Do you ever wonder how many cars there are of which -no- restorable examples remain?

"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic) 04/12/2016 at 22:01 • Filed to: None

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Obviously, really old or very low volume cars are the easy answers, but I wonder how many post-war mass market cars there are that have entirely ceased to be.

Let’s say past 1960 and least 5000 sold, just to set an arbitrary floor.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:09

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I think there was a site dedicated to that, or something like that was mentioned on Top Gear.

Birddog > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:09

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That’s one heck of a question. I bet it’ll wind up being something Euro.

Übel > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:11

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https://www.hagerty.com/articles-video…

Hagerty has a list of a few right here, kinda odd to see what turns up.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:11

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Because there are still several Vega’s running around, no car has entirely ceased to exist

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:12

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I think about this sometimes and then the next day I’ll inevitably see a mint Hyundai Excel or Eagle Summit on the highway and realize that someone out there still has at least one of whatever your thinking about in decent shape.

TheHondaBro > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 04/12/2016 at 22:14

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Just for British-registered cars.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Birddog 04/12/2016 at 22:20

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If it’s Euro, though then if even if there is a shitty old beat up one in a junkyard here in the US you could presumably still import parts to restore it right? Unless it is something where they’ve gone extinct in Europe too. Having trouble thinking of any... Maybe something like a Renault Alliance?

fhrblig > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:22

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I was just wondering the other day if there’s even one Mitsubishi Tredia left on the road. I’ve only ever seen one once, and that was when I was in high school. In 1992. And it was a unicorn even then.

Boxer_4 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 04/12/2016 at 22:22

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Nah; for as bad as the Vega was/is, it still has a bit of a cult following (especially being a cheap RWD platform).

Now, this here is proof that no car has entirely ceased to exist. (I’ve seen it as recently as this past February)

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 04/12/2016 at 22:23

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Also, it very telling that this is the only image the Wikipedia hive mind could come up with for the first-gen Excel 3-door.

TheHondaBro > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 04/12/2016 at 22:25

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You’re forgetting about the Lancia Beta. If there’s even one of them that has yet to turn into rust, there’s still hope.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:26

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It’s a really interesting question. The Toyota AA was thought to have no originals left, but if I remember correctly, one showed up in Russia in the last two years or so. There’s a couple replicas but I really don’t know.

SVTyler > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 04/12/2016 at 22:27

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https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/ but as HondaBro mentioned, UK-only.

Urambo Tauro > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:28

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That’s a scary thought, one that hasn’t crossed my mind. What I do sometimes think about though, is the ones on the verge of extinction.

Now I’m a big believer in keeping cars driving, and not letting them rot in storage. But when something becomes so very rare that it would be next-to-impossible to restore, I am convinced that some things really do belong in a museum.

Birddog > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 04/12/2016 at 22:31

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I know of three Alliance GTAs in the Chicago area. That did pop into my head though.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 04/12/2016 at 22:32

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Maybe it’ll work this time. WTF, Kinja?!

Cherry_man1 > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:32

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Gran Torino’s in 4 door or wagon form. Hell just Gran Torino’s in general are few and far between and the aftermarket doesn’t make sheet metal for them so restoring one means cutting another up.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > TheHondaBro 04/12/2016 at 22:33

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I saw this one in August of last year

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Birddog 04/12/2016 at 22:35

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Yeah the GTA’s I get... I wonder if any sedans are still around... but weren’t they basically just Dodge Shadows anyway? So you could probably fix up just about the worst example.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Boxer_4 04/12/2016 at 22:37

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There’s a shockingly well-preserved blue Citation being driven around my city. I also saw a mid-80s Buick Skyhawk yesterday.

WilliamsSW > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:38

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This was my first guess, but sure enough, there was one on BaT last year.

jariten1781 > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:38

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I’m sure it’s not extinct, but I was just thinking the other day that I hadn’t seen a Cadillac Calais in like 20 years.

twochevrons > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 22:41

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Its UK-only, and only covers cars either currently registered or on SORN (essentially, the registration is inactive but still on the books), but howmanyleft.co.uk is pretty fascinating. Here are a few good ones:

Citroën CX Turbo: 27

Alfa Romeo Alfa 6: 3

Moskvitch 412 and 407: 1 each

Talbot Tagora: 1

In my eyes, rarities such as these are much more exciting than modern exotica.

Birddog > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 04/12/2016 at 22:48

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“weren’t they basically just Dodge Shadows anyway?”

Audible gasp!

The P body was a sawed off G body! How dare you!

If I had a white glove..

ranwhenparked > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 23:01

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In the United Kingdom, probably quite a lot. It seems like a large number of pre-1990 car models are pretty much extinct there.

slipperysallylikespenguins > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 23:09

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I often wonder that when I am scrounging the junkyards. I’ll find something that I’ve never seen before and think that it could be the last one, just waiting to be crushed.

Your boy, BJR > twochevrons 04/12/2016 at 23:25

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BASK IN ITS GLORY

Your boy, BJR > fhrblig 04/12/2016 at 23:27

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There’s an old guy by me who still refuses to stop driving his Cordia. Shit looks and smells like something from a 3rd world country at this point, but he refuses to give it up.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > TheOnelectronic 04/12/2016 at 23:29

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I would find it difficult to believe. In my neck of the woods, people typically hang on to their ancient beaters until they suffer a mechanical failure severe enough that they simply can’t drive them any more. I see lots of crazy stuff on the road, although stuff older than 1970 is admittedly getting more rare. Case in point, there’s an Olds 350 Impala I see rattling around every now and again. Typical mass-market econoboxes are reasonably common, although imports are less so. Lots of old Detroit iron rolling around in particular. People here just don’t throw stuff out if they don’t have to, and even when they break semi-fataly, the old cars just get put out to pasture behind grandpa’s barn.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Birddog 04/12/2016 at 23:31

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Sorry I’m getting my AMC ownership history mixed up. It’s hailing out and I can’t think straight. Please accept this IMSA Alliance as my apology.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > fhrblig 04/12/2016 at 23:46

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TIL - the Tredia was available with an 8-speed manual with 2 reverse gears! (Ok actually it was a 4-speed with a 2-speed overdrive that acted on all the gears somewhat akin to a typical bicycle with multiple chainrings and a rear cassette, but still that's nuts for a cheap little runabout car.)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 04/13/2016 at 06:44

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I saw a mint, like it looks brand new, Pony a few weeks ago.

Stapleface > fhrblig 04/13/2016 at 08:09

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I actually used to own a Tredia up until about 10 years ago. Manual EVERYTHING. What amused me the most was there was no tach, just a big ass clock where the tach should have been.

fhrblig > Stapleface 04/13/2016 at 08:16

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I’ve owned a couple of cars like that, with the you-were-too-cheap-to-spring-for-a-tach clock.

What happened to the Tredia, did it die or did you just decide to get rid of it?

Stapleface > fhrblig 04/13/2016 at 08:25

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It was actually running fine when I got rid of it, I just got tired of it. I swapped it for a Ford Probe.

Another oddity I had with my particular car, the metal on these was very thin. I had a dent on the rear fender that looked like someone had a broomstick in the trunk and jammed it in there, and it made a little pop out on the body work. lol

Boxer_4 > interstate366, now In The Industry 04/13/2016 at 14:17

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Last Citation I saw in good shape was in Washington state a few years ago. It’s been over 15 years since I’ve seen a Citation (even in terrible shape) around here.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > TheOnelectronic 04/13/2016 at 17:15

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Yes.