0:00:03 > 0:00:06A lifetime ago, car ownership was a great privilege.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10We can all remember our grandparents saying, "Only the doctor had one."
0:00:10 > 0:00:13But, by the time I was born, having your own wheels was
0:00:13 > 0:00:16beginning to look like an inalienable right,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18and public transport was a hangover
0:00:18 > 0:00:21from an earlier, less enlightened time.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23So now definitions must be revised
0:00:23 > 0:00:26if we are to separate mere motor vehicles
0:00:26 > 0:00:29from the true cars of the people.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39Hey-hey!
0:00:39 > 0:00:43'This week - aspiration. The cars we always dreamed about.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Boing, boing, boing.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'And how that occasionally meant a nightmare.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:54If this is your small and tasteful gated community then I'm very sorry.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57'And. finally, we arrive at the perfect people's car.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'Don't worry, it'll be finished by the time we get there.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04'Also, two sales reps take their trousers off.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Last week we discovered that Japan's greatest people's car
0:01:11 > 0:01:13was a motorcycle.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14Sorry about that.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23At least Britain's greatest people's car was actually a car.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It just wasn't this one.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Look, I love Minis.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I've had three Minis, in fact, and I know the Mini was important,
0:01:32 > 0:01:38but it's all been said 5,387,862 times.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Which is how many they made.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44I could bang on for ages about how, in 1959,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47the Austin Mini's inspirational design, blah, blah,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50a new golden era of, etc, etc.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53But I bet you've heard it all before.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55So let's keep it mini.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I'll do you the executive summary.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Radical transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive, packaging,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Issigonis, Michael Caine, Italian Job, classless, Twiggy,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06string-pull door handles, sliding windows,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer naked, The Italian Job
0:02:09 > 0:02:12water in the distributor cap, bypass hose, Marc Bolan,
0:02:12 > 0:02:13also available as a van.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21In any case, this week it's social mobility that interests me.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24That's why I'd like to suggest that Britain's greatest
0:02:24 > 0:02:26people's car is not the Mini but...
0:02:28 > 0:02:30..the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34And the story of its transformation from in-your-face aristocrat
0:02:34 > 0:02:36to aspirational people's hero
0:02:36 > 0:02:39is a lot more complex than a quickie in a Mini.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42When the Silver Shadow was launched in 1965,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45it was a radical departure for Rolls-Royce.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Now, it may not look it now, with its overbearing presence
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and that radiator grille nicked from the Acropolis,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56but this was actually a pretty modern car by anybody's standards.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59For a Rolls-Royce, it was VERY modern.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Rolls-Royce, like Kim Kardashian's booty,
0:03:03 > 0:03:04stretches back a long, long way.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08A temple to tradition, luxury and class,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Rolls-Royce was the chariot of presidents, kings and tycoons.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Owning one sent a message to the rest of society
0:03:16 > 0:03:20and that message was, "Naff off!"
0:03:20 > 0:03:25But the times, the people, and car design, were a-changing.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Up until now, R-R had built cars the old-fashioned way,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30on a separate chassis.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32But the Silver Shadow was unitary -
0:03:32 > 0:03:37the body shell formed the structural substance of the car so there
0:03:37 > 0:03:40were no huge girders running underneath and this meant that,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44even though this was smaller and lower than the car it replaced,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46it actually offered superior legroom.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50MUSIC: "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Pretty much everything about the Silver Shadow
0:03:52 > 0:03:54was new and radically hi tech.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59There were high-pressure hydraulics to operate the new-fangled
0:03:59 > 0:04:02disc brakes and the self-levelling suspension.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05The seats, gear change, windows, air conditioning
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and even the fuel filler flap were operated electrically.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Monocles fell out everywhere.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16More importantly, Rolls-Royce had identified a new type of customer.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19It wasn't the aristocrat of old, who just sat in the back
0:04:19 > 0:04:22while his chauffeur stayed at the front and did all the work.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27No, this was a new breed of self-made owner-driver.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32Entrepreneurs, industrialists, and then famous artists, photographers,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35pop stars, television personalities.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37I can't think of anyone else I should mention.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41It was boom time.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45The Shadow said you were part of the boom like nothing else.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But a status symbol for self-made millionaires
0:04:51 > 0:04:54hardly qualifies this as a people's car.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57That came about from Rolls-Royce making a cataclysmic error.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00To try to keep up with the demand from all those new money buyers
0:05:00 > 0:05:04springing up all over the place, they over produced.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09More Silver Shadows were made than any other Rolls.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12That meant the second-hand market became saturated
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and prices plummeted.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Eventually, over-supply meant that second-hand Silver Shadows
0:05:18 > 0:05:21fell into the hands of the sort of people who perhaps weren't
0:05:21 > 0:05:27prepared to give them the love that a complex hand-built car needs.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Because, contrary to popular belief,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34a neglected Rolls-Royce will go wrong and it will go rusty.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37So, while the prices of the cars came down,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40if anything, the size of the bills went the other way.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Soon, shabby Shadows could be seen hanging out
0:05:45 > 0:05:47in some very questionable company.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51By the mid 1980s, a used Silver Shadow becomes
0:05:51 > 0:05:55something of a badge of office for disreputable professions.
0:05:55 > 0:06:01Scrap metal dealing, the specialist video industry, that kind of thing.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03But move forward a couple more decades
0:06:03 > 0:06:05and something interesting has happened.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10The sick Shads have been put down or cannibalised for spares and
0:06:10 > 0:06:14the sparkly survivors are driven by people who just appreciate
0:06:14 > 0:06:17this thing for what it is - a lovely car.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21People like this misty-eyed fool.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Now it's an equal opportunities car because everyone,
0:06:29 > 0:06:35everyone, regardless of age or gender or race or religious belief
0:06:35 > 0:06:39or political persuasion or class or income or profession
0:06:39 > 0:06:43or dress sense or sexual inclination or hairstyle,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45can drive one of these.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50You simply cannot look bad in a Shad.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54It's still faintly, almost comedically British
0:06:54 > 0:06:58and yet somehow it's multicultural.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01No other car does that.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02When it came out in the 1960s,
0:07:02 > 0:07:09the Shadow cost twice the price of the average UK home - about £6,500.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Today, a good one is yours for a 20th of the average UK house price.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19So, from '60s millionaires to dodgy dealers to now pretty much
0:07:19 > 0:07:23everyone, the Shadow has, in its way, represented the masses.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27But there's one more reason I feel that this truly is a people's car.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Well, here's one thought.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34That plethora of second-hand Shadows meant that it soon became
0:07:34 > 0:07:38very popular, obviously, with the wedding car business.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And I can't prove this, but I reckon that more British couples
0:07:42 > 0:07:44have taken their first car journey of married life
0:07:44 > 0:07:49in the back of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow than in any other car.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54And that makes it deeply significant in the lives of millions.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Meanwhile, back in the '60s, another car maker - a big one this time -
0:08:01 > 0:08:05was about to unleash something that would get straight to the point.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13It's a Mark 1 Ford Mustang and,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17admittedly, it isn't a dirt cheap utilitarian runabout,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19but it was a people's car nevertheless,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21because it gave the people hope.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29Launched in 1964 to almost orgasmic excitement across the pond,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33the Mustang was actually based on the mechanical underpinnings
0:08:33 > 0:08:37of a fairly humdrum saloon - the Ford Falcon.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40But that was a good thing.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Because it was just a saloon car underneath,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45the Mustang didn't cost much more than one.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And that was fantastic news if you thought you were condemned to
0:08:48 > 0:08:51a life of family car dreariness.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And to be honest, if you'd grown up driving a European hot hatch -
0:08:59 > 0:09:02in fact, even if you grew up driving a Rolls-Royce -
0:09:02 > 0:09:05you'd find this fairly appalling.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09It's cumbersome, it's crude, it's bouncy,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11it doesn't really handle very well.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14But then, you see, it's a Mustang -
0:09:14 > 0:09:18it's untamed. It has a nice, feral quality.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21Boing, boing.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Over here, we thought this was a great idea. Like nylon.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Ford of Europe saw the Mustang and they saw that it was good.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35So they took the bare bones of their best-selling saloon and,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40by 1969, had come up with - you've probably guessed it by now -
0:09:40 > 0:09:41the Capri.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Ha-ha!
0:09:45 > 0:09:49The Capri worked, and for exactly the same reason the Mustang had.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Here was the type of car that was normally the preserve of toffs,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59playboys, rotters - a two-door coupe with a long and lascivious bonnet.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And now you could have one
0:10:01 > 0:10:03for not much more than the price of a Cortina.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Look.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Look again.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Go ahead. Dream some more.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19The new Ford Capri is very generous with its room and comfort.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25To someone my age, the very expression "three-litre Capri"
0:10:25 > 0:10:29is enough to make your heart go at least 50% faster.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32At your Ford dealers now.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33You are contemptuous of the needs
0:10:33 > 0:10:38of family and luggage and all that sort of thing. You have a Capri.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Most of the car is in front of you
0:10:40 > 0:10:43and that's the way it was with great cars back then.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I've often wondered which one was actually best -
0:10:50 > 0:10:53America's or Europe's blue collar hero.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Well, much as I do like the Capri,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58famous real-life owners of the Mustang include Jim Morrison,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Neil Armstrong, Bruce Willis and Tom Cruise.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Famous Capri owners include...
0:11:07 > 0:11:08..Cliff Richard.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Plus, being American, the Mustang can handle more doughnuts.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Well, that would seem to hand it to the Mustang.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26But hang on a minute. I've just thought of something.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Jackie Stewart had a Capri.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32So did James Hunt, in fact. That gives it a bit more credibility.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35And there's something else as well. As far as we can make out,
0:11:35 > 0:11:41there's never been a car chase between a Capri and a Mustang.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Now, I'm sure there must be some polystyrene barriers and
0:11:43 > 0:11:45plastic fruit stalls
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and inexplicable piles of cardboard boxes
0:11:47 > 0:11:49somewhere on this industrial estate.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53MUSIC: "Ice Pick Mike (Bullitt Soundtrack)" by Lalo Schifrin
0:13:32 > 0:13:34The Capri...
0:13:34 > 0:13:35was great.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39And Ford plays an important role in breaking down the old order.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Here was a louche car for every man -
0:13:42 > 0:13:44a car that said something about you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50But not actually because of the contemptuously small boot,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54not because of the rakish two-door styling or the vinyl roof,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58or the two doors, or the exciting array of instruments.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Not even because of this beautiful, long bonnet.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05It was actually because of this.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06The badge.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Now, this is a 3000 E.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16It might easily have been a 1.3L, or XL, or the XLR.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Or it could have been a two-litre GL.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Or a GXL, or even ultimately the Ghia.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25This was still Britain.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29You were still expected to know your place.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34And Ford could tell you what that was with unprecedented precision.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39My very first car was one of these -
0:14:39 > 0:14:42a Vauxhall Cavalier Mark 1. Ha-ha!
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Except, actually, mine wasn't quite like this
0:14:45 > 0:14:48because I think this is a 1.9 GL.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Oh, yeah, proper upholstery.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Wow. The speedo on this one goes up to 140.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Mine was actually the very basic 1.6 L model.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04It didn't even have a clock. But then, the previous owner had been
0:15:04 > 0:15:07an industrial representative in t'North of England.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Now, your car is supposed to say something about you
0:15:09 > 0:15:13and the 1.6 L said something very definite about him.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Every single blanked-off switch and missing feature was there,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21or rather wasn't there, to remind him of his failure.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23And that was exactly the point.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31The company car - it was a peculiarly British thing.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Well, of course it was.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36We had a class system in society, we needed one on the roads as well.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39What do I like about the Astra CDi?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Well, it's an "i", and "i" means "important" these days.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45There's no CD badge on the back and that's disappointing.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52It's difficult for someone following to know you're driving a CD Astra.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Vauxhall, Ford, British Leyland, Talbot -
0:15:55 > 0:15:58they seemed to be offering a world of magnificent choice.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00You could have different engines, different trim levels,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03two headlights or four headlights. But, in reality,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07they were making the rungs of an automotive social ladder.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12It was a system more arcane than the table manners in Downton Abbey.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14So, I've enlisted two experts,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17former sales fleet managers Ian and James,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19who join me on a day that suitably represents
0:16:19 > 0:16:22the glamour of life as a '70s business traveller.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24THUNDER RUMBLES
0:16:24 > 0:16:27When I was a lad, in the '70s,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30one boy's father had a two-litre L
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and another boy's dad had the two-litre GL,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38and we knew instinctively that GL Dad was just more successful
0:16:38 > 0:16:41with women and GL Boy would have better football boots.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43It all started off very innocently with Ls
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and then it all got quite complicated.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48It was a bit of a psychological war, really.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49Part of it is driven by ego.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Nobody sees what your pay cheque is
0:16:52 > 0:16:56but they sure as hell see the GL or the L or the Ghia.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And, as you drove up the motorway and people passed you,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02you'd instinctively look at the boot to see what his was.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05And if he was doing better or worse than you.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'There's something very playground about all this.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'There's obviously all the usual comparisons
0:17:10 > 0:17:11'you'd look for in a car.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:1496 horsepower, not bad.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17108mph, 0-60 in 13 seconds...
0:17:17 > 0:17:20'But then there's the mystical L, XL, GLS,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'the leftover scrabble letters of aspiration that signify
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'a whole baffling world of proto-bling.'
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Boot light. Fog light. Electric windows.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33'A real-life Top Trumps.'
0:17:33 > 0:17:34It's got a clock.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38This would be the car that typically was driven by the junior salesman.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Wood trim dashboard fascia. I don't believe it.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43It does!
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Vinyl roof.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I don't think I've seen one of these since
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Peter Gabriel was still in Genesis.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50Oh, man.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This is just glorious, this thing.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Oh.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00'I might be worryingly overcome by velour seat envy.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03'But when it comes to the ranking of electric windows above a vinyl
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'roof, it's clear that this was the sort of debate that would
0:18:06 > 0:18:10'have started bloody brawls in Happy Eaters up and down the M1.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:1413.6 seconds to 60 and only 91mph.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Do you realise your car is so slow?
0:18:16 > 0:18:19It may be slow but it is a Crusader so it has the stripes
0:18:19 > 0:18:20and the velour interior.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Oooh!
0:18:22 > 0:18:26I am going to put it in front of the Mark 2 Cavalier 1.6 L
0:18:26 > 0:18:29simply on the basis of the wood, the wheel trims,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31the coach lining and the crushed velour. Fair?
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Well, yes, but in terms of sales appeal,
0:18:34 > 0:18:35the Cavalier would have had it.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38Really?
0:18:38 > 0:18:44'Decrypting Ian and James's cipher of just what SLX or WTF means
0:18:44 > 0:18:46'might as well be a scene from The Da Vinci Code.'
0:18:49 > 0:18:51- The Cavalier was more appealing? - Oh, I would've said so.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Even though it was a more basic model?- Yes, I would've said so.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59So this badge hierarchy, actually, they got it wrong?
0:18:59 > 0:19:04I think there is an element of it's the badge, it's also the time.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08'I have fallen down the rabbit hole.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11'Ian will now only answer me in a series of riddling clues.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13'And it's doing to the inside of my head
0:19:13 > 0:19:15'what the wind is doing for my hair.'
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Well, chaps, that's been absolutely fascinating
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and I am absolutely none the wiser but thank you very much anyway.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It's been a pleasure.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28The thing is, this whole badging business, it was full of more
0:19:28 > 0:19:32social pitfalls than a multi-denominational dinner party,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35but what I do remember from my time as a teenager was that
0:19:35 > 0:19:40the big company car war was between Ford and Vauxhall.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41That's what matters.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43So...
0:19:43 > 0:19:44HE SIGHS
0:19:44 > 0:19:45..let's have a race.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Cavalier or Sierra?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Which one was actually best?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Well, it's time to find out once and for all.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Here we have the two ultimate final editions of these cars.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03The Cavalier Calibre and the Sierra XR4x4i.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07And our reps, Clive and Trevor, are going to race down the runway
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and back again to the start.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13But there are several business challenges on the way.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16First one back wins a box of wine...
0:20:16 > 0:20:18from Austria.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20ENGINES REV
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Three, two, one, close that sale!
0:20:25 > 0:20:28# One, two, three, four
0:20:28 > 0:20:30# Roadrunner, roadrunner... #
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It's an early-off-the-blocks for the Ford Sierra.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37# Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop
0:20:37 > 0:20:40# With the radio on... #
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Trevor and the Ford Sierra remain slightly ahead,
0:20:42 > 0:20:43but Clive in the Vauxhall Cavalier
0:20:43 > 0:20:45is just a Ginsters pasty-length behind
0:20:45 > 0:20:47as our reps hit the first obstacle.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50After putting on their jackets to make themselves suitably
0:20:50 > 0:20:52presentable, they must press a pair of trousers
0:20:52 > 0:20:55inside these roadside-standard B&B trouser presses.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58And Trevor has reached his trouser press first
0:20:58 > 0:21:00on this wonderfully bracing day
0:21:00 > 0:21:02here on the North Weald Airfield racecourse.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05Clive in the Vauxhall Cavalier
0:21:05 > 0:21:08displaying some sloppy trouser technique, there,
0:21:08 > 0:21:09but it's drawn them back level.
0:21:11 > 0:21:12As the reps hit the gas,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14it's Clive's Vauxhall Cavalier that's off the mark quicker,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but the Ford Sierra soon pummels the gap once again,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18giving Trevor the advantage
0:21:18 > 0:21:20as they approach the course's second obstacle.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24TYRES SCREECH
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Here, after putting on their jackets once again,
0:21:26 > 0:21:27both men must photocopy
0:21:27 > 0:21:30a vital annual sales and analytic statistics marketing report.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Trevor's appropriately jacketed, first in at the photocopier.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37But he's forgotten the printer toner -
0:21:37 > 0:21:41a rookie sales mistake unbefitting of his high-end company car.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43Meanwhile, Clive's stolen the lead
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and is well on the way to installing his printer toner.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Trevor appears to be using the shove-it-in-anywhere-he can
0:21:52 > 0:21:55technique favoured by many away-from-home salesmen
0:21:55 > 0:21:56in the 1980s.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58# And I say roadrunner once
0:21:58 > 0:22:00# Roadrunner twice
0:22:00 > 0:22:02# I'm in love with rock'n'roll... #
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Clive continues to look befuddled - I did not see this presenting
0:22:05 > 0:22:07quite such a challenge to our two competitors today.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Oh, Trevor's just lost February to March of the marketing report -
0:22:13 > 0:22:15they'll not be happy with that at head office.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18And Clive's just got a face-full of printer toner!
0:22:18 > 0:22:21But it's Clive in the Cavalier who has successfully negotiated
0:22:21 > 0:22:23the photocopying, leaving Trevor languishing behind.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25This could swing the race for Vauxhall.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Trevor's photocopies are a horribly smudged and blurred mess,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37but he's back in the game.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40It's the Vauxhall's race to lose as Clive is comfortably ahead
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and already at the final obstacle.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48After putting on his jacket once more he must retrieve his
0:22:48 > 0:22:51pristinely pressed trousers, shave and then head for the finish.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Clive is first back to the Vauxhall Cavalier with the trousers,
0:22:58 > 0:22:59but Trevor isn't far behind.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Trevor fast closing the gap now.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06# Goin' a thousand miles an hour
0:23:06 > 0:23:09# Gonna drive to the Stop 'n' Shop... #
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And it's Trevor - Trevor, who is first away,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15retaking the lead quite literally by the seat of his pants.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17As Clive pursues
0:23:17 > 0:23:20while frantically trying to remove his five o'clock shadow.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22It may be too late, as both cars approach the line.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27# That's right
0:23:27 > 0:23:29# Bye-bye. #
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Well, there you go.
0:23:33 > 0:23:3820 years of bitterness, resentment, stress-induced illness -
0:23:38 > 0:23:4120 years of social angst.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Winners drive Fords.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46And it's very difficult for me to say that
0:23:46 > 0:23:48as a former Vauxhall owner.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52This is James May at North Weald Airfield,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- cold, wet, very- BLEEP- off.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01But while our dads lay awake dreaming of velour seats
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and wood-trimmed dashboard fascias, we, the teenagers of the era,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07were indulging loftier fantasies.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Pin-ups.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Sam Fox, obviously, but also this kind of thing.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14This was a time when the development of a pubescent boy
0:24:14 > 0:24:17could be accelerated with a picture of a car.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Now, these are a couple of all-time favourites -
0:24:19 > 0:24:20I put them up there when I was about 14,
0:24:20 > 0:24:21and they're still there.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23The Lamborghini Countach,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25the Porsche 911 Turbo.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Phwoar!
0:24:26 > 0:24:27# You got the touch... #
0:24:27 > 0:24:31These unattainable beauties kept me going single-handedly through
0:24:31 > 0:24:33the dark nights of those difficult years.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Launched in 1974 as the LP400,
0:24:41 > 0:24:47the Countach remains a nodal high point in radical automotive styling.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And perhaps the most uncompromised expression
0:24:50 > 0:24:53of what came to be known in the vernacular as wedge design.
0:24:56 > 0:24:57The name "Countach"
0:24:57 > 0:25:00is derived from an involuntary Italian ejaculation
0:25:00 > 0:25:03meaning something like, "Cor, what a smasher, Luigi."
0:25:03 > 0:25:06A reaction not even slightly diminished by the passage
0:25:06 > 0:25:09of time and the metamorphosis of the original into this, the...
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- Oh, hang on a minute. - TYRES SCREECH
0:25:11 > 0:25:12I've forgotten something.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18'80s reality check number one -
0:25:18 > 0:25:20having to tentatively reverse
0:25:20 > 0:25:23and manoeuvre between bollards in a Lamborghini Countach
0:25:23 > 0:25:26results in me looking neither gnarly nor bodacious.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Ah, well. It'll be worth it once I fit the piece de air resistance.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I don't suppose you've got the wing for the back?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43- That one?- Yes.- Yeah, yeah.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45- You know it slows you down... - I'm not worried about that.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48- No?- No. It looks cool.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50I'm borrowing this Countach from my mate Harry,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53who actually decided to live the bedroom dream
0:25:53 > 0:25:55of owning an '80s pin-up car.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58- The thing is, when we grew up, we never saw these cars.- No.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01You had to buy the poster - you couldn't go on YouTube.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03You couldn't see, you know... "Oh, look, I've seen a Countach."
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I saw one in London, I was 18, 19 -
0:26:05 > 0:26:08on the other side of the street was a blue Countach.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I had to take a picture, and this picture was in my photo album -
0:26:11 > 0:26:15and then, very embarrassing, I then cut out a picture of me
0:26:15 > 0:26:16and stuck me next to the Countach
0:26:16 > 0:26:19so I could say, "Yes, I'm next to the Countach."
0:26:19 > 0:26:20I want to make it absolutely clear
0:26:20 > 0:26:23that these days Harry is a perfectly normal man, he's married,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27he has a happy home life, he hasn't suffered from having posters
0:26:27 > 0:26:30or indeed owning a Lamborghini.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32This is a sensitive question at our age,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36but has the wing made you more attractive to the ladies
0:26:36 > 0:26:41than when you drive your Countach without the wing?
0:26:41 > 0:26:44I think it just attracts more blokes than girls, actually.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- Really?- Yeah.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- Desperately disappointing.- Yeah.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51The wing was absolutely pointless.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54It doesn't work as a spoiler, it doesn't provide down force.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57If anything, it accentuates the lift at the front.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59But who cares?
0:26:59 > 0:27:00It's bitchin'.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Rod Stewart had one of these.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06And he had leopard print trousers and a massive train set,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08so it's cool.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09'80s reality check two -
0:27:09 > 0:27:13pin-up cars look fantastic framed on sunset beaches.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14They look slightly less good
0:27:14 > 0:27:18being dragged through waterlogged ditches around Oxfordshire.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23So, let's get this thing on the road, sharpish.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I don't care if you hate supercars,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34or you hate the idea of being flashy, or excessive consumption -
0:27:34 > 0:27:36look at this car on your screen
0:27:36 > 0:27:41and tell me it isn't a thing of utter wonder and beauty.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42Because it is.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Let's drop it down a cog and give it some beans.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Yes!
0:28:02 > 0:28:03Well, that's quite terrifying.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Let's take this back to subsonic, before I Bobby Brown my trousers.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I suspect all this spray is actually giving my Lamborghini
0:28:15 > 0:28:17a bit of a soft-focus look.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20It's another great '80s effect, really. It's poster art.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Probably looks a little bit like a gentle porn film.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31I'm off for some tryst somewhere.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Everything about the Countach was quite a bit more exciting
0:28:40 > 0:28:42than the equivalent bit in your dad's car.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46The engine in this one is a 5.2 litre V12,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50developing 455 horsepower - that is actually quite a lot.
0:28:51 > 0:28:552 litre Granada had something like a hundred horsepower.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Meh.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02There have been other amazing cars since,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06but I'm not sure anything has ever seemed quite so modern
0:29:06 > 0:29:10and quite so stunning as the Countach.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11It still looks modern now.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16The engine was behind you, and it had two radiators,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20fed with air by scoops apparently from a fighter aircraft.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24The rear tyres were the fattest ever fitted to a car.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28The doors opened upwards like something out of Back To The Future.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30The seats sported Miami Beach six packs,
0:29:30 > 0:29:35and it had that wing - which was supposedly to stop it taking off.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37It was unbelievably exotic,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41and we were weak at the knees at the thought of it.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Now, at last, I'm in one.
0:29:44 > 0:29:45And it is...
0:29:45 > 0:29:47terrible.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49It's an old car, now.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50It's also a supercar,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52so it's not very good round town.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55But then, supercars aren't, are they?
0:29:55 > 0:29:58It does about 15 miles to the gallon, which is terrible,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01but I suppose Rod Stewart wasn't really interested
0:30:01 > 0:30:02in the price of petrol.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06The cold, hard, grown-up reality of it is,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09unless you do happen to live on the sun-kissed shores of California,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13then owning one of these things is utterly, hopelessly impractical.
0:30:17 > 0:30:18Sorry, Harry.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22The visibility is very poor.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23The seats are uncomfortable.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26The windows only open a couple of inches, look,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30and the interior was designed by a man who loaded some instruments
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and switches into a blunderbuss and then fired it at the fascia.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39The engine is not, as it would be on a modern Lamborghini, fuel-injected.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43It's fed by six twin-choke carburettors,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and that effectively means it has a carburettor per cylinder.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And setting that lot up to run smoothly
0:30:49 > 0:30:53is a bit like trying to synchronise 12 mopeds.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Still, it could be worse.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00They've closed the road.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02I don't believe that.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Oh, God.
0:31:04 > 0:31:05As I've already discovered,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08manoeuvring in this Countach is a bit tight.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13# You're sort of stuck where you are... #
0:31:14 > 0:31:16I can't really see...
0:31:17 > 0:31:21# But in your dreams you can buy expensive cars... #
0:31:21 > 0:31:24The people who live here are going to be chuffed to bits, aren't they?
0:31:24 > 0:31:26# Or live on Mars
0:31:26 > 0:31:29# And have it your way... #
0:31:29 > 0:31:33If this is your small and tasteful gated community,
0:31:33 > 0:31:34then I'm very sorry.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41The opportunities for smacking this on something are absolutely massive.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43So difficult to see the extremes.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47It's pretty difficult when you're driving along in a straight line,
0:31:47 > 0:31:48never mind doing this sort of thing.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52# In your dreams show no mercy. #
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Yes, I know, it's for barrelling along a big, wide road,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59not exploring the back streets of medieval England.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02But even then you could still be going home to a maintenance bill
0:32:02 > 0:32:06bigger than MC Hammer's trousers.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10The suspension on this car is rose-jointed, like a racing car's.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14What that means is, there aren't any nice, soft, forgiving rubber bits
0:32:14 > 0:32:17in it, it's all just metal on metal.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20They could wear out in as little as 800 miles,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23so if you drove from London to Edinburgh and back,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26you could be due for a very expensive undercarriage rebuild.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35So, it was a great poster.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38But actually driving a Countach is like discovering that...
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Sam Fox is a drag artist.
0:32:41 > 0:32:42# Gotta get back in time... #
0:32:42 > 0:32:45But that was the point about supercars of the '80s -
0:32:45 > 0:32:47we plebs were never meant to drive them,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49we were just supposed to admire them.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52When we grew up, there was an automotive drudge waiting for us -
0:32:52 > 0:32:55badged L, or maybe E.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Wasn't there?
0:32:57 > 0:33:00While we were kneeling in awe before those graven images
0:33:00 > 0:33:02of Italian and German supermodels,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04something very interesting was happening.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Performance was being democratised,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12and this is where I first saw the true light.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15The Ford Escort XR3.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Now, it is still an Escort - a very humdrum car -
0:33:18 > 0:33:21but this one is different.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24It has tricked-up suspension, a bit more power -
0:33:24 > 0:33:26and those wheels.
0:33:27 > 0:33:28Yeah!
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Ignition...
0:33:34 > 0:33:35ENGINE STARTS
0:33:35 > 0:33:37..first gear, Spandau Ballet...
0:33:37 > 0:33:39# Gold
0:33:39 > 0:33:42# Always believe in your soul... #
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Just about the time I started driving,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47a bloke I knew bought one of these.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50And from that moment on, he was virtually unapproachable.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54He had an Escort XR3!
0:33:56 > 0:33:58He must have had loadsa money.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05Unlike the ethereal supercars, the XR3 was real.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09A performance car that you could see, touch and, crucially, possess.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13One of the things that made this car appealing was that it
0:34:13 > 0:34:17sat in Ford showrooms alongside all those cars
0:34:17 > 0:34:22that were secretly oppressing us - the Cortina L and the GL and the GXL
0:34:22 > 0:34:27and the 2000E, all that hierarchical stuff, and then amongst it, this.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31An Escort with XR3 on the back.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33XR3 - it sounds like...
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Well, it sounds like a space ship, doesn't it?
0:34:37 > 0:34:40The XR3 wasn't alone on Planet Hatchback.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42The early '80s saw an invasion of small,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46souped-up cars propelled by no-nonsense advertising.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48MUSIC: "Cars" by Gary Numan
0:34:49 > 0:34:52The Thatcher years would end up being remembered
0:34:52 > 0:34:54not as the era of the supercar,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57but the time of cheesy synthpop and hot hatches.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Look, I'm not going to claim that a warmed-up Escort
0:35:01 > 0:35:03was the foil to the supercar.
0:35:03 > 0:35:09The Countach got to 60 in half the time, and was 70mph faster.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12If this was a pub debate, that would be the end of that.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16But there's another way of looking at this.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19A hot hatch is just a car.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Driving one is no different from driving the regular version.
0:35:22 > 0:35:23Hot hatches are light.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Hot hatches are modestly sized, so they're wieldy.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32Meanwhile, '70s and '80s supercars were full of tricks and vices.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Not for the unwary.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36PSYCHO THEME PLAYS
0:35:36 > 0:35:40And one, above all, had a had a lethal reputation.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49It's a 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Just like the one on my poster.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Let's take it for a spin.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59Turbo!
0:35:59 > 0:36:01What a word!
0:36:01 > 0:36:04It wasn't a new idea in engineering, to be honest.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Aero engines had had turbochargers for decades,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10but it was the great hope of performance motoring.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15In basic terms, a turbocharger made any given engine...
0:36:15 > 0:36:18well, bigger.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23"Turbo" means simply that an exhaust-driven impeller
0:36:23 > 0:36:25charges the engine's cylinders with more fuel
0:36:25 > 0:36:29and air mixture than they would get under atmospheric pressure.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33So, you got the power.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40Remember, the vast majority of what a car engine burns is, in fact, air.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43So, if you can put more air in, and a little bit more fuel in -
0:36:43 > 0:36:46wahey!
0:36:46 > 0:36:51The turbo-charged 911 could reach 60 in 5,2 seconds -
0:36:51 > 0:36:56a second and a half quicker than the non-turbo version.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57Was there a catch?
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Oh, yes.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Barroom philosophers will always tell you that the
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Porsche 911 could bite back.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Part of the problem was the layout - the engine was right at the back,
0:37:09 > 0:37:14so the whole car behaved like a giant pendulum in the corners.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18But in the Turbo you had the added problem that the power
0:37:18 > 0:37:21came on a bit suddenly.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26But that wasn't all - the Turbo suffered from a massive time lag.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29This meant you were never quite sure
0:37:29 > 0:37:33when all that power would make itself known at the rear wheels.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37And that spelt disaster for many a chinless yuppie
0:37:37 > 0:37:40who'd invested your whole pension in one.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43# Amadeus. #
0:37:47 > 0:37:48There goes another stockbroker.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54The thing is, even by modern standards,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58this is still a very, very quick car -
0:37:58 > 0:38:01but it's terrifying.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03And that is exactly my point.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08I've always said that I've never driven a car
0:38:08 > 0:38:09that actually played any tricks on me -
0:38:09 > 0:38:14I always knew I was being an idiot before the car told me I was,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16but actually I'm going to revise that.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20I think an old 911 Turbo DOES play tricks on you.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It really will catch you out.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28For a nation growing ever more wealthy and upwardly mobile,
0:38:28 > 0:38:31the 911 Turbo was peerless,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34sophisticated and very, very desirable.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37It promised us the world.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Well, either that or a terrifying short cut out of it.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45To paraphrase The Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49and if you try too hard, you might find...
0:38:49 > 0:38:51yourself in a ditch.
0:38:51 > 0:38:57Anyway, this has got me thinking - here is a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00It is a definitive 1980s hot hatchback.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It can be a bit wayward at the limit,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06but it's front wheel drive, so ultimately it's benign.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Over here is our Porsche 911 Turbo -
0:39:09 > 0:39:12unusually, and probably rather briefly,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14pointing in the right direction.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Now, in the hands of a professional,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20the Porsche would be quicker around a race track - of course it would.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23But what about in the hands of mere mortals?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25The sort of frustrated fantasists who prostrated
0:39:25 > 0:39:29themselves before the posters of that glorious era.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31It's time to find out.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Here are our two sales reps from earlier on.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36They've washed the toner off their faces
0:39:36 > 0:39:38and smartened themselves up a bit.
0:39:38 > 0:39:43Clive used to have a poster of the 911 Turbo on his bedroom wall.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Trevor used to have a poster of Bananarama,
0:39:45 > 0:39:49so they are eminently well-qualified.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Now, how shall we sort this out?
0:39:57 > 0:40:01In three, two, one, yah!
0:40:03 > 0:40:05MUSIC: "Swastika Eyes" by Primal Scream
0:40:15 > 0:40:19# Your soul don't burn You dark the sun
0:40:19 > 0:40:23# Rain down fire on everyone
0:40:23 > 0:40:26# Scabs, police, government thieves
0:40:26 > 0:40:30# Venal, psychic amputees
0:40:30 > 0:40:33# Parasitic, you're syphilitic
0:40:34 > 0:40:36# Parasitic, you're syphilitic
0:40:36 > 0:40:38# Swastika eyes
0:40:38 > 0:40:42# You got swastika eyes
0:40:42 > 0:40:47# You got swastika eyes
0:40:47 > 0:40:50# Swastika eyes
0:40:50 > 0:40:53# Swastika eyes. #
0:41:07 > 0:41:08HE LAUGHS
0:41:08 > 0:41:12So there you go. Just a little bit of extra power to the people
0:41:12 > 0:41:16can topple the nobs from their high-performance pedestal.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Once again, the cars of the people gave us hope.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21RAIN PATTERS
0:41:22 > 0:41:26This is James May reporting from Rockingham Motor Speedway,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28- cold, wet, and very- BLEEP- off.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34The hot hatch is still with us, the company car almost forgotten.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35But there is a legacy.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39Gone are those ranges that were graduated as precisely as an engineer's ruler -
0:41:39 > 0:41:43L, GL with a clock, GLS with a clock and a rev counter,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46but if anything, the opportunities
0:41:46 > 0:41:50for interfering with an individual car's specification have increased.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55These are the ultimate expressions of it -
0:41:55 > 0:41:59trendy cars that can be almost infinitely reconfigured to suit
0:41:59 > 0:42:01the individual owner's taste.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05The Mini comes in baffling variety and with very aspirational names
0:42:05 > 0:42:09such as the Mini Bayswater or the Mini Hogarth Roundabout.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13I made that one up, but you can get a Mini Clubman Bond Street.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15The new Beetle Cabriolet,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18the latest edition of the very car that Adolf Hitler had.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22You can spend up to £35,000 on one of these,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24including £10,000 worth of options -
0:42:24 > 0:42:29amongst them, the Beetle clothes hanger, £21.50.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31The Fiat 500 - now, apparently,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35there are half a million permutations of all the options
0:42:35 > 0:42:38you can have on this car. I'll not go through them all,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40but they include a whiteboard on the glove box
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and "balls" stickers for £190.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47And we don't know what those are.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51MUSIC: "Long Line of Cars" by Cake
0:42:51 > 0:42:56So, in a way, this is more power to the motoring people than ever.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58All the extras that defined the company car of old
0:42:58 > 0:43:00are now in an options tombola.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06As the old saying goes, give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Give a man a Fiat with 500,000 choices
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and he won't work out the brochure in one lifetime.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17The problem for me is that they are so unashamedly retro,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19and retro design makes me uneasy.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23It smacks of a lack of confidence, I think, by the makers
0:43:23 > 0:43:26and to some extent by the buyers as well.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28I mean, old cars, real old cars,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31they're great, they're a warning from history, but new cars,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34surely new cars should be new.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37And while we're on warnings from history, here's another -
0:43:37 > 0:43:40old being passed off as new.
0:43:40 > 0:43:41The Bond Bug.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47By 1970, things in Britain were looking a bit grim.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49The empire had gone. We had to accept
0:43:49 > 0:43:52that we weren't going to be a part of the space race.
0:43:52 > 0:43:58We were beginning to retreat into a world of sci-fi and fantasy,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01but it was OK because we could offer you a car
0:44:01 > 0:44:05shaped like a piece of cheese that looked from the future.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09It seems mad to think that this monstrosity -
0:44:09 > 0:44:11it looks like Marge Simpson's tried to iron her own head -
0:44:11 > 0:44:17was ever a car to aspire to own, but to a kid in the '70s, it was.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19The Bond Bug was an attempt by Reliant
0:44:19 > 0:44:23to make the three-wheeler appealing to a younger market
0:44:23 > 0:44:25and actually, it did work
0:44:25 > 0:44:29because when I was a kid, a bloke up the road had one of these
0:44:29 > 0:44:32and we just thought he was the coolest dude in creation.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36We would have fallen around laughing at anybody who had a Reliant
0:44:36 > 0:44:39but a Bond Bug - Bond Bug was brilliant.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Reliant genuinely believed that the bug would...
0:44:43 > 0:44:47well, drive a wedge into the sporty two-seater market.
0:44:49 > 0:44:50Yes, really.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53What do we like in a small car?
0:44:53 > 0:44:56We like small tyres so there isn't too much grip,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59we like a perky engine, and very sharp steering.
0:44:59 > 0:45:00It has all of those.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04It doesn't have fifth gear, though, and I keep going for it.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10We also like a car to be bright orange with some black decals on it.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15I think initially these cars were only available
0:45:15 > 0:45:18to Tomorrow's World presenters, people like that,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21but pretty soon they filtered down into the community at large.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25And that's where the problems began.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27It soon became clear that the bug
0:45:27 > 0:45:30was nowhere near as modern as it made out.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33One of the things that characterised the 1970s,
0:45:33 > 0:45:38particularly in Britain, I think, is that we had technical ambitions
0:45:38 > 0:45:42and aesthetic vision far ahead of our actual engineering ability,
0:45:42 > 0:45:47so this thing, it looks like it comes from the year 2020,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50but actually, it's pretty old-fashioned.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53It's got a basic engine at the back, it's got four speeds.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56It's only got three wheels, let's be honest.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01It's not really a very interesting car,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03not from a technical point of view.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09There are only really three parts to the bodywork of a Bond Bug.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13There's the basic tub itself, the hinged canopy part
0:46:13 > 0:46:15and the little opening flap at the back - that's it.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19Everything else is screwed or bolted in place.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Sometimes not that thoroughly.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24There was no disguising it -
0:46:24 > 0:46:28Reliant's Bond Bug was just dreary old Uncle Robin
0:46:28 > 0:46:30in a funny party hat.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38So, the bug was reversed into the lock-up of automotive oblivion.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42Trying to pass off the past as the future fooled no-one.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44If only they'd done it the other way around.
0:46:45 > 0:46:4820 years later, the Japanese did.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52They took the essence of the old and stuffed it with the new
0:46:52 > 0:46:55to create the Mazda MX5.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03What Mazda did with the MX5 was to take an old philosophy
0:47:03 > 0:47:08and then drag it, willingly, as it turns out, into the modern world.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12The MX5 was an instant hit.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14A fun and affordable roadster
0:47:14 > 0:47:18designed purely and unashamedly for the people's pleasure.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23What a brilliant idea. Why did no-one think of it before?
0:47:27 > 0:47:32This is a Mark 1 MX5, launched in 1989, and actually,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35it is a piece of retro design.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39It's very obviously a bit of a rip-off of the original Lotus Elan.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42It even has the pop-up headlights, but the remarkable thing is,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44on the Mazda, they pop up...
0:47:44 > 0:47:47and pop back down...
0:47:47 > 0:47:50together, whereas on the Lotus you often ended up driving around
0:47:50 > 0:47:54sort of winking at people in a slightly inappropriate manner.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Most importantly, Mazda got that famous basic formula
0:47:57 > 0:47:59absolutely right - the engine,
0:47:59 > 0:48:03the driven wheels, the skinny little tyres, and all the rest of it.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07For decades, the British and the Italians were
0:48:07 > 0:48:09the champions of the small roadster.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11MG, Fiat, Austin Healey,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Triumph, Alfa Romeo and Lotus.
0:48:15 > 0:48:20These roadsters defined the spirit of motoring, but by the late '70s,
0:48:20 > 0:48:24and not for the first time, European standards started to slip.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27We were beginning to fall out of love with the roadster.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30The designs were archaic.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32The build quality was indifferent.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34They had dodgy electrics
0:48:34 > 0:48:36and hoods that leaked like government ministries.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38The hot hatch was the new thing -
0:48:38 > 0:48:43perky, more powerful versions of four-seat, three-door family cars.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48The European roadster suddenly became an antique.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50It was something to be driven only on a Sunday,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53and even then only if you knew a bloke with a van.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And yet the Mazda, the same basic idea, was all the rage.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I know, because I've done it,
0:49:04 > 0:49:08that if you stepped into an old '70s MG after this
0:49:08 > 0:49:13it would feel like a damp postcard from an English seaside holiday.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Terrible.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19I have to conclude that it was the cars that were at fault,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22not the philosophy. The philosophy is brilliant.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24The cars had just become annoying.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28Thank God we've got the Japanese.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33It's so simple - if you keep everything small,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36everything light, you don't need hundreds of horsepower.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38A little four-cylinder job will do.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42And because this car is short, then, because of boring reasons to do with
0:49:42 > 0:49:47physics and something called polar inertia, it will turn smartly.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53It all makes perfect sense.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Why did we ever forget about it? Hmm?
0:49:59 > 0:50:02And the roof comes off, and that trumps everything.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05Now all I need is some sun.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23I had one of these. So did my dad.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26It's a sort of ageless car.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29Anybody can drive it - a misty-eyed nostalgist who remembers
0:50:29 > 0:50:33the lovely days of the '60s when it never rained, obviously,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37and modern youngsters who simply want a simple, low-maintenance car
0:50:37 > 0:50:38to have fun in.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It is a people's car. It's for all the people.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52Most importantly, the MX5 worked.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56It worked perfectly and it didn't leak.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Over three generations of this car, almost a million have been sold.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03Small beer by people's car standards, I know,
0:51:03 > 0:51:07but it remains the world's best-selling small roadster.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12We talked about cars that gave the people hope.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17And the MX5 helped realise the hopes of generations of roadster drivers,
0:51:17 > 0:51:21the hope that you would reach your destination.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33So the Mazda was good, because it worked,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36but it was successful because of the way it looked,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38because of the lifestyle it hinted at.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41And if we go back to the Lamborghini we saw earlier,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44that didn't really work that well, but look what it said about you
0:51:44 > 0:51:47with its scoops and its wing and all this stuff here,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49it was just fantastic.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51We've been talking about people's cars of hope,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55how choice gave us more freedom and made us happier,
0:51:55 > 0:51:58but isn't choice really just another form of tyranny?
0:51:58 > 0:52:01They are just... I know this is the sort of thing boring people say,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03but they are just cars.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07They're for getting from one place to another, from A to B.
0:52:07 > 0:52:08So wouldn't life be easier
0:52:08 > 0:52:13if we just had a car in the way that we have a National Insurance number?
0:52:15 > 0:52:16But what would it be?
0:52:16 > 0:52:19Not this hideous boogie bus, that's for sure,
0:52:19 > 0:52:22and what is the perfect people's car anyway?
0:52:22 > 0:52:27Is it just the cheapest car possible so more people could own it?
0:52:27 > 0:52:31Is it a political instrument, a national statement?
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Does it say something about the self
0:52:33 > 0:52:37or does it work for the benefit of the whole? It's a tricky one.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43The answer can be found somewhere that embraces the heights of modern
0:52:43 > 0:52:48innovation while acknowledging the weight and experience of history.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52In fact, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and bother
0:52:52 > 0:52:54because it's where we started in the first place.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59So what is the people's car of the 21st century?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Well, I think there is one.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07It's a practical, reasonably priced, five seater. It's good to drive
0:53:07 > 0:53:09but it's not too big.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13You can have a basic, frugal model or you can have a sporty version.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23It's classless, it's tasteful, it's inconspicuous, it's well-made
0:53:23 > 0:53:25and it's just sensible enough.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29If you re-write the rules of the people's car for the modern age,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31it fits perfectly.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39And even though we live now in a world of overwhelming automotive choice,
0:53:39 > 0:53:44I believe it is the only car the world actually needs.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54It is, in case you hadn't guessed, the Golf.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58Not a totes radical choice, I know.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02But ask yourself, "Why not just have a Golf?"
0:54:02 > 0:54:03Why hadn't I got one, in fact?
0:54:05 > 0:54:09It's the second best selling car range in history at around
0:54:09 > 0:54:1230 million and stretches all the way back from the current
0:54:12 > 0:54:16seventh generation car to the original of 1974.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22The Golf was designed to be the much belated replacement to VW's Beatle
0:54:22 > 0:54:26and as difficult second albums go, it was a bit of a stormer.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Simple, attractive with Italian design,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31good handling and an affordable price.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33And it was a hatchback.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36It seemed like a good idea at the time.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38As things turn out, it still is.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Each new generation's stuck with the same simple recipe,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47establishing the Golf as a wheeled staple.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51Golf's are like potatoes, you wouldn't want to do without them.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53Even though they're not really that exciting.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Hey! Allow to me interrupt this lovely filmic montage
0:55:11 > 0:55:13while I talk about the GTI version of the Golf.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19This is a Mark 2 GTI, from the 1980s.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21I know it's not the mould-breaking original, but it's
0:55:21 > 0:55:24the one all my yuppie mates had
0:55:24 > 0:55:27when I was in my 20s and I couldn't afford a car.
0:55:27 > 0:55:28So it's the one I resent.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34To some people the Golf GTI is responsible for redrawing the
0:55:34 > 0:55:38battle lines of the class war, especially in Britain.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41And therefore it is an instrument of evil.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Maybe.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Mind you, if you've already produced the Beetle, you can
0:55:47 > 0:55:48probably get away with it.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Remember what I was saying earlier?
0:55:55 > 0:55:59How the hot hatch destroyed the old school two-seater roadster?
0:55:59 > 0:56:01The Golf GTI was the main culprit.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05It's tremendous, though.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Why didn't I have one of these in the 1980s?
0:56:10 > 0:56:13And a job with a salary of pounds attractive.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21As well as making me well jelly, the GTI shows what a durable idea
0:56:21 > 0:56:22the Golf is.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26As it manages to be a great car in its own right that's still
0:56:26 > 0:56:29contained under the Golf umbrella.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Hang on a minute. Hang on. Stop.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I think I might have got a bit carried away with this idea.
0:56:35 > 0:56:42You see, there have been 30 million Golfs built over the whole seven generation life of the thing.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45There have been something like 40 million Toyota Corollas,
0:56:45 > 0:56:49if you count every car that has the name Corolla on it.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54But there are over a billion cars on the planet today.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57So what's 30 or 40 million here or there?
0:56:57 > 0:57:00The VW Beetle, the best selling single car in history?
0:57:00 > 0:57:06There were only ever 21.5 million. So it barely registers.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10In any case, there are over seven billion people on the planet
0:57:10 > 0:57:16so in crude statistical terms, there's only one car for every seven people.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19There aren't even enough seats to go around.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23And, of course, one and a quarter billion of those people live in absolute
0:57:23 > 0:57:27poverty, so have probably never even been in a car.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31It's all nonsense, in fact. The motor industry has completely failed.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35There is no car of the people.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37But there's another way of looking at this.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40The car as we know it only exists
0:57:40 > 0:57:44because of a universal desire to possess it.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47It began life as the preserve of the toffs, it was a proposition
0:57:47 > 0:57:49so complicated that you needed to
0:57:49 > 0:57:52employ a man just to drive it and look after it for you.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56But now a century later, it's a consumer durable.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58A disposable one at that.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02Yes, there are still cars that cost a million pounds or more, but
0:58:02 > 0:58:06they come to us riding on a groundswell of engineering achievement
0:58:06 > 0:58:12that is fuelled by the demand for mobilisation for the masses.
0:58:12 > 0:58:18So, in actual fact everything from the £1,500 Tata Nano all the way up
0:58:18 > 0:58:22to the £1.5 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport,
0:58:22 > 0:58:26they are all cars of the people.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29MUSIC: "Keep The Car Running" by Arcade Fire
0:58:29 > 0:58:32# They know my name cos I told it to them
0:58:32 > 0:58:33# But they don't know where
0:58:33 > 0:58:35# They don't know when
0:58:37 > 0:58:38# It's coming
0:58:40 > 0:58:44# When is it coming?
0:58:44 > 0:58:46# Keep the car running
0:58:48 > 0:58:51# Keep the car running
0:58:53 > 0:58:56# Keep the car running. #