Techzle has been in existence for 30 years and that is why we look back every week on this week’s edition in 1990. Techzle 42 will be in the shops from today, but what exactly was number 42 thirty years ago?
News
In Techzle 42 from 1990, the news pages focused on the Paris Motor Show. At the time, however, the editors were somewhat disappointed, but the very striking Renault Laguna Concept naturally got a prominent place on the news spread. That the new middle class of the brand a few years later would come on the market under the same name, it was not yet known at the time. It is also striking that a lot of attention was paid to the ZAZ Tavria, a Lada Samara-like creation that originated from the former Soviet Union. It even got a prominent place on the cover. However, the Tavria was unable to conquer the Dutch market. The Renault Clio convertible, a project by EBS, is one that we had forgotten about. Didn’t even look that crazy!
Tests
In 1990 the concept of VTEC was still relatively unknown. The variable valve timing with which Honda caused quite a stir, earned the CRX a substantial additional price at the time. Of course we wanted to know what it added and the conclusion is easy to guess: a lot. The 1.6 VTEC turned the CRX into a significantly faster car; 0-100 km / h was behind in 7.9 seconds, compared to 9.5 seconds in the normal 1.6. There was almost ten thousand guilders difference between the two, but we think that was justified. The CRX was not the only tasty Japanese who got his gram in Techzle 42 of 1990. In a comparison test between a series of top limos, newcomer Lexus LS was allowed to prove itself. The extremely freshly designed but still very unknown Lexus belonged ‘completely at home in the top 5 of the best limousines in the world’, although it had to tolerate the BMW 7 series for itself according to the test editor of service.
Reports
In 1990 rust was still one of the biggest problems if you were in the market for a used car. That is why there was a real ‘rust special’ in number 42. It explained everything about the formation of rust, but also what you could do about it. Fortunately, there was hope, because galvanizing steel became the norm at more and more manufacturers. Audi and Porsche were still the forerunners in this in 1990 and it was expected that other manufacturers would soon apply this more. Until then, thanks to an extensive report on rust treatment, you could still get to work to keep your older car ‘healthy’.
Another interesting backstory was about the taxes you spent on a new car that year. Although it seems a pittance compared to today, the car was also seen by the government as a decent cash cow at the time. In the above diagram and table we see what was spent on taxes in ten years time when purchasing and using a new car. That was based on the average new price at the time; 27,850 guilders. The example, at the top of the table, was the precursor to the current bpm.
Advertisement
The Fiat Tipo has almost completely disappeared from the streets today, but in 1990 Fiat was very successful with it. In the ad below, Fiat explained that the Tipo (just like high voltage pylons) used galvanized steel. As the rust special showed earlier, that was really a thing in 1990. Fiat proudly reported that the Tipo was the only car in its class with such treatment. Rust had to be (largely) a thing of the past and the Tipo therefore had a ‘long and carefree life’ ahead of it. Unfortunately, we never see them again today. The undersigned, as a former Tipo owner, can confirm that rust was indeed not a significant problem with the Tipo. Other things were just a little less good for each other.
