Car identification - Nothing to do with model railways

[spamcan61]

You don't see huge numbers of them over here, either. A prestige model rather than a mainstream seller, perhaps. In an era when German cars dominate the prestige sector worldwide (ok, so Lexus, Acura and Infiniti might argue), the Big 3 French manufacturers still feel committed to having a range-topper, and I think from that point of view Avantime was a bit of an improvement on Safrane, as well as being very individual. When Deb was using taxi/ambulances to and from the rehab hospital last year, she rode in a number of smart-ish saloons, but the Citroen C6 with full leather was the really swish one. I don't suppose many of them get sold outside France, either!

 

I reckon the C6 comes between the Avantime and the Vel Satis in my car spotting league, pretty darned rare. A quick look on Autotrader shows the following quantities for sale in the UK: Avantime 3, Vel Satis 16, C6 34. I'm glad the Frenchies are brave enough to still make this quirky stuff (also new DS, C4 pluriel, Pug. RCZ), even if I'm not brave enough to buy them.

 

Most comfortable taxi I've ever been in was a Peugeot 607, even nicer than a Phaeton.

 

The R8 looks and sounds nice but reviews do seem a bit mixed; I guess it's designed more for the Nurburgring than the ring road, although in reality they're driven more on the latter.

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

Talking of out of the norm cars, one of my favourites turned up outside our village garage a few days ago.

 

I don't think this is an Excalibur. That was a slavish copy of the Merc. I think this is a kit car. Beaufort comes to mind. Powered by the Nissan 6 cylinder of the day.

[bike2steam]

 

I don't think this is an Excalibur. That was a slavish copy of the Merc. I think this is a kit car. Beaufort comes to mind. Powered by the Nissan 6 cylinder of the day.

Sorry Dave but it has a bright 'Excalibur' plate across the l/h side of the front grill, I took a pic but lost it trying to alter it on the computer, but if you read the info a copy of a 1930's Merc is what it is.

[The Dorset Wanderer]

The Excaliber copy of the Merc is a much nearer to original , i think this is an American twist on the original. Excaliber did say in their blurb that their car was the only hand crafted car built in US. It can be difficult to differentuate between the original and a copy, the Speedster against a Porsch for example. Was this right hand drive? The original Excalibers seem to be all Left hookers.

Steve

[bike2steam]

Ah, retrieved it (sorry, r/h side);-

[bike2steam]

 

See also Bufori"]http://www.bufori.co...ntro.htm]Bufori[/url] - looks like the sort of thing Liberace would have driven!

 

Funny you should say that;-

http://www.excaliburclassics.com/stars.html

[big jim]

i live over the road from the bentley factory so quite regularly see the cars out on test drives, also see a lot of those audi's sporty things (with bentley being part of the VW group) but the best had to be a bugatti veron and a konnezigg sat outside one afternoon!!

 

regards the microcars, we used to have a daihatsu copen, cracking little car 700cc turbo engine in it, went like a rocket, 2 seater convertable thing, my wife ordered it, got it then about 6 months later found out wewere having a baby!!

 

 

 

 

[Peter & Seth]

Back-tracking a little to the Nissan Figaro: it was only made for the Japanese market and is based on the Micra! I see them quite regularly tootling around the City of London and yes, mostly owned/driven by women. They've become somewhat collectible in the UK 'cos we seem to love small quirky cars and the Micra is a cheap and reliable platform. I think they're fab. If I could fit my wife, two children and model railway in it I'd have one, they're very cool!

 

I'd have one of those Renault Aventime's too but they were very badly received and production was short-lived.

[Horsetan]

Still wish I had my 1973 Ro80

[Will Vale]

The Figaro is a charming little thing, I'd love to tootle around in one. Sarah Jane Smith had one in the Dr. Who spin-off as well.

 

I recall one Mitsubishi coupe, much loved by the average M'laddo

Was that the GTO? I'm pretty sure a couple of my friends had those in England, they were quite an entertaining car.

 

Will

[Penlan]

Horsetan said 'Still wish I had my 1973 Ro80'

 

I still have my first car, bought in 1960...

This was a side street in Winchester and I still got done for obstruction!!!!

- how much room did they need to pass me?

PS - No that wasn't my oil on the road.

and it was only 26 years old then (1934 - 1960) - I've had it 51 years now ......

[Will Vale]

That's dedicated ownership! Does it still get driven?

 

Just realised what the Figaro reminds me of - it looks like a Mini ate a Karmann Ghia

[Penlan]

That's dedicated ownership! Does it still get driven?

Yes, there's two on the road at present, and another one at the back of the garage.

Each does about 2k miles a year - this one's just back from La Rochelle.

The other one is the daily run-about when the modern's trapped on the drive etc.,

I have 5 engines all ready to go and/or in the cars

[Ohmisterporter]

I think the Figaro is the car that Andrew Marr drives at the start of his Sunday morning show, just before I switch off.

 

Geoff.

[Oldddudders]

 

I'm glad the Frenchies are brave enough to still make this quirky stuff (also new DS, C4 pluriel, Pug. RCZ), even if I'm not brave enough to buy them.

 

The R8 looks and sounds nice but reviews do seem a bit mixed; I guess it's designed more for the Nurburgring than the ring road, although in reality they're driven more on the latter.

The DS3 seems to be selling well, and "Quelle Voiture" likes it, but the colour makes a lot of difference to how it appears to me. Have yet to see a C4 Pluriel, but RCZs are about - they simply look like a slightly down-market Audi TT. Have seen a couple of Renault Wind - I mean, does that name bode well for UK sales? Have you got the Wind today? - and they are a bit abrupt-looking. Gordon S's feelings about the R8 somehow don't surprise me. They are doing very well in racing circles, but most reviews of high-performance Audis I have read over the years have found them to be a compromised experience one way or another. An original Quattro, with the estimable Mlle Mouton at the wheel, would be a very different matter, mind you....

 

Surprising things you read : Porsche's ugly 4x4, the Cayenne - on the same platform as the VW Touareg and Audi Q7 - outsells all the Porsche sportscars in the US and a few other countries. Having the right badge when you drive to the mall really matters, evidently!

[spamcan61]

I don't think I've seen a 'Wind' in the UK, although Autotrader has 137 for sale, so there must be some somewhere. Looks like a Lotus Elise after a bad botox job. Agree the RCZ looks like a Tesco 'value' Audi TT. All the new DSs I've seen here (quite a few recently) are white or yellow, combined with the very bright LED DRLs you certainly can't miss them on the road.

[Horsetan]

.....Have seen a couple of Renault Wind - I mean, does that name bode well for UK sales? Have you got the Wind today? ....

 

If they ever sell it here, I suppose they might consider renaming it something like the "Mistral / Mistrale", maybe?

[spamcan61]

 

If they ever sell it here, I suppose they might consider renaming it something like the "Mistral / Mistrale", maybe?

 

..or the Scirocco..OK maybe not. Turns out it's the Wind in the UK as well:-

 

http://www.renault.c...er/product.aspx

 

..whilst we're drifting into daft vehicle names then the Peugeot Bipper is my current favourite, all time classic IMHO is the Mazda Bongo Friendee / Ford Freda

 

http://www.bongofury.co.uk/

Edited August 17, 2011 by spamcan61

[Wherry Lines]

..whilst we're drifting into daft vehicle names then the Peugeot Bipper

 

There is also the Bipper Tepee - it has a storage compartment in the roof - a bit like a loft.

[Kenton]

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..whilst we're drifting into daft vehicle names

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Mine has always been the Renault Migraine

(but then that is another make of car I wouldn't even use as a hearse)

[Oldddudders]

..whilst we're drifting into daft vehicle names then the Peugeot Bipper is my current favourite, all time classic IMHO is the Mazda Bongo Friendee / Ford Freda

Ah, but what about the Nissan Cedric of blessed memory? Then there are Citroen's two imaginative vans, the Jumper and Jumpy!

[trisonic]

Last time I was in Tokyo I had a vintage Cedric take me to the airport - complete with "anti-maccassars" (sic - how do you spell that?).

 

Best, Pete.

[Ron Ron Ron]

There was a concern with the Eunos roadster, which was a Mazda MX-5, because it was said not to have such good anti-rust treatment as the genuine import. I still see quite a few and they don't seem too bad to me after ? years.

As to the Eunos having less rust protection, from the stories of the MX5 that would be quite an achievement.

Hundreds, if not a couple of thousand used Eunos made it to the UK as "grey imports".

Most went straight to the Used Car forecourts, with lots being "re-badged" as MX5's in the process.

 

Apart from the much less comprehensive anti-rust treatment, I understand that the Eunos has many variations in components compared to the MX5 sold in the EU.

IIRC, that includes things like the Glass thickness (not sure if thats the windscreen only, or all glass?). The Glass fitted to MX5's being thicker; therefore if replacement on a Eunos is needed, you've got a problem!

 

I strongly suspect that there are, or have been loads of owners who have/had no idea that their second, third or forth hand MX5 was in fact a Eunos.

A friend of ours bought one in blissful ignorance. She had no idea it wasn't an MX5, despite the badges saying otherwise.

Keith, it may be possible that those rusty MX5's .....weren't, so to speak?

 

If I've got it right, there's a very easy way to spot a Eunos against an MX5. The Japanese rear registration plates are square and the recess for them is shaped accordingly. EU spec. MX5's have the usual rectangular number plate recess.

 

 

 

Back-tracking a little to the Nissan Figaro: it was only made for the Japanese market and is based on the Micra! I see them quite regularly tootling around the City of London.........They've become somewhat collectible in the UK 'cos we seem to love small quirky cars and the Micra is a cheap and reliable platform. .......they're very cool!

When we lived in the Thames Valley, there were a few Figaros knocking about. Same down here on the South Coast, where they are frequently spotted. I even saw one at Cowes on the IOW the other weekend.

I guess most people find them quite cute, apart from being nicely quirky; which I think was exactly Nissan's intention.

S-Cargos are a rarer beast in the UK, but there are still quite a few around, usually promoting businesses.

 

Apart from Nissan using the original mk1 Micra (K10) platform for their 1990's Niche range, other specialist Japanese companies used the same platform to produce micro not quite-replicas of cars like the Jaguar Mk2 (the Viewty) 800px-Mitsuoka_Viewt_011.JPG.

 

My favourite 1990's Japanese Micro cars are the Honda Beat and the Suzuki Cappuccino roadsters. A work colleague had one of the latter for several years.

 

 

I'd have one of those Renault Aventime's too but they were very badly received and production was short-lived.

The Aventime and Vel Satis were an unmitigated disaster for Renault and rightly so.

Apart from being pig-ugly, they had a reputation for typical French unreliability for that era and fell way short of the "premium" image they were supposed to convey.

 

To call the Aventime "quirky" is a bit of an understatement. Based on the current Espace platform of that time, who would have thought that a large 2-door 4-seater MPV would sell?

A local IT business round here had a small fleet of them (half a dozen or so?), painted/vinyl'ed up in company titles and logo. I believe they got shot of them after a year or so, due to the appalling build quality and reliability.

 

.

[spamcan61]

 

There is also the Bipper Tepee - it has a storage compartment in the roof - a bit like a loft.

 

 

Good call, I'd forgotten that 'Bipper' on its own wasn't daft enough for some versions.

[Peter & Seth]

To call the Aventime "quirky" is a bit of an understatement. Based on the current Espace platform of that time, who would have thought that a large 2-door 4-seater MPV would sell?

A local IT business round here had a small fleet of them (half a dozen or so?), painted/vinyl'ed up in company titles and logo. I believe they got shot of them after a year or so, due to the appalling build quality and reliability.

The history of the Aventime is all a bit weird involving company politics. It was built my Matra but Renault released the Vel Satis at the same time in almost direct competition with itself. Building the Avantime and then being cr*pped on by Renault was the straw that broke Matra's back leading to exit car manufacture altogether.

 

I remember that IT company too! Taylor Made Computer Solutions