Cars that don't exist but should

[sierraman]

Gooing it together with body adhesive is probably stronger than welding.

Might be but it’s not acceptable for structural repairs on something like that that was originally welded together

[tooSavvy]

.... So then... :/

[NorfolkNWeigh]

What a truly dreadful and at the same time marvellous car name; Rootes' marketing dept must have been on some good shit when they came up with that and thought it was the answer. Were any artist's impressions produced?

Sorry, the name and the car are a figment of my imagination. I'm glad it sounds plausible though. They did try V8s in Imperials and even a Sceptre and I'd like to think a suitably overbearing name would have been chosen, if they'd gone into production.

[somewhatfoolish]

They tried the Ford small block out of the Sunbeam Tiger and it went like shit off a shovel, but when Chrysler became owners using a Ford engine became *problematic. Given the cash shortage before and after the buy-out it seems unlikely any Snipe replacement would have been anything more elaborate than a 180 in a posh frock.

[DSdriver]

And the 999cc Octavia

 

 

Or even smaller the 898cc Dacia Logan

 

Excellent, I didn't know they existed. Suburban housing estates should have one on every drive where there is a married couple with 2.3 kids.

That way they will be as rare as hens teeth and every shiters dream car in ten years time.

[mercrocker]

There was a more than half-hearted (but not wholly enthusiastic) attempt to flog the Australian Chrysler Valiant as a big Humber replacement in the UK.   One of the nobs in the country estate near where I lived did actually replace his Hawk estate with a station wagon version.   As far as I recall it wasn't even the Premium model that was offered and it was extremely short-lived.   The closest Humber ever got to being considered by the posh again was probably the run-out Sceptre estate car which had the gaudy wheel trims and built in roof-rack more closely associated with New World tat. 

[dieselnutjob]

Peugeot 608.

 

You can't drive across a continent with three teenagers in the back of a 508.

The Jag XJ has similar interior room to the 607 but is 7 inches longer and 1 inch wider and has a smaller boot.

 

and this

[ProgRocker]

In answer to the question on this thread, how about a small-ish, fuel efficient 4 seater, warm (rather than hot) coupé?

 

There were a few around in the 1990s like the Nissan 100 NX, Toyota Paseo, Ford Puma, Mazda MX-3 and the Rover 200. I thought they were damn fine cars for not much cash.

[cort1977]

No I haven’t. It would almost certainly fail the MOT, in an accident it would fold up like an accordion. The roof is structural so chopping it out and replacing it with some pop riveted tin and some Everbuild Frame Sealant isn’t good enough.

 

Actually I reckon that is not a bad design really, nothing wrong with rivets in principle.  It's possible to make structures acceptably strong using rivets and adhesive, the main man at that company used to work at Factory Five so probably has some idea. 

 

https://www.smythkitcars.com/engineering

 

Quite like the look of these but not enough to spend $5k on one obviously.

 

Would have to undergo an IVA in the UK as the monocoque is altered. EDIT - apparently 'old' vehicles are exempt. 

 

 

"

When does IVA not apply?

 

Old vehicles (i.e. passenger cars and light goods vehicles over 10 years old and large goods vehicles over 25 years old)."

 

So in theory you could build a 2007 Audi in to one of these and MOT it?  Really?  Also, loving that any car over 10 years old is 'old' according to VOSA. 

[chaseracer]

Maybe its just me, and thats why they don't bother.

 

It's not just you, but apparently it is just US - and that's why they don't bother.

 

Shame, though...

[chaseracer]

...Ford small block... Sunbeam Tiger...

 

The Tiger was based on the Alpine which shared a floorpan with the Hillman Husky.  You can see where I'm going with this...

 

[chaseracer]

http://www.whatsahillman.com/v8hillman.html

 

 

[vulgalour]

Mk2 Golf cabriolet.  The Mk1 did double duty until the Mk3 was released and I always found that odd.  A Mk2 floppytop wouldn't be any good, of course, though it could hardly be worse than a Mk1, I just feel like it's something that should have existed.

[Bianconeri]

A proper fucking Volvo made out of steel plate and built in a brick shithouse factory in Gothenburg by some big hirsuit blokes with no sense of humour.

 

 

I'll second that. Somewhere along the line Volvos seem to have lost the ability to be, well, Volvos - big lumps of functional and reliable metal that you could throw the contents of a small bungalow into and which you now would last a million miles.

[chaseracer]

...Volvos - big lumps of functional and reliable metal that could double as a small bungalow...

 

FTFY 

[Supernaut]

Mk2 Golf cabriolet.  The Mk1 did double duty until the Mk3 was released and I always found that odd.  A Mk2 floppytop wouldn't be any good, of course, though it could hardly be worse than a Mk1, I just feel like it's something that should have existed.

IIRC they did the same with the Mk3 cabriolet. It soldiered on while the Mk4 was being produced in other body styles. It got a facelift to make it look sort of like a Mk4 though. It was incredibly half-arsed (and thus perfect shite-fodder).

 

 

Look at that! Mk4 style front end, but 4-bolt wheels and a Mk3 body otherwise.

[vulgalour]

Huh, I never noticed that before  Good job, VW.

[Snipes]

Yeah the wheel fixings give it away.

[GeordieInExile]

Kept the old dashboard as well, if I recall correctly. Brilliantly half arsed. Kept being sold at a premium over the rest of the Golf range as well.

[chaseracer]

And people of taste* and discernment** kept buying it.  Mainly around Mayfair and Knightsbridge...

[Aston Martin]

They make a golf and an a3 convertible. Not sure why.

[chaseracer]

See above...

[3VOM]

IIRC they did the same with the Mk3 cabriolet. It soldiered on while the Mk4 was being produced in other body styles. It got a facelift to make it look sort of like a Mk4 though. It was incredibly half-arsed (and thus perfect shite-fodder).

 

 

Look at that! Mk4 style front end, but 4-bolt wheels and a Mk3 body otherwise.

Is that the version known as a Mk 3.5?

I believe they put a lot of work into the Mk1 convertible to make sure it "worked". They weigh something like 40-60kg more than a hatchback because of the extra reinforcement in the body.

[Skut]

I'm sure Top Gear mag tested mk3.5 Golf cabrio and found their version at least featured lurid lift off oversteer.

[Bianconeri]

An estate or giardineria version of the current FIAT 500 would be nice.

[Supernaut]

An estate or giardineria version of the current FIAT 500 would be nice.

[Bianconeri]

 

 

Disagree, that's about 50% bigger than a 500 in all dimensions and really should have been called Giant Panda.

 

I was thinking about the current 500 with an estate-y back like the original Giardinera was to the Nuova 500 back in the day.