Let's go carspotting in Marseilles France using Google Streetview! Odd Offroaders Edition

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2) 02/19/2020 at 13:09 • Filed to: Carspotting in Google Earth

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I recently poked around on Google Earth while I was bored. I happened to land in Marseilles, a port city on the southern Mediterranean coast of France. The makeup of cars on its streets was distinctly French, but there were a few surprises.

I poked around long enough to make three parts! Here are the first two parts:

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An old Land Rover Defender seems a laughably unsuitable vehicle for city commuting, but at least it doesn’t seem fazed by those bollards. I dig the roof rack.

Is this some sort of old Ssangyong? I kind of like the gritty look this cheap imported offroader has going on. But more importantly, what kind of person drives a crappy old 4x4 in such an urban environment?

Also, what is that derpy little hatchback behind it?

This old Toyota Land Cruiser looks a little out of place here.

This chromed-out old Jeep Grand Cherokee also seems like a lot of car to street park in such tiny spots. You can’t argue that the brash American doesn’t have bling, though.

And here we find two different definitions of “offroad.” One is a rather pedestrian Toyota Rav4 “softroader,” which I didn’t know was sold abroad. The other is a front loading dump truck, which must be very hard to see out of when full. Is there a good reason that this isn’t driven the other way round?

And what the heck, let’s conclude with a massive Swedish concrete truck! Understandably, there weren’t many offroaders of any description to be found in a large urban European city, so I threw this one in to round out the collection.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 13:24

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Ssangyong is a (wonderfully named) Musso, I believe, they could be had with old MB engines. I’d be adding a “lini” badge to every one I saw. Crowded rough urban environment, perfect place for a rugged cheap beater that can take a little abuse and still look OK, as neglect on an off- roader is forgivable.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 02/19/2020 at 13:26

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I did get the make right, then. I don’t think that brand could ever catch in America, where most people would have a hemorrhage  just trying to spell hemorrhage, much less Ssangyong.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 13:35

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Yeah, not the right name nor product for the NA market - weird name, some odd looking vehicles, unusual country of origin.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 02/19/2020 at 13:40

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It is difficult to think of a major auto manufacturer less suitable to the NA market (naturally aspirated market, of course ) outside of Chinese boutique EV makers. Even Dai hatsu might be a better fit here if they produced something big enough for an “average” American to fit in.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 13:55

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I can’t imagine anyone having an easy time breaking into the NA market today , which is already saturated, and purchasing power for most consumers is not increasing. Even the Chinese EVs would have a hard time, as Tesla has the cultists under its thumb, and established makers will eventually have offerings too.

Daihatsu tried this market from around 1989-93, I think - neat little cars, but most consumers weren’t into it.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 02/19/2020 at 14:01

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That’s why I bring this up. Daihatsu’s little charade did not go well, and they are probably less suited than ever to expand their domain. But Ssangyong? The rest of the world can keep them until they make a good looking car. Speaking of good looking, I really want PSA here again, even if it is under a different name from an FCA merger. Haven’t heard any news lately.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 14:13

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Yeah, Ssangyong has made some weird looking vehicles, and although ugly is the new cool, I don’t think this is the market for it. They’ll end up competing with Mitsu or something, and won’t last long.

PSA will have a tough row to hoe as well - it’s all about dealers and parts distribution, which was a weak point when Peugeot left this market 30 years ago. I don’t know if PSA/FCA can afford to invest in the infrastructure . It would be cool to see some new faces on the market, for sure.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 02/19/2020 at 14:17

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If Ssangyong came here, it would take itself AND Mitsubishi within a year, since they would be competing for the same eclectic mix of people who just don’t care. I predict PSA coming here could easily kill off Mitsubishi if they introduced a few low cost models, and then bargain for their existing parts and dealership network, which isn’t actually terrible. Then, they could usurp Nissan in some parts of the country with the right marketing, though I suspect that would be a difficult battle. Crap, I almost want to wri te this up as a cautionary piece of fiction, though I don’t suspect it would end well.

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 14:57

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I think if it wasn’t for fleet sales, Mitsu would be gone already - it and Ssangyong along with remaining FCA and Nissan cars would be fighting for that part of the market - not a high margin place, not where I’d want to be. I wouldn’t want to be entering this region as a mass market maker.  Something I also sometimes forget - Hyunkia is pretty competent now, and also competes at a high value price point.  Undercutting them while offering something decent won’t be easy.

Cé hé sin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 14:57

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Also, what is that derpy little hatchback behind it?

It could be a first gen Toyota Aygo but as Marseille is still in France it’s far more likely to be a Citroen C1 or Peugeot 107. They’re all the same. There’s a red one in front of the Jeep.

One is a rather pedestrian Toyota Rav4 “softroader,” which I didn’t know was sold abroad.

Toyota is a multinational company - they’re even made abroad!

The other is a front loading dump truck, which must be very hard to see out of when full. Is there a good reason that this isn’t driven the other way round?

It’s a dumper. Have you seriously never seen one before? No, it’s not hard, the seating position is high enough to see over the load. Yes, there is. You want to see where your load is going when you’re chucking it out.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > fintail 02/19/2020 at 15:09

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I knew I was forgetting someone. I think this could make a fun “what if” domino effect scenario: Ssangyong getting cocky would take Mitsu with it, paving the way for PSA to unsuccessfully compete with Hyundai/Kia, driving the Koreans upmarket and forcing the French to inhabit the extreme low end. Meanwhile, poor Nissan is forced into an unfavorable merger with PSA, where Nissan just becomes fleet sales while giving the French leverage to chase after Hyundai/Kia. All this time, autonomy (level 3) becomes widespread with the exception of Nissan and PSA, and then ???

I think I might want to give this a shot, though I am not sure I am a talented enough writer to make it work.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Cé hé sin 02/19/2020 at 15:15

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Now that I look at it, I can see its usefulness, but I ’ve never driven one to find out about its visibility. I doubt that anyone around me would use such a tiny dumper on roads outside of a construction site (hence, confusion at it being street parked) . Even within construction sites, I only see big Mack dump trucks, so really this is quite a new sight.

Cé hé sin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 15:21

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They’re used for small jobs and are sometimes to be seen on the road in the vicinity.

Here’s a bigger one. Note that the driver can see quite easily.

For bigger stuff again  you use something like a Volvo dumper like this:

fintail > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 16:55

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It might be a domino effect, especially for Mitsu who has to be hanging on by a thread anyway. The French are good at building cheap basic cars - but - this market doesn’t embrace that segment so much, nor is it the most profitable. People want cloned bloatling CUVs. It won’t be easy for anyone, and I have some doubts it will happe n anytime in the foreseeable future anyway . Maybe they could bring over Dacia too just for kicks, or Nissan could slot in with Datsun.

Lots of fun “what if” scenarios, especially if thinking about someone else’s money.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Cé hé sin 02/19/2020 at 18:16

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Is there no in-betw een? We have adopted a one size fits all approach.

Cé hé sin > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/19/2020 at 18:45

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All manner of shapes and sizes...

Tiny

Bigger

Bigger again

Still bigger

If you need to shift stuff by road you’ll need an on-road truck of course but that’s a different job.

There was a time when you’d see Volvo 6x6s like this used both off and on road but not any more.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Cé hé sin 02/19/2020 at 21:31

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What struck me was the unsuitability of those front loaders for road use. And the Volvo looks like liability on narrow streets. Thank you for this informative dissertation.