Parking Lot Orphans

"Jonee" (Jonee) 09/24/2015 at 16:40 • Filed to: None

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It’s not often you see a beat up Studebaker and a Sterling in your local fast food joint parking lot. I love that there are two kooks daily driving these things.

When the hell was the last time anyone saw a (presumably) running Sterling?

A friend of mine’s dad had a Sterling. It was terrible. This almost beats my nearly 40 year old Renault.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Jonee 09/24/2015 at 17:10

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I thought Stirlings were just rebadged Hondas....did Lucas somehow become involved?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/24/2015 at 17:19

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Nope, they were rebadged Rovers. The only “Sterling” was a re-badged and slightly re-worked Rover 800:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_800…

Jonee > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/24/2015 at 17:23

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Some of them had Honda engines, but they were Rovers with everything that comes with being a Rover.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Jonee 09/24/2015 at 17:48

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Is it safe to assume that since that one is still running, it has the Honda engine?

Jonee > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/24/2015 at 17:52

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Yes. Actually, I think in America we only got the Honda powered ones. But, the rest of the car was all British.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Jonee 09/24/2015 at 17:58

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Really? The body too? Because that body looks like an Accord.

Jonee > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/24/2015 at 18:05

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There was some kind of collaboration between Rover and Honda. It shared a platform with the Acura Legend, and there are a bunch of shared parts, actually, but it was built in the U.K. And, yes, Lucas electrics. This looks like a good rundown of its history.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/marques/…

pip bip - choose Corrour > Jonee 09/24/2015 at 20:06

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gib!

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/25/2015 at 16:43

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Both great lookers, I totally get the appeal. And a friend of mine’s dad had a post-facelift bordeaux-red Rover 820T. Wasn’t that bad actually. Only that depreciation was pathetic.

I totally dig that Sterling’s paint!

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/26/2015 at 04:08

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Yeah, Sterlings were practically worthless the moment they drove off the lot. Kind of a strange attempt to return to America by Rover. They had an awful reputation here and no one was fooled by the new name. They really weren’t all that bad, but the early ones had issues and that killed it.

It looks like they tried to sand off the old clear coat. It’s not a bad effect. A peculiar patina that really enhances the shittiness.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/26/2015 at 13:22

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I’d be surprised these Sterlings even came with a clear coat? I never saw one this bad, intentionally getting it this way is an option though.

I want a 827 coupé badly though.

Looking for a decent picture of it I ran into something extremely epic...

WHAT IS THIS????

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/28/2015 at 04:24

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It sure looks like clearcoat. Maybe it’s just the disease cars get from L.A.

I like the 827 Coupe, too. Still looks a little like an Acura, but it’s sharp.

That has to be Photoshopped, right? It’s awesome. Why didn’t they make a million of those?

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/28/2015 at 07:18

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Yeah, I know. I was amazed Rover clearcoated in the first place. But, in defense of this Rover, it could be some British employee was on strike while clearcoating it, they did this all the time in France and England. You don’t want to know what my brother ran into when he received new Land Rovers straight from the Factory. Although Jeep had similar issues.

I can’t imagine it being a real car. But it is awesome. Someone needs to make this. Wait a minute: Ferrari did of course with that Daytona!

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/29/2015 at 03:16

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Yeah, From AMC to Chrysler, Jeep has definitely had its share of issues. We actually had an AMC Jeep CJ when I was a kid for a time. It was pretty reliable, but it rusted to dust.

Someone should definitely make one. It’s a great idea. It’s like a mini Daytona. I wonder which one was more reliable.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/29/2015 at 04:59

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My brother sold Jeeps and Chryslers for a while. I remember one time I visited him a mechanic walking in to the showroom calling him and I walked along. Showed how he was making a new car, just arrived from the factory, ready to be delivered. The upholstery/inner door-panels on the left were completely different from those on the right. Stuff like that happened all the time. They were quite reliable though.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/30/2015 at 04:09

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That’s really funny. I remember seeing them on the lot with one black plastic front fender, and one body colored. I guess quality control was a little lacking back then. I think they still had the old straight 6, so they probably were reliable.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/30/2015 at 07:14

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This was in the time of the 4.0 straight six in the Cherokee Classic and the 3.7 V6 in the normal Cherokee . The inner door-panel-story was from such a 3.7:

Took such one to Sankt Anton once. Almost crashed it on a snowy highway. Better yet: We all thought it was gonna crash. But all electronics and differentials got it back on track just before crashing into the guardrail.

Here it is while I’m chasing it in the Z4. The interior of it was pathetic though if your used to European cars ;-)

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/01/2015 at 03:43

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My first car was a Grand Wagoneer like this.

It was pre-electronic aids and it nearly killed me once in the snow. I spun completely around and stopped just short of dropping into a lake.

Yeah, Americans only recently figured out interiors and still they’re not as nice as the Europeans. I don’t know what happened because in the 50’s and 60’s American cars had fantastic interiors. Once they figured out they could cover everything in plastic, they went to shit.

ben loves his new "real" SUV > Jonee 10/14/2015 at 04:34

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the amazing thing is that someone still thinks it’s nice en