Oh how the mighty have fallen...

Kinja'd!!! "Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
10/23/2020 at 12:59 • Filed to: Topgear

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So I thought I’d give the new Top Gear a chance... This episode looked interesting, and I figured that even if it doesn’t have the same charm that the old presenters brought to the table, it might still be interesting.

The episode’s title was “Paddy and Freddie’s Jungle Adventure In Borneo!”, but a more accurate title would be “Two Buffoons Mercilessly Torture An Extremely Rare Old Matra For No Good Reason!”

The premise was that rare cars are cool, but all the well-known rare cars are expensive, so let’s try and find some extremely rare cheap cars and see how good they are. Which would be a good premise, but then they drop these guys off in Borneo for no reason. Like, how does Borneo have anything to do with testing out rare cars? The old Top Gear usually had some sort of explanation for this, some motive behind their wild road trips, and that made it enjoyable because they had some sort of excuse. But in this case, they were in Borneo... Just because? So they really are torturing these cars for no good reason. It’s li ke they’re just pulling bits of successful old episodes out of a hat in the hopes that something works.   And the cars they’re torturing?

Well, one’s an Austin Allegro. Th at one was fine, it’s cheap and a rare spec of a not particularly rare or desirable car, which makes it funny and perfect for this “challenge”, plus it has the ground clearance to handle a muddy road. But not the other car they brought. The other one was a supposedly one-of-a-kind Matra Baghee ra, the only right-hand-drive example made by the factory, and even with a cool history behind it, with Matra brochures in it featuring pictures of that specific car. So this is a genuinely cool, obscure car with the kind of cool history that car enthusiasts and collectors go nuts for. And it initially looks a bit rough, but totally restorable and still very original. Already, my inner Indi ana Jones was screaming, “ That belongs in a museum!!! ”, and I can’t help but think that surely some Matra enthusiast out there would love to restore this poor thing.

And as soon as the road trip began, I found it almost too painful to watch. The Allegro did just fine, as one would expect, and would’ve been funny if they weren’t constantly abusing the poor Matra at the same time. Every time they would grind the gears , every time a trim panel fell off, every sickening crunch when driving over too big of an obstacle, every time the other buffoon rear-ended the Matra with the Allegro, every time they drove it entirely too fast down a bumpy hill causing horrible noises to emanate from the suspension, it sounded to me like the car was crying for help. It doesn’t belong in Borneo! Do these idiots have no mechanical sympathy at all!? It was sickening.

At one point they reversed over a rock and ripped one side of the front bumper off, and then the other buffoon proce ed s to tear it off . It didn’t look that damaged before, it looked like they could’ve at least tried to reattach that side. But nope, now we get to learn that the sound of fiberglass being torn apart is a horrible one.

This is the first episode of Top Gear I’ve been unable to finish. I got about halfway through before I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore, and I don’t even want to know what condition the car was in by the time they were done with it. I can’ t help but think that on the old Top Gear, they would’ve tested these on the streets where a car like this belongs, or come up with a better reason for being in Borneo in the first place, or at least pick better cars to begin with! And these presenters have exactly none of the charm of the old ones. They try to poke fun at each other and make witty comments in the same ways, but it feels so forced and scripted that it just doesn’t work. They just come across as mean-spirited, needlessly destructive buf foons.

The main impression I’ ve been getting from the new Top Gear is that they’re desperately trying to replicate the success of the old, trying to recapture the magic that once made Top gear great, and trying to convince themselves that getting rid of the old presenters wasn’t a huge mistake. They’re in denial, and because of this, Top Gear now feels like a crappy off-brand of itself.

So as far as I’m concerned, Top Gear ended after the 22nd season.


DISCUSSION (44)


Kinja'd!!! WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:07

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It’s almost like the reason people loved the old new Top Gear, was because the guys were genuinely friends, and genuinely car guys, and genuinely good TV presenters.

I too have skipped the current generation of TG because of everyone not named Chris Harris on the program.

The show would be better if they just gave Chris a blank check and said: “make car films with Neil.”


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
10/23/2020 at 13:10

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Agreed. Even the old new Top Gear was better than this disaster of a show.


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:10

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. . . oh. . . . no. . . . . . . . POOR MATRA! THAT SOUNDS AWFUL!

I too have a lot of mechanical sympathy but even when May took that Lotus (?) through South America they actually treated it with respect despite driving it on very rough roads. How did they even get their hands on a Matra Bagheera?

Another example of this would be when Top Gear USA did something with infamously unsafe cars. They took a good older resto Corvair and did all sorts of terrible things to it. It ended up destroyed in a derby but Corvairs still sold by the thousand and there’s lots of them still around. But an extremely rarer old car that is one of one? Oh no. . . . . .

Football 20020 was really good Wednesday if you’ve been keeping up with it. Seems he was acknowledging the fact that the new one had been lacking in character development thus far even if the crazy football shenanigans were quite strong. I haven’t read today’s yet.


Kinja'd!!! vondon302 > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:13

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They would be better off with just Chris Harris. The other 2 guys are just annoying.

British bros.


Kinja'd!!! punkgoose17 > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:15

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I really like Matras. I would be sickened by this also. On this information I will continue to stay away from the new Top Gear.


Kinja'd!!! RallyWrench > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:16

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Awful. I love Matras, the racecars especially, and the Bagheera is deeply cool . This one is amazing, and the fact that the Matra museum flooded recently, damaging several cars, makes this even worse.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > vondon302
10/23/2020 at 13:17

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Exactly. No hate for Ch ris Harris here, he’s fine, the other two are a nuisance and I feel sorry for Chris whenever they’re around. They must be paying him a lot to stick around, as he often seems just as annoyed with the other two as I am, if not more.


Kinja'd!!! SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:22

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Counter-Point-- That bit with the convertibles out at the driving range is the funniest bit I’ve seen in the last 5 years.  Far better than any bit The Lads ever did


Kinja'd!!! I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:22

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I didn’t realize they were still trying to make the show.

Poor Matra.

The reckless destruction of cars that are already beat, like their 10k supercars or the Lancias in that one episode, is no big deal since they were already parts cars at best and not particularly rare, but that... eesh.


Kinja'd!!! Jb boin > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:28

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That is awful but the “ old” team were doing the same kind of shit :


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/23/2020 at 13:30

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I remember that old Top Gear U.S.A. episode... I thought it was funny back in the day, especially with how all three cars did the things they were infamous for eventually. But now that I know that the Corvair and Samurai’s problems were actually a myth, and the Pinto recall should’ve prevented that problem from occurring , the episode isn’t much fun anymore. Those cars were clearly rigged, just like the Reliant Robins in British Top Gear, and that only contributes to the negative misconceptions surrounding these brilliant cars.

You’re right that even when the old Top Gear put old cars into situations they weren’t meant for, they at least had some sympathy for them. It may have still been painful at times, but at least we knew the presenters were pained by it as well. They actually cared about cars and each other, even when they poked fun at each other constantly. That gave the show charm, and kept us coming back. But that charm is sadly long gone...

And yes, I’ve been keeping up with Football 20020 :) This is such a good series.


Kinja'd!!! vondon302 > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:43

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Lol so true.


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 13:48

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I still think it’s funny when the infamous cars fail in the way you would expect but I do look on it with more suspicion now. I find it much funnier when they take infamously bad cars and prove they aren’t as bad as you expect. I thought the dually rear axle on the Corvair probably made it handle significantly worse, but, despite my love for Corvairs, it wasn’t a particularly rare or valuable car that was destroyed.

I mean, the Reliant Robin episode is still funny but it’s a shame they didn’t call out the fact that they may have exagg erated slightly (though the celebrities just happening to walk by did contribute to a tongue in cheek attitude) so less people think they really were that bad. No TV show is perfect (aside from maybe Taskmaster) and all have some low points but Top Gear was endearing. The new ones just feel less special. They were always somewhat scripted and structured but now I feel like they aren’t as self aware.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Jb boin
10/23/2020 at 13:49

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At least they had some charm at other times. The new Top Gear has nothing.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
10/23/2020 at 13:52

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I’ll take your word for it.


Kinja'd!!! Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/23/2020 at 13:53

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‘Ol e Bolian privated it, but John Ficcara had a story about Top Gear USA and Tanner Foust came off as a real dick with no sympathy for cars during some cheap car challenge.

If I remember, he whined about not having working AC on his car and said he wouldn’t work until it was fixed. T hen he sadistically   totaled an old Rolls that could have been restored and both Adam and Rutledge were on major cringe the whole time.  

Hotshoe sure, but not Jalop.


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2020 at 14:01

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Yeah Tanner Foust beats the crap out of his own cars for a living so it makes sense he wouldn’t respect others’ cars. I would never let him get behind the wheel of any car of mine. But it’s sort of his thing at least. Most of the time that’s fine but he’s probably the least interesting personality of the three.

I found the US presenters to be a pretty great trio though, even if they were a bit imbalanced in their skillsets. I honestly liked Rutledge the most even if he is not even 1 percent redneck despite having that image for some reason. He’s clearly a hipster, not a redneck. Adam is pretty fun too and his New York persona is just cliché enough to be funny without leaning too hard into it.


Kinja'd!!! Jetstreamer > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 14:06

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Literally every single thing you wrote could apply to every single “old” Top Gear foreign road trip. There was never a valid reason to be in those countries, they always, ALWAYS beat up the cars. In some cases in the name of the “mission/story”. Always traversing unnecessary obstacles in stupid ways, bumping in to each other, pulling dumb practical jokes etc.

So sounds to me like everything is the same except for the three idiots doing it and their chemistry. Top Gear has always been unnecessary basically. 


Kinja'd!!! Future next gen S2000 owner > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 14:07

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Top Gear is well past its use by date. It needs to go.


Kinja'd!!! Khalbali > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 14:20

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I'm a big fan of clarkson and the guys, I didn't mind some of the matt leblanc seasons after the ditched that ginger guy either, but with rory and sabine demoted I'm completely done, no desire to watch the new group, Chris harris is ok but was still my least favorite part of the leblanc era (again minus the ginger dude).


Kinja'd!!! Shift24 > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 14:36

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C an’t understand the “c omedian” more than 50% of the time.

Chris Harris is the only one that is intelligent enough to put sentences about the cars together. And his point of view is actually interesting to listen to .

But the other two idiots, that aren’t really car people, interrupt and make fun of Harris. It gets old real quick

Haven’t watched since last? Season. Even then it was 1 episodes and had enough.


Kinja'd!!! SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 14:39

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It’s worth a watch.

I do also find it funny (since we spend so much time in London) that they actually sub-title Freddie a lot.  He has himself a thick brogue.


Kinja'd!!! SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Jb boin
10/23/2020 at 14:40

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Exactly this.

I for one, always despised “The Cool Wall”.  Not everything the originals did was comic gold.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 15:06

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They were in Borneo to present their cheap rare cars to the Sultan of Brunei. I agree that they tortured the Matra, but then again, there’s nothing really special about them, save for their quirkiness. They’re €10.000 cars in great condition, (way) less in the UK market.

I think the new Top Gear is good, at times (the Nepal Special) great. Full disclosure: I pretty much only watch the “main features” and skip the car reviews and celebrity interviews, but then again, that’s how I watched old TG as well.


Kinja'd!!! MUSASHI66 > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 15:13

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Yeah, and then they randomly cut the body panels from cars to make different panels, and they took a low slung rare euro super car through Argentinian bogs, and then they.... oh wait, all this is old TG.

While the chemistry ( or lack thereof ) of the new trio is lacking, the stuff they do is basically a carbon copy of the old stuff. 


Kinja'd!!! Cé hé sin > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 15:17

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That was a year ago. You get Top Gear in arrears?


Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/23/2020 at 15:54

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I’m a fan of when Top Gear destroys cars towards the end of their lives, common cars, or - like in your South America example - do n’t outright murder a cool car.

I still don’t understand why TGUSA decided to kill a perfectly good Saab Viggen. That was a car that had low numbers when new and they destroyed a good one!

And it’s not like the Viggen was particularly useful for the episode, so they could have bought any old beater. But I guess they were such cheapskates with the filming that they decided to destroy cars purchased for  previous episodes, no matter how rare they were.


Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2020 at 15:58

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That...that suddenly puts the whole Viggen thing into perspective then. He didn’t care or outright wanted the car dead.


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter
10/23/2020 at 16:03

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Automotive shows do often ruin perfectly good and even rare cars but some are more egregious than others. 9-3 Viggens are indeed uncommon but it’s nothing compared to mercilessly destroying the only RHD Matra Bagheera (already a very rare car) for no reason at all. It was still a production car that’s not seen too much attrition with age.

I think my favorite are the cheap car challenges where they accomplish something seemingly impossible  with total beaters fit only for the scrapyard.


Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/23/2020 at 16:24

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Oh yeah, definitely more egregious there. I didn’t even know there was a Matra Bagheera until your post! I could understand it if the Bagheera had rotted out floors or a rod knock or something but that thing looks quite minty!

I think my favorite are the cheap car challenges where they accomplish something seemingly impossible with total beaters fit only for the scrapyard.

Ditto! I think that’s part of the magic with one of the earlier US specials on Top Gear. They bought the cheapest possible cars, did a whole bunch of shenanigans with them, then gave them away to those in need at the end.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Jetstreamer
10/23/2020 at 16:35

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Not just that. For one thing, in old Top Gear, they didn’t usually use particularly rare cars. The car in this episode was one-of-one. And even when they were doing things like off-roading a Lotus through Argentina, they had respect for the car and tried not to damage it. In the episode with the Matra, they were completely reckless. And even when old To p Gear did do something I thought was needlessly destructive and stupid ( the episodes where they destroy Volkswagen Beetles, Citroen 2CVs, a Renault Apline A610, various old taxis, etc.), The rest of the show had aspects that kept me coming back, such as the chemistry between the presenters. And I liked the goofy reasons why they went on their road trips, and many of the ridiculous stunts/practical jokes. The old show had heart. The new show doesn’t have any of that heart, and I just found it annoying. Both were needlessly destructive, yes, but I could always forgive the old show, whereas the new one has no redeeming qualities.


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter
10/23/2020 at 16:37

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That’s like saying you wouldn’t mind seeing a Bugatti Type 54 Atlantic destroyed if it had some rust and a few engine problems. The Bagheera, no matter the condition, is far too special to have that done to it. But they destroyed the ONLY RHD one in existence! I’d be upset if it was a rough LHD but this?!?!

Same with the Top Gear UK American road trip. They gave away the cars to hurricane victims. It just feels so wasteful to needlessly destroy good cars for no reason. Sure, have fun with them, but respect them.

I didn't even like it when they were seeking out Morris Marinas to destroy under the old presenters. That went too far. 


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
10/23/2020 at 16:44

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Still, I think it’s an interesting and unique enough car that it didn’t deserve the hell they put it through.


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Cé hé sin
10/23/2020 at 16:45

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I get Top Gear via Motortrend On Demand, and this is the most recent season they have.


Kinja'd!!! Nauraushaun > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 16:49

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I actually don’t think the car is as rare as all that. Some 47,000 Bagheeras were built, and I’ve read a different story about the RHD. Apparently none were produced from factory, but a company in the UK was converting them. Here’s a photo of an RHD Bagheera in Australia:

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The Bagheera did have a reputation for quite poor build quality, particularly in regard to rust. Unusual for this one to survive long enough to get abused by New Top Gear, but perhaps it was in poorer shape than it seemed.

I think some of the obviously pointless plots in Old New  Top Gear were pretty tired by the last few seasons, but it’s certainly going to be less worth watching without the original 3. I don’t think I could bring myself to


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Nauraushaun
10/23/2020 at 16:52

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Well, what they claimed in the show was that this Bagheera was the only RHD one the factory made, I guess as a prototype, and all the others were conversions. It did have some visible rust, but not a ton. It appeared serviceable, at least in the beginning. The fact that there are few left at all is even more reason why Top Gear should’ve left it alone.


Kinja'd!!! Nauraushaun > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 17:12

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Right you are.

It sort of sounds to me like clickbait. You make more headlines if you destroy a rare or valuable car , so they’re incentivised to do it. Absolute bullshit.


Kinja'd!!! Noodles > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 18:23

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Have you checked out Full Custom Garage? Ian is a beast with metal


Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/23/2020 at 18:58

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But they destroyed the ONLY RHD one in existence! I’d be upset if it was a rough LHD but this?!?!

OMG I’m vastly underestimating how awesome this car is. I gotta go to Google real quick! I was thinking “oh, maybe it’s super special because it’s a clean one”, not expecting it to be the only rhd one.

That makes it even worse!!!!


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter
10/23/2020 at 19:19

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There isn’t a Mat ra in existence that isn’t rare and special. But this one? Unacceptable that it was destroyed. You can’t simply destroy a one of one version of an already rare car for literally no reason. Look up some stuff about the Bagheera. It’s the mid engined 3 seater French sports car you never knew you needed in your life. 


Kinja'd!!! Jim Spanfeller > Noodles
10/23/2020 at 20:05

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No, but I will now. So unds interesting!


Kinja'd!!! Noodles > Jim Spanfeller
10/23/2020 at 20:54

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He built these two on the show.

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Kinja'd!!! Mercedes Streeter > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/24/2020 at 10:59

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From my looking around last night I definitely learned a lot about a brand I knew existed, but knew nothing about. Yeah, I’d say destroying a Matra of any kind is horrifying. I didn’t know even the Avantime was actually designed and built by Matra!

And you’re right, every car is awesome and not exactly what I’d call high production counts.

Which even further makes me shake my head at TG. What in the heck, why not destroy some random high volume piece of crap????


Kinja'd!!! Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter
10/24/2020 at 12:52

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Matra also invented the minivan, d esigning the Renault Espace and the Mayra Rancho (not really a minivan but more like a first gen CR-V in concept ) while Chrysler sus picous ly happened to start work on their minivan after selling Mayra to Renault.

Even though I like the Murena more than the Bagheera, it's a shame there is one less Matra in the world. Especially when something way less rare and irreplaceable would have worked just as well.