Cars you didn't know existed...
Discussion
If you are making an estate version of a saloon, you need bespoke rear doors. Having saloon doors on an estate doesn't work and is what makes most of these one off's look so ghastly, and where the deep pockets of the manufacturers pays off.
Even the gold standard of estate builders Volvo aren't immune. Look at the rear doors - they don't quite line up....
Even the gold standard of estate builders Volvo aren't immune. Look at the rear doors - they don't quite line up....
Dapster said:
Those Crayford conversions were so awkward looking! Even the publicity shots couldn't make them look good. None of the rear window edges lined up with anything!
Compare that with Mercedes's own prototype which sadly never made production.
The thing that bugs me with these estate conversions is that they just slap a box on the back, without reworking the body below it, so the side profile looks bodged. You end up with a downwards sloping bootline which is normal on a saloon but estates have normally a straight line. At the top, you see the same sloping roofline from the saloon when estates continue straight up to the tailgate.Compare that with Mercedes's own prototype which sadly never made production.
The Mercedes prototype is done correctly as the lines above and below the rear side window are straight.
I hope that made sense
Chris944_S2 said:
The thing that bugs me with these estate conversions is that they just slap a box on the back, without reworking the body below it, so the side profile looks bodged. You end up with a downwards sloping bootline which is normal on a saloon but estates have normally a straight line. At the top, you see the same sloping roofline from the saloon when estates continue straight up to the tailgate.
The Mercedes prototype is done correctly as the lines above and below the rear side window are straight.
I hope that made sense
The Michelotti Triumph 2000 estate was an 'official' design, and it has a slight tumblehome.The Mercedes prototype is done correctly as the lines above and below the rear side window are straight.
I hope that made sense
BMW X5 Commercial !
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/07-bmw-x5-co...
Best look now before he sells it and takes the advert down!
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/07-bmw-x5-co...
Best look now before he sells it and takes the advert down!
Wooda80 said:
BMW X5 Commercial !
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/07-bmw-x5-co...
Best look now before he sells it and takes the advert down!
I think some kind of tax rules applied in Ireland which meant this kind of vehicle was suddenly much more affordable if you took out the back windows and back seats (in such a way that replacing them would be more hassle than just buying a proper version)?https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/07-bmw-x5-co...
Best look now before he sells it and takes the advert down!
Shakermaker said:
I think some kind of tax rules applied in Ireland which meant this kind of vehicle was suddenly much more affordable if you took out the back windows and back seats (in such a way that replacing them would be more hassle than just buying a proper version)?
It kind of does in the UK too, but under a more limited scope.The Discovery Commercial has always been a popular company car in the UK. Drive a Discovery, pay company car tax at van rate
Shakermaker said:
I think some kind of tax rules applied in Ireland which meant this kind of vehicle was suddenly much more affordable if you took out the back windows and back seats (in such a way that replacing them would be more hassle than just buying a proper version)?
This. And even if you could replace the seats & glass, you got grassed up for cheating the tax rules. Ireland got loads of cars as a van, with the conversions happening in Ireland for the most part. An industry of its own. VW Touareg, Ford Focus, Fiat Panda & Uno, Peugeot 305, and everything in between. The best (ok, worst) van conversion I've ever seen was the Ford Sierra that Ireland and Holland seemed to get. A P100 you say? Oh no....
Dapster said:
If you are making an estate version of a saloon, you need bespoke rear doors. Having saloon doors on an estate doesn't work and is what makes most of these one off's look so ghastly, and where the deep pockets of the manufacturers pays off.
Even the gold standard of estate builders Volvo aren't immune. Look at the rear doors - they don't quite line up....
take that back immediately, I will brook no criticism of the 240 in any of its manifestations!!Even the gold standard of estate builders Volvo aren't immune. Look at the rear doors - they don't quite line up....
BFleming said:
This. And even if you could replace the seats & glass, you got grassed up for cheating the tax rules. Ireland got loads of cars as a van, with the conversions happening in Ireland for the most part. An industry of its own. VW Touareg, Ford Focus, Fiat Panda & Uno, Peugeot 305, and everything in between.
Which reminds me - when I flew over to Ireland to view my old BMW, the seller picked me up at the airport in his "works van" which he used for his luxury fireplace business. It was a commercial version of the Touareg V10 TDI. Two very nice front seats with all the trimmings, and a flat back floor. Empty, it certainly shifted! 
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