Tennessee Shite: 14 February 2025 Update!

[boobydoo]

I do like looking at your pics!

 

What do you reckon is the story with the London taxi? Some eccentric english bloke imported it as an SUV alternative?

[Skizzer]

"Sorry Guvnor, I don't go south of the Mason Dixon line."

 

Some cracking spots on this thread. You can find all kinds of old chod in the backwoods in the south - I spend some happy weekends cruising round South Carolina a few years back. Sadly a hard drive crash ate all the pictures

[Taff]

I do like looking at your pics!

 

What do you reckon is the story with the London taxi? Some eccentric english bloke imported it as an SUV alternative?

 

 

or Stephen Fry left it behind?

 

love the Fiat X1/9, always fancied one of those

[Madman Of The People]

What do you reckon is the story with the London taxi? Some eccentric english bloke imported it as an SUV alternative?

 

 

There was a US importer but it appears they have gone out of business.

[Madman Of The People]

Speaking of British taxis in America, here's a 1975 Austin taxi I spotted for sale in Florida last year.

 

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Back in Nashville now. Here's something else you don't expect to see Stateside.

 

 

 

Other oddity spotting in Nashville is this Dutch-registered Citroen CX car carrier!

 

 

 

Although these were officially sold here, you don't come across a Peugeot 504 Estate very often. Don't ask me what the lights on top of the roof are for?!?

 

 

 

Pontiac Grand Prix with seldom seen "Off Road" option!

 

 

 

Chrysler 300 Limo. Why? Because we can, dammit!

 

 

 

As long as I'm sorting through my old photos, how about some junkyard shots?

 

1988 Peugeot 505 Estate. Note US-spec sqaure sealed beam headlamps set inside clear plastic bezels.

 

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1975 Volvo 164 with battering ram bumpers.

 

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1973 Mercedes Benz 450 SLC.

 

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1979 Fiat 124 Spider.

 

 

 

1977 Mercedes Benz 300CD Coupe.

 

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1984 Volkswagen Vanagon, as the T3 was known as over here.

 

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1976 Mercedes Benz 280S.

 

 

 

1984 Peugeot 505 Saloon.

 

[michiel]

Other oddity spotting in Nashville is this Dutch-registered Citroen CX car carrier!

 

[eddyramrod]

Don't ask me what the lights on top of the roof are for?!?

 

 

I would imagine they are meant to be visible to following traffic over a trailer of some sort.

 

I spotted an A-series Mini in San Francisco, right at the top of one of the big hills.... which my rental Suburban had just lugged up! How much runup a Mini needs for that, I can't begin to imagine!

[Taff]

the citreon pick up on dutch plates? possibly the Andy Saunders "assorta transporta"? there can't be too many of them around!!

 

http://www.andysaunderskustoms.co.uk/de ... Transporta

[chaseracer]

Other oddity spotting in Nashville is this Dutch-registered Citroen CX car carrier!

 

 

http://lanemotormuseum.org/

 

There must be a connection, shirley...?

[Taff]

Other oddity spotting in Nashville is this Dutch-registered Citroen CX car carrier!

 

 

http://lanemotormuseum.org/

 

There must be a connection, shirley...?

 

pic of andy's, can't be that many of them, surely?! last i heard of this one, it was in the hands of a Citreon collector in Belguim

 

[Madman Of The People]

There's hardly any quality shite about at the moment, so here are some more from the archives.

 

Elecric cars may be all the rage these days, but they're nothing new. The Zagato Zele was sold in America as the Elcar 1000 in the 1970s.

 

Spotted on a revilving plinth outside an automated car wash.

 

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I'm guessing the owner of this carwash is some kind of electric car nutter because, when I was passing by a few weeks later, there was a different one on the stand. This one is a 1974-77 Sebring-Vanguard Citicar, one of many small electric cars that popped-up during the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

 

As you can see, the weather was a lot less miserable on this day, too!

 

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In other, non-electric news, the Defender 90 is a rare beast in the US.

 

 

 

Even rarer still is this 1993 Defender 110. This was the only year the 110 was available in America and only 500 individually-numbered examples were sold in the US (plus 25 similarly individually-numbered examples in Canada). This is number 421 of 500. All were painted white.

 

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That Defender 110 is eclipsed in size only by this MASSIVE civilian-spec Hummer H1.

 

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And another one......

 

 

 

Personally, I really don't like the Hummers at all. I'd much rather have this tasty Series II LWB.

 

 

 

What I don't want is this uglified Honda Accord. Yuck!

 

 

 

Crap shot of an AMC Gremlin X on the back of a low-loader. The X was the fast one, apparently.

 

 

 

And now, for something a little less shite, an all-original Volvo 850 T-5R.

 

 

 

And just to show you lot that Tennessee isn't all shite (well, most of it is, really.), here's a vintage Corvette.

 

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[Tayne]

That 110 has been converted to automatic and has newer alloys (possibly taken from a Discovery).

The Series 2 is actually a Series 3, probably a personal import after the official ones stopped in '74.

[Madman Of The People]

That 110 has been converted to automatic and has newer alloys (possibly taken from a Discovery).

The Series 2 is actually a Series 3, probably a personal import after the official ones stopped in '74.

 

 

Ooooh, I hadn't noticed that autobox conversion. Our 1997 model year Defender 90s (last year the Defender was sold here) had the 4.0 V8 from the Discovery mated to an automatic but all previous US-spec Defenders were indeed 3.9 manuals. The 500 110s brought over in 1993 had plain steel wheels but the 1994-95 and 1997 Defender 90s (There was no 1996 model) came with some snazzy-looking alloys which, if you ask me, always seemed a bit too flash for a Defender.

 

I wonder why anyone would convert this Defender to an automatic?

[Tayne]

Laziness.

[chaseracer]

 

Tissier conversion... http://www.oto6.fr/6roues/6rouestissier.htm

 

How's your French?

[Gompo]

Is there more or less room in a 90s Jeep Wrangler compared with a 90s SWB Defender?

[Tayne]

Is there more or less room in a 90s Jeep Wrangler compared with a 90s SWB Defender?

 

Haven't driven a Jeep of any form but I don't think there'd be much difference.

Pre-'97 Jeep might be slightly worse than the Defender 90, post-97 might be a little better.

The Defender 90 has had the same body since '84 but post 2007 cars have a slightly nicer interior.

Lack of elbow room and no space for left foot rest (handbrake is in the way) work against the Defender.

 

Are you considering a purchase?

[Gompo]

Is there more or less room in a 90s Jeep Wrangler compared with a 90s SWB Defender?

 

 

Are you considering a purchase?

 

 

No, mere curiosity. I was wondering about the size of the 'average' American and how they'd fit in a Defender compared with a Wrangler. I've been subjected to 3000 miles or so as a passenger (front and 2nd row of seats) in a Defender over the past 12 months.

[Tayne]

Most of the NAS Defender 90s were automatic with a higher mounted handbrake so would have had more room in the footwells.

Elbow room would still be a concern.

 

The cost of re-engineering the cabin to take airbags versus the low numbers sold over there was the reason for pulling out of the market.

[Madman Of The People]

I've been a bit lazy posting photos recently, but here are a couple of oddities I've spotted in the last few weeks.

 

Lincoln Blackwood. A posh Ford F150 for the well-heeled redneck! Problem is there's not very many of those about, so it was a huge flop.

 

 

 

 

Then there's the Mitsubishi Raider. We don't get the L200 over here. Instead, Mitsu sells a rebadged Dodge Dakota which only three people have ever bought. I wonder where the other two are?

 

 

 

That's all for now. I'll post some more as soon as I can arsed to get them uploaded.

[M'coli]

That 110 has been converted to automatic and has newer alloys (possibly taken from a Discovery).

The Series 2 is actually a Series 3, probably a personal import after the official ones stopped in '74.

 

 

Ooooh, I hadn't noticed that autobox conversion. Our 1997 model year Defender 90s (last year the Defender was sold here) had the 4.0 V8 from the Discovery mated to an automatic but all previous US-spec Defenders were indeed 3.9 manuals. The 500 110s brought over in 1993 had plain steel wheels but the 1994-95 and 1997 Defender 90s (There was no 1996 model) came with some snazzy-looking alloys which, if you ask me, always seemed a bit too flash for a Defender.

 

I wonder why anyone would convert this Defender to an automatic?

Laziness

To give them the benefit of the doubt, it could be that they don't have a manual licence.

 

Great photos, MMOTP - the 504/5 headlights thing points out the mentalness of having a sealed-beam policy ("Halogen bulbs in your headlights? Were they invented here? We'll just trust these BIG bulbs that you have to dismantle the whole thing to change, they're much better"), and interesting trivia about the pick-ups.

[Tayne]

To give them the benefit of the doubt, it could be that they don't have a manual licence.

 

I didn't think American licenses were seperated like ours.

Care to enlighten us MMOTP?

[CreepingJesus]

In a similar vein to the Lincoln Blackwood; how many of the truck versions of the Escalade ('EXT' I think the badge was) did Caddy sell? I only ask, because I saw one the other day (too slow to pap it ), and I had no idea such a thing existed. Do 'premium' trucks sell well at all?

Always wondered about the Americans/Teflon 'boxes thing. They seem to cope well enough with rental cars, despite the tales. I did take a rental Transit minibus out to Glasgow Airport once, to greet a party of Texans who were here for a spot of golf. The guy who'd hired it listened to my run through of controls etc., and said "Well, son; I haven't driven a stick shift since I was in the army. Let's see if I remember how..." Given his advancing years I'm sure he meant WW2.

Anyway, great spots as always...I'm off to have a shuffle thro the pages!

[Madman Of The People]

To give them the benefit of the doubt, it could be that they don't have a manual licence.

 

I didn't think American licenses were seperated like ours.

Care to enlighten us MMOTP?

 

 

We don't have "Manual" and "Automatic" licences. A driving licence is a driving licence and the gearbox doesn't matter. You can take your test in an automatic (and most people do since most of our cars are auto) and drive a manual straight afterwards.

 

As for the Escalade EXT, they are few and far between. It's basically a Chevrolet Avalanche with posh upholstery and an inflated price tag. You can still buy a new one and, considering how much high fuel prices have decimated sales of monster-mobiles like these, probably get one for a great price, too. Not that any sane person would, mind. You'd be better off sweeping all your money into a pile and lighting it on fire! Yes, they really are that bad!

[M'coli]

considering how much high fuel prices have decimated sales of monster-mobiles like these

Everything's relative, I suppose!!!

[Madman Of The People]

Plenty of decrepit German chod round these parts. See below for all the grizzly details.

 

 

Merc W123 Estate.

 

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Beetle.

 

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'57 Thunderbird. Once considered shite but now a classic.

 

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Merc 300CD Coupe.

 

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Okay, so it's not exactly shite, but this Maserati was too good not to snap!

 

 

 

 

Another W123. This one's a saloon.

 

 

 

 

And another old Beetle.

 

[Madman Of The People]

"Old Skool" Hot Rod.

 

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This one-time yuppie chariot wants to party like it's 1989!

 

 

 

Bumper being held on with rope is the latest fad in Honda ricer accessories!

 

 

 

Corollas of this vintage are getting thin on the ground. No doubt it will be sent to the scrappie by it's seventh owner once something expensive finally goes bang.

 

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A week doesn't go by where I don't spot another old Beetle I haven't seen before. Bonus Ford Econoline camper in background of second shot.

 

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[Ross_K]

Corollas of this vintage are getting thin on the ground. No doubt it will be sent to the scrappie by it's seventh owner once something expensive finally goes bang.

 

My brother had one that same colour. Didn't have the luggage rack on the bootlid though...

[Madman Of The People]

MGB

 

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Okay, it's not Shite but this BMW M6 Cabrio (on dealer plates) made an EPIC noise as it steamrolled past the Madmanmobile. Lucky bastard.

 

 

 

 

Futureshite? I've been seeing a few Fiat 500s, even though we still don't have a local dealer.

 

 

 

 

And a Cabrio.  It has a local Nashville plate (Davidson County) but was bought at the dealer in Memphis, 200 miles away!

 

 

 

 

Crusty looking Chevrolet El Camino.

 

 

 

 

Chevrolet Mailbu with ever-so-tasteful vinyl roof.

 

 

 

 

I've been seeing this shitheap around town lately and I've finally been able to get some shots of it.

 

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Yet another badly customised Honda Civic. Bird poop comes free of charge!

 

 

 

 

I wanted to get a shot of the front of this horrific Honda Accord but didn't want to provoke the ire of the occupants sitting in it. Imagine the stereotypical Mexican gang members from any gritty Hollywood cop drama and you'll have a pretty good idea what these guys looked like.

 

[boobydoo]

Thanks for posting...I enjoy these slices of American life.

 

That MGB looks like a run-out LE version. Front spoiler, graphics, alloys, Pewter Metallic.