2010 Honda Insight hybrid. I thought it was the new Prius...
S C A L E M O D E L C A R S — The other day I was a in a rush at the grocery store. It was just starting to spit rain, and I didn't feel like riding my bike home in a downpour. Of course, "rush" doesn't mean I avoided the toy aisle, lol. I saw this dark red Matchbox, obviously a hybrid, and what I thought was the newest version of the Prius. I have a Matchbox of the previous Prius, in a beautiful silver green, and I thought this one in a dark red would look nice with it.
I also thought that it was exactly the car the Ross Mathews, of Tonight Show fame and Hello Ross! blog bought recently, one he named Ruby I believe because it's a dark red. I thought I'd scan mine and post a link to it at Ross's blog, maybe giving him a smile. Anyhow, when I got home, really wet because it DID downpour, I put the car on the scanner and not until the scan was complete and I started to clean it up did I realize I had bought the new Honda Insight instead!
I've always thought that the current Insight looked too much like the Prius in real life, probably an intentional effort on Honda's part to gain more hybrid sales, and it apparently looks alike more so in scale. Oops, my bad! But it's a cool little model anyway, one that actually sells very poorly in full size, perhaps making a scale model of it more collectible in the future.
Today I saw a '72 Vega and a '68 Land Cruiser, but I put them back on the shelf and gave my cheek a good pinch.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE VEGAS! when they first came out, in four bodystyles if you count the 'panel van' distinct from the wagon, i couldn't believe it. Ford only could come up with one 2 door sedan at first, and they had only just introduced a 4 door version of the Maverik. I was torn between the Vega 2300 notchback, which looked like the Fiat 124 coupe to me, one of my favorite cars back then, and the GT hatchback coupe with the center stripe. It was just so good looking! But I loved the Kammback wagon too. Of course, they had engine problems with the aluminum block and the cast iron pistons, or vice versa I guess now that I type it, but design-wise, I just loved the first Vega. I think a restored one today would be awesome, but I bet you could count on one hand the number that have survived to be restored.
ReplyDeleteThere is an early 70s Land Cruiser in town, it's a very cool looking early SUV, when they were honestly SUVs not luxury trucks.
My mother had a brand new Vega wagon in maroon with woodgrain sides. It really didn't have a long life, but I thought it was neat looking while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteThe aluminum block engine was a good idea. It just hadn't been thought through. Serious cooling issues - iron and aluminum.
Remember the Cosworth Vegas? How rare would those be?
There was a Vega wagon in that same color/wood in my town back in the day. I thought it was a classy looking little car! I just re-read an article about Vegas last week, but can't remember which magazine it was in. I'll look it up tomorrow, can't bear to peruse the pile tonight, lol. Did you know that the Cosworth was only a few hundred dollars cheaper than a new Corvette in those years? They were almost twice as expensive as other Vegas. I'd bet that a higher percentage of Cosworths have been saved because they were always collectible, but on the other hand, I don't think they made more than a few thousand of them. I'll look it up though.
ReplyDeleteCasey and Marius,
ReplyDeleteYes, those first Vegas were very good looking. I remember an (or maybe it was the brochure) that had the four models parked in an X formation. The wagon and sedan delivery were very cool. I think the Motor Trend Classics latest issue has a piece about the Pinto, Vega and Gremlin. I glanced through it at Barnes and Noble but without my glasses I couldn't read the whole article and at $14.99 I wasn't ABOUT to buy it!
The engine of course was problematic in the Vegas as was the labor unrest at the Lordsville plant. I don't remember all the details of that issue but I think it was a big deal at the time. By the time they started using the "Iron Duke" engine in them, the bumper virus had struck and the Vegas didn't look as good as they had at introduction (71-73). A nice Vega wagon would be a real find!
Paul, New York City
I've looked at a Motor Trend Classics at the store also, but at $14.99 will never buy one! If the regular Motor Trend, and the last version of MT Classics is anything to go by, it's going to be full of nice photos but misinformation galore.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember that the Vega morphed in to the Monza? I remember the Monza hatchback, and the Town Coupe notchback, but really didn't remember there was a wagon also. I found this for sale at Ted's Tuna Boats, a great name for a purveyor of old cars, right?
http://www.tedstunaboats.com/details.cfm?carID=75&s=1:asc
CAsey,
ReplyDeleteWow -- I don't think I've ever seen one of those Monza wagons. I know that all four GM divisions (thank God Cadillac didn't do one) had versions of the Monza, although I think only Chevrolet and Pontiac had the notchbacks. I don't recall what Pontiac or Buick called theirs, but the Oldsmobile was the Starfire. What a come-down from a real Starfire (the 65 Starfire hardtop was fabulous!). Of course, Pontiac had versions of the Vega at some point, with a little version of the Pontiac split grille. I think they had all the Vega body styles exept the sedan delivery.
I remember seeing only once a Chevrolet Town Coupe with a front end from the fastback -- it was at LAX in June of 1986. I don't know if I've ever even seen a picture of one.
Paul, New York City
I remember being blown away when I first saw the Monza hatchback. The very low and curved beltline, the sleek front end with rectangular headlights and the louvered B pillar and smooth roofline was so dramatic and show-car like! It was very similar to a Ferrari by Bertone also, I think.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari/1971-1972-ferrari-365-gtc4-ar79306/picture321485.html
I just did some Googling. The originl Pontiac "Vega" was the Astre. When the H-body Monza was born, the other divisions got the Pontiac Sunbird, Oldsmobile Starfire, and Buick Skyhawk.
ReplyDeleteI forgot the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.h-body.org/
all those names are coming back to me now.... i really have to get my brochures together and do some scans.
ReplyDeletethe Starfire name was used all the way back to the early/mid fifties, for the 98 convertible, and then in the sixties for Oldsmobile's personal luxury coupe. As with so many great and evocative names, it was used a few too many times on a few too many substandard cars unfortunately.
The two cars can be a bit confusing, but I think the Insights days are coming to a close. Canada stopped shipment and folks in the U.S. aren't buying them. What a shame of parts and materials.
ReplyDeleteThe two cars can be a bit confusing, but I think the Insights days are coming to a close. Canada stopped shipment and folks in the U.S. aren't buying them. What a shame of parts and materials.
ReplyDeleteI'm not holding out much hope for the CR Z either. Fair to middling gas mileage and kinda slow. That's a sporty hybrid?
ReplyDeleteWait for nice deals - good for collector's due to probable rarity?