The Top Ten Auto Show: Season 2, EP. 13 - Best Selling Cars (2001) - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

Today on The Top Ten Auto Show takes a look at the top ten best selling cars in Europe. The chart is based on sale figures and features!  So which car will be number one? Ken Gibson, Glenda McKay, Richard Hammond, Ian Royle and Chris Goffey are here to reveal all!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!  Our website: http://menandmotors.com/  ---- Social Media ----  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/ Instagram: @menandmotorstv Twitter: @menandmotorstv  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:31 Hello, this is Dave Lee Travis, welcoming you

00:34 to another edition of the Top 10 Auto Show.

00:36 This week, the chart looks at the best-selling cars

00:39 of all categories throughout the year of 2001

00:42 in the United Kingdom.

00:44 That's right.

00:45 This week, we're not using subjectivity or expert

00:47 opinion.

00:48 The chart's compiled by pure sales figures.

00:51 These are the numbers of cars that you've

00:52 bought during 2001 with data supplied

00:55 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

00:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:04 So let's kick off at the number 10 position.

01:07 It's the Citroen Zara.

01:10 Taking its lead from sister company Renault,

01:12 who had the same idea with the Megane,

01:14 the Zara project was meant to create many different cars

01:17 from the same platform.

01:19 And it's been very successful.

01:21 There's the main Zara itself, the excellent small family

01:24 hatchback with a range of different options,

01:26 including some fabulous diesel engines,

01:28 and the estate version of the Zara, which is good looking

01:31 and has plenty of capacity in the back.

01:34 Then, of course, there's the Zara Coupe,

01:36 not as astonishing as many coupe versions of hatchbacks

01:39 or saloons, but nevertheless, a smart little car

01:42 with plenty going for it.

01:44 Then, of course, there's the Zara Picasso,

01:46 a stylish five-seater MPV that looks

01:49 like an egg with neat little futuristic touches

01:51 like the digital display.

01:53 Citroen have done a great job on the interior.

01:56 It looks different than the traditional car.

01:58 It's like a cross between a people carrier and a 4x4.

02:01 I particularly like the information pod

02:04 on the top that tells you literally everything

02:06 you want to know.

02:07 Dash-mounted gear lever here is very good, very easy

02:11 for driving.

02:12 All the controls are perfectly to hand.

02:14 It's also got no fewer than 18 stowage spaces.

02:17 Plus, the Picasso has been sold very aggressively,

02:20 with some unbelievable deals encouraging people to buy.

02:23 This is why you see them virtually everywhere in the UK

02:26 and has made 2001 an extremely strong sales

02:29 year for the Citroen company.

02:31 So at number 10, the Citroen Zara family of cars,

02:34 selling a total of 65,681 vehicles in 2001.

02:46 At number nine, it's our only entry from a German company,

02:49 and it's a Volkswagen.

02:50 The highly successful Golf has gone from strength to strength,

02:54 and this model is seen as the benchmark

02:55 for cars of this class.

02:57 Not only is it excellent to own, highly practical,

03:00 and with a solid feel with refinement

03:02 that's difficult to find in many other cars,

03:04 the Volkswagen Golf remains high in demand

03:07 and keeps resale values high as well.

03:11 Inside, it's very Germanic.

03:13 The seats are comfortable, but they're sporty and hip-hugging.

03:16 The dash is very well laid out, uncluttered,

03:18 and certainly not gaudy.

03:20 And the finish, well, it's exactly

03:22 what you'd expect from VW.

03:24 But my favorite bit are the blue lights

03:26 that illuminate the dials when it gets dark.

03:28 This is a great, if somewhat noisy,

03:35 car to travel smoothly and sedately round town in.

03:39 But put your foot down, and it'll respond quite eagerly.

03:44 Get it out onto the country roads,

03:46 work your way through the notchy six-speed gearbox,

03:49 and you're going to be having a lot of fun.

03:51 With the replacement model of the Golf still a while away,

03:54 this current Mark V has still got loads of life in it yet.

03:57 It's got heavier over the years, which

03:59 hasn't pleased the true sporty enthusiast,

04:01 but they will still be driving the old model GTI anyway,

04:04 won't they?

04:05 Congratulations to Volkswagen for selling 67,099 Golfs

04:10 in the UK in the year 2001.

04:12 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:16 At the number eight slot, it's the Renault Megane

04:20 and its many variants, having another successful year's

04:22 sales in the United Kingdom.

04:25 Here's a car that seems to many people

04:26 to be very affordable, parkable, and capable.

04:29 And to many drivers, this is all they really want.

04:32 The true motoring enthusiast may turn up

04:34 their noses over various details and niggles,

04:36 but the fact remains that the Renault Megane series

04:39 has been very well designed for the market it was aimed at.

04:42 The Megane range has had its fair share

04:44 of awards over the years, including the best in its class

04:47 for crash protection.

04:48 Really big people won't find the Megane right for them,

04:51 as it's a bit of a squeeze in all seats for those people

04:53 of six foot plus.

04:55 But for everyone else, the seating's very comfortable,

04:58 and the Megane is good for short and long haul use.

05:01 There's really a huge amount of choice in the Megane range,

05:04 sometimes too much choice, making

05:06 it rather confusing as to the options that

05:08 are actually available.

05:10 The number eight in our top 10 of top selling cars in the UK,

05:13 and ladies and gentlemen, the Renault Megane range,

05:15 selling 73,577 cars.

05:25 At number seven, it's another French company

05:27 who are up to take a bow.

05:28 But goodness me, it's the same one.

05:31 Yes, Renault are here again with their Clio Super Mini,

05:34 which has sold even more than their Megane range.

05:37 The Clio range has a pretty comprehensive appeal

05:39 across age groups and across users.

05:41 It was introduced in 1998 to replace

05:44 the car of the same name, which, to be honest,

05:46 was very lacklustre.

05:47 Renault have said that they've built an entirely new car here

05:51 from the wheels up.

05:52 We're not talking about a bit of a facelift

05:54 and a new set of light lenses front and back.

05:56 We're talking about a totally new car, and it does feel it.

05:58 It feels very solid on the road.

06:00 Renault billed the last Clio as the small car

06:04 with large car refinement.

06:05 And I suppose it was.

06:06 For the first time, you could get electric windows

06:09 and air conditioning and the like on a small car.

06:11 Well, I think they've taken it a step further with this,

06:12 the new Clio, because as a driving experience,

06:15 it really does feel pretty substantial.

06:18 This new Clio has been completely redesigned

06:20 with more interior space and a far better driving position.

06:24 Engines range from adequate 1.2 to over-the-top 3-litre V6

06:28 engines.

06:29 It's all horses for courses.

06:31 Plus, being a French car, diesel is in the list

06:33 as well, with a 1.9, which does excellent MPG.

06:38 The Clio has been designed to be easy to drive

06:40 and to manoeuvre.

06:41 And they're pretty durable and cheap to service, too.

06:44 On the negative side, we would say the interior wasn't really

06:47 looked out carefully at the design stage.

06:50 And the quality of the plastics and switch gear

06:52 leaves a lot to be desired.

06:53 But the fact remains that the Clio

06:54 has been an extremely popular car.

06:57 So congratulations to Renault once again

06:59 for 79,843 Clio cars sold in the UK during 2001.

07:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:09 We're now up to number six.

07:11 And this time, it's Ford.

07:13 Ford are featured two more times in this chart.

07:15 Can you guess what they are, boys and girls?

07:18 Anyway, the Mondeo has been an enormous smash for Ford.

07:21 Designed, first of all, as a world car,

07:23 this hasn't really happened.

07:25 This is mainly because the American side of Ford

07:27 wanted to make their own changes to create the Contour, which

07:30 sort of negates the idea of having any kind of world car.

07:34 Well, the Mondeo has been tremendously successful

07:36 in Europe.

07:37 And this, the latest incarnation,

07:39 takes the benchmark family car up to a new high level.

07:43 Ford say this is their first virtual reality car.

07:47 It's a car that was designed and built without ever leaving

07:50 the engineer's computer screens.

07:53 And Ford say that saved them a fantastic amount of time

07:56 and money in technical drawings and modeling of the new car.

08:01 If you were cynical, you'd say, well,

08:03 they didn't have to do that much work,

08:05 because they've simply copied Volkswagen's Passat.

08:08 When the wraps came off the new Mondeo,

08:10 Volkswagen must have been quaking in its boots.

08:12 For here was a car which now had the quality of manufacture

08:15 and driving dynamics to match their own class-leading Passat.

08:19 The truth of the matter was that one of Volkswagen's top designers

08:22 did go over to Ford.

08:24 But designers move all over the place these days anyway.

08:27 The real news is that Ford managed

08:28 to achieve this new high-quality machine at a pricing

08:31 structure which would still keep the Ford

08:33 market interested in buying it.

08:35 Make no mistake, this sets new standards

08:37 for Ford in the marketplace.

08:38 In the first place, you're sitting higher.

08:40 There's more hip, leg, and shoulder room

08:43 for driver and passenger.

08:45 Excellent leg room in the back for rear seat passengers.

08:48 And as you'd expect from the curved roof,

08:51 excellent headroom, both front and rear.

08:54 An all-new interior, two-tone on the top of the range models,

08:59 but black in this car with tasteful,

09:02 brushed aluminium around the centre console

09:04 and on the steering wheel.

09:06 It all looks very good.

09:07 Other big changes, well, 16-inch wheels

09:13 which fill the wheel arches and give the car a much sleeker

09:17 shape.

09:18 Under the bonnet, a new range of Ford family engines,

09:22 the Duratex.

09:24 1.8 and 2-litre petrols, and the Duratorque,

09:27 a 2-litre turbo diesel.

09:30 Ford say they're a lot smoother than the old Z-Tech engines.

09:34 They give lower emissions and better economy.

09:37 You can't say fairer than that.

09:39 Three cheers to Ford for their Mondeo,

09:41 selling 86,559 units in 2001.

09:51 And at number five, it's the first of two Vauxhalls

09:54 in our chart.

09:55 It's strange that even though quite a few automotive

09:57 journalists seem to be quite fond of the Vauxhall,

10:00 and journalists seem to have it in for Vauxhall,

10:03 the public don't seem to notice and buy them anyway.

10:06 It's true.

10:07 The Vectra is not in our top 10 at all,

10:09 but the Corsa, the little cute super mini

10:11 from our friends at Luton, is bang on here

10:14 at number five slot.

10:15 Looking completely independently at the Vauxhall Corsa,

10:18 we see it's quite a neat little package.

10:20 The styling's sharper than ever before, especially at the rear.

10:24 Inside, the space may not be huge, but for this class of car,

10:27 it's what people expect.

10:29 Clever use of space that makes it really quite

10:31 an innovative little car.

10:33 It's light, bright, and open, and feels more like a mini

10:36 MPV than a city car.

10:37 Considering it's a car that I've never associated

10:40 with high tech, it's a surprise to find

10:42 the Corsa boasting the most sophisticated gearbox

10:44 of the three, the EZtronic.

10:47 Basically, it's another of these systems.

10:48 You slide the gear lever across into A for automatic,

10:52 and it's an automatic.

10:53 Or you can slide it, knock it across once,

10:56 and you can move it plus or minus.

10:57 It'll change up and down the gears.

10:59 Honest opinion, total waste of time.

11:03 The automatic gearbox isn't particularly smooth.

11:05 You'll get bored of going, ooh, first, ooh, second, ooh, first.

11:08 You're not really changing gears.

11:10 It's just a switch on an automatic gearbox.

11:12 Sorry, Vauxhall, can't see the point.

11:14 Stick to an automatic or a manual, one or the other.

11:17 And then there's this interior.

11:18 Tarte de boudoir, I think, is the best way to call it.

11:22 If you like things flash, you'll love it.

11:24 If you're a fan of subtlety or, dare I say, quality, you won't.

11:29 The plastics are mismatched.

11:31 There's about 15 shades of gray in here.

11:33 There's more textures than can possibly be necessary.

11:36 And I'm sorry, this car is only a few thousand miles old,

11:38 and already it's showing signs of wear and scratches.

11:41 Put another 30,000, 40,000 miles on this,

11:43 and it will be a sack of spanners.

11:45 So congratulations to Vauxhall for the first of their entries

11:48 in our top 10 selling 93,792 Corsa models in 2001.

11:59 That's all for part one.

12:00 Join us in part two, when we'll be running down

12:02 the top selling cars in the United Kingdom in the year 2001.

12:12 Hello, this is Dave Lee Travis running down

12:14 the chart of the top selling cars from 2001

12:16 with data supplied from the Society of Motor Manufacturers

12:20 and Traders.

12:21 And now in the number four position, it's back to France.

12:29 But this time, it's Peugeot who are there with their 206 model.

12:33 Of course, the predecessor of the 206

12:35 was the hot hatch icon of the 1980s, the 205.

12:38 In the same way that the Volkswagen Golf progressed,

12:40 it got bigger, fatter, weightier, and therefore,

12:43 less nimble.

12:44 The 206 is not the race car, and hence, not the fun

12:48 that the 205 was.

12:49 But of course, we've all grown up now, haven't we?

12:53 The 206 is well screwed together,

12:54 solid, safe, and refined.

12:56 It's a shame that the interior plastics are not

12:58 as high as others in its class, and the whole affair inside

13:02 is rather drab.

13:03 Plus, the driving position may be rather awkward,

13:05 particularly if you're tall.

13:06 It may well be able to trace its line directly back

13:12 to one of the original small hot hatches,

13:15 but the 206 GTI feels about as big as the factory

13:19 that they built the original 205 in.

13:21 But that said, once you are in here,

13:23 it's a very nicely understated cabin.

13:26 It does feel very well designed.

13:28 There's lots of nice touches.

13:29 I do like the sporty little instrument binnacle

13:31 and the little chrome gear lever.

13:33 So why, oh why, do we have a reappearance

13:36 of this awful textured plastic?

13:38 It looks cheap and feels nasty and tacky.

13:41 I do like the suede effect and leather, though.

13:43 Very sporty.

13:45 The engines range from 1.1 petrol through to a 1.9 diesel,

13:49 and all are fairly brisk at doing the job in hand.

13:52 This is a good looking car, and it'll

13:53 keep looking modern for many years to come.

13:56 Plus, it's a practical machine with good leg room

13:58 and a reasonable amount of luggage space.

14:01 No wonder last year in the United Kingdom,

14:03 97,887 people parted with their hard earned cash

14:07 to buy a Peugeot 206.

14:10 The 206, number four in our top 10 of best sellers.

14:13 We're into our top three now, ladies and gentlemen,

14:22 and here we have another Ford.

14:24 Last year's top selling car, the Ford Fiesta,

14:26 finds itself at number three.

14:28 Ford couldn't really ask for better than this,

14:30 since the Fiesta, even though it's

14:32 gone through a facelift or two, a nip and a tuck here and there,

14:35 is about to be replaced with a brand new, completely revised

14:38 model.

14:39 By the way, if you're looking for a three door model,

14:42 the revised version will take many months to arrive.

14:45 The Fiesta has been used as the base model

14:48 for both the car and the agile and sporty Puma,

14:51 so it's no wonder the Fiesta itself is still

14:53 pretty fun on the road.

14:54 But that doesn't mean it's unpredictable.

14:56 The Fiesta is often the choice for someone's first car,

14:59 maybe when they've just passed their test,

15:01 because it's easier to drive and doesn't throw any wobblers

15:03 when it's least expected.

15:05 Plus, of course, the Fiesta is not just affordable to buy,

15:08 but affordable to insure and service as well.

15:11 It's very well put together and very well built,

15:13 with a look of the Puma inside.

15:15 But it just doesn't have the je ne sais quoi

15:17 and the style of the Renault Clio interior.

15:20 There's also the option of head and chest side airbags,

15:23 which is apparently a first for a car of this size.

15:26 One thing it doesn't have, which is very annoying,

15:28 is a switch inside the car to open the boot.

15:31 You always have to use the key, and that really

15:33 gets on your nerves.

15:36 This is a great all-rounder, and one

15:38 that will continue to be in great demand for years.

15:41 Ford's excellent Fiesta, the number three bestseller,

15:44 which sold 98,221 cars last year.

15:53 At the number two position, it's another Vauxhall.

15:56 The Astra is another car that's been around for ages.

15:59 Of course, as time's gone on, the Astra

16:00 has been revised heavily.

16:02 In the last round of revisions, our friends in Norwich--

16:04 that's right, Lotus-- were involved with the Astra's

16:07 suspension tweaks.

16:08 The Astra is available in four flavors--

16:10 hatchback, estate, saloon, and there's

16:13 the coupe version, which in effect

16:15 replaces the Vauxhall Calibra.

16:17 The driving experience of, say, the old Vauxhall Calibra

16:20 compared to the current Astra coupe

16:22 would show an incredible difference.

16:24 The Astra is really the best driving car

16:26 of the whole Vauxhall range, apart, of course,

16:28 from the sporty VX220.

16:30 Behind the wheel, you feel really

16:32 in command with responsive steering

16:34 and an excellent compliant ride.

16:36 There's plenty of space inside with five decent seats

16:39 with a three-point belt for everyone.

16:41 The list of engines available is really impressive,

16:43 depending on whether you want to just pot around town

16:46 or enjoy excellent exhilaration off from the lights.

16:50 Vauxhall still have the image problem.

16:52 The real driving enthusiast would

16:53 like to see what's considered a prestige badge on the bonnet.

16:57 But for people who just want to have a good value car that

17:00 will give sensible running costs and is well put together,

17:03 the Astra is a very sensible proposition.

17:05 So congratulations to Vauxhall on selling 98,999 units

17:10 of the Astra in the year of 2001.

17:13 So before we reveal the number one selling car from last year,

17:17 let's quickly run down the charts from 10 to 2.

17:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]

17:23 At number 10 is the car that no one can spell, the Citroen

17:31 Zara.

17:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]

17:36 At number 9, the solid proposition

17:38 from Volkswagen, their Golf.

17:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]

17:43 At number 8, the McGann family of cars from Renault.

17:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]

17:54 At number 7, another Renault, this time

18:00 the Supermini, the Trio.

18:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:05 At number 6, the first of the Fords, the world-beating world

18:08 car, Mondeo.

18:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:12 Number 5, Vauxhall's excellent little Corsa.

18:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:22 Number 4 sees yet another French car, the Peugeot 206.

18:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:33 Number 3, and its last year's winner, the Ford Fiesta.

18:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:40 And at number 2, the various incarnations

18:46 of the Vauxhall Astra.

18:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:52 So what is the number 1 car?

18:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]

18:57 Which model has sold 137,000 units of the Vauxhall Astra?

19:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]

19:12 And which model has sold more than 1,000 units of the Vauxhall

19:17 Astra?

19:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]

19:22 And which model has sold more than 1,000 units of the Vauxhall

19:27 Astra?

19:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]

19:31 And which model has sold more than 1,000 units of the Vauxhall

19:36 Astra?

19:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]

19:40 And which model has sold more than 1,000 units of the Vauxhall

19:45 Astra?

19:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]

19:50 Now, whether or not you like the exterior

19:53 is going to be the deciding factor in whether you

19:55 like the interior.

19:56 Because it's quite obvious that Ford's outside body designers

19:59 and inside designers all sit next to one another

20:01 in the canteen.

20:03 Because they've got together and brought just about every styling

20:05 design cue from the outside inside.

20:08 Personally, I don't like it.

20:10 I think it's trying too hard.

20:13 There's lines and slashes and curves and ovals everywhere.

20:16 But in its defense, it works.

20:18 Everything falls to hand.

20:19 So ergonomically, top marks.

20:21 Style-wise, you'll love it or hate it.

20:24 Interestingly, we didn't get tired

20:25 of the revolutionary look.

20:27 In a way, we all expected other cars to follow Ford's lead.

20:30 And indeed, some of them have.

20:32 The Focus was designed to be just a small family car.

20:35 However, the independent suspension, pin-sharp handling,

20:38 and smooth revving engines all work together

20:40 to create an experience which can at times

20:42 be frankly thrilling.

20:44 There's plenty of equipment with the Focus as standard.

20:47 And with most Fords, servicing is reasonable.

20:50 This is a family car that combines

20:52 great handling with basic practicality at a good price.

20:56 They don't come much more family-orientated

20:58 than this particular hatchback.

21:00 So obviously, practicality and economics are important.

21:02 But also, those safety features, the fact

21:05 that it's done so well whenever it's

21:07 been tested for crash safety, is extremely important.

21:09 And more and more people are deciding their car purchases

21:12 in this sector by safety.

21:15 That should make the Focus a bit of a winner.

21:17 It simply couldn't go wrong.

21:19 So well done to Ford for making the number one

21:21 selling car of last year.

21:23 This show is the last of the series.

21:30 And as well as being fascinating to see the top 10s,

21:32 as voted by experts and the sales chart tonight,

21:35 it shows how amazingly competitive the car world has

21:38 become and how it's a continuous cycle of improvements

21:41 to create better and better machines for us, the public,

21:43 at even more competitive prices.

21:46 Here's to the future and to next year's chart.

21:48 This is Dave Lee Travis saying, thanks for watching

21:51 and goodbye.

21:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]

21:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]

21:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:10 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]

22:21 (upbeat music)

22:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]

The Top Ten Auto Show: Season 2, EP. 13 - Best Selling Cars (2001)

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