Outside of the automotive industry, the four-leaf clover is generally associated with Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day and Guinness. In the field of automotive history, the symbol has been closely associated with Alfa Romeo for 90 years. Continue reading »
The Patrol nameplate helped Nissan forge a reputation for building rugged SUVs that can go just about anywhere. Launched in 1987, the fourth-generation Patrol Y60 was less rudimentary than the outgoing 260 series in order to cater to increasingly demanding buyers. Still, the Y60 was far from today’s pavement-dwelling luxury ‘utes and it was primarily … Continue reading »
BMW used the data it gathered from the E30-based 325iX Elektric test mules to develop a total of 25 battery-powered E36 prototypes from 1991 to 1997. The cars were still finicky and not considered candidates for mass production, but they represented a significant step forward in the field of electric mobility. Continue reading »
Citroën drew a parallel between yacht racing and the entry-level 2CV when it sponsored a boat called France 3 ahead of its participation in the 1983 Coupe de l’America. In retrospect, the association between the two was ironically well chosen: The Coupe de l’America is one of the oldest sporting events on the planet, and … Continue reading »
How would you caption this late-1960 promotional shot for the Fiat 850 sedan? Continue reading »
We started the future classic series over a year ago in order to satisfy our own curiosity after running into a Rover 216 GTi in the Ikea parking lot. Seeing that the article was well-received, we held a Ran When Parked referendum and readers voted to keep the series around. Continue reading »
NSU found itself in deep trouble in the late 1960s because the Wankel engines that it had spent a significant amount of time and money developing had a hard time catching on for a multitude of reasons and cost the company an astronomical amount of money. Its lineup consisted mostly of small, rear-engined cars that … Continue reading »
We stumbled upon this Peugeot 203 Commerciale hidden behind half a dozen Volkswagen Vanagons / Transporters on the side of a local repair shop. Tax stickers on the windshield indicate that it was last on the road in 1985, a little over a year after its current registration number was issued. Continue reading »
This Volkswagen 1302 L shell from the early 1970s is a permanent fixture in a small town on the outskirts of Marseille, France. We’re not exactly sure what it’s doing up on a pedestal but it appears that the vacant plot of land next to it was once home to a business that recycled scrap … Continue reading »
Last year, we started a little series on Ran When Parked called “test your steel wheel IQ.” The point of it is to share our rather unorthodox passion for steel wheels and see how good our readers are at recognizing them. Can you name the make and model that the following wheels come from? In … Continue reading »
