CMT Kraftfahrzeuge GmbH - Quality Vehicles Since 1940

[CMT]

That is really bad. I never had that problem. Maybe I should present just three cars per post.

Or, as now, engines.

It became quite confusing now. CMTs engineers were not sure if the right number of cylinders for a 2000ccm engine is 4 or 6. The “Small Six” was an excellent engine and recieved a 1980 makeover - just to be compare to a brand new DOHC 4 valve inline four, that included everything modern engineering had to offer. The new four was developed with help of Honda, and was thriftier than the basically 15 year old Small Six, but the Six was smoother and more responsive. There was no winner in that battle, so the co-existence proceeded.

For the other 4-cylinder engines, its even more confusive.

On the one hand is the new 1781 ccm lowtech “Longstroke” that means “Langhub”, although its Volkswagen Audi cousin is called “Langpleuelmotor (long-rod-engine)”. It seems to be a drunkard, but has a three-way catalytic converter and delivers a remarkable torque at low revs, designed to push a midsize car foward in commuter use at maximum reliability.

Still in use is the 65 hp Thriftmaster from 1973, as it is really thrifty, as its name announces. Although having just 1196ccm, it manages to deliver over 100 nm - enough for small cars like the Dolphin. But in the early 80s, two engines replace it.

The really small cars get a version of the Mini Turbo. The basic engine had a turbo and was part of the experimental Turbo Dwarf. The results were not convincing, but developement expenses should not be lost completely, so CMT removed the turbo from the 1,0 liter engine. With 67 hp, it was even stronger than the Thriftmaster (due to higher possible revs), but 10 nm torque was lost, even if this engine featured a 4 valve head. It wasn’t even thriftier than the old Thriftmaster, minimum consumption sank, but the average consumption did not. What a shame.

As CMT was still unsure of using 4-valve-technology, a 1300 ccm engine with thee valves replaced the Thriftmaster in larger cars. It was lighter, cleaner and capable of bearing higher revs, delivering 82 hp and 113 nm at identical consumption compared to the Thriftmaster. Compared to the Mini Turbo, this was the better engine.

[ramthecowy]

or you could tell me to f*** off

[CMT]

Oh no, we Germans are usually kind people. If we got enough beer in the fridge.

I made a little overview over engine trends of CMT, can you see the pictures or is it too much again?

[ramthecowy]

Success! I can see it now!

[CMT]

1981 was the year of the small cars.
Helped by another fuel crisis in 1979, the Dolphin boosted its sales again in its 7th year, still being the best-stelling CMT car since its debut in 1972. But it was obvious that a makeover was needed, as the hatchback variants had become a little spartanic. Sedan and Eco Hatchback were chosen to be facelifted in 1981. For 1982, the unchanged three-door and the City with Automatic were dropped. The three-door variant was mainly bought by people that wished a refined sports car for few money as its performance was extremely good, but the successor was already in developement and should replace both the Dolphin Sport and the Jarama. The “City” was rarely chosen in comparison to the “Eco” with injection and a manual transmission. The Eco variant and the Sedan were given a facelift in 1981, which you hardly notice from the outside, as just re-arranged indicators and standard foglamps show the difference. But these two variants featured a completely new dashboard with center console and upholstered door panels plus slightly improved safety and suspension. The price rose, as the upgraded Dolphin made place for an even slower car in CMTs portfolio.

While the new Eco, now just named “City” retained the old Thriftmaster, the sedan recieved the new Threevalve Four mentioned in the post above. Since 1973, Americans pleaded for an automatic in the sedan - now they got a brand-new four-speed one. Before, just the EU-only City had a three-speed automatic. That automatic made a stronger engine neccessary, as also weight rose due to the Sedan offering a rich trim for a car of that tiny size.

The Dolphin was CMTs best-selling car from 1972 to 1983, and it was still a strong seller in its last year, 1986. Never again in its history, the CMT brand will ever sell so many cars of one model again. 15 million were built, that car allowed the brand to change from a small independent niche automaker to a world-class corporation.

As the Dolphin had become more expensive and more refined, the place below it that existed in Europe was filled with the Mule. The Mule was even a little smaller, but offered the same interior space thanks to a very boxy design. The base model CL3 was powered by the 1,0 Mini Turbo that lost its turbocharger to be cheap. A bad thing was that the Dolphin SE hatchback was thriftier while still faster and better equipped, but the Mule was a quite cheap car still being well driveable. Its spartanic trim even let the driver feel like being in a sporty car (stiff ride, loud engine, precise 5-gear stickshift, good handling). As that car consisty of very few and simple parts, there was hardly anything that could break. It was one of the most reliable vehicles for a price being that low. But that very basic car sold not as expected, it was no flop, but stayed way behind the Dolphin.

For people that considered the CL3 too abstemious, the GL5 was the car of choice. It featured five doors and was highly practical for its tiny size, plus being a little more comfortable (driver seat was adjustable in height, a better radio that can save the stations, cap for the glove compartment, the interiour light reacts on opening/closing the doors). Although being a little heavier and better equipped, its consumption was the same and the top speed even higher. Especially in south Europe, where road space is very limited, that car had it’s fans.

The Automatic offered even more. In addition to the GL, it had the 82 hp Threevalve engine, better instruments with check-control-lamps and rear headrests plus better door panels made of foamed, soft plastic. But it was already quite expensive. The customers were mostly elder people that wanted a car that is as easy to drive as possible. As the Automatic had power steering, it was really incredibly easy to drive. It literally turned on the spot, was astonishingly quick even with automatic, and thanks to the large windows and boxy design, you could see everything easily.

If you want to spend even a little more while renouncing the automatic, the convertible might be the right fun car. As CMT lacked a convertible, everyone knew there would come one, but nobody expected that. CMTs CEO (since 1980 only Europe) liked small open cars like the Citroen Visa Plein Air and later even more the Talbot Samba Convertible. The Samba he even possesed himself although it came a few months later than the Mule Convertible, as the used it for the narrow streets in southern France, where he had a small holiday house near St. Tropez.
The Convertible had a different front design, as it used dual headlights to let it look sportier. That convertible sold disappointingly on the first look, but not too bad for a car that fits a very small niche.

CMT engineers always wanted to do something crazy. Together with all other Mule variants, they showed a sedan, called GLS. It was just a little smaller than the Dolphin Sedan and followed the same idea, as these small sedans offered the richest trim of all models. Just for fun, they mounted the 140hp 2500ccm Threevalve Six in that car and gave it all standard features the Dolphin Sedan had.

It worked! That car was very comfortable, absurdly fast and to everyone’s surprise fantastic to handle. For the same price, it was actually slightly better to handle than the Dolphin Sedan and even more in comparison to all other Mules. With other words: That car was the most insane small subcompact at that time, as it was way faster than the Dolphin and needed a relatively bearable 10,62 liters per 100 km. Square headlights separated it a little, but nevertheless that car just looked awkward. At least, it was in the public’s interest, as everyone flipped the bird at it and, after a test drive, asked himself how the duck this works so well. The sedan was the only Mule that was sold in the USA, and it did quite well as an individualist’s strage choice. Today, these cars are collectibles as they are still unique and, meanwhile, very rare.

For those who liked that sedan but did not want that immense power and comfort - well, there was still the British Elisa Citee GLX with around 55 hp, that had a price tag not too much above the Mule CL3. But for all people that like crazy fast tiny cars - the Mule GLS is something to pray at.

As the Dolphin moved upwards, the market of the Turbo Dwarf disappeared even more. Although CMT considered giving it the new Threevalve Four, they quickly saw that this car had no sense anymore. The planned 1300 variant was not realized and the production of the Turbo Dwarf ended.

[CMT]

In 1982, many cars were erased from the bloated lineup.
The first victims were the big-engined cars that lost sales in second oil crisis, mainly the Poweroo that still was not able to use unleaded gas and was hard to sell as nearlly each federal state required converters. That was no surprise, as CMT announced two years ago that the Flat8 production will end soon. Also the Lexington had to face it’s death. In 1982, gas prices slowly recovered, but the time of highly-powered RWD fullsize dinosaurs was definitely over. From November 1982 on, the most luxurious car in the USA was the Authority V8.
The Green Hell amortized in 1982 - so there was no need to burden fleet consumption with it anymore.

In Europe, the Dolphin three-door and City (automatic) disappeared from the brochures as well as the Turbo Dwarf.

CMT introduced not primary new models, as there were already enough of them, but a new “concept” inspired by the Audi Quattro was offered for the European market. CMT mated a turbo engine with AWD. Yes, AWD, not 4x4. Engineers targeted optimal driveability, economy and of course, prestige due to these innovations. CMT had chosen its most advanced engine family for that idea, the DOHC 4 Valve engineered with Honda.

CMT needed a figurehead for that concept, and there was one. In April 1982 the Stream hit the road, a modestly sized coupe with a sleek aerodynamic design, as it wanted to show how advanced the technology under the avantgardistic shape was.
It focussed rather on comfort but did not abanon a sporty taste, it was difficult to classify. That car gained much attention and was among Europe’s most desired.

As usual for CMT, that car was no bargain, but you did not have to be rich. It had just 150 horsepower, but that was enough for over 200 kph, as that car was an agile cruiser, not a sports car.

The US spec trim came with the six-cylinder engine of the Donnington, as it featured a three-way-catalytic converter. Its economy was, as in the Donnington, still below expectations. At least, the 35 hp more compensated the power loss caused by the comfortable automatic. It had no “turbo4” badges.

As the Audi 80 Quattro had impressive success, CMT offered a Legacy variant with the turbo4 specs, basically a GL with even more standard features, but still far away from being a luxury car. As the Audi, it was quite expensive. Critics saw both cars on a very similar level, with small advantages for the Audi. Sales reflected that, but the Legacy turbo4 boosted the whole model lineup with its attention and steady sales.

The third and last car of the trio succeeded as well, it even became more popular than its low-end counterpart: The Bathurst turbo4 was modified to be a light track-tool, it was fantastic to handle, light, and, thanks to the turbo, quick. It’s rear emergency seats were removed, as they were rarely used by the customers. The Bathurst was the most affordable (to say cheapest would not really fit) of the turbo 4 models and the most successful.

Even being a new developement, the drivetrain was astonishingly reliable. Too bad that the Stream suffered from electronical diseases, as it had a talking computer system like the Renault 11 Electronic with check-control functions like in the BMW 6 and 7 plus digital gauges and more features that still weren’t refined.

CMT never gave up trying to establish niche products, and what you can see here is maybe somehting you can compare with the BMW 3 compact that arrived 10 years later:
The Legacy CLX.
Designed for the USA but also sold in Europe (with converter for a later mounting), it was basically a shortened Sentinel CL with the large engine from the Bathurst 3000CC, hatchback and some GL features like alloy wheels and foglamps to give it a sporty taste.

The first idea was offering it with the Longstroke and CL trim to offer it as a more-affordable entry level car, but it was still too expensive due to the high-quality “overengineering”. So they decided it to transform the hatchback to a low-tech anthargonist to the turbo4.

Although that shooting-brake-style looked nice, the car was again something hard to put into a category and therefore being rarely demanded. But over the years (sold from 1982 to 1987), it found it’s fans although these were much fewer than the Jarama had.

[CMT]

ATC, my own challenge, changes this topic dramatically. Not only because the race cars influence the timeline, but also my older cars got scrapped while I had put them in a seperate folder to not mix up the cars submitted to me. When I transferred the cars back, most of the old ones were broken and I had to rebuild them. Which is a lot of work, but good for the cars, as I am more experienced with Automation now. Prepare for many edits on older posts…

Let’s go to 1983. What happened? Well, first of all, Listra was eliminated, as it wasn’t even close to anything that could be called success.
Focussing on Europe and especially Germany, the CEO started the developement of a new also-RWD, compact Commuter successor, as the Legacy was so expensive that there was the gap for a complete model family underneath.
The Golf-challenging hatchback was acutally not the only car in the lineup. It came in two variants, the 70C with really poor trim and the 1,0L Mini Turbo NA engine (dunno why I called it 65C in the picture) for a real entry-level trim. Besides that, the 90L recieved the Longstroke mated to a four-speed-Automatic. The Commuter III was crizicized for very dull, almost hag-ridden styling, but the 90L made the best of it: It was not too expensive, compact but versatile and most of all easy to drive, with power steering and automatic. Besides that, it was a 70C with a larger engine. It was the car that elder people admired and the average age of buyers in the running time of this model was 62 years. Even more than the already high 49 years of the 70C. For many retired men and women this was their “last car” and was treated well over years, so the Commuter 90L is a perfect youngtimer today.

CMTs analysits already forecasted that the Commuter III is a car young people would avoid. For a little compensation, the lineup included a sedan with a V6, even planned to be equipped with a tiny “Jarama” badge under the CMT logo to profit from the sporty image of the predecessor. But the CL V6 was stuffily in comparison to the Jarama, and it came without any reference. Average age for the CL was 44, which was the youngest of all. Maybe it could have been lower if CMT had not sticked to a body that was starting to be considered as old-fashioned - the time for two-door notchback sedans was just over. Trim wasn’t rich either, just few more compared to the 90L. But CL had a new catalytic-converted (three-Way) variant of the young Threevalve Six with 132 HP, which helped the Commuter Image a little, as it was one of the very first “clean” cars in Europe. Converter was handed in seperately as there was no unleaded fuel yet in neccesary amounts. More variants were planned and work on the release was almost finished.

But Jack Thanner, son of CEO C.M. Thanner, tried something different, as he had the power to do so since 1980, when he became the head of the US division. In 1981, when he got a brand-new Dodge Aries and a factory-fresh Toyota Corolla as rental cars, he liked the space utilization of the Dodge and the really small size of the Toyota. Finally, he decided to offer a car mixing the best of both. The car was in the size of the corolla, even a very little bit smaller, but had FWD as the Aries. The name, “Mantra”, is a reference to the Far East and so to the Corolla.
For the Mantra, the Threevalve Four was used, as it fits the car well in economy and power. Base models, named CL, came with even a little more standard features as Commuter L had. CLs were available as 4m sedan and even shorter (3,8m) wagon. They were noticealbly cheaper than the Commuter, which is shown in details as p.e. a simple solid rear axle with coil springs, but that was ok, as the Mantra should be a cheap everyday car that should bear few maintenance and extensive use. The Mantra was the first car to be sold in Australia, as that continent was added to the US division. The CEO noticed quickly that the Mantra reached the young target group the Commuter spectaculary missed, the Mantra went on sale in Europe in October 1983.

That a strong engine and luxorious trim fit in a small car is nothing new, as CMT proved with the Mule GLS. That car was very successful in the beginning, but the people complained it is just to small, although nice to drive. So CMT made a premium version of the Mantra, featuring the Commuter CL V6 engine, that sold briskly from the start.

C.M. Thanner was not happy that the Commuter CL was not the replacement for the Jarama that the people wanted. But he called his son. “Jack, make something exciting out of your Mantra, two-door notchbacks don’t work anymore, but do you remember the Volvo P1800 ES I recently bought?”

The result was a shooting brake version of the Mantra GL, named GLX. And yes, finally, that was a car the Jarama would like if it had feelings.

[CMT]

1984 was not the best year of CMT, as the unit costs were much too high. But the company was still not in a bad financial situation, as the Mantra was a sales-wonder, even overtaking the Dolphin and became the (per year) most-sold CMT car. But well, the Dolphin was aged, even with its 1981 facelift.

The Commuter III was planned as a whole family, so the GLS and GL Wagon followed. As the Mantra was the small and cheap family car, the 1984 Commuters were larger and better equipped to not take away Mantra buyers. Unlike Mule and Mantra, the GLS version of the Commuter had no Threevalve Six engine, it recieved the DOHC Four engine instead, the wagon used it as well. These two should be rather economical family-cars, so CMT preferred the four. And yes, this time, C.M. Thanner had the right idea, GLS and GL wagon sold well, and the wagon even approached younger families, having an average buyer age of 41 years (vs. 48 for the GLS). It was a good idea not to focus on the hatchback variants and to set the notchbacks a little apart from them.

1984 also brought a facelift for the Bathurst. As European buyers had the very sporty choice of the Turbo4, the base variant became the sports car for people that actually wanted no sports car. Small engine (an improved Longstroke variant with 106hp), four seats (although the rear ones are really tight, the Bathurst is still a 2+2) and a comfortable suspension. Sales were ok, but not much more, as that car was again a very special one from CMT.

The turbo4 got its facelift after just two years - earlier than every other CMT. As the standard one, it now had standard foglamps, other buttons and gauges in the interior and a new taillamp design inspired by Nissan Skyline. The turbo4 remained a 2-seater.

'84 was a really calm year. But this was just the case as CMT planned a really exciting 1985 with a model offensive like in 1980.

[CMT]

1985 was a key year.
Long Beach and Donnington were outdated and their production ended. The successor of the Donnington was the Suzuka, a smaller, but also mid-engined premium sport coupe, powered by a new 165 hp variant of the Threevalve Six. Basically a yuppie car and a luxury alternative to Toyota MR2 or Pontiac Fiero, it was a car that only worked in the 80s and sold not overwhelming, but steady. The Suzuka was the first car to have a new design line.

The US Variant of the facelifted Bathurst recieved an updated Compact Eight engine which helped sales somehow. Four leather seats, antilock brakes, power steering and windows and a nice cassette player - but as the Bathurst should be the really sporty one in US program, it had a 5-speed manual.

The US lineup had a quite high average age. The Hauler was on sale since 1971 (!) and it’s last facelift was seven years ago. But a replacement was almost done. For the Americana, there was nothing that could replace it, except the Legacy that was not the best selling car as it was designed for EU habits. The Americana sedan facelift came with a six (and no V8), as it was the Suzukas engine that delivered more power than the Super Six mounted before and V8s lost popularity in intermediate family cars. Sales recovered, and the platform was ready for even a few more years. The dashboard was overworked and had other buttons, gauges and surfaces with a better climate control and radio, but the Americana still had the 70s front bench seat and a column-mounted shifter. What really improved was economy, which was urgendly demanded by the buyers.

CMT was lacking a muscle car, a car cheaper and less track-capable than Suzuka, Bathurst V8 and Stream V6. For a revival of the good old glory days, a V8 was a must-have. As CMT already had way too many platforms, they decided to build it out of an already existing car - the Americana was perfect.

The engine borrowed from the Bathurst, a shortened body with two doors and unique rear styling (as it was placed apart from the Americana by the marketing) and an automatic - there it goes! It was not a car with insane power, but it has excellent brakes and was more refined than it was usual for Muscles. It was well balanced and was a car that could be introdued at low expenses with - regarding the money and time invested - strong sales and was definitely a good idea. Interior featured sporty, but comfortable bucket seats and a floor-mounted shifter.

There were even more models in 1985 - stay tuned for tomorrow!

[CMT]

Another “oldtimer” was the Deliveroo, which recieved overworked engines and a new grille plus a slightly modernized interior. A critic was, that both engines still were not much apart from each other, so CMT considered offering a larger V8, but that idea was dropped. The bad sales jumped up in 1985, but fell again untill 1987. In 1990, these cars were dropped - CMT never succeded with pickup trucks except in the very early years.

As CMT had gained experience in 4x4 with their Deliveroos and the Legacy 4x4 Wagon, they were ready to present a true offroad in 1985: The Country Runner was very small, nimble and performed well both off- and onroad. The engine was the Longstroke, as that car was light and just needed some early torque that this engine delivered. It became no hit, but foresters, rural doctors and other people that could need such a vehicle were quite pleased and the one or other soon had a Country Runner in its driveway.

Next episode: THE ULTIMATE CMT CAR - LAUNCHED OCTOBER 1985!

[CMT]

FINALLY!! I have time to show you the new flagship of CMT - the Premier!

It was the last car developed under the supervision of our founder C.M. Thanner. His last project should be his best one, so that car was so expensive that it nearlly ruined the company.
It was carefully placed somewhere between BMW 5 and 7 series, with a design following the style the Suzuka introduced.
The Americana’s all aluminium body panels proved to be useful but too difficult to produce in larger amounts, so the Premier body featured just partly aluminium panels - but the car became no elephant and was very, very light for its size, although it had standard trip computer, velours or leather seats, dual cassette recorder, aircondition with automatic controls, wooden decor, antilock brakes and more as standard.

As entry level there was the choice between the V6 sedan with the 165 Threevalve Six and the Wagon with the 135hp Honda-assisted four. Although the wagon should be the relatively affordable family car, the V6 was thriftier and faster. Both came with a manual.

Above the V8 showed ambitions to attack the established luxury cars. Mr. Thanner was not happy that he had to use the old Compact Eight, but the latest 218hp evolution was the only engine that was available for the luxury approach. Of course, the V8 had an automatic.

A sensation was the fact that CMT took the 6400ccm V12 from the Green Hell race car and re-configured it for a drivability that was ok for a hyper luxury sedan.
BMW already had plans for a V12 being the first after-WW2-German-V12, so they paid CMT $ 1.000 per unit for the car being officially built by CMT of America Corporation. So the first “real” German one was the 750i in 1987.

As you can maybe imagine, the image of CMT was improved so much that the company was as much liked as back in the mid-70s. Yep, that car needed nearlly all ressources, but sold as well as it was expected. Complete trims that left no wish not fulfilled (especially in the V12), a modern design and an excellent reliability (yep, all that electronic stuff works without noticeable issues) made that car a worldwide symbol for success.