Some people celebrate their cat's birthday; others take pictures when the odometer reaches 80085 (what does that read?). We, on the other hand, have a thing for the Skoda Octavia. And while the fact that 6,000,000 units have been made is utterly boring, the best commercials on the net aren't.
Our personal favorite is the one for the current Octavia RS. It's about four years old and was commissioned by Skoda UK. It might look like CGI, but everything from the large baby stroller to the muscly teddy bear is real. Weirdly awesome!
The rest of the videos aren't of the same epic caliber, but they do give us insight into how cars were promoted about ten years ago. We kind of like it - it's less about coming up with crazy ads and just letting the design speak for itself. What's more, as timeless as the Octavia I and II look, they used to be much cheaper.
Before nostalgia gets the best of us, let's mention that Octavia number 6,000,000 is a green RS. The first generation came out in 1996 at the Paris Motor Show. Nowadays, it looks dull, but back in the 1990's that large radiator grille looked bold.
However, there's also a predecessor model. Between 1959 and 1971, Skoda also made a car called Octavia, with a name derived from the Latin name for eight, "Octo," because it was their eight model after World War II.
Our favorite Octavia is probably the second generation, and by the look of things, it will remain the most popular. Between 2004 and 2013 they made 2.6 million compared to 1.4 million for the Mk1. So far, the Octavia III has only managed 1.56 million, so it's still got quite a way to go.
It had turbocharged TSI engine and DSG, both of which were still pretty rare. Driving comfort increased thanks to a new multi-link rear axle, something they took away in 2012 with the current generation. We could also argue that the II facelift was a lot more successful than what we got in February 2017. But some people don't seem to agree.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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