Mirage Mental55 bhp? I got more riding a tortoise back in the late 50'sOriginally Posted by Mark
Yeah, I forgot the Festiva had a 1.3L engine with a mighty 63 hp. Made the 1990 Metro look wimpy with its 55 hp engine.
55 bhp? I got more riding a tortoise back in the late 50'sYeah, I forgot the Festiva had a 1.3L engine with a mighty 63 hp. Made the 1990 Metro look wimpy with its 55 hp engine.
We have a number of former & present Metro owners on this forum, including Darin who still drives a Metro instead of a Mirage. Since Darin is one of our two Mirage forum administrators, we should probably watch what we say about the mighty Metro!55 bhp? I got more riding a tortoise back in the late 50's
It's nice to know you rode a tortoise back in the late 50's, however! I guess times have changed!
I had a 1979 Ford Fiesta 1100 cc. My uncle had a 2.0 litre Cortina. We left London to drive to Herne Bay in Kent for a funeral, he couldn't lose me, he asked if I'd doctored the engine, I hadn't. It was a lovely little 3 door hatch.I drove a used 1980 Ford Fiesta in yellow for a couple of years. THAT is the car I put big fat tires on and drove hard & fast. In the end, as much fun as it was, it was unreliable and certainly crude by today's standards. Those were fun days.
But now I'm enjoying the features and comforts of today's cars, and I'm sure glad these technological advancements are available in cheap economy cars like the Mirage. We've come a long way, and I'm not sure I want to go back to those unsafe cars just to save a buck. Besides, I have one that suits that purpose and then some.
Here's a pic of the UK Fiesta of 1979.
Me too mate. Cruise, Climate, Auto Lights, Auto Wipers, Keyless entry and Start, Heated Seats, Bluetooth. There's more. It's pretty spacious (compared to my Fiat Panda) Economical, I mean what's not to like? I've had mine up to 95 mph and it ain't bad at all. Hey, it's better than going by bus, Christ, walking is better than going by bus.
The US Metro is so different to a UK Austin Metro. I was a driving instructor back in the late 70's early 80's. I've looked on the net and see it was a collaboration between GM & Suzuki.We have a number of former & present Metro owners on this forum, including Darin who still drives a Metro instead of a Mirage. Since Darin is one of our two Mirage forum administrators, we should probably watch what we say about the mighty Metro!
It's nice to know you rode a tortoise back in the late 50's, however! I guess times have changed!
Lest I should ever criticise another mans motor.
Nice pic! It's fun to look back sometimes. My uncle had the first Honda car introduced to America. He was cheap like me! I believe it was called the Honda N600. It had a two cylinder, 600cc engine. My uncle was a relatively big guy. It looked like he was sitting on the back seat when he drove it. Who knows? Maybe he was!I had a 1979 Ford Fiesta 1100 cc. My uncle had a 2.0 litre Cortina. We left London to drive to Herne Bay in Kent for a funeral, he couldn't lose me, he asked if I'd doctored the engine, I hadn't. It was a lovely little 3 door hatch.
Here's a pic of the UK Fiesta of 1979.
"The N600 was introduced to the United States in 1969 as a 1970 model, and was the first Honda automobile to be officially imported to the United States. It was technologically advanced for its time, with an all alloy engine that could achieve 9000 rpm. Engine output was 36–45 hp (27–34 kW) and the N600 was capable of 81 mph (130 km/h)."
We can make fun of these car today, but it was the beginning of Honda & Toyota changing/improving the small car market for everyone in the years to come. My first car was a used 1978 Honda Civic Wagon. I will always have a soft spot for Honda products in some ways.
I currently have a 1985 Honda TRX250 Fourtrax ATV. I bought it used 18 years ago, & it wasn't in the best of shape even then. It's never been in a mechanics shop since owning it. Oil/filter/spark plug changes pretty much. The starter died, & I just kicked started for a year or two before I took it off to be rebuilt. It's only 2WD, yet I plow all of my snow with it. I just add weight to the back & rear tire chains, & it pushes an amazing amount of snow. The front end was built so strong on these early machine. A small bracket attached to front is all that is need to attached a snow plow. I've done some amazing things with this little machine. My parents couldn't get to the main road one time after a visit. I pulled their Chevy Impala up the small hill with tire chains on it. My dad couldn't even keep the car on the road in that spot. Sand truck came by 10 minutes later!
My brother bought a new 2018 (leftover model) GMC Sierra this past spring. I believe its window sticker was around $48,000. He got a heck of a deal, because it was closer to $30,000 in the end. We took his truck to Devils Lake North Dakota last week, & it is a very nice pickup truck. Sadly, it has a ignition key! You would have been very disappointed Eggman!
I know of another guy that bought a GMC Denali last fall. It was a business tax write off for him, & he bought a $90,000 pickup truck. I'm sure his truck is very nice, too! I bet it has push button start, too! What would be missing a on $90,000 pickup truck? I don't really care to know!
When it comes to hauling your fishing boat, a load of lumber, or whatever, I am not sure all that stuff really matters? It really comes down to what is important to YOU? I don't feel bad saying I like more basic, simple vehicles! I am glad you like your Mirage with all of its great features! I like mine, too!
You've had a rich experience of cool cars Chad, very informative. Whats your opinion on British cars? It seems to me the UK always made gorgeous luxury vehicles, great foresight in exterior designs that we see today. Reliability however was up for interpretation? Your thoughts?
itschad (07-07-2019)
Nice pic! It's fun to look back sometimes. My uncle had the first Honda car introduced to America. He was cheap like me! I believe it was called the Honda N600. It had a two cylinder, 600cc engine. My uncle was a relatively big guy. It looked like he was sitting on the back seat when he drove it. Who knows? Maybe he was!
"The N600 was introduced to the United States in 1969 as a 1970 model, and was the first Honda automobile to be officially imported to the United States. It was technologically advanced for its time, with an all alloy engine that could achieve 9000 rpm. Engine output was 36–45 hp (27–34 kW) and the N600 was capable of 81 mph (130 km/h)."
We can make fun of these car today, but it was the beginning of Honda & Toyota changing/improving the small car market for everyone in the years to come. My first car was a used 1978 Honda Civic Wagon. I will always have a soft spot for Honda products in some ways.
I currently have a 1985 Honda TRX250 Fourtrax ATV. I bought it used 18 years ago, & it wasn't in the best of shape even then. It's never been in a mechanics shop since owning it. Oil/filter/spark plug changes pretty much. The starter died, & I just kicked started for a year or two before I took it off to be rebuilt. It's only 2WD, yet I plow all of my snow with it. I just add weight to the back & rear tire chains, & it pushes an amazing amount of snow. The front end was built so strong on these early machine. A small bracket attached to front is all that is need to attached a snow plow. I've done some amazing things with this little machine. My parents couldn't get to the main road one time after a visit. I pulled their Chevy Impala up the small hill with tire chains on it. My dad couldn't even keep the car on the road in that spot. Sand truck came by 10 minutes later!
My 82 Big red 200e
First year for the big red. All original down to the tires. I bought it in 2009-10 and literally nothing has failed ever.
We are totally off topic, but who cares!
My 82 Big red 200e
First year for the big red. All original down to the tires. I bought it in 2009-10 and literally nothing has failed ever.
They are bullet proof machines! My 1985 Honda TRX250 Fourtrax was a model made from 1985-87. Those were the final years of the old 3-wheelers being on the market as new, too. Thus, a slight overlap. My machine was replaced by the 1988 Honda TRX300, which became a classic machine for Honda.
Just like most everything else in America, everything has to be bigger & more powerful to be considered better. Thus, some ATVs have become so huge now that they need power steering to handle them. It's silly in my opinion. Anything over 500cc is overkill in my opinion. I cleared some trails to today. Recent storm knocked a few things down. Had to pull out the chainsaw 4 times. My trails are rough and steep in some places. I hardly ever get past 2nd gear. When I climbed the one hill I have stand straight up on the foot pegs and lean my thighs on the handlebars to keep the front end down. I don't allow friends to drive their machine on my property any more. I watch a lady roll her machine over the top of herself. Thankfully she was OK, but I am not letting that happen again!
A retired colleague friend of mine had a big Red just like your machine. He also had a smaller Honda 3-wheeler (110cc I believe). Even the small machine was amazing. We used them to haul deer out or whatever needed to be done on another friend's property. First thing I did when I finally bought some property of my own was buy my old used Honda ATV. They are great machines!
Think about it! It's not uncommon for today's ATVs & UTVs to have a much bigger engine than the first Honda car brought to America. I pulled the topic back to cars at least!
Last edited by Mark; 07-07-2019 at 01:37 AM.
Pryme (07-07-2019)
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