Fun question for lovers of 70s cars

[Oakie]

Easy enough. Name the company who made this car and the model. Year if your really good. First correct answer wins a virtual crunchie.

Warning ... only people who really know their stuff will get this. (And if someone gets it straight off I'm going to look a right twat but hey, that's the risk I take.)

I will eventually put up the info about this car. Quite interesting.

[Moi]

Mazda Roadpacer AP

based on the HJ Holden Premier but with the Mazda rotary engine attached to the Holden's transmission...

[Oakie]

Good job! You get a virtual crunchie and I look like a twat!

Interesting car for sure.

[Moi]

Crunchie Bar...

Where did you see it?

BTW, the giveaway were the mudguard mounted mirrors... then a check with Mechanic Google's photo album to confirm my suspicions and finally a quick read of Ms Wiki Pedia's writings...

[Oakie]

Crunchie Bar...

Where did you see it?

BTW, the giveaway were the mudguard mounted mirrors... then a check with Mechanic Google's photo album to confirm my suspicions and finally a quick read of Ms Wiki Pedia's writings...

Ah, mirrors ... good point. It's at the car museum thing in the same facility as theWearable Arts Museum in Nelson. They have a nice wee collection of bikes tucked away in a wee corner too.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I would dearly love to start that up in front of a bunch of street machine petrolheads.... LOL

[Drew]

I would dearly love to start that up in front of a bunch of street machine petrolheads.... LOL

They don't sound like a rotor. Massive mufflers and a twenty foot long pipe.

They are heavy and fucken slow. The only thing going for them is that there is finally space for a radiator that can keep the thing cool.

[Tazz]

ooo I've read about those but never seen one in the flesh, yet.

Family friend just sold on another of Mazdas heavy bodied small engine rotary attempts for peanuts. He'd owned it from new and loved to praise and rip it in the same sentence. Living up the hills in Lyttelton wasn't the best home for that sort of beast for sure.

[sidecar bob]

Some Maoris had one near my work in the '90s, they turned it into scrap in a couple of years totally unaware of what it actually was.

[neels]

Dear god, a whale of a car and an engine with no torque, not a winning combination.

Mind you, I can understand the trade, Holden were desperately in need of some technology back then considering the dinosaurs the Australian taxpayer was subsidising them to build.

[AllanB]

Cheers mate - never knew they existed.


Also - have NO idea why anyone thought this was a good idea.


Stick a nice Chev V8 in it.

[Drew]

Dear god, a whale of a car and an engine with no torque, not a winning combination.

Mind you, I can understand the trade, Holden were desperately in need of some technology back then considering the dinosaurs the Australian taxpayer was subsidising them to build.

Wasn't it much later that the government did the propping up? Hence the XF falcon never coming out with a V8, and Holden being able to meet emissions laws with one.

[neels]

Wasn't it much later that the government did the propping up? Hence the XF falcon never coming out with a V8, and Holden being able to meet emissions laws with one.

I always thought the same, until I read a very interesting history of the Australian car industry, it's basically been a taxpayer subsidised employment scheme from when it started, and if it wasn't for that Holden would never have existed.

The no V8 in the XF falcon I understood was due to a new CEO taking over who had no interest in motor racing, and decided that the Australian public no longer wanted to buy cars with V8 engines, if so I wonder what he's doing for a job now.

[sidecar bob]

I always thought the same, until I read a very interesting history of the Australian car industry, it's basically been a taxpayer subsidised employment scheme from when it started, and if it wasn't for that Holden would never have existed.
.

That explains everything. How the fuck else could you sell cars that are the motoring equivalent of KFC & Pizza Hut, while the rest of the world were doing fine dining on Mercedes & BMW (I'm talking about the 70's & 80's) the difference between a HG Holden & a '71 BMW 3.0s, which I have worked on since they were semi modern is immeasurable in every way. I guess the same goes for today, I'd hardly swap my X5 for a Holden Adventra, they have got to be the cheapest nastiest 4wd conversion possible, using subframe spacers to give a body lift like some backyard bodge up from Gore.

[pete376403]

The feeling during the 70's was that the old Aussie 6's and V8s were popular among country buyers travelling long distances over 2nd and 3rd rate roads where the Euro "fine dining" experience would be falling apart. The Aussies could also be repaired with the sorts of basic equipment that could be found in any country town engineering/blacksmith shop.

That, plus a big chunk of government subsidy / political pork-barrelling.