Automakers commonly bring historic models from their own collection to media events in an attempt to create a link between the past and the present. Sometimes the connection between the two cars on display is evident, sometimes it’s a little more heavy-handed. A photographer generally shoots the old car next to the new one but … Continue reading
Category Archives: Spanish
Topical advertising: Rear-engined cars
Rear-engined cars were particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s because installing the engine behind the rear axle freed up a generous amount of space inside the cabin. This space often came at the expense of cargo capacity and handling, and rear-mounted engines were quickly phased out once automakers started toying around with front-mounted engines … Continue reading
Topical advertising: Old vs. new
Automakers commonly bring historic models from their own collection to media events in an attempt to create a link between the past and the present. Sometimes the connection between the two cars on display is evident, sometimes it’s a little more heavy-handed. A photographer generally shoots the old car next to the new one but … Continue reading
The 2014 Monte-Carlo Historique rally
The 17th annual Monte-Carlo Historique rally kicked off a little over a week ago and ended yesterday when a Belgian team at the wheel of an orange 1978 Opel Kadett GTE won the event. This year, the participants left from six European cities (Barcelona, Glasgow, Monte-Carlo, Oslo, Reims and Stockholm) and the common stages took … Continue reading
Caption contest: SEAT 127
Four adults, a baby and a red four-door 127. How would you caption this SEAT press shot from the 1970s? Continue reading
Color-coded advertising: Red
The early Range Rover we wrote about yesterday got us thinking about red cars. While red is typically associated with high-value, high-speed models from the likes of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini, it is a bold color that transcends market segments and works well on many types of cars regardless of style or size. The … Continue reading
Sunday classic: SEAT Marbella Le Jouet
After recovering from its messy divorce with Fiat, Spain’s SEAT flourished during the late 1980s thanks in part to a sizable amount of cash injected by Volkswagen and a fresh lineup of cars. Its entry-level model was the Marbella, a three-door hatchback that was known as the SEAT Panda until 1986. The Marbella was identical … Continue reading
Topical advertising: Assembly lines
Automakers’ archives departments are filled with thousands of photos that will likely never see the light of day. Images of assembly lines are among some of the most obscure documents because they can’t easily be used in magazine advertisements and the auto media rarely has a need for them. Most often than not they were … Continue reading
The 2013 Monte-Carlo Historique rally
The 16th annual Monte-Carlo Historique Rally took place last week in southeastern France. Organized by the Automobile Club of Monaco, it is open to cars that participated in the iconic rally from 1955 to 1980 and that were built between those years. Continue reading
The custody battle for the Ritmo
Spain’s Franquist government teamed up with Italy’s Fiat to create the Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo (SEAT) in 1950. Long months of cross-border negotiations ended up giving seven percent of SEAT to Fiat, 42 percent to miscellaneous Spanish banks, and the remaining 51 percent to the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI), a branch of the … Continue reading