Amor, an old guy around the corner from me has a seriously low-mileage Gremlin X. He bought it from a woman who never drove it. And now he never drives it. It's mint.
"You have 30 minutes to move your car",
"You have 10 minutes",
"Your car has been impounded",
"Your car has been crushed into a cube",
"You have 30 minutes to move your cube".
evilC's recommendation of the droop snoot Firenza was a good shout, by the way. There used to be one on a driveway as you came out of Southend on the way to the A127, not sure if it's still there.
Anyway - the Opel Monza, another underappreciated classic.
Seeing an Audi reminds me of something which has always bugged me. To begin with, a very underrated classic, revolutionary design (and a Wankel rotary engine) 1968 Car of the Year the NSU Ro80:
And the 1983 Car of the Year, the Audi 100:
The Audi received great praise, attention and sales for its ultra-low drag, but the NSU (as far as I know) got none. Sure enough on having a look at Wiki for the Ro80:
Comparisons have been drawn between the design of the Ro80 and the aerodynamic 1982 Audi 100 - probably built in the same factory some 15 years later.
In fairness Wiki also hints it may have been a bit of a dog mechanically. Maybe that was it.
I used to have a book - something like 'The History Of The Motor Car' - in which was a small piece dedicated to the Ro-80. It was titled "By 1980, the others may have caught up".
They hadn't!
Oh, and I believe that it was the seals on the rotor tips in the NSU's engine that were particularly prone to rapid wear.
It was a masterpiece of design, though. In theory, they could have just replaced the engine and kept manufacturing it, with only minor cosmetic and trim changes, right the way up to almost 1990! I love to see them on the road still.
Sits With Rivelinho wrote: Seeing an Audi reminds me of something which has always bugged me. To begin with, a very underrated classic, revolutionary design (and a Wankel rotary engine) 1968 Car of the Year the NSU Ro80:
And the 1983 Car of the Year, the Audi 100:
The Audi received great praise, attention and sales for its ultra-low drag, but the NSU (as far as I know) got none. Sure enough on having a look at Wiki for the Ro80:
Comparisons have been drawn between the design of the Ro80 and the aerodynamic 1982 Audi 100 - probably built in the same factory some 15 years later.
In fairness Wiki also hints it may have been a bit of a dog mechanically. Maybe that was it.
Stumpy Pepys wrote: Struggling with the Renault 5 though. It has a certain charm but I thought it was boxy and functional when I was a kid and I still think so now. Beloved of UK secondary school teachers in the 80s.
Always thought the Trabant had a lot of character. Although I remember one driving past me in Berlin once and it sounded like a lawnmower.
I have a great picture of garcia standing beside a trabant in berlin, and it is very clear that if he's going to get in, the front seat is going to have to come out, police academy style.
Excellent call hobbes, although I prefer this front design - an earlier model I'm guessing?
I once left a note under the wiper of one, with my number saying I would make an offer. Even though it was in dreadful condition I never got a call.
We are now veering very close to my favourite car ever. I've avoided putting it on this thread as it's arguably a "classic". But what the hell - it's not exactly a DB5 or a Ferrari Dino. The Triumph TR4:
Didn't the Herald hardtop have a removable roof panel too? In fact, weren't all it's panels 'bolt-on'? (I don't know if you could buy a cloth roof to fit on it.)
I had a friend who had one - possibly as a first car. Either the suspension or the subframe(?) on one rear corner was fucked, meaning he could only give a lift to two passengers at a time. Guess who had to walk!
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