1977 World Cars book - shite paradise

[r.welfare]

Following on from VWPowered's mammoth postings from his 1976 World Cars book, I was inspired to order something similar from the Bay. A copy of the following year's edition was found for a reasonable tenner including delivery (which must have made up a fair proportion of the price as it's a heavy old hardback with 440 pages), and it's fair to say this ex-library book is shite heaven.

 

Basically the format is that the Automobile Club of Italy commissioned these every year and obtained information from pretty much every manufacturer in the world. Each car has a photo and loads of info - imagine the old Observer's books multiplied by about 3 on the technical data front and you'd be about there. There's also 6-page intros on the European, Japanese and US car scenes with a summary of the year's new models and developments - good old Long John K Setright wrote the European one in '77 but toned down the flowery language from his CAR columns to suit the ESOL readership I suspect.

 

Anyway, on with some selected (i.e. I can't be arsed to do as much scanning as VWP) highlights:

 

 

I've got an odd horn for the biggest Opels and '77 was the last year for the Admiral and Diplomat. Real GM Europe orphans by this stage, the Yank tank styling and lack of commonality (apart from sharing the 2.8 straight six with the Commodore) probably did for them. The top Dippy could have been yours for DM33,450 (pretty much the same as a Merc 280SEL, or 50% more than a Granada 3-litre Ghia) with a 327CI (5.4L) Chevy V8. Before you get too excited it only put out 230 brake. The Senator that replaced it the following year might as well have been from another planet.

 

 

Reg Bo11ox will, I'm sure, be impressed to see the lesser-spotted Alfa Giulia Nuova Super Diesel captured on camera. Perkins 1760cc diesel in this! Only available for 1976 and 1977 apparently, not surprising considering 86mph flat out in fifth is hardly Alfa motoring style.

 

 

Random tuning houses are featured and this Giannini Fiat 132 looks pretty sharp on it's alloys with front quarter bumpers, no? Yours for 6 million lira which would also buy you a Lancia Beta 1600, I know which I'd have gone for - particularly as Luigi has teased 135 horses out of the Fiat.

 

 

Sticking with Fiat (and the Cavette school of photography, apologies but the book's just too wide for my scanner) the Argentinian branch was up to some odd things, including this "125 Sport", so underneath it's familiar Lada-type engineering. Looks ugly if you asked me, like an 850 Sport blown up with an airpump.

 

 

Ford Corcel. Not much to say apart from the fact that it's all Renault 12 under the skin. Can run on 70-octane petrol according to the specs, so performance is not really up to much. Given you could have an Avenger or Chevette for similar money I'm surprised they sold any.

 

 

Two for the price of one. Uppermost is the ROM Carmel Rom 1300, some kind of Israeli concoction which appears to run a Fiat 1300 OHV motor, rear drive and a GRP body of delightful styling. I'd never heard of it before now. Below it is a South African Chevrolet Hatch, upon seeing this I thought I had stumbled upon a T-Car Chevette derivative that even Wikipedia had not heard of, but upon close study of the wheelbase, suspension specification and windscreen/A-pillar interface I have concluded that it is, in fact, an uglified hatchback Viva HC! Epic. This one has the usual 1256cc plodder but 109bhp 1960cc versions were available. Indeed, the larger engine was also fitted to the Chevrolet Chevair, SA's own Mk1 Cavalier. Whether this is related to either the Opel cam-in-head or Vauxhall Slant Four I have no idea, sadly.

 

 

One for Hirst, Spottedlaurel and the OJC crew - I had never heard of a Daihatsu Consorte but it looks like it was based on Toyota 1000/Publica underpinnings. Quite a handsome little fastback, shame I've cut the end off. Corolla 1166cc motivation means 87mph all-out, so all mouth and no trousers really, but a stylish way to rid yourself of 719,000 yen.

 

 

To finish up, a poor-quality Chrysler Australia press picture of the Ocker 180 that they named Centura. You could have this with the standard 2-litre Simca lump or, for an extra $550 AUD, a slant-six of twice the size but only 35% more power (165bhp plays 120). Comically this got you an extra 4mph on the front end, 4mpg less economy (optimistic or what?), and I suspect understeer of epic proportions.

 

In summary I'd say these books are excellent reference material and if you can snap one up cheap then it would make a class addition to your Autoshite bookshelves.

[Shep Shepherd]

The Ford Corcel reminds me of an early styling proposal for the mark 1 Escort I once saw in a book

[Spottedlaurel]

I agree RW, they are excellent. I sometimes see them for up to £20 a pop, but I've managed to pick up one or two from earlier '70s issues for rather more reasonable amounts (complete with attractively musty smell).

 

In similar vein, try Auto Universum. I have one of those from the late '60s and it contains an equally wide and fascinating variety.

 

As I was on a budget in the early 1980s, I bought Car Catalogue International.

[r.welfare]

The 60's editions seem to be advertised for crazy money. I bought CCI in 1990 I think but it was a poor relation compared to the detail in this one.

 

I must admit I'm still a bit baffled as to why the South Africans went to the trouble of rebodying the Viva instead of picking up the T-Car like every other GM subsidiary.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That Viva thing is 'National Treasure' shite level 8 red alert. Its even got Viva doors by the look of it!!! I'd love one of those.

[gricer]

Viva doors, windscreen, scuttle, front wings and front skirt by the looks of things.

 

Apartheid Sanctions were starting to have an effect by then - the flow of investment from parent companies was stopped, and many of the local automakers had to develop new cars from what they had, or keep on producing the same models - hence the survival of the Golf Mk1 (until last year).

 

The Viva hatch isn't a bad effort, considering. Similar concept to making a Sunbeam from an Avenger.

 

Being an SA Viva I'm surprised they didn't drop a V8 in to it!

[barrett]

I was going to buy this you twatburger. I demand moar scans in recompense!

 

These books are so up my alley they are virtualy coming out of my mouth, I have to get hold of some soon. Not paying the ebay prices though.

[flat4alfa]

I'm getting a nice message saying image non disponible. Which is nice.

[r.welfare]

Bloody Photobox, it really is shite. Hopefully fixed now.

[ProgRocker]

Great to see some cars from my year of birth. Interesting shift in the change of car designs - coke-bottle profiles gradually getting replaced by more angular shapes and square headlights replacing round ones, retaining steeply-raked front ends.

 

 

I've got an odd horn for the biggest Opels and '77 was the last year for the Admiral and Diplomat. Real GM Europe orphans by this stage, the Yank tank styling and lack of commonality (apart from sharing the 2.8 straight six with the Commodore) probably did for them. The top Dippy could have been yours for DM33,450 (pretty much the same as a Merc 280SEL, or 50% more than a Granada 3-litre Ghia) with a 327CI (5.4L) Chevy V8. Before you get too excited it only put out 230 brake. The Senator that replaced it the following year might as well have been from another planet.

 

 

A GM car with Ford alloy wheels? I thought that GM and Ford were pretty much polar opposites in the car world.

[andrew e]

Fabulous books, I have a 1978 & 1989 duo, occansionally I see them cheap but only ever those two bloody years!!! Same with my tattered Style Autos. The Italian "Auto & Design" ones can sometimes be snagged because they are just soft back magazines rather than books - worth keeping an eye out for.

[barrett]

I really want to collect the Style Auto mags, they are bloody lovely, but waaaay too rich for me, so if you ever see any cheap nab for me eh?

 

In other news got the 1976 World Cars book, so no doubt I'll have some megashite to share when it arrives in a few days