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Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.


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Posted
1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Toyota Corsa - way before Opel used it?

I just had to look this up, mainly because there was a familiar look to them - Toyota did beat Opel to if but only by 4 years, the Toyota Corsa was introduced in 1978, the Opel in 1982. And why did they look familiar? - because they were sold as Tercels here. The Toyota Corsa name was only used in Japan

40 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Toyota Sprinter Coupés 60s-70's

And the Sprinters - early ones were Corolla based and later ones were Tercel hatchbacks. Confusingly, some (Tercel) Sprinter/Corsa hatchbacks were also sold as Corrollas in Japan. Toyota first used the Sprinter name in 1968, British Rail in 1984 and Mercedes in 1995

Posted
8 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Japanese car designers were only allowed to use rulers when drawing up the 1982 Vista

 

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First generation Camry in international markets.

Posted

Saloons based on hatchbacks seems a pretty common theme so I wasn't that surprised when I saw one of these in an Australian film the other night.

Daihatsu_Charade_SG_Saloon_(26833300985).jpg

  • Like 2
Posted

Saloons based on hatchbacks seem to be popular in Latin America, especially when they are 2 door saloons.

Posted
On 10/28/2020 at 8:26 PM, angle said:

They also had the CAL-1, a 'utility sports coupe', a bit like a Celica-based El Camino with some speedboat mixed in. It had a teak paneled rear deck with a rumble seat, and the panels were removable to turn it into a pickup. Obviously. 

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Hory sheet. That el-celica is the coolest thing I've ever seen and I urgently want one. Did they ever get made in numbers?

Posted
10 hours ago, juular said:

Hory sheet. That el-celica is the coolest thing I've ever seen and I urgently want one. Did they ever get made in numbers?

looks like it was only a concept.

Posted
On 11/11/2020 at 7:33 PM, Lacquer Peel said:

Lolwhat 

 

 

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I like the combination of fancy folding roof and poverty spec unpainted bumpers.

  • Like 1
Posted
On 11/10/2020 at 11:34 AM, bunglebus said:

 

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Is that grey thing not just a Chevy Suburban with a Toyota grille tacked on?

Posted

Probably just Japan respecting* copyright laws, most of their earlier automobiles were copies of western stuff

Posted

Isn’t the Japanese word for learn and copy one and the same ? Or so I was told anyway 😂

Posted
On 11/11/2020 at 7:33 PM, Lacquer Peel said:

Lolwhat 

 

 

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I think they’re genuine Bauer conversions. They’re an interesting company and have done weird stuff that doesn’t seem to make any sense. I like it.

  • Like 1
Posted

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The Suzuki Swace. According to Wiki it's a mildly restyled Corolla available in Europe only. And only in estate form here at least. I can see these being popular*.

Wait a sec, I think these are being built in Derby too having read an Autocar article quickly! Welcome Suzuki to UK manufacturing!

  • Like 2
Posted

Mazda Chantez, was going to have a small rotary engine under 660cc to meet with Kei-car regulations but ended up with a two stroke:

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Posted
On 11/16/2020 at 3:30 PM, Slappy said:

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The Suzuki Swace. According to Wiki it's a mildly restyled Corolla available in Europe only. And only in estate form here at least. I can see these being popular*.

Wait a sec, I think these are being built in Derby too having read an Autocar article quickly! Welcome Suzuki to UK manufacturing!

I actually looked at this as a possible replacement for our venerable Fiat Panda which, following glowing praise on this very website, has landed us with an eye watering bill due to the rear shock absorbers, handbrake cable, waterpump, front brakes and battery all requiring replacement in quick succession. The Swace is only available as a full hybrid and uses the Toyota hybrid system, as it is basically a Corolla. I‘m a big fan of this system for city cars and there are some unbelievable leasing deals to be had here in Germany. Unfortunately, it turns out Mrs I is not keen on cars which won‘t let you select which gear to use, and even less keen on cars that won‘t even let you select which engine.

  • Like 2
Posted

This months Craptical Plastics has a Yak Yeoman in it... 
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Never heard of one of them before... and bloody hell do I want one now!! 
 

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Posted

Nobe 100

Coming to you from Estonia.

https://mynobe.com/

If a "start-up" like this can make something like this.  I ask the question why could not Dyson produce a EV car? He gave all sorts of excuses why not.

  • Like 3
Posted

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Standard Atlas was badged as a Triumph in USA .

  • Like 3
Posted
19 hours ago, brownnova said:

Yak Yeoman

That's almost what I said when I saw it.

Posted
3 hours ago, Remspoor said:

Nobe 100

Coming to you from Estonia.

https://mynobe.com/

If a "start-up" like this can make something like this.  I ask the question why could not Dyson produce a EV car? He gave all sorts of excuses why not.

Yep, that's prominently displayed on a wall in line of sight from the main bus station in Tallin.

 

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  • Like 3
Posted

To be honest I knew about this one, but I bet there's a fair few parishioners unaware of the RAP Pulse. I read about a Mk1 in a copy of Motorcycle International from the 80's, someone in London was importing them (they were made in the USA) to order. The Mk1 had a Yamaha XS400 engine making it a tadge underpowered, the outrider wheels, which were supposed to just balance it when stopped, hit the road frequently causing it to rock from side to side and the turning circle was pathetic. No reverse gear.  The article mentioned a Mk2 with a Gold Wing engine - which would certainly improve performance and also had a reverse. The very first ones were called 'Litestars', about 360 were made.

Anyhow, feast your eyes - car or bike? Or plane? The bodystyles seem to alter as some have tailplanes and fins, others have pop up headlights.

PULSE 1985 AUTOCYCLE MOTORCYCLE PULSE LITESTAR RARE ...Probably a  Mk1

Pulse specificationsI think this one is a Mk2.

060a.jpg.8735ee36d2984c7093e6bb1932d4d4fb.jpgDunno

More details here - http://www.autocycles.org/index.html

 

 

  • Like 4
Posted

I think I saw one of those in the background of Back to the future II.

Posted

Yep

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There's a red one visible for a moment too

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Probably this one from Robocop

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White one briefly seen in LA Story

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