"zipfuel" (zipfuel)
08/09/2020 at 09:23 • Filed to: jeep, Iranlopnik, iran, fca, smuggling, international intrigue, stellantis
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"zipfuel" (zipfuel)
08/09/2020 at 09:23 • Filed to: jeep, Iranlopnik, iran, fca, smuggling, international intrigue, stellantis | 6
| 18 |
After reading the War Zone piece below about Iran rolling (floating?) out their old dummy aircraft carrier for a live fire exercise I went to check it out on Google maps.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Update: on the way back to dock it keeled over and sank in an awkward spot - oops!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
It’s pretty easy to find, just go to Bandhar Abbas, zoom in on the big harbour in the middle and look for the giant aircraft carrier shaped thingy with a bullseye on the deck.
I’ll bet there’s a good story to that wreck next to it too
I then zoomed out to try and spot a car or something on the dock that would give me a sense of scale since this thing -while big-obviously isn’t 1:1 with a Nimitz class.
That’s when I noticed a Google maps tag for a “parking garage” nearby
Ok I’ll bite, got any reviews?
‘ello ‘ello ‘ello what’s going on here then?
Yes! And there are photos... Hang on, pretty sure that’s not supposed to be there.
From what I understand of the current sanctions against Iran the last thing I should be seeing on the dock a few hundred yards from a Naval Base is a bunch of FCA (ok, ok Stellantis) vehicles! *
The different time of day photos make me think the photographer was involved with the import
Still got the pre-delivery plastic and stickers in place
The trailer full of Grand Cherokees from the Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit with their pre-delivery plastic still on are the biggest standouts. However that sweet rental spec Dodge Charger from down the street in Brampton is also a bit off an odd duck. The white Camry next to it and 4-Runner or Land Cruiser in the background barely merit a mention.
At first I wondered if this was an ex rental but lack of licence plate holes suggest it’s new
Can anyone identify the little mini-buses?
Clearly the demand for luxury SUVs is high enough to justify importing Jeeps, although it does make me wonder how you go about driving such a quintessentially American vehicle in a country which has historically had such an adversarial relationship with the USA. Do they rebadge them as the “Grand Satan”? Maybe some “Infidel Rated” logos on the fenders... At least they aren’t Jeep Libertys or Patriots (even a regime under sanctions doesn’t want those)
Of course if you’ve got the money and/or political clout to afford one of these things the morality police probably know to leave you well alone.
Are you are a member of the Jeep Safari club of Tehran? We’d love to hear from you.
But wait there’s more! The kid who took these photos is totally one of us and has uploaded a bunch more photos of luxury cars hanging out on the docks to google maps plus a video at the link below. There are Corvettes, Camaros, Audis, Minis, Porches, Range Rovers (natch), more Jeeps (Wranglers) and lots of misc Mercedes/BMWs.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Google maps actually has pretty great penetration in Iran - if you need coffee, a bicycle shop or watch repair in Bandhar Abbas I can now recommend a spot.
*Note: the sanctions regime against Iran is confusing atm. While the US has gone full nope again the Europeans are still ok with Iran and have issued a “blocking statute” to protect EU companies doing “legitimate” business there. Of course that won’t stop the Americans going after you if they can (see the Huawei exec fighting extradition from Canada atm). Since they aren’t military or nuclear related it is entirely possible that these cars arrived on that dock via a totally legal if circuitous route. Still bet the Jeep execs wouldn’t be thrilled to know about it.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> zipfuel
08/08/2020 at 23:46 |
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minibuses are Toyota Hiace
Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
> zipfuel
08/08/2020 at 23:54 |
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It’s just a baby. Q uick find because I lurk there too and I’d seen the scale in the comments.
Posted by Danomite in the comments
HammerheadFistpunch
> pip bip - choose Corrour
08/08/2020 at 23:55 |
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yup. Thats also definitely a 4runner.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> zipfuel
08/08/2020 at 23:56 |
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https://jalopnik.com/this-is-how-sudanese-militants-get-their-hands-on-so-ma-1842818238
probably through a friendly dealer .
ranwhenparked
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:03 |
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Big, American cars have always had a following in Iran, dating back to the days of the Shah. And cars have wheels and are pretty easy to move around, just saying, maybe they move onto a ship, maybe that ship makes a call in Bandar Abbas instead of Port Rashid, maybe some cargo gets off loaded there, who’s to say? Nobody has to know
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:10 |
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There is a Dodge Grand Caravan in there . Why on earth would you want that over a Toyota Hiace?
Great finds though. Better send these to the FP. Guarantee they’d run a story on it.
The sundry CUVs confuse me. Especially the American ones.
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gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:10 |
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looking down the coast i wonder what Assign a snoopy is?
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
08/09/2020 at 00:10 |
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Oh, and how would you gets parts and service?
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:15 |
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Can’t see how there’d be FCA product over there... strange.
boredalways
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:16 |
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On the bright side, we now know how FCA stayed afloat before the PSA merger
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SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:16 |
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So, are those their REAL F-14s on their fake aircraft carrier?
--Asking for my friend, Predie The Dronie
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:26 |
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plate on Corvette says UAE. so i think we have a good idea where a lot come from
LastFirstMI is my name
> zipfuel
08/09/2020 at 00:31 |
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Shhh don’t blow their cover. Those Jeeps are rental-spec-ops.
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zipfuel
> gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
08/09/2020 at 10:31 |
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I was thinking about that story as I wrote this. Clearly there’s plenty of
dealers in Dubai who
don’t care where your briefcase full of cash came from.
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zipfuel
> Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
08/09/2020 at 10:41 |
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That’s a great graphic, even at 50% scale
it’s still not a small boat
SiennaMan
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/09/2020 at 11:01 |
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I’m guessing they’re replicas, but they probably chose F-14s because t he Iranians do actually fly them. As I understand it the US sold/gave F14s to the Shah not long before the revolution happened and the republic has managed to keep them flying with the US doing everything in it’s power to keep spare parts from getting to them..
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SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> SiennaMan
08/09/2020 at 12:40 |
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Yeah, that’s exactly why I mentioned it. I think the F-14 deal was one of the Last Big Arms Deals the Shah did before he got deposed and fled.
Boeing was working on something huge— which turned into an Office Joke on the day the Shah got overthrown.
I’m genuinely intrigued as to how the Iranians have kept so many of them flying for so long. Lots of reverse-engineering and clever procurement, one supposes.
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zipfuel
> gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
08/09/2020 at 21:46 |
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It’s gotta be some kind of random data scrape for a location at
the container port, possibly combined with a mistranslation. Tidewater
is one of Iran’s biggest port operators apparently and
has been pretty heavily sanctioned in the past for being formerly owned by a bank aligned with the revolutionary guard.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidewater_Middle_East_Co.
I do somewhat doubt Charles Schulz was involved though.
