Talk:Austin Allegro

Hatchback
If Morris were supposed to come out with the hatchbacks, can you name one? Apart from the Marina, I can't think of a model under the Morris badge from that period or later - the Morris name seemed to die out around then. The Marina wasn't a hatchback in any of its variants.GRAHAMUK 12:26, 18 Oct 2003 (UTC)

For a hatchback Morris...Try the Morris Nomad... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.186.108.9 (talk) 00:26, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Checked my sources and I got it wrong. It was actually that the Maxi was supposed to be 'the hatchback' and thus nothing else was allowed to be. --Morven 17:06, 18 Oct 2003 (UTC)

It is true that the Allegro is aerodynamically better going backwards than going forwards. However that is true of just about every car with a front mounted radiator Ironduke 15 Aug 2005

The Dear Old Allegro
Yes - I had an M reg - 1973/4 1300cc beast - square wheel too back in the early 80s - 400pounds it cost me, and I'll say a couple of things for it. BL for their sins were testing out a few ideas for example: flat "ribbon" cables, flexible printed circuit board behind the dashboard, phosphor.. something coating for the paintwork to prevent rust. Trust me - that paint was almost as thick as the steel on a Ford Fiesta. Let's face it though it was a huge improvement over the Marina which was a cobbled together replacement for the Minor, and though mine suffered a couple of slight hiccups (the rear suspension units failed about 6 months apart). It was easy and cheap to service and run, and I sold it a couple of years later to the first buyer for what I asked for it - 250. The Fiat Mirafiori was much more fun tho' !

More Aerodynamic going backwards
I believe all cars with front air scoops are more aerodynamic backwards than going forwards. See comment above, it may take someone with too much time on their hands and access to a CFD program to prove this.

An interesting product badly presented and inadequately built.
I had an Allegro 1300 for about three years. I'm sorry to say that it was a truly awful experience. I thought the concept and design for the car were fine, and it was very comfortable and not unpleasant to drive (apart from the ludicrous quartic steering wheel). But it was badly put together and horrendously unreliable. An interesting product badly presented and inadequately built. 202.82.32.177 00:43, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Allegro in New Zealand
¨Allegros can still be seen on the roads of certain overseas markets as daily drivers, particularly in New Zealand.¨

Pithy, but untrue. Since the lowering, and subsequent removal of tariffs on car importation in the 1980s and 1990s, the majority of used cars in the NZ fleet are late-model Japanese Domestic models with a far higher spec than most other right-hand drive countries. It is true that for much of the 1970s and 80s, the awful and hopelessly antiquated (even at the time) BMCs were one of the few choices for NZ drivers. The statement is false and should be removed from the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.211.99.217 (talk) 05:24, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Please, then, would you have a moment to get yourself a wiki identity (takes about thirty seconds) and correct the statement?  Maybe the Allegro remained common in NZ after they'd almost all rusted away in England because NZ has a dryer and less sulpurous climate?   As a west European I'm impressed by the number of old English built cars that seem to survive in warm dry corners of Australia and in Malta long after they've disappeared from UK highways.   But presumably they still mostly rust away in the end, even where the climate is kind.   From what you write that's what happened to the dear old Kiwi Andante:  but my speculative thoughts have no place in a wiki article.   The assertion that there are still lots of Allegros in NZ has a curious prominence in the article the way it looks right now.   But most readers of the piece have never been to NZ.  No doubt that's our loss.   If you live there, or regularly visit the country. or have access to government statistics concerning how many Allegros are still registered, you could correct the article with much more authority than the rest of us.   In the name of a closer approach to truth, please do it!   And thank you.   Charles01 20:01, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Hello Charles, at the risk of appearing enigmatic (but in actual fact, just lazy), I have not registered (as is still completely acceptable protocol on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedians ) but have made the necessary edits to the page to ensure completeness and accuracy. New Zealand is not a particularly warm or dry climate, as can easily be researched above. The Austin Allegro, while a charming and altogether historically interesting motorcar, is not regularly seen on NZ roads. Perhaps you should challenge the original author of the 'NZ' material for a 'proper' explanation. lazykiwi 01:43, 2 October 2007 (GMT) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.74.216.109 (talk)

Looks a good solution to me. I guess the wiki normal procedure - one of them - might have been for one of us to enter a little 'citation needed' box by the New Zealand comment, and then see if anyone removed the comment (or provided the citation). Either way, even if it had been true, it didn't seem to me the sort of comment that belonged in the intro para (unless one were compiling a special wiki for New Zealanders and as far as I know we're not). So I cannot think that your having removed the contentious (as in wrong / out of date) statement since last I looked will stir too much controversy!Regards Charles01 13:54, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

The New Zealand reference seems to have made a comeback but lazykiwi is quite right. I live in a New Zealand city of over 100,000 residents and haven't seen any Allegros in the past few months, despite having an eagle eye out for English cars of that age. Most weeks I don't see an Austin of any kind (not counting Minis). I think the assertion might have been reasonable in the late 1990s, but not later. I will edit it out again. Government registration statistics are not, unfortunately, available without payment of a search fee. Mevad 12:01, 19 June 2009 (UTC)
 * While all the above is true, there are indeed quite a few ancient British cars trundling along the roads of NZ, as they don't have the northern European tradition of salting the roads in winter there. Cars of the 60s and 70s were lucky to survive a decade of salty British winters. This wasn't solely a problem with British made cars - the Italian and Japanese cars of the 70s were even worse. --Ef80 (talk) 12:18, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

WP:RS
Shame about WP:RS - everyone knows it was known as the Rustin' El Aggro but I can't pin it to anything we could cite :-) Guy (Help!) 21:25, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Austin Allegro in Contemporary Culture
The main protagonist in Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes series, DI Jack Spratt, drives an Austin Allegro throughout most of the first book (The Big Over Easy). Many jokes are made at its expense, including mentioning the importance of torque settings on the rear wheels. The car is totaled after a high speed run through Reading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kane26510 (talk • contribs) 14:09, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Vanden Plas 1750 ???
I have added "factory literate" references to the entries for the Vanden Plas 1500, 1.5 & 1.7 model names but I cannot find any such evidence for a "Vanden Plas 1750". In addition, | the page on the Vanden Plas Owners Club site only lists 1500, 1.5 & 1.7 model names. I therefore propose to delete the "1750" entry from the S2 table. GTHO (talk) 06:24, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Further to this, The "New Car Prices" section in Autocar, W/E 12 January 1980 list only one model under Vanden Plas, i.e. "1500". The "New Car Prices" section in Autocar, W/E 19 January 1980 lists two models under Vanden Plas, i.e. "1.5" and "1.7". The absence of a "1750" model is, I feel, notable. GTHO (talk) 08:54, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Table entry deleted, as proposed. GTHO (talk)

Rover 200/25
The Rover 200/ 25 looked quite similar to the Allegro in some way. Was this mentioned by motor jouranlists? Honza (talk) 22:17, 2 March 2014 (UTC)
 * These are essentially Honda cars derived from the JDM Ballade/Concerto. I don't believe they shared a single nut or bolt with the Allegro. --Ef80 (talk) 22:08, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

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