Proper Saloon Tourers

[William E]

I know that i startd this in another thread but it makes no sense there.

Lets be honest when the rules change i would far rather see that proper saloons are touring rather than hatch backs

[ted]

if the super tourers were around today, there wont be many on track due to high costs,in some ways i glad there are new breed of cars. opens up more different models and manufactures. :)

[William E]

i mean for VX to run the Vectra and Honda or TD to run an Accord.

Seat and MG are ok as they are.

[runnyhunny]

What on earth do you mean by 'proper'?

Touring cars have always been a mix of hatchbacks, coupes and saloons (and even estates!). I suspect your memory only goes back to 1991!

Anyway, regardless of what the fans want to see, remember that the manufacturers will race whatever they want to promote. At the moment, the popular cars are pretty much everything apart from saloons! (MPVs, 4x4s, super-minis, hot-hatches and medium-sized)

[John]

Maybe we'll see Renault Modus(es?) up agains Ford Fusions next season then!! ;) Then again hopefully not! Much rather see a Laguna or Megane and a Mondeo or Focus - but anything by either manufacturer would be a start!

[Jonathan McLeod]

Proper touring cars, are any cars that are popular, mass produced, family cars. In the 90s Mondeos, Vectras and Primeras were the cars people were buying, now its Astras, Civics, ZSs, Toledos, 307s, etc.

The cars run in the series are dictated purely by market demands.

[Neil Adams]

this is a bit of an old chesnut isnt it, keeps cropping up, it seems people would prefer to see saloon cars but if the racing is the same whats the point? most current saloons are too large to be competitive i think, do seat even do a 'proper saloon car' ? - the toledo they currently use in no longer in production

[Kent Brockman]

I'd like to see nice simple rules speccing minimum mass, wheelbase and track but otherwise leaving teams and manufacturers free to enter whichever car best suits their marketing needs.

If BMW - for example - suddenly launched a "2-series" but it wasn't the right body style can you seriously imagine Alan Gow telling them they couldn't enter the BTCC with a 3-car works team just because they didn't have a boot? Not ruddy likely!

[thommo_fan]

agree with you kent, i'll admit that when the civics first appeared in the btcc i thought they looked a bit out of place but it is up to the teams and manufacturers what cars they run. i'd rather have the civics on the grid rather then not at all because honda weren't allowed to enter the civics in the first place. its nice to have some variety in the shape of cars.

JAS run the accord in the wtcc tho so that might appear in the btcc in the future if honda decide to return as a works team.

[nealfan]

I know that i startd this in another thread but it makes no sense there.

Lets be honest when the rules change i would far rather see that proper saloons are touring rather than hatch backs

I have to agree with you there! To use the same rules but to have 4 door saloon cars added into the rules! It would be good to see vectras and accords racing against each other again! Even primeras and mondeos in the action too! And volvos!

[Croft fan]

The DTM did it.
All 3 of their car manufactures made an agreement to run 4 door modles and the older 2 door modles were to run with more weight to even it up.

But I persoanlly like some of the hot hatches. the Honda Integra and the New Astra sport look great. We al;ready have 4 door cars in. But for how much longer?
Isnt the new Seat Cupra a 2 door?

[John]

I have to agree with you there! To use the same rules but to have 4 door saloon cars added into the rules! It would be good to see vectras and accords racing against each other again! Even primeras and mondeos in the action too! And volvos!

Don't think 4 door saloons are excluded at present - the SEAT is a 4 door saloon as is the MG. But the cars do tend to be smaller in the current regs and smaller cars tend to be hatchbacks (there are smaller sized saloons but no-one buys them (for obvious reasons) - eg Renault Megane Saloon!!)