I like the VW Notchback in the dealer holding lot (barbed wire even there and then). I was under the impression that model wasn't officially exported here, at least USDM. Maybe it was.
For the used car lot, I think there's a Studebaker Starlite just to the left of the little building.
I like the VW Notchback in the dealer holding lot (barbed wire even there and then). I was under the impression that model wasn't officially exported here, at least USDM. Maybe it was.
We definitely got them in Canada. I didn't realize the USA did not.
What struck me about that Type 3 notchback is that it is two-toned. I have never seen that before.
I am pretty sure I read the notchback wasn't sold here. I have seen only maybe one or two locally, where the squareback and fastback were everywhere here for a long time, finally becoming less common maybe around the turn of the century.
From Toronto again, "City of Ponycars", 1972. Everyone loves a good parking lot picture, expandable. Only see a single import at first glance, apparently belonging to the lot attendant, rates must have been pretty stiff:
I am pretty sure I read the notchback wasn't sold here. I have seen only maybe one or two locally, where the squareback and fastback were everywhere here for a long time, finally becoming less common maybe around the turn of the century.
Two tone must have been a very deluxe model.
Folks traded in their early 60's Beetle for a Squareback in '67, after my sister was born.
We drove that car from CA to NY and back in the summer of 1971. I hadn't realized then how much of the interstate highway system hadn't been built at that time.
Sadly, the engine gave up the ghost in the summer of 1973, and the parents bought a new Toyota Corona to replace it.
Must have been a VW thing of the era, at least the engines were easy to rebuild or swap out.
In 1970, my mom bought a new Beetle. Sometime around 1974-75, before I was born, it suffered engine failure (my mom says my dad "blew it up"). My dad replaced the stock engine with one from a Porsche 912, which apparently had its own set of issues, faster but not as reliable. My mom's big T-Bird then replaced the Beetle, apparently had no trouble selling it with that engine.
Folks traded in their early 60's Beetle for a Squareback in '67, after my sister was born.
We drove that car from CA to NY and back in the summer of 1971. I hadn't realized then how much of the interstate highway system hadn't been built at that time.
Sadly, the engine gave up the ghost in the summer of 1973, and the parents bought a new Toyota Corona to replace it.
The Firebird is a 1970 (Best F-Bird ever IMO), next to it is a Gen 1 Mustang wearing trick wheels and then a 1970-ish Dodge Challenger..."City of Ponycars" indeed!
The City of Toronto archives continue to be a treasure trove of great pics. How is your 1970-ish Fiat-spotting?
This might be more Fiats than I have ever seen in one place in Canada ever. In my experience, a lot of Fiat dealers here back then were like this place, small, often a gas station repurposed to include a dealership. Although this one not only includes a car wash as well, but also a restaurant!
Interesting side note: the old looking building in the background with the "Daltons 1834" sign was the source of many home-baking ingredients sold across Canada. My mother used Daltons shredded coconut forever along with their glace fruit assortments at Christmastime. I couldn't believe how old and small their facility was when I saw it here. The brand still exists but not in this location.
I went past our local Fiat dealers just now - we are allowed to drive locally now as lockdown measures ease a bit and saw many Fiats - all 500s except one of the 124 Spiders from a year or two ago. Dealer also sells Suzuki and Alfa Romeo... By contrast he also sells Nissan on his adjoining showroom on the next block.
Meanwhile, on this picture the middle car prominently between the 128's is a 124 Special T with the double headlights. There is another a bit further along on the left.
Meanwhile, on this picture the middle car prominently between the 128's is a 124 Special T with the double headlights. There is another a bit further along on the left.
I believe All 124 Sedans sold in the USDM had four headlights. I've never seen or heard of the Special T version so I 'spect it was never officially sold here. Canada of course is another story. I owned a '71 124 Spider 1600 so I'm fairly familiar w what they offered here and when.
Fiat sold the 124 as a two headlight car initially in the UK, and much Europe and then sold upmarket versions - we got the 124T but there were probably others - with 4 lights. Our initial 124's looked like the later Lada 1200 - presumably the body dies that Fiat sold to Russia were the original ones for the two light version. Lada also had four light versions later but named theirs (one was the Riva)
When 124 sedans were first sold here in Canada they were dual-headlight models too.
All of the Lada Signets (their 124 version) sold here in the 80s were 4-headlight models. I don't recall the later versions with squarish headlights ever making it here as nobody was buying Lada cars by then. The Niva (the little almost-military looking SUV) remained slightly more popular for a while.
Yes - the Lada was very popular here as it was cheap and the basic 1200 range was pretty reliable. The first ones had two round headlights - we didn't get the late square ones.
I had a colleague who had one for a long time and it was only when it was damaged in an accident that she got rid of it, but replaced it with the next generation Lada - the Samara - which ws much less reliable for her.
The Niva was sold here but was less successful as they only imported it in LHD - the conversion for RHD was too difficult for the way their 4WD worked I think - but they are really good little trucks as they are really tough - the ones that are here are generally successful in off-road events, according to the motoring press.
Those Fiats in that climate, I wonder how they looked after the second winter.
I still recall seeing a Lada Signet wagon in Vancouver when I was young - even then I knew it was something very unusual. I think the final run of Signets sold in Canada had the larger rectangular headlights. Every now and then one could see a Samara too, although those maybe aged off faster, I remember them being more or less sold as scrap at about 5 years old. The Niva fared better, as they have a cult around them, and one can still find examples in BC anyway.
Over at the BP station at right near the Daltons building, there appears to be either a fintail or a W108/109.
From around that same time, Toronto is calling again. Posting this solely because of the car hiding behind the light post in the middle which I cannot ID. British, Italian, or what I do not know. There are a few others deserving of spotting too.
I think @magnette got it! I just looked it up and that is an interesting car. Apparently Leno owns one. Only 500 made, all except 10 of them RH drive. Chrysler powertrain. Fast for its time too.
The big fuselage Chrysler at right looks like a coupe version of the one my grandpa had at that time. I bet resale fell through the floor with the first gas crunch.
The big fuselage Chrysler at right looks like a coupe version of the one my grandpa had at that time. I bet resale fell through the floor with the first gas crunch.
The size differential between it and the Vega parked next to it is stunning. Those really were land yachts. As the B-52s sang:
"Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale And it's about to set sail" :laughing:
I'm sure a fuselage sedan only had 6 seatbelt spots, but probably could have fit 10, especially as people were maybe a little smaller then.
NADA yellow book and KBB I have from 1976 shows a 71 NYer with an average retail price of $1625-1690, just under a third of new base price. Depreciation like a modern day Euro lux car, and that's with the higher inflation of the time.
That after market hardtop looks like one offered here as the Bermuda, and I've just looked it up. It was made by Williams & Pritchard and back in the mid//late sixties it was on sale for about £50. It was quite common at the time and was available in the usual MGB colours
You do see the odd one at a car show although I can't say they are common now. I think they are probably a bit brittle as there are quite a few perspex panels and inevitably all the plastic must deteriorate plus there is probably a tendency replace them with the factory spec original when restoring a car nowadays.
I had an MGB roadster for about 13 years and never bothered to buy a hardtop as I parked in the street and without a garage I never had anywhere practical to store one. Can't say I particularly missed it and I did tend to put the roof down when I could - the downside of a hardtop is that if you take it off you have to put the soft top back on - bolting on the pram irons etc and unless you are sure it isn't going to rain that isn't practical in our climate.
My compromise was every time I changed to a new hood cover - they always split eventually and leak of course - then I would have the one with the zip out rear window - not the basic factory fit fixed perspex window.
With the rear window open it was great and I carried loft ladders, bits of shelving or all sorts of garden stuff at different times too.
I spent some time visiting Toronto in the '80s as my best college buddy relocated there for his work with his lovely wife, so I visited for a week or so at a time on several occasions and took to exploring, plus I had a number of business trips there as well. To Canadians from other parts of the country it was considered the center of our universe with many HQs of Canadian business and our national media located there, so we knew a bit more about it than we otherwise would. Toronto even then was a vast sprawling city and to a relative country mouse like me was fascinating. I enjoyed the downtown core where I would stay on business. I haven't been back in a few years but thanks to Streetview I can see that it has totally changed and is almost unrecognizable to me now, with lots of the old buildings along Yonge St demolished in favor of new towers.
Back when I was visiting one thing I noticed was that it had a large number of empty lots as it began transitioning from manufacturing/processing downtown. Many of those were converted to surface parking at the time. Here is one of those lots, apparently an informal used car lot of sorts. A bit of an eclectic collection.
Beyond that Peugeot 504 there is a 204 Estate I am not sure about the car between the 504 and the Mustang - I assumed a Toyota Corolla but am unsure of the date as there were loads of them
I spent some time visiting Toronto in the '80s as my best college buddy relocated there for his work with his lovely wife, so I visited for a week or so at a time on several occasions and took to exploring, plus I had a number of business trips there as well. To Canadians from other parts of the country it was considered the center of our universe with many HQs of Canadian business and our national media located there, so we knew a bit more about it than we otherwise would. Toronto even then was a vast sprawling city and to a relative country mouse like me was fascinating. I enjoyed the downtown core where I would stay on business. I haven't been back in a few years but thanks to Streetview I can see that it has totally changed and is almost unrecognizable to me now, with lots of the old buildings along Yonge St demolished in favor of new towers.
Back when I was visiting one thing I noticed was that it had a large number of empty lots as it began transitioning from manufacturing/processing downtown. Many of those were converted to surface parking at the time. Here is one of those lots, apparently an informal used car lot of sorts. A bit of an eclectic collection.
Thanks for the old pix.
My first trip to Toronto was around 1990-ish. Stayed downtown and my hosts took me to a Jays game.
I was fortunate enough to go back quite a number of times over the years. Sometimes downtown, sometimes in the suburbs. I love the underground mall that connects all the buildings downtown - was great to walk to the customer office from the hotel without having to go outside.
Someone once referred to Toronto as "New York, if run by the Swiss".
When I first viewed the pic I assumed the small car between the 504 and the Mustang was a 1960s Corolla like this (sans the fender mirrors):
The little car at the far left of the lineup looks like a Mini, with just a single driving light mounted in the center. But who knows for sure.
Seeing the old ad for Lavoris mouthwash painted on the wall of the adjacent building took me back in time! I'm not sure if it is on the market any more.
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The farthest is a 52 with the hooded taillight.
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For the used car lot, I think there's a Studebaker Starlite just to the left of the little building.
What struck me about that Type 3 notchback is that it is two-toned. I have never seen that before.
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Two tone must have been a very deluxe model.
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Near the guy walking the lot, parked nose in looks like a '71 LTD, another Javelin and a '71 Cougar.
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We drove that car from CA to NY and back in the summer of 1971. I hadn't realized then how much of the interstate highway system hadn't been built at that time.
Sadly, the engine gave up the ghost in the summer of 1973, and the parents bought a new Toyota Corona to replace it.
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In 1970, my mom bought a new Beetle. Sometime around 1974-75, before I was born, it suffered engine failure (my mom says my dad "blew it up"). My dad replaced the stock engine with one from a Porsche 912, which apparently had its own set of issues, faster but not as reliable. My mom's big T-Bird then replaced the Beetle, apparently had no trouble selling it with that engine.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
This might be more Fiats than I have ever seen in one place in Canada ever. In my experience, a lot of Fiat dealers here back then were like this place, small, often a gas station repurposed to include a dealership. Although this one not only includes a car wash as well, but also a restaurant!
Interesting side note: the old looking building in the background with the "Daltons 1834" sign was the source of many home-baking ingredients sold across Canada. My mother used Daltons shredded coconut forever along with their glace fruit assortments at Christmastime. I couldn't believe how old and small their facility was when I saw it here. The brand still exists but not in this location.
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Dealer also sells Suzuki and Alfa Romeo...
By contrast he also sells Nissan on his adjoining showroom on the next block.
Meanwhile, on this picture the middle car prominently between the 128's is a 124 Special T with the double headlights. There is another a bit further along on the left.
I owned a '71 124 Spider 1600 so I'm fairly familiar w what they offered here and when.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Our initial 124's looked like the later Lada 1200 - presumably the body dies that Fiat sold to Russia were the original ones for the two light version.
Lada also had four light versions later but named theirs (one was the Riva)
All of the Lada Signets (their 124 version) sold here in the 80s were 4-headlight models. I don't recall the later versions with squarish headlights ever making it here as nobody was buying Lada cars by then. The Niva (the little almost-military looking SUV) remained slightly more popular for a while.
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I had a colleague who had one for a long time and it was only when it was damaged in an accident that she got rid of it, but replaced it with the next generation Lada - the Samara - which ws much less reliable for her.
The Niva was sold here but was less successful as they only imported it in LHD - the conversion for RHD was too difficult for the way their 4WD worked I think - but they are really good little trucks as they are really tough - the ones that are here are generally successful in off-road events, according to the motoring press.
I still recall seeing a Lada Signet wagon in Vancouver when I was young - even then I knew it was something very unusual. I think the final run of Signets sold in Canada had the larger rectangular headlights. Every now and then one could see a Samara too, although those maybe aged off faster, I remember them being more or less sold as scrap at about 5 years old. The Niva fared better, as they have a cult around them, and one can still find examples in BC anyway.
Over at the BP station at right near the Daltons building, there appears to be either a fintail or a W108/109.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
From around that same time, Toronto is calling again. Posting this solely because of the car hiding behind the light post in the middle which I cannot ID. British, Italian, or what I do not know. There are a few others deserving of spotting too.
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Easy ones, early Vega, gen 1 bronco, and a spitfire.
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
The big fuselage Chrysler at right looks like a coupe version of the one my grandpa had at that time. I bet resale fell through the floor with the first gas crunch.
"Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale
And it's about to set sail" :laughing:
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
NADA yellow book and KBB I have from 1976 shows a 71 NYer with an average retail price of $1625-1690, just under a third of new base price. Depreciation like a modern day Euro lux car, and that's with the higher inflation of the time.
I have never seen an add-on hardtop like that.
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Man, that oddball furrin car in the center really sticks out!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I had an MGB roadster for about 13 years and never bothered to buy a hardtop as I parked in the street and without a garage I never had anywhere practical to store one. Can't say I particularly missed it and I did tend to put the roof down when I could - the downside of a hardtop is that if you take it off you have to put the soft top back on - bolting on the pram irons etc and unless you are sure it isn't going to rain that isn't practical in our climate.
My compromise was every time I changed to a new hood cover - they always split eventually and leak of course - then I would have the one with the zip out rear window - not the basic factory fit fixed perspex window.
With the rear window open it was great and I carried loft ladders, bits of shelving or all sorts of garden stuff at different times too.
Back when I was visiting one thing I noticed was that it had a large number of empty lots as it began transitioning from manufacturing/processing downtown. Many of those were converted to surface parking at the time. Here is one of those lots, apparently an informal used car lot of sorts. A bit of an eclectic collection.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I am not sure about the car between the 504 and the Mustang - I assumed a Toyota Corolla but am unsure of the date as there were loads of them
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Small mystery car between 504 and Mustang gives me a Japanese vibe, but I can't quite place it, could also be a small Italian or even French model.
My first trip to Toronto was around 1990-ish. Stayed downtown and my hosts took me to a Jays game.
I was fortunate enough to go back quite a number of times over the years. Sometimes downtown, sometimes in the suburbs. I love the underground mall that connects all the buildings downtown - was great to walk to the customer office from the hotel without having to go outside.
Someone once referred to Toronto as "New York, if run by the Swiss".
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
The little car at the far left of the lineup looks like a Mini, with just a single driving light mounted in the center. But who knows for sure.
Seeing the old ad for Lavoris mouthwash painted on the wall of the adjacent building took me back in time! I'm not sure if it is on the market any more.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Did the Glas 1304 sell in Canada?