You learn something new... - Cars you didn't know existed, until now!
- Thread starter Rue
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- Clayton/ NC/ US
- Sanderson1981
I figured this was the best thread for this sort of thing. Can anyone tell me what this car is?
Wiegert
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- Clayton/ NC/ US
- Sanderson1981
- 10,824
- Plymouth, UK
- motorforum
Unless I'm mistaken, the 323 that that Ford is based on was sold in the UK. Whilst the 323f got a full range including the V6, the 3-doors were all entry spec. You don't see them often and Google doesn't have any UK registered pictures of one. I've just recently noticed an aftermarket yellow one here in Plymouth.
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- 25,085
- Somewhere.
We had those 323s in Canada, they were simply known as the 323 Coupe I believe... I don't think they were sold in the US, however.
Funniest thing was that it was sold alongside the North American 323/Protégé of the time, which shared pretty much nothing with it... Someone on my street had a purple one when I was in grade school. Haven't seen one of those in actual ages, I believe they've all rusted to the ground. Didn't see too many back then either, come to think of it.
It also came with one of the ugliest wings ever.
Funniest thing was that it was sold alongside the North American 323/Protégé of the time, which shared pretty much nothing with it... Someone on my street had a purple one when I was in grade school. Haven't seen one of those in actual ages, I believe they've all rusted to the ground. Didn't see too many back then either, come to think of it.
It also came with one of the ugliest wings ever.
Wiegert
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- United Kingdom
I've seen the odd RHD model for sale here listed as being imported from another RHD market. But not once have I seen a coupe in the flesh on this side if the Channel that didn't bear foreign plates.
The DVLA doesn't appear to have any listed either.
The 323F also lacked a 1.3 option. Not all that surprising given how the coupe was built to act as the more compact sibling to the larger 323F, as well as accompany the more conventional 323S-based 323P hatchback from 1996 up until the platform's discontinuation.
Although, as far as I can tell, the 323P did get a 2.0 diesel. In place of the 1.8 petrol, I think.
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- 17,881
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
Renault Le Car; which is basically a US-Spec Renault 5 (I think).
Well, I don't research French cars that often. That's why I only recently learned that there's a wagon version of the Megane.
Well, I don't research French cars that often. That's why I only recently learned that there's a wagon version of the Megane.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
While not the prettiest of things, the Familia Neo is yet another example for me of what an interesting company Mazda was back in the early 90s. I do prefer the Lantis though. In five-door form it's probably still one of the best-looking C-segment cars ever.
While I've been aware of it for some time, I did only find out a few years back that there was a sedan version of the Lantis, too:
Nowhere near as attractive as the hatch, though.
It is indeed. I'm surprised you hadn't heard of it though - the Le Car is one of those vehicles that seems widely, albeit unfairly maligned in the States.
Granted, 1970s America - even Fuel Crisis 1970s America - wasn't the ideal time or place to have launched a small, slow hatchback, but given how well received it was in Europe and how many are still knocking about on French roads, its poor reputation seems more a result of an American innate dislike of small cars than any fault with the car itself.
All that said, the American version isn't a particularly attractive thing. Sealed beam headlights strike again.
- 4,763
- Houston, TX
Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen a Le Car in person. However, I have seen a Turbo II. 
- 17,881
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
Well, I just don't pay much attention to French cars I suppose and I don't think I ever knew anyone in real life that knew about these. Honestly, it wasn't until a couple years ago that I learned that Peugeot not only made the 405 mi16, but sold it here in the US as an example. There's probably a lot of cars sold in the US that I don't know about yet.
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Anyone who hasn't seen a Turbo II hasn't truly lived.Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen a Le Car in person. However, I have seen a Turbo II.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Wait, is a Le Car Turbo II an actual thing? Or are we talking about its European cousin instead?
- 17,881
- Florida
- GranTurismo0517
- RandomCarGuy17
They're talking about the Euro R5 Turbo II.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Oh, ok. I've seen my fair share of those, thank god. Even non-modified examples, believe it or not. Most of the time, people simply ruin their R5s via excessive tuning, but some are now realizing that doing so is a bad idea, and the rising prices of cherished examples proves that as well.
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To clarify, the Turbo II is the loopy mid-engined one from the 80s.
Not that the regular Renault 5 turbo isn't also a cool car but... well, it's not mid-engined cool.
Not that the regular Renault 5 turbo isn't also a cool car but... well, it's not mid-engined cool.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Oh yeah, the rally holmogation one. The grandad of the Clio V6, and the car which won the most tragic edition of the Rallye de Portugal (unfortunately so, as it was also the last WRC win for the Turbo)... Although I have to admit, I like the GT Turbo more. I dig the wacky and small MR French cars, don't get me wrong, but my fondess for 1980's cars such as the last generation of the 5 speaks louder to me.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Guess I'll have to double post, but I just wound up finding yet another unknown JDM car;
The Toyota Curren (one "t" away from becoming the Toyota Current, go figure. Who names these cars? Japan's sense of humor, apparently). The car which replaced the Corona Coupe, and brother to the Celica Coupe,the one from 1994-1998, as it shares a few things with it. You could have the 1.8 4S-FE or the 2.0 3S-FE & 3S-GE pair as engines, and even four-wheel steering (in only one version, however).
Oh, and also your traditionally weird JDM car ad;
The Toyota Curren (one "t" away from becoming the Toyota Current, go figure. Who names these cars? Japan's sense of humor, apparently). The car which replaced the Corona Coupe, and brother to the Celica Coupe,the one from 1994-1998, as it shares a few things with it. You could have the 1.8 4S-FE or the 2.0 3S-FE & 3S-GE pair as engines, and even four-wheel steering (in only one version, however).
Oh, and also your traditionally weird JDM car ad;
- 10,824
- Plymouth, UK
- motorforum
Guess I'll have to double post, but I just wound up finding yet another unknown JDM car;
The Toyota Curren (one "t" away from becoming the Toyota Current, go figure. Who names these cars? Japan's sense of humor, apparently). The car which replaced the Corona Coupe, and brother to the Celica Coupe,the one from 1994-1998, as it shares a few things with it. You could have the 1.8 4S-FE or the 2.0 3S-FE & 3S-GE pair as engines, and even four-wheel steering (in only one version, however).
Oh, and also your traditionally weird JDM car ad;
The most interesting thing about it is that they obviously used this car for that generation's Celica convertible, judging by the rear lights.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
Yeah, the interior and the rear section design are pretty much the same. The differences lie in the 4-wheel steering, the front end and the trim levels. The chassis is also the same, obviously enough, and appeared in the Carina ED as well as the Corona EXiV (the generations which these cars had around the same time of the Curren's release).
And speaking of JDM cars that I wasn't aware of, I had no idea that there was a second-generation Honda Z. I know of the old one, thanks to Gran Turismo (of course), but this one I did not know of;
In many aspects, it's your usual Kei-car; naturally-aspirated and turbocharged engines, 4WD drive and small dimensions. The viscous center diff and the engine being in a upright position underneath the rear set however, aren't. Yes, it's a mid-engined (engine which was undermounted), 4WD Kei-car. And you would never believe who Honda got to promote this car;
Too obvious to not happen, I guess. Could we call this the "3Z combination", perhaps? Also, before you ask, yes, they did indeed make a song for this car. Here it is;
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
I think I was already aware of this one, but it's a long time since I'd investigated it. Looks pretty funky.
The kei car market really seems to be livening up again though, more like it was in the early 90s. The Honda S660 and latest Daihatsu Copen look great, and even the normal stuff is interesting - the latest Suzuki Alto, the latest Lapin and the Honda N-One are fantastic. Really wish we got a few of them in the UK.
- 9,232
- Valongo
- Hcclipper
It is quite funky. And as it turns out, it also appeared in Gran Turismo 2. As it took me a lot of years to actually buy a full-version copy of the game, I never really looked through the full car list. Anyways, I guess the "new Z" was one of the victims of the "Great GT2 Purge" (this is the funky name I have given to the major drop in car count that happened between GT2 and GT3, which removed several unique cars that have yet to return to the series), because a quick trip to IGCD (credit goes to them for this following picture, by the way) shows this;
So yeah, the new(er) Z was a thing in GT, it is just not involved with the game as of these current times.
As for the renaissance of the kei-car market, I am all for it. I enjoy seeing both Daihatsu and Honda's new efforts, with the Copen Robe/X-Play and the S660 respectively, and I hope that more brands take bigger risks and innovate with all sorts of wacky kei variations. Of course, their strict regulations mean that it is quite difficult to sell them outside of Japan without major modifications (mainly due to emission laws and such).
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