Techzle has been in existence for 30 years, which is why we look back every week on this week’s edition in 1990. Techzle 44 will be in the shops from today, but what exactly was in number 44 thirty years ago?
News
Anyone who opened Techzle 44 of 1990 immediately looked a very important newcomer in the eye: the BMW 3-series E36. That was quite a change after the E30, which had been with us for eight years at the time. The clean lines of the new 3-series and the ‘headlights behind glass’ made it a striking whole. At that time we wrote that the arrival of a Touring was uncertain, but as we know, it just happened. He could not quite match the success of the E30, but in the years that followed the E36 was quickly a familiar sight on the Dutch roads.
A little less striking but still nice news was the arrival of the 1.8-turbo diesel to the Peugeot 205. The older diesels made the 205 a very reliable, but anything but smooth car. The self-igniter with turbo had to eliminate that last problem. It still didn’t become a real rap thing, but it was there for eternity. A little 205 diesel nowadays often costs more than one with a petrol engine, due to its reputation for being virtually indestructible.
Tests
Those who prefer to drive compact and affordably could indulge themselves in Techzle 44 of 1990. The first major test in that edition was a double test between the renewed Volkswagen Polo and Opel Corsa. The two little Germans both went for a second round, with mostly rounding off the previously so angular 80s shapes. Of course, the technical story was also thoroughly scrutinized and that turned out to have done well the handling of the Polo. The Polo eventually came out better than the Corsa as a total picture, but the Corsa was clearly a lot more attractive financially than the Polo.
A little further on in Techzle 44, another test was displayed between two compact and now quite rare cars. You saw the Citroën AX quite often at the time, the Rover 111 considerably less. Nowadays they are both almost worthy of an entry in ‘In het Wild’. The Rover made a somewhat more refined impression at the time and according to the editor of service that was worth the extra price. However, the AX was more of a car for those who wanted to go through traffic a bit more smoothly than with the Rover. Anyone who did not like all that little fry at all would be satisfied with a trio test between the Fiat Tempra, Lancia Dedra and Opel Vectra. Two extinct, one with a slightly longer breath. The related Italian duo was well prepared against the usual successful entry from Germany. They were waiting for “a bright future,” was the verdict. Ultimately, however, the Dedra and Tempra could not break as much as the Vectra.
Report
Techzle visited the Ministry of Defense for a background story about ‘cars’ that you would normally not come across quickly. There we got a look in the kitchen, or rather the garage. Some vehicles have since disappeared, others are still there after all these years, even if they were already quite old. For example, the YPR, a 1960s armored vehicle, is still in use. The most impressive device at the time was the Leopard tank. This has (unfortunately) not been used for a number of years in the Dutch army as an attack vehicle. It is still active as a enjoy tank. Also, the Land Rovers Defender and especially the Dafs 66 that we found there at the time are now almost all out the door.
Earlier this year, Techzle went in search of the ‘Best Motorist in the Netherlands’ together with Bovag. Something similar was done in 1990. And that was about something! The winner eventually became André te Winkel, who was allowed to take home a brand new Volvo 440! Another interesting experiment was carried out by the editors themselves: which vehicle is fastest in city traffic? One of the editors completed his working week with a car, moped, motorcycle, racing bike and public transport. Every day a different means of transport to get from the city to the editorial office a little further. The motor turned out to be the fastest (12 minutes), public transport the slowest (46 minutes). The car was a close second (14 minutes), followed by the racing bike (17 minutes) and the light moped (22 minutes).
Advertisement
In addition to an advertisement about debit cards (yes, that was completely new at the petrol station, see photo 14), there was also this delicious advertisement from Philips. That’s how it went: you threw a CD into the CD player and after an x number of songs you were at work. If you lived really far away, you had to put in a new CD in between to keep the variation in a bit. Then it was best to have good sound quality of course. Did you still listen to tapes? That was really a thing of the past. Nowadays, a CD player is becoming a rarity and we are more likely to ask ourselves the question: is my playlist on Spotify long enough for the ride to work?