I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

ajvdh

I was out riding my bike New Years morning through a neighborhood I don't usually find myself in. There was a house that appears to be inhabited by shoebox fetishists. In the driveway, they had a Jeep Cherokee parked next to a Honda Element. The worst part was what was parked on the street in front: An Aztek.

Up the hill was another house that had an H1 and Land Rover Discovery in the driveway. Definitely not an area I'd move into.

hgutstein

Actually it is from my sister in law, so I know the history pretty well. Timing belt prices out at about $500 - I think now that I am interested she may not want to sell it after all!!

HG

fintail

This is the most stripped down W126 S class I have seen...especially surprising as it is an updated (1986 model year+) car. Look at that...plastic disc hubcaps, roll up windows, 5 speed. Wow. Must have been a special order, as it does have leather and 4x headrests , which were options. In Germany, of course. And I still don't get the German fascination with weird aftermarket steering wheels.
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2451658199&- amp;- amp;- amp;category=18221

RHD prewar Buick...seller says it is in France...UK export car maybe, or did people on the continent sometimes still choose RHD then? I bet that car has some stories to tell.
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2451487736&- amp;category=18301

highender

on the way to Monterey, I saw a small car, even smaller than the old mini, but it looked new, it had "ATOS" or "AXO.." by who? Hyundai ?? I don't know, do you ?

  Also saw a Travelall, those big station wagons .

fintail

There is a Hyundai Atos, yes, a tall small car. They also sell it in Europe

There's a really old Travelall in my area that looks to be from the late 50s/early 60s...two tone paint with chrome and all. It actually looks restored. Didn't those have some fuel tank related safety flaw?

highender

thanks.....my wife said it did look like a "Hyundai " was on the back.

it was small, and tall....!

I just noticed that the Travelall did not have any head rests. Don't know about the fuel tanks.

any other interesting vehicles?

andre1969

cars weren't required to have headrests until the 1969 model year. I'm not sure, but it might have been as of January 1, 1969, which would mean that some '69 cars didn't have headrests.

But then, I'm sure the standards are different for trucks. My 1985 Chevy Silverado doesn't have headrests. Well, I guess you could count the rear window, which is close enough to rest my head on! But I dunno how well it would protect in a rear-ender!

fintail

Hyundai Atos/Atoz...doubt we'll see it sold here



My fintail has lowback bucket seats....also known as 'whiplash buckets' by jokers. They help open the car up inside....giving it an airy feeling.





Too cold up here for any interesting cars to be out.

andys120

While out car shopping with my niece I encountered a Scion XA in a showroom. Nothing terribly obscure about them, they're being rolled out nationwide.

However this one had the hood open and I could clearly see instead of the 115hp (Echo/Yaris)mouse motor a full complement of turbocharging gear attached to the Toyota VVTi 4.

Hmmm, thought I... 150 or so turbo horses takes this car out of the small, cute category and into the realm of rice rockets. It must have been a dealer install, there's no turbo powerplant listed in Edmund's, anyone every heard of this one?

highender

thats it.....!

It was the first I saw here in Calif.

Don't know if it was registered here or from another country ?

Nice cars......My VW van from 1979 did not have any head rests for backseat passengers either.

fintail

I bet it is from another country...maybe they sell them in Mexico or something. The fascists here would never allow something so small.

The funny thing about the old car is that MB had headrests offered as an option...and on 60s cars, are most commonly seen on the passenger side, not the drivers. Maybe it was really useds to rest your head. Maybe Shifty knows more about the logic there. The old headrests are very rare accessories now, worth a couple hundred anyway.

Never heard of a Scion turbo, myself. Someone did that themselves

Today in the 20F cold with windy frigid conditions I saw a baby blue c.1961 Rambler convertible.

stumack1

...is sold in Mexico..saw plenty while down there last year. It's marketed as the "Dodge Atos" by DC dealers, but doesn't seem to have shed all of its Hyundai badging.

jrosasmc

Someone once told me that in the 80s the Quantum was the one VW that could come close to a Japanese car in terms of dependability...any truth to that?

andre1969

it might come to the quality of a Japanese car like a Toyopet!! ;-) Actually, I think the engines were pretty good on Quantums, but it was everything else, like electrical systems, accessories, trim, and things that broke on them. The Diesel engine also must have been a popular option, because most of the ones I've seen (and it's been awhile now since I've seen one) have been covered in soot.

I believe the Passat was a quantum leap (sorry, couldn't resist that one) when it came to reliability.

Mr_Shiftright

I owned a Quantum and it was a very good car, but of course that is a data base of one. I think it was better than the Corrado, though.

I think the Quantum shared the Audi engine with the Audi 4000S Quattro, and that was a good engine. Audi engines are very long-lived and sturdy.

I also owned a VW diesel pickup and that was a miserable thing to drive.

andre1969

have a 5-cyl engine option at one time? Or is that something else I'm thinking of?

andys120

optional, another Audi mill but the optional awd was VWs Syncro, not the Audi Quattro system (now called 4Motion in VWs).

Just to confused things further the Quantum was called the Passat in Europe, IIRC the first to be so designated.

Mr_Shiftright

I finally started to keep very thorough computer records on all my cars, and in terms of cost per mile to operate, the Quantum was next-to-lowest ever in the multitudinous pantheon of Shifright autos that were documented (many weren't, unfortunately).

Lowest cost per mile ever was my Mercedes 300D. Other stand-out candidates, though not at the top, were my Porsches (911, 912, 914) and, crazy as it sounds, my 504 Peugeot Diesel.

 Worst (most expensive) cars ever, finished 1-2-3, all Saab turbos. Close runner ups for worst cars ever were Ford Escort Wagon (short term beater or "dock car")BMW 320i, Fiat 124 Turbo, Jaguar XJ6, Volvo 760 Turbo, Subaru XT.

 Ironically, most of the British and most of the Italian cars finished right about in the middle. I've rarely owned Japanese or American cars so the survey is slanted towards European cars.

Of course, I bought all these cars used so often I would inherit the mistakes of others. This is hardly a "scientific" analysis.

jrosasmc

Oh my Lord that VW diesel pickup must have been a miserable dog to own.

jrosasmc

You never told us about that Volvo 760 Turbo...what was it like to own and drive?

Mr_Shiftright

Sort of characteristic late 80s Volvo...clumsy, lots of rattles, cheapo interior, --but it was pretty fast I have to say, which kept it out of the "totally boring" category. Don't think the 760 was their best effort---previous owner blew the engine at 90,000. Paint went to hell pretty fast, too.

jrosasmc

Oh man, I'm sorry...I hope you didn't have the horrible V-6.

On the other hand, my 850 just passed 101k miles and she still runs like it was new.

magnetophone

The Passat has always been the passat in Europe since the late 70's, when it was called the Dasher here.

Mr_Shiftright

Ironic name, the "Dasher".

jrosasmc

I remember the Dasher (no comment though).

maurcedes

My old 1950 GMC 5-window pickup truck? Last time I saw it, it was brown with a white cab, oak bed, and was in the shop for its 17th clutch.......

jaserb

a white diesel wagon. He never drove it - something really expensive broke right after my dad picked it up and he dumped it quick.

All this talk about old VWs reminds me of a friend's comment about his old Vanagon - "Sure, they're great cars right up until the fahrvergnator breaks and they have to order a new one from Germany."

-Jason

ghulet

I've had quite a few old VW's (mostly 2nd generation, i.e. '85-93 Golf/Jettas) and they can definitely be money pits if you get the wrong one. Quite fun to drive, though, great in the city, crazy turning circle, very direct and tactile in feel. Those VW's will never compare in repair costs to the three SAAB 900s I've owned, though. Not even close. I swear half the time something broke on those damn things were parts I'd never even HEARD of. Might as well have had Flux Capacitors.

jrosasmc

No offense, but those Saabs must have put you in the poorhouse a lot.

ghulet

....but definitely yes, especially since I was already there to begin with; my Accord was not much better than the SAABs, really. I've found, living in Chicago, that it's just about as easy to NOT have a car at all as it is to have one, depending on where you live. Often it's much easier. My brother has a car, my significant other has a car, I have a co-worker who lives four blocks away with whom I share cabs frequently, train three blocks and two great bus lines one block away, I'm two blocks from Jewel and Walgreen's, plenty of good food delivery.....so right now I'm quite content to not own a car.

Back on topic, I saw a '59 or '60 Buick four-door hardtop (four portholes, so I guess that means Electra, right?). Not obscure, but not something I see too often.

lemko

...the '58s and '59s have no portholes.

I saw a very boxy looking Mitsubishi van yesterday as I was coming home from work. It looked a bit like the early Toyota van but a lot boxier. What was it called?

fintail

I don't think it had a name, at least in the US... just 'Mitsubishi Van', another one of those horrid tipsy things

I know the Toyotas had names in other markets...I had a toy Toyota "HiAce" van when I was little...think I still have it.

Mr_Shiftright

I think they market them in Europe under "Versavan" or something like that.

Here's one that'll stump you I bet:



Noooo....it's NOT a VW!

lemko

...but is it a Jeep cab-over pickup that was briefly marketed in the late '50s?

Mr_Shiftright

Nope, lemko, but decent guess.

I'll give you a hint. It is not American or Japanese, and the year of its manufacture is 1955.

andys120

Mercedes? Opel? Ya got me on this one Shifty?

fintail

DKW? Opel?

andys120

michaellno

Tatra?

fjm1

looks like a Fiat

lancerfixer

Alfa!

andre1969

Mattel? Tonka? ;-)

Mr_Shiftright

nope, nope, nope, nope and nope.

It's a very hard one, I have to admit.

Just let me know when you're ready to throw in the towel. I'll just wait here and read a magazine....<flip>, <flip>

andre1969

but I'm gonna go out on a limb here. It isn't a Samba, by any chance, is it?

Mr_Shiftright

nope...you're struggling, Andre, I can tell But I would name it a Samba if it didn't have a name.

andre1969

I did a search online for "1955 Samba", and it actually did return a pic, of something that looked like an old VW bus.

jrosasmc

It's a VW.

fintail

Maybe it's some kind of built under license VW clone or a VW based thing...that front door is very VW ish

Trying to think of weirdo 50s Euro stuff...Lloyd?

andys120

mrwhipple311

Does anyone remember the 80's Nissan vans that the driver sat over the front wheels like the Toyota/Mitsu of the same era. IIRC they were everywhere then BOOM they were gone. I think I heard something about a buyback. Anyone know any details?