Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[Alusilber]

 

Popped up recently in the Tat Thread, I believe.  One of the strangest bits of badge engineering I've come across.

 

I think the 600 may have been a kind of spin-off from the Saab/Fiat "Type 4" collaboration that resulted in the Saab 9000 and associated Fiat/Lancia/Alfa models.

[17-Coffees]

The Toyota Mega Cruiser...

 

Toyota's answer to the Hummer, powered by a 4.1 Inline-4 turbo diesel.

Not made to 'look the part', it actually it's an out & out off roader. Used by the Japanese Army Self Defense Force for everything from hauling troops about to having Anti-Air guns mounted on the back! 

Did sell small amounts to the public, but not many in part thanks to the tax you'd pay due to the size of the thing.

[RoadworkUK]

This, apparently, is the DFSK C35, soon to hit a street near you. Has a marked resemblance to something but I can't quite work out what.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me I have a digestive transit to conclude.

[sierraman]

Saw a Suzuki SX4 saloon the other day. Undesirable or what! It looked awful, a bit like those Skoda Fabia saloons they used to do. Really badly proportioned.

[Landy Mann]

This, apparently, is the DFSK C35, soon to hit a street near you. Has a marked resemblance to something but I can't quite work out what.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me I have a digestive transit to conclude.

I've seen a couple of their other micro vans around, you can get campers and 4wd if you want. Fulfilling the gap in the market left by the Suzuki super carry and Bedford rascal.

 

 

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[RoadworkUK]

Yeah, I've seen those, with their daft cod-BMW badged.

 

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[RoadworkUK]

Badges. Semt from my idiotic portable telephone

 

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[cort1977]

Seen a couple of these about lately.   Focus 'coupe'.   I assumed they were some stripped out Mexican model but apparently available in the US when new.

 

[Snipes]

Chevy Tracker. Badge engineered and "face lifted" Vitara. You'd think the country that gave the world the Willys Jeep wouldn't have any problems making a medium SUV but apparently not. I saw one in Sainsbury's on Irish plates. From Google pics it looks like later models are Vauxhall Mokka based (I think).

 

[RoadworkUK]

The Tracker was also available in pre-facelift flavour, and Essex Hairdresser MK1 flavour, originally marketed as a GEO.

[Ghosty]

Geo also sold the Suzuki Swift in the US as the Geo Metro.

 

Didn't know there was a Chevrolet Tracker.

 

HOWEVER:

 

Here is the Canadian version, the Asüna Sunrunner.

 

[Ghosty]

And an Asüna Sunfire (that sounds like something from GTA, it's an Isuzu Piazza mk2):

 

 

[Ghosty]

And here's a Passport Optima: 

 

[Ghosty]

Also known as the Pontiac LeMans:

 

[Ghosty]

Or the Asüna SE and GT:

 

[Lukas]

I have to admit, I have never heard of Asuna before. Wikipedia will have to enlighten me further. 

[quicksilver]

And an Asüna Sunfire (that sounds like something from GTA, it's an Isuzu Piazza mk2):

 

 

This is basically the successor to Dugong's Piazza and had lots of different names. Isuzu Piazza, aka Isuzu Impulse aka Holden Piazza aka Asuna Sunfire aka Isuzu Gemini Coupe aka Geo Storm. Stondon had an Impulse that was so undesirable it was entered in a no-reserve auction and got no bids at all so no one even bought it on impulse (sorry!)

1990 Isuzu Impulse by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

Incidentally and apropos of nothing other than idle thought, is 'Isuzu Piazza' the car name that contains the most occurrences of the letter Z?

[chaseracer]

Possibly.  One more than Bizzarrini, anyway.

[cms206]

I always thought it odd that a Japanese car manufacturer would name a car after a shopping precinct in my home town but I didn't get out much.

 

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[17-Coffees]

This, apparently, is the DFSK C35, soon to hit a street near you. Has a marked resemblance to something but I can't quite work out what.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me I have a digestive transit to conclude.

 

 

DFSK are a manufacture I somewhat love, purely because they sell micro-vans here in all configurations! And a oh-so-chinese copy BMW grill plonked onto them. 

Crew-Cab drop-side pick up anyone?  

[MarvinsMom]

seen one of these today.

 

i guess it is based on the new MX5, which is also going to be the new alfa spider?

 

any-hoo, this was in the front of a Fiat dealers in 'Boro, and for a modern, it looked ace

 

i present, the new Fial 124 spider. this one is the Arbarth (apparently)

 

[17-Coffees]

seen one of these today.

 

i guess it is based on the new MX5, which is also going to be the new alfa spider?

 

any-hoo, this was in the front of a Fiat dealers in 'Boro, and for a modern, it looked ace

 

i present, the new Fial 124 spider. this one is the Arbarth (apparently)

 

 

The Fiat/Abarth 124 Spider was originally going to be an Alfa, but Alfa decided they don't want any non Italian cars in there line up...

Essentially just the next MX5 but with an Italian dress,(The cockpit is just the same!) and with Fiats 1.4 T-Jet engine. Meant to be a bit 'softer' than the MX5 in fiat trim, wheres the Abarth is more sportier.(Suspension, brakes, etc)  Both have more power than the MX5 as well if I remember off hand.

 

 

Personally, when I trade my Abarth 595 in i'd be tempted to see how much these are. 

[Pete-M]

WTF is a Renault Fluence RS Trophy? Just been behind one at the lights and it was weird.

[MarvinsMom]

WTF is a Renault Fluence RS Trophy? Just been behind one at the lights and it was weird.

something you get after eating too many snails?

[Matt]

Geo also sold the Suzuki Swift in the US as the Geo Metro.

 

They sold them in the US as the Suzuki Swift and Pontiac Firefly too. They sold the damn things every-bloody-where. Since it's inception in the 80's to present day it's had nearly twenty different names, been made in something like eleven factories and you can still buy what we would call the late 90's/early 00's Swift brand spankers in Pakistan today. Just look at this important chap with his respectable Cultus. He sleeps safe in the knowledge that  thanks to it's Suzuki Baleno engine his car meets Euro II Emissions Standards (that was 1996-2000 for us).

 

 

I bet you didn't know that existed until right now.

[Noel Tidybeard]

DFSK are a manufacture I somewhat love, purely because they sell micro-vans here in all configurations! And a oh-so-chinese copy BMW grill plonked onto them. 

Crew-Cab drop-side pick up anyone?

 

there's certainly one with a bmw badge stuck on it

[Ghosty]

WTF is a Renault Fluence RS Trophy? Just been behind one at the lights and it was weird.

 

The Fluence is Renault's massive flop of an all-electric saloon car. Weirdly proportioned thing, they were about £30000 to start with IIRC, but the value fell right out of them and they were down to about £6000 in a year or two.

 

In about six years that they've been available, I have seen precisely one.

 

No idea why there'd be an RS badge on one though. Optimism?

 

 

(There's also a developing market car called Fluence, but they're only available in India, Argentina Russia etc, and I've no idea at all why someone would import one of those, I'm guessing it's probably the ZE/elcetric one).

[Pillock]

I saw a Toyota Yaris Verso today. Ideal for people with small driveways but tall hats.

[Tayne]

The Fluence is Renault's massive flop of an all-electric saloon car. Weirdly proportioned thing, they were about £30000 to start with IIRC, but the value fell right out of them and they were down to about £6000 in a year or two.

 

In about six years that they've been available, I have seen precisely one.

 

No idea why there'd be an RS badge on one though. Optimism?

 

 

(There's also a developing market car called Fluence, but they're only available in India, Argentina Russia etc, and I've no idea at all why someone would import one of those, I'm guessing it's probably the ZE/elcetric one).

 

 

 

The Fluency was available with a extra, engine in europe and possibly Ireland.

 

I've seen an electronic one here and a petrol in Poland.

 

Neither were RS models.

[Pete-M]

It appeared to have lots of Megane? RS bits. Definitely wheels and it seemed to have very flared arches.

 

Which is why I wondered WTF it is.