Lonsdale yd41???

[bunglebus]

 

 

 

I've had a look through my Safer Motoring mags but by '83 they were purely VAG, shame as they used to test Moskvitches, Borgwards, all sorts in the 70's.

[tooSavvy]

Hmm... I hired one, from a shady outfit at the Byker end of Byker Bridge - latterly 'The Parrot Store' - and at a very reasonable deal. I needed it as my 4d Escort had just been stolen from Metro Centre car park.

 

It was a met bloo Estate. Werthers dash & interior. 1.8 IIRC.

 

Someone previously had been in it, likely with mankkie overalls (there was a big oily stain in the centre of the carpet, inside the boot door) and when I wizzed the seat belt on..... it left a big oily black streak across my top 

 

Having, subsequently, owned a Proton 1.5 MPi.... the Proton dash felt somewhat familiar.

 

 

TS

[John F]

Hired an estate for a week, from an ArfurD type on the end of Byker Bridge, in 86.

Scrotes had just nicked my 4dr Escort mk2 from the Metro Centre....

 

Nice enough, but a previous driver had been in with oily clothes...... I pulled the seatbelt on & got home with a black sash [permanent] over my jacket - GRR!

 

tooSavvy

 

 

Hmm... I hired one, from a shady outfit at the Byker end of Byker Bridge - latterly 'The Parrot Store' - and at a very reasonable deal. I needed it as my 4d Escort had just been stolen from Metro Centre car park.

 

It was a met bloo Estate. Werthers dash & interior. 1.8 IIRC.

 

Someone previously had been in it, likely with mankkie overalls (there was a big oily stain in the centre of the carpet, inside the boot door) and when I wizzed the seat belt on..... it left a big oily black streak across my top 

 

Having, subsequently, owned a Proton 1.5 MPi.... the Proton dash felt somewhat familiar.

 

 

TS

 

Wow, that echo took over 4 years to arrive

 

(Although it did gather a bit more detail on its travels...)

[tooSavvy]

Story wood stand up in court, tho

 

TS

[delux]

Am I the only one who has noticed that the Lonsdale car companies address is the same as the Colt car companies address?

[AlabamaShrimp]

Would this be the same address as Mitsubishi?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

"For us up here"

[Dick Cheeseburger]

A few good photos here...

http://hooniverse.com/2016/11/28/the-carchive-the-the-1983-lonsdale-yd-saloon-and-estate/

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Original press photos:

 

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/LONSDALE-CAR-COMPANY-SALOON-ESTATES-THREE-ORIGINAL-PRESS-RELEASE-PHOTOS-/292139358954?hash=item4404dcdaea:g:8BsAAOSwzgBYzSNb

[martc]

Looks like Jeremy had to get extra help from Richard to deal with the flood of interest from the press

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Richard looks like an interesting fella. Looking at page 2 of the document, I'm 99% confident it's the same bloke.

How many dissolved companies?!

[mk2_craig]

A whole 102bhp out of that 2.6, no match for the equivalent Tagora then.

[delux]

Would this be the same address as Mitsubishi?

 

Yeah! Colt Cars used to be the UK importer of Mitsubishi. When their owner retired Mitsubishi corporation bought his share. So Colt car company is owned by Mitsubishi motors and Mitsubishi corporation.

 

Not sure there is a Lord Edmiston link though. International motors have imported NSU, Great wall, Subaru, Diahatsu, Alfa, Maserati, Piaggio, Mazda, Hyundai and Isuzu pick ups but not heard of any link to Lonsdale. 

 

 

Richard looks like an interesting fella. Looking at page 2 of the document, I'm 99% confident it's the same bloke.

How many dissolved companies?!

 

Richard Lawson currently a Mitsubishi dealer in Dundee. He was until recently the Subaru and Great wall dealer in the area too but there was a disagreement with International motors over investment in their brands.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Yeah! Colt Cars used to be the UK importer of Mitsubishi. When their owner retired Mitsubishi corporation bought his share. So Colt car company is owned by Mitsubishi motors and Mitsubishi corporation.

Yeah, I know.

 

You see what I'm called is a sarcastic twat. I post stupid and sarcastic stuff to normal comments hence the twat part, I also occasionally say something about cars

[RoadworkUK]

A few good photos here...

http://hooniverse.com/2016/11/28/the-carchive-the-the-1983-lonsdale-yd-saloon-and-estate/

 

I wrote that article.

 

Sorry about the words.

[MorrisItalSLX]

There are still plenty of these hanging around Australia, although they were just Mitsubishi Sigmas here. I remember an old friend of my dad who ran a wreckers yard telling me that he used to ship sigma bits to the UK all the time, this was in the early 1990s.

 

If I remember correctly there is a saloon and an estate in a museum somewhere from when Mitsubishi Australia shut down and there "collection" was sold off.

[Spottedlaurel]

Lonsdale 2.0 - A710 SYR - Blue - Date of liability 01 03 1997

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 522Y - Brown - Date of liability 01 02 1988

Lonsdale 1.6 - DDF 507Y - Blue - Date of liability 01 12 1992

Lonsdale 2.0 - DDF 508Y - Blue - Date of liability 01 08 1990 5-speed saloon, press photo

Lonsdale 2.0 - DDF 509Y - Brown - Date of liability 01 06 1995

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 510Y - Green - Date of liability 01 02 1992 4-speed saloon, Autocar test extra 20/8/83

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 511Y - Not listed on DVLA Automatic estate, press photo

Lonsdale 1.6 - DDF 512Y - Silver - Date of liability 01 07 1990

Lonsdale 2.0 - DDF 519Y - Red - Date of liability 01 07 1992 5-speed saloon, Practical Motorist 11/83 group test vs VW Santana LX 4dr and Sierra 2.0 GL estate

Lonsdale 2.0 - DDF 520Y - Blue - Date of liability 01 11 1991

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 521Y - Brown - Date of liability 01 08 1991 5-speed saloon, Autocar road test 20/8/83

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 522Y - Brown - Date of liability 01 02 1988

Lonsdale 1.6 - DDF 532Y - Silver - Date of liability 01 01 1990

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 533Y - White - Date of liability 01 10 1990

Lonsdale 2.0 - DDF 565Y - White - Date of liability 01 05 2000

Lonsdale 1.6 - DDF 566Y - Green - Date of liability01 07 1993

Lonsdale 2.6 - DDF 594Y - White - Date of liability 01 03 1996

 

From pic's above and road tests I've dug out of the shed I've added a bit more info to the above list.

 

I have both the Practical Motorist and Autocar articles (the latter as a reprint which I presume was intended for distribution by PR/dealers, but sadly no stamp on my copy). The PM group test is a bit odd as it doesn't make a direct comparison between the cars and come up with a verdict, it just evaluates each one independently. As a less demanding magazine, they seem to quite like it. Random quotes:

 

"In styling, the Lonsdale looks just a little dated and perhaps slightly bulky. It also looks extremely smart to most critics, helped in the 2-litre form by the polished, light alloy wheels and muted exterior and interior decorations."

 

"Where the design shows its age is in the steering and handling departments. There is little wrong with it, but the unassisted recirculating ball steering, although reasonably light, is somewhat vague. Similarly, the Lonsdale corners well at speed, but with a lot of tyre-scrubbing understeer and some lurching."

 

"We also thought the general level of finish excellent, suggesting that the Australians are capable of making motor cars just as well as Europeans or Japanese. Good on yer, cobbers!"

 

The Autocar test compares the 2.6 at £7,499 to the following: Sierra 2.3 GL £7,678; Lancia Trevi 2000 £7,192; Mazda 626 2.0 GLX 4dr £6,149; Carlton 2.0 GL 4dr £7,512; Volvo 240 £7,487. They don't really pick a favourite, but suggest that the Sierra, Carlton and Trevi are more suited to British tastes. Their conclusion was "The Lonsdale 2.6 reverts to the US flavour. It may find some favour here - after all, there is a growing interest in American cars - but would be more at home in the outback."

 

I had a look through the contents pages of my 1983 copies of Car and What Car? but couldn't immediately find anything.

 

it is possible that I accidentally got a bit of Lonsdale in this photo, or at least the Sigma rebadged version:

 

1978 Datsun 180B + 1979 280C at Medler’s c.1997 (+Galant) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Extract from a 1984 Sigma brochure:

 

1984 Mitsubishi Sigma UK brochure by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

And a scan from an old Parker's Guide:

 

Galant/Sigma 1996 price/date/spec info #2 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

The Japanese-built Galant 1.6 and 2.0 models ran alongside the Lonsdale and Sigma until mid-1984, when replaced by the rather different FWD model.

[tooSavvy]

I remember an old friend of my dad who ran a wreckers yard telling me that he used to ship sigma bits to the UK all the time, this was in the early 1990s.

Re: 84' Carina II, needs glass ... My thread...

 

Hope he's not related the knobbedded cu#t who won't ship this glass FFS!

 

 

TS

[sierraman]

Really surprised the owners of these 5 that's left haven't found their way on to here.

[RoadworkUK]

I want a Mitsubishi television now.

[Six-cylinder]

In 1987/88 I sold new Volvos in Aylesbury and was offered a Longsdale 2.6 Estate in p/x against a new Volvo 740 estate. The Longsdale was not a car we would resell from the dealership so the policy was to phone our regular traders and have it underwritten. I remember being gob smacked at how low the offers were, I seem to remember around £1000 for a car that cost nearly £8,000 5 years before. Needless to say the owner was not pleased and the deal was not done so I never took it in p/x.

 

Part of the appraisal process was to drive all the cars we priced for p/x, I don't remember too much detail from 30 years ago, only it was very bland and I preferred the Volvos I sold. 

[John F]

Really surprised the owners of these 5 that's left haven't found their way on to here.

 

They'll no doubt eventually end up on ebay as (actual) barn finds, if they haven't already long since been scrapped.

[Spottedlaurel]

Just had a look at the Lonsdale brochures I have. I think I picked them up at a country show back in the day, they have a stamp for Barnards of London Road, Ipswich. I think that was a small garage on the edge of what became the BMW dealership (itself now demolished and redeveloped as a Burger King).

[Weird Car]

Anyone found one yet??

[MorrisItalSLX]

I found a set of alloys for sale down my way.

[Spottedlaurel]

Bought a showroom display plate that came from a dealership round my way:

 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Harriytait said:

Anyone found one yet??

Supposedly there is one still taxed somewhere. Where this is or who owns it is an absolute mystery, one day I’m hoping someone stumbles across it and another one of life’s mysteries is revealed. 

Wonder if it’s worth an e-mail to the Mitsubishi Owners Club to see if they know the story. 

[Dave_Q]

Assuming DVLA info is correct (big if) there are 3 taxed and 2 on SORN. 

Of the 3 that are taxed 2 are down as diesel and the other as having a petrol engine from 4301-4400cc. Not sure if that suggests the records are accurate or not.

[sierraman]

I think only one of them is genuine as it shows date of first registration as 82/83

[egg]

If they exist - I can't believe they haven't been spotted on instagram or whatever, so many car spotters out there these days.