Jump to content

Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.


philibusmo

Recommended Posts

AKA the Fiat 242 which was built from 1974, so a bit earlier than the Trafic...

 

fiat-242-m-02.jpg

 

Wikipedia says "...Fiat 242 was a van which was produced by Fiat from 1974. This van was the result of a cooperation with Citroën and was sold under the name Citroën C35 in France. Both vehicles were produced in Italy till 1987 with Fiat engines, and then in France by Chausson, when Fiat discontinued the 242. Citroën retained the model until 1992. This cooperation was the precursor of Sevel..."

I genuinely really really like that.

 

I'd also like to contribute the Alfa AR6.

 

post-24858-0-80150900-1535429214_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't know that Ford Lio Ho (a Taiwanese Ford offshoot) built the 'Mondeo M2000' for the Chinese market based on the Mk2. Not sure which years, but I think after the Mk3 was launched elsewhere.

 

Wow, that's a new one to me!  I found some more info on it:

 

https://carnewschina.com/2015/10/23/spotted-in-china-ford-mondeo-m2000/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a new turd on the block - a Kiwi Goa:

 

KIWIGOA-138-700x467.jpg

 

http://www.kiwigoa.co.nz

 

I passed this thing on the motorway heading to Auckland International Airport at about 3:30am, the other day. It was towing a trailer of a similar shape and was doing all of about 70km/h. Somehow, this has passed muster to be on the road, carrying passengers. Seems to be based on a Suzuki Swift, that perennial cabbies' favourite

 

Since it's still winter here, it was about 4 degrees, so I'm sure there are better ways to start your trip abroad than cooped up in one of these, even if the one I saw had flimsy 'doors' covering the gap.

 

I'm all for a bit of enterprise and all but why does it have to be so ugly? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just learned of the existence of Chilean-made Minis from this Jalopnik article.

 

While British Leyland had been producing Minis and Morrises and Land Rovers and other cars in Chile from CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits sent from the UK in the 1960s, the government of Chile at the time was pushing for greater manufacturing independence and less reliance on foreign production. This led to increases of the requirements of Chilean-produced content in cars, which was only 25 percent in 1962, but went up to over 52 percent in 1968, and then a staggering 70 percent in 1971.

 

The only way British Leyland could make this work is if they produced the Mini’s whole body in Chile. Unfortunately, they were not selling nearly enough cars to justify the costs of a full body-stamping factory, so they had a very clever idea: make the bodies out of cheap, easy-to-produce fiberglass!

tuwafo7i579wcyve6kkz.png

 

counter to what you’d think, the fiberglass Minis were actually heavier than their steel brothers, and some even think they were stiffer as well.

w0s8ifohrgilmhgzyuw3.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not too goobered-up, considering it's over half a century old. Note the layers of paint oxidizing off the car, but no rust! O.K., the left headlight is looking out for better weather, and it's LHD. Too bad the transport cost to the UK is about 2,000 pounds more than it's worth, or someone might take a shine to it as-is & repatriate it to the home country.

 

 

My car in college....a 1962 AMC Metropolitan....had alarming similarities to Austin A-40s, mechanically. The royal crest:

 

39994524_1963902103631027_28482114235179

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm guessing you mean a BMC Metropolitan which is, fundamentally, the same underpinnings as the A40 Farina shown there.  It is weird seeing a Farina that's sun faded and with complete sills, they're usually either polished to within an inch of their life or a loosely assembled collection of bran flakes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Concerning the Austin A-40, It's at a place outside of Cutbank, Montana. No pictures showing the engine or word of it's Mechanical condition.The site called Bring A Trailer had a story about a similar one that ran, in Los Angeles, for sale for $2,500 in 2015. There's a 1964 Farina in near-mint shape for 5,700 pounds in Grantham, so I guess people will pay serious money for them. No worries on the missing windshield wipers, as they were optional, like radio and heater.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can get the Dodge Ram in 1500, 2500 and 3500 flavours, I’m not sure on the exact details but cargo capacity goes up and the some of the bigger ones have twin wheels for load carrying.

 

The Toyota FJ Cruiser looks normal to me, not seen any others with that front end.

Unless you mean the original 45 series Land Cruisers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...