Miss Mercedes is not the only Autopian who has been spreading their wings recently, I’ve also been among the clouds. She might be happy as Queen of her own destiny aloft in what is basically a flying Volkswagen Beetle, but I most certainly am not. Ever been in one of those old Cessnas? Kept aloft by a wheezing flat six, they bounce about so much in response to the tiniest gusts that a good fart would help you flare the landing. No-bloody-thankyou. I prefer my flying vehicles to be large enough for me to relax with a book: the Penguin Classic edition of We by Yevgeny Zamyatin – because performative reading is en vogue this week – accompanied by a cold beer.
I was airborne the other week as part of one of my semi-regular jaunts to Car Design Event in Germany, and while I love nearly everything about aviation, a definitely do not love traveling by air myself and all the rigamarole it entails that is not the actual flying part. Catching my flight meant getting up at 5 am and not reaching the hotel until twelve hours later, despite being in the air for a little more than an hour and a half. I think you’ll agree, this was a spectacular drag. Upon touching down, I hoped to see a different Queen of the Skies, but I only got a glimpse though the window of the transit bus because the local Euro hop you’ve just endured isn’t important enough for a jetway. And in an ironic meteorological twist, the weather in Frankfurt was filthier than what I’d just left behind in Birmingham.
There are a couple of Car Design Events sprinkled throughout the year, each with a slightly different focus: this time it was CDE Classic held at the Nationales Automuseum. The Loh Collection within the museum is one of the most incredible public (private) collections of cars in the world. The problem is the location is Dietzhölztal: Germany’s version of the ass end of nowhere. It’s like modern art fans trogging all the way to Texas just to see Prada Marfa. You’ve really got to want to go.
It Was Far Too Wet To Attempt Driving My First McLaren
If you remember my adventure to this event last year, there was a veritable buffet of classic cars for me to sample, including a Delta Integrale, a Mercedes 450 6.9, a 911 restomod, and a Toyota Sera. Things were reduced in scale this year to just one single overnight at the Leica hotel in Wetzlar (yet another hour’s schlep from the museum), so driving was limited to a solitary afternoon, which the pissing rain did its best to ruin. Calling me like a siren was a McLaren GT,S and I had remembered to pack my own personal driving coach, an infamous Ohio club racer of some repute. But with the rain what it was and never having driven anything with that level of performance before, and not wanting to have to make a difficult phone call to Matt, I decided discretion was the better part of valor. There was one car I did have a go in (two, in fact, because I had to refilm it), and it was more miserable than a month consisting entirely of Tuesday afternoons – needless to say, I’ll be writing that one up separately.
Inside the museum, it was warm and dry and the coffee was plentiful. The permanent exhibits remained much as last year, but there was still a lot to enjoy and a couple of special OEM treats had been bought along especially for the occasion. I’ll give you a tour – just read this in a British accent and it’ll be exactly like walking round yourself with one of those little audio guides.
Kiamaster Bongo
Starting in the early 1980s, Kia began building light commercial vehicles in two versions – the truck ‘Bongo’ and the van ‘Bongo Coach’. They rapidly gained popularity with self-employed people; a van for all trades, like a kind of South Korean Chevrolet Express. This is an upscale Kiamaster Bongo 9 minibus. Look at all that soft velour to sink into as the 2.2 oiler under the front seats slowly fumes you into a permanent sleep. I’m not sure what the 9 stands for; with all of 70bhp, it’s possibly the number of hours this thing takes to move with 9 passengers on board. Or it’s how many seconds it takes the driver to find first on the manual column shift when the lights turn green on Seoul Main Street. The fact that it’s badged as a Kiamaster as opposed to simply Kia dates means it was built before 1986.
VW Vanagon Carat
Here’s the quintessential German take on the same idea: a big blue box with the engine in a strange place to maximize interior volume and give workshop techs back pain. It appears I wasn’t going to escape Germany without seeing at least one version of my rear-engine nemesis. This later Vanagon has the telltale lower grill at the front, which indicates it is water-cooled, rendering it about 5% less offensive to my hearing. I rode as a passenger in this and was mildly impressed at the level of interior appointments, including captain’s chairs in the middle row, flip-down tables, and overhead air con like an airliner. The three-speed auto gearbox on this one meant it didn’t go like one when we tried to find the nearest McDonald’s during the afternoon, though.
Genesis X Gran Coupe Concept
I saw the X Gran Convertible at the CDE in Motorworld earlier this year and thought it was stunning. Here, they bought along the standard coupe version. Both these cars are based on the existing G90, and although this was a very sophisticated hard model (I got told off for examining it with my fingers), the maturity of the 3D data needed to make something like this means they are production-ready if Genesis decides to go ahead. The original Hyundai Genesis of 2008 was an anonymous barge for South Korean executives being picked up from Incheon airport. Their success as a stand-alone brand demonstrates how important it is to introduce a distinctive and premium identity and utilize it consistently across the range.
Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur
Although this concept is now four years old, this is its first European appearance. I prevaricate on this sort of thing a bit – why go to all the trouble of building a concept of an older model when you have no intention of reintroducing it? But Hyundai are relative newcomers to the auto business – their first car was a license-built version of the Ford Cortina in 1968. When it came to developing their own – the Pony of 1975 – they hired a bunch of British engineers to help them, hilarious given the state of the UK car industry at the time. The point is the Hyundai back catalogue is not awash with greatest hits – in fact, this model of Grandeur was a rebadged second-generation Mitsubishi Debonair. Cars like this allow designers to try new ideas without the studio tipping its hand to the public about what they have in mind for future models. There’s not a lot novel here aside from some color and material choices, although I think the column stalks and door switches are neat – and although the retro-futurism is cliché, it got a lot of attention. The last few years have seen an explosion in South Korean cultural soft power, and Hyundai (along with Kia and Genesis) finding their design confidence reflect this.
The Best Of The Rest
Right enough of all that designer waffle, let’s broaden our minds with a little photo dump of the other very cool stuff I saw.
1998 Mercedes CLK GTR Straßenversion
The FIA-mandated road-going version of the GT1 race car. Only six roadster versions were ever built.
1989/90 Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II
1992 DTM title-winning car driven by Klaus Ludiwg. This car was originally a plain old Evo before being rebuilt to Evo II specs.
1994 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti
More DTM filth? You perverts. Driven by Nicola Larini, and a black version of this is driven by me in GT7.
1995 Penske PC24
In 1994, the infamous ‘Beast’ pushrod Mercedes-Benz (Ilmor) engine dominated the Indy 500. The following year, no Penske cars made the grid. This is Emerson Fittipladi’s car.
1963 Peugeot 404 Break
It’s a Scuderia service car. Was Il Commendatore privately a Peugeot fan? Seems unlikely, but none of his own cars had much cargo capacity.
1994 NASCAR Monte Carlo
According to the museum, Jeff Gordon’s 1994 Monte Carlo is the winningest NASCAR outside the US.
1960 Messerschmitt FMR Tg500 Tiger
FMR had taken over production of the KR200 in 1956, given it a bump in power and the correct number of wheels, and called the result a sports car. With less than 20bhp, I think that’s the German sense of humor again.
Mercedes AMG GT One
At a standstill, which I’ve heard is the GT One’s preferred state. All right, let’s finish with some sporty Germans that are not Mercedes.
Opel Manta B
Built between 1975 and 1988 and based on the platform of the Ascona B (below), this car is the successor to the Manta A that was sold in Buick dealers in the US. The Manta was GM Europe’s answer to the all-conquering Ford Capri. Available in the UK as a Vauxhall, it became an Opel when the car was facelifted in 1982. Meaning for a period in the eighties, you could buy both Vauxhalls and Opels in the UK. See? Even we were not safe from GM buffoonery.
1979 Ascona 400R
Opel built 400 of these, hence the name. It had heads from Cosworth and bodywork by Irschmer. A homologation special, in the hands of Walter Röhrl the super trick 400R was the last RWD car to win the World Championship in 1982, the same year the Audi Quattro appeared. Those black fins running the length of the fenders are rubber, to stop Officer Torch doing any hood slides.
1987 Opel Corsa GSi
Known as the Vauxhall Nova GTE in the UK, this little Corsa was GM’s answer to the Euro hot hatch boom. Powered by a 1.6-liter four, these sat below established class middleweights like the Golf. A proper little Saturday night special (in the UK at least …) its natural habitat was a McDonald’s car park or upside down on a town center roundabout.
So that’s it for this year, sorry there wasn’t as much driving as last year, but events like this are at the mercy of the OEMs that support them, so we should be thankful they happen at all. There was no currywurst this time either, and my cunning plan to bring curry ketchup home with me was thwarted because I only had carry-on luggage. But one thing I did bring home was my first-ever piece of OEM swag. I got that from the company that built the miserable car I did drive so I’m not showing it to you yet.
All I’m going to say is the Rodius is no longer the worst car I’ve ever driven.
Coincidentally, I got to closely inspect a USDM version of that Vanagon this past weekend. It was remarkably similar to the one pictured, down to the dark blue paint and interior, autobox and ceiling HVAC ducting.
Did Mr. Baruth take the McLaren out at least?
He was out in it so long he was late for lunch. The swine.
That blue Opel Manta is gorgeous, inside and out.
If the eighties is more your thing, look up some of the later ones.
Yeah, that blue interior is terrific.
“All I’m going to say is the Rodius is no longer the worst car I’ve ever driven.”
Ho-Leee Shit, thats quite a statement from you
Hold on to your knickers.
It’s gotta be a VinFast, right?
“Here’s the quintessential German take on the same idea: a big blue box with the engine in a strange place to maximize interior volume and give workshop techs back pain.”
That’s some dern good writin’ rat thar. As a former owner of a 1977 Type 2 Westfalia, I felt that sentence in my lumbars.
Also, that Benz 190E Evo II and that Opel Manta B are giving me feelings in places.
I said the same 4 years ago. That Hyundai Grandeur makes me moist and I’d drive something like that in a heartbeat. But TBH if full-on straight edge boxy becomes a thing I’d rather have a Volvo badge on it.
I find the Hyundai/Genesis/Volvo relationship interesting here. With the Grandeur shown after the X Gran Coupe, I see a sort of entanglement. The Grandeur leaning into old Volvo, the X Gran Coupe bearing a lot of similarities to the (albeit 4 door) Volvo S90.
I don’t know what the point of having a two-door that is as long as that X Coupe is, but I really like it. Low, long and a nice wide ass, that is a sight that I could happily see every day. I’m happy that SOMEONE is still making sedans because I am running out of brands to defect to now that Volvo has killed off the S90 and S60. Shameful.
Just as wagons are gone not to return, I fear the same will happen to sedans, coupes and hatchbacks as everything continues to coalesce around the tiresome and ubiquitous shape of the modern crossover.
Also, while I’m glad you like that Grandeur, if you’re becoming moist at the sight of it (assuming that Bill is a fellow), you may want to get your pecker checked for leaks.
@AdrianClarke, did you note that you brought JB with you on this trip? My brush with celebrity greatness is that I emailed with him for advice when purchasing my last car. He then emailed back as he noted to have spotted it here in town. I felt special.
He is a dear friend of mine. Who do you think is responsible for getting me into this tawdry writing business?
I don’t know how y’all met, but it doesn’t surprise me that you get along. His writing has always been some of my favorite and the two of you seem to bear a strong similarity in the way you express yourselves.
Is he going to make an appearance around here?
He’s out of the autowriting game and making an honest living now.
Don’t fly too high, Icarus.
I used to fly the real VW Beetle of the skies, because it had a 4-cylinder horizontally opposed engine. What Mercedes flies is a bit of a Porsche 914-6 compared to mine.
I loved the two vans. Europe seems to have always had superior lighting elements (not filaments) since the 70s or 80s, that we couldn’t have here in the states until an almost eternity later. My ’88 Saab 9000 Turbo (and all Saabs and Volvos) had lights that look like they had caught up to stuff that was almost obsolete. But my 9000’s lenses were made of glass and I really worried that a pebble in the wrong place would mean a costly replacement. Maybe they were all that way. Now we just worry about yellowing Lexan.
I loved the two DTM sedans. I was a Mercedes freak back in the late 60s until they got ugly after the W124. The 190E 2.5-16 in that series was a poster car for me. But I also wanted a 405 T16 back then too. The Alfa shows what a few years difference makes.
What the hell was that on top of the Peugeot 403 Break? It looks like a large-scale RC hydroplane.
The interior of the Opel Manta B looks quite nice, but the outside reminds me of a Chevy Monza. (If you haven’t heard “White Punks on Dope” by The Tubes, you really should. There
Seeing that Vanagon and remembering that “Carat” was the absolute top-of-the-line trim in VWs of the time really lets you appreciate how miserly German carmakers were with nice things back then. The base Golf of the time didn’t even have a console in front of the shift lever. Which was fine, because there was one instead of a radio.
My VW T3 Westfalia has one better. The van was made with Intermittent wipers but VW put a plastic stopper in the control so it can’t select it and changed out the relay. I bought the relay (same as a Golf mk2) from a wrecker and took out the stopper which took about 5mins.
Too late to edit my post, the song is actually “What Do You Want From Life” and has a reference “to a new Monza!” Also, a “baby’s arm holding an apple.”
I might be brain-injured from one of their concerts in college where I was in the front row and came out of it only able to hear my feet hitting the ground being transmitted through my bones. I already had tinnitus and that concert didn’t help.
There were two women who worked in the computer lab and had collected all the chads from the punch tape machines that were replacing Teletype machines as the primary input to some PDP-11s. They were throwing that stuff around like confetti and I was still picking pieces out of my Nikkormat a week later. No harm done.
Edgy stuff back in the mid-70s. I’m glad I got to experience it.
The Tubes! It really is a car song-
a new Matador,
a new mastadon,
a Maverick,
a Mustang,
a Montego,
a Merc Montclair,
a Mark IV,
a Meteor,
a Mercedes,
an MG,
or a Malibu,
a Mort Moriarty (the Tube’s co manager),
a Maserati,
a Mac truck,
a Mazda,
a new Monza!!,
or a moped,
a Winnebago–Hell, a herd of Winnebago’s we’re giving ’em away
Thanks for doing the lyrics research I was too tired to do!
I hope my post made you listen to it again. I did. And laughed. Oh, and I liked the annotation about Mort Moriarty. That is new to me. Went over my head every time I have listened to it. And most of my friends are younger than me and have never even heard of them.
Don’t touch me there. Do you know where there was?
Now, well it’s very late, I’m wondering what new M models we can ad to the list.
Anyway, thanks!
Funny I had no idea what he was saying… Mort Moriarty was new to me as well and I had no idea he was until I googled him.
Another great Tubes song is Don’t Touch Me There https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w-HpBPJC1I
Some duplicates, but a lot more M cars:
https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-advice/cars-that-start-with-m-82131
The baby’s arm holding an apple line always cracked me up. I need to revisit the Tubes, that album came out when I worked in a record store during high school.
I’ll bet that was a fun job. After moving to Seattle, I saw Bill Gates going through the used vinyl at Tower Records. I left him alone, but I knew who he was. And I admired that he didn’t have an entourage and had driven himself there in his LS400.
A few years later, he managed to get a Porsche 959 stateside. There are dozens of stories about it on the internet.
I have an Apple brochure for the original Mac and there’s a picture of him and a small Microsoft team. They had created a spreadsheet program called Multiplan. I bought a 512 K of RAM “Fat Mac” in 1985. It was pretty cool for its day. But it was funny to watch the recalculations being done cell by cell back then.
Isn’t that a piece of F1 car bodywork (even has Lauda written on it) on top of the Peugeot? Effectively the cover to the cockpit and engine bay.
312 F1 car bodywork.
Well, I see it now that you say that. But there’s a form of motorboat racing that the hulls, etc look a lot like that.
But thank you!
Question, though. Was there not a Fiat up to the task then. Or an Alfa? Or were they all at each other’s throats then?
Pardon my ignorance, but I grew up in the US.
It was deliberately styled to resemble the Monza. Detroit had a lot of say what went on in the studios of their European outposts at the time.
Well, that was moronic. The European versions of pretty much every compact Ford looked better than what we got over here. I think the closest we got was the Fiesta in the late 70s looked good and were fun to drive. At least my girlfriend’s with a stick was.
And Opels looked better than anything in that form factor out of GM Detroit. IMHO.
I just thought Monzas were ugly and they were kind of malaise era performers, so ugh, yuck, where’s the toilet I can vomit into?
I didn’t know that GM had such a heavy hand on stuff like that.
And I don’t know what was going on with Chrysler back then (early 80s) other than they were using VW and Peugeot engines on the Omnis, back when I, like you with the Syongyang, had to do it for work.
I blew a fair amount of money at Barnes and Noble buying British car magazines for several decades and then getting depressed what we weren’t allowed to get in this country. And then found TopGear on TV. Not the first generation. It was the Clarkson, Hammond and Bay era. And it was fun at first and then it just got cheesy. And Clarkson got political, of camera, and it all went to shit.
Anyway, seeing and driving cars on vacation/holiday in Europe that we’d never get here. I always picked them. They were diesels with sticks. A Peugeot 307 and a Fiat Chroma wagon were both cars that, if I could have packed them in my suitcase, I would have. They were so much fun to drive. And they took us to lovely places without fuss, but enjoyable for me, behind the wheel. I’m sure those cars are very pedestrian by European standards. My wife and I were particularly enamored by the form of the Citroen Picassos back then. I think it was their second generation. Now that I think of it, their form factor was not that much different than the Nissan NV200. But better styled.
A Ford Focus in Ireland wasn’t that much different than what I rented frequently in the States, other than where the wheel was. But I also realized it was a large car for there.
When we picked it up in Dublin and saw, in the return lot, a lot of left wing mirrors broken off, I was thinking how does that happen? And then we went off on secondary roads and encountered commercial trucks as big as they are here in the States and the roads were lined with unyielding stone walls. There were some white knuckle moments. But our rental returned intact with all its mirrors. And as cool as it looks to shift a manual left-handed, I was happy our Focus was an automatic. I just don’t think I needed that extra task to figure out around Ireland.
It’s much easier to drive on the “other” side of the road in Australia, where there are no rock walls and they could build their secondary roads as wide as they wanted to.
I’ve mentioned this before, but for me, a motorcyclist, it would be scarier. In a car, the fact that you’re sitting on the opposite side of the cabin with the wheel than you’re used to, that kind of gives you a heads up… Things are different here. In Australia, I can totally see how it would be easy for me to end up going in the wrong lane through some of the epic scenery on a bike. Around town, I’d figure it out. But out in rural areas, I could mess that (and myself) up. The controls are the same world round.
By the time the MkII Capri, MKII Escort and Fiesta were being designed FoE studios had a lot more independance. If you go back and read my Sierra piece there’s a bit more history there.
Here in Australia some of our more tourist routes have signs that say “Drive on Left in Australia” for those forgetful drivers.
Hi Adrian, nice to read. Did you already write about your favourite car of all time, designwise? Which would it be? Do you have a top 10 list? Which other car(s) would you buy, no matter the cost and availability? Which car(s) would you buy with money you can spend right now (without crying).
Probably my favourite car from a design point of view is the 1980 Panda, which I wrote about at the insurance company.
My absolute favourite car ever is the MkIII Ford Capri 2.8 injection, and I’m going to look for one as soon as the Ferrari sells (it’s taking longer than I expected).
If was buying a brand new car I’d buy either the new Fiat Grande Panda or a Mini Copper JCW.
I also would love to have a 987 Spyder.
Sorry to be -that guy- but that #24 Jeff Gordon car is a bit newer than a ’94. In ’94 they still used the Chevy Lumina. Also, from ’95-’96, Gordon had Valvoline as the side rear bumper sponsor.
I finally get to use the knowledge from growing up a huge JG fan and collecting dozens of #24 diecasts from ’95-’05 or so.
You mean the little museum plaque lied to me? My world is crumbling.
“At a standstill, which I’ve heard is the GT One’s preferred state”
Ever since Renault built the Espace F1, I’ve thought it would be an awesome idea to stick a real live F1 power unit into some kind of production vehicle. Unfortunately it seems that the GT One has proven why that isn’t a particularly good idea. The thing seems like an absolute basket case.
The Ferrari F50 is as close as we’re going to get.
That Messerschmidt looks like a mudskipper. It should have fins, not wheels.
It does! Now that you have said that, I can’t unsee it.
I adore that green/orange Genesis interior.
It’s very well done. The convertible has a blue interior.
The Opels.
Stull have trouble seeing heritage posts from Stellantis celebrating Opel’s past.
Anyway – the Manta and Ascona are kinda real fancy Chevettes. And that’s kinda neat.
The Corsa came here to the States as the Pontiac LeMans, generating much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but the hot hatch version we got (GSi?) was still pretty cool if your brain wasn’t yet atrophied from all the leaded gas fumes in “the good old days, when there was a draft and stagflation.”
The Kadett E became the Pontiac Le Mans. Next class up.
Wacky Europeans – “One sausage, different lengths”
You’ll take whatever length you’re given, sunshine.
Well, let’s be fair: if you are an American GenX motorhead of a certain age like I am, and your passion for cars was first lit in the doldrums of the Malaise Era, it unfortunately warps your mind into a conditioned response toward “today’s cars.” Even today, at the zenith of a second American performance renaissance that makes the muscle car era sound like a false start, I still have an unconscious bias toward “the good ol’ days,” until my conscious mind speaks up and says, “They didn’t sell 500+hp cars that would turn 11s in the quarter mile straight off the showroom floor in 1970, dumbass. Listen to yourself talk.”
As for the late 80s “Pontiac LeMans,” it honestly didn’t matter how good a car it was or was not, because seeing that badge on that body style led about nine out of ten people who recognized the name “Pontiac LeMans” to reflexively reply, “You gotta be shitting me, GM.” See also: late model “Mitsubishi Eclipse” and “””Mustang””” Mach E (extra “quotes” added to emphasize how stupid it is to call that thing a Mustang).
Due to the blocky styling, I think the display dash looks more at home in that retro Hyundai than in modern interiors.
I have a weird fetish for giant coupes and pillarless hardtops especially, so I really like that Genesis.
Damn, I miss velour—blue even—and sparse, open interiors.
I think We was the first dystopia? I read that quite a while ago and I remember it didn’t strike me as hard as Nineteen Eighty-Four or (to a lesser extent) Brave New World, but points for being first and I found the sci-fi ideas from over 100 years ago to be interesting. I might have to read that again.
It’s widely regarded as being a major influence on 1984 and Brave New World. Orwell admitted it, Huxley didn’t.
Those are some interesting cars and good photos… thanks Adrian!
I remember seeing/liking/almost lusting after those Carat Vanagons when I was 20ish. I never owned one (I did have a ’79 VW camper with the air-cooled engine and fiberglass pop top) and I’m sure it’s not particularly great to drive, but I still sort of want one.
I blame those nice wheels, which remind me of AMG Monoblocks.
Splendid write, thanks, Adrian!
These are cool cars – far cooler than some run-of-the-mill McLaren.
But no mention that the Kiamaster Bongo was a licensed version of the 2nd gen Mazda Bongo Multi Wagon? Which was itself also sold as the Ford Econovan/Econowagon?
C’mon – you’re missing half the story!
(and I suspect it’s a Bongo 9 because it carries nine passengers)
I was under the impression they were different vehicles.
Kiamaster Bongo 9. I just love the name. All hail the Genesis X Gran Coupe, an honest to goodness car! Maybe it’s the color, but I’m loving that Manta B.
I laughed when I saw Bongo. It reminded me of the first time I saw a Bimbo bread truck in Bogota.
Some stores out here in the PNW sell Bimbo bread and it’s popular in California where there are more Hispanics. It’s nothing special. It’s like the Wonder Bread of LATAM. And I looked on a translation site and Bimbo in English translates to Jai in Spanish. Going the other way, it just looks like a brand name.
We have Bimbo bread on the east coast (I’ve seen their trucks) but I think they’re the parent company for numerous other brands.
I guess they have been doing well and expanding their range, because I never saw the brand until I was in Colombia. It made such a humorous impression on me that I took several pictures of it with my first digital camera.
The trucks even say something like “Say Beem-bo!”
You might have been able to pack some curry ketchup in your carryon bag if you’d picked a less weighty tome for your travel read. Zamyatin was the nightmare of my college Science Fiction Literature course.
It’s the size of the bottles. No more than 100ml per container is permitted in carry on.
Ah, of course. As a former Air Force flyer, I have determinedly avoided flying in the hands of others. Haven’t been on a commercial flight since 2000. It wasn’t especially enjoyable then either, but not the slog it’s become since 2001. Hence, I’m not current on today’s “security” restrictions.
The Grandeur is what car companies would have built in the 1980s if a smattering of 2020s technology was sent back with the T-800.
Did you take the Integral to get there?
Got waylaid by a woman who took me smoking and drinking. Story of my life.
Oh that I-330…
I’ve met plenty of them.
Not a bad way to spend time.
Not if leads to a patrial lobotomy.
The Hyundai throwback looks like something that might be seen running around a few-decades-later sequel to GATTACA.
The Genesis Gran Coupe concept is pure sex from the front, random Elantra from the back. Not sure what it is about the rear view that’s letting me down, though. It might be the lighting? The front view has some very lovely curve lines from the lighting, but the back view straightens them all out (even across the doors/fenders) into something boring and Audi-like, although with a grafted on Elantra/Ioniq6 butt wing.
To answer some obvious questions, the Kia Bongo and the Mazda Bongo are not related so two Asian car companies have small vans named after an African antelope.
I’ve lost interest in the VW Vanagon to, they are overpriced in the US and a Toyota HiAce does it better.
The Hyundai concepts look interesting, and love or hate the angular Futurism of current Hyundai and Kia it’s a distinctive look.
Personally I think of the Manta B as the German Camaro.
Auto manufacturers thinking, hey we had a great selling vehicle 5 decades ago. It was a reliable cheap well made peppy vehicle. Let’s build an expensive vehicle that is not as reliable not as well made and charge a fortune for it but use the same name. Sales suck retro vehicle doesn’t work.
They absolutely are related.
Kia licensed the production of the 2nd gen Mazda Bongo of 1977 for production starting in 1980.
Kia licensed cars from Fiat, Peugeot and Mazda for production back then – they didn’t start producing cars of their own design til the 1990s.
I thought that might be the case but Wikipedia gave the impression it wasn’t
Look at the Mazda Bongo page – as well as the sheetmetal itself.
What about Hyundai? What model did they start with here in the States? The Excel. Excel, it didn’t although apparently, they sold a bunch of them. I think it was called the Pony in Canada.
My then sister-in-law had one and it was awful. Engine failed. Back in the early 80s. I had suggested she look for a used Civic while shopping. Fell on deaf ears.
But they kept getting better and better. I drove a couple of Sonata rentals oh around 2010/11 and an i45 (essentially the same car) in Australia in 2012 and they were all fine. The i45 even had an IP that looked the same as the Sonata.
I took the exit of a roundabout Down Under a little too wide and went over the curb/kerb and it still steered straight and didn’t seem to have any problems afterwards.
Besides what side of the car to put the steering wheel, mirrors and units on the speedo, I wonder how much differential engineering and manufacturing for a car like that with different target markets.
I have read that the old RWD Peugeots (through the 504/505 and 605) were engineered to endure African non-roads (from the French Colonial days) and that’s why they were so sturdy. And very good at absorbing and attenuating impacts from substandard roads in the “New World.” My ’71 504 felt and was, essentially indestructible. Until it got rear-ended at a stop light by a Plymouth Fury wagon doing 40+ mph with a drunk guy at the wheel. It got folded up to the rear tires. My wife, not wearing a seat belt, walked away from that with a bruise on her left shin where it went up from the inertia and hit something under the dash. He went to the hospital. And then jail, I’m hoping. He was uninsured, of course. I had uninsured motorist coverage, and they paid me $900 for a car I bought for $1500 and put 90K relatively trouble-free miles on before that happened. That car would feel primitive today, but I loved it. If I had a big garage and bank account, I would try to find a nice one today.
I was inspired to buy it from remembrances of a beautiful, fun young woman a year ahead of me in college (’76 at UCSD) who had a cool yellow one with a surfboard rack on the roof. We were just friends. But Shannon, hit me up, even though you almost certainly don’t know how to find me. And are probably not on this site.
That Alfa sure is an inviting porch! I’d like to just climb up those steps and have sweet Ti on the hood.
“it is water-cooled”
It is still a dumb configuration, with lost interior space. Oh, and I knew someone with a 1600TD version of this, which had 22-24 liter of coolant. And the about the most complicated cooling diagram I have seen. And I worked in commercial ships. No, I do not like wrong-end-engined cars.