Toyota Crown S40

Sunday 19 November 2017
The Toyota Crown (Japanese: トヨタクラウン Toyota Kuraun) is a line of mid/full-size luxury sedans by Toyota primarily aimed at the Japanese market and sold in other select Asian markets.
Introduced in 1955, it has served as the mainstream sedan from Toyota in the Japanese market throughout its existence and holds the distinction of being the longest running passenger-car nameplate affixed to any Toyota model, along with being the first Toyota vehicle to be exported to the United States in 1958. Its traditional competitors in Japan and Asia have been the Nissan Cedric/Gloria/Fuga and the Honda Legend, along with the defunct Mazda Luce, Isuzu Bellel, and Mitsubishi Debonair.
Available at Toyota Store dealers in Japan, the Crown has been popular for government usage, whether as a police car or for transporting government officials. It has also been popular with Japanese companies as company cars along with use as a taxicab. While a base Crown was available for many years aimed at the taxicab market, the increasing opulence and price of the Crown line led to the creation of the Toyota Comfort in 1995 as a more affordable alternative.
In North America, the first through fourth generations were offered from 1958 through 1973. It was replaced with the Toyota Corona Mark II. The Crown has also been partially succeeded in export markets by its closely related sibling, the Lexus GS, which since its debut in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo has always shared the Crown's platform and powertrain options. Later models of the GS and Crown have taken on a very strong aesthetic kinship through shared design cues.
The Crown's history and reputation has given it prominence in the Toyota lineup, as it is one of the few current Toyota models to carry its own unique insignia for the model line with the current Crown having a stylized crown emblem on the grille and steering wheel along with inspiring the names of its smaller progenitors. The Corona, introduced as a smaller companion to the Crown means "crown" in Latin and was initially exported as the "Tiara", while the Corolla took its name from the regal chaplet. The Camry's name is derived from the Japanese phrase kanmuri (冠, かんむり) meaning "little crown" and the Toyota Scepter took its name from the sceptre, an accessory to a crown.
Due to the introduction of the Corona, the dramatically restyled and enlarged Series S40 was launched in 1962, and saw the introduction of the Custom model. According to the Japanese Wikipedia article for the Crown, the styling was said to be influenced by the recently introduced Ford Falcon in 1960. The front grille approach has a similar appearance to the 1960 Imperial Crown (Chrysler), which speaks to Toyota's aspirations that the Crown be a large, comfortable sedan. The station wagon body style carried over from the previous generation Masterline, but with more attention to the luxurious approach used on the Crown.
Headlights were integrated within the boundaries of the greatly enlarged grille, providing a clean, modern appearance. A 2-speed automatic transmission was introduced, called Toyoglide, with a column shift. A bigger and better car than the previous S30 series, it initially had four-cylinder R-series engines before the addition of the "M" six-cylinder engine in 1965. Deluxe and Super Deluxe models were available with added features. The sedan and wagon were known simply as the Crown while the commercial vehicles (coupe utility, double cab coupe utility (pick ups), and van) were known as the Masterline. There was also a limited run of the sedan known as the Toyota Crown S (MS41S) which featured twin SU style carburettors on the 2.0L M in-line-six engine, sportier camshaft, sports instrumentation, sports suspension, 4 speed floor shift, bucket seats, 14 inch wheels, disc brakes on the front and larger drum brakes in the rear.
This Crown became the first Toyota to be exported to Europe, after the head of Denmark's Erla Auto Import A/S saw it at the Tokyo Motor Show. They brought in 190 of these subsequent to a May 1963 agreement. In the US, the MS41L sedan was available in the US for $2,305.00 PoE while the MS46LG station wagon was available for $2,525.00 PoE. Some optional features include an automatic transmission for $160 and a radio for $60.
A two-door Crown Convertible was displayed at the 1963 Tokyo Motor Show, based on the Crown 1900 sedan. It was not put into production.
This Crown generation was the first to be assembled in Australia, from CKD kits, by AMI in Port Melbourne, with significant local content. AMI, which assembled numerous brands including Triumph and, for a short time, Mercedes-Benz, was to become the basis of Toyota's current Australian manufacturing operation.

Technical data:
- engine: 4 cylinders
- capacity: 2000 cc
- horsepower: 110 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 180 km/h

Maserati Biturbo 425

Friday 17 November 2017
The Maserati Biturbo was a family of luxury sports cars, saloons and grand tourers produced by Maserati between 1981 and 1994. The original Biturbo was a two-door, four-seater notchback coupé (of somewhat smaller dimensions than the BMW 3 Series of the time) featuring, as the name implies, a two-litre V6 engine with two turbochargers and a luxurious interior. The car was designed by Pierangelo Andreani, Chief of Centro Stile Maserati up to 1981, somewhat influenced by the design of the recent Quattroporte III (Italdesign Giugiaro).
All Maserati models introduced from the Biturbo's inception in 1981 until 1997 were based on the original Biturbo architecture. Among them the coupés as the 2.24v. and the Racing, saloons as the 420, 425 and 430, the convertible Spyder, the Karif, the 228, the later grand tourers like Shamal and Ghibli II, as well as the Maserati Barchetta which used an ultimate version of the biturbo V6 engine.
When Alejandro de Tomaso acquired Maserati in 1976, he had ambitious plans for the marque. His plan was to combine the prestige of the Maserati brand with a sports car that would be more affordable than the earlier high-priced models that had traditionally made up the Maserati range. In fact, Maserati ceased making supercars like the ones developed under Citroën ownership altogether, like the Bora and Khamsin.
The Biturbo was initially a strong seller and brought Italian prestige to a wide audience, with sales of about 40,000 units. Sales figures fell in subsequent years. De Tomaso also used another of his companies, Innocenti, to produce Biturbo body panels and also to provide final assembly of Biturbos. De Tomaso later sold Maserati to Fiat, who grouped the company with their erstwhile rival Ferrari.
The Biturbo is number 28 in the BBC book Crap Cars and in 2007 was selected as Time's worst car of 1984, although they ranked the Chrysler TC by Maserati as a "greater ignominy".
The Biturbo competed unsuccessfully in the British Touring Car Championship in the late 1980s, the European Touring Car Championship and the World Touring Car Championship (1987).
The first four-door Biturbo introduced was the 425 (1983–86), equipped with the "export" 2.5 litre engine. In 1984 the 425 (along with the two-door models) received a new dashboard. Two years later a two-litre version of the 425, the 420 (1985–86), was added for the domestic market, together with the more powerful 420 S. The 420 S sported improved handling, the twin intercooled engine and the same aesthetic accoutrements of the Biturbo S: dark finish trim, two-tone paint, two-tone wheels and NACA ducts on the bonnet, delivering fresh air to the intercoolers. Like their two-door siblings in 1986 the saloons were updated with the Weber fuel injection, thus spawning the 425 i (1986–89), 420 i (1985–87) and 420 Si (1985–87). The latter featured a somewhat more restrained styling than its predecessor.

Technical data:
- engine: V6
- capacity: 1996 cc
- horsepower: 180 HP
- gearbox: 5+1
- top speed: 215 km/h

Chevrolet Corvette 1984

Wednesday 15 November 2017
The Chevrolet Corvette, known colloquially as the Vette or Chevy Corvette, is a sports car manufactured by Chevrolet. The car has been produced through seven generations. The first model, a convertible, was introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after the type of small, maneuverable warship called a corvette. Originally built in Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette is currently manufactured in Bowling Green, Kentucky and is the official sports car of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The fourth generation Corvette was the first complete redesign of the Corvette since 1963. Production was to begin for the 1983 model year but quality issues and part delays resulted in only 43 prototypes for the 1983 model year being produced that were never sold. All of the 1983 prototypes were destroyed or serialized to 1984 except one with a white exterior, medium blue interior, L83 350 ci, 205 bhp V8, and 4-speed automatic transmission. After extensive testing and modifications were completed, it was initially retired as a display sitting in an external wall over the Bowling Green Assembly Plant's employee entrance. Later this only surviving 1983 prototype was removed, restored and is now on public display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is still owned by GM. On February 12, 2014, it was nearly lost to a sinkhole which opened up under the museum. Eight other Corvettes were severely damaged.
Regular fourth generation production began on January 3, 1983; the 1984 model year and delivery to customers began in March 1983. The 1984 model carried over the 350 cu in (5.7 L) L83 slightly more powerful (5 bhp) "Crossfire" V8 engine from the final 1982 third generation model. New chassis features were aluminum brake calipers and an all-aluminum suspension for weight savings and rigidity. The new one piece targa top had no center reinforcement. A new electronic dashboard with digital liquid crystal displays for the speedometer and tachometer was standard. Beginning in 1985, the 230 bhp (170 kW) L98 engine with tuned port fuel injection became the standard engine.
September 1984 through 1988 Corvettes offered a Doug Nash designed "4+3" transmission – a 4-speed manual coupled to an automatic overdrive on the top three gears. It was designed to help the Corvette meet U.S. fuel economy standards. Since 1981 (when it was last offered), a manual transmission returned to the Corvette starting with production in late 1984. The transmission proved to be problematic and was replaced by a modern ZF 6-speed manual transmission in 1989.

Technical data:
- engine: V8
- capacity: 5700 cc
- horsepower: 250 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 220 km/h

Renault ACL Rodeo

Thursday 30 August 2012
This is exactly the same vehicle as described here. No roof though :)

Technical data:
- engine: 4 cylinders
- capacity: 842 cc
- horsepower: 35 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 90 km/h

Fiat 500

Tuesday 28 June 2011
To meet the demands of the post-war market which called for economy cars, the Fiat 500 was rear-engined on the pattern of the Volkswagen Beetle, just like its bigger brother, the 1955 Fiat 600. Several car makers followed the now uncommon rear engine configuration at the time and were quite successful. The Neckar version manufactured in Heilbronn under a complicated deal involving NSU, was introduced in October 1961. In Upper Austria the firm of Steyr-Puch also produced cars based, by agreement, on the Fiat 500.
Despite its diminutive size, the 500 proved to be an enormously practical and popular vehicle throughout Europe. Besides the two-door coupé, it was also available as the "Giardiniera" station wagon; this variant featured the standard engine laid on its side, the wheelbase lengthened by 10 cm (4 in) which yielded a usable rear seat, a full-length sunroof, and larger brakes from the Fiat 600.
Sports models were famously produced by Abarth, as well as by Giannini. An Austrian variant, produced by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, the 1957–1969 Steyr-Puch 500, had a motorcycle-derived Puch boxer twin motor, a sports model of which was the 1964–1968 Steyr-Puch 650 TR2.
Production of the 500 ended in 1975, although its replacement, the Fiat 126, was launched two years earlier. The 126 was never as popular as its predecessor in Italy, but was (and still is) enormously popular in the former Eastern Bloc countries, where it is famed for its mechanical durability and high fuel economy.

Technical data:
- engine: 2 cylinders
- capacity: 500 cc
- horsepower: 24 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 100 km/h

Ford Taunus Mk III

Wednesday 1 December 2010
As from the 1976 model year the Taunus and Cortina were almost identical, apart from regional variations (in terms of specification changes and trim levels).
The Taunus TC along with the Cortina Mk III and their successors have been produced in slightly updated forms in Europe, Argentina and Asia (some Cortinas were built under license by Korean automaker Hyundai) with the last Turkish Otosan-Taunus leaving the factory in 1994. However the major components remained basically the same through the entire production run only receiving minor body changes with the biggest re-engineering in the 1979 model year, which involved a facelift (identical to the Ford Cortina Mk5 update).
The Taunus/Cortina was finally replaced by the Sierra in late 1982. The Sierra carried over the Cortina/Taunus OHC Pinto Engines and RWD configuration but was otherwise an all new car with independent suspension all round.
The Taunus and Cortina models are very easy to service and share a lot of mechanical components with the other European Ford cars of the period (excluding the Ford Fiesta), making them extremely easy to fix, although they are now a rare sight in even the markets where they were most popular. For example, the British Cortinas of this generation sold more than 1,000,000 units, but little more than 2,000 were in circulation by 2006. The Taunus, however, still can be seen in circulation, in nations like Spain, Germany and Scandinavia and there is an active owners club.
In 1982 production of the Taunus ceased in Europe; it was replaced by the Ford Sierra. Production continued in Argentina until 1984, where a coupé version (effectively a two-door saloon) remained in the line-up right until the end (while in Germany the coupé was dropped after the 1975 facelift), and at Otosan in Turkey, where a restyled version of the last model continued in production until 1994.

Technical data:
- engine: 4 cylinders
- capacity: 1249 cc
- horsepower: 56 HP
- gearbox: 4+1
- top speed: 145 km/h