Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[somewhatfoolish]

On 2/27/2022 at 11:53 AM, Snake Charmer said:

Inspiration?

Epic; they've based it on a Metro too.

On 2/27/2022 at 11:18 AM, Snake Charmer said:

https://fb.watch/br61W3NjPd/

The way they've made it look about the same height as the axle of the HGV that's about to rear-end them and spin them under the wheels of the routemaster is an interesting reversal of the usual gigantism employed by advertising execs. It also looks like both occupants are double amputees, which they probably would be in a front-end crunch.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

1 hour ago, PhilA said:

"Landau bar", it has a name.

Everyday is a school day! 😎👍

[georgeinabz]

A yank tuned Horizon , would have been interesting to have seen over here

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[Leyland Worldmaster]

2 hours ago, PhilA said:

"Landau bar", it has a name.

Actually, I've been watching a lot of Edds Auto Reviews recently and I've learned loads of new American automotive terms. A really good YT channel. 

I really liked the "Malaise Era" series. 

😎👍

[PhilA]

16 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

Actually, I've been watching a lot of Edds Auto Reviews recently and I've learned loads of new American automotive terms. A really good YT channel. 

I really liked the "Malaise Era" series. 

😎👍

Goes along with the fact you can still buy vinyl landau bar looking stickers.

 

Classy.

[Missy Charm]

1 hour ago, georgeinabz said:

A yank tuned Horizon , would have been interesting to have seen over here

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
 

The Dodge Omni, which that Shelby is a variant of, isn't actually a Talbot Horizon.  But it also is, in typical Chrysler fashion.  In the seventies American Chrysler needed a small car to replace their Hillman Avenger captive import, which had been sold in the States as the Plymouth Cricket, so looked to the European arm again.  They alighted on the then new Anglo-French Talbot/Simca/Chrysler Horizon and took the design back across the Atlantic. 

The car design underwent significant changes Stateside to federalise various bits and pieces, as well as fitment of conventional strut suspension at the front and a range of different engines including the American 2.2 that became the basis of the powerplant in the Shelby GLSH pictured.  The bodywork was altered in all sorts of ways to accommodate the American bits, which resulted in a car that was almost completely different to the European original yet looked almost exactly the same.  One has to wonder about corporate operations, sometimes.  

Could the Shelby have worked over here?  No reason it shouldn't have, other than that we've never taken to large displacement four cylinder engines and the lack of spares support for the 2.2.  The American Omni was also not engineered for RHD, presumably, as there was no reason to do so.  It's also likely that the car would have had to have been 'de-federalised', as we wouldn't have accepted certain of the US foibles, such as sealed beam headlights, the cars over there ended up with; such a process would have entailed making special bits for it, as the European Horizon body panels were changed to fit federal bumpers, meaning it would be unlikely that Euro type bumpers would bolt onto the American car.  

 

[High Jetter]

Oh, Carol! What a talent.

[georgeinabz]

The Dodge Omni, which that Shelby is a variant of, isn't actually a Talbot Horizon.  But it also is, in typical Chrysler fashion.  In the seventies American Chrysler needed a small car to replace their Hillman Avenger captive import, which had been sold in the States as the Plymouth Cricket, so looked to the European arm again.  They alighted on the then new Anglo-French Talbot/Simca/Chrysler Horizon and took the design back across the Atlantic. 
The car design underwent significant changes Stateside to federalise various bits and pieces, as well as fitment of conventional strut suspension at the front and a range of different engines including the American 2.2 that became the basis of the powerplant in the Shelby GLSH pictured.  The bodywork was altered in all sorts of ways to accommodate the American bits, which resulted in a car that was almost completely different to the European original yet looked almost exactly the same.  One has to wonder about corporate operations, sometimes.  
Could the Shelby have worked over here?  No reason it shouldn't have, other than that we've never taken to large displacement four cylinder engines and the lack of spares support for the 2.2.  The American Omni was also not engineered for RHD, presumably, as there was no reason to do so.  It's also likely that the car would have had to have been 'de-federalised', as we wouldn't have accepted certain of the US foibles, such as sealed beam headlights, the cars over there ended up with; such a process would have entailed making special bits for it, as the European Horizon body panels were changed to fit federal bumpers, meaning it would be unlikely that Euro type bumpers would bolt onto the American car.  
 

Didn't know that , thanks at 175bhp I would imagine more torque steer than a fast saab along with some good old 80s turbo lag.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[Missy Charm]

11 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Oh, Carol! What a talent.

Carol is my middle name!  Well sort of...

[quicksilver]

You're not wrong, horrific torque steer apparently as I remember a quote from a contemporary road test that "the accelerator functions as a lane-change switch". With typical American understatement, GLH allegedly stood for Goes Like Hell and the even quicker GLH-S was Goes Like Hell - Some More!

[Leyland Worldmaster]

13 hours ago, PhilA said:

Goes along with the fact you can still buy vinyl landau bar looking stickers.

 

Classy.

I just remembered another term; Opera Lights. Always wondered what they were! 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎 

[martc]

21 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

The Dodge Omni, which that Shelby is a variant of, isn't actually a Talbot Horizon.  But it also is, in typical Chrysler fashion.  In the seventies American Chrysler needed a small car to replace their Hillman Avenger captive import, which had been sold in the States as the Plymouth Cricket, so looked to the European arm again.  They alighted on the then new Anglo-French Talbot/Simca/Chrysler Horizon and took the design back across the Atlantic. 

The car design underwent significant changes Stateside to federalise various bits and pieces, as well as fitment of conventional strut suspension at the front and a range of different engines including the American 2.2 that became the basis of the powerplant in the Shelby GLSH pictured.  The bodywork was altered in all sorts of ways to accommodate the American bits, which resulted in a car that was almost completely different to the European original yet looked almost exactly the same.  One has to wonder about corporate operations, sometimes.  

Could the Shelby have worked over here?  No reason it shouldn't have, other than that we've never taken to large displacement four cylinder engines and the lack of spares support for the 2.2.  The American Omni was also not engineered for RHD, presumably, as there was no reason to do so.  It's also likely that the car would have had to have been 'de-federalised', as we wouldn't have accepted certain of the US foibles, such as sealed beam headlights, the cars over there ended up with; such a process would have entailed making special bits for it, as the European Horizon body panels were changed to fit federal bumpers, meaning it would be unlikely that Euro type bumpers would bolt onto the American car.  

 

And I bet they removed the tick tick of the tappets. They can't leave anything alone.

[twosmoke300]

12 hours ago, georgeinabz said:

Didn't know that , thanks at 175bhp I would imagine more torque steer than a fast saab along with some good old 80s turbo lag.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
 

Would it not be rear wheel drive ?

[sheffcortinacentre]

Nope, yes glh stood for goes like hell . I think Mick of the simca club says there's one known in the UK.

[georgeinabz]

Had a quick googly , note that Caroll's own one was up for auction last year , hefty price tag but very tidy , note the keep fit windows
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0121-454634/1986-dodge-shelby-omni-glhs/

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[PhilA]

57 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Would it not be rear wheel drive ?

Nope, FWD.

My GTA has similar weight/balance characteristics, with an almost identical skid pan figure but only 98hp and 122lb/ft from 2.0 litres (compared to 175hp and 175lb/ft from 2.2 turbo).

Mine is quite unruly and torque steers despite fairly decent suspension; the Omni looks to have been quite a lot more of a handful.

[Missy Charm]

In a further diversion from the European Horizon, the American Dodge Omni line spawned the Omni 024 sports coupe, which was a three door coupe on the Horizon floorpan.  

Which was also sold as the Dodge Charger

Which had a Shelby version

That became the Shelby GLHS coupe, perhaps the pinnacle of the breed

The real oddity with this one is the styling.  It looks like they wanted to make a long bonneted sports coupe a la Capri or Trans Am or the real Dodge Charger, but were scuppered by the transverse engined car's tendency to have  a stubbier nose.  The bonnet is too short as a result and the section of bodywork behind the B-pillar is far too long, which places the cab in the wrong position, too far forward, within the wheelbase.  They have lowered the roof and extended the doors, but the five door silhouette is still there; it's a hatchback pretending to be a coupe.  

[bunglebus]

11 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

In a further diversion from the European Horizon, the American Dodge Omni line spawned the Omni 024 sports coupe, which was a three door coupe on the Horizon floorpan.  

[Bfg]

reportedly., this unique Crayford Tracer TR7 Estate is owned by Chris Turner, the Sec of the TR7 Drivers Club "who is restoring it to its original colour of Inca yellow with a black roof. There was thought to be two of them but the confusion may be because of the colour change."

 

[barrett]

Blimey, that TR7 has suffered a lot in the last few years.  Used to be a fairly regular sight at shows iirc.

Even by Crayford standards it does look like an absolute dog's dinner though. Perhaps the least attractive vehicle of the 1970s, in fact. Those side windows ffs!

[AnthonyG]

On 2/18/2022 at 12:56 PM, AndaBoss said:

Autobianchi Primula.

Looks like a more tame Peerless GT and Volvo P1800

This preceded the Fiat 128 but used the same FWD technology. Fiat wanted to test their designs would pass muster at the hands of Italians and using the Autobianchi brand was much less risky - any new Fiat would have automatically sold tens of thousands per month and it would have been very bad for them if their new technology proved to be an unreliable disaster 6 months down the line.

The Primula sold in small numbers as it was a niche brand but proved the concept with no major issues or failures so the 128 got the green light for further development & launch, and also the massive investment in capital equipment to make all the FWD bits by the million. 

This Dante Giacosa design - which had the Mini’s transverse engine, but crucially with the gearbox next to the engine rather than underneath it - was soon established as the preferable way to do FWD and was pretty universal by the late 1970s. It’s easier to make things reliable and simple to service when the engine and gearbox are separate but adjacent, and don’t share the same oil. 

[Austat]

Austin Allegro Equipe 4 door which was assembled in Malaysia:

Source: The Car Factoids on Twitter

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, Austat said:

Austin Allegro Equipe 4 door which was assembled in Malaysia:

Source: The Car Factoids on Twitter

That photo looks slightly stretched.

[brownnova]

I knew of the Buick Regal… I just never realised they did a couple version… 

Ugly as. I want one… this one is on EBay! 

[Austat]

Isuzu Piazza Irmscher:

[DavieW]

I saw what looked like a van version of the new shape London Black Cab today.  No pics as I was driving.

[High Jetter]

Yup, the LEVC VN5, been around for about 18 months now.

[Missy Charm]

On 04/03/2022 at 06:22, Austat said:

Isuzu Piazza Irmscher:

Amazing what can be achieved with a Chevette and some imagination.

[Snake Charmer]

A friend had an oddball Turbo car late 80's early 90's that looked something like that.

[Missy Charm]

11 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

A friend had an oddball Turbo car late 80's early 90's that looked something like that.

I wonder what that was.  The Isuzu Piazza was descended from Giugiaro's Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs) concept car, as were the VW Scirocco and DeLorean DMC-12 but neither was turbocharged.  Having said that, the Asso di Fiori, first shown in 1979, was something of a trailblazer; dozens of small coupes of the eighties owe something to it.