Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics!

[some_other_dave]

Interesting. There was a "clean" version of the MG F built for speed records, called "Project EXF". Uses some of our standard techniques:







Flat wheel covers, solid tonneau (like we use on pickup trucks), reduced frontal area, etc.

-soD

[War_Wagon]

Was the MG F a JDM vehicle, or a U.K. vehicle, or both? I have no idea how it found it's way here, so I can't say where it came from. But odds are if I haven't seen one here before (800+ auction cars a week x 14 years lol), then it's a rare item.

[Rokeby]

Most def all-Brit:

20 Aug'97, Bonneville - 217.400 mph, 346.31 km/h
1433cc 333Ps (329 bhp) @ 7000 rpm Turbocharged K Series

… this MGF differs from the standard production car only as necessary to
reduce the coefficient of drag to less than 0.25. This was achieved by the
addition of a 'longtail' - a 400 mm tapered tail extension, retaining the same
design cues as MGF - and removal of the windscreen and door mirrors. A
flat-deck tonneau was added along with a roll-cage within a 'tear-drop'
canopy providing protection for the driver's head.

… A 1.4 litre version of the MGF1.8 litre K-Series engine was selected, as its
lower compression ratio is better suited to turbocharging. The fuel used
was super-unleaded petrol.

… During 32 hours of wind tunnel testing, the tail was extended by 400mm
to improve stability, with new steel panels hand-made in Rover Design's
prototype shop. Closing off the air intakes at the front of the car cut drag and
lift and Howell painstakingly taped over the car's panel gaps before each run.
Why? Because he had discovered that minimizing the tiniest surface
imperfections yielded an extra 1.5 mph at 200mph. 



The bubble top was blow-moulded by a glider canopy specialist. The chassis
retained the standard Hydragas suspension, but discarded its anti-roll bars:
cornering was irrelevant at Bonneville. The rear tyres were narrower than the
fronts - "but not by choice", smiled Phil Turner. "These are the only sizes
Goodyear makes." 



If the car was created by selectively raiding the Rover corporate parts bin,
the engine poached from a wider range of sources. The Garrett turbocharger
is identical to the unit used in the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, the intercooler
comes from an Aston Martin DB7. (Has any car ever previously melded
components from the DB7 and a Maestro van?)
http://www.mgcars.org.uk/news/news272.html


[bestclimb]

Saw a suburban with all the seats filled pulling a small trailer. That's like 96 M/G/P Looked like a scout troop.

[WesternStarSCR]

In the same day, in Detroit:

Passed by a grey 1st gen Insight probably doing 80

Sat next to a white Tesla S in a rough part of town. License plate = "zerooil".

Saw a Mitsubishi MiEV near home.

Crazy. What is the world coming too?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Brazilian Ford F1000 (short-bed F250) from the 80s with a 4-pot MWM turbodiesel that I've seen in my street. The double-cab is an aftermarket conversion.

There are some that got a 3-cylinder 64hp non-turbocharged engine too, I've recently saw one of those for sale.

Diesel-powered VW double-cab T1 truck

Some folks are already calling it "poor man's Amarok".

Fiat Palio Espresso Panel Van

They were available in South Africa with a 1.2L gasser engine, but it's not so usual to find them in Brazil and usually with a 1.0L flexfuel engine instead.

Kia Pregio, which in Brazil was sold as Kia Besta due to the success of the original Besta which got replaced by it

Not so sure if it qualifies as "eco", but with a 2.7L 4-pot IDI Diesel it performs the same jobs a Chevy Express 1500 or a Ford E-150 would require at least a V6 gasser to perform.

Early Volkswagen Saveiro, the Fox equivalent to the Caddy.

[freebeard]

Thanks for posting that. I learned something new today: Volkswagen Gol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It appears there is quite a scene around the Saviero, with rear-engined racers and sound-off competitors.

I like this better than the Caddy/Rabbit pickup where they just chopped a 4-door so that there are short doors and no room to slide the seat back.

[War_Wagon]

Nice pics! I bought a VW Fox wagon for a guy I worked with (bought it under my dad's name as employees couldn't buy cars) about 7 years ago. It's still sitting there, and I have the papers for it! If anyone around Vancouver has a plan for a TDI swap into Fox wagon, by all means let me know. He paid $310 for it. And sold the aftermarket wheels off it for $200. Now it just sits. That's just a crime! Thankfully he is too lazy to scrap it lol.

[freebeard]

Sweet. Another one that you just remembered you have sitting around? Is it the redesign where they beveled the top of the grille and dropped ~.08 off the Cd? 2-door? Pix?

So he walked away from $110, and you could get a storage lien? How would value/sunk cost be tilted if it was south of the border?

(800+ auction cars a week x 14 years lol)

What you do sounds fun.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It appears there is quite a scene around the Saviero, with rear-engined racers and sound-off competitors.

I like this better than the Caddy/Rabbit pickup where they just chopped a 4-door so that there are short doors and no room to slide the seat back.

These images are Photoshop jobs made by Eduardo Oliveira, the same guy who did a hi-tech redesign for the Ford Model T.
IDD: Ford T Reloaded

But the extended-cab is an optional feature in the current Saveiro. The Fox-based one was made until 2011, altough it had a major redesign in late '98 and a few minor facelifts in that meantime.