Mystery car pix

chikoo

BMW ATO-058 lomostyle

fintail

I've never once heard of that model number or term. What's a lomostyle?

lostwrench1

Lomostyle = Lomography.

lostwrench1

BMW Isetta - 1958?

urnews

is everybody? No posts for over 24 hours? What gives?

lostwrench1

Bad ice storms - no power?

fezo

I believe our fearless leader (Andy) has gone to Florida for a week and isn't next to a computer. It's up to us, boys!

stever

boomchek

New VW Touran based on Chrysler's minivans, except with different sheet metal and no swiveling or flat folding middle seats.

stever

Very good. Sales haven't been.

Volkswagen Orders Routan Production Halted

fintail

I've never seen one on the road. Who would buy one?

stever

One would assume that the interior would have that upgraded VW feel, but without the stow n go or swiveling seats, it loses a lot of versatility.

fintail

A Jetta wagon seems like it would work for most. Of course, with discounts, the big van is probably cheaper now, as I am sure you can negotiate a huge discount.

Shame VW axed the microbus concept.

fezo

Wow! That was fast.

I do wish they'd resurrect the microbus idea.

There are those of us that do need to haul around 6 people and a van is the best way to do that but putting VW on a Chrysler doesn't do it for me.

Most days a Jetta wagon would be just about perfect if I could find a reliable one.

texases

"Shame VW axed the microbus concept. "

Yes, kind of like when Saab quit making hatchbacks for a while. Some vehicles help define a brand. A Chrysler minivan with a facelift ain't it! :sick:

boomchek

I've seen one on the road. It looks like a...... Chrysler minivan from some angles.

Chrysler struck a deal to build the van for them but didn't want to give up segment exclusives like Swivel and Stow N Go seating or else they might have lost a lot of market share, therefore the Routan doesn't have anything special inside othe rthan the third row folding into the floor.

The reason production halted is because they're on the same assembly line as the regular Caravans and Town&Countries, so if that's shut down to save $$ for now, I don't think they'd be running an assembly line exclusively just for VW.

I always thought that VW should have developed their own minivan in the 90s instead of blowing the dough on the Phaeton. While at Honda I sold a ton of Odysseys to young VW owners who were expanding their families but had to buy elsewhere as VW didn't have a minivan.

lokki

I suppose a VW van would be OK if it had enough power..... :shades:

stever

The concept would be a couple of years old right now if VW had any sense. We're tire kicking in a half-hearted way. This might have sucked us in:

texases

Look at how many people bought into the retro New Beetle, even though it was in every way less functional than the Golf it came from. Combine retro with functional, like that concept, and they could have done amazing things, IMHO....

stever

Yeah, I like them too. My sister had one for years and it drove good. Maybe they've fixed the electrical gremlins by now. It's even more of a chick car than the other one on my wish list though:

fezo

I saw that microbus several years back at the New York Auto Show. I wanted them to follow up so bad.

fintail

But hey, some dumb little soft-roaders are much better :P :lemon:

lokki

lokki

tmart

I have no idea, but the white one looks like a 49 or 50 Ford, but the hood ornament and badge say otherwise.

1whldr

Niva, a Soviet 4wd (very fancy compared to alternative Gaz69 or Uaz469)

1whldr

Volga aka Gaz21, 3spd on the column

magnette

Those Volgas - the one nearer the camera is I think one of the first models from the mid 50's - they then adopted a different grille for a couple of years, and then there was a second facelift in about 1960 which is the other one shown - and I think that grille - possibly with small variations - was made pretty well through to the 70's.

I have a 1/43rd model of one of the latter...

lokki

Right on both counts - you guys are good!

The little UTE is a Lada Niva.... I thought about buying one when I was in Pamana in the 90's. Simple as a brick, and about $9,000 at the time. I have no idea about the reliability, but the repairability was great in that there was no such things as a model year difference between parts, and the only electronic thing on the whole car was the battery. Would have never been able to get it into the states, of course....

The sedan is, indeed, a Volga 21. I was hoping to trick somebody into identifying it as a Ford Crestline (Crestliner?), after viewing the comparison between the two, here:

http://russianfun.net/interesting-galleries/meet-the-parents-of-volga-21/

lemko

Looks like an early '50s Ford, but it's not. It's a Russian Volga as is the car next to it. Not sure of the year. Early '60s perhaps? The Russians always seemed to be at least a decade behind the West in styling.

fintail

That's a good link, thanks for sharing.

boomchek

The Lada Niva was sold in Canada in the late 80s to early 90s. As you say their simplicity made them easy to repair by anyone with some mechanic knoweldge.

I rarely see one on the road anymore though.

magnette

They sold the Niva here, in Britain too - from 1983 to about 1998. I actually saw one parked in the street the other day - not that common now, but they are still around as they are pretty tough.

fintail

I used to see a kind of pukey green one every time I was in Langley...like the thing was following me. I'd be away from the place for months, come through town, and there it would be parked on a street or driving the opposite direction.

One you never see anymore is the Samara, and nobody is complaining about that.

boomchek

Yeah, it' funny because in the late 80s there was a bunch of Eastern European cars sold here by actual new car dealers.

Ladas, Nivas, Yugos, and even Skodas.

LADA SAMARA


LADA SIGNET


SKODA

fintail

IIRC the Lada distributor in the lower mainland was in New West. I remember seeing a Samara or a Signet on the roads now and then, but I think I saw a Skoda in the wilds of Vancouver only once. Of those three, the Samara has to be the worst. The Signet has Fiat roots, which are partially redeeming, and I think the Skodas were odd, but not terrible.

boomchek

The Skodas had a rear mounted engine. I even remember some of their ads asking:
what does a Skoda share with a Porsche 911? It answered: Rear mounted engine, and some other technical details.

If you wanted a sportier Skoda, you could have opted for the Rapide or whatever the term was:

texases

Lada - bad cars, worse ads

boomchek

Funny with the music, and the cigarette in hand.

fintail

That's hilarious. Notice no shots of the car in action. You don't want to see that thing on a winding road.

I remember a Canadian market print ad for the Signet that called it the "Little Red Square".

Lada's aren't made for drifting

fintail

Those wheels do more damage to the car than anything else.

If I wanted an old Czech, I think I'd find a Tatra (which are becoming very sought after, I have read)

andys120

Model and make are obvious but can you guess the year?
Extra points for knowing what famous person owned it.

davethecarnut

1976......Steve McQueen

andys120

Sorry, it's neither a '76 nor ex-McQueen.

stever

Lol, I just Googled this and can't believe the answer. But I guess it was a handy rig for going on the property. Good one.

boyce

1978 Subaru Brat owned by Ronald Reagan.

andys120

That's right.

stever

Subaru's Drive Magazine ran a story about it. You can see it at Reagan's old ranch if you can get on a tour.

andys120

At the Russo & Steele Auction last month in Scottsdale AZ:

stephen987

Two Maseratis--the near one is a 3500GT, and the far one (red) is a Ghibli.

Welcome back, andys120.