Make America Ugly Again

[DavidB]

16 hours ago, chaseracer said:

Yes, well...

?

[lanciamatt]

Some of US spec head lights I can live with ,it's the horrendous bumpers they put on too .just look at BMW e28 bumpers for instance .

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, lanciamatt said:

Some of US spec head lights I can live with ,it's the horrendous bumpers they put on too .just look at BMW e28 bumpers for instance .

Those E28 Federal bumpers ended up on some RHD cars as well. I was quite surprised by a 520i that one of my Uncles was running in Malaysia back in 1995 and he said it had been supplied like that from new.....

[Talbot]

What I find really hard to understand is how come some manufacturers made such a pigs ear of federalising their vehicles.

Look at an X1/9.  Fiat managed to make that US-compliant without totally ruining it.  So much so that the later 1500 bumpers that were required for federal spec became standard fitment.  (OK, the early 1300 US-spec bumpers weren't quite as good)

If fiat can manage it for such a low-volume car as an X1/9, how come much bigger companies with significantly larger production runs managed to make theirs look so unbelievably bodged.

[AnthonyG]

On 8/17/2020 at 10:10 PM, PaykanHunter said:

I would love to know how many Americans bought the SD1, and why?? ?

Barely anyone. It was only available for about a year. By this time they would really only have been readily available in New England and California.

That model’s poor image was why the Rover 800 was sold Stateside as the ‘Sterling’ a few years later. 

Conversely, Peugeot did pretty well in certain areas, there were quite a few 505s running around Connecticut/NY/Massachusetts when I visited - this would have been in 2000-2001.  The 405 suffered from being too small for the price segment, and unless I’m corrected, the 605 was never offered.

They sold to the same demographic as Saabs and, in the 70s/80s, were common in affluent parts of New England. 

[fordpoplier]

Here's a bunch from pics I've taken in the US over the years, most have some crime against headlights but some suit them I think.

[Crackers]

Wow. Heaptastic ?

[Madman Of The People]

Have a butcher's at some more Federally-mandated ugliness....

 

The 1980-83 Peugeot 505 had round headlights.

 

The Lancia Montecarlo was called the Scorpion in America because Chevrolet were already using the Monte Carlo name.  The sealed beam headlamps had to be mounted on pods that rose upwards when the lights were switched on!

 

Not even the Mercedes S Class could escape unscathed!

 

The US-spec Jaguar XJ-S didn't get Euro-style headlamps until 1992.

 

[Madman Of The People]

Saab 99.

 

 

Saab 900.

 

 

Renault 16.

 

 

Citroen Ami 6

 

[Madman Of The People]

Volkswagen Jetta Mk I

 

 

Volkswagen Scirocco Mk II

 

 

1981-84 Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf Mk I)

 

 

1982-85 Volkswagen Quantum (Passat/Santana Mk II).  The facelifted 1986-88 US models had Euro-style headlamps.

 

Rolls Royce Silver Spirit/Spur.

 

 

Audi 4000 (Audi 80)

 

 

Audi 5000 (Audi 100)

 

 

NSU Prinz.

 

 

NSU RO-80.

 

[Madman Of The People]

 

Renault 18i

 

 

Renault Fuego.

 

 

Later versions of the Renault Alliance (USA-built Renault 9) had these little rectangular sealed beams.  Earlier ones had larger quad headlamps, resembling the Euro-spec Renault 11.

 

 

Meanwhile, the sporty 1987-only Alliance GTA  received an entirely different headlamp treatment.

 

[Madman Of The People]

Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon (American version of the Simca/Talbot Horizon)

 

[Madman Of The People]

Early 80s US Ford Escort Mk I, allegedly sharing a platform (and not much else) with the Mk III Euro-spec Escort.  Nevertheless, that didn't stop Ford from advertising the American Escort as a "World" car!

 

 

Mercury Capri Mk I (Ford Capri Mk I)

 

 

Mercury Capri Mk II (Ford Capri Mk II)

 

 

Ford Fiesta Mk I.  At least the round lights make it sort of resemble an XR2.

 

[Austat]

On 8/18/2020 at 9:11 PM, martc said:

Didn't know the 304 made it to the states.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, Madman Of The People said:

 

NSU RO-80.

The quad round lamp arrangement and front indicators under the bumper on Ro80s was also used on the early batches of RHD cars for the UK, round about 1969/70, as the new type bi-optic halogens weren't ready.

[motorpunk]

On 8/18/2020 at 7:05 PM, chaseracer said:

Yes, well...

If my 968 and my Fiat 500 had a love child.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

13 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

If my 968 and my Fiat 500 had a love child.

Let's not go there.

[martc]

4 hours ago, Austat said:

Didn't know the 304 made it to the states.

I can't find any sales figures for the 304 in the US, but here's the total sales there from 1958 to 1993. Into the tens of thousand per year at their peak, 3 in 1993 - https://carsalesbase.com/us-peugeot/

[Madman Of The People]

A handful of 1992 model year Peugeots were shipped to the US just before the 6th August 1991 announcement that Peugeot was withdrawing from the USA.  Those sales in 1992-93 would have included some of those cars plus the remaining inventory of unsold 1991 models.

Sales actually increased in the months following Peugeot's withdrawal announcement, thanks to a $6,000 rebate offered on each car.   Part of the reason for the 405's failure in America was due to the fact it was overpriced.  The rebate fixed that problem.  From the 1970s until the very end, Peugeot tried to market itself in America as a premium brand, focusing on it's larger models (504, 604, 505, and 405) in an attempt to be seen as an alternative to the likes of BMW, Audi and Saab.  But the 405 didn't fool anybody.  American car magazines loved the 405 Mi16 but the cooking versions should have been priced like a Honda Accord, not a BMW 3 Series.

Peugeot had actually Federalised the 605, due to be launched in mid-1992 as a 1993 model.  But, with a projected $40,000 price tag (in 1993!) and given the booming popularity in premium Japanese saloons, Peugeot realised it was also doomed to fail and pulled the plug before it was launched.  The fact the 605 looked like a super-sized 405 wouldn't have helped, either.

 

[quicksilver]

23 hours ago, lanciamatt said:

Some of US spec head lights I can live with ,it's the horrendous bumpers they put on too .just look at BMW e28 bumpers for instance .

UG-LEE! GR8 for Woollarding tho.

HBA 765Y - 1983 BMW 318i (US spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

HBA 765Y - 1983 BMW 318i (US spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

[xtriple]

Quite like some of those, always been a sucker for twin (round) headlights!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

UG-LEE! GR8 for Woollarding tho.

HBA 765Y - 1983 BMW 318i (US spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

HBA 765Y - 1983 BMW 318i (US spec) by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

Tamiya produced a plastic kit for the US-spec E21 318i. Every bit as ungainly as the full-size car.

I built one for my Uncle. The same Uncle with the RHD US-spec E28 520i. He didn't appreciate the gesture. 

[Talbot]

12 hours ago, Madman Of The People said:

Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon (American version of the Simca/Talbot Horizon)

 

Another vehicle that was supposed to be a "world car", except not a single panel was the same, the suspension is a completely different design, engines are all different and most of the interior is different.

I think some of the glass is interchangeable, but that's about it.  Possibly the tailgate.

[martc]

Right, here's a twist, an ugly American that never made it to Europe.

The Electric Shopper Model FG-75. Made by The Electric Car Company of California, Inc. Some of you may have seen this elsewhere.

[PaykanHunter]

On 8/18/2020 at 12:25 PM, juular said:

I must be a psychopath with a little bit missing from my brain, because I prefer the US style lights on every one of these so far, except the Rover.

This almost looks mustang-y to my eyes

You are a psychopath, except on the above R107

[PaykanHunter]

On 8/19/2020 at 7:23 PM, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Those E28 Federal bumpers ended up on some RHD cars as well. I was quite surprised by a 520i that one of my Uncles was running in Malaysia back in 1995 and he said it had been supplied like that from new.....

Seriously?? Never seen an E28 example outside the US with those bumpers. During the 70s in Iran there were a lot of US spec  E12s and E21s, but they were all shipped to Iran from the US, during a student scheme that the Shah's government had allowing returning students to bring back one car with themselves. 

 

 

[PaykanHunter]

On 8/20/2020 at 7:56 AM, Madman Of The People said:

Have a butcher's at some more Federally-mandated ugliness....

 

The 1980-83 Peugeot 505 had round headlights.

 

 

The Lancia Montecarlo was called the Scorpion in America because Chevrolet were already using the Monte Carlo name.  The sealed beam headlamps had to be mounted on pods that rose upwards when the lights were switched on!

 

 

Not even the Mercedes S Class could escape unscathed!

 

 

The US-spec Jaguar XJ-S didn't get Euro-style headlamps until 1992.

 

OMG! That 505 front-end! Appalling... 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, PaykanHunter said:

Seriously?? Never seen an E28 example outside the US with those bumpers....

Yes  I even drove it myself. 

[burraston2006]

18 hours ago, xtriple said:

Quite like some of those, always been a sucker for twin (round) headlights!

Totally agree. The twin lamps on the Pugs, Mercs and XJS look great. Not sure about the others. That Caddy(?) ambulance looks too wide for the lamps and it looks as if they put the rectangular lamps in to fill the space!

[Madman Of The People]

Yep, it's a Caddy.  Specifically a 1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille/Fleetwood with ambulance coachwork by the Miller-Meteor company.  The 345 horsepower 472 cubic inch (7.7 litre) V8 engine will get you to hospital in a hurry, assuming you don't encounter too many corners on the way.  Alas, if you didn't make it to hospital in time, Miller-Meteor also built hearse bodies on the same Cadillac chassis for your final car journey to the cemetery.

The rectangular lamps between the headlights are the turn indicators.