Rusty But Trusty

Most people, when asked to think of British luxury cars sold in North America, will probably think of Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Jaguar. If pressed, the older, nuttier types might remember Rover’s various attempts here, but it’s unlikely anyone will remember Humber, even though their cars were sold here from 1946 to 1967. Humber was effectively the Rootes Group’s Rover, and in fact, there’s no clear differentiation between their strategies. Both offered conservatively-designed cars with luxurious interiors using leather, wood, and wool, and with a reasonably powerful, if old-fashioned, six cylinder engine. In fact, when Chrysler acquired Rootes, several attempts were made to fit the Chrysler V8, just as Rover had adopted the American Buick V8. If anything, the Humber was more conservative than Rover, retaining styling cues well into the sixties that were influenced by 1950s American cars. You can find this 1961 Humber Super Snipe for sale in Ames, IA with a starting bid of $2500 and 6 days left to go.

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