He really was far ahead of his time. Forward thinking and fearless motoring journalist. Pity we don't have anyone like him these days who speaks the truth unafraid of the consequences (well maybe John Cadogan might be the exception).
@Aussie Pom Hmmm... Hard to know whether you're serious or taking the piss. If serious (A) I'd like to see you do better analysis and calculations and (B) his workshop looks like that because if you were in the presentation industry you'd know that people are more likely to tune in to a well-kept, clean and shiny set than some shitbox garage where everything a mess.
I loved this show as a young guy. Peter was a fantastic motoring journo and race driver. If he liked a car, it was an anointing for people to go and buy it.
I will forever regret selling and miss my old jag. She was a thirsty old thing but the feeling of driving it is unlike anything else.. was very nice to drive around town, people loved seeing it out and about. And out on the back roads or on the highway it was just something else again, just floated, was extremely smooth running, just an absolute pleasure to drive. And here’s everyone else my age (25) wasting their time and money on clapped out vt commodores and not knowing what real driving pleasure really is
You won't feel that regret forever. you are still young, only 27...you can buy another Jaguar...and probably a newer model. My friends thought I was mental buying a 5 year old Lexus LS400 in 2000....I've still got, it's still a fantastic car, 27 year old and is 100% reliable....my friends have had nothing but dramas and costs with their Mercs and BMWs, Skodas and what nots.
I've got the 1980 S3 Daimler Double Six with the factory sunroof in burgundy on red Connolly hide with Kent alloy wheels and the black vinyl roof. I prefer the Double Six to the single six and the Connolly to the West of England Cloth. The pre HE twelve cylinder motor is another experience entirely. The limited slip final drive unit enables the levels of adhesion in spirited cornering beyond the open type. All of the Double Six equipped Daimlers were so equipped. (unfortunately the jolly thing is broken and hasn't run for many years, though I like having it around) More seriously, I had an S2 XJ V12 that was a great car (except for its many known faults) and it died after I hit a kangaroo then the aircond system went dead then a big end bearing let go all within 3 weeks, so I bought the Daimler for $1500 in 2012. It has the makings of a great survivor car. I intended in 2012 to get it quickly going as a daily driver but as I started fixing it up, I discovered it was too good to use for that purpose now. So, it has sat since then and I will get around to it in the next 18 months. With the Daimler I have no intention of restoring it to pristine condition. I like the survivor look and want to fix it up in such a way that it retains the feel of a survivor that you can enjoy without fear of devaluing it. Since it's a Daimler and therefore has the slightly more sporty aspect Jaguar was intending I may get some heritage style alloy wheels in 17" for it. There is an S2 4.2 4sp around here that has these wheels that aren't dissimilar to the alloy wheels 1970s Minis had and seem to just fit the look of the Jag. I hate modern wheels on old cars with a passion and I love Kent wheels but they're a bit small. I wish they made Kents in 17x7 because when you push Jags they have such good roadholding they tend to roll the tyres off the rims a bit. I must've lucked out in 2012 because I cannot believe how expensive Jags have become since then. Mine really only needs about $5-6k spent on it to get it going well. A secondhand tranny, all the main switches, a roof lining and a floor pan repair, windscreen seal, a radiator and headgaskets preventatively replaced and a set of tyres and some brake hoses and perhaps the injectors cleaned.
ThePaulv12 the V12s are lovely. We own two XJ12s as well. The V12 is such a well engineered motor. It’s a bit lacking in low down torque for my tastes but once you get them moving they’re really something else. I really hate aftermarket wheels on cars too. My XJ6 has the pepper pot alloys in them but I’ll probably swap them to standard steel wheels and hub caps at some point because I like them better. I also have a 1959 Mk1 3.4 MOD. The Mk1 Jaguar is my all time favourite car. I like them more to drive than the XJ because it’s such an occasion. The earlier XK engines were undoubtedly better engines than the later ones in terms of reliability. All in all, there is nothing nicer than a Jaguar/Daimler car on the road! Happy motoring.
The pistons are too heavy, the Jag/GM TH400 has too much rotational mass, for example if you have a TH350 behind a Chevy V8 they are really lively but as soon as you put a TH400 behind them they loose all that snappiness on the throttle. It doesn't effect the power output just the time it takes for the motor to rev up. There are adaptors to fit the GM TH700 to the V12 (which is a terrible conversion for performance because of the big ratio change between 1st and 2nd) but this adapater could be used to fit a TH350. This should in theory make quite a big difference to the off idle and sub 2500rpm range. The Delco compressor doesn't help either but when they're rebuilt they drag far less. I note that most new forged pistons for the V12 are near half the weight of the OEM ones. This has to help. In short I couldn't agree with you more about the low speed performance of the V12. HE's on the otherhand actually aren't too bad even though they have 2.78?? final drive ratio. On a good day an HE will spin up the rear wheels with an LSD on a dry road. I've never been able to get that from a pre HE even if they are a nicer engine in many ways.
Jag V12, like most things British, was savagely and more importantly, unnecessarily over engineered. A close friend with an XJS was quoted 30 years ago over $6000 to change head gaskets. For less money he installed a 5.7lt Chevrolet V8. It had more power, more fuel efficient, and lighter, to the point of having to put lower springs once the V8 was in. Same story with Triumph Stags. The amount of these that had Holden V8 conversions is astounding.
A school friend's dad had a Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas (in metallic salmon pink with beige leather with cranberry piping, it looked stunning) as his new company car in 1984. It had niggles, but about the most major thing that ever went wrong with it was that the heated rear window switch would melt about every 6 months. He used to have his company cars for 2 years but he kept that one for 5 years and nearly 150,000 miles. It was eventually replaced by a BMW 750i, and that by a Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC. He still says that old Daimler was the best car he's ever owned by miles, even over his current Rolls-Royce Silver Spur III...
Around the time this was made, I was travelling around San Fransisco in electric buses which used overhead power lines, as trams do. They were great. They could raise and lower for pedestrian access and ran near silently with the same capacity as diesel busses. They were more manoeuvrable than trams and could pull over to the curb as needed to avoid congestion. 30 years on and it's 'still too hard'.
we had those in the UK, they were called trolleybuses and London had a fleet of over 1800 of them for 30 years, but then the fossil fuel lobbyists got into the government and had them all replaced with diesel. Now they piss around with the odd electric hybrid or hydrogen bus pretending they're tackling green issues.
Wow! Only just discovered this man's videos, although the name seems familiar from back in the day. Nice to see someone who's not sucking up to advertisers
Really enjoy John Wherret's reviews, just discovered these episodes. I think many of today's car journos could learn a thing or two but little beats the retro experience. Hope he is still around though.
I was a young one when Peter made this show. I never realised how advanced in thinking and social values he was. Yet I do recall the haze over Sydney in those days. It was bad.
Very interesting that the small cars 40 years ago were achieving similar fuel economy as small cars today. Then again they weren’t being asked to carry all the safety equipment that small cars have today.
How far away are electric buses? The first electric buses was trialled in Sydney in early 2021. That's 41 years after this episode went to air. Neither Peters, Wherrett or Cox lived to see them.
Such a good show, pissing all over Top Gear. To think, Sydney might have had electric buses 39 years ago! If anyone needed reminding just how pathetic our politicians are, Sydney-siders have been living it every day for the last few years, as tramways that were stupidly ripped up in the 1960s are being reinstalled, in essence, at eye-watering cost and with bungling inefficiency.
One of the few cases where Melbourne made a good decision, though Melbourne's sprawl sees too much public transport on the inner areas, with very little in the outer areas, not that this will likely change given that inner-city electorates power the state government.
Amazing to hear that at one stage an Australian university was at the forefront of EV development, but for an injection of state cash. Fast forward 40 years and the Aussie government is still in the pockets of the coal and fossil fuel industries.
To this day, the XJS is among the best looking saloons ever made. With a few tweaks and dose of better reliability it could have been the, arguably, the best ever, too.
To think, 40 years later this is still largely in the same "we're talking about it" phase is simply ridiculous when this technology and potential for infrastructure existed way back then. We should be light years ahead of where we are now..
@Aussie Pom That's hardly surprising. Consumer Report excels at staging tests and make certain vehicles look more dangerous and unreliable they may have been.
I enjoyed Peter's interview with the transport minister about electric buses. The minister seemed to me that he didn't support the introduction of electric buses and seemed to find any number of reasons as to why they shouldn't be introduced. These buses were back in the 80's too and people talk about Tesla now like it's some groundbreaking organization.
You mightn't guess it watching this, but this cat was as camp as a row of tents. After undergoing a sex change he lived out the remainder of his life as a woman, on the NSW Central Coast. Good on him too. He was very cool.
@crimsonwizard01 Wow . An Cretinoid Hominid Australis . I thought BOEING had recalled this misfit model sometime ago . Not to worry , all is not lost for you . Don't vote and especially don't breed . Run along now and shout yourself a Big Mac and Fries , you deserve it , little Cretinous Hominid .
@crimsonwizard01 Nothing personal , just an observation . Hurry along now Cretinoid , McDonald's are doing a ' two for the price of one ' deal , with their Big Macs . Right up your alley .
Owning a British car is like falling in love with a prostitute. In the early stages, you are in love, spend lots of money on her, but it always ends in tears.
I think you're referring to 'falling in love' . Whether they are a prostitute is pretty irrelevant. Although, maybe you are commenting from personal experience.
@Merv Stent My dad had a Mk II or Mk I XJ6. But while he liked driving the car, and it was a good looking car, he wasn't very good mechanically. Any problems that may have developed, he didn't spend the money to keep it running reliably. And so it deteriorated quickly.
I don't think you could order an XJ-6 with manual gearbox anywhere in 1980. I don't think the new 5-speed manual box was ready to go on-sale until late 1981 for the 1982 model year. That's why you didn't see early series 3 XJs as police cars in the UK until the back end of 1982 on the Y-plate, other than factory assessment vehicles with the auto box...
To all the people who are knocking the responses from the N.S.W. Minister of Transport Peter Cox to Peter Wherrett's questions. During his tenure as Minister, Mr Cox rejuvenated the run down NSW Public transport system by cutting rail fares by 20 per cent to increase patronage. He ordered extra buses, double-decker trains, new signalling systems, track upgrades and new ferries. He completed the Sydney Eastern Suburbs railway and electrification to Newcastle, Wollongong and Macarthur. Most importantly, he pushed through national emission standards for motor vehicles, with lead-free petrol.And he played a major role in the introduction of RBT. In retirement he pursued the commercialisation of solar energy technologies. In his own way, Peter Cox AO was ahead of his time.
don't forget , they never gave decent fuel consumption ,or went well until Rod Hadfield of Castlemaine , made conversion plates for Ford or GM , V8's ,
This man was on the ball if the had poured some money into this at this time they would have been well a ahead of the game I grew up in the sixty's we had the trolley bus that never needed charging! And our garbage was collected by electric garbage wagons because they could come at night silently and where recharged during the day!
Australia is run by fools - we could have had an electric motor car industry leading the world if our politicians had some vision, insight and balls. - Instead we were subsidising GM and Ford to build low-tech Aussie specials unwanted by the rest of the world. Now we have no manufacturing industry and we have given multinational car makers a protected monopoly in our market - (we pay 30% more than other countries for the same cars!) - we cant even choose to buy used imported models not sold here because the Government wants to protect the monopoly cash cow those big businesses have in AUS. (Big business money talks and our politicians run to assist) Wake up Australia...
And you're a criminal winding back odometers. You really shouldn't be preaching about business scumbag Eventually you'll do prison time or someone will knife you
But was the Jag the worst on fuel in 1980? RR kept the same basic engine design from the war right up until the BMW buyout and I can only imagine it being even worse.
3:15 - Jaguar XJ6 vs Mercedes 380 SEL: Top gear 41 km/h vs 37 km/h per 1000rpm; passing gear 2nd gear (vs Merc 3rd) 28.3 vs 25.7 km/h per 1000. Where's the disadvantage? The Jaguar has the longer legs both times.
It’s definitely an early LCD Seiko, most probably an A021-5000 alarm, just going by the buttons on the front face. They’re the nest big thing in collecting.
Ha! the Jaguar. An expensive luxury car fitted with nasty fault prone Lucas electrics. Was Wherrett's claim that it consumed 13 miles per gallon correct through? The XJ weighed the same as my 1977 Ford Fairmont wagon, which achieved about 23-24 MPG.
Depends on the driver. I had a 1985 Sovereign 4.2 for a few years. According to the trip computer, I used to average 18 litres per hundred kilometres around town, and 14 on the open highway. My wife used to average 28 litres per hundred kilometres for city driving.
@@OzzieKev 18 litres per 100 km equates to 13 MPG - same as whet Wherret said. So the Jag was a very thirsty car. The question is why? My current car is a 2007 Commodore which needs about 11 litres per 100 km in town driving, about 9 on highways. Its about the same weight (200 kg less) but has a much more modern auto transmission which keeps engine revs low during cruise.
@@keithammleter3824 it's an old engine design, less efficient. This was a pre unleaded fuel car, and the engine was tuned to pass the emissions requirements at the time. This also resulted in a claimed 40 horsepower drop (from 240 to 200) for the engine compared to countries without emission requirements. It was also fitted with early Bosch (but built under licence by Lucas) fuel injection that was nowhere near as efficient as later digital systems. Many cars at the time had very poor economy due to emission laws. The change to unleaded petrol and catalytic converters allowed engines to be tuned for better performance and economy.
@@OzzieKev The same arguments on age of engine design and emission compliance apply to the contemporary Ford Fairmont, which had a similar drop in power. The Fairmont XC which had to comply with the new emission standards, used more fuel than the XA, but still achieved 23-24 MPG. Its hard to understand why a car should need about double the fuel of another one of the same weight.
@@keithammleter3824 also, the overall gearing comes into effect. The 4.2 litre Jaguar was geared to do 200 km/h at the redline, so about 2500 rpm at 100 km/h. A lot of torque converter slip at city speeds didn't help either.
The Polyution has no become C02. (which isn't pollution). Now we can be taxed even if we don't drive, we all breathe out C02. & though were have the Global warmi er, Climate Change rammed down our throats daily, no government or media ever say drive as little as possible? For years now, fuel is taxed at 50%, Forget electric trains (or even diesel or steam trains) In Australia you drive, lot's of freight goes by road & we fly in highly inneficient jets, Mr Speaker!
The Jag is certainly not a cheap car, $40K in 1980 is worth $172K in 2019 , that's about the same as an AMG C63, and the Suzuki sh*tbox would be $17,200.
The usual political bs that we have has its origins way back as seen here with the electric bus . No hunger to develop something that could lead to jobs and exports always going the easy route by high taxes and so forth to generate revenues. Today we are basically selling the country off bit by bit with the same attitude with much higher consequences im affraid in the long term
That transport minister is the classic bumshuffler negative luddite. No no someone else will have to do/pay for this advance,and I will not stick my neck out.
Unfortunately, electric vehicles are an evolutionary dead end in the manner steam engines were. Modern battery technology relies on raw materials for which the environment is destroyed. Cobalt, nickel and lithium, essential components are mined in countries with despotic regimes that countenance the destruction of environment and social ruin.
Incredibly forward thinking. What a fantastic time capsule.
this guy was so far ahead of his time. an excellent car reviewer as well.
Peter was pushing for rear disc brakes in the 70s.
Watching these old shows these days demonstrates exactly what you just said. He was decades ahead of his time in thinking and ideas.
It hilarious that the reviewer is talking about "JAGUAR" guality!
Jaguar hasn't produced a quality vehicle since it's inception.
@@enigmaticx326 hehe
But none of us listened as it turns out.
Cool old video heading down to Wisemans ferry.Brings back some good memories when i use to live in Sydney,good times
Much respect for the late Peter Wherrett. A much better and relevant program than Top Gear, since William Woollard.
He really was far ahead of his time.
Forward thinking and fearless motoring journalist.
Pity we don't have anyone like him these days who speaks the truth unafraid of the consequences (well maybe John Cadogan might be the exception).
Gary Sheppard a real pleasure to watch agreed.
@Aussie Pom Hmmm... Hard to know whether you're serious or taking the piss.
If serious (A) I'd like to see you do better analysis and calculations and (B) his workshop looks like that because if you were in the presentation industry you'd know that people are more likely to tune in to a well-kept, clean and shiny set than some shitbox garage where everything a mess.
I loved this show as a young guy. Peter was a fantastic motoring journo and race driver. If he liked a car, it was an anointing for people to go and buy it.
I will forever regret selling and miss my old jag. She was a thirsty old thing but the feeling of driving it is unlike anything else.. was very nice to drive around town, people loved seeing it out and about. And out on the back roads or on the highway it was just something else again, just floated, was extremely smooth running, just an absolute pleasure to drive. And here’s everyone else my age (25) wasting their time and money on clapped out vt commodores and not knowing what real driving pleasure really is
You won't feel that regret forever. you are still young, only 27...you can buy another Jaguar...and probably a newer model. My friends thought I was mental buying a 5 year old Lexus LS400 in 2000....I've still got, it's still a fantastic car, 27 year old and is 100% reliable....my friends have had nothing but dramas and costs with their Mercs and BMWs, Skodas and what nots.
I have a Series III XJ6 exactly the same as this one on test, Tudor white with French blue leather, it’s an absolutely magnificent car to drive.
I've got the 1980 S3 Daimler Double Six with the factory sunroof in burgundy on red Connolly hide with Kent alloy wheels and the black vinyl roof.
I prefer the Double Six to the single six and the Connolly to the West of England Cloth. The pre HE twelve cylinder motor is another experience entirely. The limited slip final drive unit enables the levels of adhesion in spirited cornering beyond the open type. All of the Double Six equipped Daimlers were so equipped.
(unfortunately the jolly thing is broken and hasn't run for many years, though I like having it around)
More seriously, I had an S2 XJ V12 that was a great car (except for its many known faults) and it died after I hit a kangaroo then the aircond system went dead then a big end bearing let go all within 3 weeks, so I bought the Daimler for $1500 in 2012. It has the makings of a great survivor car. I intended in 2012 to get it quickly going as a daily driver but as I started fixing it up, I discovered it was too good to use for that purpose now.
So, it has sat since then and I will get around to it in the next 18 months.
With the Daimler I have no intention of restoring it to pristine condition. I like the survivor look and want to fix it up in such a way that it retains the feel of a survivor that you can enjoy without fear of devaluing it.
Since it's a Daimler and therefore has the slightly more sporty aspect Jaguar was intending I may get some heritage style alloy wheels in 17" for it. There is an S2 4.2 4sp around here that has these wheels that aren't dissimilar to the alloy wheels 1970s Minis had and seem to just fit the look of the Jag. I hate modern wheels on old cars with a passion and I love Kent wheels but they're a bit small. I wish they made Kents in 17x7 because when you push Jags they have such good roadholding they tend to roll the tyres off the rims a bit.
I must've lucked out in 2012 because I cannot believe how expensive Jags have become since then. Mine really only needs about $5-6k spent on it to get it going well.
A secondhand tranny, all the main switches, a roof lining and a floor pan repair, windscreen seal, a radiator and headgaskets preventatively replaced and a set of tyres and some brake hoses and perhaps the injectors cleaned.
ThePaulv12 the V12s are lovely. We own two XJ12s as well. The V12 is such a well engineered motor. It’s a bit lacking in low down torque for my tastes but once you get them moving they’re really something else.
I really hate aftermarket wheels on cars too. My XJ6 has the pepper pot alloys in them but I’ll probably swap them to standard steel wheels and hub caps at some point because I like them better.
I also have a 1959 Mk1 3.4 MOD. The Mk1 Jaguar is my all time favourite car. I like them more to drive than the XJ because it’s such an occasion. The earlier XK engines were undoubtedly better engines than the later ones in terms of reliability.
All in all, there is nothing nicer than a Jaguar/Daimler car on the road! Happy motoring.
The pistons are too heavy, the Jag/GM TH400 has too much rotational mass, for example if you have a TH350 behind a Chevy V8 they are really lively but as soon as you put a TH400 behind them they loose all that snappiness on the throttle.
It doesn't effect the power output just the time it takes for the motor to rev up.
There are adaptors to fit the GM TH700 to the V12 (which is a terrible conversion for performance because of the big ratio change between 1st and 2nd) but this adapater could be used to fit a TH350.
This should in theory make quite a big difference to the off idle and sub 2500rpm range. The Delco compressor doesn't help either but when they're rebuilt they drag far less.
I note that most new forged pistons for the V12 are near half the weight of the OEM ones. This has to help.
In short I couldn't agree with you more about the low speed performance of the V12. HE's on the otherhand actually aren't too bad even though they have 2.78?? final drive ratio. On a good day an HE will spin up the rear wheels with an LSD on a dry road. I've never been able to get that from a pre HE even if they are a nicer engine in many ways.
Nicholas Scarff I had v12 carburettor version very nice to drive but lot of problems.
Jag V12, like most things British, was savagely and more importantly, unnecessarily over engineered.
A close friend with an XJS was quoted 30 years ago over $6000 to change head gaskets. For less money he installed a 5.7lt Chevrolet V8.
It had more power, more fuel efficient, and lighter, to the point of having to put lower springs once the V8 was in.
Same story with Triumph Stags. The amount of these that had Holden V8 conversions is astounding.
I never seen this before 2023, and yet I feel I know this guy. He is a superb auto presenter and a real gentlemen.
Lady actually
Always liked Peter, a straight shooter, rare these days. His private life was his own business, that concept is also gone.
Private business becomes public when people use the law to impose their ideals on others.
@@DrewLSsix how is he imposing his ideals on others?
@@DrewLSsix Religions have been doing that for 2000 years
@@DrewLSsix you people play the victim when you lose the right to tell other people how they should live their lives.
@@Djr67 You miss the point entirely lol. It's not religion HighwayRamos is talking about rofl ...
A school friend's dad had a Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas (in metallic salmon pink with beige leather with cranberry piping, it looked stunning) as his new company car in 1984. It had niggles, but about the most major thing that ever went wrong with it was that the heated rear window switch would melt about every 6 months. He used to have his company cars for 2 years but he kept that one for 5 years and nearly 150,000 miles. It was eventually replaced by a BMW 750i, and that by a Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC. He still says that old Daimler was the best car he's ever owned by miles, even over his current Rolls-Royce Silver Spur III...
He was years ahead ...
His ideals still are years ahead 40 years on
@@squidgymop1 In all fairness, he did get some trends totally wrong but overall I agree with you.
Around the time this was made, I was travelling around San Fransisco in electric buses which used overhead power lines, as trams do. They were great. They could raise and lower for pedestrian access and ran near silently with the same capacity as diesel busses. They were more manoeuvrable than trams and could pull over to the curb as needed to avoid congestion. 30 years on and it's 'still too hard'.
we had those in the UK, they were called trolleybuses and London had a fleet of over 1800 of them for 30 years, but then the fossil fuel lobbyists got into the government and had them all replaced with diesel. Now they piss around with the odd electric hybrid or hydrogen bus pretending they're tackling green issues.
I love seeing Sydney in all its 80s glory... ❤
When you hear the words, “...I’m establishing a committee...”, you know whatever’s being discussed will soon come to a dead stop.
He was definitely the best motor car reviewer
Wow! Only just discovered this man's videos, although the name seems familiar from back in the day.
Nice to see someone who's not sucking up to advertisers
Really enjoy John Wherret's reviews, just discovered these episodes. I think many of today's car journos could learn a thing or two but little beats the retro experience. Hope he is still around though.
Peter died in 2010 .... Cancer at 72
Peter passed 23/3/09.
I was a young one when Peter made this show.
I never realised how advanced in thinking and social values he was.
Yet I do recall the haze over Sydney in those days. It was bad.
47 mpg in town? Incredible figures
My sister had the 800 Suzuki hatch and it was an absolute ripper of a thing
great to see driving around and all the cars just cool
Peter's straight delivery reminds me of John Clarke being satirical.
As in the other comments, Peter was well ahead of his time. One bloke I'd love to have met for a chat.
The jag was 40k. About the same for a suburban house in 1980.
A man with a vision talking about Australian governments with none.
Very interesting that the small cars 40 years ago were achieving similar fuel economy as small cars today. Then again they weren’t being asked to carry all the safety equipment that small cars have today.
"It's not for me to say. I just pose the question."
If only reporters these days would follow that philosophy.
It's a real pity he is alive in 2020 and to hear his thoughts on Tesla and other EV's
How far away are electric buses? The first electric buses was trialled in Sydney in early 2021. That's 41 years after this episode went to air. Neither Peters, Wherrett or Cox lived to see them.
Love those views of Sydney back then. Unfortunately the traffic isn't that great these days.
Such a good show, pissing all over Top Gear. To think, Sydney might have had electric buses 39 years ago! If anyone needed reminding just how pathetic our politicians are, Sydney-siders have been living it every day for the last few years, as tramways that were stupidly ripped up in the 1960s are being reinstalled, in essence, at eye-watering cost and with bungling inefficiency.
One of the few cases where Melbourne made a good decision, though Melbourne's sprawl sees too much public transport on the inner areas, with very little in the outer areas, not that this will likely change given that inner-city electorates power the state government.
Very true, starting it all over again with trams !
Amazing to hear that at one stage an Australian university was at the forefront of EV development, but for an injection of state cash. Fast forward 40 years and the Aussie government is still in the pockets of the coal and fossil fuel industries.
Oil and coal are Hydrocarbons naturally occurring and abundant .. they are not so called 'fossil fuels' dickhead
@@Yahweh312 so what is a fossil fuel then? dickhead!
@@raycroal a lie, so they can call scarcity and control prices.
EVs will never work
*yawn*
Nearly 40 years later and it's slowly happening. Forward thinking bloke , he should have been a politician
Probably his Cross Dressing habit held him back in his Political life. Wikipedia him.
Pita Bread well most politicians have something in their closet, and most aren't trustworthy. People are only people
A Politician that speaks his mind (and the truth)? unheard of.....
SpectreOZ their are a few , just not many
Yep forty years ahead of his time .
I would love to see the crash test of that Suzuki hatch
johnl9674....... I would suggest the last thing you would see in a Suzuki crash test would be yer arse
That shirt, that watch. So 2022.
To this day, the XJS is among the best looking saloons ever made. With a few tweaks and dose of better reliability it could have been the, arguably, the best ever, too.
To think, 40 years later this is still largely in the same "we're talking about it" phase is simply ridiculous when this technology and potential for infrastructure existed way back then. We should be light years ahead of where we are now..
Man how Sydney's skyline has changed since then
small cars in big citiies are great, I had a citreon saxo in london....peppy!
Full lock to lock while stationary is ESSENTIAL.
I worked on these little suzuki cars and daihatsu's and they were a perky little goer
We didn't get Suzuki cars for the US market until the mid 1980s.
@Aussie Pom That's hardly surprising. Consumer Report excels at staging tests and make certain vehicles look more dangerous and unreliable they may have been.
We are still having trouble with battery storage for cars and buses 40 years on...........
Not really
I enjoyed Peter's interview with the transport minister about electric buses. The minister seemed to me that he didn't support the introduction of electric buses and seemed to find any number of reasons as to why they shouldn't be introduced. These buses were back in the 80's too and people talk about Tesla now like it's some groundbreaking organization.
I like Peter's honesty and integrity. Strangely, I just noticed that some of his mannerisms remind me of Chris Harris...
Wish this show was on air today with a host as well skilled.
Maybe ABC 2 Sunday night would work very well….
this was proper informative journalism. now 41 years later, at least here in italy, it's all just advertising from car corporations.
You mightn't guess it watching this, but this cat was as camp as a row of tents. After undergoing a sex change he lived out the remainder of his life as a woman, on the NSW Central Coast. Good on him too. He was very cool.
Where is this filmed.
Looks like a very posh area.
@@BMWR1200RTSE And Wisemans Ferry and Amaroo Park
He was literally 40 years ahead of the rest of the world in his opinions on electric transport. Kinda sad really we are only now just doing it.
How very interesting. 29 years later and the electric vehicle is still conspicuous by its absence in decent numbers
39 years later
Government bureaucrat: "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah..."
Translation: "Not interested."
That "minister" reminds me so much of Sir Humphrey Applegate
Funky bass line.
Imagine one of those little Suzuki's with a modified 4 banger and 5 speed
Something cool about seeing "new car" reviews from the 80s....the struggle continues.
1:35 where is he driving?
That's when we had an ABC . Now it cowers in fear of her master and her master's , master , Murdoch .
@crimsonwizard01 Wow . An Cretinoid Hominid Australis . I thought BOEING had recalled this misfit model sometime ago . Not to worry , all is not lost for you . Don't vote and especially don't breed . Run along now and shout yourself a Big Mac and Fries , you deserve it , little Cretinous Hominid .
@crimsonwizard01 Nothing personal , just an observation . Hurry along now Cretinoid , McDonald's are doing a ' two for the price of one ' deal , with their Big Macs . Right up your alley .
Owning a British car is like falling in love with a prostitute. In the early stages, you are in love, spend lots of money on her, but it always ends in tears.
I know I'm a year late, but this comment had me in tears.
I think you're referring to 'falling in love' . Whether they are a prostitute is pretty irrelevant. Although, maybe you are commenting from personal experience.
I remember the Mk III Jaguar XJ6. I find it way more attractive than earlier XJ6 models. How much better built than earlier models I don't know.
@Merv Stent My dad had a Mk II or Mk I XJ6. But while he liked driving the car, and it was a good looking car, he wasn't very good mechanically. Any problems that may have developed, he didn't spend the money to keep it running reliably. And so it deteriorated quickly.
My little Suzuki Turbo RS is the spiritual baby hot hatch successor to this bad boy! =)
The Suzuki stole the show. Very Mini like.
42 years later and we’re starting to get hybrid buses at best.
These EVs will never take off. 🤣 I remember watching these shows as a young car fan and I thought they were excellent….-and still do today.
I don't think you could order an XJ-6 with manual gearbox anywhere in 1980. I don't think the new 5-speed manual box was ready to go on-sale until late 1981 for the 1982 model year. That's why you didn't see early series 3 XJs as police cars in the UK until the back end of 1982 on the Y-plate, other than factory assessment vehicles with the auto box...
To all the people who are knocking the responses from the N.S.W. Minister of Transport Peter Cox to Peter Wherrett's questions.
During his tenure as Minister, Mr Cox rejuvenated the run down NSW Public transport system by cutting rail fares by 20 per cent to increase patronage.
He ordered extra buses, double-decker trains, new signalling systems, track upgrades and new ferries.
He completed the Sydney Eastern Suburbs railway and electrification to Newcastle, Wollongong and Macarthur.
Most importantly, he pushed through national emission standards for motor vehicles, with lead-free petrol.And he played a major role in the introduction of RBT.
In retirement he pursued the commercialisation of solar energy technologies.
In his own way, Peter Cox AO was ahead of his time.
The Suzuki would've been perfect for personal driving.
@Taj smelly That would be a problem.
don't forget , they never gave decent fuel consumption ,or went well until Rod Hadfield of Castlemaine , made conversion plates for Ford or GM , V8's ,
This man was on the ball if the had poured some money into this at this time they would have been well a ahead of the game I grew up in the sixty's we had the trolley bus that never needed charging! And our garbage was collected by electric garbage wagons because they could come at night silently and where recharged during the day!
Legend
3 speed on a Jag?! Even for 1980 that’s disappointing.
The 4-speed came a few years later. A few people had manuals put in, often a Supra model.
Looks like the electric van technology eventually found its way to VW as the e-crafter. Only took nearly 30 years.
Of course concerns regarding polyooshon ought to be paramount
8:32 I would not put four people in that. A reassuring clang.
Australia is run by fools - we could have had an electric motor car industry leading the world if our politicians had some vision, insight and balls. - Instead we were subsidising GM and Ford to build low-tech Aussie specials unwanted by the rest of the world. Now we have no manufacturing industry and we have given multinational car makers a protected monopoly in our market - (we pay 30% more than other countries for the same cars!) - we cant even choose to buy used imported models not sold here because the Government wants to protect the monopoly cash cow those big businesses have in AUS. (Big business money talks and our politicians run to assist)
Wake up Australia...
And you're a criminal winding back odometers. You really shouldn't be preaching about business scumbag
Eventually you'll do prison time or someone will knife you
Hey, my house is in this!
But was the Jag the worst on fuel in 1980? RR kept the same basic engine design from the war right up until the BMW buyout and I can only imagine it being even worse.
You're comparing a six with a big V8.
I’m watching this when he talks about electric vehicles should be investigated- it’s 42 years later and nothings happened!
3:15 - Jaguar XJ6 vs Mercedes 380 SEL: Top gear 41 km/h vs 37 km/h per 1000rpm; passing gear 2nd gear (vs Merc 3rd) 28.3 vs 25.7 km/h per 1000. Where's the disadvantage? The Jaguar has the longer legs both times.
I love tall gearing on everything except my bicycle.
13 mpg city maybe, but cross country it was over 20.
44 years later got a couple in Melbourne 🤣
Yes ahead of his time looks like an early Casio digital .or Seiko.⌚
It’s definitely an early LCD Seiko, most probably an A021-5000 alarm, just going by the buttons on the front face. They’re the nest big thing in collecting.
Ha! the Jaguar. An expensive luxury car fitted with nasty fault prone Lucas electrics.
Was Wherrett's claim that it consumed 13 miles per gallon correct through? The XJ weighed the same as my 1977 Ford Fairmont wagon, which achieved about 23-24 MPG.
Depends on the driver. I had a 1985 Sovereign 4.2 for a few years. According to the trip computer, I used to average 18 litres per hundred kilometres around town, and 14 on the open highway.
My wife used to average 28 litres per hundred kilometres for city driving.
@@OzzieKev 18 litres per 100 km equates to 13 MPG - same as whet Wherret said. So the Jag was a very thirsty car. The question is why? My current car is a 2007 Commodore which needs about 11 litres per 100 km in town driving, about 9 on highways. Its about the same weight (200 kg less) but has a much more modern auto transmission which keeps engine revs low during cruise.
@@keithammleter3824 it's an old engine design, less efficient. This was a pre unleaded fuel car, and the engine was tuned to pass the emissions requirements at the time. This also resulted in a claimed 40 horsepower drop (from 240 to 200) for the engine compared to countries without emission requirements. It was also fitted with early Bosch (but built under licence by Lucas) fuel injection that was nowhere near as efficient as later digital systems.
Many cars at the time had very poor economy due to emission laws. The change to unleaded petrol and catalytic converters allowed engines to be tuned for better performance and economy.
@@OzzieKev The same arguments on age of engine design and emission compliance apply to the contemporary Ford Fairmont, which had a similar drop in power. The Fairmont XC which had to comply with the new emission standards, used more fuel than the XA, but still achieved 23-24 MPG.
Its hard to understand why a car should need about double the fuel of another one of the same weight.
@@keithammleter3824 also, the overall gearing comes into effect. The 4.2 litre Jaguar was geared to do 200 km/h at the redline, so about 2500 rpm at 100 km/h. A lot of torque converter slip at city speeds didn't help either.
Anyone see the RX3 ?
Car porn.... always loved the round taillights
We missed the part where he lifted the Suzuki out of the boot of the jag
It’s a shame the Jaguar XJ6 had so many reliability issues, they were beautiful cars.
The last S3's were better, but is a challenge to find a good one now.
I didn't mind those Suzuki's with a lawnmower motor.U could get 50mpg out of one.
Ron Hodgson motors @11:22 they were
total crooks my father was jumping for joy when Ron Hodgson killed himself
Polyution??
The Polyution has no become C02. (which isn't pollution).
Now we can be taxed even if we don't drive, we all breathe out C02.
& though were have the Global warmi er, Climate Change rammed down our throats daily, no government or media ever say drive as little as possible?
For years now, fuel is taxed at 50%, Forget electric trains (or even diesel or steam trains) In Australia you drive, lot's of freight goes by road & we fly in highly inneficient jets, Mr Speaker!
The Jag is certainly not a cheap car, $40K in 1980 is worth $172K in 2019 , that's about the same as an AMG C63, and the Suzuki sh*tbox would be $17,200.
Cars were very expensive back in the tariff era.
How about diesel/electric powered buses.
Never got those electric buses! A $2B tram instead!
The usual political bs that we have has its origins way back as seen here with the electric bus . No hunger to develop something that could lead to jobs and exports always going the easy route by high taxes and so forth to generate revenues. Today we are basically selling the country off bit by bit with the same attitude with much higher consequences im affraid in the long term
The ABC made that? How the world changes. They wouldn't have the courage to say boo to a goose these days.
ARRRGGGHHH!......British Leyland.
Wow prophetic, interesting the same arguments and excuses still given 40 years on 🤔
That transport minister is the classic bumshuffler negative luddite. No no someone else will have to do/pay for this advance,and I will not stick my neck out.
Darling Street Balmain
Unfortunately, electric vehicles are an evolutionary dead end in the manner steam engines were. Modern battery technology relies on raw materials for which the environment is destroyed. Cobalt, nickel and lithium, essential components are mined in countries with despotic regimes that countenance the destruction of environment and social ruin.
Now watch the Tesla Battery investor day presentation:
ua-cam.com/video/l6T9xIeZTds/v-deo.html
i rather listen to peter wherrett than jereamy clarkson and topgear rubbish show
Yeah well . . . Peter was just another bandwagon jumper, well spoken and proved himself fair at judging form/function off the average motor vehicle