The Joy Of Specs

Consultancy service amplifying automotive communications and editorial content with rich, accurate, UK-centric car information

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

It seems that everyone's talking about Jaguar — and that's a good thing

https://t.co/BUJUIldb5E

[Keith WR Jones @keithwrjones]

As well as its familiar talent ensemble, this week’s refreshed @autocar contains a dose of my nerdiness about its illustrious road test history.

To its credit, a brave, bold step’s been taken by acknowledging that key elements have been misinterpreted over time — hat doffed.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

A pilgrimage to south Lincolnshire to a place where the humdrum are hallowed, the everyday are exalted and the familiar are feted.

Celebrating everything ordinary at the 2024 Festival of the Unexceptional 👉👉👉 https://t.co/MqAd5YbhAH

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

Can you see what’s missing with BMW’s i drops?

https://t.co/P5TeWQ2nWq

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@C0RTN33 Now *that* was a great limited edition, with an oddly oversized brochure, too.

My old man had a Mk2 Cavalier SRi of a similar vintage to the LX/LXi - I was relieved it had the grey/blue stripy trim rather than the red/browny-grey version.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

This Astra be a joke, right?

Here's everything you need to know about *another* Vauxhall you didn't know you didn't know about.

👉👉👉 https://t.co/eaZcKQ7f4R

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@TheAdamJLewisUK Aah okay. Dealer specials are a minefield, not least because they don’t/didn’t usually receive a unique SMMT derivative code, and consequently officially remain as per their original designation.

The Vauxhall was a listed derivative, not that you’d tell by how it was handled.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@TheAdamJLewisUK Do tell - it sounds like a dealer- or dealer area-created special edition..?

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@byrninho That’s very kind of you to say. I can only apologise for the posts being sporadic as I have to squeeze site updates in around other gigs.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@byrninho @VauxhallPR @vauxhall @VauxhallFleet Mk2 Astras were still quite plentiful back then, and I suspect the niche rarity of the LXi was already apparent to those who appreciated them.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@TheAdamJLewisUK The peculiar thing is, while it was a tad more Luxe than an Astra L, it missed out on a few of the SRi’s niceties, despite superficial parity.

A Ford sorta rival would have been an XR3i-look Escort estate, but badged Orion GL Injection.

This is when I wish I could Photoshop.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@BTareUseless @VauxhallPR @vauxhall @VauxhallFleet An uncle of mine had one of the first Mk III Cavaliers I saw in real life as a company car - solid red, saloon, L spec with the 1.6 carburettor petrol.

Despite it being one-rung-from bottom it felt almost other worldly compared with the Mk II that preceded it.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@Ed_Westby @ConnorJHeath Gentlemen, this is democratised luxury manifest.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@bear_pause @VauxhallPR @vauxhall @VauxhallFleet LXi was unique to the Astra Belmont estate.

LX was introduced as a Mk2 Astra and Astra Belmont (saloon) trim level in September 1990, at the same time as both LXi and SRi specifications were replaced by SXi.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

There are times when only a thoroughly indulgent research session will do - but when you do so *and* you uncover something long lost to the passing of time in the process, that's simply [*insert chef's kiss emoji*].

https://t.co/knac2s89z8

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@J500ANT @flaneurUK Almost definitely because the database the DVLA uses didn't differentiate between them. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples like that.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@Mr_Manbat @vauxhall @VauxhallPR @jertownsend @MattBendall If I may be so bold, Wayne, I've long thought that you keep the beacon of your geekiness behind far too big a shade.

Agreed, they are indeed lovely, yet seemingly underappreciated.

A later 3.2 Estate is - for me, at least - a deeply covetable thing. In Elite guise, natch.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

Here's something that may have escaped your attention: repacing the Carlton and Senator, @vauxhall's Omega was, for a short period, also sold in the UK under a different name.

[Insert double-take]

The unknown-unknown that was the Vauxhall Elite 👉👉👉 https://t.co/7eHP71p2Hl

[The Motoring Podcast @MotoringPodcast]

Lunchtime Read is thanks to @keithwrjones and the @thejoyofspecs site, talking about estates. Fascinating read.

To 👂 via streaming click 👉 https://t.co/9QJ134FSID
To👂 via Apple/Google click 👉 https://t.co/JDDsEMFCgE

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

@Takona_official Amazing. I can’t remember the last time I saw one.

[The Joy Of Specs @thejoyofspecs]

Do you know your Granadas from your Scorpios?

What about the difference between the Granada Scorpio and Scorpio Granada?

Here’s everything you need to bluff your way through conversations about big Fords of the eighties and nineties 👉👉👉 https://t.co/J4xfz6MBSE