Vehicles that created a market segment or genre

[arronm]

Better than most cars today FULL SIZE spare.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

How many of those do you see though? Wouldn't mind a Celica GT-4 though.

They are all long in the tooth now and have either been butchered or destroyed by muppet owners. Good original examples are hard to come by and go for decent coin.
In NZ back around 20 years ago the Mazda 323 gtx, original VR4, RS Legacy’s, Pulsar gti-r, first Lancer GSR and Celica GT4 were all the rage due to relaxed import laws in the 1990s and before easy finance where the newer WRXs and Evos were more pricey.
Not a fan of jappas but I’d have no worries owning some of them in all original condition mainly for the nostalgic value.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by arronm

2 cars that changed the world.

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My very first car was a candy apple red 1969 Morris Mini with a 1098 cc . A waitress at the resort i worked at then had a white mini with the smaller engine .

Geez it was fun to drive . Mine had ROH wheels too ..Had it two years .

Re the volksy , Dave my long time neighbour bought his beetle brand new in 1953 and eventually traded it in on a Datsun 180B which he eventually traded on a new Toyota Seca in the mid 1990's and drove before he passed on in 2009.

I think Brazil were still building Beetles until the early 2000's and were still pretty popular . I wouldn't give the bigger BMW tampered Mini's the time of day . There's one locally owned here and it's not appealing at all to me .

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by arronm

2 cars that changed the world.

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Driven by 2 men who changed the world, Mr Bean and Hitler.

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Driven by 2 men who changed the world, Mr Bean and Hitler.

Hello,
Don't you mean Paddy Hopkirk and Lindsay Lohan!..lol..


Cheers Billy.

[.:4:.]

The xd falcon made a big impact when it came out. I'm not talking about the esp fairmonts or the v8 variants, but they sold a lot and with the market selling smaller cars, they sold a heap of that generation of falcon. I know the first of the Commodores well and I like them a lot, but in comparison they are small. These days small and big power means a lot, but when new people didnt do that. So the x series falcon made a name for itself even when the v8 was axed.

[Tonz]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

I wouldn't give the bigger BMW tampered Mini's the time of day . There's one locally owned here and it's not appealing at all to me .

ahh at last someone with intelligence

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I think the WRX kicked off the hot 4s market.

I always thought the early 70's Mazda Capella's started the hot 4's market.



And a genre all of its own the Mazda rotary.

[XByoot]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

I believe Honda's CB 750 did that about 10 years earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CB750

Absolutely, one of the first truly reliable high performance “Superbikes” that old 750 SOHC engine was a good thing. Sure it rattled and clunked when the primary chains were worn, but man they kept going and did good. The sound is also iconic. CB750, 812 Yoshi kit and cam, a set of 4 into ones and it’s the prettiest way of turning fuel into poetry on two wheels !
The Z900’s were the next step into the really big performers. I’d love to own a Z one day... Remember the movie “Stone”?

https://youtu.be/6oOslwyyhBU

[Crazy Dazz]

Suzuki Mighty Boy>
Does it still count if it was both the First and Last of its kind?

[aussiblue]

always thought the early 70's Mazda Capella's started the hot 4's market.

The hot Mazda Capellas were rotary not 4 cylinders so the can't be a hot 4.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

The hot Mazda Capellas were rotary not 4 cylinders so the can't be a hot 4.

The capella was a 4 cylinder, the rx3 was a rotary with the same body. When I was young I had a mate who's brother bought a capella which was in nice shape and sold it because every man and his dog wanted to race but it was a 1500cc. He then bought an 87 rx7 with a 13b but it wasnt a turbo. Nice car but the seals went, so it grenaded.

[slowsnake]

Hello,
I think Datsun 1600 was way ahead of any other 4 cylinder, they were a brilliant car, quick but economic and efficient!


Cheers Billy.

[Ford17]

Capella - piston engine. RX-2 - rotary engine version.
808 - piston engine. RX-3 - rotary engine version.

[Dave1966]

The Model T was the first car for the masses. The A Model and the 32. Old Henry kicked a few goals

[nstg8a]

One of the very earliest of the Japanese awd turbo rockets. Also had a tredia variant but they were even rarer.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Jeep Cherokee (the boxy one) the first true SUV (Surburban Utility Vehicle )

BMW X5 the first performance SUV, they tried to call it a SAV (Sports Activity Vehivle) but that never caught on.

For unibody SUVs Lada Niva was the first mass produced model (probably more of a off roader than SUV) , XJ Cherokee is also of unibody construction.
XJ is probably one of the greatest cars of all time .

[aussiblue]

It depend which market but I take your point. However, I don't think the 4 pot Capella was very hot; the rotary certainly was hot though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Capella

An optional Mazda ****el engine was offered and known as the Capella Rotary in Japan or the Mazda RX-2 for export.

[stock1991]

1987 Honda released the worlds first 4 wheel steering car, the prelude. I remember I had an opportunity to park one and while it looked cool seeing the back wheels turn I don't remember it being any real assistance over 2 wheel steer.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

It depend which market but I take your point. However, I don't think the 4 pot Capella was very hot; the rotary certainly was hot though.

A matter of opinion really.

[aussiblue]

A matter of opinion really.

True; but there were a lot of more powerful and faster contemporary 4 pots around at the time (too many to list) and also many that preceded the Capella (including and without naming any of the exotics and any of UK 2 seater sports, the Alfa Giulia TI, BMW 2000, Fiats 124 and 850's, Toyota Celica, Honda's Coupe 7 and Coupe 9, Datsun 1600, Lotus Cortina, Cortina GT, Ford Capri 1600, Ford Escort Twin Cam, Lancia's Fulvia an Flavia's, Renault 16TS). And I will quote another opinion on the Capella from "Classic and Sports - A-Z of Cars of the 1970's Bay View Books 1990 Page 100 "Classical Japanese 'grey porridge' . No character except for full equipment and Japanese reliability."

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by smoo

They are all long in the tooth now and have either been butchered or destroyed by muppet owners. Good original examples are hard to come by and go for decent coin.
In NZ back around 20 years ago the Mazda 323 gtx, original VR4, RS Legacy’s, Pulsar gti-r, first Lancer GSR and Celica GT4 were all the rage due to relaxed import laws in the 1990s and before easy finance where the newer WRXs and Evos were more pricey.
Not a fan of jappas but I’d have no worries owning some of them in all original condition mainly for the nostalgic value.

I was right in that mix & had an RS Legacy & a GT4. both surperb cars that could be purchased cheap considering what they we worth New.

They were the Production cars related to Group A Rally. with a bit of boost all were quicker than the Aussie V8's available then, fun times.

The GT4 was quality compared to the others and had a gearbox that didnt break.. surprisingly heavy car though

[Mechan1k]

Audi's original Quattro ... inline 5-cylinder turbo AWD.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Audi's original Quattro ... inline 5-cylinder turbo AWD.

Speaking of rally cars, the mighty Group B's

the sound of that screaming Quattro!!!

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Speaking of rally cars, the mighty Group B's

the sound of that screaming Quattro!!!

combine the sound with them being airbourne, sideways and belching a couple of feet of flames. All at the same time

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

combine the sound with them being airbourne, sideways and belching a couple of feet of flames. All at the same time

That comment made me think of Monster Trucks, which also do that

Which made me recall the original Monster Truck, Big Foot. Whilst not commercially available they are just about mass produced these days and compete all over the world. There was nothing like them until Bob Chandler made this one in the mid-late 70's, and it's a Ford Displays started off just crushing a few cars, then jumping a row of crushed cars, then racing and freestyle displays. Hell, they even do double backflips in them now



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot_(truck)

[Dezza]

1934 Peugeot 401 Eclipse was the first hardtop convertible. I always thought the Fairlane / Galaxie Skyliners were the first but this beat it by decades!

Now there's no shortage of hardtop convertibles on the market, none as cool as the Skyliner though!

[Sprintey]

series Land Rover - Jeep practicality for the rural landscape and huge export markets, use of aluminium so panels still havent rusted 70 years later, could run machinery off its PTO, 4x4 ability.

Toyota Landcruiser - this with reliability

original Mini - fwd economy car, designed brilliantly once and copied millions of times. Cooper begins hot hatch genre to my knowledge.

Toyota corolla - simplicity of build (original one) with fewer parts and great reilability and build quality. Has sold millions.

Range Rover - the luxury 4x4. Aspirational. Comfort, luxury and capability off road, becomes a status symbol.

FX Holden - national pride postwar, and a series of affordable, 6 cylinder powered cars for everyday aussie families. Before, it was mostly either 4cyl Brit/euro or 8cyl American.

RAV4 - birthed from the mechanicals of the curious 4x4 corolla, the high riding SUV first hits the 1990s market. Look at them now...

Suby Outback - AWD wagon that handled and was not a heavy duty 4x4

1934 Ford Australia coupe utility. Ie, the body is integrated as a coupe. Uniquely Australian, and not a separate cab or dual cab with a tray. Last coupe utility was VF.

Moon buggy and Mars rovers. Taking driving to other orbiting bodies. And surviving orbital drops before years of reliable use in landscapes tougher than the Pilbara.