More cars you didn't know existed...

[biggbn]

Silvanus said:

biggbn said:

Missy Charm said:

Tuvra said:

I came along side one of these in Gloucester the other day:-

Horrendous looking things

That's unusual. As far as I know, Lexus managed to sell about ten of them and nine reside in Essex! They are relatively common round here, but have never seen one anywhere else.

Rwd, smooth v6, super build quality, I'd have one over a contemporary BMW or Merc convertible any day of the week.

Reviews at the time weren't very complimentary, apparently they were a bit crap. I'd have the Volvo of the time, or a Saab.

I think this is down to perception. They are not and should not be considered in the least bit sporty. They are a supremely well made, ultra reliable, stylish (subjective) car aimed at people who keep them a long time and use them a lot. I have owned both Saab and Volvo convertibles and love Saab and Volvo but the is250c is a whole different level of quality than either. It won't handle like a BMW, it doesn't have the cache of a Mercedes badge. But it won't rust, leak oil or have electrical gremlins. Understressed, overengineered drop top tank. Would be ideal for my commute and needs.

[Frimley111R]

biggbn said:

Silvanus said:

biggbn said:

Missy Charm said:

Tuvra said:

I came along side one of these in Gloucester the other day:-

Horrendous looking things

That's unusual. As far as I know, Lexus managed to sell about ten of them and nine reside in Essex! They are relatively common round here, but have never seen one anywhere else.

Rwd, smooth v6, super build quality, I'd have one over a contemporary BMW or Merc convertible any day of the week.

Reviews at the time weren't very complimentary, apparently they were a bit crap. I'd have the Volvo of the time, or a Saab.

I think this is down to perception. They are not and should not be considered in the least bit sporty. They are a supremely well made, ultra reliable, stylish (subjective) car aimed at people who keep them a long time and use them a lot. I have owned both Saab and Volvo convertibles and love Saab and Volvo but the is250c is a whole different level of quality than either. It won't handle like a BMW, it doesn't have the cache of a Mercedes badge. But it won't rust, leak oil or have electrical gremlins. Understressed, overengineered drop top tank. Would be ideal for my commute and needs.

Wasn't it also down to it having a 2.5 V6 at a time when everything was diesel? And most petrol equivalents had 2.0 engines because a 2.5 was a bit juicy?

[richb77]

C5_Steve said:

hedges88 said:

It's well known that the Aussies had Holdens and Fords to make us jealous, but I had no Idea that Mitsubishi had their own Aussie arm as well that made some unique and special models for their local market.

Take the Mitsubishi Magna Ralliart, 241BHP V6 FWD with a helical LSD. I'd give up both of my Kidneys to have one
Makes a difference to the usual EVO that one thinks of when thinking of fast Mitsubishis. The RVR is another as well

[url]

Ooooo that's very cool! Love the fact they slapped the Evo 5/6 wing on there!

A mate of mine in QLD had a Magna Ralliart. 3.5 V6 iirc. It wasnt super quick...But was torquey, smooth and plenty fast enough. I liked it, looked good in white too.

[Kuwahara]

Loved both Mitsubishi’s I had, a Lancer and a Galant the latter was the most comfortable car I have ever driven…

Parts supply was an absolute bd but not that you needed much..

[boyse7en]

biggbn said:

Silvanus said:

biggbn said:

Missy Charm said:

Tuvra said:

I came along side one of these in Gloucester the other day:-

Horrendous looking things

That's unusual. As far as I know, Lexus managed to sell about ten of them and nine reside in Essex! They are relatively common round here, but have never seen one anywhere else.

Rwd, smooth v6, super build quality, I'd have one over a contemporary BMW or Merc convertible any day of the week.

Reviews at the time weren't very complimentary, apparently they were a bit crap. I'd have the Volvo of the time, or a Saab.

I think this is down to perception. They are not and should not be considered in the least bit sporty. They are a supremely well made, ultra reliable, stylish (subjective) car aimed at people who keep them a long time and use them a lot. I have owned both Saab and Volvo convertibles and love Saab and Volvo but the is250c is a whole different level of quality than either. It won't handle like a BMW, it doesn't have the cache of a Mercedes badge. But it won't rust, leak oil or have electrical gremlins. Understressed, overengineered drop top tank. Would be ideal for my commute and needs.

I'd never heard of the IS250c, but I've added it to my list of cars to replace my Saab 9-3 convertible when the time comes. I like wafty convertibles.

[ChocolateFrog]

Not even 100% sure which model it was but it was a Hyundai and looking at their past and present lineup I think it was a Bayon.

Was a smallish thing with P plates on.

[seefarr]

seefarr said:

I'm in Aus and there's a few Chinese electric cars I wasn't familiar with. Favourite name is certainly the Build Your Dreams but it looks like you can get them in the UK as of last month.

Well, karma is a bh. My mum is convinced she needs to sell her VW Golf after it shat it's DCT gearbox. She's also convinced she needs an electric car so it sounds like she's getting a BYD Seal. I don't totally hate it, they get OK reviews and 6 year car / 8 year battery warranty sounds.



Now I just need to talk her round to the blue interior. "nah mum, great for resale"

[r5kdt]

67Dino said:

This was news to me…

Apparently during the last few months of production in 1977, Ford Cologne fitted about 1000 Mk I Granadas with the new 2.8 fuel injected V6 engine that would replace the old Essex 3.0 unit in the new Mk II. They came in the form of a 2.8i S, LS, GLS, and Ghia S shown here. The one shown here is one of around a 100 examples made.

wow just wow!

[Matt Cup]

r5kdt said:

67Dino said:

This was news to me…

Apparently during the last few months of production in 1977, Ford Cologne fitted about 1000 Mk I Granadas with the new 2.8 fuel injected V6 engine that would replace the old Essex 3.0 unit in the new Mk II. They came in the form of a 2.8i S, LS, GLS, and Ghia S shown here. The one shown here is one of around a 100 examples made.

wow just wow!

That’s pretty cool!

[blueg33]

seefarr said:

Well, karma is a bh. My mum is convinced she needs to sell her VW Golf after it shat it's DCT gearbox. She's also convinced she needs an electric car so it sounds like she's getting a BYD Seal. I don't totally hate it, they get OK reviews and 6 year car / 8 year battery warranty sounds.



Now I just need to talk her round to the blue interior. "nah mum, great for resale"

Just walked past BYD's Mayfair showroom. The car looks ok, quite premium from the outside. I didn't bother to go in for a closer look though.

[Silvanus]

blueg33 said:

seefarr said:

Well, karma is a bh. My mum is convinced she needs to sell her VW Golf after it shat it's DCT gearbox. She's also convinced she needs an electric car so it sounds like she's getting a BYD Seal. I don't totally hate it, they get OK reviews and 6 year car / 8 year battery warranty sounds.



Now I just need to talk her round to the blue interior. "nah mum, great for resale"

Just walked past BYD's Mayfair showroom. The car looks ok, quite premium from the outside. I didn't bother to go in for a closer look though.

I'd much rather have that than a Tesla

[Tuvra]

boyse7en said:

biggbn said:

Silvanus said:

biggbn said:

Missy Charm said:

Tuvra said:

I came along side one of these in Gloucester the other day:-

Horrendous looking things

That's unusual. As far as I know, Lexus managed to sell about ten of them and nine reside in Essex! They are relatively common round here, but have never seen one anywhere else.

Rwd, smooth v6, super build quality, I'd have one over a contemporary BMW or Merc convertible any day of the week.

Reviews at the time weren't very complimentary, apparently they were a bit crap. I'd have the Volvo of the time, or a Saab.

I think this is down to perception. They are not and should not be considered in the least bit sporty. They are a supremely well made, ultra reliable, stylish (subjective) car aimed at people who keep them a long time and use them a lot. I have owned both Saab and Volvo convertibles and love Saab and Volvo but the is250c is a whole different level of quality than either. It won't handle like a BMW, it doesn't have the cache of a Mercedes badge. But it won't rust, leak oil or have electrical gremlins. Understressed, overengineered drop top tank. Would be ideal for my commute and needs.

I'd never heard of the IS250c, but I've added it to my list of cars to replace my Saab 9-3 convertible when the time comes. I like wafty convertibles.

I like wafty convertibles and I love Lexus' but honestly, this thing was ghastly. The guy with me who isn't even into his cars said "that's a funny looking Lexus". Looking at the photos, it does look a lot better with the roof down. However, based on looks alone, especially with the roof up, I'd have something like a C70 over it every day of the week regardless of rarity

[biggbn]

Tuvra said:

boyse7en said:

biggbn said:

Silvanus said:

biggbn said:

Missy Charm said:

Tuvra said:

I came along side one of these in Gloucester the other day:-

Horrendous looking things

That's unusual. As far as I know, Lexus managed to sell about ten of them and nine reside in Essex! They are relatively common round here, but have never seen one anywhere else.

Rwd, smooth v6, super build quality, I'd have one over a contemporary BMW or Merc convertible any day of the week.

Reviews at the time weren't very complimentary, apparently they were a bit crap. I'd have the Volvo of the time, or a Saab.

I think this is down to perception. They are not and should not be considered in the least bit sporty. They are a supremely well made, ultra reliable, stylish (subjective) car aimed at people who keep them a long time and use them a lot. I have owned both Saab and Volvo convertibles and love Saab and Volvo but the is250c is a whole different level of quality than either. It won't handle like a BMW, it doesn't have the cache of a Mercedes badge. But it won't rust, leak oil or have electrical gremlins. Understressed, overengineered drop top tank. Would be ideal for my commute and needs.

I'd never heard of the IS250c, but I've added it to my list of cars to replace my Saab 9-3 convertible when the time comes. I like wafty convertibles.

I like wafty convertibles and I love Lexus' but honestly, this thing was ghastly. The guy with me who isn't even into his cars said "that's a funny looking Lexus". Looking at the photos, it does look a lot better with the roof down. However, based on looks alone, especially with the roof up, I'd have something like a C70 over it every day of the week regardless of rarity

I really enjoyed my saab and volvo droptops, but for me this and the even more revilled sc430 are ultimate affordable open air waft!!

[paddycam]

biggbn said:

I really enjoyed my saab and volvo droptops, but for me this and the even more revilled sc430 are ultimate affordable open air waft!!

We all have different experiences, but the SC430 I drove (about 5 years old, bog standard, 40k miles) rode like it had steel rods for dampers. Wafting wasn't really possible unless you kept below about 10mph.

[daqinggregg]

If you think the Granny above is cool, take a shufty and this puppy.





Not a prototype.

[biggbn]

paddycam said:

biggbn said:

I really enjoyed my saab and volvo droptops, but for me this and the even more revilled sc430 are ultimate affordable open air waft!!

We all have different experiences, but the SC430 I drove (about 5 years old, bog standard, 40k miles) rode like it had steel rods for dampers. Wafting wasn't really possible unless you kept below about 10mph.

Early cars did have a terrible ride from memory, I'm sure this was alleviated in later models.

[daqinggregg]

Slightly better pictures.

Ford Granada MK I



Ford Granada MK II

[soxboy]

daqinggregg said:

If you think the Granny above is cool, take a shufty and this puppy.





Not a prototype.

I see your mk1 and raise you with a mk2

[shakotan]

daqinggregg said:

If you think the Granny above is cool, take a shufty and this puppy.





Not a prototype.

2-door Mk1 Granada saloons were fairly common.

[PhyllisOphical]

daqinggregg said:

Slightly better pictures.

Ford Granada MK I



Ford Granada MK II

Either way you get the same doors. I'm inclined to prefer the Mk1 these days the Mk2 is very bland