Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

The Wedge – 1980 Triumph TR7 Roadster

January 2, 2014

“What an attractive little sports car”, said nobody ever about the Triumph TR7. Which is sad really, since Triumph’s last gasp in the US is, with the benefit of hindsight, quite a handsome thing. Following the wedge look of such high-end sports cars as the Lotus Esprit and Lamborghini Countach, and moving Triumph out of the world of sixties roadsters and into what sportscars of the 1980s would be, it was doomed the way much of the world of British Leyland was. Whether you side with labour or management, there’s no denying the ultimate outcome – non-luxury British cars were not sold in the US after 1981, and only reappeared in the form of the BMiniW in 2001. You can find this last-of-breed 1980 Triumph TR7 for sale somewhere in Pennsylvania for $3900.

1980 Triumph TR7 left front

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Le Box – 1970 Renault 10

January 2, 2014

These days, nobody has the guts to do a basic, you-could-design-it-with-a-ruler car. Every car, even the lowliest Kia, has to have flame surfacing or retro touches, thanks to Chris “Bungle” Bangle and Freeman Thomas, designer of the old New Beetle and the Audi TT. But back in the mid-1960s, Renault brought out the very modern, very simply boxy R10. With its long front and rear overhangs, and narrow doors inherited from the R8, it was no thing of beauty, but it does stick out today for being an oddball that once held its own against the retro-before-it-was-cool VW Beetle. Check out this 1970 Renault R10 for sale in central Washington state for $3100.

1970 Renault 10 left side

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Unkillable – 1984 Peugeot 505 diesel (and bonus 504 diesel!)

January 1, 2014

When prominent motor journalists and websites discuss cars that are unkillable, and popular in developing countries, the names they easily reach for include the Toyota Hilux trucks, Toyota Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols, and Land Rovers. But when a quick search can yield pictures such as the one at the bottom of this post (merci, Slate Afrique, from an article titled “Peugeot 505 – The Guinean Donkey“), they’re clearly making a major journalistic omission. Quick, we need to get the Times on this story – French Car Manufacturer Wronged by Anglophone Press! Fortunately, you need not just read about the Guinean beast of burden, you can also own one (or two or three) – check out this 1984 Peugeot 505 Diesel (that’s dee-ezelle, not deezel) for sale in Seattle, WA for $1500.

1984 Peugeot 505 diesel right front

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