You learn something new... - Cars you didn't know existed, until now!
- Thread starter Rue
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R5
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It's won me over now too, that looks fantastic 👍As the text says, sold as an Accord in Europe. And they did this with them:
Always been fond of that generation Accord since its BTCC appearance.
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- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Ah, that picture gives me good flashbacks to TOCA2's time... Lovely days, and lovely car too. Honda was pretty impressive when they chose the Accord to represent the brand in BTCC.
As for unknown cars, have a new one;
The Mega Club/Ranch, in particular the 4x4 version. I did not know of this particular model; the Club range was entirely based off the Citroen AX, sharing engines and transmissions with it. You could get a Mehari-esque version, a hard-top version and the 4x4. This last one even shared a 1.5D engine with the AX, and the drivetrain was shared with the rather unpopular Piste Rouge AX (infamous for being the AX's take on the Panda 4x4's concept but failing miserably). Of course, you could buy one with a 1.4i engine if you didn't feel like having a noisy experience...
As for unknown cars, have a new one;
The Mega Club/Ranch, in particular the 4x4 version. I did not know of this particular model; the Club range was entirely based off the Citroen AX, sharing engines and transmissions with it. You could get a Mehari-esque version, a hard-top version and the 4x4. This last one even shared a 1.5D engine with the AX, and the drivetrain was shared with the rather unpopular Piste Rouge AX (infamous for being the AX's take on the Panda 4x4's concept but failing miserably). Of course, you could buy one with a 1.4i engine if you didn't feel like having a noisy experience...
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As the text says, sold as an Accord in Europe. And they did this with them:
Always been fond of that generation Accord since its BTCC appearance.
Always loved that generation, especially the Type R.
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That reminds me of this wee beastie I spotted at a Citroen show a few years back:
The Citroen Tangara 3CV. Based on 2CV mechanicals and later on the AX. Not sure which this particular one is based on and the three-lug wheels don't really give it away, since AXs had those too!
That particular generation never had a Type R variant - the next did, however.
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- Valongo
- Hcclipper
That reminds me of this wee beastie I spotted at a Citroen show a few years back:
The Citroen Tangara 3CV. Based on 2CV mechanicals and later on the AX. Not sure which this particular one is based on and the three-lug wheels don't really give it away, since AXs had those too!
Well would you look at that, it's pretty similar to a hard-top version of the Mega... The three-lug wheels are quirky and look interesting, but they don't really expose which car was the 3CV (haha, someone wanted to create their own 2CV replacement, it seems) based off...
Now that you and I have mentioned these cars, it seems that the AX was a popular car when it came to custom models... The 3CV, the Mega cars, and even the AX convertible which I mentioned a while back, the BB Cabrio; a Portuguese-made AX convertible which used GTI mechanicals. So in essence, the BB was a GTI Cabrio.
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Recently discovered this after seeing one by my school:
I knew about the Ascot, but not the Innova. From Wikipedia:
Rather attractive design - especially a fan of the rear.
Specifications:
2.0Si - 2.3SI-Z TCV - 2.0I ILLUMINE - 2.0IC
It is impressive that Honda and especially Toyota spent most of the 1980s and 1990s jamming so many fundamentally identical cars into the same market segment for a market that was already tiny. In comparison, GM and Chrysler spent the same decades watching their entire brand structure collapse on itself.
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Yeah, but I'd imagine that the midsize segment probably isn't too popular in Japan where all these variants were sold.
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There's a weird propensity for niche-filling in Japan that far surpasses anything the West has done. Something like a BMW X6 doesn't seem quite so loopy when you realise how long Japanese companies have been filling every last gap in their home market.
I've noticed it when looking at auction and importing sites. To that end, what @Tornado was saying is definitely the case - but it's not simply a case of them throwing dozens of similar cars at a tiny market, since things like the Innova above were popular in other markets under different names (Accord, in this case). And that particular model was a joint project with Rover (as was the Domani), so there's further economies of scale.
I do wonder what the market is like for larger cars in Japan though. I think most companies went a bit crazy in the 80s and early 90s anyway, and I know several Japanese firms had dedicated dealerships for certain models according to the image they were trying to project. And when you can throw some leather in a home-market Toyota, call it a Lexus and sell thousands of the things in the States, it's quite a sensible strategy.
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- Fionia
My guess is that it is a case of trying to saturate the elaborate dealer structure. Certain cars are exclusive to different sub-franchises within the Japanese dealer networks (e.g. Toyota's Corolla, Netz, Toyota and Toyopet Stores). If a certain car was not offered by your local dealership, you'd have to go elsewhere. As you say, it probably made sense to fill these gaps with world cars made for export or domestic-market rebadges to minimize lost sales and keep cost down. The Camry, for example, was sold in three different, yet remarkably similar iterations in 1990's Japan:
Toyota Camry sold at the Corolla Store...
the Vista gave its name to the Vista Store...
and the larger, global model sold as Camry Gracia at Toyopet Store.
Essentially you could always choose between two home-brewed and one international Camry in 1990s; the different branches of Toyota dealers needed a mid-size sedan, all the while mainting their distinct niche in the dealer network. It is confusing to say the least, especially considering that there were exceptions to the concept dealer exclusivity in Tokyo and Osaka.
Toyota Camry sold at the Corolla Store...
the Vista gave its name to the Vista Store...
and the larger, global model sold as Camry Gracia at Toyopet Store.
Essentially you could always choose between two home-brewed and one international Camry in 1990s; the different branches of Toyota dealers needed a mid-size sedan, all the while mainting their distinct niche in the dealer network. It is confusing to say the least, especially considering that there were exceptions to the concept dealer exclusivity in Tokyo and Osaka.
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- Valongo
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Hmm, a mid-engined Rover? That's certainly one unique idea, I can tell that much. I wonder what sort of perfomance would it have, if BMC didn't go Thatcher on it... It's a bit of a weird-looking child from a marriage between a Marcos and a P6.
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- Valongo
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It may just be a rebodied Hillman Imp, but it's surprisingly attractive nonetheless. After all, it had this to work with;
And that name is both incredibly lazy and cheesy at the same time, so much I could see it as a name of a 1980's cartoon character. "Zimp", seriously Zagato? Haha. 
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I love that (Imps have always been great looking cars, so a good basis to start with). The roof line reminds me of the Californian coupe.Zagato Zimp
Another rare British sports car. Basically a Hillman Imp with a Zagato body.
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- Valongo
- Hcclipper
I love that (Imps have always been great looking cars, so a good basis to start with). The roof line reminds me of the Californian coupe.
I can see the similarities there, the format has more or less the same shape as the Californian.
Also, I was curious to know more about the Zimp, so I did a quick search on it. Apparently, the man who designed it, one Ercole Spada, also did this;
Yes, he was the responsible for the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato's design. Talk about moving up in the world, huh? He would also create the design for the Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato, meaning he has been involved with three, very beautiful cars. My hat's off to you, Mr. Spada...
Oh, and there are only 3 Zimps in the world, with two of them being owned by the same person (one Mike Hanna, who is the owner of the white Zimp that was posted here, with the CUD180B license plate); apparently, when they bought the Rootes Group (where Hillman coexisted), Chrysler decided to veto the project citing the development costs and high pricetag, pricetag which would be around the 1000£ mark. Thanks a lot, Chrysler.
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Mitsubishi Chariot Resort Runner GT! Basically an Evo van. 4G63, and AWD.
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- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Wait, did Mitsubishi actually stuff a 4G63 inside the engine bay of a Space Star (that's a Space Star, right)? Alright, that is impressive, I have to say. Mitsubishi sure enjoyed taking that engine and give it to just about anything short of a Canter truck...
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4G63 all the things!
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Be sure to 4G63 a Proton Wira too, after all that runs on the same chassis as a Lancer, so why not create a Malaysia Evo? Proton should've taken advantage of that, really.
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You can swap a Miata engine into a Ford Festiva.
Ford valvecover fits on the Miata too (as does a KIA valvecover).
Ford valvecover fits on the Miata too (as does a KIA valvecover).
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Mitsubishi Chariot Resort Runner GT! Basically an Evo van. 4G63, and AWD.
Same recipe was used for the first two generations of the RVR Sports Gear:
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