand out in a crowd of other British cars of the day until later in it's life. The outdated mechanicals and horrendous build quality were the real downfall of both cars. Don't forget this was a time when the Japanese were breaking out of their home market and starting to sell cars in large volume around the world and were catching local car makers off guard. Everyone from BL to FIAT to GM were slow to respond.
Without Doubt the Marina is the Worst British Made Car in the whole of History for sure ( it was less Areodynamic than what Morris was building 20 years earlier & Technologically Inferior to them as well, Why on earth put all round Drum Brakes on a car in the 1970's when they had been rendered obsolete when the MK-1 Triumph Herald came along in the early 1950's you start to wonder in disbelief)
I've only ever seen 1 in the whole of Bedford (& only as a rusted Driveway Wreck).
@michaelfergusonuk Even if it's the worst ever made, the fact that it's The Most Anything in history makes them interesting and worth saving, in my opinion. The Chauchat may have been the worst machine gun (some say military arm even) in history, but I'd still think it a crime to consign one to the scrap heap, especially as with the Marina, they are getting few and far between.
@saiiad737 I don't think that's true at all. The Prius is a great piece of engineering and decent transportation...if that's what floats your boat. I'd rather have one of those then a friggin Smart ED; at least the Prius HAS an engine, and it is a sports car next to the ED (20-something seconds 0-60mph, anyone?). It's certainly appropriate that they decided to call it the "ED", which is a pretty accurate decription of the effect it has on most car lovers. And then there's the Aztek...
how about the romanian Dacia? i'm pritty sure that the dacia is even worst than the morris. they did't spend 1 pound on development. all they did is get an order from nicolaie ceausescu to brake is to the renault factory and steal an renault 12
I dont care , clarksons only trying to be contraversial, as usual,,, motoring is about how much you enjoy it,,, I had the best years of my life with my mate, in his morris marina tc,, great days.
@soundslave 1960's? You consider a Jaguar E-Series junk? And in the US, the 1960's was considered the second Golden Age (depending on who you ask). With the Camaro, Corvette, the GTO and the Mustang, they owere great right up until the 1970's, and then things got dismal. Of course it all depends on what you like it a car, but I think to call cars like that awful is more than narrow minded. 1950's cars were lookers, but they were designed to last no more than 6 years; disposable cars.
Britain is the worlds whore. we make nothing, we were the biggest ship-building country on the planet, and the best, we have no industry we are a nation of call centres, and that is being sold off to people who cannot speak the language
@vindicari Don't worry, the US is on the same track, only you guys had a head start. I think it's the natural way of things...countries can become the worlds leaders, but can they survive it? Think Rome. Kind of like finding a celebrity that lived a satisfying, healthy and fufilling life. Doesn't happen often. Wealth will ruin you. At least the US has a whole continent to work with, when we finally hit rock bottom. And Britain has the sack and nerve. It's for the best, really.
@gt3510 you talk pish my response was satirical (square wheel) your response (fuck up) was just sheer ignorance. but then you may not have had the advantage of being brought up in a civilised educated family
@gt3510 I reiterate clarkson is an asshole. look around you every fekkin car on the road is french (cowardly b,stards) or german (I thought they lost the fekkin war) or Japanese
@vindicari why are you talking about Britian. this has nothing to do with Britian, just you complaining about Clarkson. i dont care what you think about Britian. Im Australian. wha if t i really mean is you dont like Clarkson don't watch videos of himand then complain about him on a video that fans of his will watch..
@vindicari "go sit on a redback in your dunnie convict"
Well, that was certainly an astute and intelligent reply, one which goes a long way to illustrating the advantages that your being "brought up in a civilised educated family" brought to you. Of course he deserved it, the damn Aussie convict bastard, trying to argue with a proper Englishman. Who does he think he is?
My dad had a Marina for ten years and cherished it. It was originally his uncle's car from new. Its demise came when the engine started burning oil as my day wasn't one for looking after his cars. It wasn't a bad car at all and managed over 100 000 miles, even with neglect. I have great memories of the Marina, as it was a big part of most of my childhood. The Allegro is hideous and with the intentions to take on the likes of the Alfa Sud, come on, don't make me laugh!
Well the Cortina had leaf springs, as did the Escort, the Falcon, virtually every car made in USA and Japan at the time and most in Europe.
In fact the only car company that consistenly made cars with more modern suspension was... ...British Leyland.
So what is Clarkson on about.
The worst cars in Britain ? Hardly.
How about the Triumph 2.5 PI (engine fires), Vauxhall Chevette (gutless, leaky and rusty), the Issoginess cars (Mini, 1100 and 1800, which stalled when it rained).
I had an Allegro with a 1500 O series engine in and apart from looking hideous and having all the road holding of a blancmange it wasn't that bad a car.
Performance was just on the right side of OK and fuel consumption was excellent.
I wouldn't have bought one if it weren't for the fact I desperately needed transport and it was all I could afford. It was 10 yrs old when I got it and in the 2 yrs I had it it never let me down once. Which is the same number of times the oil light went out :-)
all of the money spent on the marina went on designing a monoccoque chassis - instead of a series of weight bearing metal bars with the engine and the car shell on the outside, the car shell was designed to bear the weight of the engine, passengers etc. although i don't know where the other £39,000,000 went
how an earth could they have spent 40m designing the marina.
for styling they got the man who designed the mk2 cortina and asked him to copy it, but make it ugly, they spent no money on the engine, they lifted it out from the mg b, they clearly didnt spend much on the interior or anything else.
Theres no substitute for experience, and in my experience the marina WAS a reliable car. A and B series engines had virtually nothing to go wrong with them, the B in particular would do 200,000 miles. The gearboxes were always a bit marginal however, and the front suspension needed regular greasing.(as opposed to cortina void bushes which needed changing every year) it was built to be a cortina clone at the end of the day, and whilst the handling was poor it did make money for BL
This is so funny! I once knew someone who had an Austin Marina (they were exported to the U.S. in limited numbers) who said it was a horrible car in terms of reliability and handling. I've never seen an Allegro before, but I have to agree with the host in his assessment of "hideously ugly". That steering wheel was a very strange thing, wonder what BL was really thinking....
"The Allegro was designed to take on the Alfsud and the Citroën GS"
Well, I've driven my Dad's Allegro's and my own GS's, and I can tell you that the Allegro was absolutely NO match for the GS in any way. The GS had a far mor comfy ride, handled a lot better and wass less noisy at speed. And my Dad agreed, when I took him for a ride in my GS.
It all fits! Because the Allegro was fitted with a square steering wheel, the driver couldn't hold on to the steering object while making a turn. Austin saw this as a problem and fitted hydrogas suspension to the car to compensate for the harsh ride you had when you drove over the curb. Genius!!
Only the very first Allegro's had a square steering wheel, that design feature was deemed unpopular and removed after about a year. Both the Allegro and the Marina were well designed cars (British Leyland's workers were the major design flaw) but IMO the Allegro was the nastier of the two because it had an identity crisis (it couldn't decide whether it was a hatchback or a saloon)
Rear windows COULD pop out if you jacked it up in the WRONG place. There's a bloody clue in there somewhere. It's like saying you might hurt yourself if you try and walk through a doorway without opening the door first. At the front of many cars Haynes manuals it warns you about this too - it doesn't just affect Allegros!
nothing wrong with datsuns, owned 2 from the 70's and they were reliable and easy to work on, to be fair I think the worst car I ever owned was either a Metro with K series engine or Citroen Xantia... I love the Allegro and Marina actually
That doesn't say much about today's hatchbacks then because cars like the Allegro were the blueprint in design for the standard that followed. Criticizing the Allegro's looks is the world's most tedious response.
All-aggros were horrible ugly little rustbuckets with the panel gaps loosely lined up with claw hammers! same as most of BL in the 70s. If the doors & hatches didn't fall off the engine broke down. I don't think BL stands for British-Leyland. I think it really means Built-Lumphammered!
When my dad had cars many years ago when I was very small. The only cars that never started properly or had the bonnets propped up were BL or French cars. Yes cars back then were an awful build & rusted away faster than bullets can make holes but Nissan/Datsun & Fiat/Lancia/Alfa were a lot less troublesome than BL & weren't actually bashed brutally together with hammers in the factory like BL. Thats why they had that awful reputation for heaps!
That's not entirely true. I've owned 70s cars & I can assure you, Lancia, Alfa & datsun etc were as badly built as any BL product. The Italian cars were appalling. They used cheap nasty Russian meant for fridges steel & the wiring was a joke.
Fiats are an electricians nightmare & don't I bloody know it! If Fiat made a huge brightly lit Xmas tree with city lights it would probably all explode in a huge fireball as soon as someone hits the switch! BL were badly built & everything like mirrors or bumpers & sun visors would & will fall off them on bumpy roads. The alphabet series engines were all really really crap. They hardly had heater plugs or ignition coils which helped to make them crap starters.
I've owned a TR7 which was pretty bloody terrible (build-wise) but by far the worst car I've owned was a Lancia Montecarlo. It didn't rust, it dissolved. You replaced a plug & the exhaust fell off!
the allegro was the first car I ever drove, when I was about 8 years old. my best mates dad was a self employed mechanic and had shitloads of land. once in a while someone would bring an old banger to be fixed, then just never come back to collect it. me and my mate ran that allegro into the ground. cos we could hardly see over the steering wheel we'd run cars into ditches, then go and bug my mates dad to get them out lol. over the years we had shitloads of cars to fuck around in. good times!
that allegro looks like a ford pinto!
JoanJettforever 1 week ago
I had a '74 Austin Marina GT (US) and I would say the best part of it was the engine and transmission combination. The engine was the MG 1800 with a British Borg Warner automatic. It had torsion bars in front and lief spring in the rear. It was a bit unstable in frosty weather. I drove it to work here in Vancouver, Washington (US) for many years.
TheOldcardave 3 weeks ago
This is hillarious:)
clintstrehl631 4 weeks ago
Why a 12 sided prism?
MrDistancenow 2 months ago
I'm not really interested in hyper-mileage cars, personally. I just think that it's wrong to call the Prius the worst car ever. We may not like what it started and the direction things are going, but you should appreciate it's engineering at least. They got something to work that no one would have believed just 10 years ago. As much as I fear for the future of internal-combustion, I'm more worried about cars that drive themselves. Now THAT'S a piss-poor car, if they finally make it.
justforever96 2 months ago
@justforever96 actually there are many cars just like Prius, in Europe. Prius was just the only one in America. And since Americans thinks they are "the only in world" thats why its saying "prius is the ONLY ....". How pathetic is that ...
HowkeyLL 1 month ago
@HowkeyLL I'm going to resist using bad language, although I resent your suggestion that I'm an arrogant American that thinks I'm better than Europeans. I do not. In fact I have a low opinion of most of my country these days. But I am curious...where did I say that the Prius was the only hybrid? I implied that the Prius was the FIRST (mass-produced), not the ONLY hybrid. Is that incorrect somehow? And in any case, it doesn't credit the US much being after all, a Japanese car.
justforever96 1 month ago
@justforever96 You didnt, but many did. Also sry for that USA opinion but sadly as you see its many times true. Also many American cars cant even run in Europe due to emissions etc. Yes its first mass-produced, but many people confuses it with "first". I dont hate Prius, its just that i can get same mpg with many better built cars. Yes i like that there is "try" to make new sources of energy in cars. For example o look really forward to see Octavia E line.
HowkeyLL 1 month ago
@HowkeyLL Truely; If I was looking for a car that got great MPG, I could find one that did it as well with far less complexity and cost. The Prius isn't worst car ever, but I wouldn't want to drive one. Most people buy them to feel warm and fuzzy for saving the planet, when they'd do better to just walk to the store instead. And it's funny how so many US cars can't run in Europe, while in the past we couldn't have Euro diesels because they weren't "clean" enough.
justforever96 1 month ago
@justforever96 The worst part is that in US many people say "lets go all electric-ecologicly" but the main issue is that 45 percent of energy in US is still from Coal plants. In Europe its about 10 percent or less.
HowkeyLL 1 month ago
Jeremy arguing with other people = best thing ever
GuitarnScythes 2 months ago
classic British humor :D
TheDynoSoar 3 months ago
Jeremy Clarkson is a giant twat
danielstephenclarke 3 months ago
@danielstephenclarke yes
vindicari 1 month ago
And then there are LADAs...
thePyrotechnist 4 months ago
Prius is so.cool. Yup eco
moneshmahtani 4 months ago
the prius is the winner
SuperMuddiger 5 months ago
Bloody awful cars and an embarassment to british engineering!!!
hearts76100 6 months ago
I dunno...I wouldn't mind driving a funky, ugly old car like one of those. But what's up with the 4 rear-view mirrors on the Marino? Doesn't that get points for innovation, or was that common on old English cars?
justforever96 6 months ago
@justforever96 I had a 1972 Marina, and it only had one rear-view mirror - on the driver's door. I believe to have two would have been an 'optional extra'.
Before the 1970s, cars often had their mirrors on the front wing, but I'm assuming this one would only have had the one mirror fitted originally. You wouldn't normally have two sets fitted like this.
Woollylinnet 2 months ago
Worst car is the Pontiac Aztec
HardWenis 6 months ago 2
anyone else interesed in starting a company to make pianos just to drop them on Marina's?
metropod 7 months ago
my family had both god what were we thinking at the time
nylonTS 7 months ago 2
no wonder BL were making a loss
TheVx490 8 months ago
I find this video hard to masturbate over
robzyborski 8 months ago in playlist car 2
Crap Vs Crap..........
23vin850 8 months ago 2
clarkson is a prat uter tool
ANTUK4 9 months ago
i was expecting a piano in the end!!
chiang0809466 9 months ago
Well I like both of em...no one nowadays have a design like that (funny one:allegro) and a "near" beauty (marina), know both for most of the brit soldiers here in germany had either one of the two, or another crapcar: leyland princess...
finmarc 10 months ago
@finmarc The Princess was never seen as a crap car? I thought it was seen as one of the good ones?
Genius83 9 months ago
@Genius83
? its famous (princess) for its unreliability and crap-quality (rust, engineering etc) and it was not cheap, you could by a vw or a opel for the same money. but back then (mid-end 70s) on my way to school only the brit-cars (maxi, princess, mini, allegro, marina, 1100s etc) were the eye-catchers to me, they were like "cars from outer space " or so...
finmarc 9 months ago
4:04 ... Thats what she said !
PunktPunktPunkt1 10 months ago
why does the marina have three mirrors?
waterpolovin 11 months ago
Clarkson talking shite again,them horrible corner leaning French Shitrun Citroens were the worst.
peaceman1234567 11 months ago
@peaceman1234567 Agreed, but amusingly, Citreon beat all the german manufacturers in the 2010 reliability survey. So did Ford :-D . Peugeot and Renault (the Clio being the exception) however...at the bottom where one would expect them to be.
Genius83 9 months ago
@peaceman1234567 Yea, but Citroens were atleast very comfortable, looked nice, very nicely made and were very advanced technologically, these pieces of crap were soft and leaning in corners, and still were uncomfortable.
derbigpr500 9 months ago
Of course, this from the man that had to sell his Ford GT! Sorry Clarkson, you've lost the plot.
mitchell8608 11 months ago
3:56 'It's fffffffoul!!!'
MarikkuMage 11 months ago
he looks like a large Austrian body builder riding a tiny tricycle in that thing
MegaAfroGuy 1 year ago
i see an allegro at 1:20
fallingup90 1 year ago
He did not destroy any of them!!! Finnaly this guy has grown up.
psykotanks 1 year ago
@psykotanks I don't know, but I had assumed that this was a show he did before the Marina-wrecking gig came up. I may be wrong.
justforever96 1 month ago
my father a marina mk8 ITAL when I was 11.It was utter shite.The prop shaft broke after less than 10000 miles.Something went wrong with it every year.The only good points was it high quality steel and good paintwork.We had it 8 years before it was scrapped.Not a single cm of rust.
edwardszzz 1 year ago
@edwardszzz Hi there something wrong there pal.The Marina only went up to the MK3 and they never made a "Marina MK8 Ital,but more strangly is the high quality steel used in it's manufacture (a fact that i have to admit as a Marina fan that the Ital was not known for) and to keep a "shite" car for 8 years surely it can have been that bad?
Unless of course i have incorrectly read your post and indeed your father is indeed "a Marina MK8 Ital" if so is that some kind of android or cyborg life unit?
themaneatingchimp 9 months ago
Where's the piano?
fgtxpaco7458ss 1 year ago
Yeah yeah same old tune, can't British journalists come up with something new. Yes the allegro had a whiny gearbox and the marina had slightly mushy suspension. Almost every other car of similar price had far worse faults.
Both cars resisted serious rust well, both were economical with solid chain driven engines. renault 12 wet road handling anyone? golf mk1 brakes, rattles and wet road grip, Sud electrics, datsun rust? citroen servicing ahh!!!! We've got no industry because of pricks like JC
bluedick321 1 year ago
@bluedick321 Chain driven engines? Are you refering to the drivetrain, or to the camshaft drive? I suspect the latter, but it's a real suprise if it's the former.
justforever96 1 month ago
@justforever96 Yep the cam chain, modern engines/cars esp french need scrapping when the cambelt jumps, stretches or snaps.( bitter former £16k Renault owner, had to dump 6 yr old car on ebay for 600 quid.)
bluedick321 1 month ago
@bluedick321 That's what I thought. But there have also been belt driven cars; I've just never seen a FWD one. Sadly, I think that most engines are belt drive now. They are supposedly quieter (if that sort of thing interests you), but I'd guess they're also cheaper to make, and it's not in a makers interests to make cars last too long; just enough to get out of warranty. I had a belt go on me, but luckily the Ford CVT engine is non-interference so the valves didn't hit the pistons.
justforever96 1 month ago
The Allegro I say is hideous but the Marina wasn't so ugly it would stand out in a crowd of other British cars of the day until later in it's life. The outdated mechanicals and horrendous build quality were the real downfall of both cars. Don't forget this was a time when the Japanese were breaking out of their home market and starting to sell cars in large volume around the world and were catching local car makers off guard. Everyone from BL to FIAT to GM were slow to respond.
gamewizard 1 year ago
I want one of those 4-wheeled pudding bowls now, just for the comedy value.
bored1980 1 year ago
Marino is normal car... I bet Clarkson newer drove Tavria or Moskvich, though.
Sizuykeks 1 year ago
@Sizuykeks He drove a Moskvich in the Lada vs. Moskvich Russian car challenge to see which of those were worse.
DevilTakeMe 1 year ago
What a load of bull. The Marina IS the worst car ever made, period.
In second place is everything else British Leyland made, ever.
The only decent cars BL built were the ones the built when they were on strike for the 947th time, ie NONE.
cadillacjim75 1 year ago
Hey, most Ferraris have square steeling wheels.
anthcybo 1 year ago
Without Doubt the Marina is the Worst British Made Car in the whole of History for sure ( it was less Areodynamic than what Morris was building 20 years earlier & Technologically Inferior to them as well, Why on earth put all round Drum Brakes on a car in the 1970's when they had been rendered obsolete when the MK-1 Triumph Herald came along in the early 1950's you start to wonder in disbelief)
I've only ever seen 1 in the whole of Bedford (& only as a rusted Driveway Wreck).
A utter waste of £
michaelfergusonuk 1 year ago
@michaelfergusonuk Even if it's the worst ever made, the fact that it's The Most Anything in history makes them interesting and worth saving, in my opinion. The Chauchat may have been the worst machine gun (some say military arm even) in history, but I'd still think it a crime to consign one to the scrap heap, especially as with the Marina, they are getting few and far between.
justforever96 1 month ago
Well there both better than walking in the rain lol
itsdinger 1 year ago
they wherent dropping pionos on morris's back then how boring...
momodragon 1 year ago
funny
misterdude718 1 year ago
my mom could knit on Allegro's steering Wheel
Tharosa1942 1 year ago
Allegro is the best....from Portugal...
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helanilosy 1 year ago
and everyone goes like, hmmm round ,good idea..
Arcticmonkeys92 1 year ago
Holy cow, an episode from Top Gear where a Marina isn't killed by a piano! Am I dreaming or what?
ta666ak666 1 year ago 10
the worst car ever is the prius
saiiad737 1 year ago 54
@saiiad737 no, it's the fiat multipla.
bastiloetje 8 months ago
@bastiloetje is it a hybrid?
saiiad737 8 months ago
@saiiad737 nope, but it looks disturbing.
Just check google images.
bastiloetje 8 months ago
@bastiloetje haha yeah i totally agree that car is really a ugly mongrel...O_o
MaxVerhaag 7 months ago
@MaxVerhaag i know right?
bastiloetje 7 months ago
@saiiad737 I don't think that's true at all. The Prius is a great piece of engineering and decent transportation...if that's what floats your boat. I'd rather have one of those then a friggin Smart ED; at least the Prius HAS an engine, and it is a sports car next to the ED (20-something seconds 0-60mph, anyone?). It's certainly appropriate that they decided to call it the "ED", which is a pretty accurate decription of the effect it has on most car lovers. And then there's the Aztek...
justforever96 2 months ago
@justforever96 just get a blue motion way better
saiiad737 2 months ago
how about the romanian Dacia? i'm pritty sure that the dacia is even worst than the morris. they did't spend 1 pound on development. all they did is get an order from nicolaie ceausescu to brake is to the renault factory and steal an renault 12
paulhojda 1 year ago
I dont care , clarksons only trying to be contraversial, as usual,,, motoring is about how much you enjoy it,,, I had the best years of my life with my mate, in his morris marina tc,, great days.
edwardfirth49 1 year ago
To be honest, most 1960s/70s cars were awful.
soundslave 1 year ago 2
@soundslave 1960's? You consider a Jaguar E-Series junk? And in the US, the 1960's was considered the second Golden Age (depending on who you ask). With the Camaro, Corvette, the GTO and the Mustang, they owere great right up until the 1970's, and then things got dismal. Of course it all depends on what you like it a car, but I think to call cars like that awful is more than narrow minded. 1950's cars were lookers, but they were designed to last no more than 6 years; disposable cars.
justforever96 1 month ago
B.L. made beutifull cars like these and the Montego
38wd 1 year ago
where's the piano!!!
benasben 1 year ago 2
My friend noticed that the Marina barely deforms as he crashes his fathers old Marina around the yard....
British-Leyland-Demolition Derby anyone?
Jerrydudebad 1 year ago
@Jerrydudebad my dad used to rally a marina and on a off road circuit it beat his friends bmw 3.0 csl
ckeith1987 1 year ago
Britain is the worlds whore. we make nothing, we were the biggest ship-building country on the planet, and the best, we have no industry we are a nation of call centres, and that is being sold off to people who cannot speak the language
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari Don't worry, the US is on the same track, only you guys had a head start. I think it's the natural way of things...countries can become the worlds leaders, but can they survive it? Think Rome. Kind of like finding a celebrity that lived a satisfying, healthy and fufilling life. Doesn't happen often. Wealth will ruin you. At least the US has a whole continent to work with, when we finally hit rock bottom. And Britain has the sack and nerve. It's for the best, really.
justforever96 1 month ago
at least the marina looks better.
liljim4 1 year ago
i dont see any 90 degree angles on that wheel. a square 4 lines connected by 90 degree angles
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari fuck up
gt3510 1 year ago
@gt3510 grow up
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari your the one complaining about the steering wheel not being a perfect square. its a show for entertainment. not factual.
go and have a cry
gt3510 1 year ago
@gt3510 you talk pish my response was satirical (square wheel) your response (fuck up) was just sheer ignorance. but then you may not have had the advantage of being brought up in a civilised educated family
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari well i must say you are the most bland person in the entire world.
good day.
gt3510 1 year ago
@gt3510 I reiterate clarkson is an asshole. look around you every fekkin car on the road is french (cowardly b,stards) or german (I thought they lost the fekkin war) or Japanese
what ever happened to Britain?
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari why are you talking about Britian. this has nothing to do with Britian, just you complaining about Clarkson. i dont care what you think about Britian. Im Australian. wha if t i really mean is you dont like Clarkson don't watch videos of himand then complain about him on a video that fans of his will watch..
gt3510 1 year ago
@gt3510 go sit on a redback in your dunnie convict
vindicari 1 year ago
@vindicari whatever mate. fuck off i dont care. you obviously know nothing about austraila. only stereotype that you hear. im over this gay shit.
gt3510 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@vindicari "go sit on a redback in your dunnie convict"
Well, that was certainly an astute and intelligent reply, one which goes a long way to illustrating the advantages that your being "brought up in a civilised educated family" brought to you. Of course he deserved it, the damn Aussie convict bastard, trying to argue with a proper Englishman. Who does he think he is?
justforever96 1 month ago
@gt3510 actually if you go to bbc I-player top gear is listed as factual, not entertainment. But then what would the BBC know.
vindicari 1 year ago
clarkson is an overgrown child. I suspect he gets back handers from european manufacturers cause he takes the piss out of everything british.
vindicari 1 year ago
FOR THE LOSS!
shughes57 1 year ago
My dad had a Marina for ten years and cherished it. It was originally his uncle's car from new. Its demise came when the engine started burning oil as my day wasn't one for looking after his cars. It wasn't a bad car at all and managed over 100 000 miles, even with neglect. I have great memories of the Marina, as it was a big part of most of my childhood. The Allegro is hideous and with the intentions to take on the likes of the Alfa Sud, come on, don't make me laugh!
1100HondaCB 1 year ago
Well the Cortina had leaf springs, as did the Escort, the Falcon, virtually every car made in USA and Japan at the time and most in Europe.
In fact the only car company that consistenly made cars with more modern suspension was... ...British Leyland.
So what is Clarkson on about.
The worst cars in Britain ? Hardly.
How about the Triumph 2.5 PI (engine fires), Vauxhall Chevette (gutless, leaky and rusty), the Issoginess cars (Mini, 1100 and 1800, which stalled when it rained).
lkPractical90 1 year ago
I had an Allegro with a 1500 O series engine in and apart from looking hideous and having all the road holding of a blancmange it wasn't that bad a car.
Performance was just on the right side of OK and fuel consumption was excellent.
I wouldn't have bought one if it weren't for the fact I desperately needed transport and it was all I could afford. It was 10 yrs old when I got it and in the 2 yrs I had it it never let me down once. Which is the same number of times the oil light went out :-)
longdog65 1 year ago
all of the money spent on the marina went on designing a monoccoque chassis - instead of a series of weight bearing metal bars with the engine and the car shell on the outside, the car shell was designed to bear the weight of the engine, passengers etc. although i don't know where the other £39,000,000 went
scottishlowoflow 1 year ago
My dad had a marina,I burnt my thumb trying out the cigarette lighter,he never bought another British car again
suffern63 1 year ago
poop 4 me poop 4 u poopie poopie pooop
surethang27 1 year ago
The Allegro wa a copy of the Alfa Romeo Alfasud
The Marina was a copy of the Ford Cortina
They were BOTH Terrible cars!
jren57 1 year ago
Even more daft than a square steering wheel was the name they gave it - the "Quartic Logical Steering Device".
JBofBrisbane 1 year ago
Having owned both, I have to say the Allegro is incomparably better. Nicer looking, better interior, faster, more practical.
tonycatman 1 year ago
"I like Princesses"... the Austin Princess is the wrong kind of princess, mate D:
aaronchungrulez 1 year ago
Que the piano?
TraustiGeir 1 year ago
how an earth could they have spent 40m designing the marina.
for styling they got the man who designed the mk2 cortina and asked him to copy it, but make it ugly, they spent no money on the engine, they lifted it out from the mg b, they clearly didnt spend much on the interior or anything else.
they must have spent it all on crack.
dan171717d 1 year ago
they spend 21 and 40 million designing those cars?
i could head down to any south florida junkyard and recreate one for less than $500
hefty bonuses for fat cats wasn't a recent problem you see
hardcore4republican 1 year ago
I wonder Clarkson drove back then. TIT!
whonut 1 year ago
Theres no substitute for experience, and in my experience the marina WAS a reliable car. A and B series engines had virtually nothing to go wrong with them, the B in particular would do 200,000 miles. The gearboxes were always a bit marginal however, and the front suspension needed regular greasing.(as opposed to cortina void bushes which needed changing every year) it was built to be a cortina clone at the end of the day, and whilst the handling was poor it did make money for BL
mrspivvy 2 years ago
2:18 Jeremy's head looks huge in that thing :)
SecularTechnology 2 years ago
i dont agree whit jeremy, i think that those cars look nice
Siirappisika 2 years ago 2
I wonder if James May have an spare piano?
hamsterdance4lyf08 2 years ago 115
@hamsterdance4lyf08 I probably have one, except the one I have is electronic, unlike James, of course.
jspector86 1 year ago
@hamsterdance4lyf08
Excellent grammar.
CubishBalls 1 year ago
If some of you think Leyland Cars were bad,you clearly have not had a modern VW Golf.
ladalout76 2 years ago
Prat
SimonDolan 2 years ago
This is so funny! I once knew someone who had an Austin Marina (they were exported to the U.S. in limited numbers) who said it was a horrible car in terms of reliability and handling. I've never seen an Allegro before, but I have to agree with the host in his assessment of "hideously ugly". That steering wheel was a very strange thing, wonder what BL was really thinking....
70Kenny 2 years ago
The only decision to make is which one of those god awful ugly houses to burn down....
Of course I'd use the cars for kindling...
Whitehorze 2 years ago
"The Allegro was designed to take on the Alfsud and the Citroën GS"
Well, I've driven my Dad's Allegro's and my own GS's, and I can tell you that the Allegro was absolutely NO match for the GS in any way. The GS had a far mor comfy ride, handled a lot better and wass less noisy at speed. And my Dad agreed, when I took him for a ride in my GS.
Tillerman56 2 years ago
wheres the piano?
tvandbeermakehomergo 2 years ago 3
LOL! I was gonna say the same thing
JayRicci7891 2 years ago
Which episode is this?
miloske85 2 years ago
whats the music at 1:55?
trifio5242 2 years ago
damn i was really hoping to see a falling piano in the end. Just to finish it off :) that would be perfect!
dude2106 2 years ago
a square wheel??xD!
lilD1999 2 years ago
It all fits! Because the Allegro was fitted with a square steering wheel, the driver couldn't hold on to the steering object while making a turn. Austin saw this as a problem and fitted hydrogas suspension to the car to compensate for the harsh ride you had when you drove over the curb. Genius!!
Conrad1147 2 years ago
I drive a '79 Alfa Sud.
Cakerolled 2 years ago
I wonder what that guy w/ the marina thought of top gear after the repeated piano droppings and burnings..O_O
luvmakesasubaru 2 years ago
The Marina wasn't that bad, it sold well, was simple to maintain and cheap to run, but by the late 70s it was very outclassed.
Glenn1967ful 2 years ago 2
Only the very first Allegro's had a square steering wheel, that design feature was deemed unpopular and removed after about a year. Both the Allegro and the Marina were well designed cars (British Leyland's workers were the major design flaw) but IMO the Allegro was the nastier of the two because it had an identity crisis (it couldn't decide whether it was a hatchback or a saloon)
TashkentFox 2 years ago
This guy is funny as hell!!
ZR1Terror 2 years ago 67
kidney pudding wtf!!!
MrRegdorsey 2 years ago
But...does the Marina's windscreen pop out like the Allegro's when you change a puncture?
ducatinova 2 years ago 2
that was a misprint, thats only if you do it in the wrong place...
the marina rusted worse
nipperoid 2 years ago
Rear windows COULD pop out if you jacked it up in the WRONG place. There's a bloody clue in there somewhere. It's like saying you might hurt yourself if you try and walk through a doorway without opening the door first. At the front of many cars Haynes manuals it warns you about this too - it doesn't just affect Allegros!
BEEFYBAYONET 2 years ago
nothing wrong with datsuns, owned 2 from the 70's and they were reliable and easy to work on, to be fair I think the worst car I ever owned was either a Metro with K series engine or Citroen Xantia... I love the Allegro and Marina actually
mazz75 2 years ago
u should be shot for bad taste.
krzykid6969 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
They are Nice and Classic :P
WildMouse2009 2 years ago
The Austin all-aggro back in the 70s is the same ugly equivalent of Ford Focus hatchbacks today. Its probably just as shat as a Ford
1ns4ne1d10t 2 years ago
That doesn't say much about today's hatchbacks then because cars like the Allegro were the blueprint in design for the standard that followed. Criticizing the Allegro's looks is the world's most tedious response.
digbycurrents 2 years ago
All-aggros were horrible ugly little rustbuckets with the panel gaps loosely lined up with claw hammers! same as most of BL in the 70s. If the doors & hatches didn't fall off the engine broke down. I don't think BL stands for British-Leyland. I think it really means Built-Lumphammered!
1ns4ne1d10t 2 years ago
Why just pick on Allegros? datsuns, Lancias, Alfa Romeos etc were equally as abysmal.
grahamblood 2 years ago
When my dad had cars many years ago when I was very small. The only cars that never started properly or had the bonnets propped up were BL or French cars. Yes cars back then were an awful build & rusted away faster than bullets can make holes but Nissan/Datsun & Fiat/Lancia/Alfa were a lot less troublesome than BL & weren't actually bashed brutally together with hammers in the factory like BL. Thats why they had that awful reputation for heaps!
1ns4ne1d10t 2 years ago
That's not entirely true. I've owned 70s cars & I can assure you, Lancia, Alfa & datsun etc were as badly built as any BL product. The Italian cars were appalling. They used cheap nasty Russian meant for fridges steel & the wiring was a joke.
grahamblood 2 years ago
Fiats are an electricians nightmare & don't I bloody know it! If Fiat made a huge brightly lit Xmas tree with city lights it would probably all explode in a huge fireball as soon as someone hits the switch! BL were badly built & everything like mirrors or bumpers & sun visors would & will fall off them on bumpy roads. The alphabet series engines were all really really crap. They hardly had heater plugs or ignition coils which helped to make them crap starters.
1ns4ne1d10t 2 years ago
I've owned a TR7 which was pretty bloody terrible (build-wise) but by far the worst car I've owned was a Lancia Montecarlo. It didn't rust, it dissolved. You replaced a plug & the exhaust fell off!
grahamblood 2 years ago
hotchpotch? what a cute little word
FlamerK6 2 years ago 3
The Austin Allegro's rear end is so ugly I've got to scroll down whenever it is shown :O
Ty4ons 2 years ago 5
Image if it's driving in front of you. That thing shouldn't even be street legal.
peterfaj 2 years ago 2
i'd get the marina so i could drop another piano on it and blame it on the poor piano moving service next year. just like top gear!!
oarih94 2 years ago 4
or better yet, they should have never been built in the first place.
narutofan9285 2 years ago
From what I've read, the Morris Marina was meant to compete with the Ford Cortina.
Nice try, mate!
BootPatrol 2 years ago
It was styled by the same chappie who did the Mark 2 Cortina, dontcha know....
BEEFYBAYONET 2 years ago
the allegro was the first car I ever drove, when I was about 8 years old. my best mates dad was a self employed mechanic and had shitloads of land. once in a while someone would bring an old banger to be fixed, then just never come back to collect it. me and my mate ran that allegro into the ground. cos we could hardly see over the steering wheel we'd run cars into ditches, then go and bug my mates dad to get them out lol. over the years we had shitloads of cars to fuck around in. good times!
wurble 2 years ago
You lucky bastard!
Mustangchargd 2 years ago
out of the 2 id have the morris marina,
My dad had one and he said he had to give it away in the end coz no one wanted to buy it!
kinkycouple91 2 years ago
whouaaa, these shits were really for sale at that time?
cacaaleau 3 years ago
common....it cant be that bad
mrmagic112233 3 years ago
The front of the Allegro is pretty,and modern for those days..
MaistoHelix 3 years ago
Those men must have really ugly wives. They appreciate natural ugliness, gosh terrible cars.
danielsp9 3 years ago 5
XD !
niswel 3 years ago
LOL! SQUARE STEERING WHEEL is not even a wheel. It's a square.
binayak360 3 years ago
ya know, current lambos have dented wheels
vk45de 3 years ago 2
at the very end, when Jeremy says "... worst cars ever made", it should be followed up with "In the World"
alexlambert 3 years ago 2