what cars are these?
#856
Lexus Test Driver
#858
Lexus Fanatic
Yep...exactly. my brother once had a 1979 Renault 5 (LeCar). As I recall, if you (out of habit) pushed the left-hand stalk up to signal a right turn, you turned off the headlights. And, almost every time you reached for something in the middle of the dash, the tip of your hand would brush against the protruding wiper-switch on the right side of the column, and the wipers would swipe across the dry glass. The 4-speed manual shift-linkage felt like it was attached with rubber-bands. There were several other eccentrics as well. It rolled like a beach ball on corners..but was ultimately stable. And it had the ride and seat-comfort of a semi-luxury car...until the driver's seat fell off its mounts after about two years.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-09-23 at 03:16 PM.
#859
Well, it was a typical cheap French car of the period.....Cream-of-Wheat suspension, ultra-soft ride (for its size) to the point of being decadent, plush living-room seat comfort, El Cheapo-quality parts, sloppy assembly, things falling off the car before it is a year old, and an eccentric control-layout that would have most Americans pulling their hair out.
The similar looking yellow car in my original post was the Citroen Dyane - an attempt in the 60s to update the 2CV with more up to date styling and a hatchback to complete with the Renault 4. The 2Cv saw that off as well.
#860
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (20)
^ 2cv may have had all those 'redeeming qualities' but it was awful to ride in one.
my best friend in england's first car was a 2cv (all he could afford at the time). i never understood how it actually worked especially that gear shift.
my best friend in england's first car was a 2cv (all he could afford at the time). i never understood how it actually worked especially that gear shift.
#861
Anyway, coming out of a tunnel yesterday I nearly ran over one of these, it seemed tiny - I've not seen one since I was a kid:
Last edited by Big Andy; 01-10-23 at 04:53 AM.
#862
Lexus Fanatic
#863
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (20)
Oh the gearshift was tremendous wasn't it! The lever came horizontally straight out of the dashboard with a short right angle and **** on. Twist left and push forward for 1st, pull back and let it return to vertical for 2nd, straight forward for 3rd, and then out and twist right for 4th. My then girlfriend, now wife's Dyane was the same. You could remove all the seats but the driver's and then roll the roof right back. Doing that you could get about 6 blokes standing vertically. It made the whole thing top heavy so you had to get them all to lean in unison the opposite direction to the next turn. After a football match we did that while setting rockets off as we drove round the town (before hiding it in a garage when the police came looking).
Anyway, coming out of a tunnel yesterday I nearly ran over one of these, it seemed tiny - I've not seen one since I was a kid:
Anyway, coming out of a tunnel yesterday I nearly ran over one of these, it seemed tiny - I've not seen one since I was a kid:
lotus europa?
#865
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (20)
#866
europa only 1455lbs!!!!!!!!
https://www.carfolio.com/lotus-europa-63008
https://www.carfolio.com/lotus-europa-63008
Last edited by Big Andy; 01-10-23 at 06:40 AM.
#867
Forum Administrator
iTrader: (2)
I had a Lotus Europa many years ago! (As a matchbox car)
#868
Lexus Test Driver
Awesome, our buddy DaveGS finally joins the party!
So that's how they got the weight down.
Ok, time to fess up... matchbox many years ago or you still collecting, no judging... haha
PS- didn't think a car that light was possible when not looking like a stripped out completely car.
So that's how they got the weight down.
Ok, time to fess up... matchbox many years ago or you still collecting, no judging... haha
Spoiler
PS- didn't think a car that light was possible when not looking like a stripped out completely car.
Last edited by Margate330; 01-10-23 at 07:28 AM.
#869
Lexus Test Driver
Ok, here ya'll go.
Can't help on this one cuz I don't know!
What the heck is this?
Can't help on this one cuz I don't know!
What the heck is this?