As a car guy, I am always keeping my eye out for what's on the road. About 99% of it strikes me about as exciting as a toaster, being the automotive appliances most cars are. Every once in a while I see something cool (their is an Aston Martin Vanquish in the neighbourhood), but almost more cool is the spotting of a weird car that I haven't seen in ages.

Today, I had one of those moments. Spotted a MINT shape, white, late production Merkur XR4ti. Looked just like this, but better:

http://www.bligblog.com/media/02-14-07/merkur-cover.jpg

Anyone spotted an oddball car recently? Anything you had not seen in ages and had pretty well forgotten about?

I saw one of those Merkurs the other day. They used to be all over in the 80's but you never see them now. The same with Peugot. I haven't seen one of them in ages. I wonder what the deal is, were these cars just junk? Some cars from the 80's that have stood the test of time is BMW and Mercedes. I drive an 81 300D myself and I'm looking to buy a late 80's/early 90's E30 BMW. I saw a pretty rare car today, a Jensen Interceptor. :smoke:

Today, for the first time in my life, I was privileged to see a gleaming white early-70's DeTomaso Pantera, ripping past my house in all its Ford-powered glory.
Net pic below.

There is one of these at my school. They are kind of weird looking, but honestly would be the car I had if I didn't have a Subaru outback. A Toyota All-trac DX.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=115966&stc=1&d=1225684069

Funny you started this thread... just saw one of these Friday that was in perfect condition!

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/ferretkona/Thing/Thing008.jpg

Scott

Saw one of these roaming the streets today, didn't get a chance to see if it was a real one or not.

http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2008/02/15/fs_hanscoba_large.jpg

Scott

Saw one of these roaming the streets today, didn't get a chance to see if it was a real one or not.

http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2008/02/15/fs_hanscoba_large.jpg

Scott

Damn, that is pretty.
Helped my friend build ones of those. Had a very hot 351W in it with a 5 speed. Man, was that ever fun!
60 Mph felt like about 120.
Won't say what 120 mph felt like! :D

I was driving in Sacramento a few months back and passed up a DATSUN pickup being driven by a little old man that looked like is had just rolled off the showroom floor.

When's the last time you saw one of these?

http://www.maverickcometclub.org/pics/john_maltinsky_72_maverick.jpg

Saw one of these roaming the streets today, didn't get a chance to see if it was a real one or not.

http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2008/02/15/fs_hanscoba_large.jpg

Scott

I have a buddy with one of those. There is a local Cobra club that meets once a month around here. You have to be hard core to own a car with no top. :D

I saw a TRUE aluminum bodied cobra last year.. man oh man was it sweet.. nothing like the real deal...

Amazing the cars you see around this area.. some cool old Rolls, some even cooler old time Mercedes, Maseratis, Ferraris, a stray Lambroguni here and there, every now and then a T-bucket, my neighbor will borrow a friends of his London Taxi every now and then (man is that a wild looking car)....

I will give this area it's cars. Lots of money and lots of exotic people..

My neighbor has a Studebaker Avanti, 1963, Maroon color that he just bought off the internet.

I seen the Delorean just like the one in "Back to the Future" minus the flux capacitor stuff. :D It was at my work last year.

Oh.. I did see a Super Bee a few weeks ago too.. and not too far down the road from me a guy parks his Delorian outside his shop to advertise his automotive business

I owned a Merkur XR4Ti, 1989 I believe (last year model had nicer wheels than the first one pictured)....Best damn car I ever had. The ride was awesome!

There is one of these at my school. They are kind of weird looking, but honestly would be the car I had if I didn't have a Subaru outback. A Toyota All-trac DX.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=115966&stc=1&d=1225684069

I like those! I don't think they ever sold them in California, but I've seen a couple of them. If I got one, I'd swap in a Toyota C-block turbo-Diesel (it would bolt right in to that car). The Camry, Previa, and Celica also offered that AllTrac 4WD in the late 80s to '91, I think it was.

Charles

Merkur is sweet, but getting parts was no picnic for my buddy who sold it.

I love turbo cars!

Evan

Mavricks are pretty common around here as are the dozens upon dozens of pre 1969 Mustangs that are still hauling people to work every day.

Tell me last time you saw a STOCK Willys Jeep on the road? Not a military jeep.

6-8 months ago I saw a CJ-2 for sale on the side of the street. 3100 bucks. I would have loved to put it in the back of my truck and drug it home. :yes:

Tell me last time you saw a STOCK Willys Jeep on the road? Not a military jeep.

Saw one of these earlier this year.

http://images.jpmagazine.com/thehistoryof/154_0703_01_z+1967_jeepster_commando+front_driver_ side_view.jpg

Scott

There is a house a few blocks from me where someone has an early Willys they are restoring in the garage. It looks like a fun project.

Probably almost as much fun as restoring an old Spartan if someone had one hanging around.. ;) :D

Today, for the first time in my life, I was privileged to see a gleaming white early-70's DeTomaso Pantera, ripping past my house in all its Ford-powered glory.
Net pic below.

When I was in high school, I worked at a local country club parking cars. One of the members owned a Pantera, a bright yellow one.

I never got to park it, but one day he gave me the "tour," and showed me the engine compartment, let me sit in it, etc.

What a car! :)

Probably almost as much fun as restoring an old Spartan if someone had one hanging around.. ;) :D


lol that would be fun.
http://www.spartantrailer.com/polishhalf.jpg

My bro-in-law at the time (mid-70's) had a red Pantera. What a monster- first time he took me for a spin, we got clocked going over the Buckman Bridge here in Jax (it's about 2 miles long) in the mid- 140 mph range. At least, that's what the state trooper said. He was cool though, wrote the ticket for 80.

Mavricks are pretty common around here as are the dozens upon dozens of pre 1969 Mustangs that are still hauling people to work every day.


One big downside to living in the Rust Belt is that cars quickly become swiss cheese and old cars are a rarity.

On the other hand, there are relatively few old tanks with a million miles on them spewing out clouds of blue smoke. Also very few clunkers running way too rich and choking you to death.

Saw one of these roaming the streets today, didn't get a chance to see if it was a real one or not.

http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2008/02/15/fs_hanscoba_large.jpg

Scott

Not real - kit. But the kits are so much better now. You can tell by the body - it is an amalgamation of different Cobras.

My bro-in-law at the time (mid-70's) had a red Pantera. What a monster- first time he took me for a spin, we got clocked going over the Buckman Bridge here in Jax (it's about 2 miles long) in the mid- 140 mph range. At least, that's what the state trooper said. He was cool though, wrote the ticket for 80.

I remember the days when there were still cool cops around. Different world now.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e108/botrytis/DSC01516.jpg

From a car show I went to - in really nice shape. My wife wants one now!

That vinyl roof on the Ghia is truly horrible. Great cars.

I still think VW should come out with an updated Carmen Ghia and use the GTI frame.

Here is one more for ya - DROOL!!!!!!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e108/botrytis/DSC00552.jpg

Don't forget my avatar - only one of 1200 built for the US.

That vinyl roof on the Ghia is truly horrible. Great cars.

That is not hideous - hideous was my friends mother's Ghia which was yellow with a leopard skin vinyl roof (came that way from factory).

Not real - kit. But the kits are so much better now. You can tell by the body - it is an amalgamation of different Cobras.

That's a picture I grabbed off the Internet... not the actual car that I saw as I was in traffic when I saw it, same color scheme though.

Scott

3rd Gen RX-7 droool

Not real - kit. But the kits are so much better now. You can tell by the body - it is an amalgamation of different Cobras.

One dead giveaway is the little oval opening under the large one, beautiful replica though.

One dead giveaway is the little oval opening under the large one, beautiful replica though....not the fact that it has one, the shape is different on the original....

My wife and I have two Merkurs. We also have two Capris, and I have a Mini.

http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/silv88xr22.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/redmerkur1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/tonicapria.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/mk1picf.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/mini05.jpg

As a car guy, I am always keeping my eye out for what's on the road. About 99% of it strikes me about as exciting as a toaster, being the automotive appliances most cars are. Every once in a while I see something cool (their is an Aston Martin Vanquish in the neighbourhood), but almost more cool is the spotting of a weird car that I haven't seen in ages.

Today, I had one of those moments. Spotted a MINT shape, white, late production Merkur XR4ti. Looked just like this, but better:

http://www.bligblog.com/media/02-14-07/merkur-cover.jpg

Anyone spotted an oddball car recently? Anything you had not seen in ages and had pretty well forgotten about?

Funny, that was the first car that came into my mind when i saw the thread. I europe they were sold as "Ford Sierra". They were available as 3 and 5 door "liftback", 4 door sedan and station wagon and with several different engines and drivetrains. There might also have been a convertible, but i'm not sure. A few years ago these cars were everywere, but now they are hard to get, and most of them are "used up". My father had one, a '89 Sierra 2.0 CL 5 door. I think that was the last year it came with carburetor, probably just a simple one-barrel. It had about 100-110hp output, 5 speed manual and rear wheel drive. He bought it used i '96 with 50-60.000 kilometers on it, and when it got stolen and damaged beyond repair in late december 2003 it had more than 250.000 on it. The only breakdown we ever had was when the timing belt snapped on the highway, but we just replaced it and it fired right up. Unfortunately, i don't have any pictures of it from the outside, but i have one of the interior.

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/brochures/1971Riviera/71BuickRiviera.jpg

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/brochures/1971Riviera/1971BuickRivieraBrochure/images/71Riv-02.jpg

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/brochures/1971Riviera/1971BuickRivieraBrochure/images/71Riv-04.jpg

GM could at least have given those Rivs REAL leather Bucket Seats- Remember how bad that vinyl smelled after a few years ? IIRC, there was one of those boatail Rivs in that weird Clint Eastwood movie, "Thunderbolt & Lightfoot", that got trashed.

When's the last time you saw one of these?

http://www.maverickcometclub.org/pics/john_maltinsky_72_maverick.jpg


This morning! It was white. I did a major double-take. With the small stock tires they look goofy and topheavy.

Guy down the street from me has one of these. A 1961 Dodge Dart (Phoenix I think). Camera isn't handy so I cribbed this from the Net. His is black.

Perfect example of what I call MoUgly.

:)

This does not mean I don't like it.

Matt

Chrysler design chief Virgil Exner evidently discovered LSD a few years before Timothy Leary did.

Not exactly a daily driver even in it's time but I saw a cherry early 30s Duesenberg convertible in my shared office parking lot over the summer. I tried to take a pic with my phone but it was full.

Chrysler design chief Virgil Exner evidently discovered LSD a few years before Timothy Leary did.

Boy, ain't THAT the truth ! The Imperials w/their "sparrow strainer" tailights were another example...

An 8 series Bimmer those were pretty.http://interlinkmedia.homenetinc.com/9584/19869/SN635.jpg

An 8 series Bimmer those were pretty.http://interlinkmedia.homenetinc.com/9584/19869/SN635.jpg

theres one of those sitting by the local upholstery shop
i believe its an 850

they use the v12 outta those for lambo kit cars

Ooh. I saw one of those just last week in a traffic jam. :drool:

Guy down the street from me has one of these. A 1961 Dodge Dart (Phoenix I think). Camera isn't handy so I cribbed this from the Net. His is black.

Perfect example of what I call MoUgly.

:)

This does not mean I don't like it.

Matt

Wait a second! :scratch2: What's a '61 Plymouth front end doing on a Dodge? (Yes, I do see the Dodge lettering on the edge of the hood)
This is what I know as a '61 Dodge Dart Phoenix:
http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/4748/61dart4ar2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Hey yer right OM. I wasn't really paying attention when I was lookin' to swipe a photo.

Dur!

:)

Matt

http://www.locomobilia.com/images/lit_brochure_renault_1982_3d_5d_xl.jpg

http://www.locomobilia.com/images/lit_brochure_renault_1982_3d_5d_xl.jpg

Now, there is someone who knows cars!!:thmbsp:

I don't have pictures I can post, I have seen (2) Pinto's, a Chevette, and a Citation X-11 withing the last year. All the more remarkable is that except for the Chevette, all were on the road. The Chevette sits next to a house awaiting restoration amazingly.

there are a few oddities in my neighborhood.

Delorean
early 60's volvo
stingray
1978 civic
68 camaro, convertible (actually my xGF's dad's car, black, cream interior, straight pipes up the side. thing is so loud, you hear him from 5-6 blocks away)

so many other oddities.

near my buddie's place, there's this guy who seems to collect old weird cars.
he has about a dozen in a lot, like this one
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=116843&stc=1&d=1226242192

Beat these!

1929 Bentley
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/1929bentley.jpg

1950s Borgward
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/borgward.jpg

1980s Ford Fiesta XR2
http://home.comcast.net/~leesonic/xr2.jpg

I was behind a Datsun B210 in traffic earlier this week. Hadn't seen one in years. My sister used to have one, until her husband fell asleep at the wheel....

That Fiesta is one sharp little car! Bought one new in 1980...a cream Rally with dual sunroofs. (You got two with the car: a regular glass one and a steel one painted to match) Tough car, for sure, and fun to drive. Unfortunately, it got repoed. Ford credit called and asked if I wanted to bring it in or should they come and get it. Told them be my guest....keys will be under the mat. Took it out and ran it up to 70 in 2nd trying to hatch it...no go. 3 years later I'm sitting at a bus stop waiting for the 21, and up it pulls to the light. ERX876...still the same plate. I nearly cried.

I always liked the way these looked, not sure if they were anything decent or not. A subaru Brat

http://www.subarubrat.com/PICS/dirtpile10.jpg

1957 Studebaker Silver Hawk....I had this some 20 years ago, it was quite a Handful to Drive...But it would Chirp when you Punched it into Passing Gear...

Hey yer right OM. I wasn't really paying attention when I was lookin' to swipe a photo.

Dur!

:)

Matt
Matt, on the pix you posted, there's definitely Dodge lettering on the front hood edge, and the rear of the car is no doubt from a Dodge. I'm trying to figure out what the story is on that front end... :scratch2:

Just spotted one of these. 1977-1978 Thunderbird

http://www.tbirdranch.com/1978.JPG

Used to be EVERYWHERE up here. Haven't seen one in years now.

When's the last time you saw one of these?

http://www.maverickcometclub.org/pics/john_maltinsky_72_maverick.jpg

Actually saw one of those, the same color only not nearly as nice looking, in a PetsMart parking lot about 2 months ago. Interestingly enough I saw a white, two-door Mercury version of the Maverick, the Comet, in the same parking lot about 3 weeks ago.

Edit: Oh yeah, saw a Bricklin, painted a bright fluorescent green, on the road about 2 months ago.

I saw one of these in my driveway :) You UK folks will say WHO CARES....

My 1st car. Purchased it when I was 16 and it took almost 2 years to do a body off restoration on it

Whatever happened to these?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Mercury-Capri.jpg

1970ish Pontiac Catalina. Haven't seen one ever. Yes I am young.

Still, one of my all time favorite vehicles.

1970ish Pontiac Catalina. Haven't seen one ever. Yes I am young.

Still, one of my all time favorite vehicles.

Now that is a land yacht. My buddy had one in high school, we called it "The Hoopty". :smoke:

Whatever happened to these?

You ever see the movie "Missing" with Jack Lemmon & Sissy Spacek?

I fear that is what happened to the Capris, Fordco's nearly Miata.

Matt, on the pix you posted, there's definitely Dodge lettering on the front hood edge, and the rear of the car is no doubt from a Dodge. I'm trying to figure out what the story is on that front end... :scratch2:

It's a Canadian market Dodge. For whatever reason, all domestic companies used to mix & match engines/bodies/interiors among their own brands to create "unique" Canadian models to be built at Canadian plants.

The need for this went away somewhat with the Auto Pact of 1965 (equalizing tariffs between the two nations (this is why neither country tends to view either as "imported", because the trade policies are mirrored). However, the practice of mix/matching continued well into the 90s, and even to this day with model names.

Cool Dodge

I posted the Catalina LAND YACHT as my avatar....what a powerhouse, mustve gotten 10mpg highway. But its still worth it IMO. Beautiful vehicles.

And heres another I came across :thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:

Hi,

The Capri Convertible was nice, not common these days, due to parts difficulties since about every other item on it came from Europe or Australia. One of my cousins has one. Hers is still in service and is driven occasionally. The engine and transmission are easily had since they were used in Mazda Proteges and Ford Escorts of that era.

Sat at a light next to one of these today.. same color too.. A Zimmer Quicksilver

http://www.bobsclassics.com/sold/quick1.jpg