Spotted's Spottings (2024 France holiday #5 06/10/2024)

[Spottedlaurel]

Will this misery ever end? Tonight's update should take me to about halfway through the second week, missing out a couple of car/transport events I managed to attend:

Renault 6 TL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

First of three 6s I saw, all of them at/around the back of garages.

1984 Renault R310 Truck by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Not many older big commercials seen this year.

Citroen Mehari by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Citroen C15 and Renault Express by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault 25 Turbo DX by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Aixam Mega Club by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Aixam Mega Club by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Visit to another village tabletop/boot sale netted me this lot (and a couple Majorette 604s, closest I got to the real thing). Those Aixams are quite interesting things, more about them here: https://rarefrenchsportscars.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/1-3-mega-by-aixam-final.pdf

Talbot Matra Rancho by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Talbot Matra Rancho by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Strange! I think it was owned by an artistic type.

Renault 6 TL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Number 2 of 3.

197? Dodge Swinger by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

A lot of interesting stuff in town when they had an agricultural fair on.

Audi 80 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Tidy.

Citroen Traction Avant by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Saw several of these at the various events I went to.

Peugeot 504 Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Peugeot 504 Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Peugeot 204 Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Peugeot 204 Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Compare and contrast cabriolets, both very nice.

Mazda 121 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Only one of these I saw, and no previous-gen models.

Renault Clio Williams 16S by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault 5 GT Turbo and Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Imagine the fun these would have been to drive on the country roads on that sunny Sunday.

1934 Morris Eight by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Unexpected.

Citroen Ami 8 Estate by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Very happy to find this one. Had glimpsed one rotting away at an old garage, and saw another in a garden on the way home.

Citroen AX Image x2 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Double image.

198? Ford Econoline by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Visitors from the US? Full-on AS colour scheme.

Renault Estafette by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Don't think I've seen an Estafette like this before.

Lada Niva 1600 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

As ever a few of these seen but this the oldest.

Opel Kadett by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Favoured wheels.

1959 Peugeot 203 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1959 Peugeot 203 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I think these are great-looking old things.

Alfa Romeo GTV (2.5?) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I'm guessing it's the V6, but difficult to tell as it's not standard.

More to come another day.

[dozeydustman]

Nice spots. Forgotten how pretty the 504 coupe and cabriolet are.

[wuvvum]

Nice to see that old Renault truck - there were still a few of those around on local duties when we moved to France in 1993, but not seen one in the wild for a long time now.  If memory serves they were originally a Berliet design.

[Spottedlaurel]

On 9/19/2019 at 9:34 PM, dozeydustman said:

Nice spots. Forgotten how pretty the 504 coupe and cabriolet are.

Ta. Sadly no coupes seen this year, although I saw all of the other basic 504 variants.

On 9/19/2019 at 9:54 PM, wuvvum said:

Nice to see that old Renault truck - there were still a few of those around on local duties when we moved to France in 1993, but not seen one in the wild for a long time now.  If memory serves they were originally a Berliet design.

And apparently the cab used on the Ford Transcontinental, which I didn't realise until relatively late in my life.

Finally finished my Flickr uploads and I can draw this saga to an end. To start with, I'm going to step back a day or two to the Sunday events I got to:

Sunday Meet assortment 1 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Sunday Meet assortment 2 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Citroens Traction Avant and 2CV by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Mercedes 250SL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

These from a monthly Sunday morning meet-up. I'd been hoping for a bit more once-common everyday bilge but it was still good to see these in such an attractive setting.

Dutra UE-28 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Aebi AM90 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

19?? Citroen by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1954-59 Panhard Dyna Z Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1954-59 Panhard Dyna Z Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1955-58 Simca Aronde Grand Large Special by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault Dauphine by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault Juvaquatre by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

A local show/demonstration of old agricultural machinery also had a few cars in attendance. Fancy versions of both the Simca and Panhard new to me.

Back to the 'everyday' stuff now:

Citroen Visa Super E Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Citroen Visa Super E Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Very smart. I bet it would have been a very enjoyable thing to drive around the area we were in.

1989 Renault R385 Tractor Unit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Later version of one of those Renault camions.

1984 Volvo 760 2.4 TD by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

A surprising find.

Peugeot 309 GL Profil by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Rather battered but definitely still in use.

Isuzu Trooper LWB by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

These less common than Land Cruiser, Patrol or Pajero.

Fiat 126 BIS by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Bibendum helpfully points the way to a yard with a few interesting things:

Renault 11 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Toyota Liteace by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault 6 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Third of the three 6s I saw, and an early one at that.

Citroen C35(?) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Only one of these I saw this year.

Lexus  LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Rubbish dashcam shot, but it's a Mk1! Must be very rare in France.

Peugeot J7 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I recently saw one or two of these in London as food vans, but it was good to see one in its natural habitat and in that classic beige colour.

Les Compagnons de la Chanson by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Majorette assortment by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Boot sale purchases. Now for the journey home.....

[Spottedlaurel]

The journey home begins. Spread over a couple of days and taking a slightly different route, just in case....

Simca 1000, Saviem SG2 and Renault Goelette by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Citroen 2CVs by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I'd caught sight of this place on the way down and made sure I was prepared to stop on the way back.

1975 Renault 16 TX by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Apologies, this is probably the greyest photo in the world but it's only a 16 TX.

Citroen BX 19 RD Evasion by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Just an everyday example.

Peugeot 309 GLD by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Not much older stuff on the autoroute, it was good to see this one providing family transport.

1923 Vauxhall Type OD 23-60hp Kington Tourer by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1923 Vauxhall Type OD 23-60hp Kington Tourer by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Saw this one and thought Barrett would approve. Nearly 100 years old and still doing its thing. Spent half of that time in storage according to the Bonhams sale listing: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21902/lot/344/?category=list

BMW 520i by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Even when bit tatty like this one, these always have the look of something that would be fun to drive like a bit of a loon, smoking the tyres at every opportunity.

Aixam A540 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Watch out for that pigeon! Lady driver and her child was following her other half with another kid in his sans-permis microcar.

Nissan Sunny 2.0d SLX (N14) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

We didn't get this combination of diesel and high-spec SLX trim level.

Peugeot J9 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Six-wheeler probably on its way back to the farm from a Saturday morning at the market.

1998 Lancia Kappa Coupe 2.0 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Don't recall seeing a coupe version before, an odd-looking thing around the back end. Look at those autoroute fuel prices.....

French Autoroute driving by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

In previous years I've tried to avoid the autoroutes as much as possible, but it has to be said when they're like this and the cruise control is set at 80-and-a-bit they have their own pleasure.

VW Jetta and others by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

VW Scirocco by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

VW assortment by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Back up in Normandy, there was a theme in what this person had neatly assembled.

Nissan 100NX by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Seen a handful of these in France over the years.

Peugeot 309 GLD by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Looked good on the open steels. My last decent French spot.

1982 Ford Fiesta 1.3 GL and 1974 VW Transporter by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1978 Mercedes 200 (W123) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1923 Bentley 3 Litre by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Seen back in the UK on the final push homewards. Had seen the Bentley at the Eurotunnel terminal at the end of its own trip to France.

There is one final car to post, which I've deliberately left to the end:

Renault 14 GTL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Renault 14 GTL by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Blimey, a 14 just sat there. Had walked down this street a few days before but didn't get quite this far. Don't know if it was a cherished classic or just someone's normal transport, but a fantastic thing to find even if I missed out on a few other Renaults.

That's it for my 2019 trip.

[wuvvum]

I had (maybe still have somewhere) a brochure for those Aixams.  The base model A540 was only available in white and was powered* by a 325cc Lombardini single.  The posher models got a larger Kubota twin (albeit governed down to 5.4 bhp for sans permis purposes) and the option of metallic paint.  Then there was a larger 4-seater A550 which needed a B1 licence to drive - that had the same Kubota twin as the A540, but with the governor removed so it could make its full 15 bhp.  None of them were fast vehicles...

[mk2_craig]

Just seen that R14, SL, I’ve been to France quite a lot over the last dozen years or so and still never seen a 14 in the wild or even at a show/behind your typical rural garage. Great spot! Takes me right back to eighties holidays that does. 

[Spottedlaurel]

3 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

Just seen that R14, SL, I’ve been to France quite a lot over the last dozen years or so and still never seen a 14 in the wild or even at a show/behind your typical rural garage. Great spot! Takes me right back to eighties holidays that does. 

Shocked to see this on the front page again. I've seen a couple of 14s on the road(ish) plus one in a scrapyard since I started visiting again in 2010.

[RobT]

I'd rate this as my best spot of the year, seen this April somewhere in the Morvan region.

Looks small compared to the 307.

[Spottedlaurel]

Nice one, a TS so posher than 'mine'. Looks like they gain that stripe on the wing and an extra bit of chrome around the grille, and my Parker's Guide says they had uprated front suspension, electric front windows and central locking. And a bigger engine, until the GTL got the same 1360cc unit as the TS. It's come as something of a surprise to me to find that the standard engine was a 1.2.

[Skizzer]

I’m very glad this got bumped as I missed this French trip first time round in September.

Superb spotting.  I want a holiday exactly like that please.  Now, ideally. Thx.

[Spottedlaurel]

Attempting an update, looks like the way the forum accepts photos from Flickr has changed (although at least the old ones are still there).

Does this work?.........

OK, looks like it does, try again!

[Spottedlaurel]

For various reasons (including one fairly obvious one this year) I'm not taking anywhere near as many everyday spots as I used to. But I do still get them from time-to-time, so here's an update from the end of last year's holiday.......

 

 

Early '90s stuff like this is about the oldest I usually see in everyday use. The Civic was particularly nice.

Certainly not many as old this to be seen at the local surpermarket.

This was just off a road I've driven along many, many times. A local garage had a nice coupe version in a few days ago.

 

 

 

 

A handful from a sunny day trip to London.

Early one here.

 

 

I can't think of many times where I've visited this car park and haven't come away with a photo or two.

Cavcraft's holiday nightmare.

 

Rare to see as a 3dr.

 

 

Norfolk weekend away spots.

Was there a law that decreed all of these had to see service as motocross team transport?

Rolling restoration project?

More '90s bilge. Seen it a few times over the years, not many other P10s around now.

Can't recall seeing many of these later Stageas here.

Surprise find at a local garage, although maybe there was a link to the fact that there used to a Volvo dealership  on the site in the dim and distant past? It’d had a new MoT not long before my photo, it’s now on SORN.

That's it for 2019. This year's stuff to follow at some point.

[MarinaJosh]

21 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 

 

This was just off a road I've driven along many, many times. A local garage had a nice coupe version in a few days ago.

 

 

Up until a few months ago the pink house next door was my parents' house! The chap next door bought the Merc whilst I was still living there (around 2012). He spent ages getting it back on the road then went abroad for a few years so it sadly fell to bits again. Shame as it was a nice car, hopefully it will be again some day.

[Spottedlaurel]

5 minutes ago, MarinaJosh said:

Up until a few months ago the pink house next door was my parents' house! The chap next door bought the Merc whilst I was still living there (around 2012). He spent ages getting it back on the road then went abroad for a few years so it sadly fell to bits again. Shame as it was a nice car, hopefully it will be again some day.

Aha! I didn't realise you had been that local to me.

[Spottedlaurel]

As threatened, more rubbish......

 

New Years's Day walk with the family has often been fruitful, this year didn't disappoint when I saw these two.

 

These two at a largely unused former garage premises. I suspect someone still dabbles with old tractor/HGV repairs there.

 

 

Stuff seen from my car, with thanks to passengers and the dashcam. Have caught sight of the Volvo a couple of times since.

A Fizz, yet another of the many Panda special editions.

Someone attempted an MoT on this in 2010, it failed and then there's nothing on it since then.

I visit the town this is in fairly regularly, must drive by and see if it's still around.

LHD import, first registered here in 2010.

Saw this on the move in 2012, it may even be on this thread.

Next batch to follow.......

[Spottedlaurel]

I'm grouping this lot together as they came from just one trip out, a rare day when I was on my own and had time to waste. Ended up randomly driving around housing estates and suburbs, going to a boot sale, visiting a toy fair and driving along the coast, including stopping for tea and a teacake at a seaside cafe I've always wanted to frequent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good day out. Given how the rest of the year went it's good to look back on times like that.

 

 

 

 

This batch from the Reliant onwards were scattered around Snetterton at a rally stages event, itself a good thing to watch with quite a bit of older stuff taking part.

[Spottedlaurel]

From this point onwards my Flickr account contains mostly old photo/postcard scans and photos of WIP kits, but there are still a few real things in there......

This is languishing on a Suffolk farm.

 

This 216 may have been on here before, but good to see it's still around and looking decent.

 

Lockdown then happened, and I went for some weeks without seeing any cars new or old other than my rubbish on the driveway and the postman's van. But eventually I got out and about again......

 

 

 

Rather appropriately, this was seen the day I picked up my slightly earlier LS400.

Some 'proper' classics:

 

 

 

 

Saw this one when we should have been in France.

 

Final installment to follow.

[Spottedlaurel]

 

Managed to get to a show. Good to see another Mk1 LS, older than mine but fitted with later 16" wheels which slightly detract from its charm.

I think this one has been on here before, still looking good.

Got in some uni investigation trips for Miss SL before the students went back and turned them into seething plague pits. Which gave me an excuse for some random driving around in places I'd never been before......

 

 

A 2.3 diesel!

 

This was super-clean, great to see in use.

 

 

 

Film star car. It was seen in "About Time" from 2013.

Was very surprised how much older stuff there was to be seen around Canterbury, Sittingbourne and back along the river. Also caught sight of a couple of K10 Micras.

At this point we took a trip onto the Isle of Sheppey, as I'd never been there before and it's not really on the way to anwhere so would I ever have the chance to go again? Mrs SL was scared.

Back to East Anglia.....

 

 

Seeing a 1960 Edsel was certainly unexpected. Apparently they made less than 3,000 of them.

I can imagine progress in this would not be swift.

 

A couple of surprise local sights to conclude this 2020 update. Spoke to the 33's owner, apparently a Spanish import with a 1.3.

Thanks for your patience.

[schonker]

Great pics, good to see a few snaps in there from Bury St Edmunds

[barrett]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:46 PM, Spottedlaurel said:

1923 Vauxhall Type OD 23-60hp Kington Tourer by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1923 Vauxhall Type OD 23-60hp Kington Tourer by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Saw this one and thought Barrett would approve. Nearly 100 years old and still doing its thing. Spent half of that time in storage according to the Bonhams sale listing: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21902/lot/344/?category=list

I do approve! Actually I wrote a long article all about that car earlier this year, should you wish to learn more...

 

[wuvvum]

That Volvo 145 is superb.  Looks like it's been teleported from outside an antiques shop in 1983.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

On 10/25/2020 at 7:40 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

 

Saw this one when we should have been in France.

 

My old Renault 5 was B923 ARL. The 4 still looks relatively solid!

[Spottedlaurel]

I think I used to update this on a weekly basis, now it seems to be an annual thing.

I'm going to kick things off with a big hitter....

 

This car park has been very 'productive' over the years, but I'd never imagined I'd see something like this there in November. Apparently a 1300 Base model, wonderful to see.

Everyday country life.

 

Old stuff in use in/around Ipswich.

 

These both seen very local to home when out for a post-Christmas walk (a year ago to the day it would appear).

I'd seen this one previously on the site I was working at, it was good to catch up with it again. Appears to have been scrapped since, with a long MoT failure list back in June 2021.

 

Yay! Great to finally catch up with the owner of this one. Seeing these photos makes me sad about having to let mine go in the summer, if at all possible I will have another......

First one I'd seen for a fair while.

Audi compare and contrast.

The roof has been tidied up a bit since this photo.

Looking like most 300-series Volvos do nowadays.

There'd definitely be room for a nice 2000/2500 in my dream garage.

More to follow very soon........

[Spottedlaurel]

More....

I think the Rialto has previously appeared on these pages. My LS looks to be unusually clean, I think it had just been through the jet wash and I was midway through a wiper blade change.

Super-clean.

Poor quality shot, but having seen it in use once or twice I was determined to get a photo somehow.

I don't know if it's still at the same place but it hasn't had an NoT since 2017.

 

Sorry, porr quality dashcam shots but it was great to see these two on the same day,both appearing to have been local from new. Since I saw them both have had new MoTs.

With apologies to the Mondeo fanciers, back in the '90s I thought these were miserable things. This dull colour seemed to be common on the LX models, we had several as comany cars where I worked.

Funky!

Nice look to this one, tidy but not too shiny and ideal for some local, practical running about.

Crikey, nigh-on £5k for one of these?

A bit of a survivor here. I was expecting to find it had been scrapped since my photo, but it's gone through another MoT and had covered approaching 5,000 miles since its previous test so it see a bit of use.

Another one with a new MoT since my photo, now up to 230k miles.

 

Always worth a quick drive around Gt Yarmouth when nearby.

 

Marvellous! From the same car park as the Cortina Mk3. Apart from being another '70s car I have a particular soft spot for, this one was especially pleasing to see as it looked to have been sold new by the dealer in the Essex village where my grandparents lived.

More to follow.......

[Spottedlaurel]

Final selection?.......

As yet again there was no French holiday it was great to see this.

One of the local garage owner's toys.

 

Another one that I'd have been happy to see in France, let alone just a few miles from home.

Last time I got a photo of a Bristol on the move it was in Malvern. I visit again and what happens?.......

I first saw this posh Metro back in 2010. Was amazed to find it still there festering away.

I don't know if this was undergoing work to out it back on the road, or going to be stripped for banger racing.

After having seen it around a few times over the years, I believe with its long-term, elderly owner, this one then turned up for sale on a driveway very local to me.I don't know how much they were asking.

Slightly incongruous sighting at a country house, possibly connected with the people who own the place?

Nearly 30 years old and still in everyday use, probably unnoticed by almost everyone but me. What times we live in.

 

Made an appearance in last year's update, good to catch up with it again.

Another one where it's difficult to comprehend these were launched over 30 years ago.

 

 

Things seen on the way to/from taking Miss SL to uni. When I started this thread she hadn't even started primary school......

For sale at a local dealer. Not cheap, and it needs a bit of recommissioning from lack of use, but if I had the money I'd find it very appealing. Must be a middle-age thing.

 

Trips to Foxhall Raceway still feature as a part of my life. Even though I didn't make the Unlmited Banger World Final we did get to the "Rookie Banger" version. First C30 I've seen on the track, it actually won a race.

On 10/25/2020 at 11:03 AM, wuvvum said:

That Volvo 145 is superb.  Looks like it's been teleported from outside an antiques shop in 1983.

And here it is again!

 

Great to see in regular use, and having gained what look to me like P1800 alloys.

Very restrained mod's. Note the registration, not local to me but just a few minutes beforehand I'd seen the same series on this thing.....

 

A 1951 Alvis TA21. I confess that first of all I thought it was an Armstrong Siddeley - my knwledge of low volume, upper-medium size early 1950s luxury saloons is limited. Certainly not something I had expected to see on a damp Sunday morning, I liked how apart from a few details the photo could have been taken at that location at any point in the last 70 years.

A local, low mileage example that's just failed an MoT. I will make enquiries as to its fate, but the fact it's been put on SORN is promising. The garage is old car friendly so I'm sure they'll assist as much as they can.

And finally.....

 

 

I'm sure it's owned by someone who knows how unusual and rare it is, but what a thing to see on a miserable December mid-week morning. Seemingly been fairly local from new, but I don't recall seeing it at any shows.

Unless I see anything amazing in the next few days that's it for 2020/2021, thanks for looking!

[mk2_craig]

Great to see the updates SL!! Amazing what still crops up from time to time. Especially bearing in mind how long you’ve been looking out for old chod to photograph! 
 

To be fair, a decade and a half ago nobody would have been remotely interested in a mk1 Mondeo, aside from that Austin Rover front wheeltrim of course. ☺️

[skoda_fan]

Fabulous update, thanks. Please don't wait another year for more of same. I'm quite envious as I never see anything even vaguely interesting around here. My favourites are the Fun and FE as I have soft spots for both, having owned both in the past. That '23 Vauxhall is both magnificent and wonderfully incongruous.

[Spottedlaurel]

On 12/27/2021 at 9:04 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

A local, low mileage example that's just failed an MoT. I will make enquiries as to its fate, but the fact it's been put on SORN is promising. The garage is old car friendly so I'm sure they'll assist..........

@wuvvum PM sent to you about this one,  it's available.........

[trigger]

It's always good to see your 'spots' Nigel, some which are VERY local to me too! Hope your keeping well.