More cars you didn't know existed...

[simonrockman]

jaecoo j7

Parked at the SMMT in Great Peter Street

[generationx]

Ghia 450 SS, one of 57 based on a Plymouth Baracuda. I like it!

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1689888

[blueg33]

C5_Steve said:

Puddenchucker said:

Citroën SM Opera:



Which also led me to the Frua SM concept :

Holy st that's cool.

I don’t think there are any SM variants that are not amongst the coolest cars ever made.

[GeniusOfLove]

coppice said:

Not at all - I think that both Kia and Hyundai make some extraordinarily distinctive and good looking cars . If only Jaguar had an ounce their design flair , instead of issuing models you can't tell apart , and endless pastiches of past glories .Both of them .

I love Jaguar but... yeah. Mazda make better looking Jaguars than Jaguar these days too, although their proportions and stance are completely gimped by being transverse FWD.

[GeniusOfLove]

Silvanus said:

V 02 said:

The CLA is considerably longer than the a Saloon, in fact it is actually longer than the W205 C Class and even wider IIRC.

I personally think the CLA is a very good looking car. Shame the build is not up to scratch and it has a measly 1.3 engine.


Mercedes will be axing the A Hatch, A Saloon and B-Class after the current lifespan of this generation, making the CLA the new baby merc. I am not sure if the GLA will live on either.

The CLA is only 5.5 inches longer and 1.3 inches wider than the A class saloon, I wouldn't call that considerably longer. It's very similar dimensionally, other than a longer boot and a slightly lower roof line. Interiors are almost identical.

Wheelbase is identical on the CLA and A Class (because they're the same car) so any extra length is in the overhangs. I've always thought the CLA is for people who are "into cars" but don't know the first thing about cars or driving.

[Silvanus]

simonrockman said:

jaecoo j7

Parked at the SMMT in Great Peter Street

will be interesting to see how well these sell, the Chinese haven't really had a stab at selling a Chinese branded premium car in the UK yet.

[Flumpo]

Silvanus said:

simonrockman said:

jaecoo j7

Parked at the SMMT in Great Peter Street

will be interesting to see how well these sell, the Chinese haven't really had a stab at selling a Chinese branded premium car in the UK yet.

I’m not mad on the name, but I think I prefer this to the bring your dreams dolphin.

‘The Jaecoo name is a portmanteau, derived from the German word ‘Jäger’ (meaning ‘hunter’) as well as the English word ‘cool.’ Jaecoo is a brand designed to tread the line between luxury and off-roading.’

[Triumph Man]

Not a particularly interesting vehicle, but perhaps a quite interesting mash up of manufacturers, I give you the Ford Pampa, from Ford do Brazil





The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the 3 stud hub... for this actually has bits of Renault from its dim and distant past

[Jazzy Jag]

Triumph Man said:

Not a particularly interesting vehicle, but perhaps a quite interesting mash up of manufacturers, I give you the Ford Pampa, from Ford do Brazil





The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the 3 stud hub... for this actually has bits of Renault from its dim and distant past

That's a dead ringer for a 1980s Dacia Shifter pick-up

[finlo]

A Lincoln SUV thing, quite compact by US standards.

[Wadeski]

finlo said:

A Lincoln SUV thing, quite compact by US standards.

I think it's a Lincoln Corsair. Underneath its a Ford Escape.

The larger Aviator is actually a really nice car, not quite as comedically huge as a Navigator.

[coppice]

A lovely thing from the Sixties, the Moretti Sportiva . Baby Ferrari , Maserati or Bizzarini looks , on a budget - Fiat bits . Lovely

[Triumph Man]

Jazzy Jag said:

Triumph Man said:

Not a particularly interesting vehicle, but perhaps a quite interesting mash up of manufacturers, I give you the Ford Pampa, from Ford do Brazil





The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the 3 stud hub... for this actually has bits of Renault from its dim and distant past

That's a dead ringer for a 1980s Dacia Shifter pick-up

Basically the same thing underneath in many ways, thanks to the Renault 12

[Jazzy Jag]

Triumph Man said:

Basically the same thing underneath in many ways, thanks to the Renault 12

But why would Ford want to copy a communist Romanian copy of a crappy French car that was never a pick-up in the first place?

Its a copy of a poor copy of a thing that was poorly made up.

[Mark-C]

Jazzy Jag said:

Triumph Man said:

Basically the same thing underneath in many ways, thanks to the Renault 12

But why would Ford want to copy a communist Romanian copy of a crappy French car that was never a pick-up in the first place?

Its a copy of a poor copy of a thing that was poorly made up.

It's not a copy - it's really just a rebadging. Lots of this sort of stuff went on all over the world - cars would be built in local factories sometimes with the original badge and sometimes all sorts of odd badging things happened.

The Renault 12 was a simple and reliable car - built\assembled in 17 different countries. The last one built in France was 1988 but they were still being built in Turkey in 2000. Renault built a van version and Dacia used the same platform for a pick-up.

Willys had a factory in Brazil building Renault Dauphines and were working on a Renault 12-based replacement when they were bought by Ford of Brazil who kept the project but slapped some Ford stylings on it.

[Triumph Man]

Mark-C said:

Jazzy Jag said:

Triumph Man said:

Basically the same thing underneath in many ways, thanks to the Renault 12

But why would Ford want to copy a communist Romanian copy of a crappy French car that was never a pick-up in the first place?

Its a copy of a poor copy of a thing that was poorly made up.

It's not a copy - it's really just a rebadging....

Indeed, in Brazil there's a lot of Ford/VW mashups, but I had never seen a rebadged Renault before.

[NomduJour]

Jazzy Jag said:

But why would Ford want to copy a communist Romanian copy of a crappy French car that was never a pick-up in the first place?

Its a copy of a poor copy of a thing that was poorly made up

They weren’t copying anything - the South American market had all kinds of random links and collaborations. Willys made Renaults under licence (eg the Dauphine and a version of the Alpine A108), and Ford in Brazil bought them.

[coppice]

A shame that cars that outlived their natural lifespan are dismissed as rubbish. I'm thinking not only the Renault 12 , which was a comfortable and competent small saloon (remember them ? ) but the Fiat 124 ,125 and 128 , which were outstanding cars in their time(128 especially) , but not 15 years after they'd ended production as Fiats. .

[NomduJour]

coppice said:

I'm thinking not only the Renault 12 , which was a comfortable and competent small saloon

[Jazzy Jag]

NomduJour said:

coppice said:

I'm thinking not only the Renault 12 , which was a comfortable and competent small saloon

I worked for the importer and went to the factory in 1987.