Mystery car pix

andys120

fintail

Looks like a malaise era Triumph Spitfire with those terrible US-spec bumper guards.

andys120

Yep, it's a 1974 Spitfire 1500.

andys120

magnette

Fiat Dino - early 70's

andys120

Yep, the Fiat versions of the Dino came out in 1966 and lasted thru '73.

andys120

imidazol97

Studebaker.

andys120

Yep that's the logo Studebaker used from 1950 til 1963.

andys120

karsick

Jensen Interceptor
(perhaps an FF4wd?)

andys120

Jensen Interceptor

Kinda , sorta.... it's a new V Eight Jensen Interceptor S remanufactured by V Eight Ltd and equipped with a new 430Hp GM LS2 in place of the original MoPar V8.

andys120

bumpy

A Seville or an El Dorado or a Toronado or a Regal or a Lemans or one of those old boxy GM cars. They're all the same sort of butt-ugly faux luxobarge to me. :sick: It's probably a diesel, too.

british_rover

That is the Oldsmobile version I can read the badge on the fender.

texases

Given the battering-ram bumpers, what is it, a '76 Toro?

fintail

I'd guess it's a 79 - introduction year for that bodystyle, based on the other Toros in the background

andys120

IMO that's an interesting piece of brochure art in that the fellow in the picture appears to have been down-sized in an effort to make the car look more massive. :surprise:

It is indeed a '79 Olds Toronado.

andys120

hudsonthedog

It's an Autozam AZ-1/Mazda AZ-1/Suzuki Cara. They're all the same car with different badges. And I'd love to have one. Saw one at the New York Auto Show a number of years back...cool little car.

andys120

Keerect, Hudson, it's the '92 Mazda version of the little kei roadster.

andre1969

That Toronado is one of the Caliente trim levels, but I'm not familiar enough with them to tell the year. I'd guess 1984-85. The '79 had a body-color grille with little horizontal slats in it wedged between the headlights, that seemed cheap and out of place for a car of this league. It took a lot of criticism, and they widened it for 1980, stretching it out below the headlights and incorporating the turn signals. It was still considered a love it or hate it style, but most people thought it was much improved. The 80 had strong horizontal bars, and they used that basic style for a few years, before cluttering it up a bit in the final couple years.

I'm not sure what year the Caliente package came out. I think that's what gave you the landau roof with the stainless steel trim that forms the B-pillar. Probably gave you that extra piece of stainless-looking trim above the grille, too. In base form, these cars actually had no B-pillar, although the rear windows were stationary. And many of them had plain steel roofs, which was a nice change of pace for the time period. If they did stick a vinyl roof on, I think it was usually just covered the C-pillar and back part of the roof, although some of them probably had full vinyl, as well.

I don't really care for that landau roof that adds in the B-pillars. It makes the car look a bit more like a cheaper Cutlass Supreme or Regal.

bumpy

At least the ad was accurate in showing our businessman walking out of some decrepit urban repair shop to retrieve his Toronado, perhaps feeling a bit sorry for the owners of the other broken-down Toronados still in the shop.

bryan

No, that's the guy's garage. He owns an early ElDorado (car on left) and a pre-gen Toro, and he's dressed to motor to the country club as he walks toward his most recent addition to his GM large-car stable. :P

Seriously, it's probably car sales/campaign pictures from the brochures...Andre will know!

hudsonthedog

No, that's the guy's garage. He owns an early ElDorado (car on left) and a pre-gen Toro

Both of the garaged cars are Toronados. The left one is a 1966-67 Toro and the right one is a 1973-74 Toro. The main one is a 1979-1985 model, but I'm leaning toward the later ones because of the grille.

andys120

My bad Andre, I meant to say it was an '84, sorry Hudson.

karsick

If this was indeed a Diesel Toro, I believe it would have a little chrome "diesel" badge slapped on the fender below the Oldsmobile script. I was a chronic diesel-car spotter back in the late 70's & early 80's (it all got started when I spotted a rare 1979 full-size Dodge Pickup with the factory Mitsubishi 4.0ltr Diesel )

lilelvis

Say, you know what would be really cool? Lets cross a 91-94 Capri with an early model Fiero. And what the heck, lets throw on some Dodge Neon headlights and Subaru SVX doors.

Can you tell I'm not a fan of it?

karsick

You're not a fan, but if it was sold as a 'kei car' here like it was in Japan (IIRC), along with the tax & insurance advantages, I'd be swayed to use it as a commuter in this era of $4 gas. :P

andys120

andre1969

That's not one of those General Motors EV-1's, is it? I don't think I've ever seen one from the back, but I do vaguely remember them having rear quarters that covered most of the rear wheels. And that passenger cabin, with the fake-me-out front vent windows, definitely looks GM-ish, like how they did their FWD big cars back in the 90's.

andre1969

Actually, if they got rid of those goofy round headlights and gave it some hidden, flip-up headlights, I don't think it would be a bad looking little car. Oh, and if they could find a way to give the doors a full roll-down window, instead of just that little sliver.

andys120

Yep,it's the GM EV1, IIRC they were all sent to the crusher for liability reasons.

bumpy

Most were, but a few were saved and donated to various educational institutions with the proviso that they never be used as regular highway cars.

guss

Put a hatch on the EV and you get this.

tmart

They're Hondas. IIRC, they're no longer made. Not a bad looking car.

texases

Honda Insight, right? They showed we weren't ready for a 2 seater commuter mobile in large numbers at $1-$2/gallon, but the Smart's doing OK (for now) at $4/gallon.

ateixeira

The Insight name may come back, see the CR-Z concept:



I'm sure Honda cancelled it because they were losing money, plus Prius got a lot more good PR than Insight ever did.

hudsonthedog

I'm sure Honda cancelled it because they were losing money, plus Prius got a lot more good PR than Insight ever did.

It helped that Toyota's system was a "true" hybrid where the vehicle could run under just electric power. It also helped that the Prius could carry more than two people AND their luggage. The Insight was a fun car to drive, but the Prius is a better all-around car.

magnette

A friend of mine has one of those Honda Insights - in that metallic Kermit green,as it happens. He loves it, although his driving technique has to be moderated to make the most of the savings.. Apparently Honda sold about 200 in UK, although a few more have come in since from JDM grey imports, and as it is a Honda, I would imagine most of them are still on the road - I still see the odd one.

(And if we were still paying the equivalent of $4 per gallon, we would probably all have limo's...Current diesel price is about £ 1.23 per litre)

guss

Yes, it's a Honda Insight. The only ones I see around any more are usually painted with a company's logo covering the whole thing.

andys120

How does the price of Diesel compare to that of gas (petrol) in the UK. Here it costs 20% more than regular (87RON) negating much of the mileage gained by using Diesel.

ateixeira

I have a friend that owns one as well. He loves his.

It just wasn't mainstream enough, and Honda doesn't quite have the PR machine that Toyota does.

bumpy

I'm sure Honda cancelled it because they were losing money,

I doubt they made much of anything on it, but the Insight was always an engineering exercise, one of the "just because we can" projects that Honda likes to do every so often. It was not-quite-handbuilt in the same factory as the NSX and the AP1 S2000s.

andys120

wgrafer

Looks like a VW Scirocco from the early 80's -- maybe 1981???

steelydanfan

VW Scirocco is right, but this is the 1st generation Scirocco from about 1978 to maybe 1981. I am thinking the 2nd generation Scirocco was launched in 1982 . It was bigger all around than the 1st generation Scirocco, with that little "spoiler" in the back hatch . I wanted that car, but with no power steering available, my new bride nixed that idea.....

andys120

Close it's a '79 Scirocco, the car I should've bought instead of my '79 Accord.

steelydanfan

Yes , the Scirocco was a manly car for manly men.........I recently read an article in Motor Trend or Automobile magazine that a 3rd generation Scirocco is in the works for the 2010 model year...Volkswagon has used some stinker names for their vehicles over the years ( Touareg, anyone ?) , but Scirocco was a winner for a
sporty vehicle name..........

ateixeira

We'll see if they bring it here. I think it would cost too much.

The R32 is already pricey. Scirocco would have to slot above that, and below a loaded A3.