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Can anyone explain the madness of trim and spec levels? Just realised while I was looking at pictures of a rather nice Triumph Acclaim HLS that I've no idea what HLS stands for? Does it even stand for anything!?
While trying to find out what it stood for, I found out there were L, HL and CD available too! What do those mean? Then I realised my Golf is a CL and I don't know what that stands for either!
So, come on, lets hear the madest letters you've ever seen on the back of a car! And lets hear any explanations of what they mean. At the moment I reckon they're used like the price codes on the back of greetings cards! ;D
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well, ford have always been good at this one.. first you get basic. (and boy, did they mean it) and "popular" (oh the irony) 4 wheels and an engine, plus only those bits that were legally or actually neccessary. Then, you get deluxe (later L) which is a basic, with a clock and chrome bumpers (but no fag lighter) up from that is super (GL) which is a deluxe (or L) with a fag lighter  after that is the pure luxury of "E" or "GXL" spec (which later became ghia to celebrate how ford had bought them, but wern't going to take any notice) where you get comfy seats, extra toys, special wheels, chrome trim everywhere, a rev counter, different steering wheel and basically the car from the advert.... but you can't afford it. and thats without going into the sporting GT/RS/XR confusion or the fact that "zetec" is now a trim level instead of an engine..... |
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in |
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Mad trim / spec levels!BenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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I think the craziest ones come (unsurprisingly) from Japan. Such as the Daihatsu Mira TRXX R4 Avanzato 4WD Turbo. Or the Mazda Bongo Friendee. Or the Toyota Starlet "Friend".  I think a lot of the letters in most manufacturers spec-levels mean absolutely nothing. It's funny how certain letters have fallen out of fashion. The 70's and 80's were all about L, GL and the like. 90's Were more SX, Si, etc. I think a lot of car makers stopped badging their models with engine sizes and spec level letters to keep insurance premiums down (potential TWOC'er scum wouldn't know if he was about to nick a 1.0L or a top of the line model). |
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I think I know what these trim letters stand for, in the case of Ford, L, luxury XL, xtra luxury GT, grand tourer GXL, grand xtra luxury S, sport RS, rallye sport S, . In the case of B.L. L, luxury HL, high line HLS, high line special I am not sure about CD Vauxhall used these letters also along with E which was economy.
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what I also find wierd is special editions! My first on the road car was a pug 106 mardi gras. This had high spec stuff like metallic paint and a sunroof, but low spec stuff like, no gauges apart from the speedo and fuel oh and a HUGE clock. and it also only had four gears which is just crazy for a M reg car. Didn't think it was possible when i saw it.
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Peugeot used to knock out some ace special editions.
I had a 205 'Trio S', which meant jazzy seats, bright green seatbelts, seat & carpet piping AND NOTHING ELSE. Not even a temperature gauge.
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80's Minis are surely the worst culprits for mad special editions, and trim levels, off the top of my head:
H, HL, HLE, Advantage (tennis), Rose, Sky, Mary Quant (flowers), Sprite (err), Jet Black, Red Hot, Neon, Piccadilly, Park Lane, Mayfair, Italian Job, various anniversary editions etc etc
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1969 Land Rover Series IIa
1980 MG Midget (bro's)
1981 Land Rover Series III
1981 Mini 'Cooper'
1982 Mini HL
1983 Mini Sprite
1987 Mini Advantage
1994 Mini Sprite auto (oil leak left as standard)
2002 Alfa Romeo 147
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There is a Mini Neon that parks in my street. Of course being called a neon it's painted.........a dull metallic blue
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Peugeot used to knock out some ace special editions. I had a 205 'Trio S', which meant jazzy seats, bright green seatbelts, seat & carpet piping AND NOTHING ELSE. Not even a temperature gauge. Ah, but why do you need a temperature gauge, as long as you have a light that comes on if it's too hot? My 205 is a 'look' special edition. Blue seat and carpet piping, plus rear wash wipe, but..... NOTHING ELSE. Where the other gauges and clocks would be in a better spec car, it just says 'PEUGEOT' in large orange letters. Oh, and it's only a 4 speed. Povo spec FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!111!!!!!!!!!! |
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1951 Split Window Beetle - SOLD!
1965 Mercedes 230SL
1966 VW Beetle
1968 Mercedes 280SE
1972 VW 412LE Variant - SOLD!
err.... 2004 Toyota Corolla
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Tim
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,340
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what I also find wierd is special editions! My first on the road car was a pug 106 mardi gras. This had high spec stuff like metallic paint and a sunroof, but low spec stuff like, no gauges apart from the speedo and fuel oh and a HUGE clock. and it also only had four gears which is just crazy for a M reg car. Didn't think it was possible when I saw it. Mine is a Key West - which means it has pictures of surfers on the wings and steering wheel , no fag lighter (well until last week), no intermittent wiper setting, no rev gauge, no temp gauge, no clock nut it DOES have a 5 speed box (with no synchros left on 2nd) - its a k reg :-) |
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i agree, the Japs go mega crazy on trim level names! Instead of re-naming each trim level they just add extra letter to the end! For example....
Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type-UK Spec-D
The WRX 'World Rally Cross' implies turbo and 4wd, STi 'Subaru Technica International' means it was developed by their in house tuning team, 'Type-UK' means it is a UK edition, 'Spec-D' means 'Discreet Spec' or remove the flashy non-functional bits added by the 'STI' part.
Confused yet? I won't start with the...
Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type-RA 555 V-limited then!
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1997 TVR Chimaera
2009 Westfield Megabusa
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Mad trim / spec levels!BenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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The French seem to be very good at weird special editions. I saw a Renault 19 Be-Bop once. No idea of trim levels but it's an amusing name!
Alfa Romeo use JTD for their 156 diesels, which I've always found strange as there is no letter J in the Italian alphabet...
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You sometimes get a different name for the same trim in the UK - I wonder if JTD was the UK designation.
In the 80s Citroen Turbo Diesels were 'RD' and 'TRD' but in the UK 'TRD' became 'DTR' because TRD looks like turd :lol:
My mate's dad had a Proton Persona in the 90s - it was the LX type level and had the odd combination of central locking but manual windows.. can't say I've ever seen CL without 'leccy windows before or since..
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Graeme M
1993 Citroen Xantia TD VSX 'Auld Katy'
1968 Future arrival..
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I think the longest badge award may go to odin,he'll have to confirm it tho.
Pretty sure its something like "Favorit1.3GLXieplus"
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I: (I) Don't like carbs L: Lame LS: Lame, (Slightly) Sporty LX: LS minus the cigarette lighter socket GL: Generally Lame GLS: Generally Lame, (Slightly) Sporty CD: Couldn't Decide CDX: Couldn't Decide (has sunroof though) GT: couldn't afford the insurance on a: GTi: my insurance quote was massive but i like recaro seats GTE: Grab The Engine (Astra) GT/E: no it's not a GTi Mr. Insurance Broker sir SR: Sporty Rotbox SRi: seriously reamed (on) insurance TD: Turbo, Dismal TDi: Turbo, Dismal, noIsy  |
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My mate's dad had a Proton Persona in the 90s - it was the LX type level and had the odd combination of central locking but manual windows.. can't say I've ever seen CL without 'leccy windows before or since.. I now own an Audi 80 that has central locking but very little else. It does have 5 gears, but no rev counter, electric windows or power steering! Can be fun to park that, not even tried parallel parking! I always seem to end up in poverty spec motors, I also have a van with naff all in it. But then vans are usually like that. So I am yet to own or use a car that has electric anything, rev counter etc |
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surely vauxhall are the unCROWNed kings of snazzy names, especially on mk2 astras. at the mo I can only think of the antibes and the starmist, but I'm sure theres at least 20 more.  edit club jubilee? |
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surely vauxhall are the unCROWNed kings of snazzy names, especially on mk2 astras. at the mo I can only think of the antibes and the starmist, but I'm sure theres at least 20 more. Gotta be Citroen,me and a mate once worked out there were about 5 AX special editions that were absolutely identical,with different jazzy names French  |
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misteralz
Posted a lot
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,345
Member is Online
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Don't forget the 'dealer special editions', either.
When I worked at a garage cleaning cars when I was just wee, a customer came in saying that he wasn't going to buy one of our cars because according to every insurance company he asked there was no such thing as a mk5 Escort Azure.
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