Weird off brand cars.

I had a Humber Super Snipe during the spring and early summer of 1963. It looked pretty much like the one below except that it was maroon and lacked the sun visor.

That year I also had a dark green 1957 Morris Minor 1000 Tourer, which I picked up cheaply after returning the Humber to its owner. The Tourer was a convertible and it was a great way to get around on a budget and super for the hot and sometimes humid NYC summer.

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The one off brand car I hate coming in to my shop, but we maintain it for the lady because she loves the car and it is in great condition - its a 2007 Suzuki Forenza. I had to get a special Tech 2 card for Suzuki to do some things but she paid happily paid for it! Other cars that are off brand to me that we keep special tools and software for are Saabs, Saturn Astra, GTOs and such. We have customers that own these and other shops won't touch.
 
ctechbob said:
Were/are built right up the road from me. IDK if they are still operating or not. They've always been sort of on the edge of existing and since Daddy Don died a few years back I have no idea what their status is.
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If I was filthy rich, a Panoz or two would be in my garage, they look stunning.
 
Carmudgeon said:
Which was a slightly modified Lotus Elise in a different suit, with the GM Ecotec.
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Never got to drive the Vauxhall/Opel, but I did get to drive the Europe spec Europa S which had the Ecotec, great car. I had my Elise S/C at the same time as a SAAB 93 Cab w/ the Ecotec...wish that motor was available in the Elise. Loved that engine, and easy oil changes!
 
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wings&wheels said:
Yup, and Vauxhall was a UK equivalent and producer of one of my all time favs:
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... and my all-time unfavourite, a '68 Vauxhall Viva I owned briefly as a teen.

The Viva was sold by Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers here. Its sister car, the Envoy Epic, was commonly known as the Epidemic.

LemonAid, a Canadian Ralph Nader-ish book published annually, said that the Epic and Viva were GM's first non-polluting cars - because they were usually broken down.
 
A lot of things have changed since FIAT meant “ Fix it again Tony “.
Stellantis is a power house. It’s embarrassing that the Italians own Jeep and Ram. Here is a refresher on what exactly is Stellantis.

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Always loved Alfa Romeo. A "drivers" brand. Sadly, they don't command the respect on this side of the pond. Only by those in the know. While reliability may historically not match that of the German brands, I would say the fun/performance/drivability factor matches or exceeds that of similar BMW models.

Also as an aside you will see Alfa Romeo engines/equipment in F1 racing and continuing to invest in the cutting edge of performance.
 
Snagglefoot said:
A lot of things have changed since FIAT meant “ Fix it again Tony “.
Stellantis is a power house. It’s embarrassing that the Italians own Jeep and Ram.
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Rumor has it that Stellantis only acquired Jeep and RAM because they are capable of towing the other "powerhouse" Euro brands to the repair shop when they break down. :ROFLMAO:
 
Nukeman7 said:
Rumor has it that Stellantis only acquired Jeep and RAM because they are capable of towing the other "powerhouse" Euro brands to the repair shop when they break down. :ROFLMAO:
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Having owned many, many Jeeps prior to Stellantis involvement, not sure how bad their other products would have to be for Jeeps, Wranglers and Grand Cherokees at least, to make them look good! Heck, my last GC is what finally sold on Range Rovers; figure if I was dealing w/ questionable reliability anyway, why not go all in! :D
 
Kira said:
Anyone here see an episode of "Grace". He's an English homicide detective in Brighton.
He drives an Alfa-Romero. An 'everyman', tortured cop character (his wife was murdered) looks odd in a specialty sports/luxury car.

Also, wasn't Opel a GM brand from Germany?
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Opel was GM Germany....it lost money for GM for years and years but PSA made money on Opel almost immediately after purchasing it (so I read). It doesn't say much for GM 'management'....

Vauxhall was GM England.....the cars were almost identical to Opel except with English (non) reliability....at least the one's I drove in the late 1970s.
 
I see a number of Alfa Romeo cars around here: both the Giulia and Stelvio, and there is a dealer in our middle sized city. I haven't seen any of the Tonales but the Dodge Hornet is closely based on the Tonale.
 
There is an Alfa Romeo dealer in my small home town, Pensacola, Florida. They also sell Maserati. This in a town that doesn't even have a Lexus, Porsche, or Jaguar dealership. And I don't even see many Alfa's on the road around here. I actually see more Maserati's than Alfa's.
 
pbm said:
Opel was GM Germany....it lost money for GM for years and years but PSA made money on Opel almost immediately after purchasing it (so I read). It doesn't say much for GM 'management'....

Vauxhall was GM England.....the cars were almost identical to Opel except with English (non) reliability....at least the one's I drove in the late 1970s.
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I've always been amazed at how the Brits can bring their own special...character to otherwise reliable automobiles, Vauxhall as you mentioned as well as the Honda/Sterling arrangement. It is realy a gift :D
 
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