In the early 1980s, half-cars were a popular way for manufacturers to offer the flexibility of a pickup truck with the fuel economy of a compact car. For competition, there were the VW Rabbit Sportruck and the Subaru Brat, as well as the slightly larger Chevrolet El Camino and Ford Durango. Like the Sportruck, the Rampage/Scamp twins were based on their hatchback sibling, the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. Although the half-car concept was a certain success in the gas crisis years of the 1970s and early 1980s, Chrysler was only able to sell about 30,000 Rampages from 1982-84. The Scamp was only sold in 1983, and of all Scamps, the GT is the rarest – of about 3600 built, only 1300 were the GT version. To see one example of this future Barrett Jackson success story, check out this 1983 Plymouth Scamp GT, with bidding currently at $2550 and 8 hours left to go in Louisville, KY. Buy it now and you’ll have Hawaiian-shirted, trophy-wife-toting Gen-Xers lined up around the block to buy yours in 2040!
Archive for September, 2013
Half-Car Fever – 1983 Plymouth Scamp
September 26, 2013Blanc et Noir – Pair of 1987 Renault Alliance GTA Convertibles
September 26, 2013One of the great forgotten hot econo-cars of the late 1980s is the Renault Alliance GTA. Only built for 1 year as AMC Renault’s sales were suffering from a steep decline, it’s often overshadowed by the VW Golf GTI, Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S and Honda Civic Si in North America, and the Peugeot 205 GTi elsewhere. While the Alliance was down 15hp versus its German competitor, it still performed quite respectably and had a very well-tuned chassis that could pull .89G in the corners, better than most cars of its time. With Ronal alloys, body color grill, sill skirts and mirrors, and lowered suspension, this car epitomizes 1980s performance just as much as the GTI. You can find the white 1987 Renault Alliance GTA convertible for C$3900 in Montreal, QC.
Fire! 1984 Renault Fuego Turbo
September 25, 2013Sometimes it’s hard to remember how many options were out there in terms of sports coupes in 1984. You could pick up an Isuzu Impulse, a VW Scirocco, an Alfa Romeo GTV6, a Ford Mustang fastback, Mitsubishi Starion or Tredia, or a Renault Fuego. And that’s not even a complete list! Granted, these cars were not always in the same consideration set, but the diversity of options available in 1984 was quite remarkable compared to what is on the market in 2013 (Scionbaru BRX/FR-S, Scion tC, are there any more? Anyone? Bueller?). Providing some turbocharged Gallic passion in the market was this 1984 Renault Fuego Turbo, available for $3500 in Ottawa, ON.


