Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[bunglebus]

Toyota Corsa - way before Opel used it?

 

[bunglebus]

Somewhat terrifying Toyota Deliboy brochure

 

[bunglebus]

Early Toyota Dynas are funky looking things

 

 

[bunglebus]

Toyota Mega Cruiser - Humvee influence?

 

 

[bunglebus]

Toyota Origin is retro done right

 

[bunglebus]

Political correctness be damned, it's the Toyota Spade

 

[bunglebus]

Toyota Sprinter Coupés 60s-70's

Think one just appeared on the WTF thread

 

[bunglebus]

Another cool commercial, Toyota Stout - guess this evolved into the HiLux, don't remember a crew cab though

 

[bunglebus]

I bet there are virtually no 50s Toyoace trucks left

 

[bunglebus]

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

 

[bunglebus]

Christ this one's ugly - reminds me of those US Postal Service vans

 

[sdkrc]

Fiat Premio

[martc]

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

[egg]

Gaz Volga Siber - based on Chrysler Sebring platform

[MorrisItalSLX]

8 hours ago, bunglebus said:

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

 

First generation Camry in international markets.

[Spiny Norman]

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.

[Richard_FM]

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

[Lacquer Peel]

Lolwhat 

 

 

[juular]

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. 

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?

[somewhatfoolish]

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.

[GeordieInExile]

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

Lolwhat 

 

 

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

[wuvvum]

On 11/10/2020 at 11:34 AM, bunglebus said:

 

 

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

[bunglebus]

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

[twosmoke300]

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

[motorpunk]

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

Lolwhat 

 

 

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.

[sdkrc]

Fiat 127 Panorama in diesel flavour. 1.3L, 44bhp, 3doors.

[Slappy]

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!

[Austat]

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:

[Inspiral_Mondays]

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

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.

[jon.k]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leyland-15-Pickup-Believed-to-be-the-last-remaining-one-on-the-road/233758611399?hash=item366d1957c7:g:HKQAAOSwSDteoJYo

 

Leyland 15 Pickup