A little higher up the pay scale from the Austin A55 Cambridge is the junior executive Rover. Not quite a Jaguar, far from a Rolls or Bentley, but maybe on a level with the Humber Super Snipe is the Rover P5. For some reason, Rover decided to make a 4-door coupe 4 decades before it was cool for the Germans to do it. Perhaps this was Rover’s attempt at going up against the more rakish Jaguars, or maybe one of Rover’s design directors spent some time in America checking out the hot rod scene. Either way, it makes for an interesting look, and gives it a level of elegance not found in the regular saloon. You can find this 1967 Rover P5 Mark III 3-liter Coupe for sale for $2000 in Chemainus, BC, on Vancouver Island.
Commonwealth Saloons – 1967 Rover P5 Mark III 3-Liter
March 4, 2014Commonwealth Saloons – 1958 Austin A55 Cambridge
March 4, 2014As a result of Canada being in the British Commonwealth, and Canadian consumers having more frugal tastes in cars, British non-sports cars were available for longer and enjoyed greater success than they ever did in the United States. That’s how they got Minis through the late 1970s, the Innocenti DeTomaso in the mid-1980s, and some other things we didn’t see in the US, like the Hyundai Pony, Lada, Skoda, and more recently, Mercedes B-class and first-generation Smart ForTwo. And while post-war Austins were offered in the US (this one as the Austin Cambrian), buyers of family sedans preferred American cars for greater size, power, reliability, and durability. Check out this 1958 Austin A55 Cambridge for sale for $3995 in Vancouver, BC at a Kia dealership.
1980s Sport Coupes – 1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo vs. 1987 Renault GTA
March 4, 2014Quick! Think of an affordable 1980s sports coupe! Scirocco…. Impulse…. Celica…. 200SX…. Corolla GT-S…. Camaro…. Sunbird…. wait, what? Back in the 1980s, when everything was getting a turbo – heck, Buick put a turbo in their Regal, for god’s sakes – Pontiac turbocharged their Sunbird. Blowing out GM Brazil’s 1.8-liter four to two liters and hanging a turbo off the side brought a total of 165hp and probably a good time with torque steer. To put that in context, at the same time, Audi’s 2.2-liter I5 turbo was putting out 162hp, and Saab’s 2-liter I4 turbo was making 160hp, both to motivate ostensibly heavier cars. You can find this 1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo for sale for C$1600 in east Vancouver, BC.


