SUMMER 1988 PLYMOUTH, DEVON
It’s a golden Devon summer, and West Country burrs can be heard everywhere. And those are just the minibuses…
Exactly 30 years ago today, on 11 July 1988, Jeremy Clarkson would’ve felt right at home in this snapshot of the A386 Saltash Road, just outside the entrance to Plymouth’s main railway station. Well, actually he wouldn’t, because there are no mega-expensive supercars roaring down the road to Milehouse while somebody yells ‘POWER!’ from the driver’s seat. But he’d blend in at the bus stop (if Jeremy ever uses public transport), for there’s a surfeit of double denim rocking the shelter.
This was, of course, the era when Clarkson’s favourite clothing material (‘IN THE WORLD’) was the height of fashion. In fact, it seems the love of sartorial utilitarian elegance has even spread to the founder of Microsoft. Although, then again, we’re prepared to admit that maybe that isn’t actually Bill Gates in glasses, waiting for a Western National Bristol VR to St Budeaux.
There’s an interesting selection of vehicles passing the bus bunch, even without any Jeremy-friendly supercars in the mix. Leading the pack is a delightfully lurid Fiat Strada in retina-searing Verde Kent green with a beige interior. It’s a 1978-1982 Series 1, judging by the futuristic wheels and swept-up plastic rear of this ‘ handbuilt by robots’ Italian hatchback. An older, smaller sibling is close by, in the form of a Fiat 127 Series 2 (1977- 1981) supermini. Those wheels, almost as natty as the Strada’s, mean that it’s high-spec, but not a Sport – there’s no rear roof spoiler.
Ignoring any potential passengers off to its left is the number 2 Hoppa to Saltash, worked by a MercedesBenz 608D minibus with Robin Hood 20-seater bodywork. Its branding suggests that hopping on it would lead to an encounter with a giant cartoon rabbit named Gus – which would definitely have added more thrill to the trip over the Tamar River. Alongside it is a red secondgeneration Vauxhall Astra, while its MkI predecessor, resplendent in 1982 beige, tails the Merc. Also boasting beige is the Austin Metro flanking it. The recessed headlamps and script on the rear quarter suggest a humble City X model.
One of the Metro’s Japanese rivals is shadowing it, in the form of a Mitsubishi Colt. Although a Mirage elsewhere, Colt was originally adopted as the marque name for imports in the UK, until the Mitsubishi title took over in the 1980s. Nuzzling up to its bumper is a Ford Orion MkI, the Escort for those who liked boots instead of tailgates. Behind it, an E28-gen BMW 518 seems to be crowding a smaller Japanese saloon into the kerb. Some things never change, then. Avoiding this possible tussle in the inner lane are a 1986/87 Ford Sierra and a 1982/83 Mini.
There’s much less happening over on the other carriageway; just an Austin or Carbodies FX4 taxi pulling out from the one-way exit to the station, to fall into line behind a Reeve Burgess-bodied Dodge 50 minibus and study its rear Kastner Volvo advert for a while. This is arguably the most interesting vehicle here – although not in a way that Jeremy Clarkson would appreciate – due to having its 1970s’ origins in the dying days of the Rootes Group under Chrysler. Peugeot had little interest in the commercial vehicle side when it took over in 1979, and so produced the 50 Series models in conjunction with Renault. Plymouth Citybus acquired 85 examples during 1985/86 to replace 70 per cent of its fleet, the better to negotiate narrow housing estate roads.
This scene is broadly similar today, albeit with the addition of a bus lane. Unfortunately, one thing that has been lost is the British Rail double arrow flower display on the banking. Worryingly, Gus the bus bunny hasn’t been seen in a while, either…