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carbrochureaddict.bsky.social
Historian and auto enthusiast, posting images of car and van brochures from my personal collection.
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The most obscure member of Alfa Romeo's Alfasud family was the 3-door Giardinetta estate car (called Kombi in this 1978 West German brochure). First shown in 1975, production numbers were puzzlingly low: less than 6,000 were made in total, and it was only offered in a few markets. #carbluesky 🧵

submitted 2 hours ago • 1 comment

The Hunter, the last of the Rootes models to be built in Australia, had many differences from its UK counterpart. Top of the 1971 range was the Hunter Royal 660, offering 'European luxury and performance'. Hunters had been built Down Under (from CKD kits) since 1967. #weirdcarbs 🧵

submitted 6 hours ago • 1 comment

Very much a niche model in the UK, the 1979 Datsun Skyline 240K came only in a pillarless coupé version, having been offered earlier in the decade as a saloon, in a previous generation. Ostensibly sporting, in reality luxury was its key appeal. #weirdcarbs

submitted 21 hours ago • 2 comments

The Audi Cabriolet, based on the B3 coupé, arrived in 1991 and quickly established itself. Significant changes had been necessary to create the company's first open-top model since the long-ago days when the company (then Auto Union) made two-stroke cars. #carbluesky 🧵

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Named after a type of camel, Citroën's Méhari was a remarkably stark utility/leisure vehicle featuring a plastic body on the 2CV chassis, and using the familiar 602cc air-cooled flat-twin engine. This 1976 Dutch brochure shows the fwd model (a 4X4 was also briefly avaliable later). #weirdcarbs

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

The underdog of the US car industry, American Motors, did things differently from the Big Three. Its much-maligned Pacer was advanced in many ways, but after early sales success was in serious decline by the date of this 1978 brochure, coinciding with a new grille for the two bodystyles. #weirdcarbs

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

A bold attempt to revive the Fiat tradition of spiders, the 1747cc Barchetta certainly looked the part and performed well too. The front-wheel-drive model used a shortened Punto platform. This British brochure is from 1997 - the car's UK appeal was, however, tempered by being lhd only. #weirdcarbs

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

Car styling fashions moved rapidly in the first couple of decades after WW2. This meant that Ford of Britain's big-selling Anglia 105E, launched in 1959 with Detroit-influenced looks, seemed desperately dated by the time of this 1967 UK brochure, the model's last year. #weirdcarbs🧵

submitted 2 days ago • 5 comments

The North American Subaru BRAT, introduced in 1978, was an interesting small leisure vehicle based on the company's workaday pick-up model. It had 4-wheel drive and two rear 'fresh air bucket seats' (which allowed the BRAT to be classed as a car, dodging US tariffs on light trucks). #weirdcarbs

submitted 2 days ago • 6 comments

Unlike many European manufacturers, Porsche managed to adapt its 911 to US safety regulations without too much effect on those classic looks. This 1976 brochure shows the American line-up of 911S, Targa and Carrera Turbo. #carbluesky

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

The fast-fading Talbot Samba was pictured with some decidedly different dance moves in this unlikely spread from its 1985 French brochure, featuring the mid-range 1.1 GL model. Launched in 1981, the Samba was effectively a Peugeot 104Z with a 110mm wheelbase stretch. #weirdcarbs 🧵

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Hyundai's new front-wheel-drive mid-range car, the Lantra (known as Avante in its native South Korea) was an important addition to the line-up, taking over from the outdated Stellar. Only sold as a saloon, it is featured in 1.6GLSi and Cdi versions in this 1991 UK brochure. #carbluesky 🧵

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

One of the few automotive design classics to come out of the USSR, the tough-as-nails Lada Niva was widely exported to the west in its heyday. This very early brochure in English, featuring some decidedly strange images, is from 1978, when the model was simply known as the 2121. #weirdcarbs🧵

submitted 4 days ago • 6 comments