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Unique Cars and Parts: News |
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Clever or someone with too much time?
Probably both! Before you click the image at left
to enlarge it, can you guess what this motorbike
is made from? At first glance, we presumed it was
those clever people from leggo at it again, but after
a double take we realised it was made entirely from
balloons. Which prompted us to try and describe it
in one word - and the only one we could come up with
is "safe". |
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Football, Meat Pies and Hartnett Holden
Cars:
One thing is for sure, Holden fans owe thanks to Larry
Hartnett (later Sir Lawrence) for saving the GM Australian
operation. Hartnett was sent to Australia in 1934 by
GM with a brief to "make it profitable or close
it down". And save it he did, writing back to HQ “The
economies achieved by Holden’s at Woodville put
them, in many ways, years ahead of the rest of the world
in manufacturing techniques." Following the war,
and together with Jack Horn, he presented the government
with the blueprints to manufacture the first true Australian
car. And this is where the story gets murky!; Hartnett
was soon to leave GM to form his own company in an attempt
to build a cheap Australian "people's car",
the official line being that he felt the Holden was not "Australian"
enough. But there are some that have alleged to us that
it was more the case that he felt snubbed by GM after
the first car was called the "Holden", not
the
"Hartnett". |
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The
Bridgestone Tyre Commercial - our pick of 2004:
Many would now be aware that car manufacturers have recently
been regulated on what they can and cannot display on
television. This has led to some rather clever ad's being
produced, such as the Honda Euro Accord ad. However for
us, the best ad of 2004 comes from the US, click
here to view the Bridgestone tyre commercial. |
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The
legendary Datsun 260Z:
4 years after the release of the extremely popular 240Z,
Datsun would upgrade their "Z" car with a larger
capacity engine and the addition of a longer wheelbase
2+2 option. But the tough US emission controls phased
in during the 1970's would see the 260 replaced by the
280 within a year, while back home it would run for another
4 years. Unfortunately the "Z" had a rapidly
expanding waist-line, and the lustre of the original
was fast becoming tarnished. The 260Z is the latest car
to be added to our gallery. |
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Holden
HX Wagon - An Original People Mover
With sales of the traditional Station Wagon on the decline,
some lament the rise in popularity of today's "People
Mover". The HX Wagon's front bench seat was certainly
not the last word in comfort, but it did afford a seating
capacity of 6, and the wagon was far better able to blend
into mainstream 9 to 5 traffic without blowing your "Family
Man" cover. The Holden HX Wagon is our latest addition
to the .PDF File section, click
here to take a look. |
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Lightburn
Zeta - Australia's own second car:
During the 1980's you could be forgiven for thinking
many car manufacturers were turning their products into
mere appliances - but if you were to wind the clock back
even further (to the 1960's), you would find the Lightburn
whitegoods manufacturer turning the appliance into a
car! The Lightburn "Zeta" and "Zeta Sports"
are now listed in the gallery section. |
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Australia's
worst cars:
We would like to compile a list of Australia's worst cars.
Do you have any experience with a lemon? Has the ownership
experience left you bitter and twisted, or do you think
you could share your stories with other readers? To get
you started, we have some suggestions which we think may
be worthy. Click
here to see our suggestions, then please send your
information, stories and images to us. |
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El
Camino vs. Ranchero
After recently placing the GM El Camino in the
car gallery pages, some Ford fans were quite miffed that
we had not bothered to mention the Ranchero. While the
El Camino was based on the Impala and Chevelle, the Ranchero
shared origins with the Falcon, Fairlane, Torino, Thunderbird
and LTD - and was in the showroom floors a full 2 years
before the El Camino. The Ranchero was in production
for 23 years, with over half a million being manufactured
- and is now listed in the UC&P gallery. |
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The
Mercedes SL Heritage, a new feature:
March 2005 was a record month for visitors to this site,
with the Mercedes SL pages being among the most popular.
We have written a new feature titled 'Mercedes SL Heritage'
in recognition of the contribution Mercedes, and the SL
have made to our motoring history. If you look closely
at the image at left you will see drill holes in the SSKL's
chassis. You will find out why, and many other interesting
facts - click
here to view the feature... |
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Leyland
P76 - Ahead of its Time:
What was it that made the Australian press of
the day so excited about the P76, and help it achieve
the coveted Wheels Car of the Year award in 1973? Quite
simply, Leyland had thought outside the square and introduced
many significant advances, such as the first ever Australian
made car to use an all-alloy engine, low weight (only
1250kg for the Executive model), safety features such
as full-length side intrusion reinforcement on all doors,
power-assisted front disc brakes (only offered as an option
on the 'Big Three' sedans), concealed windscreen wipers,
recessed exterior door handles and a front hinged bonnet.
And its downfall can best be attributed to the marketing
guys - who correctly pointed out that its boot was big
enough to hold a 44 gallon drum! Most Aussies were left
scratching their heads and asking why. If only they had
instead worked out how many kegs could fit! Those that
live in Victoria and are interested in the P76 should
contact the Leyland
P76 Owners Club of Victoria. |
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