Ran When Parked

Ran When Parked has moved.

2011-06-19T15:06:00.002-06:00

Ian and I have been considering switching Ran When Parked over to an actual site for about a year now. During that time we talked about the pros & cons, how would we go about it, and whether or not the swap was even possible in the first place. After getting some valuable insight from RWP reader Darren Keeley we concluded that it was very doable and that everything would transfer over with only minor issues.

Late last night we pulled the trigger: the new site is www.ranwhenparked.net (not .com!)

All of the content of this site have been transferred to the new site. The categories have stayed the same, the pages are the same, the photos are still there, and so on. There are differences in the layout. For example, the header we have here didn't fit on the new site and couldn't easily be resized so we quickly drafted up another one. Also, with the new site we have the option of adding a "continue reading" link so only the first paragraph or two of each article shows up on the main page. This creates a more user-friendly design and a less-cluttered front page.

However, because of some coding differences between Wordpress and Blogger there are some glitches in each article. Fonts that change halfway down the page, pictures that don't show up where they should, and spacing between sentences that seems to have vanished. To fix all this we need to manually edit every single one of the 321 articles one at a time. We started with the latest articles and so far we have edited everything up until about August 2010. We'll get all of the articles edited by tomorrow or Tuesday and it will all look normal again.

This site will still be around for a little while but this will be the last article on it. From now on, everything new will be published on www.ranwhenparked.net. The change does not in any way affect the Facebook page or its location.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please let us know.

As always: thanks for reading.

Ronan & Ian.

Caption contest: Fiat 133.

2011-06-18T10:11:00.005-06:00

Just for fun, how would you caption this picture from a 1970s Fiat 133 brochure? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Event Recap - Mobil 1 Seat Swap at Watkins Glen

2011-06-16T11:34:00.001-06:00

In spite of a weather forecast of sunny and 70 degrees, Watkins Glen International was cold and rainy on Tuesday morning when a surprisingly large number of fans began turning up at the track for the Mobil 1 sponsored "Seat Swap" event. Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Nascar driver Tony Stewart were set to trade cars for a few laps around the historic circuit in New York. The Glen made a name for itself by hosting the United States Grand Prix (among other international racing events) for roughly two decades. In more recent years, Nascar has utilized the track for one of a couple road courses run throughout the season. Tony Stewart, therefore, is no stranger to Watkins Glen in a Nascar, though it's been nearly 30 years since a modern Formula 1 machine has raced around the circuit.

The relatively quiet atmosphere was awakened as Hamilton's McLaren MP4-23 (2008) was fired up in a tent across from the grandstands on the front straight. Perhaps it's the newer, smaller 2.4 L engines, or the fact that the Glen is fairly open in terms of surrounding structures, but I couldn't help but think that the McLaren didn't seem nearly as loud as the old V10 F1 cars I recall from Indianapolis in 2000 and 2001. After a few minutes of warm-up revs, the McLaren was switched off, and there was more waiting. This would be the case throughout most of the day. The F1 was turned on, revved, and switched off several times before it was finally wheeled out to the track along with Stewart's Chevrolet Impala Nascar.
In the mean time, F1 driver David Coulthard was keeping busy by taking VIPs around the wet track in a Corvette. Since Nascars don't race in wet conditions and Stewart himself is not experienced in the rain, let alone in a Formula 1 car, there was a bit of worry that the event may be called off. Interestingly, the Nascar was fitted with rain tires, a windshield wiper, and even a defogger. After a few hours the rain let up, and the two cars were finally rolled out to the start/finish line.

The scene of watching the respective team members prepare their cars was rather telling of just how different the machines are. The Nascar was simply pushed out on its own wheels whereas the F1 car was wheeled out on a dolly with tire warmers kept on until the very last moment. Most of the activity seemed to me centered around preparing the McLaren - the Nascar waiting patiently. It was like imagining a country boy going out on a date with a European super model.

The two drivers eventually got into their own cars and went around for a parade lap. Stewart came in to the pits while Hamilton went stayed on track for a few warm-up laps. The sound of the car could be heard the entire time as it went around the 3.4 mile circuit. Hamilton had never been to Watkins Glen before but seemed to have no trouble at all. Seeing the F1 car at Watkins Glen just seemed to fit. I'm certain that many of the people there were thinking that it's a shame the series no longer races at the rightful home of Grand Prix racing in the United States.
Stewart went out in his car, but was notably conservative. The track was still quite damp, however, and it has to be one of the only times a Nascar has been driven at speed in such conditions. Stewart came back in and it was Hamilton's turn in the Impala. The track had started to dry significantly at this point, but Lewis seemed all the more fearless with the car - even sliding it sideways before coming back to the front straight on his final lap and doing an incredible series of doughnuts in front of pit lane.
Hamilton remarked at how well planted the Nascar seemed and how much he enjoyed the Watkins Glen circuit. (Maybe Bernie Ecclestone heard him?)

Stewart got into the McLaren and after a stall, was out on track. He seemed very timid with the car the first time around, though one can't blame him. The next couple times around, he seemed to gain a lot of confidence. The only noticeable difference in driving styles from this observer's point of view, being the much more relaxed downshifts going into the 90' after the front straight.

In the end, and to be perfectly honest, Hamilton was the faster of the two in both machines. That being said, Stewart couldn't be blamed.
The event could have been more spectator friendly and a little better organized, but hopefully the several thousand people who showed up on a weekday in terrible weather will get the point across that we want to see Formula 1 cars in the US - and at The Glen.

Also available on our partner site Racing Redux

Reader mail: 1967 Daimler DR450 needs to be saved.

2011-06-16T09:43:00.008-06:00

Almost a year ago we featured a Daimler DR450 that was for sale in North Salt Lake. The car is gone and we figured it was probably the first and last one we’d ever run across. With only 864 cars made, they’re not exactly a common find.

A few days ago we got an email from a man in Indiana saying he had found another DR450. It’s a 1967 and he told us it looked to be in better shape than the one we found in Utah. Here are the pictures that he sent us:

The body doesn’t look too fresh but the man reassures us that it looks better in person than it does in photos and that the rust on it is merely surface rust. The photos confirm that; the only perforation on the car is limited to two small holes on each rocker panel.

Unlike the North Salt Lake car we found this one appears to be fairly complete. The car even still has its original V8 engine and it apparently runs! The glass is all there, most of the trim is there, it even still wears its British-issue license plates. Complete is only half the story, though: most if not all of it will need to be refurbished, but it's the perfect base for a complete restoration.

If anyone is interested in saving this rare piece of British automotive history, please contact us and we will send you the rest of the photos and get you in touch with the owner. And if you know of an interesting car that needs to be saved from a trip to the crusher, send us some photos and its story and we'll try to find it a new home.

A rear-engined Fiat for every need and budget.

2011-06-07T20:56:00.025-06:00

Once upon a time when hand-built cars were still plentiful it was a popular activity in Italy to take mass-produced Fiats and rebody them. The Turin Motor Show was full to the brim with small artisans showcasing their latest creations. Throughout the years Fiat’s popular rear-engined economy cars have loaned their platforms to become small trucks, sports cars, off-roaders, people movers and even luxury cars. We’re passing on the well-known Abarth and Seat models and taking a look at some of the more obscure ones. This is the first part of a series and covers mostly older models; a second part covering later cars will come soon.

Savio Jungla

The Savio Jungla was commissioned by Fiat’s Gianni Agnelli as a vehicle to compete against the Mini Moke and later the Citroën Mehari. Agnelli did not want to develop the vehicle in house so he outsourced both the development and the production to Savio, a coachbuilder in Turin. Savio essentially had unlimited access to Fiat’s parts bin and as a result, the Jungla is a mix of parts from miscellaneous Fiat models.

The first car was presented at the 1965 Turin Motor Show under the name Giungla. Production started in 1966 and the name was changed to Jungla.

The 500’s two-cylinder engine was judged too small to power such a vehicle so Savio used the 600D’s 767cc water-cooled four-cylinder. It goes without saying that the drivetrain was mounted in the rear, something the French magazine Auto-Journal praised when they tested the car against the front-engined Renault 4 Plein Air and Citroën Mehari in 1969. Top speed was a scant 95km/h but few who bought the car needed to go much faster.

The off-road nature of the vehicle called for the use of a bigger wheel/tire combination so both were borrowed from the Fiat 1100.

The doors on early versions were metal frames covered in fabric but later ones could be ordered with metal half doors. A soft top was the one and only top option throughout the car’s production run and was fairly easy to install but rumored to be fairly fragile.

When production ended in 1974 about 3200 Junglas had been built. A decent amount of them were ordered by the Italian government and used by the Carabinieri and other government forces. Fiat toyed around with the idea of replacing the Jungla with an A112-powered one but those plans were cancelled, though Savio did go on to build another Jungla based on the 126.

SIATA Spring

The Italian coachbuilder SIATA designed the Spring to mimic English roadsters like the MG TC. Startnig with an 850 platform with an 843cc water-cooled four-cylinder, SIATA added a retro body that they built in-house. To complete the vintage look the car could be fitted with wire wheels. The Spring cost roughly the same as an 850 Spider when it hit showrooms in 1967 and many of them were exported to the U.S.

SIATA went out of business in 1970 so production theoretically ended then but there’s a twist: the Rivolta family of ISO fame bought the SIATA assembly lines and continued to produce the Spring using Seat mechanical bits. Seat was part of the Fiat group at the time so the parts were similar but several details changed, including the use of a slightly more powerful version of the 843cc. The car was rechristened the Seat-ORSA Spring Special. Production lasted until 1974, when ISO went under.

Moretti Sportiva

Introduced in 1967, the aerodynamic Moretti Sportiva looked like a poor man’s Dino from the front. The Fiat 850 emblem on the back of it betrayed its origins: it was powered by the 850’s 843cc four-cylinder. A beefed up 982cc (62hp) version of that engine was also available.

The first version of it was the Sportiva S2, a two-seater available either as a coupe or as a Transformabile, essentially a coupe with a large cloth sunroof. By popular demand Moretti launched the Sportiva S4 2+2 a year later.

A big selling point for the Sportiva was the possibility to customize it as one pleased, a tendency that is making a comeback today in premium small cars such as the Citroën DS3. The Sportiva could be ordered with metallic paint, Borrani wheels, electric windows, an entire panoply of interior upholstery and so on.

Production ended in 1971 and it is estimated that less than 1,000 of them were built.

Ferves Ranger

Ferves stands for Ferrari Veicoli Speciali. There is no connection between them and the Ferrari that probably came to mind as you read that, the name is simply a coincidence; Ferrari is a common last name in Italy, and the man behind the Ranger’s full name was Carlo Ferrari.

The tiny 4x4 Ranger was launched at the 1966 Turin Motor Show and like the Jungla above it was a melting pot of Fiat parts. The suspension and brakes came from the 600D, the front driveshafts came from the Autobianchi Primula and the 499cc air-cooled two-cylinder was borrowed from the 500 F. It also used the 500’s four-speed gearbox-differential unit though the Ranger’s differential ratio was shorter than of a standard 500. Ferves claimed the Ranger was good for approximately 50mph. It had an unbelievably tiny wheelbase that gave it a bad tendency to roll but that aside, it was a fairly capable off-roader.

Later versions came with a five-speed gearbox and that included a granny gear and a system that permitted the front wheels to be locked in an effort to simulate a locking differential. As odd of a setup as it may seem, it was said to be effective. A 4x2 version was also available towards the end of its production run.

Most of the Rangers built were four-seaters but a two-seat pickup was also offered. Both versions came with a windshield that folded down and with a soft top.

Production ended in 1971 and it is estimated that less than 1,000 of them were built.

Francis Lombardi Lucciola

Francis Lombardi’s story is an interesting one. He fought for Italy in WWI was a decorated pilot in the Italian Air Force. In 1938 he started his own airplane company called AVIA (Azionari Vercellese Industrie Aeronautiche). The company built a twin-seat training/touring plane called the L3 that Lombardi designed himself. After WWII he turned to building wood-paneled station wagon versions of Fiat 1100s.

His first 600-based model was the Lucciola (firefly in Italian) that he presented in 1956. It was based on a standard 600 but was much more upscale. Its rear window was larger than that of the standard 600 and it was available with two-tone paint. A very interesting convertible version of this car was also made in extremely limited numbers.

In 1958 he presented a new Lucciola: it was an elegant four-door 600 and the rear doors opened in a suicide fashion like in the Lancia Appia. There was no B-pillar. The front seats were swapped out for a single bench seat to create the impression of sitting in a large, luxurious sedan. The Lucciola wore a non-functional chrome grille on the front and chrome trim decorated the car all around.

He updated the Lucciola in 1963 by fitting a larger 767cc engine from the 600D. A concept car with four forward-hinged doors was built but never saw the light of production.

Much like the two-door version precious few Lucciola four-door sedans were built. However they were successful enough that Lombardi went on to modify a lot of other Fiats including the 850, the 126, the 127, the 500, and even Alfas, Volkswagens and NSUs. His carrozzeria is a good example of what was being done with Fiats during those years. He built pickups, sedans, convertibles, coupes, and so on.

Developing the death-proof car.

2011-05-30T18:18:00.007-06:00

As a result of rising death rates in auto crashes, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched the Experimental Safety Vehicle program in 1970. The program was intended as a way for various automakers to learn more about both passive and active safety in cars and apply that knowledge to production cars in the next ten or so years.

It consisted of building prototypes that met certain requirements: they had to keep passengers alive in a 50mph crash into a solid barrier, withstand side impacts at 30mph, protect the car’s occupants in a 75mph rear end collision, and survive two complete rollovers at 60-70mph.

Some of the guidelines revolved around handling so manufacturers couldn’t simply turn an economy sedan into an armored tank that destroyed everything in its way. The prototypes had to stop from 60mph within 155 feet on a dry road, accelerate from 30 to 70mph in less than 12 seconds with a 60% load and make an abrupt 180 degree turn at 70mph without rolling over.

The test cars were organized by weight classes: 1500 pounds, 2000 pounds, 2500 pounds and 4000 pounds. Part of the guidelines was, of course, that the cars actually respect the weight limit in each class, something most of the participating manufacturers had a hard time doing given the extra equipment they bolted on to each car.

These prototypes were remarkable in both the effort and resources put forth to develop and build them but also in the far-fetched ideas that some manufacturers came up with in order to supposedly make a car safer. Popular Mechanics hit the nail on the head when in June of 1972 they observed that “the world may never want to place an ESV in production, but we sure want the answers the cars can give us.”

We picked a few ESV prototypes to take a look at but it’s far from an exhaustive list. Looking at all of them would take ages; lots of manufacturers took part in the program including Opel, Renault, GM and Nissan.

American Machine & Foundry AMF 2

AMF has manufactured a vast variety of products: bicycles, tennis rackets, golf clubs, snowmobiles and even Harley Davidson motorcycles, just to name a few. Conspicuously absent from that list are cars, but they gave the ESV program a shot anyways. Their prototype was part of the 4000 pound category but weighed a whopping 5,791 pounds. It had a steel body with aluminum bumpers that had a thirty inch (!) travel. Rear visibility was assured by a submarine-like periscope, visible on the roof.

Like many other ESV prototypes it had airbags to protect the occupants and AMF took it further by adding automatic fire extinguishers. It is remembered as one of the best ESVs built by an American company.

Fiat ESV 1500

Fiat’s ESV for the 1500 pound category was one of the three the company built in the early 1970s. The other two were in the 2000 pound and 2500 pound category, respectively.

To develop the 1500 pound ESV Fiat used crash test data from the 500. The prototype uses a 500 running gear with a slightly bigger engine to counter the added weight, though the use of 126 parts is noticeable as well. This one met most DOT requirements for its weight class including fire protection, safe driving in foggy weather and pedestrian safety. The requirement it didn’t meet was the weight – it weighed a little over 1700 pounds in a weight class limited to 1500 pounds.

Ford ESV

Unlike a lot of other ESVs Ford’s prototype was based entirely on an existing production car, the LTD. Compared to the car found on dealer lots, the LTD ESV had a longer hood and a shorter trunk. Like the AMF above it was part of the 4000 pound category and also like the AMF, it weighed considerably more: the Ford tipped the scales at almost 5,300 pounds.

Compared to a stock LTD the brakes and suspension were modified to comply with the DOT’s handling requirements, including the addition of an ABS system that acted only on two wheels. The bumpers were hydraulically retractable to withstand a 10mph crash.

Both Ford and GM charged the government $1 for the development of their ESVs.

Honda ESV

Honda’s ESV was not an ESV in the true sense of the term. Instead they tried to build a mass-produced car to ESV standards, the same path that Ford followed. Ford did much better than Honda but they were starting with a bigger and heavier car; Honda was starting with a Civic. Honda strengthened the Civic’s body all around, including the door pillars to increase protection in a rollover. The engine was the same 55hp unit found in the production car.

Because of miscellaneous setbacks revolving around the Civic’s tiny size, the prototype took a year longer to complete than the other ESVs.

Mercedes-Benz ESF 22

Mercedes was very active in the ESV program: the ESF 22 was their third prototype after the ESF 5 in September of 1971 and the ESF 13 in 1972. First two prototypes were based on a w114 250 sedan but the ESF 22 was based on the w116 450 SE.

The ESF 22 used ABS brakes all around and experimented with airbags. Although the ESF 22’s long hood kept occupants alive even in the event of a 40mph crash against a solid structure, Mercedes’ prototypes did not comply with all of the DOT-mandated requirements in the program. Mercedes built a fourth and final one, the ESF 24, and called it quits.

MG SSV 1

This was another small car entry. MG started with a B GT body and added equipment such as a heads up display for the speedometer, airbags, big rubber bumpers and a self leveling suspension that would be later outlawed by DOT.

MG drunk driver-proofed the car by having a little colorful sequence show up on a screen when the key was inserted. Before the car would start, the driver would have to reproduce the sequence. The driver had three tries; if by the third the correct sequence had not been entered, the car would be impossible to start for an hour. The idea was that if someone was drunk enough, they wouldn’t be able to reproduce the sequence in the right order.

One of the few features from the SSV 1 to make it on a production MG are the huge rubber bumpers, though certain MG owners have reported seeing a sequence of flashing lights on the dash followed by their car not starting.

Toyota ESV

Toyota took a smaller approach to the ESV prototype: they developed a 2500 pound two-seater coupe. It was powered by a 1700cc mated to an automatic transmission, seen as safer than a manual transmission since it was run by a computer and not a human.

The prototype was packed full of electronics, including a system that adjusted the brightness of the headlight based on the car’s speed. The car also had radars to scope out the road ahead for obstacles. If one was found too close and the radar judged that a collision was unavoidable, it would send a signal to deploy the “gasbags”. The car also used what Toyota called failure warning board, a sort of on-board computer that monitored brake fluid level, engine oil level, etc.

Volkswagen ESVW-I

Staying true to Volkswagen tradition, their ESV had a 1700cc rear-mounted air-cooled engine. It developed 100 hp and was fully compliant with U.S. emissions.

Interestingly enough Volkswagen opted not to use airbags. Instead, they had seatbelts that automatically restrained passengers in the event of a crash thanks to gas-fired pistons. The car was equipped with what Volkswagen called a “silent co-pilot” system that calculated how much crosswind was hitting the car and from what side and electronically compensated the steering for it.

On the outside the bumpers didn’t stick out near as much as other prototypes and period Volkswagen literature bragged that their ESV had a “nearly normal” appearance, as opposed to other cars in the program.

Volkswagen built a second ESV in 1974, the ESVW – II, based on a first generation Golf/Rabbit. They exited the program soon after because they realized that the safety features would be too costly to implement in a production car.

Volvo VESC

Volvo has always been a leader in auto safety so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they started developing the VESC in 1969, a full year before the DOT started the ESV program. With that said it was not developed with any of the program guidelines in mind but excelled anyways. It weighed a few pounds shy of 3,200 pounds.

The bumper had a seven inch travel distance to absorb shock and the engine was designed to get pushed under the floor in the event of a front collision, something Mercedes introduced on their W168 A-Class in 1997. To effectively stop the car ABS was fitted on all four wheels. On the inside, occupants were protected by both front and rear airbags.

What's in your garage?

2011-05-25T19:49:00.010-06:00

The links at the top of this page titled "Ronan's Garage" and "Ian's Garage" showcase what we drive around in or spend our time under.

We want to start featuring reader cars on the site, about one per month to start off with. If you have one (or more!) you'd like us to feature, send us an email at ranwhenparked at hotmail dot com with a brief history of it (how long you've had it, etc) and three or four pictures we can use.

This is new and we don't know how many folks will actually be interested. If you send us an email and we don't choose your car this month, don't worry, it will have its fifteen minutes of fame another time.

Thanks for reading.

Test mules.

2011-05-20T19:40:00.017-06:00

For as long as the automotive press has existed journalists have been trying to get a peak at new models before their official launch. Some folks even make a career out of it, chasing camouflaged BMWs down a French back road to get that one good shot of a future model that no one has seen yet. When pictures are not available journalists sometimes illustrate what they think new models will look like with varying accuracy.

In response to that and in an effort to keep details of a new car secret until the last minute, manufacturers have camouflaged their cars in various ways that range from stickers to an entire new body. We're taking a look at some past test cars from this cat and mouse game.

Mercedes-Benz w114/w115.

This 1965 illustration was published in Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper to give readers an idea of what the upcoming w114/w115 stroke eight models would look like. The w114/w115's official launch didn't come until 1968 so not many details were available when the illustration was drawn and it relies on w113 SL styling cues. The end result looks like a 1960s CLS.

Production car:

Fiat X1/9.

The doors are recognizable as being the same ones on the production model and the air vent gave away that the engine was not in the front but the rest of the car was given a new body. Fiat must have done a remarkable job at fooling the press: at the time they called the car the 127 Spider when it was based on the 128.

Production car:

Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT.

This early test car gives away the general shape of the Alfetta but it doesn't give away any of the mechanical bits (DeDion rear suspension, rear-mounted transaxle) that would surprise the public in 1972, the year the Alfetta was launched. The front and the wheels look like they’re from a 2000 GTV.

Production car:Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint.

By the mid-1970s rumors of an Alfasud coupe were materializing and a spy photographer shot these pictures on a test track about a year before the car’s 1976 launch. The picture shows a car that is close to the production model but heavily camouflaged. Still, the basic window and door lines are there.

Production car:

Fiat Ritmo/Strada.

The first illustration was drawn by French magazine Auto Journal in 1977. Their design is a bit too futuristic but all things considered, it’s surprisingly close to the production model. As a side note, when this image was published the magazine's headline read: "the new Fiat 138, an Italian Renault 14!" The second illustration is a factory prototype. The front is mostly free of camouflage and reveals the production car’s face but the rest is kept a secret. Fiat even went as far as masking the Ritmo’s round door handles.

Production car:

Mercedes-Benz w126.

The first photo was taken in Tunisia, where the w126 was undergoing hot weather tests. The design is pretty close to the production model but the front is heavily camouflaged with trim on the headlights and a bull bar. All Mercedes emblems were stripped off the car. The second photo was taken on an unidentified test track and looks to be a prototype: the shape is slightly more angular than a production w126 and the taillights are completely different.

Production car:

Citroen BX:

While at first glance this looks like a GS prototype, it was taken in 1979 and hides a BX drivetrain under the hood. Careful observers will notice the BX/C15 four-lug steel wheel, a dead giveaway of what the GS body is hiding.

Saab pulled a similar trick to test out the 99’s chassis and drivetrain: they used a widened 96 body and figured no one would notice the difference.

Production car:

Seat Toledo:

The Volkswagen badge on the hood does a very good job at camouflaging what this is. The first guess that comes to mind is an mk3 Jetta and that’s close but no cigar: it’s a Seat Toledo. The badge is not as random as it might seem since the Toledo was the first Seat designed entirely by Volkswagen and shared its A2 platform with the mk2 Golf and Jetta.

Production car:

Caption contest: Renault 6.

2011-05-10T09:01:00.002-06:00

Just for fun, how would you caption this picture from a late 1960s Renault 6 brochure? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Offbeat offroader: the Citroën AX 4x4.

2011-05-06T09:07:00.008-06:00

The European 4x4 market in the late 1970s was essentially limited to expensive offerings like the Range Rover, the Land Rover Series III and the Mercedes Geländewagen. Buyers who couldn’t afford those flocked towards the Lada Niva, a cheap and seriously capable 4x4 launched in 1976 and still in production today.

In its first few years of existence the Niva had almost no competition. Fiat fired first in 1983 with the Panda 4x4 and again in 1986 with the Lancia Y10 4WD i.e. (based on the Panda 4x4). Volkswagen followed suit in 1990 with the Golf Country.

Citroen’s turn came in 1991. They killed two birds with one stone that year: they facelifted their AX line and introduced two new models to inaugurate it, the GTI and the 4x4. Both were powered by the same 1360cc four-cylinder gas engine but the 4x4’s was detuned to 75hp (vs. 95hp for the GTI). It took 12.9 seconds to reach 62mph.

Both three-door and five-door AX 4x4s were available. This gave the car a slight advantage over the Panda and the Y10 since they were only available as three-doors. Compared to a standard AX the 4x4 sat 2.5 centimeters (about an inch) higher off the ground and had specific plastic trim on the side. A discrete 4x4 emblem on the hatch gave away the presence of a rear axle.

The AX 4x4 was the most expensive affordable four wheel drive on the market. In 1993 a three-door cost 80,900 francs and a five-door cost 83,900, significantly more than the Fiat Panda 4x4’s 62,800 francs. By comparison, a base model Golf sold for 73,900 francs that same year.

Under normal driving the 4x4’s rear wheels spun freely. The rear axle was hydraulically engaged at the hit of a switch located on the center console. Because the system had no central differential Citroen recommended not driving over dry pavement for prolonged periods of time with the four wheels engaged. While the AX 4x4 was excellent on slippery terrains and dirt roads, its limited ground clearance meant that it couldn’t be used for serious offroading like a Niva or a Panda.

The four wheel drive system made the AX 4x4 the heaviest of the lineup, tipping the scales at 825 kilos (1818 pounds), or 300 pounds more than a base AX. Another disadvantage was that body had to be modified to accomodate the rear axle, eating up precious trunk space.

Like many French cars the AX was available in various special editions that ranged from economy to luxury. The 4x4 wasn’t spared from this and the Piste Rouge edition was introduced in 1992. It was a limited edition of 400 cars that were better equipped (and consequently more expensive) than a standard 4x4, though an A/C was still not available. It was only built in red and with three doors and kept the same 13” wheels as the standard model. A sunroof, a three-spoke steering wheel and tinted windows all came standard and it had the AX Sport’s bumpers with integrated fog lights up front.

Production of the 4x4 carried on until July 1996. By that point Citroen had launched a replacement for the AX, the Saxo, and AX sales slowly declined until the final one rolled off the assembly line in 1998. The AX 4x4 is far from common today but there are still some putting around the mountainous regions of Europe.

All photos copyright Ran When Parked 2011.

Ran When Parked forums.

2011-05-05T01:48:00.005-06:00

We launched the Ran When Parked forums a few weeks ago. It's a great place to talk cars with like-minded people. You can show us your projet(s), get tech advice, look at car-related collectibles or share your own, etc.

You can find the forums by clicking here or on this link: http://ranwhenparked.phpbb3now.com/index.php

Registration is absolutely free and there are no subscriptions fees to speak of, we promise. We're not going to ask you to give us a credit card number or to send us flat-twin parts in exchange.

Fàbrica Nacional de Motores.

2011-04-29T08:55:00.017-06:00

Some interesting variants of European cars have come out Brazil. After Volkswagen do Brazil’s specific models and a Fiat Tempra coupe that the rest of the world never got, we’re looking at what Alfa built there.

The story goes back to 1942 when General Antonio Guedes Muniz convinced the government to create Fàbrica Nacional de Motores (FNM from here on out). The company obtained the license to build Curtiss-Wright airplane engines in Brazil. That was profitable at first but by 1947 demand had practically collapsed and FNM needed to move on to something else if they wanted to stay afloat.

They turned to truck building and inked a deal with Italy’s Isotta-Fraschini. They assembled D80 trucks that they purchased as CKD kits from Italy and sold them as the FNM 7300 on the local market. Isotta Fraschini went under in 1951, leaving FNM struggling once again.

They found an unlikely partner in Alfa Romeo. At the time Alfa was producing its own line of trucks and FNM bought the rights to produce the 430 and the 900 lines, called the FNM D9500 and the D11000 in Brazil. Unlike the Isotta Fraschini trucks they were previously building, the Alfa-based trucks had specific bodywork for the Brazilian market.

The first FNM cars.

As the alliance grew, FNM’s interest turned to passenger cars and they started entertaining the thought of building a sedan in Brazil based on the 102 series Alfa 2000. Their first production car was introduced in 1960 under the moniker FNM JK – JK stood for Juscelino Kubitschek, Brazil’s president from 1956 to 1961. Early cars were imported from Italy but production soon shifted to Brazil. In the first year of production a Brazilian-made JK won the Mil Milhas Brasileiras endurance race; things were off to a good start.

The JK was a luxurious sedan meant for Brazil’s elite. It had the advantage of being fairly modern in a time when its competitors, notably the Simca Chambord, were aging. It had a dual cam 1975cc with a reduced compression ratio to deal with the lower octane gas that Brazil had at the time. Mated to the four-cylinder was a five-speed synchronized transmission. The JK went from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 18 seconds, which was fairly respectable back in its day. Four finned drum brakes with no booster took care of stopping the car. It boasted a complete instrumentation that included a tachometer and an oil pressure gauge and came with a complete tool kit and even a tire gauge. All of these little details contributed to the luxury aura that surrounded the car.

As can be expected the JK was extremely expensive and with an initial production of about 500 cars annually, it was hard to get one even for wealthy Brazilians. Since the factory was owned by the state one of the best ways to order a JK was to get a prominent politician to intervene in the process. This drove up the value of used JKs, which sometimes sold for more than new ones.

The first big change in the JK’s production run came in 1964. A coup d’état ousted president João Goulart, the same man who had been Kubitschek’s vice president. Brazil’s new leaders ordered that the car be named simply the FNM 2000, dropping the Kubitschek reference.

That same year FNM asked Rino Malzoni, a coachbuilder in Brazil, to design a coupe based on the 2000 platform. After toying with several designs Malzoni showed the final version, dubbed the Onça, in 1966. It looked like the illegitimate offspring of a stepnose Alfa 105 and a Ford Mustang but FNM was satisfied.

The Onça used the same engine as the 2000 but put out 20hp more thanks to a higher compression ratio and Weber carbs. It had a floor mounted shifter as opposed to the 2000’s, which was column-mounted. The body was made of plastic reinforced with fiberglass, making it a very light car and consequently a fairly fast car for its day. It is estimated that less than ten were built, with the last ones assembled in mid-1967.

An upgraded 2000 called the TIMB (Turismo Internacional Modelo Brasil) made its appearance in 1966. On the outside it had a smooth hood and a specific grille to differentiate it from the 2000. The compression ratio was raised (now on par with Italian models) and thanks to two double barrel carburetors it gained 45 extra horsepower. To complete the sports sedan transformation, the TIMB had a floor-mounted shifter.

In 1967 the Brazilian government started liquidating its FNM shares and Alfa slowly bought them. They had complete control of the company in 1968 but the 2000 remained essentially the same until 1969 when it morphed into the 2150. Engine displacement grew to 2132cc (125hp) and the car hit 62mph from a stop in 16 seconds. It finally had front disk brakes, an upgrade that customers had waited a long time for. On the outside the 2150 had a new grille and the now-retired TIMB’s smooth hood. A floor-mounted shifter was standard on all versions.

1970 was FNM’s best year yet with 1209 cars sold. All was well on the surface but in reality the competition was getting stronger and despite the previous year’s upgrades, FNM’s only model was starting to show its age.

The Alfa 2300.

FNM’s JK was an Italian Alfa modified for the Brazilian market. That recipe worked well for over a decade but Alfa wanted to replace it with a car designed specifically for Brazil.

That replacement came in 1974 under the name Alfa 2300. On the outside it looked like an Alfetta Sports Sedan but it was 41 centimeters longer, about the size of an Alfa 6. It had a 2310cc four-cylinder with a five-speed gearbox bolted directly to the back of the engine as opposed to the Alfetta’s transaxle setup. With a 0-62mph time of 11.7 seconds it was much sportier than its predecessor. Four disk brakes made sure the 2300 could stop as well as it could accelerate. Owners could make less pit stops thanks to the 26.4 gallon capacity of its fuel tank.

The driver steered the car with a three-spoke steering wheel and had a full instrument cluster to monitor speed, engine rpm, engine temperature and oil pressure, among others. Four seatbelts were standard. In short, the 2300 had just about everything a mid-1970s sports sedan should have.

Brazil’s 1976 ban on imported cars gave the 2300 a boost in sales and eliminated some of its competition. Alfa took advantage of that ban to launch the 2300B, a base model with a single downdraft carburetor and a less-luxurious interior.

A year later Alfa expanded the 2300 line upwards and launched the 2300Ti, an acronym well-known to Alfa fans. The Ti had two sidedraft Solex carburetors that helped give the car 149hp. Among the most noticeable differences between the Ti and other 2300 models were the addition of a quadrifoglio emblem on the C pillar and the use of real wood trim inside the car.

In 1978 Alfa was in financial trouble and sold FNM to Fiat, who was also present in Brazil. That same year a high-compression engine was available in the 2300 and raised the power output again, this time to 163hp. Equipped with this engine the 2300 was faster and more economical but it made an already expensive car more expensive.

Starting in 1976 Brazil had laws about alcohol in gasoline and Alfa jumped on the bandwagon in 1981 with a 2300 that could run on alcohol. It used a single carburetor like the 2300 B and logged 145hp. 1981 also marked the availability of power steering.

The 2300 ran into the same problems as the 2000/2150 before it: it was aging against a quickly-evolving competition and had to soldier on with minor upgrades since no replacement was in sight. In 1983 the only version left was the Ti4. It was given a facelift in 1985 but that was too little, too late.

By 1986 Alfa was deep in its financial woes and Fiat bought its entire operations. They pulled the plug on the 2300 and killed the Brazilian-built Alfa.

European models.

Alfa had no plans to sell the 2300 in Europe and focused on their flagship Alfa 6 instead. However, certain rumors claim that independent importer in Germany saw potential in the car and ordered about a thousand of them in 1979 to distribute there and in Holland. This claim is backed up by the Dutch magazine Autovisie. In their 1979 issue covering all the cars available in Holland that year, the 2300 is listed as the Alfa Rio.

Below, period FNM ads:

Hershey Porsche Show & Swap 2011

2011-04-25T14:39:00.000-06:00

This years Central PA Porsche Club of America swap-meet could best be described as mildly disappointing. While it was great to see a large collection of Porsches in one location as well as have the opportunity to hunt for parts and memorabilia, the attendance seems to be dropping significantly. Perhaps it's the ever-growing popularity of eBay and other online parts availability, and perhaps it was the rather poor weather combined with a date so close to Easter that kept many away this year. Gas nearing $4.00 per gallon may also be a factor when one considers even a relatively efficient Porsche's tendency to consume large amounts of petroleum.

Alas, my dad and I couldn't get our 914 to the show either due to trouble getting the car up and running after having the engine out this winter. Again, considering the rain, probably just as well.
As usual, there was no shortage of the newer Porsche models. Plenty of 911s, 944s, 928s, etc. Many of the handful of 914s left something to be desired and 356s were very few and far between.

The number and quantity of offerings from vendors was also quite low compared to many past years. Amazingly enough, this was the first year I've attended the show and didn't find anything we could use.

All that being said, it wasn't terrible. Hopefully next year's event will be graced with better weather, lower gas prices, and not suffer from a lack of attendance due to disenchantment with this year.

For those in the Cleveland area, I would still suggest the relatively small swap-meet at Stoddard's new location in Highland Heights, Ohio. The literature and collectible swap-meet is Friday, June 10th, and the car swap and show is the following day. While it's nowhere near the size of Hershey, Stoddard is a world-renowned supplier of vintage Porsche parts with a helpful and friendly staff. They recently lost the Porsche dealership franchise to Penske, but deserve much support in their endeavors as a parts supplier and restoration shop.

The Volkswagen Iltis (type 183).

2011-04-06T15:27:00.015-06:00

When the West German army (known locally as the bundeswehr) needed a Jeep-like vehicle after WWII, they rejected Ferry Porsche’s 356-engined type 597 and instead picked the DKW Munga. The 3-cylinder, two-stroke Munga entered production in 1956 and was phased out in 1968. During that time Volkswagen purchased what was left of Auto Union and owned the rights to the Munga.

The German army continued to use the Munga for several years after production ended but as they started to disappear from the fleet, it became evident that there was nothing available to replace them with. They hesitantly ordered Volkswagen 181s (better known as the Thing) but those had no real offroad capacity. In 1976 the army made a call for offers: they needed a vehicle that could transport four people, 500 kilos (about 1,100 pounds) and climb a 50° incline fully loaded. It had to be capable off-road but still be street-legal. It had to measure less than 4 meters (157 inches) long and 1.60 meters (63 inches) wide.

It’s with these and many other guidelines in mind that a team of ex-NSU workers led by a certain Ferdinand Piech mixed and matched Munga, Audi, mk1 Golf and Beetle parts to create the Volkswagen type 183, more commonly called the Iltis (ferret in German). The army approved the design in 1977 and placed an order of 8,800 cars. The first examples were delivered in late 1978.

The 183 was powered by a 1714cc water-cooled four-cylinder that came in two variants: there was a 70hp with lower compression (running on normal gas) or 75hp with higher compression (premium fuel only). A Solex 1B1 carburetor was in charge of fuel delivery.

The transmission was a 4-speed manual unit with a low gear indicated by a G on the shift lever (for gelände, terrain in German).

Under normal driving the 183 was rear wheel drive but there was a lever to engage the front axle and turn it into a 4x4. All 183s had a locking rear differential and some also had a locking front differential. Story has it that it’s this setup that inspired Audi engineers to begin working on the Quattro project.

The 183 had all the equipment one would think of finding on a military car including a NATO-spec 24 volt electrical system (two 12 volt batteries hooked together), a jerrycan of gas, blackout lights, and a flag holder on both front fenders. It had storage space under the hood, above both wheel wheels. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it used four drum brakes borrowed from the eternal Beetle.

Below, a Volkswagen 183 interior, heavily influenced by the Beetle:

Not just for war.

Volkswagen presented a civilian version of the 183 at the 1979 Geneva Auto show and sales began shortly after. Less than 1,000 of them were assembled before the plug was pulled. Several reasons have been pointed out for the 183’s failure on the European market: it’s not a terribly good-looking vehicle, it’s not a particularly comfortable vehicle, it’s too rustic, and so on. In reality the most valid reason for the 183’s lack of success was its price: in 1982 it cost about three times as much as a base-model Golf; it even cost more than a V8-powered Range Rover.

Perhaps in an effort to create publicity for the Iltis Volkswagen fielded four of them in the 1980 Paris-Dakar. The result was spectacular: #137 took first place, #136 took second place, #138 took fourth place and #139, a support vehicle, took ninth place. Patrick Zaniroli, pilot of the #136 car, said that aside from a different cam and a bigger carburetor his Iltis was 100% stock, an impressive feat considering how modified most Dakar cars were (and still are.)

When all was said and done 9,547 examples of the 183 were built, with the last one rolling off of Audi's Ingolstadt assembly line in 1982. That was just part one, though.

The Canadian connection.

In 1983 the Canadian government bought the rights and the tooling for the 183 and gave Bombardier the task of assembling them in their plant in Valcourt, Quebec. On the outside there were very minor differences between the Bombardier 183s and the VW 183s: the emblem on the steering wheel, the emblem on the grille and the taillights are among some of the most significant ones.

2,500 Bombardiers went straight to the Canadian government to be used locally. Another 2,500 were purchased by Belgium in 1985. To save on shipping costs the ones earmarked for Belgium had their bodies shipped from Canada, their engines trucked from Germany and the whole lot assembled in Volkswagen’s Forest, Belgium plant. The exact number of 183s produced by Bombardier is unknown but it is estimated to be close to 6,000.

No civilian Bombardiers were built but the army sold them off when they were finished using them so a few are out there. The Bombardiers are generally considered to be of lesser quality than the VWs and are less desirable. Some companies in Canada even specialize in importing VW 183s from Germany while the Bombardier-branded ones sit on army surplus lots.

In 1985 production for the bundeswehr started back up in Ingolstadt but was sporadic at best. In 1987 the end was near and Volkswagen made a final modification to the 183: they equipped it with a 70hp 1588cc turbo diesel four-cylinder.

Production ended in December of 1988. The second round of German production yielded 1254 examples, bringing the total number of 183s built to about 16,000 units. In the bundeswehr they were progressively replaced by the Mercedes G-Wagen but much like its predecessor, the 183 stuck around for a while after production ended. It saw combat duty in 1991 in ex-Yugoslavia and Canada and Belgium still used them in their fleet in the early 2000s.

As a side note, in the late 1970s France decided it was time to replace their aging fleet of Hotchkiss Jeeps and like Germany they called out for offers. No French company had a fitting vehicle on hand and designing one from the ground up would have been too expensive so they worked with the manufacturers that did have something to offer. Peugeot teamed up with Mercedes, put a 504 engine in the G-Wagen and called it the P4, Saviem put a Renault 20 engine in Fiat’s Campagnola and dubbed it the TRM500 and Citroen built the C44, a Volkswagen 183 powered by a CX engine. In the end the P4 was awarded the contract and the other two projects were scrapped but a team entered a C44 in the 1981 Paris-Dakar. It did not finish the race.

2011 Avignon Motor Festival part one: not just the usual suspects.

2011-03-29T02:33:00.032-06:00

The 9th annual Avignon Motor Festival closed its doors on Sunday night after a rainy last day. As with every year the event is divided up into three parts. The first is the parts and model car swap meet, the second is the auction and the third is the collection parking lot, where participants who show up in a classic car can display it and get half off the entry price.

The most impressive part of this year's show was the growing number of late-1970s, 1980s and even early-1990s cars on display. Until recently these so-called "youngtimers" were shunned from events like this in favor of more traditional classics but times change: Citroen Tractions are interesting but they're ancient history. 2CVs and air-cooled Volkswagens are hideously expensive and Dauphines, 403s and the like are almost 60 years old. There are less and less of them to go around, parts are harder to find and as the overall interest in them wanes a little, younger collectors move on to different cars, cars that they remember from their childhood and that are still relatively affordable.

This is the beginning of a new wave of classic cars and some of the first ones to surf it are the cars featured below. Enjoy the photos and get your hands on these while you still can.

Mercedes-Benz 240D (w123):

Mercedes-Benz 230CE (w123):

Mercedes-Benz 560SEL (w126):

Fiat Abarth Ritmo 130TC:

Alfa Romeo Spider (916 series):

Volkswagen Golf & Golf GTI (mk1):

Volkswagen Golf GTI G60 (mk2):

Peugeot 205 CTi:

Citroen AX GT:

Citroen XM:

Citroen CX (mk2):

Saab 900:

Avignon 2011 preview.

2011-03-26T16:51:00.009-06:00

A couple of quick snapshots of what we have in store over the next few days.

Caption contest.

2011-03-24T03:34:00.004-06:00

How would you caption this 1950s Borgward ad? Drop us a comment below.

The Geneva historics.

2011-03-15T10:29:00.065-06:00

Geneva’s 81^st International Motor Show closed its doors a few days ago after a fascinating selection of world premieres. While most of the automotive press was busy writing about future cars, Ran When Parked was doing the opposite and taking a look at some of the cars that automakers premiered at previous Geneva shows.

1929: Mercedes-Benz SSK.

If we told you a car had a 7 .1 straight-six engine that made 220hp and gave the car a top speed of 120 miles per hour, odds are you wouldn’t imagine an expensive supercar. With a little bit of imagination you might imagine a lackluster 1970s American coupe the size of a train car. But by 1929 standards those numbers were amazing and the car in question was the fastest car around in its day: the Mercedes-Benz SSK. It was the last car designed by Ferdinand Porsche before he left to create the company that bears his name. Less than 40 were built and a good portion of them were raced with huge success, including first place in the 1931 Mille Miglia. If you see one, look under it to make sure it doesn’t have a Beetle engine – the SSK is one of the most reproduced cars in the kit-car world.

1967: Fiat Dino.

The Dino was the fruit of a cooperation between Fiat and then-independent Ferrari. Ferrari needed to quickly produce 500 V6 engines for Formula 2 homologation and feared that their 206 GT wouldn’t sell fast enough. They turned to Fiat for help, thinking that they could produce a car with that engine, market it for significantly less than the 206 GT and sell more of them. The result was the Dino coupe (by Bertone) and Dino spider (by Pininfarina). The only common point between the Fiat models and the Dino models was the 158hp 2.0 quad-cam engine; the rest was like night and day. Production carried on until 1972 with minor aesthetic changes and a displacement upgrade to 2.4. It’s worth noting that the 2.0 had an aluminum block whereas the 2.4 had a cast iron block.

1971: Maserati Bora.

The Bora was developed under Citroën's ownership of Maserati. It was drawn by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Ital Design. The Citroën influence was evident: the Bora had hydraulic brakes, hydraulic steering, a hydraulic clutch, hydraulically retractable headlights and even a hydraulic driver’s seat – small miracle that the power windows were electric and not hydraulic. The miles of hydraulic tubing that ran throughout the car sometimes failed, giving early cars a bad reputation.

The Bora was the first Maserati to have independent suspension. Under the hood was a 4.7 V8 that made 310hp. Later in the production run a 330hp 4.9 V8 was made standard. DeTomaso took over the brand in 1975 and the Bora limped on until 1978.

It’s worth noting that the Bora had a smaller sister, the Merak. The two looked almost identical but the Merak used the same V6 found in the SM.

1977: Porsche 928.

Rear-engined cars were quickly going out of style by the 1970s. Porsche designers were well aware of this so they started preparing a new, front-engined sports car that they presented in 1977. Porsche purists were outraged when they saw the 928: not only was the engine in the front, it was a V8, not a flat-six! And holy hell, is that a radiator? Blasphemy!

Once you looked past that the 928 was a very decent car. It had a transaxle mounted in the rear to give it a near-even weight distribution and aluminum body panels to save weight. The press was kinder to the 928 than purists were and named it the 1978 Car of The Year.

Several upgrades were made to the 928 during its long production run, including standard ABS from 1986-on. The 928 stayed in showrooms until 1995. The last version of it was the 928 GTS with a 320hp 5.4 V8.

1978: Toyota Starlet.

The first Toyota Starlet (called the 40 series) appeared in 1973 but its successor, the 60 series Starlet, was introduced throughout most of the world in 1978. The 60 series retained the 40 series’ 1.0 and 1.2 engines but Toyota added a 1.3 to the lineup. It was available either as a three door hatch or a five door hatch.

Toyota started sending the Starlet to the U.S in 1981. The timing was right; it was when Japanese cars were quickly overtaking Fiats and Renaults in the economy segment. The U.S. version of the Starlet used the 1.3 liter engine and was rear wheel drive, making it a bit of an oddity in a class flooded with front drivers. One of the Starlet’s most convincing aspects was its estimated 42 city/54 highway fuel economy. It left its place to the Tercel in 1984.

While the Starlet has been mostly forgotten throughout the world, it’s still fondly remembered in the drift and hill climb circles, where it’s not uncommon to see them competing.

1980: Audi Quattro.

The Quattro all-wheel-drive system that Audi is famous for today traces its roots back to the 1980 Audi Quattro. Audi started with a GT coupe and added a 2.1 turbocharged straight-5 that churned out 200hp, mated to the Quattro system and a five speed manual transmission. The Quattro is instantly recognizable next to a standard GT coupe thanks to its fender flares all around and its specific bumpers. Audi imported it to the United States in 1983 but very few of them were sold and even less of them are left today.

The Quattro was the first all wheel drive car in group B rally and was immensely successful until the FIA banned the group B in 1986 due to the high rate of deadly crashes. Certain rally versions of the Quattro were tuned up to 350hp

1986: Volvo 480.
The Volvo 480 filled a gap in the Volvo lineup that had been left empty since the demise of the P1800 in 1973. It shares certain styling cues with the P1800 ES like the glass rear hatch, though some have drawn an aesthetic parallel between the 480 and the Reliant Scimitar. Since it was Volvo’s first front wheel drive they had to experiment with an all-new rear suspension setup and consulted Lotus for advice. The engines came from Renault with the turbocharged variants looked over by Porsche. The end result was a quick little hatch with excellent handling.

Interestingly the 480 was designed for the US-market but an unfavorable exchange rate between the US and Sweden caused Volvo to cancel that project and confine sales to Europe. Production stopped in 1995 and it wasn’t replaced until the C30 came along at the 2006 Paris Motor Show.

1993: Citroën Xantia.

The Citroën Xantia replaced the BX, whose angular design inside and out already looked a little dated by the early 1990s. It was sketched by Bertone and used a variety of PSA gas and diesel engines, including the 1.9 carried over from the BX. Following the tradition started by the GS, a station wagon version complemented the Xantia lineup in 1995. A relatively unknown turbo 4x4 Xantia won five French rally championships in the 1990s but couldn’t shake the Xantia’s image of a grandpa’s car, an image that Citroën’s entire lineup suffered from in the 1990s.

What really set the Xantia aside from the competition was its hydraulic suspension, giving it a best-in-class ride and handling. More expensive models like those equipped with the 3.0 V6 benefitted from the XM’s more advanced hydractive suspension. The hydractive eliminated some of the body roll typically associated with hydraulic Citroëns and eliminated their tendency to drop when parked, all this at the cost of an extremely complex electronic system that was not always reliable.

It was given a slight redesign in 1998 (pictured above) and carried on until 2002.

2001: Lancia Thesis.

You wouldn’t think so by looking at their current and recent lineup but Lancia used to be an independent company that made excellent luxury cars. If you’re skeptical, a ride in a 1960s Flaminia will easily convince you of it. Since the Flaminia Lancia had struggled in the luxury sedan department and hoped the Thesis would help them restore that image.

The Thesis’ style was prefigured by the Dialogos concept shown at the 1998 Turin Motor Show. The production version looked similar but had lost the concept’s rear suicide doors. It was powered by a series of Fiat engines, including the straight-5 2.0 turbo and the straight-5 2.4 JTD.

Controversial styling and Lancia’s declining brand image were two illnesses that the Thesis suffered from. Poor advertising took a stab at the car, too. Few people knew the Thesis existed and the first thing that was really said about it in the press was that it was selling poorly. These factors contributed to the Thesis’ failure but the end could be seen a mile away.

In the late 1990s Lancia’s flagship was the Thema, based on the tipo quattro platform shared with the Saab 9000, the Alfa 164, and the Fiat Croma. In ten years they sold 358,000 Themas. Its replacement, dubbed simply the K (prounounced Kappa, from the Greek alphabet) came in 1994 and 117,000 of them found a home until 2001, a huge step backwards compared to the Thema. When Lancia axed the Thesis from its lineup in 2009, they had sold only 16,000 of them. A vast majority of them stayed inside Italy (the only country that’s still vaguely aware of Lancia’s existence) where the government still maintains a fleet of them.

2002: Volkswagen Phaeton.

Much like the Lancia above, Volkswagen’s Phaeton is a brilliant luxury car that has been unjustly ignored. It made its debut in showrooms in 2002 and competed directly against class heavyweights like the Mercedes S-Class, the BMW 7-Series and its cousin the Audi A8. It had all the luxury bells and whistles that these cars had like a four-zone climate control system and available air suspension. On the menu was a wide array of engine options including a VR6, a V8, a W12 and two TDIs.

In short, the Phaeton had everything a luxury car should have and should have been a serious contender in the segment but unfortunately, few found the idea of an expensive Volkswagen riding on a Bentley platform convincing. Sales were unspeakably low, leading Volkswagen to remove the Phaeton from the U.S. market, though the internet rumor mill says that it might be back soon. It still enjoys steady sales in Germany and in China; in fact, the facelifted 2011 Phaeton was shown at the Beijing Motor Show, not at a European show.

Which of these cars would you most like to have in your garage? Which would you like to read a full article on? Give us your feedback by going to our Facebook page.

A quick look at the Fiat Tempra Coupe.

2011-03-13T06:20:00.010-06:00

Every now and then a car manufacturer comes out with a car that no one saw coming, the kind of car that generally marks a break from the past and a leap into the future. On the opposite end of the spectrum there are cars that almost go unnoticed when they are launched. The Fiat Tempra falls in the second category. Launched in 1990, it was essentially what everyone expected Fiat would build to replace the Regata: a four door version of the Tipo.

In Europe the Tempra slotted between the aforementioned Tipo and the Croma as Fiat’s midsize sedan. It was powered by a variety of gas and diesel engines ranging from 1.4 to 1.9. Early gas engines were carbureted but the copious amount of laws passed by the European Union in 1992 killed them off in the name of emission restrictions so the Tempra soon adopted fuel injection. Perhaps the most interesting variant in Europe was a 4x4 wagon named the Tempra SW that was powered by an 8v 2.0 gasoline engine to cope with the extra weight of the 4x4 system.

The Tempra was also built in Brazil starting in 1992 but since the Croma was not available there, it had to take on the vocation of Fiat's flagship sedan. This was problematic because the European version of the Tempra was not flagship material. To be able to sell it in Brazil as an upscale car Fiat of Brazil made several changes inside and out, including larger exterior mirrors, a different suspension setup to make it more adapted to local roads, and a longer list of standard equipment.

To further add to the luxury image, the Brazilian Tempra was available as a premium coupe starting in 1993, a bodystyle that was not available anywhere else in the world. The coupe was powered by either a 2.0 Turbo or a 2.0 16v but both engines lost power when they were adjusted to run on Brazilian fuel, which often times contains alcohol. The coupe’s dash was given a new round design and the rear window wiper was judged as unnecessary and deleted. The 2.0 16v caused a huge amount of ink flow in the Brazilian press because it was the first engine sold there to have four valves per cylinder. It put out 127hp (or 28hp more than its 8v sibling) and hit 62mph in 9.8 seconds.

The turbo 2.0 only had eight valves but was good for 165hp thanks to a Garrett turbocharger. It took 8.2 seconds to reach 62mph which earned it the title of fastest car in Brazil at the time. Both the turbo and the 16v Tempra coupes had numerous standard and optional luxury equipment that included fake wood trim on the dash, electric leather seats and ABS brakes.

The Tempra coupe was short lived: production ended in 1995 while the Tempra sedan lived on in Brazil until 1999 and in Europe until 1997.

When the European press caught wind of the coupe certain rumors spread that it would soon be arriving on European shores but it never did and many wonder why. The answer lies in another car that shared space on a Fiat showroom at the same time, the Bangle-designed Fiat Coupé. It was introduced in 1993 and shared many aspects with the Brazilian Tempra coupe, including its Tipo platform and both 2.0 engines. In the Coupé the 2.0 turbo was pushed to 195hp and the 2.0 16v to 142hp. It was well-equipped, very quick and reasonably priced and Fiat feared that if they sold the Tempra coupe in Europe it would cannibalize the Coupé.

Above: an early Fiat Coupé. Later in the production run it was available with a 5-cylinder 2.0 20v turbocharged engine that logged 220hp and 0-62mph in 6.5, making it one of the fastest Fiats ever built.

We've updated our display case page dedicated to scale models, you can find it here.

The custody battle for the Ritmo.

2011-03-01T03:58:00.014-07:00

Fiat has been tied to the Seat (Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo) name since the company was born in 1950. The idea came from Spain’s Franquist government who hoped the brand would put the country on wheels. In the early days Fiat held 7% of Seat, miscellaneous Spanish banks held 42% and the remaining 51% belonged to the Instituto Nacional de Industria, a branch of the Spanish government.

Seat got off to a discrete start: they sold their first car in 1953, the Seat 1400. It was an exact replica of the Fiat 1400 and completely out of tune with the needs of the majority of Spain’s population at the time.

Things took a turn for the better in 1957 with the launch of the Seat 600. It was a Xerox copy of the Fiat 600 launched two years earlier on the other side of the Mediterranean and it was precisely what Spain needed to motorize its population. Sales skyrocketed; the 600 became so popular that certain dealers even had to turn down orders. The 600 spawned some interesting versions reserved for the Spanish market, including the four-door 800 and the 600 Formichetta, but those are a different story for a different time. Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s Seat continued to build replicas of Fiats such as the Seat 850, the Seat 124, the Seat 127, 128 and 131.

When Fiat launched its highly-anticipated Ritmo in 1978 they gave Seat a version of it as well. On the outside the biggest difference between the two was that one had a Fiat badge and one had a Seat badge. On paper, the Seat borrowed its gasoline engine from the 124’s parts bin. The diesel engines were the same. The Ritmo was sold as the Seat Ritmo in Spain and as the Fiat Ritmo throughout the rest of continental Europe. It was dubbed the Fiat Strada in the UK and in North America.

By the late 1970s Seat had reached a comfortable cruising speed and enjoyed healthy sales but all was not well under the surface. The second oil crisis in 1979 had hit them hard and their expansion strategy had left them with heavy debts. Fiat refused to inject more money into the company; instead, they wanted the INI to help them restructure the company so they could later buy it entirely. When the INI rejected Fiat’s offer, the latter sold off its shares in the company for the symbolic price of one peseta per share. When all was said and done, the INI owned 95% of Seat.

The problem that arose is that Seat’s lineup consisted entirely of Fiats built under license and it wasn’t clear whether or not they could still produce them after the divorce. Fiat knew that refusing to let Seat produce these models would kill the Spanish company so the two came to an agreement that they signed in 1981: Seat could keep the Panda, 127 and Ritmo provided they redesigned them inside and out, including renaming them. Seat did just that and the cars became the Seat Marbella, the Seat Fura and the Seat Ronda. All had minor aesthetic differences to set them apart from their Fiat counterparts but the Fiat influence was clearly visible.

In August 1982, while Seat and Volkswagen were busy mulling over a potential collaboration, Fiat was drafting a letter to Seat to inform them that they were not satisfied with the changes they had made to the Ritmo. An article published in Spanish newspaper El País on November 11^th, 1983, claims that Seat made several attempts to contact Fiat and discuss the problem but Fiat never responded in writing. Instead, on November 17^th, 1982, Fiat filed a lawsuit against Seat in a Parisian court. The court accepted the lawsuit and notified Seat of it on November 25^th.

The judge selected for the lawsuit was Italian lawyer Franzo Grande Stevens. Seat's first move was to request a different judge on the grounds that Stevens was part of Fiat’s board of directors and would be unable to deliver a fair verdict. Seat got its way and a panel of three judges (from France, Spain and Switzerland) was appointed to the trial. Seat also filed a counterclaim against Fiat, accusing them of trying to stop them from exporting cars.

Fiat noticed they were losing ground and rephrased their arguments against Seat. Their problem with the Ronda was that while Seat had sufficiently redesigned the front and rear, the middle section of the car was still too similar to the Ritmo. Seat had no arguments to defend itself against that claim: the side of the Ronda was very similar to the Ritmo. One could lift a door from a Ritmo and fit it on a Ronda.

Seat was determined to win and instead of focusing on what was similar, they focused on what was different. They took a black Ronda and painted in yellow every exterior difference between the Ritmo and the Ronda. An El País journalist who covered the trial claimed that the result was spectacular.

The trial carried on with people traveling to Paris from either Spain or Italy to personally testify for one side or the other. Several important folks in Fiat were marked absent including Umberto Agnelli, future president of Fiat, and Cesare Romiti, general director of Fiat at the time and the man who orchestrated the company's purchase of Alfa Romeo from the Italian government.

In the end the ruling was kept secret but the court sided with Seat, saying they had modified the Ronda enough to keep selling it. The ruling also meant Seat was free to export it where they pleased, which they did, but the Ronda was not particularly successful outside of its native market. The Seat Malaga, a mix between an Ibiza and a Ronda, benefitted from the court's decision and kept the same doors as the Ronda.

A quick look at the Bertone Freeclimber.

2011-02-17T01:43:00.013-07:00

BMW fans around the world were shocked at the launch of the X5. A BMW SUV? Sacrilege! What few people knew is that a BMW engine powered a luxury ute long before the X5: does the name Laforza ring a bell? It looked like a Fiat Uno on steroids and was sold in the US with a Ford V8 but the precious few sold in Europe had BMW engines starting in 1989. There was also another, lesser-known, luxury ute with "BMW" written on its valve cover.

The story starts in Italy in the early 1980s. Bertone was building Ritmo convertibles and picked up X1/9 production after Fiat axed the model from its lineup. All was well for a few years but by the late 1980s Americans had declared the X1/9s outdated and Europeans preferred the Golf Cabriolet over the Ritmo, leaving Bertone out of work. In need of a new project, they decided to enter the growing luxury 4x4 market.

Developing a new car from scratch would have been too expensive so they started with a Daihatsu Rocky, a small, boxy and rather basic 4x4 that was virtually unknown outside of Japan.

How does one turn a relatively plain Japanese SUV into a luxury 4x4 fit for the European market? The first step was to give it a more upscale look. Since this is Bertone we’re talking about one would expect a sleek new body but with the exception of a new grille, the exterior was pretty much identical to when it left the Daihatsu factory.

The interior was spruced up with new instrumentation, leather seats and a Bertone logo proudly featured on the leather steering wheel. It was better equipped than the Daihatsu: power door locks came standard and air conditioning was offered as an option. Buyers could order it with a hard top and/or a soft top.

Under the hood came the big surprise: the Freeclimber was available with one of three straight six engines, all sourced from BMW. First on the menu was the M20, displacing either 2.0 or 2.7, and those who wanted a set of glowplugs could choose the M21 2.4. All three engines were mated to the stock Daihatsu transmission. To increase off road capacity the rear suspension was modified and it had a limited slip differential. They finished the transformation with specific wheels.

The whole package had a base price of 167,937 francs in 1990. That same year a two-door Range Rover started at 197,200 francs, and a Jeep Wrangler could be had for 115,517 francs.

Assembled in Italy, the Freeclimber was imported in a small handful of European countries including France and Germany. France’s importer was André Chardonnet, who also imported Autobianchis and Lancias until 1988 and Maseratis until a little later. In Germany they were sold through the Daihatsu network. Only 2,795 Freeclimbers found a home from 1989 to 1992.

Daihatsu redesigned the Rocky for 1993 and logically, Bertone redesigned the Freeclimber. They also renamed it, calling it simply the Freeclimber II. It used the same chassis as its predecessor but looked different aesthetically thanks to bigger fender flares, standard OZ alloys and a body-colored grille. The straight-six engines were dropped, replaced by BMW’s 1.6 M40. By the time it was launched official imports had stopped in France and Germany so most were sold in Italy, where a few even went to the Carabinieri.

In 1995 Bertone landed a contract to build Fiat Punto convertibles and Opel Astra convertibles. Since the Freeclimber II hadn’t been a huge success they dropped the model at that time after building 2,860 of them. The Daihatsu Rocky soldiered on until 1998.

Below: a soft top Freeclimber.

Below: Freeclimber press photos showing the hard top model.

Below: a Freeclimber II press photo.

323.

2011-02-09T01:54:00.005-07:00

As one reader guessed correctly the mystery car from yesterday is a Mazda 323, built from 1977 to 1980. Judging by the license plate on this one, it is likely a 1979 model. These were sold throughout the world under various names, including Familia and GLC (Great Little Car).

Mystery car.

2011-02-08T02:05:00.003-07:00

What car does this tail light belong to?

Send us your guesses at ranwhenparked -at- hotmail -dot- com or hop over to our Facebook page to post it there, we'll put up the answer in a few days.

Ran When Parked's used car lot.

2011-01-31T02:23:00.013-07:00

Welcome to Ran When Parked’s used car lot. Please, have a Seat:

We have some great deals on the finest selection of certified pre-owned vehicles anywhere. Take this w202 C180 station wagon, the perfect blend of luxury and cargo space. It comes with complete service records like any used Benz should. This car has been pampered all its life!

So you’re thinking, “Ran When Parked, I like the C180, I like it a lot, but I want something more luxurious”? Well, step up to a BMW X6. A car that stands out from the crowd and has an interior upholstered with the skin from an entire herd of cattle. Still under factory warranty but it has been slightly (and tastefully) modified by its last owner, including a custom paint job and a slightly lowered suspension:

The Peugeot 104 is perfect for crowded cities. It gets phenomenal gas mileage and can easily park anywhere. But it has two vocations: it can easily be transformed into a small rocket that’s perfect for auto crossing and hill climbs. That’s what we’re offering you today, a ZS 2 replica with period-correct accessories such as bucket seats and specific 13” rims. This car is ready to bring home the trophy.

If you follow the collector car market, you’ve noticed a growing segment called “youngtimers” or “young classic cars”. One of the cars leading this movement is the Volkswagen Golf I GTI and we have a stellar example for sale today. This car is 100% original, it’s never been restored and is a real eye catcher in red.

What’s there not to like about a 2001 Renault Twingo? Your heart will tell you to buy it for its huggable yet frog-like looks. Your brain will tell you to buy it because it’s the most stolen car in France so you benefit from great rebates on used parts. It’s a win-win situation!

This Simca 1100 VF2 is a new arrival on our lot. It’s the automotive equivalent of the mullet: business in the front, party in the back. Allow us elaborate. This car is powered by an austere 1118 cc four-cylinder borrowed from the Simca 1100. But, the back is cavernous and can carry just about anything you can throw at it; whether you’re going surfing or helping your brother in law renovate his house, this VF2 will take you there and back with all of your stuff. As a bonus, this car’s last owner used it to deliver bread in a village so it has very low miles, it’s absolutely like-new.

Finally, for those with a small budget we have two cars at very special prices, prices so low we can’t even print them. Choose a Citroen GS with its hydropneumatique suspension for its comfort or a Renault 12 station wagon for its practicality:

Come in today, we finance anyone! No credit, bad credit, credit card not in your name, these are all problems we can work around.

Please note these cars are not ours or actually for sale.

What Lies Beneath: The Saab APC System

2011-01-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

During Saab-Scania's salad days of the 1970s and 1980s, its interests were varied and far-ranging. Aerospace, automotive, defense, and even computing were all areas of research within the realm of the quirky Swedish company. The benefits of turbocharging - originally a means to compensate for altitude on piston-driven aircraft - were well understood to Saab. The company became known as a bit of a pioneer in the relatively under-developed field of turbocharging cars in 1978 with the Saab 99 Turbo. The 99 saw to it that the company with fighter-jet heritage had cars with performance to match. The old Triumph-based "B-Engine" was suddenly a force to be reckoned with thanks to the addition of the little exhaust-driven turbine.

The improved "H" engine found its way into the 99 (still sold in Europe at the time) and 900 by 1981. The following year, the turbocharged models would be fitted with the revolutionary Automatic Performance Control (APC) System. Saab has always believed in making cars that were not only well-built, safe, enjoyable to drive, but also practical. The APC system made it possible for the engine of turbocharged Saabs to compensate for pre-detonation or "knock" caused by low-octane or poor quality gasoline, carbon deposits, high operating temperatures, poor tuning due to lack of maintenance and so-on. Furthermore, this allowed the compression ratio of the engine to be higher, thus increasing fuel economy by taking greater advantage the available energy in the fuel. The Saab driver could now have performance, and afford it too.

The Basics of APC Operating Principals:

Knock occurs when the temperature inside of a cylinder's combustion chamber becomes high enough to detonate the fuel/air mixture before intended by the spark plug - near top-dead-center of the compression stroke. Since forced induction naturally raises pressures, the compression ratio of a turbocharged engine must be low enough to ensure knock does not ever occur. This does not mean that a turbocharged engine cannot happily run at higher boost pressures or compression ratios, it simply means that the conditions must be right.
Basic turbocharging principals dictate fitment of a wastegate to allow excess exhaust gasses to bypass the turbocharger, thus preventing too much boost from entering the intake of the engine. It is operated by a pressure line from the compressor side which forces a diaphragm to open the wastegate once boost levels become too high.

1) Knock Sensor

2) APC "Brain Box"

3) Pressure Transducer

4) Solenoid Valve

5) RPM Sensor

One part of the APC system's job is to act as a regulator for the wastegate, thereby controlling engine boost. Rather than the wastegate's line running directly from the turbocharger itself, it is re-routed to the solenoid valve (#4). This valve is controlled by the APC box (#2) and has the ability to override the function of the wastegate.
The APC box is connected to a knock sensor (#1) which can detect if pre-detonation is occurring within the engine, and also to an RPM sensor (#5) to factor in engine rotational speed versus intake manifold pressure, as determined by the pressure transducer (#3). If the APC system detects knock, it will allow the wastegate to open sooner and reduce turbo boost to alleviate the problem. Because of this ability, this is why Saab was able to maintain a higher compression ratio in their APC-fitted turbocharged cars. Before APC, the ratios for turbo "B201" engines was 7.2 to 1. This increased to 8.5 to 1 with APC and, on the 16-valve "B202" engine, 9 to 1. APC can also control fuel delivery to an extent. When boost becomes excessively high, due to a stuck wastegate or misguided modding for example, it has the ability to cut fuel to the engine.

As the name suggests, Automatic Performance Control also controls performance - with the emphasis being on performance. It is not simply a means to prevent the engine from destroying itself, but also a way to vary tuning for the sake of economy, emissions, simple marketing strategy, etc. Saab's own SPG model 900 used a tweaked APC box (known in the Saab world as the "Red Box" to allow for a more powerful engine.) This is where things get rather complicated.
Exactly how the APC's "brain" works has been a part of Saab lore for decades now. To this day there are conflicting and diverging schools of thought on how a would-be Saab tuner can go about tweaking the APC for more power. They more-or-less all involve three circuit board potentiometers ambiguously labeled P, F, and K as well as some playing around with transistors and a soldering iron.
Though this author admits to having spent some time boldly tinkering with the APC box of his own 900 Turbo, this is not something for the weary or faint-of-heart. For those interested, I will direct you here but beware - more than once I've gleefully watched my Saab's boost gauge eagerly run into the red, only to have all the boost suddenly dump and the fuel delivery cut out and leave me coasting at 75 mph trying to restart the car. After a while, you may just find yourself tearing the box apart again to turn the screws back to their original settings, desperately hoping to regain the driveability of a normally functioning APC.

The APC system lived on in Saab turbos relatively unaltered until 1990. For the 9000 models only, which were fitted with direct ignition, DI/APC integrated the engine's ignition control into the mix. Therefore, the system was able to control both turbo boost as well as ignition timing to keep everything running smoothly.
The success of the APC system certainly didn't go unnoticed. Today, nearly all turbocharged cars have a similar system in place. Personally, this has allowed my cheap self to be running low-octane gas in not only my APC equipped Saab, but my Volkswagen with a 1.8T as well. Many Volvo enthusiasts have adopted and adapted APC functionality to their old 240 and 740 turbos.

Unfortunately, and no doubt thanks to years of General Motors ownership, it's been quite some time since we've seen truly great and unique innovations like this from Saab, but lest we forget, we must give a nod to Trollhattan.

Great Automotive Failures: Triumph TR7 & TR8

2011-01-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

The classic British roadster conjures many stereotyped thoughts in the minds of automotive aficionados. Think for a moment of a cool Clint Eastwood motoring around Carmel in his Jaguar XK-150 in "Play Misty For Me." On the other hand, there are those who would point out that you probably would never see Clint bent under the open hood of an MGB trying to determine why the headlights didn't work or where all the crankcase oil went.
That aside, these cars have a significant following. Affordability, classical styling, simplicity, and sheer fun propelled the market for literally millions of units from the likes of MG, Austin-Healey, and Triumph.
Of the less-expensive brands of British cars, Triumph certainly made some of the greats. The Spitfire, and TR series were serious competition for the UK's own brands (prior to industry unification, of course), Fiat, Alfa-Romeo, etc.
Looking back, the TR2 and TR3 really got the Triumph name to stand out in the all-important US / North American market. Michelotti-designed TR4, TR6, and Spitfire gave the brand an nice Italian flair, while the Triumph straight-six engine gave the "bigger" models a lot of power for the price.
Naturally, the curse of British-Leyland and poor build quality mounted throughout the 1970s. The Spitfire and TR6 were decidedly "old-school" in production methods and amidst a rapidly developing industry were quite dated by the later part of the '70s. The Spitfire was the cheaper and smaller model, and continued to sell well enough to remain in production for 18 years until 1980. The "range-topper" TR-6 was to be replaced, however.

The all-new Triumph TR7, introduced in 1975 was advertised as "the shape of things to come" with distinctly '70s wedge-shaped styling and pop-up headlights. It even featured (gasp!) unibody construction. This was to be the Golden Boy - the savior of the marque that would bring Triumph back to its former glory. That was the idea anyway...
Until the TR7's debut, the TR series was always made up of convertibles. Many manufacturers were fearful that United States legislation would ban convertibles from its highways. While Triumph's own Stag, for example, maintained a rag-top, it incorporated a roll-bar structure to get around this potential problem. Porsche, meanwhile, went so far as to introduce the famous Targa cars. The TR7, unfortunately, rolled off the production line for the first four years of its life as a coupe only.

Whereas the TR7's predecessor was driven by Triumph's straight 6, a rather bland 2.0L inline four powered the new car (the same one found in early Saab 99s). Performance was lacking at best. The reasons for this engine choice, of course, being emissions and fuel economy. Furthermore, as many cars were being fitted with 5-speed gearboxes by this time, Triumph stuck with a 4-speed initially. Eventually a 5-speed would be offered, along with a 3-speed automatic. Acceleration from 0-60 could eventually achieved in a little over 10 seconds and top speed short of 110mph.

Quality control was a bit of a mythological thing to British Leyland by this point, and the TR7 was down-right devoid of it. Particularly horrid examples were built in the infamous Speke factory before it was shut down. If the TR7's "modern" shape failed to bring the Triumph name back to notoriety, the appalling lack of reliability did its best.
To boost appeal, particularly to Americans, the venerable Rover V8 was fitted to the chassis, thus producing the TR8 in 1978. The Buick designed 3.5 L engine significantly improved performance and was probably the most reliable part of the revised car. Naturally weight increased with the larger powerplant, and as a result, the underwhelming brakes of the TR7 were upgraded.

The fear of anti-convertible laws subsided enough (and sales suffered enough) that Triumph finally released a roadster version of the TR7 & TR8. Most of the (relatively few 2,800 or-so) TR8s were of the "drophead coupe" convertible variety. Most TR7s were coupes, though about 28,800 roadsters were built - roughly a quarter of total production.

By 1981, the "shape of things to come" was the shape of things gone awry and away. Production of the TR7 and TR8 ended after the money-hemorrhaging company could no longer viably produce the car. Even Leyland's typical "pretty girl" advertising couldn't save it. It was the last roadster to carry the Triumph name, and the last car the company would design themselves. The brand's long history of building cars since 1923 was over when the re-badged Honda known as the Triumph Acclaim halted sales in 1984.

*RWP takes no credit for images.

The Tipo Quattro Cars

2011-01-05T21:08:00.024-07:00

It was late 1978 and there were numerous correspondences between groups of Swedes and Italians. The phone lines were not tied up with talks of international espionage, organized crime, or arguments over who made better meatballs, but rather an agreement over cutting the costs of developing a new sedan.

Saab's model line at the time consisted of the aging 99 and downright ancient 96. While both were well-designed and built cars in their own right, the company was steadily moving more up-market. The 99 would, of course live on in the modified form of the 900 until 1993, but the stalwart Nordic midsized car was not enough to fill Saab's ambitions of competing with Volvo (who nearly merged with Saab in 1977), BMW, and Audi in the mid-sized luxury car market. Aerospace aside, as an auto manufacturer, Saab was, and always has been, relatively small.

Fiat, meanwhile, had become quite a large industrial conglomerate. In the late 1960s, the firm was doing well enough to purchase Autobianchi, and take control of not only Lancia, but also Ferrari and famously advertised itself as "The biggest selling car in Europe." By the late 70s, however, Fiat's automotive market share was under rising threat from Japanese imports, particularly in America. Furthermore, the company's reputation for building water-soluble cars that rarely functioned as intended was increasing rapidly, even in their home European market. Fiat needed to improve build quality and cut costs to remain competitive. This included replacing the aging 132 based Argenta as Fiat's "big" car, which was introduced in 1972. While an interesting car, Lancia's Gamma was also getting old, and was gaining a reputation for being highly unreliable.

Similarly, the Italian government-owned Alfa-Romeo was struggling with its own build-quality issues and diminishing sales. The company once known for its gracious touring cars and sedans, as well as lively roadsters and highly competitive racing cars, was growing old and feeble. The top-of-the-line Alfa 6 was hopelessly dated and a commercial flop. Alfa-Romeo needed a new range-topper and didn't want to spend a lot on development. The Milanese marque's entire range was a bit "old-school" and needed to modernize.

Saab, Alfa-Romeo, and Fiat (with Lancia), came to an agreement to help each other out. All parties involved were in need of a larger car and didn't particularly want to lay out all the development costs alone. While engineers worked out the chassis development for the new series of cars, Saab had already been working with Lancia on the Delta, which sold as the Saab-Lancia 600 in their home Scandinavian market. It would be the short-lived replacement for the 96 as an entry-level small Saab.

The project which would ultimately spawn the Alfa-Romeo 164, Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, and Saab 9000 would become known as "Type 4" or "Tipo Quattro" chassis, in keeping with Fiat's (often confusing) internal naming system. The brands all had their own range of engines to apply to their version of the car, and also wanted to ensure that the vehicles had their own identities. The floorpan, rear suspensions, and much of the electrical and HVAC systems were shared amongst the four cars. In those fitted with an automatic transmission, all shared the same 4-speed ZF unit.

Though designed while still independent of Fiat, the Alfa-Romeo 164 was released after the take-over. The 164 would prove to be the most unique of the group and, in 1987, the last to hit the market. While the Saab, Lancia, and Fiat all share a nearly identical center section and Giugiaro styling cues, the 164 has its own unique and stylish Pininfarina body as well as bespoke front suspension.

This would be Alfa-Romeo's first large, front wheel drive car, and enjoyed much improved build quality over past models. Most notably in terms of rust-proofing, through use of a fully galvanized body. Power comes from either Alfa's venerable 2.0 liter twin-spark four-cylinder unit, a 2.0 liter Lancia- derived turbo four-cylinder, a 2.0 V6 turbo, or, most commonly a 3.0 V6. Even a 2.5 liter turbo diesel was available. In 1994, a four-wheel-drive version of the 164, known as the Q4 was introduced after collaboration with Steyr-Puch.

While the Fiat and Lancia never reached American shores, the Alfa-Romeo was the only of the Italian triplets to fall into driver's hands stateside. Alfa withdrew from the North American market in 1995, but the 164 was produced through 1997 - finally replaced by the somewhat odd-looking166.

Introduced in 1985, Fiat's Croma was least expensive of the four cars and probably the least inspired. It's rather boring looking, not as well made in comparison to it's counterparts, and really just a standard, functional, large family sedan (or wagon). It did, however, serve its purpose.

The Fiat was fitted with the some of the least exciting engines of these cars, most of which were 1.6 or 2.0 liter inline four-cylinders and later, an Alfa-Romeo sourced 2.5L V6. A choice of 1.9L normally aspirated and turbocharged diesels were also available.

A facelift in 1991 helped a little to improve the Fiat's looks. By 1996, Fiat ceased production of the Croma and decided to give up on the large car market.

The first Tipo 4 car to go on sale was Lancia's Thema. It is perhaps the most closely related to the Fiat, as it was, of course, produced under Fiat ownership. While generally rather unexciting by Lancia standards, it served well as an executive sedan. The Thema's lines were penned by Giugiaro and can probably best be described as un-offensive as opposed to interesting or stately. That being said, however, it is quite aerodynamic and still respectable today at 0.32 cd.

As far as appointments, the Lancia is arguably the most luxurious of the group. Leather and wood abound inside and surround passengers in fine Italianate opulence. For those wishing to have more space, a wagon body, known as the Estate, was also introduced in 1986. The Estate body is essentially the same as the sedan with an extra box, but curiously, Lancia enlisted Pininfarina to adapt the Giugiaro body to wagon form.

The Thema could be had with a variety of engines, including 2.0L normally aspirated and turbocharged inline-four Fiat engines, the infamous 2.8L PRV V6, an Alfa-Romeo sourced 3.0L V6, 2.5L four-cylinder diesels, and most notably, a Ferrari 3.0L V8. The Ferrari V8 was sourced from the 308 QV, though the crank was changed to cross-plane, as opposed to flat-plane, for the sake of refinement in this luxury car.

Though it beat the rest of the Tipo 4 cars to the market by a few months, it was the first to cease production in 1994. It was replaced shortly thereafter with the more stylish, and less boxy, Kappa.

Saab introduced the 9000 in 1985. This was Saab's first totally new car since the 99 was released in 1968. The character of past Saabs was somewhat lost on the new model, although the spirit of performance and practicality remained. Built in both Sweden and Finland, the build quality of the 9000 is probably the best of the lot and on par with the 900, though perhaps not quite as tank-like in its solidity. This is not to say, of course, that the 9000 lacks typical Saab safety. The evidence of this is reflected through the car's consistent ranking among the safest cars available throughout its model run.

The 9000's engine options were not as numerous or varied as the Italian cars in this group, but they did offer great performance and efficiency. They were variants of the same 2.0 and 2.3 liter inline-fours, both normally aspirated and turbocharged, that powered the 900 range. In 1995, a GM-sourced 3.0L V6 was also available, though this is generally considered, to put it bluntly, crappy, among Saab enthusiasts.

Most 9000s were fastbacks, penned in conjunction with Giugiaro and Saab's own Bjorn Envall, though a model with a longer rear and conventional trunk, the CD was offered as well. The range was facelifted in 1992 with revised front and rear styling. The CD then became the CDE. The Aero model, with a 2.3L turbo engine was the most powerful Saab ever made at the time.

The 9000 ceased production in 1998, and replaced by the 9-5, based on a GM platform. The 9000 was the last of the Type 4 cars to be built.

The 164, 9000, Croma, and Thema were all rather different and unique cars indeed. The project was perhaps one of the last well-done examples of collaboration between different auto manufacturers. Each brand was allowed to maintain its identity and enjoy success through the fruits of their shared labor. Furthermore, with the possible exception of the boring Croma, all are still fairly desirable cars to own.

*RWP does not take credit for any photos

Caption contest.

2010-12-28T12:56:00.002-07:00

For fun, how would you caption this Dutch Fiat 600 ad from the 1950s? Leave us a comment below.

Museo Storico Alfa Romeo.

2010-12-24T03:17:00.008-07:00

Alfa Romeo's Museo Storico in Arese (a short drive north of Milan) is one of the world's most impressive collections of past Alfas. It opened in 1976 and extends over 5,700 square yards. From production cars to prototypes with a couple of race cars thrown in the mix, there is something on display for every Alfa enthusiast. Ran When Parked visited the museum in June of 2010 and we've compiled a collection of photos from it.

1954 Tipo 103, an attempt to build a car that would have slotted below the Giulietta in Alfa's lineup. It had an 896cc four-cylinder that surprisingly spun the front wheels:

The famous TZ1/TZ2 duo:

TZ3 Corsa:

1976 New York Taxi. Drawn by Italdesign, it could seat six and was powered by a two liter engine:

Alfasud Sprint 6C, featuring a mid-mounted 2.5 V6 borrowed from the GTV6:

1972 Junior Zagato Periscopio. This prototype was built on an Alfetta platform and had a 1962cc four-cylinder mounted transverally behind the front seats. The scoop on the roof helps cool the engine:

164, 75, Alfetta:

1966 Giulia Scarabeo. It has a body built by Osi and uses a mid-mounted 1575cc four-cylinder engine:

1967 1750 GTAm:

1965 Giulia Sprint Speciale prototype by Bertone:

2600 Berlina and 2600 Sprint:

1951 159 Alfetta:

Merry Christmas from Ran When Parked and as always, thanks for reading.

Readers' emails: 1948 Peugeot 202 UH.

2010-12-22T05:47:00.007-07:00

About a year and a half ago we featured a photograph of this 1948 Peugeot 202 UH at a car show:

The car and its owner were both well-known in the local car scene. The 202 was for sale in 2009 and that's about the last we heard of it until yesterday when we got an email from the car's new owner, Manfred Luft. He bought it in Marseille in July 2009 and kindly sent us some pictures of it in its new home in Germany:

The car is in good hands, Manfred has driven it about 4,000 kms since buying it and enjoys every minute of it.

Ran When Parked's used car lot.

2010-12-18T08:59:00.023-07:00

At Ran When Parked's used car lot we're liquidating our stock of certified pre-owned vehicles!

Our first offering is a 1994 Renault Safrane. This is your chance to own the car that hauled around members of the French government when it was new. Loaded with power everything, alloy wheels and a 2.2 gas engine, it's ready to take you anywhere you want to go in style. Runs like a champ, extremely well-maintained!

If you want a smaller car, a 2002 Renault Megane would be perfect for you. 2002 was the last year of the mk1 Meganes so you can buy knowing you are getting the most refined mk1 Renault has ever built.* Clean Carfax, certified one-owned car. Big enough to fit a family but small enough to fit in even the tightest parking spots, this Megane is the best of both worlds:

The Renault Clio has been one of the best-selling cars on the French market since it was introduced. Own one today and find out for yourself how enjoyable to drive a Clio can be. This 2003 model has lots of new parts** and is powered by a 1.2 gas engine:

If you like discrete cars, we have just the car for you. It's hard to get more discrete than a 1995 Citroen ZX. It has a 1.9 diesel engine that if you're a Citroen enthusiast you know is bulletproof. If you're not a Citroen enthusiast get ready to become one after a short, engaging drive in a ZX. Low miles and still covered by the factory warranty:

This 1987 Renault 19 was designed almost exclusively with computers, and it shows. Where else can you find such an eye pleasing, ergonomical design at an affordable price? And because Renault seemingly used up all of the project's money on the computers to design it, they opted to power it with the 1.2 Cléon Fonte four-cylinder that was already a proven part of their lineup² :

Wild in its austerity and big in its smallness, this 1989 Volkswagen Polo is the perfect commuter car thanks to its low weight and 1.0 four-cylinder carbureted engine. This is a car you can be proud to call your own. Low miles, comes with our unbeatable one year/15 mile warranty:

2000 Fiat Palio Weekend. Based on the Fiat Uno, the Palio Weekend is the perfect family car down to its name - its station wagon body allows you to fit all of your stuff, all of your kids' stuff and all of the necessary tools to repair your water pump on the side of the road when it seizes 170 miles away from home. Speaking of, spare parts are readily available³ :

A 2001 Seat Arosa, based on the Volkswagen Lupo and drawn by the same man who designed the Bugatti Veyron. Need we say more? I think not, but we will add that this hot little hatch has 49 screaming horses under the hood:

For over a hundred years Mercedes-Benz has been the standard for quality motor cars. We are proud to offer you one of their finest designs, a 1970 w113 250SL. Imagine how advanced this car was in its day: it already had fuel injection, four disc brakes, and a removable hard top for rainy days. *² Professionally restored by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Stuttgart, this car is ready for the next Monterey Concours:

Imagine the look on your wife's face when you surprise her for Christmas with a certified used car from Ran When Parked's used car lot! There's never been a better time to buy!

* The mk1 Megane was also horribly obsolete by 2002.
** Recently removed.
² Since it was introduced on the Renault 8 in 1962.
³ In most third world countries.
*² Needs to be.

Note: none of the cars above are ours or actually for sale.

Caption contest.

2010-12-16T08:27:00.001-07:00

Just for fun, how would you caption this photo from a 1960s Panhard PL17 brochure? Drop us a comment below.

The display case update.

2010-12-15T12:10:00.004-07:00

Along with a new article on the Lancia Beta Trevi that you can find below, we have finally gotten around to updating our display case page dedicated to scale models. We've expanded it to include a little bit of something for everyone. You can find it in the right hand column under the "pages" header or by clicking on this link.

And, join our Facebook page to discuss some of the cars we feature and to find miscellaneous photos and vintage car ads that we don't post here.

Thanks for reading.

Lancia Beta Trevi.

2010-12-14T04:48:00.006-07:00

Lancia is not what it used to be. Outside of Italy the average European citizen (so one that doesn’t harbor a chronic obsession with cars) can’t tell you whether or not Lancia is still operating. Mention the name to an American and people will think you’ve got a funny way of pronouncing the name of a little Mitsubishi four-door sedan. Lancia suffers from a completely unknown lineup that gets lost in the fray of the new car market; as a result it has virtually no brand recognition anywhere outside of its home country, where its cars enjoy steady sales thanks to a handful of brand loyalists that includes the Italian government.

A car that illustrates the earliest traits of invisibility in Lancia’s lineup is the Lancia Beta Trevi, a Beta sedan with a conventional trunk built from 1980 to early 1985. Contrary to popular belief the name Trevi isn’t a reference to the famous Roman fountain but is a reference to the car’s body: “tre volumi” is three volumes in Italian, hence Trevi.

By the early 1980s hatchbacks started losing ground and three-box sedans were making a comeback: almost every manufacturer had one in their lineup. Lancia had nothing to offer so they designed one using the Beta as a starting point. On the outside the Beta Trevi’s connection with the Beta five-door hatch was clear and the two cars share a windshield and both front doors. Overall the Beta Trevi was a discrete, austere design; one could even draw a stylistic parallel between it and the Peugeot 305. More flattering observers compared the Trevi’s rear to that of a Mercedes w123.

On the inside the Beta Trevi was less austere. The dashboard was drawn when the person in charge of ergonomics was on vacation and had a record-breaking 29 holes of various sizes that housed switches, warning lights and gauges, all of them angled towards the driver. It left no one without an opinion about it, be it positive or negative.

In its first years of production the Beta Trevi was offered with three different engines: a carbureted 100hp 1585cc, a carbureted 115hp 1995cc and an injected 122hp 1995cc. Nothing particularly new, these were essentially the same engines that powered the existing Beta line. Things changed in 1982 when Lancia bolted a Roots supercharger to the carbureted 1995cc bumping the engine’s power output to 135hp and gave it an exceptional amount of low end torque. Beta Trevis equipped with this engine were dubbed Beta Trevi VX (for Volumex) and had specific rims, a little spoiler on the trunk and a “VX” emblem on the grille.

In 1983 Lancia updated the Beta Trevi line, which from this point on was called simply the Lancia Trevi. In an effort to give the car a sportier appearance the rear spoiler that was previously reserved to VX versions was standard across the entire line. The interior got minor changes like new door handles and slightly redrawn seats.

That same year Lancia had to make some modifications under the hood in order to comply with upcoming fuel regulations. The differential ratio was changed to achieve better fuel mileage and a Marelli Digiplex electronic ignition system replaced the good ol' points. Lancia also nixed the carbureted 1995cc without a supercharger.

In 1984 Giorgio Pianta, an ex-race car driver, and ex-engineer at Abarth, designed a Trevi with two engines, the Trevi Bimotore. At the UK’s Lancia Motor Club National Rally (July 15^th-17^th, 2005) PIanta explained that car was built “to test the principles of four wheel drive technology whilst developing the Delta S4.” The Bimotore had a 1995cc Volumex engine in the front and a second one mounted in the back. Through various modifications both were pushed to 150hp, making the entire car good for 300hp. Only one was built.

The Trevi had an attractive price, fantastic handling and was quite fun to drive, especially with the Volumex engine, but it was too little, too late, and a little too bland. The lack of interest in the Trevi cut its career short and it disappeared from showroom floors in early 1985 after 36,784 units were sold.

Below, a post-1983 Trevi:

The Beta Trevi’s dash:

A Trevi VX. Note the rims and the emblem on the grill:

The Trevi Bimotore:

The terror from Poissy: the Simca 1000 Rallye, Rallye 1, Rallye 2 and Rallye 3.

2010-12-03T00:21:00.014-07:00

When the Simca 1000 first landed in showrooms in 1961 it was marketed as an economy car for the masses. It was small, it had the aerodynamics of a shoebox and depending on the model purchased it had an engine displacement hovering above or below 1000cc. In short, there was nothing sporty about it. This changed when Carlo Abarth got his hands on the car and turned it into the Simca Abarth 1150. When Chrysler took over Poissy-based Simca the 1150 didn’t interest them and they pulled the plug on the project before it was allowed to enter regular production. With the 1150’s demise the Simca 1000 went back to its original vocation of people’s car.

Fast forward to the late 1960s. The Renault 8 Gordini was a massive success both on the market and in competition. Simca saw an opportunity to compete against the 8 and started developing a faster version of the 1000, one they would later call the Simca 1000 Rallye.

Simca’s entry into the gofast-shoebox market was facilitated by a move from Renault: in 1970 the Renault 8 Gordini’s time had come and it disappeared from showroom floors, leaving its spot to the Renault 12 Gordini. With a front engine and front wheel drive the heavy 12 was diametrically opposed to the 8 and left scores of drivers longing for the rear-engined fun that the 8 provided. Joining the 8 Gordini in its grave was the Coupe R8 Gordini that so many young drivers had embraced as their sport and driving school. Simca launched the 1000 Rallye just in time to fill the gap left by the 8.

Below: a standard Simca 1000 sedan.

The Simca 1000 Rallye.

The basic requirements for Simca’s Rallye were that it had to cost less than 10,000 francs, have a top speed in the vicinity of 150km/h (about 93mph) and cover a standing kilometer in 37 seconds.

To build the 1000 Rallye Simca started with the 1000 Sim’4. It was the logical choice for two reasons: first of all the Sim’4 was the entry level model so using it as a base for the 1000 Rallye gave designers an advantage in price. Second, because of its lack of equipment it was the lightest model of the 1000 range.

The Rallye was only available in red and had a flat black hood to prevent glare. Inside it had a complete instrumentation and a bucket seat for the driver; the other three seats were standard Simca 1000 seats. Front disk brakes were standard (for the record, a Renault 8 Gordini had disks all around). The whole package weighed 785 kilos (1730 pounds), lighter than the 8 Gordini.

Under the rear decklid was an 1118cc water-cooled straight four good for 53hp and 59lb/ft of torque mated to a four-speed manual transmission. The concept looked promising on paper but it failed to meet Simca’s performance requirements: it could not reach 150km/h (its top speed was about 142km/h, approximately 88mph) and it took 38 seconds to cover a standing kilometer.

In spite of these shortcomings the 1000 Rallye was a success: 27,000 of them were sold by the time the model was phased out in January of 1972.

Below: a 1000 Rallye ad taking a stab at the Renault 8 Gordini. The text reads "who said that all the fast French cars had to be blue?"

The Simca 1000 Rallye 1.

While the Rallye wasn’t quite the car Simca thought it would be it provided a better than decent starting point for the next evolution. The first major improvement was found under the rear decklid: in lieu of the 1118cc unit Simca had fitted the 1100 Special’s 60hp 1294cc. With this new engine the Rallye 1 could meet Simca’s original requirements for the Rallye: it had a top speed of about 155km/h (96mph) and logged 37 seconds even for a standing kilometer.

An alternator finally came as standard equipment but it still had the dreaded single-speed wipers. On the outside little had changed, though the rear quarter panels said “RALLYE 1” instead of “SIMCA”. Compared to its predecessor the Rallye 1 had a stiffer suspension which added more of a sporty feel to the car while consequently giving it a less comfortable ride. But comfort be damned, the Rallye 1 was designed for the track.

The Simca Racing Team was launched at about the same time as the Rallye 1 and followed essentially the same guidelines as the Renault Gordini Cup that died with the 8 – only Rallye 1s were allowed to compete and it served as a training school for new drivers who didn’t have the cash to enter the circle of professional racing.

The improvements came at a cost and the Rallye 1 barely met Simca’s sub-10,000 franc price requirement: it cost 9,995 francs.

The Simca 1000 Rallye 2.

The Rallye 2 didn’t replace the Rallye 1 but was built alongside of it as a more expensive, more powerful version. It was what most Simca enthusiasts call the ultimate evolution of the model. Several modifications were made to get more power out of the 1294cc, including feeding it with two Solex carburetors. The compression ratio was bumped to 9:1 and the whole lot put out 82hp. The Rallye 2 was good for a stunning 164km/h (100mph) in fourth gear, logging 34 seconds to cover a standing kilometer. For the first time braking was assured by four disk brakes (as opposed to front disks and rear drums) borrowed from the phased out 1200S.

Better cooling was necessary so Simca relocated the radiator to under the front bumper, running coolant lines under the car to reach the engine bay. An extra grille was added in the front of the car to provide airflow; Rallye 2s are instantly recognizable because of it.

In 1977 Simca introduced the SRT 77 kit, available as a non-street legal option. Through various modifications the engine output was pushed to 110hp. A polyester body kit including fender flares and front and rear spoilers was mounted on the car. That same year the Rallye 2 got the square headlights that the rest of the 1000 lineup got.

As 1977 ended the 1000 saga was coming to an end as well. Standard sedans were starting to look rather ancient and hanging on to life by a thread. But Simca had one last trick up its sleeve before calling it quits.

Below: a Rallye 2 with the SRT 77 kit.

Simca 1000 Rallye 3.

The last evolution of the Simca 1000 was the Rallye 3. It was introduced in January of 1978 and precisely 1003 were built: 1000 for public consumption and three as test cars for Simca.

Up until this point the Rallye series was made up of cars roughly comparable to the 205 GTi of the 1980s: take a mass produced car and make it quick without overdoing it. The Rallye 3 was different; it was a full out race car made available to the public for homologation purpose. It was essentially a street version of the SRT 77 kit that was available on the Rallye 2. Mechanically speaking there were some differences between the two cars in order to meet new regulations in racing concerning noise and pollution levels. To lower emissions Simca fitted a new camshaft to the engine; a combination of longer gears (a feature often criticized at the time) and the addition of a second, generously-sized muffler made the Rallye 3 quiet enough to meet the regulations.

The familiar 1294cc was still under the decklid but this time around it was fed by two Weber 40 carburetors. Power output was 103hp, less than the 110hp available in a Rallye 2 equipped with the SRT 77 kit because of the noise and pollution modifications. In spite of the small loss of power the Rallye 3 performed brilliantly. It achieved a standing kilometer in 32 seconds and had a top speed – in fourth gear, mind you – of 178km/h (110mph). All of this came at the reasonable price of 30,500 francs.

The Rallye 3 was only available in white, though certain pre-production cars were finished in an attractive shade of light blue. It is worth noting that for the first time in the Rallye lineup the hood was painted the same color as the body. It had the square lights that the entire 1000 lineup adopted in 1977 and the outside trim (door handles, mirror, bumpers, etc) was flat black. On top of it all it had fender flares all around and model-specific 13” rims. Under the front bumper was a spoiler and it was possible to set up cooling ducts behind it to ventilate the front brakes. Finally, each car had a plaque on the dash engraved with its production number.

Rallyes of all kinds were often beat senseless in races and had very little value in the 1980s and the 1990s, showing up on used car lots for next to nothing and purchased by folks who flogged them even more. To add insult to injury the rust proofing was approximate at best, claiming the life of numerous cars.

As the Renault 8 Gordini’s price started to go up about ten years ago collectors turned to the more affordable and equally fun Rallye series and well-sorted examples are worth a small fortune today.

Below: the blue Rallye 3 is a preseries example and the color was never available in regular production.

Below: one of the first ads for the Renault 12 Gordini. We’ve included it with this article because in a sense it’s a response to the Simca 1000 Rallye. The text on top reads “the party continues”

Citroën M35.

2010-11-15T08:18:00.009-07:00

When Citroën launched the Xantia in 1993 it also launched a new slogan: “vous n’imaginez pas tout ce que Citroën peut faire pour vous.” Literally translated from French it meant “you can’t imagine what Citroën can do for you.” In 1969 the brand had a different approach to showcasing what it can do: it gave customers the opportunity to purchase and test a prototype, the M35.

If the image of a gaudy Japanese sedan entered your head after reading the name "M35", shake it out. The M35 was a rolling laboratory of future Citroën technology. Under the hood was a 49hp/50lb-ft 995cc monorotor Wankel engine developed by Comotor, the company founded by NSU and Citroën to build rotary engines. The 995cc ran with virtually no vibrations and with the help of the M35’s aerodynamic design powered the car from zero to 62mph in 19 seconds, topping out at a respectable 89mph. While the Wankel felt at home on the freeway its infamous lack of torque made driving up a hill a byzantine task. Nevertheless, the engine operated so quietly and revved so freely that Citroën found it necessarily to equip the tachometer with an audible alarm that went off when the engine got to its redline of 7000 rpm, though certain period road tests note that it was capable of reaching 8000 rpm.

The Wankel was bolted to a new four-speed manual transmission commanded through a dash-mounted shifter, the same setup found in the Dyane, the 2CV and the Ami 8, though the M35 had its own shift pattern that appears to have been designed in a house of mirrors. The front disk brakes were mounted inboard on the transmission while the rear had to settle for a pair of more conventional hub-mounted drums.

To complete the package Citroën mixed and matched DS and 2CV suspension bits to create a new version of its hydropneumatique suspension. By replacing the 2CV’s horizontal suspension bits with hydraulic ones, Citroën gave the M35 a 2CV suspension system modified to function with a DS/ID’s hydraulic system. With the addition of front seats designed to recline just above the occupant’s waistline the M35 shined as one of the most comfortable cars on the European market. The familiar Citroën monospoke steering wheel and the emergency brake located to the right of the steering column both came directly from the Ami 8’s parts bin, though the M35’s steering wheel was upholstered in vinyl, a feature not found on the Ami 8. The dashboard was not directly pulled from the Ami 8 but was put together using Ami 8 bits and pieces.

Few found the M35 entirely pleasant to look at. Citroën couldn’t be bothered with building it in-house so they outsourced it to French coachbuilder Heuliez. The M35 sat on an Ami 8 platform and the two looked similar from the B-pillar forward though modifications were made to the front end to fit a radiator, something the Ami’s air-cooled flat twin obviously did not need. Almost immediately past the B-pillar the roofline sloped towards the back, creating an odd fastback coupe shorter than the Ami 8. The latter’s gas tank proved insufficiently small compared to the Wankel’s astonishing thirst for fuel and Citroën fitted a larger 43 liter (11.3 gallons) tank to increase the M35’s autonomy.

The initial plan was to secretly provide the M35 to customers to avoid the bad publicity that potential failures would summon. Someone at Citroën realized how unlikely it was that the secret would remain one so the project was made public and Citroën announced it was taking orders for the car.

Not everyone could purchase an M35. The first setback was that it cost 14,000 francs in 1969, a hefty price to pay for a small, experimental car when one takes into account that a base model DS, the DSpécial, listed at 13,800 francs. The second setback was that Citroën engineered the whole operation as a way to test the M35 over several hundred thousand kilometers so if its owner drove it to the store and back once a week, it wouldn’t help their cause. Consequently, only customers who could prove they drove at least 30,000kms (18,641 miles) annually were considered. And the third setback was that Citroën was only going to produce 500 M35s.

The first cars were delivered in 1969. With the operation no longer a secret each car had “Prototype Citroën M35 No. X” written in white letters on the driver’s side fender (replace the X with the car’s serial number.) When the cars ran they were brilliant to drive but unfortunately for those who had paid DS money for an Ami 8 coupe the engine shared other Wankel engines’ tendency to self destruct prematurely; few got to 40,000 miles without a rebuild. Citroën was aware of potential issues with rotary engines and offered a two year powertrain warranty with roadside assistance on all M35s and a loaner car was available for owners should their car stay in the shop for a prolonged period of time. When dealers took the cars in for repair the service department took careful notes of what was repaired and sent them to Citroën headquarters.

In 1971 when the test period was over and Citroën got the data they were after they tried to buy back the cars at higher than market value in order to destroy them but there was no obligation on the owner’s part to sell them and about a third of the total production run survived. There is a catch: in the end Citroën ended up building 267 M35s, a number very short of the initial 500 planned. 6 were built in 1969, 212 in 1970 and 49 in 1971. The numbers written on the fender were reportedly adjusted to make it look like 500 were built and rumor has it that several cars bore “Prototype No. 1” When all is said and done most sources agree that fewer than 100 M35s are still around today.

Many aspects of the M35 made it to regular production. The rotary engine was strangely deemed satisfactory and a dual rotor version of it was used in the GS Birotor in 1974; the gearbox used in the M35 was the GS 1015’s gearbox (albeit with a normal shift pattern); certain suspension bits found their way into the GS line when it came out in 1970 and the seats that reclined just above the waist were found in none other than the SM.

Exterior shots of the M35:

The M35's 995cc Wankel engine:

The M35’s interior; note the seats:

Below: this diagram of the M35’s hydropneumatique system from a 1969 issue of Auto-Journal clearly illustrates the mix of 2CV and DS parts used. The engine-driven high pressure pump used to circulate the LHM fluid is visible as well. Ride height was adjustable thanks to a lever placed between the front seats.

The M35’s shift pattern:

-
Note: with the exception of the first photo and the shift pattern we did not take any of the above photos and do not take credit for them. The first photo was scanned out of a period magazine for Ran When Parked and the diagram of the shift pattern was made by Ran When Parked.

Moderately Priced Mid-Engined Cars

2010-11-04T15:33:00.001-06:00

Automotive manufacturers have understood the advantages of placing a car's engine in the middle (or, behind the driver and ahead of the rear wheels) for some time. By placing the engine there, the weight balance of the car can be made much more even over the front and rear axles. This allows (in most cases) for superior handling over front-engined cars, which tend to understeer, or rear-engined cars, which tend to oversteer. Auto Union grand prix cars from the '30s, designed by Ferdinand Porsche, were some of the earliest examples of this configuration. At the time, it was considered somewhat unstable, but the greater advantages of mid-engined design were continually explored, perfected, and adopted in particular on racing cars by nearly all manufacturers. It was not until the 1960s that mass-production of a mid-engined road car would really begin.

Not all mid-engined cars have to be outlandishly expensive supercars like Ferraris or Lamborghinis. There are a few examples of these well balanced sporting cars that the "average Joe" can afford to purchase and enjoy, even as a starter classic. So, we have prepared a list of some moderately priced mid engined cars for the masses which can be had for under $20,000. Granted, in the long run, some can end up costing you much more, but let us start with the most affordable:

Toyota MR2 (1984-2007)

The Toyota MR2 has the great advantage of being affordable, fun, and reliable though to be honest, they're not exactly the most desirable of the lot here. Honestly, most people don't dream of some day owning a Toyota over say, a Porsche, Lotus, or nearly anything Italian. Nevertheless, they're a good starter sports car or easy-to-run weekend runabout.
The original MR2 of 1984 featured crisp styling as boxy as one could expect from a 1980s design. The car was designed in cooperation with Lotus and it's not surprising considering the car's light weight and excellent handling. Initially, a 1.6 L DOHC four-cylinder engine was mounted transversely behind the passenger compartment. While it wasn't exactly the most powerful engine in the world, it was quick and eager to rev.
By 1986, an optional T-top roof configuration was made available, adding some appeal to those desiring an open air experience. These early MR2s can be had for just a few thousand dollars (or less if they're an abused example in need of some care). Beware though - they are getting old and they are made in Japan - rust can be an issue.

In 1989, the MR2 went through a complete redesign with a more rounded and organic body. The car weighed a few hundred pounds more than its predecessor, though it also became more powerful, and even a 200hp turbocharged variant was available. Again, the T-top was offered. These Turbo models obviously cost a bit more even today, though finding a decent example for under $10,000 is not at all unheard of.

Finally, the last of the MR2s, the Spyder, marked a rather drastic change in direction from the previous two generations. Another complete redesign made the sporting Toyota a full roadster for the first time. The very successful Mazda Miata must have left them wanting a piece of the market. The "new" MR2 also lost the pop-up headlights of past models and also, several hundred pounds over the last generation. Once again, the model was light and very nimble, though only a 1.8 L four-cylinder was available, and alas, no turbo. To many, these are the best of the MR2s and since production stopped in 2007, they can be purchased quite cheaply from roughly $8,000 to $15,000.

Fiat X1/9 (1972-1989)

The Fiat X1/9 was a rather radical departure for the company known for its small economy cars and classic Italianate roadsters. The crispy body was styled by Bertone and the basic drivetrain was that of a Fiat 128 moved to the back. While initially, the X1/9 weighed in at roughly 2000lbs, the anemic 1.3 L four-cylinder was hardly a powerplant for a sports car, producing a wheezing 75hp and virtually nothing in terms of torque.
The car did have the advantage of a fairly stiff body, a removable top, and of course, good handling. Furthermore, it also had some luggage capacity, which is typically at a premium on mid-engined cars. Granted, I wouldn't choose one to take on a cross-country camping trip, but some weekend luggage would fit.
As Federal crash-test regulations increased, so did the bumper size as well as weight. Smog equipment further taxed the engine and decreased it to a down-right poor 63hp. By 1979, a larger 1.5L engine was fitted and added a little much-needed power. Fiat left the US market in 1982, and the X1/9 was marketed as a Bertone until 1987. World-wide production and sales of the car ceased in 1989.

While the earlier cars are a little better looking and lighter, later cars do have advantages in terms of a little more passenger space and better rust-proofing. Being Italian and from the '70s, rust is naturally a major concern when purchasing an X1/9. It's not hard to tune one to respectable performance provided local laws allow it. Fortunately parts are readily available as about 160,000 were made and it utilizes many standard Fiat parts. Finding a decent example may be difficult, but should only cost you well under $10,000. Be prepared though - it's Italian, and it will break.

Lancia Montecarlo / Scorpion (1975-1982)

The Montecarlo (or Scorpion to the US market) was originally intended as a big-brother to the Fiat X1/9. The Scorpion / Montecarlo, however, is larger and perhaps most importantly, more powerful. Unfortunately, the Scorpion was very short-lived in the US market (sold in only 1976-77), though a few Montecarlos have been imported. Unlike the 2.0L European counterpart, the US Scorpions were only sold with a 1.7L four-cylinder offering only 80hp. Still, the Pininfarina styled body is aesthetically more pleasing to many over the Bertone X1/9 and the weight nearly the same.
One unique feature of the Lancia design is the large retracting canvass roof. Though not all Montecarlos had this feature, all Scorpions did. Naturally, being Italian, build quality was always questionable, but you can't deny that the cars certainly have that Mediterranean flair.

As I'm sure one could expect, reliability and rust are the biggest problems with the Scorpion. Furthermore, these cars were notorious for easily locking the front brakes and creating a rather scary situation for the driver. It wasn't until after US sales stopped that Lancia simply removed the brake booster as a quick solution.
The Scorpion is a rather rare beast here in the States as only 1800 were made for the American market. If you find one, it's important to make sure the car has been well taken care of and is properly sorted out. If not, you could be in for the nightmare of your life. In spite of the car's relative rarity, prices vary considerably. A fixer-upper could run you only a few thousand - a restored example around $20,000 or more.

Porsche 914 (1969-1976)

Here at RWP, we're no strangers to the Porsche 914. In this writer's humble opinion, having grown up with these, it is one of the most under-rated sports cars ever made. The styling may take some getting used to for some, but the 914 seems to fit very well with the rest of the classic Porsche stable. The bodies were assembled by Karmann and were fitted originally fitted with either a VW-sourced "Type-4" engine, or Porsche's classic flat-6. When the 914 was introduced, it was largely applauded for its spaciousness, two trunks, removable hard top, and superb handling. If you opted for the 1.7 L flat-four engine, however, you'd be less than impressed with the performance. The 914-6, on the other hand, was fitted with the same 110 hp 2.0L flat-six as an early 911. The problem though, was the rather high price which fell just short of a 911T at the time. Not much of an "entry-level" Porsche in those respects.
By 1971, Porsche saw that the 914-6 was too costly and opted to drop it from the line. In 1973, a 95 hp (100hp outside of the US) 2.0L variant of the VW engine was offered and gave the car a good balance of performance and price. The base-model was uprated to a 75 hp 1.8L as well. These would be the first mass-produced cars with electronic fuel injection. The 914 was never really a "cheap" car, and lower-cost competition from Fiat, Datsun, and Triumph, for example, made the 914 rather hard to sell.
By 1975, big Federal bumpers and smog equipment did their best to kill the 914 like so many other imports. Sales dropped along with power (the '75 and '76 cars all had the 2.0 but were de-tuned for emissions) and the 914 ceased production.

Many 914s have been tastelessly and poorly modified to American V8s and/or fitted with body kits and other gaudy accessories. These should probably be avoided. 914s were often abused over their lifetime and a good, rust-free example can be tricky to find, but they're out there if you look - Porsche built nearly 119,000 of them. It's easy to hot-rod a VW engine and most 914s are old enough to get around emissions regulations. A '73 or '74 model is probably the most desirable, as they have a better shift linkage, smaller bumpers, and decent power. There are some well done 6-cylinder conversions as well. Expect to pay $10,00 to $18,000 for a nice 4-cylinder and an original 914-6 may run well over $20k. They're very reliable and VW parts keep running costs down, but be warned, anything with a Porsche part number is pricey.

Lotus Europa (1966-1975)

You could say that this is the one that started it all, in terms of mid-engined road cars. The Europa was the first "mass-produced" production car to have the engine in the middle (if you consider less than 10,000 units "mass"). Like earlier Lotus designs, the Europa used a steel back-bone chassis with a fiberglass composite body. Say what you will about the styling (some love it, I personally hate it), but it was certainly aerodynamic with a drag coefficient of 0.29. This, combined with a curb weight under 1,500lbs made for a very nimble car.
Power was sourced from the Renault 16's 1.5L four-cylinder and 4-speed gearbox and tuned to a respectable 82hp. in 1968, the S2 variant was introduced with several refinements over the original design. These are probably the most desirable of the early cars. Finally the 1.5L Lotus Twin-Cam engine became available in 1971 along with a change in the body. The rear "flying buttresses" were carved out a bit to make it easier to see out of the incredibly tiny car.

As far as practicality goes, there essentially is none with this Lotus. It's very small, hand-made in England and therefore likely to have build quality issues, and probably the most unsafe of this entire lot of cars. That being said, they're incredible fun. Values for these cars are rising, particularly for an early example or a Twin-Cam. Watch out for typical electrical gremlins and poor fiberglass repair that could literally leave the body coming apart at the seams. Lotus made relatively few of these, but they're still out there for $10,000 to $20,000+ if you can find them.

Lotus Esprit (non-V8s 1976-1996)

Lotus again employed the proven fiberglass body over steel backbone chassis design for the Esprit. The wedge-like design of the Esprit was also becoming somewhat of a Lotus trait in the era, referencing some of their racing cars' shapes. Like most of these early Lotus models, it has a bit of a kit-car feel to it, which some may not like. Regardless, the Esprit was another great "driver's car" in terms of its road holding and feel.
The earliest examples of the Esprit were powered by Lotus' own 2.0L "Torqueless Wonder" power plant driving the wheels through a Citroen SM transaxle. As you'd probably expect, these are the slowest of the Esprits, and probably the most prone to quality issues. The S2 had various improvements over its predecessor, though the engine remained the same. In 1981, a lightly re-worked Esprit, the S3, was equipped with a more powerful 2.2L Lotus-built engine. A turbocharged version also hit the market, finally adding some much needed "real" power.

In 1987, a less angular and stronger body was fitted to the Esprit. These cars mark the transition to the "modern" Esprits. Various trims and engine specifications were available throughout the 1990s and it actually seemed as if the design was finally coming into its own and shedding the 'kit car' image. Beginning in 1996, a turbocharged, all-aluminum, 350 hp V8 developed by Lotus found its way into the car. These are the fastest of the Esprits, but also the most expensive. In terms of being an "affordable" mid-engined car, they're a little too far off the chart.
Like anything, condition is a large factor in price with these cars. You can find an earlier model for around $10,000 or so, but unless you're willing to spend a lot on repairs, you may be better off finding a later S3 model that's been well taken care of. These can be had for under $20,000, but a really nice one can be significantly more. V8 models are usually well over $25,000.

Porsche 986 Boxster (1996-2004)

It hardly seems like it was so long ago that the Boxster was automotive industry front-page news. Porsche was having a hard time financially, and the 986 marked the beginning of a new era in Porsche's history. The completely new design was a significant departure from the line-up preceding it, which were cars all based on designs dating back to the 1970s or earlier. Porsche was no stranger to water-cooling by this period (924, 928, 944, 968, etc.) but this was the first time the company used it on typical flat-6 engine layout.
Everything about the Boxster was new, including the very method in which Porsche produced the car. To keep costs under control and therefore make the model a success, the Germans actually hired Toyota to advise them on production processes and parts sharing. The Boxster shared much in common with the 996 series '911' including styling cues such as the unique headlights. Perhaps realizing that their last attempt at an entry-level mid-engined car (the 914) was rather distant from the classic Porsche shape, the Boxster bore more than a passing resemblance to the legendary 550 Spyder.
At its debut, the Boxster could be purchased for just under $40,000 - a relative bargain compared to a 911 and even more so when one considers the arguably superior handling over its big brother. Granted, power wasn't as great - the 986's engine was initially a 200 hp 2.5L - but overall, the whole package was just what Porsche needed to revive the company. Boxsters sold faster than they could be built.
Some criticized the Boxster for being a little too cheaply built, particularly in interior quality. Early cars had issues with engine failures due to production flaws and as a result Porsche instituted a massive recall program. Most of these cars had entirely new engines fitted under warranty and are trouble free.

In addition to great handling and a full roadster layout, the Boxster, like the 914, has two trunks and therefore a considerable amount of luggage space for a car of this type. Like all Porsches, year-to-year changes are numerous, but perhaps most important is the fitment of a more powerful 2.7 L engine in 2000. Boxsters are perhaps the most common Porsches on the road today. Fortunately for those wishing to own one, prices of used models are fairly low. Certainly some have been abused, but a decent late-90s example can be had for a very resonable $10,000 or even less. Later models and "S" spec cars may run closer to $20k and a second-generation "987" series will be higher still.

Photos are not the property of RWP and we do not claim credit for them

ZAZ Zaporozhets 968.

2010-10-29T11:40:00.014-06:00

Our apologies for taking a while to put up the answer to the mystery car, we ran into technical difficulties. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, here it is: a Ukrainian-built ZAZ Zaporozhets 968, once the USSR's cheapest car.

We got several correct guesses, including one reader from Hungary who recalled that his father owned one in the 1970s. "I don't have a lot of memories about the car", he wrote, "only that it was slow, loud, and we finally sold it for $50." Another reader sympathized with the owner of the blue car we featured who presumably threw the “horrid little thing” down a ditch in Sicily.

The ZAZ brand was founded in 1958 by the USSR's government. The idea behind the brand was to create a cheap and easy to maintain people's car for the USSR. The first car in the Zaporozhets series was the ZAZ 965, intoduced in 1960. It was a small rear-engined two door car whose design was influenced by Fiat’s 600, though the two shared no components. It had a rear-mounted air-cooled V4 engine that had a displacement of 748cc, giving the little car a scant 23hp. Little changed until 1966 – hardly surprising given the USSR’s vast allocation of resources to nuclear weapons during this time period – when the engine was upgraded to 887cc (30hp). The new engine gave the 965 extra power and extra noise behind the rear seats but more importantly it was also used to power a new model: the ZAZ 966.

To develop the new car ZAZ again looked to the west for inspiration: the 966 looks like the thoroughly illegitimate offspring of an NSU Prinz and a Hillman Imp. It consequently looked much more modern than the 965 and boasted the particularity of having two heating systems, one that ran off of engine heat and one that was independent of it, providing heat without the engine on. Later in its career the 966 was available with a 40hp 1196cc and renamed the 966B.

The next update in the ZAZ saga brings us to our mystery car, the 1970 968. The 968 was essentially a 966 with the 1196cc pushed to 48hp, making the car almost freeway-worthy. The 968 would be the ultimate evolution of the Zaporozhets series and stayed in production until 1994 with minor aesthetic changes. Our mystery car is likely from the late 1970s: the 968 series was imported to Italy in 1977 but sales ended quickly as the model was too late. Italy left rear-engined, rear-wheel drive cars behind almost ten years before the 968's arrival on their market.

For those who found the traditional Zaporozhets sedans too bland, ZAZ built three interesting variants of the 966/968.

The first is the ZAZ 970, a Fiat 900T-esque vehicle based on the 968:

The second is a pickup version of the 968. Oddly enough it doesn't appear that the engine was mounted differently than in a sedan so one can imagine how much that compromises the potential cargo space:

Lastly, in a valiant but futile attempt to export the 966 around certain European markets ZAZ introduced the Yalta 1000, a slightly upmarket 966 with a metal grille, metal hubcaps and a 956cc Renault 8 engine. It was assembled in Belgium. (It is worth noting that the 965 was also exported to the west under the Yalta name, creating confusion between the two models.)

Below: a ZAZ 965A, the first ZAZ:

A ZAZ 966 V4 engine:

Note: we did not take any of the above photos and do not take credit for them.

Mystery car.

2010-10-21T08:45:00.005-06:00

What is this blue sedan parked in the remote hills outside of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Sicily? Email us at ranwhenparked -at- hotmail -dot- com if you know, we'll post the answer in a few days.

You don't see these too often: Honda Acty

2010-10-19T12:02:00.000-06:00

Japanese "Kei" class vehicles will occasionally pop up in the States for institutional use. Penn State has several for example. It's not often, however, that they appear for sale at your local Chevrolet dealer. (Alas, it's sold "As-is. No Warranty") This happy looking fellow is perhaps one of my personal favorites since I have a fondness for Hondas. This is a 2nd generation (mid 1990s) Honda Acty sporting "Real Time" four wheel drive and a 4-speed manual transmission driven by a 660 cc inline 3-cylinder.

It can carry 770 lbs of stuff... not bad. I wonder if you can put a snow blower on the front...

Granted, it's probably horribly unsafe on the highway, but you could probably never find a way to register it. (though they can reach highway speeds which is perhaps the scariest part) Regardless, it would be fun to have one of these around the house for yard work, or even as the ultimate urban winter car. New, these sell for around $10,000 in Japan. No price was given on this example.

Ka siebzig.

2010-10-15T13:52:00.007-06:00

NSU was in trouble in the late 1960s. The Wankel engines it had spent a significant amount of time developing proved unsuccessful and unreliable, costing the company an astronomical amount of money. The company’s lineup consisted mostly of small, rear-engined cars that were in vogue in the beginning of the decade but quickly going out of style as the 1970s drew nearer. The bigger and more modern Ro80 was introduced in 1967 but its Wankel engine was notorious for leaking rotor seals, the same problem that plagued other rotary-powered NSUs. In 1969 Volkswagen acquired NSU and the projects the company was working on, including the near production-ready K70 (ka siebzig in German), a smaller sedan that would fill the gap between the Prinz models and the larger Ro80. The K in its name denotes that NSU developed a traditional piston engine for it - piston in German is kolben.

Volkswagen initially cancelled the K70 project, a move heavily criticized by both the press and potential customers. What was the point of turning down a new, modern, car to produce the ancient Beetle and other Beetle-derived cars? Volkswagen was not deaf to criticism and gave the K70 a green light for production. There was a catch: the car would sport a VW emblem on its grille, not an NSU emblem.

Designed by NSU, the K70 was diametrically opposed to anything that had previously come out of a Volkswagen factory: it was the first water-cooled Volkswagen. It was also the first front-engined Volkswagen. Under the front hood was Volkswagen’s first in-line engine. And to take it further, it was the first front wheel drive Volkswagen! The public was shocked, it was difficult to envisage a Volkswagen without an air-cooled boxer engine; it was like if Citroen had come out with a rear-engined sedan to replace the DS. Even more shocking to drivers accustomed to the Beetle’s questionable handling was that the car actually drove pretty well. Front disk brakes stopped the car efficiently, typically-German seats provided just the right amount of support and the car’s independent suspension gave it a comfortable ride. The boxy body, penned by Claus Luthe, prefigured the styling trend of the 1970s. (A bit of automotive design trivia: Claus Luthe is the same man who is responsible for designing the BMW E30.)

The 1605cc four-cylinder that powered the K70 was a distant cousin of the NSU 1200’s engine. Buyers could choose between a 75hp version of the engine and a 90hp version. An 1807cc four-cylinder (100hp) was available in 1973 on the top-of-the-line K70 LS, which had four round headlights instead of the two square units that other models had. The K70’s drivetrain is worth a mention: the engine was longitudinally mounted and the four speed manual transmission was bolted directly to the back of the engine; nothing to rave about here. However, to actually drive the wheels a differential was mounted in front of the transmission, so under the engine, approximately where cylinders 3 and 4 are. To avoid the whole setup being too tall the engine was tilted 32 degrees towards the passenger side of the car. Another neat feature of this engine is the possibility to adjust the valves without removing the valve cover. Instead, each valve had a removable cap on the valve cover, a setup also used in the NSU Prinz.

Available in either base, L or LS trim, the K70 was a promising package. The European motoring press liked it, too. Complaints about it from period road test include the car’s high fuel consumption, the noisy engine, its dim headlights and its ashtray which is too far to the right of the driver. The car lost the 1971 Car of the Year award to the Citroen GS but came ahead of the Citroen SM. The K70 could have had a brilliant career as an NSU but as a Volkswagen it had to fight for its right to exist. Wolfsburg didn’t want it, it was trespassing on the type 4’s land.

The type 4 and the K70 were completely different in architecture and design but competed against each other; their dimensions, performance and their price were very close. The K70 measured 442 centimeters long (174 inches) and weighed 1080 kilos (2380 pounds). On the other hand, the 412 was 455 centimeters long (179 inches) and also weighed 1080 kilos. The K70 went from 0-100 km/h in 13.3 seconds, a task that took the 412 (equipped with a manual transmission) 16.5 seconds.

In 1974 a 412 cost 18,800 francs while a K70 set a buyer back 18,920. By comparison, the Passat ranged from 13,990 for a base two-door model and 17,990 for a top of the range four-door model. A 911 Turbo cost 48,000 francs and a 1200 sedan (better known as the Beetle) started at 8,990 francs.

The K70 had another enemy from within the Volkswagen group: the Audi 100, launched in 1968. It, too, had the same basic dimensions, performance and price as the K70. It measured 462 centimeters (181 inches), weighed 1090 kilos (2,403 pounds) and sprinted from zero to 100 km/h in 12.5 seconds, all for 19,690 francs (price in 1974). The Audi 100 looked very similar to the K70 which created further confusion between the two cousins. The 100 didn't have rear independent suspension so the K70 had a more comfortable ride, arguably.

The K70 was overshadowed by the 411/412 range and the Audi 100 and failed to find its public, a disappointing fate for a modern, well-designed car. NSU had planned a station wagon version of it which Volkswagen nixed because it already had the 411 Variant. Had this version seen the light of day the K70 might have had a better chance of imposing its presence on the market. Production ended in February of 1975. The International K70 Club (based in Germany) claims that 210,082 K70s were produced while other sources say that 211,341 is the correct number. This number may seem fairly low for a high-volume manufacturer like Volkswagen but it’s very close to the 45,000 K70s NSU had planned to build each year.

It’s worth noting that the K70 wasn’t the only NSU project that wound up on showroom floors wearing a Volkswagen crest. The Volkswagen Polo was born as the Audi 50; the 50 project was started by NSU as a replacement for the Prinz.

Below, a diagram of the K70's drivetrain:

Below, the K70’s engine bay. Note the caps for valve adjustements:

All photos scanned out of period documents for Ran When Parked.

Watkins Glen Vintage Races - 2010

2010-10-04T15:05:00.002-06:00

I've been attending the vintage races at Watkins Glen every September for many years now, and it's always an event to end the summer on a good note. There are always a nice assortment of both race and show cars on display, not only on track, but throughout the entire town of Watkins Glen, NY.
This year, in celebration of Alfa Romeo's 100th birthday, the Milanese machines were the featured marque. There were many varieties to be found from 1920s Ferrari team 8C Grand Prix cars to 1970s Can-Am racers, and even a few GT type Milano / 75s.
The Alfas were by far not the only vehicles to see, hear, and smell at the event. As the Glen's vintage event is one of the largest (if not THE largest) in the United States, there's always something for everyone.

Friday afternoon features the annual parade laps around the original race circuit through the streets of Watkins Glen. There's a concours d'elegance for road-going cars near Watkins Glen State Park followed by a street precession. Then, many of the race cars come out and offer a unique treat to viewers as they blast through the small town streets.

When the day wraps-up around 7pm, there are several good places to get a drink and dinner right down town, though I personally suggest visiting the Seneca Lodge a mile or so up the road.

Back at the track, the main event(s) are held. The Glen played host to some fantastic professional racing in its heyday from the 1960s through the 80s with the United States Grand Prix, Six Hours of Watkins Glen, and also the Can-Am series. Many of the cars that raced there in anger 30 or more years ago return to this spiritual home of road racing in the States for a delightfully nostalgic time.
Classes vary from small displacement sports cars to extremely fast endurance racing prototypes and Formula One cars. Practice and qualifying races last most of the day on Saturday and the final standings are decided in Sunday's races. While many of the vehicles are far too valuable to race hard, it's still great to see them out on track driving fast and getting used.
Hard-core fans (myself and company included) typically drive their own classic and sports cars to the event and camp track side for the weekend. Below, is friend Pat's Caterham 7, next to our 914 and the trusty old Golf "support vehicle" at the campgrounds.

There are far too many unique and interesting cars to post all of them here, but to give you an idea, here are a few. Check out the full set of photos on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3252720&id=9370809&l=80fb49938b
and here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3252749&id=9370809&l=c38635e11f

Above: A couple Can-Am McLarens, Below: Carlos Reutemann's Brabham Formula 1 car.

Below: Sports racers old and new. Alfa Romeo T33 and Audi R8.

Below: One of the oldest cars at the event, a 1908 Ford Model K.

Below: Not many tracks offer the sort of view that allows photos this close to be taken from your camp site...

Below: Some of the more outstanding Italian cars on display in the Kendall tech center.

In contrast, a Peugeot 505 Turbo racing car:

And in case all those European cars left you longing for more visual audacity, there were a few American cars as well:

And finally, we must not forget one of the most successful vintage race cars around today, the Porsche 914:

For a digital copy or use of any large-sized photos shown here or on the Facebook pages, contact Ian at ranwhenparked -at- hotmail -dot- com

Preview: Watkins Glen Vintage Races, 2010

2010-10-02T14:03:00.000-06:00

Alfa Romeo advertising: the 1970s.

2010-09-19T17:27:00.011-06:00

Alfa entered the 1970s with a lineup largely carried over from the 1960s. They also entered the 1970s with an overall win in Trans-Am racing, confirming the "race bred" image they gave their cars in the 1960s.

Mechanical improvements were made to keep up with the competition, a notable one being SPICA fuel injection standard in all U.S.-market cars. Let's look at what Alfa had up its sleeves during this decade and how they sold it.

"We feel families deserve the same special handling racing drivers demand."

This 1970 Berlina ad describes the Berlina as a four door race car safe enough to carry a family. It can come to a complete stop in a straight line from 60mph in less than 150 feet, which is "faster than every car sold in the U.S. save one limited-production import at more than twice the price." Which import they are referring to is not named.

At the time of print the Berlina cost $3,795 on the east coast and $3,855 on the west coast. Small price to pay for a car with "steering as fast as your reflexes."

"You haven't really driven yet. Until you drive an Alfa Romeo 1750."

Alfa emphasizes their cars' performance aspect in this ad. Their US lineup is powered by the famous 1750 engine (1779cc) and Weber carbs are a thing of the past in the 1970s, replaced by a "race-proven [SPICA] fuel injection system."

"Horst took Lime Rock, Gus won Bryar and Bert captured Donnybrooke to keep Alfa Number 1 in the Championship standings."

This isn't an Alfa ad but an ad for Champion spark plugs. It is featured along with Alfa ads because it uses Alfa's success in Trans-Am racing as a way to advertise their plugs: three of Alfa's winning drivers had Champion plugs screwed into their car's cylinder head.

"You should be impressed, but not surprised."

This 1971 ad for the 1750 GTV uses the race-inspired handling as the main selling point. It draws a comparison between the 1970 Trans-Am winner and the car featured on the ad and ends by saying that "if this kind of handling is good enough for our racing cars, it's good enough for you." When this ad was printed the 1750 GTV cost $4,795 on the east coast and $4,855 on the west coast.

A small historical note: the ad mentions that the GTV will handle twist and turns in the road "without even breathing hard." In the early 1970s Subaru used a variation of that line ("at 70mph it doesn't even breath hard") in their own ads in an effort to diffentiate themselves from other economy cars, most notably the Beetle.

"It all makes the Spider something very special."

Much like the GTV ad above, this one's main point is the Spider's handling. It feels secure over any surface and through any corners one can throw at it. Not only does it handle splendidly, the ad claims, but the driver is "in command of the same double-overhead-cam engine, chassis and suspension that won the 1970 Trans-American Championship." All this for a mere $4,595 on the east coast and $4,655 on the west coast.

"If the new 2000 isn't perfect, we're certainly getting better."

The 1750s are out and the new 2000s are in. Autoweek sang the 1750's praises, billing them as "nearly perfect." Alfa thinks it has made considerable improvements with the 2000 series: more horsepower, more torque and an available limited slip differential. The 2000 GTV retails for $5,249 on the east coast and $5,299 on the west coast. Note the price difference between this 2000 GTV and the 1750 GTV above.

"You'd expect an Alfa Romeo to cost more than a BMW or a Porsche. Several years ago, it did. But then came the devalued lira."

This 1977 ad brags that the Alfa GT has more standard features than a BMW 320i and a Porsche 924 but costs much less due to the economic woes Italy was experiencing in the late 1970s which lead to a devalued lira. The standard features the GT has over the competition include a 5-speed transmission, an all-aluminum engine and double overhead cams.

"Visit your Alfa Romeo dealer. There may never be a better time."

The text in this 1977 ad is fairly similar to the text in the previous ad - some of the sentences are carried over word for word. It mentions the bit about the devalued lira but makes no comparison to BMW and Porsche. Instead, it lists what it calls "6 engineering achievements in Alfa Romeo, bred in 67 years of world class racing competition." These are an all-aluminum engine, double overhead camshafts, mechanical fuel injection, DeDion independent rear suspension, four-wheel power disc brakes and a five-speed gearbox.

"The equal front/back weight distribution gives it a stable handling."

This 1978 Alfetta ad comes from a French magazine. Not being able to take advantage of the lira/dollar exchange rate Alfa instead puts forth its racing heritage. The 1950 Alfetta 159 is featured more prominently than the GTV 2000 it is advertising. It lists specs of the car, such as its ability to reach 120km/h (75mph) in 14 seconds flat. This ad still lists "double carburetors" as standard equipment, marking a difference in emissions regulations between the European market and the U.S. market.

"Road Test magazine rates the Alfetta sedan overall better than the $16,000 German luxury car!"

This rather lengthy 1977 ad is meant to convince a car buyer that an Alfa is the right purchase to make. Ample space is given to the text which goes into great detail about the Alfetta's handling (with the 50/50 weight balance) and as always the car's standard equipment/price ratio.

Alfa mentions safety in this ad, something they have not always done in the past. They boast a "rigid passenger compartment guarded by front and rear impact-absorbing zones", among other features. The ad also talks the Alfetta's "0.42 coefficient of drag" and the orthopedically designed seats.

Photo credit: all ads were scanned for Ran When Parked out of period documents. Email us at ranwhenparked -at- hotmail -dot- com for high-resolution scans.

Daimler DR450.

2010-09-18T12:00:00.007-06:00

The city of North Salt Lake has been mentioned previously on Ran When Parked. A November 13^th, 2007, article defines the city as “a mildly depressing place dotted with refineries, factories and construction businesses.” Unfortunately things have not improved since, one could even argue the opposite. However, the city has again given us a rare find: a Daimler DR450.

The Daimler DR450 came out in 1961 and was essentially a much longer and much heavier limousine version of the Majestic Major sedan introduced in 1959. Its name hints at the 4561cc V8 with hemispherical cylinder heads that lurks under the hood. The engine was carried over from the Majestic Major mated to an automatic transmission.

The Majestic Major was a fairly luxurious car but the DR450 took it to new heights. It had all the equipment one would expect from a limousine including a glass separation between front and rear compartments, a middle row of jump seats and a back seat bigger than your average sofa. Wood paneling was standard all around and the dash included a complete set of gauges.

To simply state that this car is big would be an immense understatement. This car dwarfs a w126-series Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Let’s put it into perspective: a w126 560SEL (the long wheelbase model, mind you) is 203 inches (5160mm) long and weighs 3,980 pounds (1,805 kgs). The DR450 is 226 inches (5740mm) long and weighs a hefty 4,650 pounds (2,109 kgs). Despite its weight the V8 managed to quietly and comfortably propel the car to a top speed of over 110 miles per hour.

Production ended in 1968 after 864 cars came out of the Coventry factory. It was replaced by the Jaguar-based DS420 limousine.

The car photographed above and below is for sale. We have no relation to the seller, it merely caught our attention on the side of the road in rush hour traffic. It's missing the engine, the transmission, the bumpers, the rear bench seat, two gauges and a title, though applying for one would be a quick and painless process in Utah. It has some rust but it just came out of a storage unit so it doesn't have the cancer that a car sitting outside would have. The seller is not clear on what year the car is. Contact us if you are interested and we will give you the phone number that is written on the car.