You learn something new... - Cars you didn't know existed, until now!
- Thread starter Rue
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- America's Land of Dairy
- ShobTheGrob
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This made me curious, and I was surprised to learn they built the Pantera through 1992. I'm not quite sure what to make of the final exterior update though. It kind of gets away with hiding the fact that it's a design from the early 70s, but the extra bodywork still looks tacked on.
Looking at it more, the design bears a striking resemblance to the Venturi 400GT, especially the rear half.
It's also interesting how similarly the Pantera's design evolved in a similar way to the Countach: start with a clean, futuristic look in the early 70s, throw a bunch of flares and spoilers at it in the 80s, then try smoothing it out a bit in the early 90s before putting it out to pasture.
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- ScottPuss20
- CheetahsMeow
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- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
I'm not the biggest fan of the Pantera, but I care less for them as they veered away from Tjaarda's original design. The one concession I make is for the maligned rubber bumpers of the later American cars, which I don't hate. They're my least favorite classic era De Tomaso, with the Mangusta it replaced being my favorite. I appreciate the Pantera, but I'm not nuts about them.
I was also mistaken about the years for the new motors. The Cleveland appears to have been last used for the '87 cars and was replaced by the Windsor, meaning the Cleveland stuck around longer in the Longchamp, but those were prpbably produced in much smaller numbers and probably didn't warrant the change for a single year. The 302 was picked up in 1990.
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- Grandville Mi
- Gotbeefboy564
- Got beef boy564
Saw this kit car at a show in Detroit today. Don’t know anything about it.
Wiegert
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- a baby, candy, it's like taking.
- TexRex72
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The still-born 959 successor that never came to be - the V8 powered Porsche 965:
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INEEDNAWZZZ
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- DigitalLuke64DD
Saw one of these in traffic today and wondered why somebody had plastered Mazda badges on a new Yaris:
Did some Googling and found out its a Mazda 2 Hybrid. Guessing this is similar to Suzuki where their EU fleet doesn't have a low enough CO2 average, so they cherry picked some hybrids from Toyota and voila. At least Suzuki kind of attempted to restyle their version of the RAV4 and the Corolla estate, and both of those are so vanilla that they do blend into the rest of the range if you weren't paying attention.
The base car is so far removed from Mazda's design language however, that I think even someone with no knowledge of cars whatsoever would look at it and realise that it doesn't quite gel with everything else at the dealership, particularly the one it borrows it's name from. One of the laziest rebadges I think I've seen in modern times, though it doesn't matter since clearly somebody bought one, so... ¯\(ツ)/¯
Did some Googling and found out its a Mazda 2 Hybrid. Guessing this is similar to Suzuki where their EU fleet doesn't have a low enough CO2 average, so they cherry picked some hybrids from Toyota and voila. At least Suzuki kind of attempted to restyle their version of the RAV4 and the Corolla estate, and both of those are so vanilla that they do blend into the rest of the range if you weren't paying attention.
The base car is so far removed from Mazda's design language however, that I think even someone with no knowledge of cars whatsoever would look at it and realise that it doesn't quite gel with everything else at the dealership, particularly the one it borrows it's name from. One of the laziest rebadges I think I've seen in modern times, though it doesn't matter since clearly somebody bought one, so... ¯\(ツ)/¯
MedigoFlame
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Whilst trying to search and figure out what seemed to be a Mopar coupe I saw on the road, I stumbled upon this on the wikipedia page.
Monteverdi Sierra, based off the Chrysler F-Body and M-Body for the convertible. Made by a Swiss company from 1977 to 1980 with only twenty cars produced. Not much found on the wiki page, but there are some articles about it.
Monteverdi Sierra, based off the Chrysler F-Body and M-Body for the convertible. Made by a Swiss company from 1977 to 1980 with only twenty cars produced. Not much found on the wiki page, but there are some articles about it.
ROAD_DOGG33J
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Over here, the last Toyota Yaris was a rebadged Mazda 2 before the Yaris was discontinued.
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Do you guys not get the actual Mazda 2?
Saying that, I don't recall a hybrid version, so maybe I answered my own question.
Admittedly, i been barely following any automotive news for the last couple of months (especially in regards to European cars) so i was surprised upon seeing this Volkswagen.
Apparently this is an ID.6 Crozz and it's a 7 seater, Chinese built EV. It's interesting yet odd since VW have yet to sell any EVs in the GCC market (unlike Tesla, Audi, Chevy or Hyundai). Makes me wonder how did it end up here in the first place??
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INEEDNAWZZZ
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Oh we do, which makes it all the more confusing that they badged a completely different car with the same nameplate that has no visual similarities whatsoever. Would be a bit more understandable if we didn't get the actual 2 or they'd stopped selling it here, but... no. Both are on sale at the same time, which I just find bizarre.
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INEEDNAWZZZ
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They look identical, don't see any issue here. 
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- TexRex72
The '97-up front end is bad enough but those headlights are absolute ass.Saw one of these in traffic today. Didn't know Jeep made a 2-door Cherokee. And now I really want one.
From the beginning, the Cherokee was a 2-door. It started out as a fullsize based on the Wagoneer (SJ) while the 4-door variant was called the Cherokee Chief. There was no 4-door Cherokee until the XJ debuted.
There was also a compact pickup based on the XJ Cherokee, the Comanche (MJ).
Joey D
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Let's not forget the tragety of the Chinese Cherokee either:
I know they at least sold it as the BAW Qishi and the Beijing Jeep 2500, but given the Chinese market there might be more iterations of it. They sold it there until 2014, meaning it stuck around for over 30 years.
*Edit, I can't spell
I know they at least sold it as the BAW Qishi and the Beijing Jeep 2500, but given the Chinese market there might be more iterations of it. They sold it there until 2014, meaning it stuck around for over 30 years.
*Edit, I can't spell
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Somewhat on topic, Dodge almost produced a rebadged version of the first-gen Grand Cherokee (the name of the prototype isn't known), but this was never green-lighted. Here is the prototype from 1992, which next to nothing is known about.
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- GTP_Cyborg
^ Passport/Rodeo vibes...
), but I actually don't mind the front end conversion - I didn't even realize it was converted! Given your description, though, I'm surprised the 2-doors aren't more common than they are. The four-door XJs are still everywhere in Colorado. And come to think of it, I have seen a couple Comanches kicking around.
Yeah, I just looked for a clear shot at a good angle on Google. I totally agree with you on those style LED lights (what's worse is to see LED projectors on true classic cars
), but I actually don't mind the front end conversion - I didn't even realize it was converted! Given your description, though, I'm surprised the 2-doors aren't more common than they are. The four-door XJs are still everywhere in Colorado. And come to think of it, I have seen a couple Comanches kicking around.
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- TexRex72
The one you posted may or may not have the original front end. Though production volume was low, the 2-door was produced until the end of the XJ run. 1984-1996 Cherokees, 2- or 4-door, all had similar front ends (they got softer and were painted in the later years, but the "bones" were the same), which they shared with the Comanche. The XJs were facelifted in 1997 to have the styling of the one you posted, but the Comanche was gone by then, so if you see a Comanche with that front end, it has been converted.^ Passport/Rodeo vibes...
Yeah, I just looked for a clear shot at a good angle on Google. I totally agree with you on those style LED lights (what's worse is to see LED projectors on true classic cars
The only other distinct XJ would be the compact Wagoneer (reviving the earlier nameplate used for fullsize models, which would be revived again for a limited edition of the midsize ZJ Grand Cherokee), which got fake wood paneling on the exterior like the Cherokee Briarwood, but also a unique stacked quad headlight design with chrome housings.
The Cherokee nameplate debuted, as I said, with the fullsize SJ, in the '70s, and was an evolution of the fullsize Wagoneer. It had 2 doors and a 4-door variant got the Cherokee Chief nameplate.
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