Car Security in the 1970s | Car Security | 'Drive In' | 1978 

and cats...

@captain mirrorboots _cries in calling millons squared trillion_

@captain mirrorboots Exactly! And when they are corrected, they don't seem to give a shit either!

Proper Tv

But at least cars are more secure these days

You spelled "sh*t" wrong.

+Spencer Wilton - _"That's just a typical British leyland panel gap making it look part open"_ - I think I just peed in my pants from laughing :-)

amazing British Technology!

*You win youtube witty comment 2018*

The Allegro owner was probably hoping that someone WOULD nick the bloody thing!

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Taf7o9sOFkc.html

They’d run you a fortune now. Most of the cars get crushed and the number plates sold bu the scrap yards only for young hoodlems to buy number plates like PB3ND37

They're all shite too.

They when't that good to begin with. Most only made it a handfull years. 2 years rust warrenty on most back then haha. But yeah, at least some character on parking lots back then.

"Amazing how even the most common cars from back then are all but a memory now..." Yeah, a bad memory for those of us who actually owned and drove the damn things back in the day. My first car was a bright yellow 1100 cc Ford Escort MKI from 1973. The guy I bought it from in 1976 also had a white 1300 cc 1972 Escort for sale but I didn't have enough money for that so I had to settle for the smaller-engined one. So what? I hear you ask. Well, there was more than just 200 cc in it as I discovered much to my chagrin. The 1300 cc version came with front disc brakes that worked properly in all weathers whilst the 1100 cc had drums all around. In the rain the damn things stopped working and having no brakes in stop-start traffic ages you really fast! Also, regardless of the version, Escort MKIs came with an offset steering wheel though fortunately they didn't suffer from that other chronic issue that most small Euroboxes suffered from, namely rear wheel-arch intrusion in the back seat area as its predecessor the Anglia (as seen on Harry Potter) had. Like virtually all European non-luxury cars it also had a virtually non-existent options list. Whilst Americans could choose between a range of V8 engines, automatic gearboxes, air conditioning and electric windows, etc., a radio or radio-cassette player, factory seat covers, factory rubber floor mats and a passenger side wing mirror was about as exotic as it got in 1970s Blighty. (Though to be fair, heaters were standard on European cars but an extra cost option in America until at least the mid-'70s.) When the Japanese arrived in this country in the late '60s, they made huge inroads into the market very quickly via the simple expedients of a) offering a reliable product that suffers few breakdowns (that has not changed since) and b) offering a radio and a factory-fitted sunroof along with other bits and bobs such as TWO wing mirrors all as standard. In the space of five or six years this country went from zero Japanese cars to Datsuns (Nissans), Toyotas and Hondas everywhere! Also there are other things to take into consideration. For one thing, cars built from the mid-'90s onwards don't rust (unless they've had accident damage repaired). At least where I live in North London, it is not uncommon to see 15-20 year old cars that have been parked on the street most if not all of their lives (because few people have garages) yet still look in very decent condition without any apparent rust or paint fade, etc. Back in the '70s and '80s it was rare to see a 10-year old car still on the road. Most were languishing in a scrapyard somewhere minus their mechanicals and succumbing ever more rapidly to the dreaded tinworm well before their 10th birthday.

Wow 😂 Wanna hear better ? My uncle had a Mazda (Fiesta) from the Late 90s and it would unlock and start my aunt's Ford Fiesta And this from late 90s cars 🤦🏻‍♂️

@@BavarianM Holy shit!

Omg

@@chroniclesofbap6170 Yeah We would be all like wtf

A friend had a Ford van and one day we where going out so opened the van and while inside we notice it wasn’t his van 😅😅😅, exactly the same model , same colour , parked in the same road , yup , it was in 2003 . But the van was from the 90s I think :-) .

Jolly interesting information.

I was looking all this info up... then afterwards saw your comment.... facepalm

Due for what? Tax? How did you look it up? DVLA website ?

@@kino-cathedral yes and yes

well none of them would be due for tax or mot because their over 25 years old. they are all deemed classic cars and are all exempt

Imagine my shock when I saw a TV show from 1984 that also shot outdoors on tape. The picture quality was absolutely spectacular and it felt lifelike.

Great looking car the Traveller. I loved going in my dads when he had it :)

Looking for a pussy magnet.

I know you have this, where do you keep this pussy magnet

The suit is black not.

I like.

Is nice

70,000 cars a year stolen when there was almost no security on them in 1978. Fast forward to 2017 and the figure stands at 89,000 cars stolen in a year despite massive advancements in security. What does that tell you about criminality in modern society?

Hashterix In 1970 there were roughly 10 million cars on the road in the UK, in 2010 there were roughly 30 million cars, the car numbers have tripled but the theft numbers have only gone up slightly in comparison.

BAZARA89 so statistically your car is less likely to be stolen, but it's not like there were a shortage of opportunities in the 70s either. If it's more difficult to steal a car now (better security, ANPR cameras, tracking devices) then that means the thieves are going to greater lengths to get the cars. The number of cars have tripled but the population hasn't.

the UK was pretty crime free back then.... we all know what changed

We do?

Except they were dead or rusting by their 10th birthday vs a late 90s Toyota or Honda that you’ll still see on roads today.

enjoy dying in a crash at 50 km/h

@@User-cb4jm I remember even in the early-mid 1990s, people who had very average brand new cars that were going wrong at six months old. Or you'd park a slightly older (maybe 3-4 years old) car at Tesco, come back 20 minutes later and it now doesn't start. Back inside for a payphone to summon help - you probably didn't have a mobile phone and there were no apps to summon breakdown to your exact location. I definitely remember seeing more frequent breakdowns in those days and circa 1992 we even gave random people a lift home after their ancient 1970s Mini broke down. We took them home as other randoms pushed the car off the road onto a verge. Nobody would do that now. I also remember seeing rainbow puddles on the ground and the acrid hot oil smell (and taste) you got when a car was idling. All gone now.

@@User-cb4jm I have a 2001 Yaris and it's been rusting pretty bad in the last few years.

I did the same in a 1983 Vauxhall Astra at a car park, got in, started it up then noticed something wasn't right, the seats were plastic vinyl instead of my nylon fuzzy seats. Got out, walked 20 feet and found my car!

Ha ha remember it well i could unlock my mk 1 cortina with a lolly stick!!

I guess the newer ford locks that would only lock any car were a running joke...

Franco Martini I remember my dad locking himself out of his 1983 Ford Sierra. He knocked on a neighbour's door and borrowed his slightly newer Sierra key and it totally worked. He was able to unlock the door and start the car with it.

Ford was bad for a very long time with this, I could unlock and start my friends early 90's Mondeo with the key for my Transit Connect.

The damned hipsters would be all over your stuff stealing your cassettes.! 😂

albear972 imagine getting a crime number for an Abba cassette 😂🤣

@@discobiscuit6849 You could get a Police record.

cassettes were still quite new as a car audio music format, so they would've been much more attractive to thieves than 8-track cartridges. some cars still only had a radio-only unit (either mono or stereo) fitted from the factory into the 80s (AM/FM or AM-only) and in some cases early 90s (FM)!

@@RWL2012 8 tracks were brilliant hahah

Product placement!

saab ftw

Saab Built by swedes driven by vegtables

(:

George Livingstone I take it u couldn’t afford one

My grade two teacher looked like that........

I wonder if my eldest brother watched this in '78. He has hair like that, but alas no sideburns.

Will brown and orange nylon clothes ever come back into fashion

I feel the urge to get a razor and hair clippers out for some reason....

PROTEK123 😂😂😂

Grab those cassettes for me pls

hahahahahaha Used car?...Talk to me!

Not a fan of fur but feel free to bring me literally any car from that era if you'd be so kind xx

Worth a bloody fortune that car park ….

Mr. Shankly 😂😂👌🏻👌🏻

Chinqueee...

His brother number 1 car thief in Kazakhstan

Oh Dear! Bet you were a Top Gear thicko watcher believing all the drivel from JOURNALISTS and who never actually owned an Allegro. We had two in our family at the same time - my 1980 Allegro 1750 Equipe and by brothers then mothers 1978 Allegro 1500 LE which were both very RELIABLE cars. Then again we serviced and looked after our own cars and didn't have to bother with lazy useless British mechanics - like most British workers mind you and that is why people prefer getting Poles etc to do work for them these days as things haven't changed much.

William Woods cmon buddy even thieves have standards

Neil Chapman 😂😂😂

Del Johnson ha ha

Have you ever driven an Austin Allegro? They are really very good and entertaining much better than you would imagine. Infact if you had an Allegro can I have it?

Even in the early 1990s you could start some Vauxhalls by simply flipping the hazard switch up the other way. It was just pathetic when you look back on it now. I work in the IT world and as recently as 2006 nobody gave a crap about security there either. Nowadays cybersecurity is one of the biggest industries on the planet.

What do you mean

@@RSBritain if you were a driver in 1980s and 90s in northa America, then you would know what I'm talking about.

I was born in the 90s so i wouldnt

@@RSBritain70s 80s and early 90s cars had pollution problems. Fuel caps leaked gasoline fumes. Engines were not burning gasoline efficiently so when you go to large parking lots, the gasoline odor was overwhelming.

Ah i see thanks

Nope a lack of central locking meant they were too lazy to constantly unlock the back doors to let kids in.

I still do.

yes ...it was still Britain ..at that stage !!!!

"Gert yah trowzerz on! Yerr Nikked!!!"

My grandfather used to do that with his Lincoln, up until he stopped driving about 10 years ago. Never had a problem, as far as I know.

the effects of windrush immigration hadnt kicked in at that point ....

VW-vans (until series 3, I think): one original key unlocks all...

Rock on Billy!

The old car locks were famous for getting stuck and after that u could open them with frankly anything

They are all simple wafer locks, much like file cabinets and stuff.. Can get into them with pretty much anything.

That's good information to know

Me too and still is.

The 70's was dull & dreary which didn't help matters.

John Chisholm and always bloody cold and everyone was on strike.

He's right though it was grim.

McVitie Biccie - That made me laugh out loud, thanks! :D

😭

@FRIENDLY JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN ru-vid.com/show-UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ

I've got a click on one, and we're in.

@@georgeprout42 'Nothing on 2 ..." , " and thats all I have for you today....."

@@andynightingale7335 I like those big Squire padlocks he reviews. Man, those things certainly look like they've got a pair. Plus they're so tough I reckon they must be made of Nokia 3310 handsets. Tough as old boots, mate!

This would be funny and make sense if this video wasn't over 40 years old.

Vincent de Guard I'd have broke in just to have a sniff, nothing like baby shit. I'd have been quite miffed if it were just chocolate

Yea, stop any hitch hikers picking a lift of you also. Good idea.

Probably did lol 😆

😂😂😂

Mark Stafford Yes it hasn't changed at all.

My dad had one of those 9-5 estates circa 2003 with the ignition built into the gearstick. IIRC the ignition couldn't be fully turned off unless the car was in reverse and doing so obviously locked the transmission. Very thoughtful Scandi safety feature. He had to explain the system to valet parking attendants because it was unique and barely any of them had ever seen it.

@@halfbakedproductions7887 yeah the reverse gear lock is a classic saab security feature, but also a weakness - because if you let anyone drive your car who doesn't know how to use it, they can force the lock and break it. The first thing I ask any garage who touches my 39 year old saab 900 turbo is "do you know what a reverse lock is" and have them explain it to me to ensure they DO know what it means. Only then are they allowed to touch my car. We don't have valet parking in the UK thankfully, but if we did, there's not a chance in hell I'd let them touch my car.

Yes, but we had law and order back then instead. Instead of expecting car makers to prevent crime, the police used to do it. What an old fashioned idea!

woodbine66 is that why they did a program talking about people stealing cars...

Tiocfaidh ar la...

@@philipnelson1543 Tá súil agam mar sin 👍

Well like I often tell my relatives in Kildare lol you sold out, your europeasants now lol! 2020 the IRA won't exist at all because the Lisbon Treaty merges them into Germany's super military!

And Jimmy Saville

@@2490debrick Who's You Lot? I'm a German living in Switzerland. 😂

Kim Jonny LOL

Class comment 👍

Nicking an allegro? Hardly.

Si Raff they werent that bad to drive. I'd love an allegro now.

MrWithnailJRjunior 10 or even 5 years ago I would've agreed, although I have noticed in recent years an increase in car thefts recently- brand new performance cars being taken with just an electronic device. And also the classic car market have been having an extraordinary amount of thefts as well. Doesn't matter what the thief wants they will find a way. Which is why I see brand new ford focus RS' with those disklok steering locks you saw everywhere in the late 90s. We are no better off with immobilisers ans bettrr locks- unless we have physical prevention methods!

Is that how you learned to drive?

Depends what type of film they used.

This looks like it was shot on video. They probably had a truck or something there as the equipment wasn't portable back then. Otherwise they used 16mm film for on location filming which was much more portable and tended to look grainier

marin Abrams or maybe an all electronic locking and unlocking device! (But that's just science fiction).

Ha! Witchcraft.

Or maybe you don’t need a key at all👽

Or maybe a key that automatically unlocks the car when it is in a certain proximity to the key

Or may be no cars at all.

I might just go and buy a base spec Focus then stick it in the back of the garage for 40 years. Can't hurt to try.

Si Raff, don't get me started on the cars I've had and wish I still had. Back in stock 80s and 90s I owned a Jag breakers. To think of all the Series 1s and 2s we broke for spares, even the 3s and XJ40s it now seems like a crime. But I suppose if they were all still on the road they wouldn't be worth asking much. I had a couple of 3 litre MK 1 Granada GXLs, people couldn't give them away. Alfas, Stags, Spitfires, Triumph 2000/2500s and a whole host of others that I loved and eventually sold on for peanuts. Back then older cars weren't worth anything. I would honestly be a millionaire twice over at least if I still had every single one of them. So the Focus idea may not be as mad as it seems.

I once (somewhere in the mid-late 90's) got hold of an ex wedding car XJ6 for £47 and paid with change from a money jar. It had a saggy headlining and one rear window didn't work but otherwise it was great. It cost £10 or 4 star to get to town and back (twin fillers were so cool but so expensive back then) and may have done over 140 on the clock at one point when I had a call from work saying my house was being robbed. I cured the faults and sold it after about a year for a few hundred quid thinking I'd done well from the deal. This is similar to the great deals I had with Escorts, Astra's and so on. If only we knew back then, eh? Even had an Austin 1800 for £20 once.

David Hunt Glad I'm not the only one who wishes they'd kept hold of cars. When I was 18 I bought a 15 year old MK3 Escort XR3 in pristine jet black for £550. During the time I had it the good condition models were becoming harder and harder to find. I ended up selling it after 3 years to a mate and got more than twice what I paid. I regretted selling as soon I saw it going down the road. 3 months later it got wrote off in a crash. I still regret selling it to this day and even have the occasional dream it's parked in my drive lol.

Most of these cars rusted away years ago. That's why the few remaining ones are worth something today.

Perhaps the car thieves were more clever than we think, perhaps they had insight and instead of stealing shitty boat handling slugs, waited 30 years for much tastier, sexier and faster cars to come around. There could lots of 60+ year old boys out there now stealing them.

if you Think hard about it ....you will eventually stumble upon the answer .....

that's my summer car

Ha ha, some comments here, have you no respect for the dead, I mean about the body being found dead in the boot of an allegro.

@@abigailbramble6774 if I were found dead in the boot of an allegro I'd turn in my grave, the shame of it! How embarrassing. Killing someone is one thing, dumping them in the boot of an allegro is disrespectful.

@@stevienico452 Fate worse than death I reckon.

dave jones “Hilarious”

Dennis Nielsen hasn’t been caught at this point... neither had Fred West 😬