0:00:27 > 0:00:31GRACE DENT: One day, you're a free spirit making your own decisions,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33speeding where you please.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38You drive a two-seater sports car, you can put your pedal to the metal.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42And then, suddenly, life changes beyond recognition.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46BABY WAILS
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Decisions are now driven by the toddler tyrant...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Bye-bye!
0:00:52 > 0:00:54..who, let's be honest, can't even use the loo.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59When you become a dad,
0:00:59 > 0:01:00you're faced with this choice.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Either you completely accept that you're a dad,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05because you will start to do dad things.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09You will check radiators and make a noise when you sit down.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12And you will also need a car that's reasonably practical.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Or you could still cling to having a Porsche that makes you feel young,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18even though you're also covered in baby sick.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19But just what constitutes
0:01:19 > 0:01:23a reasonably practical, sensible family car?
0:01:23 > 0:01:27It's got to be probably a five-door of some description.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Readily accessible rear seats
0:01:30 > 0:01:33for those wretched baby seats, which I can never fix.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38It's got to be frugal, it's safe, it's quick enough.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39But sadly...
0:01:39 > 0:01:41really rather boring.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43TYRES SCREECH
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Designers have strived to make these family cars desirable
0:01:48 > 0:01:52as the modern family and its demands have evolved through the decades.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57Some companies have gone to the wall, but others have struck gold.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01A family car is much more demanding, in many ways.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04If you want to accommodate style, as well,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06we could just design a very ordinary square box and be done with it,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08but it wouldn't appeal to people at all.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11People are very conscious of design and style.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Saloon to estate.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Hot hatch to Chelsea tractor.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Choosing a family car is a major decision.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25It's one of the last spaces where families get to BE a family...
0:02:26 > 0:02:30..closely confined in this house on wheels.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32The car's part of the family, isn't it?
0:02:32 > 0:02:34It's almost like an indulged pet that you,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36you know, you're proud of and you want to show off.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Those photos in the family album.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Every new car, everyone has to stand either side of it
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and the badge of the car has to be on display.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52So climb in and buckle up for the story of the family car.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57The design innovations,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59the road trips and, of course, the arguments.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- CHILD:- Want to stop for ice cream. - DAD:- We're stopping in a bit.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05- CHILD:- My ear's hurting.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Because, for better or worse,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12the family car is where every family really comes together.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14# Whoa, whoa
0:03:15 > 0:03:17# For the wings of a dove...
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Isn't it?
0:03:19 > 0:03:21# For the wings of a dove
0:03:21 > 0:03:22# Whoa, whoa
0:03:22 > 0:03:25# For the wings of a dove... #
0:03:28 > 0:03:31It's the 27th of October, 1948.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35And a gleaming Earl's Court is full is the newest and shiniest vehicles
0:03:35 > 0:03:38to come off the British production line.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40- REPORTER:- The International Motor Exhibition at Earls Court
0:03:40 > 0:03:42was opened by the Duke of Gloucester.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45The fact that over 17,000 people attended on the first day
0:03:45 > 0:03:48proves how car hungry the post-war public is.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53This post-war public were about to witness an automotive spectacle
0:03:53 > 0:03:56the likes of which they'd never seen before.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It was the Morris Minor
0:04:00 > 0:04:03and it was going to open up a new world of family motoring.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- REPORTER: - And here's something to goggle at.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09A brand-new model announced only on the eve of the opening of the show.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10Here we see modern lines,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13blended with sturdy performance at very low cost.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Up to this point, cars had been the preserve of the wealthy.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23But thanks to the Morris,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25the car went from being a luxury item
0:04:25 > 0:04:26to a family staple.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The Morris Minor cost only £358, ten shillings and seven pence.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46The Minor was promoted as big-car motoring at small-car costs.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Even if it seems Lilliputian
0:04:48 > 0:04:52in contrast to the huge family cars of today.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56My pal John says that their Minor is jolly comfortable.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59And there's masses of room for them and their luggage!
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Bill Anderson tells me the Minor's the best car he ever had.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Marvellous on corners.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05Bags of power.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Miles and miles per gallon, too.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Gosh! Everyone's got a Minor.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Not everyone, silly.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13They've only made just over a million.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- Let's have the millionth and first, hey?- Wow!
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The Morris Minor was the first British car
0:05:22 > 0:05:24to achieve a million sales.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And it marked the start of a new generation
0:05:29 > 0:05:31of economical, small family cars
0:05:31 > 0:05:34for dad, mum and their 2.4 kids.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Part of the Morris Minor's appeal was it's simple, no-nonsense design.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47It's a three-box car with a compartment for people,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49compartment for the engine
0:05:49 > 0:05:50and then boot in the back.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And it was shaped like three boxes.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55It wasn't a particularly efficient package,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57because the boot in it was quite round,
0:05:57 > 0:05:58so you couldn't get a lot of stuff in it.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02But quite a tall roof - you could get people with hats into it,
0:06:02 > 0:06:03which mattered in those days.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05But cars were really rudimentary.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07They were quite... They were metal boxes
0:06:07 > 0:06:09with mechanics hanging off the bottom of them.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Motoring journalist Zog Ziegler
0:06:13 > 0:06:17recalls how safety was also a foreign concept.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20These cars were very, very flimsy.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22They ran on tyres that wide.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The brakes were so poor you'd have to make an appointment to stop.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27HE SCREAMS
0:06:27 > 0:06:31The seats were so shiny that, if you went round a corner,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33you'd slide across the whole bench.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35You know, nothing held you in place.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42It was all part of the excitement, part of being in this motoring club.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44You can't imagine how exciting it was.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48The Morris Minor did have indicators.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Although, well into the '50s,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52drivers were still sticking their arm out of the window to signal.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57But this vehicle and its rivals,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59the Hillman Minx and the Ford Consul
0:06:59 > 0:07:02were the great liberators of the early '50s,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06offering freedom and an escape from everyday worries.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08- REPORTER: - This family, knowing all too well
0:07:08 > 0:07:10what it means waiting for a bus.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12These were the halcyon days,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16when families didn't use their cars just to get from A to B.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18They went driving...for fun.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Well, just imagine.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23To suddenly have this thing,
0:07:23 > 0:07:24the family car.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27They could go on picnics.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29And families did! They...
0:07:29 > 0:07:33They took the car out purely to sit on Beachy Head
0:07:33 > 0:07:35with a thermos of tea...
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- Like a cup of tea? - Lovely!
0:07:38 > 0:07:40..and look at the view, because they could.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42In the pouring rain!
0:07:42 > 0:07:44They'd sit there, in the car with the children at the back,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46eating their little sandwiches.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Just to go to Beachy Head because they had a car.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51So I think that was liberating.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Once peaceful beauty spots
0:07:56 > 0:08:00were now overrun with family motorists.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The car made a whole new set of leisure pursuits possible.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08The Sunday drive,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10the picnic...
0:08:12 > 0:08:14..which was often an elaborate affair,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16complete with tartan rug, camping stove, teapot
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and a full set of china.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24- JOHNNY MORRIS:- Had a picnic lunch and then Dad went off to sleep.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Typical of the male animal, that.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Gorges itself into a stupor with food,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and then lies down beside the remains.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41In the '50s, that one car was there for life's milestones.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46# Got a house and a car and a wedding ring... #
0:08:46 > 0:08:49We set off in it after our wedding.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53We used it to drive our first-born safely home.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59You used to buy a car many, many years ago
0:08:59 > 0:09:01and it'd last you five, six years.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03My father's cars lasted seven or eight years at a time.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So it had a big job to do.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- REPORTER:- A car, they say,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10is more than just a hunk of metal to take us from A to B.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It's a projection in steel,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17of the sort of person we believe ourselves to be.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20It's a piece of machinery on which we lavish our time,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22our money, our energy.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Which we cosset and sometimes even fall in love with.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Like a first love, some people never forget their first car.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Brother and sister Chris and Amy have been part of a Morris family
0:09:36 > 0:09:37for three generations now.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Every one of their beloved Morrises has its own name.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Well, this is Bluey.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51She's so called because, officially, the colour is smoke grey,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55but she's been re-sprayed at some point and she's a bit more bluey.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56So...
0:09:56 > 0:10:00And my car's called Phoebe and she's quite an unusual colour.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Sage green. She's quite special.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Chris and Amy's whole upbringing has been Morris Minor maintenance.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Due to the simple design,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14the family are adept at keeping them on the road.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17It was always Mum's job to sit in the driver's seat
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and pump the pedal to bleed the brakes.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23And as soon as I was big enough to reach the pedals,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I took over that role from my mum.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Anything that goes wrong, it tells you what's wrong.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Like, there's only certain things that can be wrong.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33If the engine won't run, it either hasn't got fuel or it hasn't got a spark.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37It's not that some sensor isn't working or anything. There aren't any sensors.
0:10:37 > 0:10:38And I love the sounds they make.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40I don't want a radio. I want to listen to the gurgling
0:10:40 > 0:10:43as you go around corners and change gears.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46You can't go anywhere in a hurry and you don't want to.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49You're on holiday any time you're using a classic car.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Phoebe and Bluey are as much a part of their family as their partners.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57It's a case of love me, love my Morris.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02I'd had Bluey for only about six months before we started going out.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04But even then, she...
0:11:04 > 0:11:05she being the car,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09had got under my skin and I knew that she was a keeper.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Fortunately, the same applied to Lil, my wife.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And she turned out to be a keeper, as well. So...
0:11:16 > 0:11:18- AMY:- That's not even a joke!
0:11:19 > 0:11:21When I married my husband,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23the colour scheme was dictated by my car.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25She was, essentially, an honorary bridesmaid.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29She matched the other bridesmaids. She just couldn't get in the church.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Coincidentally, my sister-in-law and I
0:11:32 > 0:11:34are both expecting babies in the same month.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40Erm...so we're going to suddenly have extra minors in our Minors.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43They're going to be classic car fans, as well,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and we're creating the next generation.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49BABY WAILS
0:11:49 > 0:11:51WAILING CONTINUES
0:11:54 > 0:11:57But families were already dreaming bigger.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59We were getting a taste for space.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Families started to take driving holidays,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07heading to places like Devon and Cornwall
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and the family car needed extra room for luggage.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16But we could also now afford to buy bigger.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21The introduction of easier hire purchase in 1957
0:12:21 > 0:12:24meant that a car could cost as little as £4 a week.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Families were ready for the estate.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32- REPORTER:- The estate cars attract much interest,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35like this Ford Squire or the bigger Humber Hawk.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Modern estate cars more and more combine
0:12:37 > 0:12:40the advantages of a family saloon and a serviceable van.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48The modern family estate was a marriage of two cultures...
0:12:49 > 0:12:51..the American station wagon
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and the British shooting brake,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56a car which, traditionally, took gentleman on the hunt
0:12:56 > 0:12:58with guns and game in the back.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00GUNSHOT
0:13:00 > 0:13:02You could see the American influences
0:13:02 > 0:13:04and a lot of those sort of brands,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Vauxhall, Standard, Morris, Austin,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11they built estate cars.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13But they weren't very practical.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16It's not like you just had one door that hinged up.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17They'd often have split doors,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20so you'd have to put the bottom bit flat
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and then the glass bit would open separately.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24But they were load luggers.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28And, erm...and Dad, with his sensible hat
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and with a little bit more money to spend,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32would have an estate car.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34In Europe, it caught on, interestingly enough,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36as a lifestyle car.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38And people were using estate cars or wagons
0:13:38 > 0:13:40because they were making a statement
0:13:40 > 0:13:42that they have something else in their life,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46it might be horse riding, it might be golf, it might be scuba-diving,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48they can put all their stuff into the back of the car.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52And so the whole idea of an estate car or wagon in Europe
0:13:52 > 0:13:54is much more exotic than it became in America.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58In America, it's mum's car for carrying the kids in.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05The logical trend was for family cars to keep getting bigger.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08But one manufacturer tried to convince us
0:14:08 > 0:14:12they should get smaller, following the Suez crisis.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- REPORTER:- In September 1956,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18British troops went into action in Egypt,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21when Colonel Nasser cut the oil pipeline to the West.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Petrol rationing was introduced
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and family motorists were beginning to panic.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31They didn't want to lose their new-found freedoms.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35I think the increase is exorbitant.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The price is going to make motoring much more difficult
0:14:38 > 0:14:39than what it is now.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42And also, it's going to even restrict it
0:14:42 > 0:14:43for the people on rations.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44Do you think it's going to hit you?
0:14:44 > 0:14:46It's going to hit us very, very hard.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Enter designer Alec Issigonis, the man behind the Morris Minor.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57But could he create a new car for the family market,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00and one that was small and ran on minimal fuel?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03- REPROTER: - The British Motor Corporation
0:15:03 > 0:15:05took this problem as a challenge.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07They realised that what such a family needed
0:15:07 > 0:15:11was a fast, safe, low-priced car that was fun to drive.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Tiny economical two-seaters,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15such as the Messerschmitt and the Isetta bubble car,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17were popular in Europe.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Although awful to drive,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22they could achieve more than 40 miles per gallon.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Issigonis' stroke of genius
0:15:25 > 0:15:29was to create a family-sized successor to the bubble car.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32But could it really accommodate a family of four?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- REPORTER: - You don't believe it, do you?
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Ah, but wait! Wait until you step inside the Morris Mini-Minor.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40There's so much room for four people
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and so much parcel space.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Everything stows away so neatly and easily.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Four happy people in a big, big little car.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52Issigonis christened his creation the Morris Mini-Minor.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Within a few years, it became simply known as the Mini.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10I'm old enough to remember when, at my prep school,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14the headmaster's wife turned up in a turquoise Mini.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The Alex Issigonis Mini.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20And I was already pretty keen on cars then,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22and I was amazed by that thing.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24I was amazed by it.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26And it reinvented the car, in many ways.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29It had a transverse engine at the front,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31which meant it could be really short.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32You didn't have the drivetrain
0:16:32 > 0:16:34because the front wheels were driven.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36It was so compact. It was cute.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39It had great big pockets in the doors,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42you could put bottles of milk in standing up.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The Mini was a design miracle, a TARDIS.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47- REPORTER: - Look what Austin have done,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49to achieve an overall length of ten feet,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51the engine is swung sideways.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Then there's front-wheel drive
0:16:53 > 0:16:55and that means no transmission shaft or back axle.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Look at the extra passenger space this gives you.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01And look at these luggage spaces under the rear seat,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03because there's no rear axle
0:17:03 > 0:17:05and in this full-width door cupboard.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Never has there been so much room inside a car
0:17:07 > 0:17:08that takes so little parking space.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13But despite the engineering, families took some convincing.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Cars were becoming a status symbol and the Mini...
0:17:18 > 0:17:20seemed a bit cheap.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22That car was not successful when it first came out
0:17:22 > 0:17:26because people associated it with a lack of money.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28They felt it was pandering to those who couldn't really afford
0:17:28 > 0:17:30something more luxurious.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34So, by the nature of people wanting to aspire to something better,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36it wasn't that successful.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Until film stars and rock stars and footballers started to drive it
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and then, by association, it became a very cool car.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48- REPORTER:- People do the wildest things to Minis.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55And here come the Kinks with All Day And All Of The Night.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59# I'm not content to be with you in the daytime
0:18:02 > 0:18:06# Girl, I want to be with you all of the time... #
0:18:06 > 0:18:09It took the patronage of Peter Sellers and the Beatles
0:18:09 > 0:18:13to give the Mini a dash of glamour and celebrity.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14And that was what appealed
0:18:14 > 0:18:18to the new baby-boomer generation of families.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20But according to car journalist Richard Porter,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23once families had enthusiastically adopted the Mini,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26they sometimes took things to the extreme.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28There's a surprising amount of room in a Mini,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30but I don't think the designers ever thought
0:18:30 > 0:18:32they would get nine children in it,
0:18:32 > 0:18:33which is essentially what happened.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35And your parents would probably say,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38"Oh, get Philip from your class to come along
0:18:38 > 0:18:41"because I've seen that he's been eating a lot of Marathon bars
0:18:41 > 0:18:42"and he's quite fat."
0:18:42 > 0:18:44So he would be the sort of rudimentary 1960s version
0:18:44 > 0:18:45of an airbag.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Even today, with modern seatbelt legislation and so much choice,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00it's surprising how many families see the Mini as a viable family car.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04It is a bit like giving birth, getting in and out of this car!
0:19:04 > 0:19:06It's not easy to cram everyone in,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09but it is easy to park and cheap to run
0:19:09 > 0:19:11in today's overcrowded cities.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Maybe Issigonis was ahead of his time.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Jane Worthington never upsized her car when she had a family.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Like many others, she's formed very personal attachment to this brand.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Betty Boo was my first Mini. Then we had Bianca.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32The one that's being rebuilt at the minute is just Michelle,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34because it is a shell!
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Then we had Terence, who was orange.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38We had Rosie, Darren's Mini.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39Mine's called Flossie.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41She's pink all over - pink wheels, pink inside.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I went to live in New Zealand for a bit,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46so I bought a Mini out there and he was called Rangi.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Mine's Merida...
0:19:48 > 0:19:50because she's got a bit of an attitude.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And this one is Willie.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54He wasn't in the best condition when I got him,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56so it was Willie, won't he?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I didn't know whether he'd get me back home when I bought him.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05More so than any other car, the Mini seems to have a personality,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07which resonates with families.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Jane has had a Mini with her every step of the way.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I met my husband because I had a Mini.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18So I bought a Mini as my first car
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and I thought, I need some kind of boyfriend
0:20:20 > 0:20:22that will help me do this car up,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24so I went to a Mini club, that's where I met him.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27We had a stretch limo Mini as the wedding car.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30We had a cake that was like a car park
0:20:30 > 0:20:33with Minis on ramps going up the car.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37That was because it was all of our little Minis that were painted,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39so we had those going round the cake.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41We had Minis as centrepieces.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42There was a bit of a theme going on, really.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45And then we named our children after our Minis
0:20:45 > 0:20:48and the designer of the Mini.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51There were a few teething problems when the kids arrived.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55It was a pain when we had the car seats, an absolute pain,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57because we had a roll cage.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59So to get the actual car seat in,
0:20:59 > 0:21:00we had to have the sunroof fully back
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and throw the car seat into the car
0:21:03 > 0:21:06and then insert the child sort of through the sunroof.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Yeah, it was really, really awkward.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12But Jane finds it easier to keep everyone in line in a small car.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Alex! For goodness' sake, get in!
0:21:14 > 0:21:17When your kids are kicking off in the back,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19all you have to do is turn round and smack, like that,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and then you can get hold of the kids and make them be quiet.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Whereas, if you are in a bigger car, you just can't do it,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28you have to put up with the whinge.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Just couldn't imagine having any other car, really.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39The Mini was designed as a city run-around.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It wasn't really intended for long journeys.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47But the 1960s saw a motorway boom.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50With the M1 under construction...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56..long distance, high-speed driving was becoming more common.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01More conventional family cars, such as the Morris Minor,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03could barely top 60mph.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10But in 1962, the Ford Cortina roared in,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14boasting a top speed of 75mph.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23It cost £573 for the standard saloon...
0:22:24 > 0:22:28..but it looked big and had a fashionable air about it.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I think it's easy to overlook the genius of the name Cortina,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35because we take it for granted now.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I think, if you're of a certain age, you remember the Ford Cortina.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It sounds normal, it sounds like margarine or something.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45But actually, if you boil it down and you think about it in context,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47in the context of when that car first came out,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Cortina sounded incredibly exotic.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51It was somewhere abroad.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54You know, they could've called it the Ford Addis Ababa
0:22:54 > 0:22:56or something like that. It sounded incredibly exotic,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59incredibly foreign but, at the same time, not too foreign perhaps.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Something to aspire to. I think it's a ski resort.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07The Italian ski resort of Cortina
0:23:07 > 0:23:10had been used for the Winter Olympics of 1956
0:23:10 > 0:23:13and it was still very much in the public's imagination.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17A sprinkle of European glitter,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20combined with solid engineering,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23made the Cortina THE middle-class family car of the '60s.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Although, in Italian, Cortina means...
0:23:27 > 0:23:28curtain.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Ford also did something very clever.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36They cottoned on to the fact that owning a car
0:23:36 > 0:23:38was a way families could show they'd moved up in the world,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40especially in identikit suburbia.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48The Cortina designers appealed to the British obsession
0:23:48 > 0:23:49with one-upmanship
0:23:49 > 0:23:54by creating a Cortina pecking order to impress the neighbours.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58The hierarchy within the range of the Cortina
0:23:58 > 0:24:01was incredibly well thought out.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03I mean, they had rooms full of people to calculate this stuff.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08So the L had steel wheels and black rubbing strips down the side.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13And that meant that, "Well, yes, OK, you've got a new car.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14"Well done."
0:24:14 > 0:24:15If you got up to the GL,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17well, the rubbing strip had a chrome insert
0:24:17 > 0:24:20and the wheels maybe had some kind of different design,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22a little bit more stylish.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24It was all about badge kudos.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27You know, the more chrome letters you could have on your boot,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29the cooler your dad was.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32And then there were engine sizes and people would flaunt that.
0:24:32 > 0:24:331,600.
0:24:33 > 0:24:352,000cc.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38It was all about that's how you could maybe stand out.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41But then, if you went up to the GLS or even, heaven forfend, the Ghia,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44you got a vinyl roof and alloy wheels
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and the whole close would be peeking out from the curtains and going,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50"Well, the Wilsons are doing terribly well, aren't they?"
0:24:50 > 0:24:52# Now, I'm the one who's laughing
0:24:52 > 0:24:54# Just like a hyena
0:24:54 > 0:24:56# Cos I won't take nagging in my passion wagon
0:24:56 > 0:24:58# That's my funky Ford Cortina... #
0:24:58 > 0:25:01This door, Reg. Go on, Reg, in you get.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04As Cortinas go, Mark Taylor's estate is the daddy.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13I'm driving a 1972 Ford Mark III Cortina.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15It's an XL version
0:25:15 > 0:25:17which, back in the day,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20was the top-of-the-range for the estate version
0:25:20 > 0:25:22of the Mark III
0:25:22 > 0:25:25and XL stands for extra luxury.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29My father had a Mark III Cortina.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32In fact, my father had all the Cortinas.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36The Cortina was the perfect vehicle for a new holiday fashion -
0:25:36 > 0:25:38the foreign road trip.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42We went down through France into Spain as a kid
0:25:42 > 0:25:44in my dad's Cortina.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And, oh, it was a huge adventure as a child.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49My dad, my mum, my sister.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53And he built a little bench to go in the back seat there,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56so me and my sister, we could go to sleep in the back.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00I will always have a Cortina in my life.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09More and more families were starting to take holidays abroad.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Average paid summer leave in 1969 was 2.3 weeks,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18but this increased throughout the '70s.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22And for many families the two-week summer break
0:26:22 > 0:26:26now no longer meant Bognor, but Brittany or Biarritz.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Cross-channel ferries saw a boom in customers.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Five million of us sailed from Dover in 1970.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39By 1980, this had risen to over 10 million.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Even though just getting to the ferry
0:26:45 > 0:26:47could be an epic journey itself.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49HORN BLARES
0:26:57 > 0:27:00The family road trip is an experience we all share...
0:27:01 > 0:27:03..and the further into the '70s we got,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06the further families were willing to travel.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08We set off, map in hand,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11with the car rammed to the brim.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It was a fairly complex routine in the early years,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17when it was all four of us in the one car.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Me and Amy would get in the back of the car and sit in
0:27:19 > 0:27:21and then Mum and Dad would pile stuff on top of us,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24so you could just see our heads on a pile of luggage in the back.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27It's amazing what you can fit in the cars,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29considering there's a lot of curves
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and you can't fit anything as conventional as a suitcase in,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34but you can squeeze a shoe down a gap.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36We got very frustrated
0:27:36 > 0:27:38going through passport control at the Channel Tunnel.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40They said, "Can everyone get out of the car?"
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I was like, "Oh....!" It was like a ten-minute expedition.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48We trapped ourselves for hours in that small box on wheels.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55But it was here that the essence of being a family was laid bare.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02For author Ben Hatch, these journeys helped define his childhood.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Most of my best family memories
0:28:05 > 0:28:07are of being in the back of a car.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Some of the worst, as well.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12But some of the greatest moments are
0:28:12 > 0:28:14when you're all together there as a family,
0:28:14 > 0:28:15you're setting off on your holiday,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17it's a really sort of special moment.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20You're having a little family sing-song or something in the car.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It is a bonding experience, I believe.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Of course, there was moments ten minutes in,
0:28:27 > 0:28:28when Mum and Dad pulled over,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30threatened to smack everyone in the back seat
0:28:30 > 0:28:32and then turn around and drive home,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35but battle-hardened parents developed clever tactics
0:28:35 > 0:28:38to make the journey bearable.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45My sister and I would have full-on fistfights in the back sometimes
0:28:45 > 0:28:47when things got too boring.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52So Dad devised this magical way of keeping us shut up in the back seat.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55If we saw an ambulance on the journey,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58my sister and I, we had to hold our collars
0:28:58 > 0:29:00until we saw a four-legged animal.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02So on an autobahn or on a motorway,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05you wouldn't see a four-legged animal for some time.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Also, while we were thus doing, holding our collars,
0:29:08 > 0:29:09we weren't allowed to speak.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14And I remember sitting in the back of the car, I always got carsick,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16so I always used to end up in pyjamas,
0:29:16 > 0:29:17because I'd always have been sick,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19and, yeah,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22we used to have to do I-spy and it just used to go on forever.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25No, it's not! It's the letter A!
0:29:25 > 0:29:26All right, all right, all right...
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Is that what you were I-spying? The letter A?
0:29:29 > 0:29:32- Yeah! - It's a bit tricky, that.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35We devised a game called I Don't Spy,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37where the thing that you're not spying
0:29:37 > 0:29:39could be anything in the known universe.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42So the game could last for up to three hours
0:29:42 > 0:29:45with them trying to guess objects that they couldn't actually see.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Why have I ended up with A again?
0:29:48 > 0:29:49A...
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Hold on, ape. Nobody's said ape.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Ooh-ooh, ape.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54Do you remember those I-spy books,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56where you tick off cars that you saw
0:29:56 > 0:29:58and there'd be sort of, like, 100 ticks
0:29:58 > 0:30:00next to the Vauxhall Cavalier one.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02And then you'd be desperately hoping
0:30:02 > 0:30:04that you saw something incredibly rare and unusual,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06like a Wartburg,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09because that was sort of 20 points in your I-spy book.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11I remember Travel Scrabble,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13where you pushed the letters into little holes on the board.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Imagine all the fun!
0:30:15 > 0:30:18The advent of the in-car cassette player
0:30:18 > 0:30:20opened up a whole new world of possibilities
0:30:20 > 0:30:23for family entertainment.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32# Tired of waiting for you... #
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I remember a brilliant holiday we had in the car.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37It was probably the longest distance we'd done.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42We got the ferry to Denmark in my dad's Talbot Solara
0:30:42 > 0:30:44GLS with a vinyl roof.
0:30:44 > 0:30:45Phwoar! It was lovely.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49And as a family, we couldn't agree on what to listen to in the car
0:30:49 > 0:30:54and the only mutually agreeable piece of in-car entertainment
0:30:54 > 0:30:55was The Best Of ABBA.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00# So when you near me, darling, can't you hear me?
0:31:00 > 0:31:01# SOS
0:31:04 > 0:31:08# The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
0:31:08 > 0:31:09# SOS... #
0:31:11 > 0:31:15And to this day, I'm a huge ABBA fan and so is my younger brother
0:31:15 > 0:31:17because we just listened to ABBA on loop.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21It's something that's worth remembering now.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24The kids of today don't know how good they've got it.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31Ben Hatch took the road trip to the extreme
0:31:31 > 0:31:35when he embarked on an 8,000-mile odyssey with his young family.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40It was sort of an insane idea that we had,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43based on the fact that our son had just been born
0:31:43 > 0:31:46and our daughter was three
0:31:46 > 0:31:48and we had a little bit of time to ourselves.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51My wife was off with maternity leave and we thought,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55"Why don't we make a whole kind of adventure of it?"
0:31:56 > 0:31:59It all fell apart in the first day,
0:31:59 > 0:32:04when I think my daughter wet herself in the Elgar Museum
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and then I lost the key to the roof box
0:32:06 > 0:32:09that contained all our son's nappy changing facilities,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13which meant we had to change him on the bonnet of the car,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16using three lemon fresh wipes from KFC.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20You have to have a low-grade car, really, I think,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22if you're driving around with kids.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Otherwise you'd start feeling a bit precious about your car.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Ben turned the highs and lows of his family's road trip
0:32:30 > 0:32:34into a travel blog, an On The Road for modern parents.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38"They take it in shifts for the next 100 miles to cry out for a banana,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40"sweets, cuddles, a treat.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43"Phoebe is so bored outside Chollerford,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45"when I look round at traffic lights,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49"I catch her trying to touch her own eyeball.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50"And Charlie is worse.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53"He's playing Temple Run on my phone
0:32:53 > 0:32:55"using his nose to swipe.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58"We teeter on the edge of madness
0:32:58 > 0:33:01"down tiny unmarked roads on he way to Kielder.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04"The lowest moment coming when I take Phoebe for a wee
0:33:04 > 0:33:07"in a field of live ordnance in Otterburn,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10"a few feet from a chirpy sign warning,
0:33:10 > 0:33:14"'Do not touch military debris. It might explode and kill you.'"
0:33:18 > 0:33:21During the '70s, the traditional four-door saloon
0:33:21 > 0:33:25gave way to a design popular in Europe - the hatchback...
0:33:27 > 0:33:29..with a sloping hatchback boot,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31which meant you could access the luggage compartment
0:33:31 > 0:33:33from the back seat.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37My dad was a very practical man and he liked the idea of a hatchback.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Sort of split the difference between a saloon, not so practical,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44and an estate, slightly too practical, perhaps,
0:33:44 > 0:33:45for his requirements
0:33:45 > 0:33:46So a nice hatchback.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49And he had two or three of those in quick succession
0:33:49 > 0:33:52because they suited his needs,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54which were mainly putting a buggy in the back
0:33:54 > 0:33:57and then, on a Sunday, taking things to the tip.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04British Leyland, Britain's national car manufacturer,
0:34:04 > 0:34:09unveiled a new contender for the family market in 1973.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14But during its development,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18the designers had somehow missed the crucial hatchback memo.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23British Leyland have got down to some really radical thinking
0:34:23 > 0:34:28about what the family car should be for Europe in the '70s and the '80s
0:34:28 > 0:34:31and here comes the answer - the Allegro!
0:34:31 > 0:34:33And I must confess, when I first saw it,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35it's a shape that didn't greatly grab me.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40The Allegro, a family saloon, was the hatchback that never was.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43BL, as they often did,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46seized this defeat from the jaws of victory
0:34:46 > 0:34:48by not making that car a hatchback.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50It had a tiny little flap for the boot on the back
0:34:50 > 0:34:53so it wasn't big enough to get a load of grass cuttings in
0:34:53 > 0:34:56which is, of course, what your dad wants from a family car.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The Allegro became a scapegoat for everything
0:35:01 > 0:35:03that was wrong with the British family car in the '70s.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07But it wasn't just the design.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09There was also a supply issue.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16So even if families wanted to buy an Allegro,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18they couldn't always get one.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21- REPORTER:- Yet a third dispute is delaying Allegro production.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25On this car, Lord Stokes has based his hopes for major sales in Europe.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Now, with the tracks idle,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30it seems that Europe must again be kept waiting.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33All those in favour, please show.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35CHEERING
0:35:35 > 0:35:37You couldn't buy a BL car a lot of the time
0:35:37 > 0:35:39because there were a lot of strikes.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41And there were strikes at Ford, as well.
0:35:41 > 0:35:42My dad wanted a Cortina in the '70s
0:35:42 > 0:35:44and then ended up cancelling his order
0:35:44 > 0:35:47because Dagenham was permanently not making cars
0:35:47 > 0:35:50and standing outside around a brazier complaining about stuff.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54British Leyland wanted to break into the European family market
0:35:54 > 0:35:57but, instead, Europe broke into ours.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01We joined the EEC in 1973
0:36:01 > 0:36:04and the floodgates to foreign imports opened.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07- REPORTER:- A sleeping Britain awoke to find itself invaded.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14The Germans were coming with their Volkswagens.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16the Italians were coming with their Fiats.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19We weren't just driving to Europe on holidays,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Europe was coming to driveways across Britain.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28But would you get frowned on by your neighbours for buying one?
0:36:28 > 0:36:29In suburbia, initially,
0:36:29 > 0:36:34I think it was seen to be disloyal and one bought British
0:36:34 > 0:36:38and you could have car stickers, you know, "I bought British."
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And then some clever monkey would come along and he'd say,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43"Yeah, I bought foreign
0:36:43 > 0:36:45"and that's why my car isn't on the hard shoulder."
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Why not give it a go?
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Why not take a chance on that VW or that Renault or something
0:36:50 > 0:36:54and risk the slight sneers from your neighbours
0:36:54 > 0:36:55that you look like a bit of a traitor
0:36:55 > 0:36:58because you'd had enough of your Maxi
0:36:58 > 0:36:59piddling oil onto your driveway?
0:36:59 > 0:37:02At least, you know, if your Fiat piddled oil onto your driveway,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04it was exotic Italian oil.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The discerning 1970s family car buyer
0:37:07 > 0:37:10now had a wish list as long as your arm.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12We need the space.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14One would like all the room that's necessary
0:37:14 > 0:37:16for a family and a holiday.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Well, I go for the look of it, more than anything.
0:37:18 > 0:37:19Comfort.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Speed.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24We want economy. We want a reasonable price.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27One would also like all the qualities of a sports car.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Good, safe seatbelt in the car for the kids or your wife.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33And I suppose compactness.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35But, erm...
0:37:35 > 0:37:36so far, they haven't made it.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41At the forefront of the continental newcomers
0:37:41 > 0:37:45was a vehicle destined to become one of the bestselling cars ever.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52It was a hatchback
0:37:52 > 0:37:54and it had crisp Italian styling.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57It was the Volkswagen Golf.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03The Golf was...
0:38:03 > 0:38:07The original Golf by Giugiaro, the Italian designer, was a phenomena
0:38:07 > 0:38:10and it was one of my favourite cars when I was growing up,
0:38:10 > 0:38:12when I was a young man.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15And we aspired to it because it looked great. It was different.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17It had a hatchback which made it practical.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20It's a great piece of design in its own right.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26The Golf became widely regarded as the definitive family hatchback.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30With boot space big enough to fit a buggy,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33it was sold as sensible enough for suburbia,
0:38:33 > 0:38:35yet also racy.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37He's off in that new car again.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- Hm... - Wouldn't catch me in a Volkswagen.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44- What's wrong with a Golf? - Well, it's not exactly big, is it?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Actually, it's bigger than it looks.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48He'll never get that lot in there.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Anyway, I don't like rear-engined cars.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53The engine's in the front. It's water-cooled.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Come on, quickly. All in.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57The back seat folds down, too.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Here, you seem to know a lot about his car.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00Have you been in his car?
0:39:04 > 0:39:07But Volkswagen upped the ante further...
0:39:08 > 0:39:12..souping up the Golf to appeal to petrolhead parents...
0:39:14 > 0:39:16..who wanted to hold on to a glimmer of youth.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Vroom! Vroom!
0:39:19 > 0:39:21The Golf GTI revved in.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27The GTI was a pioneer in hot hatchback...
0:39:29 > 0:39:31..using fuel injection technology
0:39:31 > 0:39:34normally associated with sports cars.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38The Golf GTI came along, starting this boom in hot hatchbacks
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and here you could have a practical car that, when you're on your own,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44you could drive like you'd sat on a wasp.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48I mean, dads around the world were just going, "Thank you! Thank you!"
0:39:48 > 0:39:51In the day, it went to 60 in under ten seconds,
0:39:51 > 0:39:52which was always a benchmark.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55It was a real driver's car.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56A real driver's car.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58And it'd keep up with the best sports cars of the time.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04We tend to think of the GTI as a boy racer car,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07but VW had their eye on the family market,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09even creating a five-door version.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15Suddenly, you had all the aspects of a small family car,
0:40:15 > 0:40:16the practicality of a hatchback,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19which was relatively new in those days,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21and the drivability of a sports car.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23And this really appealed to a whole generation,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26including myself, actually,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29where, you know, it was one step up from the Mini.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31You could actually get four people into it comfortably
0:40:31 > 0:40:34and it had a lot of practicality,
0:40:34 > 0:40:36but it was a cool car because it went.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Your dad could say to your mum, "It's very practical.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42"It's got five doors."
0:40:42 > 0:40:44And by the '80s, the stigma of buying a foreign car
0:40:44 > 0:40:46had sort of ebbed away and so you'd say, "It's a Volkswagen.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48"They're very well made, you know?"
0:40:48 > 0:40:51And he didn't have to mention the 1.8 litre engine
0:40:51 > 0:40:52and that it had over 100 horsepower
0:40:52 > 0:40:55and it could do 0-60 in whatever time it was back then,
0:40:55 > 0:40:56which seemed impressive.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Dad would have something to look cool in on his own,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05something to go to the pub in and impress his mates
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and something fairly rapid.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09But before he went to the pub or before he went out on his own,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12he'd make sure that any evidence
0:41:12 > 0:41:14of children sitting in the back was removed
0:41:14 > 0:41:18so babyseats were a no-no when Dad went out alone in his GTI.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29The Golf GTI was the equivalent of taking your wedding ring off.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34You could have a family car one day, sports car the next.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39But let's not just make this about your dad.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42David Challenger isn't the only speed freak in his family.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45His kids love their GTI, as well.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47Even if it nearly broke the bank.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50We made a huge sacrifice.
0:41:50 > 0:41:51When we first bought our GTI,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54it was every single penny we earned to buy it,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56insure it and fuel it.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Every single penny.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02It was £5,000 exactly. That was a lot of money.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04It was a lot of our earnings, as well, that was.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07But it's just done everything that I needed it to do.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10It's just something... Yeah, it was something I had to have.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11You had the power,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13you had the reliability
0:42:13 > 0:42:15AND you could get children in the back,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18so it was a perfect family car.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Me and him have been out in this a little bit, haven't we?
0:42:22 > 0:42:23And he really likes this car.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27It's loud. The noise it makes when it goes.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29ENGINE REVS
0:42:30 > 0:42:31And it's comfy.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35- You like it? Yeah? - Yeah.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37I like the speed of it, as well.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40- I like it because it goes fast. - Kids like speed, obviously.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42THEY ALL CHUCKLE
0:42:42 > 0:42:45They're only about 120mph, to be honest, so they're not super quick.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49But in 1984, when this was built, that was pretty rapid.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Yeah, that was pretty rapid.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55One of the features is the Pirelli alloys.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00They were quite a big GTI thing, especially in the early days.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03The red stripe around the grille,
0:43:03 > 0:43:04the red pinstripe,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07was always an original feature and, obviously, for me,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10you can only have a GTI in a three-door.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13That's the rule. You have to have a three-door GTI.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15It's safe because the kids can't open the doors
0:43:15 > 0:43:16or wind the windows down and stuff like that.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18It's good.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25The GTI was what became known as a halo car.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30It basically gave the Golf brand a bit of swagger.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32What's happened with the family car
0:43:32 > 0:43:35is they've become more and more interesting
0:43:35 > 0:43:37because, if you take a standard car, people think,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40"Well, I don't really want to give up my sense of independence,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44"my sense of character that I might have had in a previous car,
0:43:44 > 0:43:46"a sports car or something a little bit quicker."
0:43:47 > 0:43:49It was important for the car industry
0:43:49 > 0:43:53to create these halo cars like GTIs.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56And what that does, it gives people permission
0:43:56 > 0:43:58to drive something ordinary
0:43:58 > 0:44:00because the halo car of that same family set
0:44:00 > 0:44:03is actually very, very exciting.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06And that's why these sports hot hatchbacks
0:44:06 > 0:44:10and sports derivatives of saloon cars evolved.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13You know, the association was that, "We're not boring.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16"We might have 2.3 kids, but we're not boring."
0:44:16 > 0:44:18And I think that's very important for people.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24The family car of the '80s now seemed to have it all -
0:44:24 > 0:44:27sports car power, practicality
0:44:27 > 0:44:28and space for a family of four.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32But there was one crucial thing missing
0:44:32 > 0:44:34from the back seat of many family cars.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39And that...was seat belts.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45- REPORTER:- In spite of the increase in the number of cars,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48the number of people killed within all categories and ages
0:44:48 > 0:44:49is decreasing,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51with one exception -
0:44:51 > 0:44:53children as car passengers.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55You've just arrived with your three children
0:44:55 > 0:44:58and the little one's standing up in the middle. She's got a good view,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01but aren't you worried about her safety, standing there?
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Yes, I am, as a matter of fact.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06- But it's only because you've brought it to my attention.- Yes.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Hello. That's a lovely, bonny baby you've got in their back there.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Is that carrycot she's in strapped into the car?
0:45:11 > 0:45:13No, it's just...
0:45:13 > 0:45:16Well, it's sort of just sat in behind the chair, really.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18It's not tied in or anything.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22- And she's loose in it?- Well, yeah, we usually lie her down anyway.- Yes.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Do you know that the most dangerous place for a small child to sit
0:45:25 > 0:45:27- is in the front seat?- It's in the front seat, isn't it, yes? Yes.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29- Especially on Mum's lap. - Yes.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31Does that worry you today?
0:45:31 > 0:45:33- Well, it does, but I've put my seatbelt on as well, you know?- Yes.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36- Do you put that round her? - No, I put it round me.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39It would be a bit tight for both of us.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41What would happen to her, then, if you had a crash?
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Well, erm...
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Well, I hold her really tight, you know?
0:45:50 > 0:45:54Although family attitudes to safety left much to be desired,
0:45:54 > 0:45:59safety belts for kids were not enforced in law until 1989.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04If you were one of the safety-conscious few
0:46:04 > 0:46:06with big enough pockets,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08there was a dream car waiting for you...
0:46:08 > 0:46:10the Volvo 240.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Sweden's most famous export after ABBA.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Volvo were way ahead of the pack on safety engineering
0:46:19 > 0:46:22and developed a prototype rear-facing child seat
0:46:22 > 0:46:25as early as 1964.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28- REPORTER:- Children in a car should have the same protection as adults.
0:46:28 > 0:46:29The safest protection
0:46:29 > 0:46:33consists of the rearwards-facing child seat developed by Volvo.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Volvo were even introducing cars
0:46:35 > 0:46:39which the centre armrest would convert into a babyseat.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Babyseats were unheard of when I was a child.
0:46:43 > 0:46:44Now we have...
0:46:44 > 0:46:48You know, safety belts were pretty much unheard of.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51The Volvo was a tank.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Its bumpers dwarfed those of other cars
0:46:54 > 0:46:56and it had a huge luggage space.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00But its conservative image only appealed
0:47:00 > 0:47:03to a certain corner of the family market -
0:47:03 > 0:47:05Mr and Mrs Sensible.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Their whole advertising strategy was based around safety.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17And it's funny how everyone thought that made Volvos boring.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19You know, a Volvo was sort of what you got
0:47:19 > 0:47:22if you were a little bit worthy and a bit...a bit too practical.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Almost other dads would go, "Well, I mean,
0:47:25 > 0:47:28"I like a bit of space in the boot, but steady on!
0:47:28 > 0:47:31"I don't need a Volvo 240. I'm not an antiques dealer."
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Parents didn't wilfully choose unsafe cars,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39but safety culture had long been fixated on the front seat.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Everyone, apart from Volvo,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45seemed less concerned with what was going on in the back.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50I don't think anyone ever goes, "I'd like your unsafest car, please.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53"I've got one that's got a dagger in the middle of the steering wheel.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56"Is there anything...? I don't know if there's one that, perhaps,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58"has a few land mines in the back seat ?
0:47:58 > 0:48:01"Because I like to keep my children on their toes."
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Nobody ever thinks like that.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Volvo were way ahead of their time.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08It's bizarre that not every parent in the country had a Volvo
0:48:08 > 0:48:11because why would you put your children at risk?
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Safety-conscious Dad aspired to his Volvo.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22And petrolhead parents aspired to their GTI.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26But what was Yummy Mummy dreaming of?
0:48:27 > 0:48:31- REPORTER:- Go shopping, go visiting, go to work, go to school...
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Straight from the Gymkhana came another family car
0:48:34 > 0:48:38which, like the GTI, cultivated the envy factor.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Its parent was the Land Rover,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45which harked back to the shooting brake of the prewar era
0:48:45 > 0:48:47with its country estate heritage.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54- REPORTER:- The Land Rover is like the type of man
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Britain's countryside has bred for centuries past.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Strong and skilful, yet, on social occasions,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03smart enough to hold his own with dignity and self-respect.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07So just how did Range Rover,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10which started life as a functional vehicle for farm and field,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13kick-start the Chelsea tractor craze,
0:49:13 > 0:49:17off-roading 4x4s used for the city school run?
0:49:17 > 0:49:20The Range Rover was to replace
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Farmer Giles' old beaten up Land Rover
0:49:23 > 0:49:26and this was more luxurious, more go anywhere,
0:49:26 > 0:49:28in the sense that you could take it into town
0:49:28 > 0:49:30and on the motorway at some speed.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33But it just had rubber mats on the floor and plastic seats,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35so Farmer Giles could slosh a bucket of water through it
0:49:35 > 0:49:39with all the doors open and get all the cow poo out
0:49:39 > 0:49:41and then take his wife to the theatre.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45The original Range Rover was very bare inside.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47I mean, it was designed to be hosed out
0:49:47 > 0:49:49and it was outside companies
0:49:49 > 0:49:51who quite quickly cottoned on to the fact
0:49:51 > 0:49:55that this car actually appealed to urbanites with lots of money
0:49:55 > 0:49:57and started offering leather seats.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00They could convert it to five doors, which it wasn't at that point,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02so you could even be chauffeured in it, if you wanted to be.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05And then, belatedly, Land Rover themselves
0:50:05 > 0:50:07sort of, in their brilliant Brummie way went,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10"Oh, people seem to be making money out of the Range Rover.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11"Maybe that should be us."
0:50:14 > 0:50:16From the mid-1980s,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18middle-class families were aspiring to Range Rovers.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24When parked on a suburban street next to, say, a Ford Focus, it said,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28"We're an active family who go off the beaten track at weekends."
0:50:29 > 0:50:32It was basically a projection of what the family wanted to be,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34although not many could afford it.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38The secret of that car's success is first of all
0:50:38 > 0:50:42because it's just a very, very human thing - we like sitting up high.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44And particularly if you've made a success of yourself
0:50:44 > 0:50:45and you've got some money.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47You like to look down on people.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49It's a simple fact and there's nothing
0:50:49 > 0:50:51that lets you look down on people quite as much
0:50:51 > 0:50:53as a Range Rover.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56I mean, I remember always sort of thinking, you know,
0:50:56 > 0:50:57"It's quite nice up here,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00"peering into people's bathrooms," as I drove by.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03And also, and I speak from personal experience
0:51:03 > 0:51:07in having a really ruined back since I became a dad,
0:51:07 > 0:51:08trying to load a child,
0:51:08 > 0:51:11particularly a wiggly, angry, crying child,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14into a car like that rather than like that - down,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16is so much easier.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19You just want something high up. They make good sense.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24But sitting up high in something akin to a mini tank
0:51:24 > 0:51:26also made families feel safer.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29The 4x4 shielded our precious children
0:51:29 > 0:51:31from the urban jungle.
0:51:31 > 0:51:32And people like to sit high
0:51:32 > 0:51:35because it gives them that command position of the rest of the road
0:51:35 > 0:51:38and, in some ways, it makes them feel safer, I think.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41So this is a modern phenomena that really has picked up
0:51:41 > 0:51:44from where the family car left off.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48The Range Rover married safety and countryside social status
0:51:48 > 0:51:50in a way that the Volvo 240 never could.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53Manufacturers soon realised
0:51:53 > 0:51:57that there was a 4x4-shaped gap in the family market.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59It spawned so many others.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Every manufacturer worth its salt, everyone,
0:52:02 > 0:52:07was making a big 4x4 luxury car for, as you say,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10the yummy mummy outside the school gate.
0:52:10 > 0:52:15Who, by putting on her hazard lights, can double park
0:52:15 > 0:52:18because she's got her hazard lights on, so that's fine. Extraordinary!
0:52:18 > 0:52:22# Well, you must be a mum with a car like that
0:52:22 > 0:52:24# I really know your type well
0:52:24 > 0:52:26# I see you driving your X5, your Vogue
0:52:26 > 0:52:28# Or your Mercedes DL
0:52:28 > 0:52:30# Oh, yeah
0:52:31 > 0:52:34# Someone said safety was your main concern
0:52:34 > 0:52:37# And while I know it's a factor
0:52:37 > 0:52:41# Style's the main reason that you bought a Chelsea tractor... #
0:52:41 > 0:52:44The 3:15 school pick-up is now littered with what car insiders call
0:52:44 > 0:52:46the crossover -
0:52:46 > 0:52:49big vehicles, 4x4 in style,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52but with little off-roading capability.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Isn't the Crossover a '70s bra?
0:52:54 > 0:52:56And it's a bit of a damn nuisance
0:52:56 > 0:52:58because parking spaces are still just as small,
0:52:58 > 0:53:04so you just get a sort of symphony of steel clanking into steel...
0:53:04 > 0:53:06as you open your door in the supermarket car park.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Morning!
0:53:17 > 0:53:19Oh, there's Auntie Jo.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Oh, Jan! Jan! Can you take her in for me?
0:53:31 > 0:53:34- Because I've got to do the playgroup run.- No worries.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39We tend to make fun of these big tanks,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41but they are not just vanity cars.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43Families have been getting bigger,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46both in the physical and the social sense.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52More liberal attitudes to divorce and the rise in second marriages
0:53:52 > 0:53:54meant roomier cars were needed
0:53:54 > 0:53:56for a mix of teenagers and younger siblings.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00Designers also had to work
0:54:00 > 0:54:02within increasingly tight safety parameters.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05People ask me now, "Why are cars getting bigger?"
0:54:05 > 0:54:07Well, it's to do with safety.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09It's to do with the amount of room we need inside
0:54:09 > 0:54:12for impact and for airbags and all the good stuff
0:54:12 > 0:54:15that's built in to stop people hurting themselves.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20Now, cars have to withstand vast impacts,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23so the designer starts with a great big lump of steel
0:54:23 > 0:54:25front and rear for safety
0:54:25 > 0:54:28and then a great big lumps of steel at the side
0:54:28 > 0:54:29for side impact safety.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31So the designer is so compromised.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34Every generation of car...
0:54:34 > 0:54:36Well, Golf, we're up to Mark VII or Mark VIII now...
0:54:36 > 0:54:40Every generation gets flabbier,
0:54:40 > 0:54:42wider, maybe a bit taller.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46Because it can withstand more and more impact.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48People are getting bigger.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51And people are growing by an inch every 15 years or so
0:54:51 > 0:54:52around the world, on average.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56You know, our diets are changing and people are getting bigger.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58They're also getting quite wide, as well, some of them,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01so we have to make sure we've got a car which accommodates
0:55:01 > 0:55:03the certain percentile of person
0:55:03 > 0:55:06which, nowadays, is quite a large size.
0:55:06 > 0:55:12A family cars are now 4-6 inches wider than they were 25 years ago.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16All of these factors present a real challenge to designers,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19who want to create family cars that are more streamlined.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24The first family car I did was the previous Jaguar XF
0:55:24 > 0:55:27and we were halfway through it and I turned round and told my boss,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30"Actually, I haven't designed a saloon car before."
0:55:30 > 0:55:32He looked at me rather horrified.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34Because up until then, I'd just done sports cars
0:55:34 > 0:55:36and so it was quite challenging.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40We want the car to look sporty, because that is our heritage.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42At the same time, it has to be practical.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44It has to have room inside it.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48And are one of the essences of a sports car, of course,
0:55:48 > 0:55:49is the shape and the silhouette.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51It has to look sleek.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Family cars, by nature, have to be quite practical and boxy, really.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57And tall for room.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00And so building that style
0:56:00 > 0:56:03into something of these dimensions and height...
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Because style tends to be about length
0:56:05 > 0:56:07and SUVs, sport utility vehicles, tend to be about height,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10so you have this contradiction of dimension
0:56:10 > 0:56:11you have to deal with visually.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13And so we try tricks to do that,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15you know, whether it be in lines, forms, proportions...
0:56:15 > 0:56:17The wheel size helps.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20You know, the larger the wheel, the better the car looks.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Don't ask me why, it's just a designer thing, but they do!
0:56:23 > 0:56:26And it gives the car a sense of confidence and everything else
0:56:26 > 0:56:28that a sports car would have.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29But, yeah, it's a tricky balance
0:56:29 > 0:56:32and sometimes, of course, I'm sitting at my desk,
0:56:32 > 0:56:34I'll be doodling, I'll doodle a sports car.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37That's my default sketch, is a sports car.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44It's ironic that sports car designers, like Ian Callum,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47who once fed our long lost dreams of freedom
0:56:47 > 0:56:49now have two get family-minded.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55The family car remains a uniquely challenging vehicle to crack
0:56:55 > 0:56:58but, if you do, the rewards are lucrative.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01Much more so than for a niche sports car.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06Our family car tells the outside world
0:57:06 > 0:57:09what type of family we want to be,
0:57:09 > 0:57:13whether it's a Mini for the retro-obsessed city family
0:57:13 > 0:57:16or a Volvo for the safety-minded doctor's family.
0:57:17 > 0:57:22But what happens inside that box is far more important.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27The design of the family car mirrors our relationship
0:57:27 > 0:57:29with our real family.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31It's always a compromise
0:57:31 > 0:57:35based on the competing demands of each family member.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39And what Mum and Dad want isn't necessarily what the children need.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42In this post-modern era,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45where families are disparate and even in our own homes
0:57:45 > 0:57:49we tend to gravitate to different rooms,
0:57:49 > 0:57:52the family car is that one remaining space
0:57:52 > 0:57:54where we can't escape each other.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05We all need to take a road trip once in a while.