Facelifts we didn't get in the UK

[D.E]

18 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Im pretty sure Europe got a Sierra van too?

Yep, Taunus Vans as well.

 

[danthecapriman]

9 minutes ago, D.E said:

Yep, Taunus Vans as well.

 

Are they actually ‘vans’ or is it simply an estate with no back seats and blacked out glass?

Ive never actually seen one before, just heard Europe got them. Apparently also used as a hearse too.

 

And, there’s a Volvo 200 van version too!

[D.E]

1 minute ago, danthecapriman said:

Are they actually ‘vans’ or is it simply an estate with no back seats and blacked out glass?

Ive never actually seen one before, just heard Europe got them. Apparently also used as a hearse too.

 

And, there’s a Volvo 200 van version too!

Not much more to it than missing rear seats, the dark tinted glass was optional. In the era of the Taunus and Sierra, almost anything with the back seats removed could be registered as a van. There was a Peugeot 205 GTI Commerciale, the Citroen Visa Enterprise, even a Volvo 480 van! In the 1990s rules got a lot more strict, with minimal dimensions for the cargo space, which resulted in many rather ungainly looking creations with additional roof height to meet the requirements. Such as this Mondeo van:

[MiniMinorMk3]

1982 Ford Falcon (Mk2 Granada with bigger glass house)

1985 Ford Falcon

[Muniphobia]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

1982 Ford Falcon (Mk2 Granada with bigger glass house)

1985 Ford Falcon

The Ford Falcon is a bigger car than the Granada according to Wikipedia:

Ford Australia's 1979–1982 XD series Falcon bears a strong visual resemblance to the Granada Mark II, despite the Falcon being a significantly larger car with US-derived engines and chassis architecture. Ford Australia President Brian Inglis had taken particular interest in the development of the forthcoming Granada, and in 1976 arranged for a key member of Ford of Europe's design team, Trevor Creed, to produce a Falcon clay that reflected its design. However, by the time it reached production, the Falcon also incorporated design elements from the 1979 Ford Mustang, including a lower belt line with larger windows and a more steeply-sloped bonnet, and featured lightweight plastic bumpers.^[28] The 1981 facelift of the Granada introduced a further visual similarity, with the restyled taillamps of the saloon being of similar design to those of the XD Falcon. Despite appearances, the only parts the Falcon and Granada shared were their headlamps

This also bears out with the rear door shutlines which are much further from the wheelarches than on the Granada, the Falcon XE above is a facelift of the XD Falcon so while it is a facelift we didn't get in the UK we didn't get the unfacelifted version either!

[Muniphobia]

The Daewoo Nexia II

[sheffcortinacentre]

Was about to say except in styling nothing is shared with the European Granada.

[Muniphobia]

The Austin Victoria and Apache that were Austin 1100's restyled by Michelotti

Austin Victoria produced in Spain

Austin Apache produced in South Africa

Where as in the UK the 1100 was replaced with the Allegro

[MiniMort]

Another of South America's finest - it's the 2012 Renault Clio Mio:

If only they put as much effort into safety - it got 0 stars for adult occupants.

EDIT - turns out it was also sold as the Renault Taxi Express until 2017! 

Your Uber is here!

[ETCHY]

7 hours ago, Muniphobia said:

The Austin Victoria and Apache that were Austin 1100's restyled by Michelotti

Austin Victoria produced in Spain

Austin Apache produced in South Africa

Where as in the UK the 1100 was replaced with the Allegro

I wonder how that would have fared here if they'd introduced that instead of Allegro ?

[GeordieInExile]

A Brazilian buttlift which I'm not sure was successful. 

 

[Muniphobia]

3 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

A Brazilian buttlift which I'm not sure was successful. 

 

With the different lights they no longer follow the line of the bumper/wheelarch and doesn't look as neat, must have cost to retool for the different lights and the sheet metal changes and I don't think it would have produced any more sales

[GeordieInExile]

We never got this, either. A proper parts bin special - it used the doors from the original Ka. 

 

[Muniphobia]

Ever wondered what a Vauxhall Viva Rocks would look like with a "V" grille? wonder no more, here is the Vinfast Fadil

No, I don't know why there is more chrome trim on one side of the grille than the other either

[martc]

On 04/07/2024 at 17:13, ETCHY said:

The Ford Anglia 105e Torino. Done for Italy I believe.

And built in Italy by Officina Stampaggi Industriala (O.S.I).

[HMC]

Its like they joined the dots between the tailfins and took the extra boot space. Or bred an anglia with a 275gtb

[sheffcortinacentre]

2 hours ago, Muniphobia said:

Ever wondered what a Vauxhall Viva Rocks would look like with a "V" grille? wonder no more, here is the Vinfast Fadil

No, I don't know why there is more chrome trim on one side of the grille than the other either

Probably fell off 

[Muniphobia]

Staying with Vinfast, here is the VinFast LUX A2.0

Which is based on a BMW 5 Series and styled by Pininfarina

[Muniphobia]

There is also the VinFast LUX SA2.0, which is BMW X5 based

[Madman Of The People]

On 03/07/2024 at 23:24, bangernomics said:

South Africa got weird mk1 iterations into the 90’s and 00’s too.








Gzongenflatch
In memory of Phil.

The USA-built 1981-84 Rabbit had square headlamps and the indicators were moved up to the corners of the front wings.  There was even a GTI version based on this design from 1983-84.

Wheeler Dealers did an episode where they restored a US-spec Mk 1 GTI and retrofitted the European headlamps, indicators, grille and bumpers.  It’s a popular modification among American VW enthusiasts.

 

[stuboy]

On 09/07/2024 at 16:39, Muniphobia said:

No, I don't know why there is more chrome trim on one side of the grille than the other either

single tear failing in hope...

[reb]

On 09/07/2024 at 15:21, GeordieInExile said:

We never got this, either. A proper parts bin special - it used the doors from the original Ka. 

 

That looks like someone tried to describe a C2 GT using an unfamiliar language down a bad phone line.

[GeordieInExile]

7 minutes ago, reb said:

That looks like someone tried to describe a C2 GT using an unfamiliar language down a bad phone line.

Looks like a 2000s Kia to me!

[RoverFolkUs]

How about a facelift that nobody got!?

.....

Puma front end (and engine) spliced into a MK4 (5?) Fiesta van! 

[Muniphobia]

They were known as Pumestas on Pumapeople

[PhilA]

Don't forget the Cadillac Mk2 Cav.

[Metal Guru]

On 09/07/2024 at 17:09, martc said:

And built in Italy by Officina Stampaggi Industriala (O.S.I).

Looks like a Viva HA front , Triumph 1300 back end with an Anglia sandwiched in the middle.

[Muniphobia]

The Chevrolet Trax was almost Identical to the Vauxhall Mokka but after they withdrew Chevrolet from the UK they gave it a facelift in 2017

 

[Muniphobia]

13 hours ago, PhilA said:

Don't forget the Cadillac Mk2 Cav.

That is a whole can of worms with that using the GM J body as a base, it was also the Chevrolet Cavalier which didn't go to the Mk3 we had in the UK and the Mk2 one received a facelift instead

The Mk2 Vauxhall Cavalier Estate as you may know was actually a Holden Camira which they changed the front panels to match the Cavalier, they gave that a facelift, here is one doing an impression of a Montego

 

Isuzu did their version of the Cavalier called the Aska which was different again

They didn't replace it with the Mk3 either but instead it became a rebadged Subaru Legacy before it was replaced again with a rebadged Honda Accord!

There was the Oldsmobile Firenza (Wonder where they got that name from?)

 

The Buick Skyhawk

The Pontiac Sunboird which was available in an interesting coupe body

[martc]

On 10/07/2024 at 19:12, Madman Of The People said:

The USA-built 1981-84 Rabbit

We didn't get its successor either -

The 1985 VW Rabbit, 4 seater, open load area, appeals to animal lovers. Out runs (VW) Foxes, usually.