Cult of Personality [LORE] [FINAL RESULTS]

I think this competition needs “weak” cars too, it might sound brutal but the car culture would not be what it was without some “flops” once in a while that might reach cult status in their own ways. Just think about the Pacer as an example…

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Agreed.

Believe me, I have a few of them waiting in line too :stuck_out_tongue:

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How about.

Jager Mirage, compact luxury sedan built from 1975 to 1981, designed to compete with the smaller, more fuel efficient foreign luxury cars, based on a cheap platform, but with different rear suspension and drivetrains. This particular model is the 1976 model year Mirage SE 335.

What made it interesting: Jager Autocraft has had a history of experimenting with cutting edge engineering in their mass-produced cars ever so often, Jager had started in the 1910s building race cars, and eventually began producing sports and luxury cars in the early 1920s. Those early Jager cars used an engine known as the “Indianapolis”, an OHC straight six with between 250 and 341ci of displacement. Some later high output versions of it were capable of over 200hp in the 1930s. Jager was acquired by the Doberman Company, and began to develop more conventional engines and even share some with the lower makes. But the company would be allowed to let its roots shine ever so often, notably with the “ALB” Big Block V8 of 1962, an all-aluminum design, the “ALS” aluminum small-block V8 and its “AAB” derivative of 1967. The AAB was also an all-alloy engine, but one which used Overhead Cams with hemispherical combustion chambers, and even featured factory fuel injection. The AAB was an uncompromising performance engine, advertised at 335hp from 335 cubic inches. But in the days of Gross power ratings and exaggerated power figures Jager published the actual output as installed with accessories. The AAB was usually installed in high-performance versions of Jager’s mid-size and compact cars. The last of those was the 1976 Mirage SE. As installed in the Mirage, saddled with low compression pistons and catalytic converters the 5.5L engine produced a mere 193hp, which was however still more than any other Doberman-Rockway-Jager production car that year. With an automatic transmission it was far from what we consider fast today, but a 0-60 time of 8s was not to be scoffed at in those performance hostile days. Even though the Mirage was powerful, it was still a luxury sedan with modern styling, colour coded bumpers, four doors, five seats and a comfortable suspension tune. And the AAB was terrible at being efficient, despite its SOHC valvetrain. This version of the Mirage lasted only for the 1976 model year, with only 1.052 sales of 78.840 Mirages sold that year. For 1977 the SE was equipped with a conventional, less powerful carburated OHV Rockway 350 V8, that nevertheless proved more economical in the real world.

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You seem to have forgotten price limits in the OP. Why is this so?

Because this is not a conventional challenge that requires such hard facts.

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@TheAlmightyTwingo - I really appreciate the enthusiasm, but can you please wait to post your car(s) until you’re eligible to submit them? :slight_smile: I’ve already done your week 1 entry. It will help me with clutter and reviewing in the long run.

Exactly that. However, I am going to edit the OP to clarify one thing that (so far) hasn’t come up, but I just wanted to make sure it doesn’t ever come up… just has to do with the Unleaded switchover year in 1974.

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oh sorry, I thought the week 1 reviews were over, my bad.

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No worries. I may not have been super clear. I will change the title to say “WEEK 2” as soon as I open up for those submissions. That will be Friday morning in Europe, or late late Thursday night in North America.

Or Friday evening if you’re Strop or HOL. :stuck_out_tongue:

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The original 3rd-generation Rennen Angeles was released in 1977 onto a whole new platform and a revised engine design; the first SOHC Boxer-6 lasted from 1965 to 1977 with major changes through the years, but the latest design was a DOHC Boxer-6. The overall engine had downsized from 4.0L to a maximum of 3.4L, and the re-introduction of the 6X2B in 1981 saw more power (almost 150 HP) and greater fuel economy of which was still lacking behind Japanese, Anikatian, and European rivals. In 1984, a facelift was revealed along with the MT-R model. The car packed a few “firsts” in the Rennen performance line; designed as a touring-car homologation model, it was the first Rennen with AWD and the first Rennen with turbocharging. The 3.4L twin-turbo Boxer-6 now packed 270 HP and more than 280 lb-ft of torque and was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. 0-60 MPH was dealt with in under 7 seconds, a highly impressive number for a 4-door sedan with 5 seats and a comfortable interior.

The 3rd-generation Angeles was produced in the midst of America’s “Malaise” era of cars, but Rennen was considered to be ahead of the curve to a point. While still lacking in comparison to more technologically advanced Japanese and European brands, Rennen kept a close eye on their designs and technologies. The LG17R Angeles was the result of this close watching, even with it’s decidedly American design. The MT-R sold in very small numbers; of the 1,083,747 Angeles’ produced up to 1988, only 9,846 were fully fledged MT-R models. All MT-R models were sedans, although the Coupe and Wagon Angeles’ were available with an AWD system derived from the MT-R from 1984 on.

And some corresponding music that worked adjacently with the car’s release.

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I was not paid or bullied to like this product from my favorite brand of automotive products :+1:

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Real people. Not actors.

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OK, calm down there, Chevy. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Originally released in 1973 the ACA 300 was a badge engineered model of the 1967 Merciel 300. This license copy of the Merciel 300 was done to prepare the groundwork between the ACA-Merciel partnership, which would be later known as the Chevron Alliance.

The ACA 300 would sell from 1973-1976.

Early models of the ACA 300 were imported directly from France with later models being produced in ACA factories using parts imported from Merciel Brazil.

Though the ACA 300s production run was short lived, around 10-15,000 ACA 300s were sold before ACA replaced them with the brand new ACA Traveller, which was based on the Merciel 300s replacement, the Merciel 310.

Read more about the ACA 300 here

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The 1986 LHE Satalite X4RS, transforming your normal Satalite, into a regular sports car! With smooth power delivery, this hot piece of race car homologation can be yours for a steal! Don’t wait, see your LHE Dealer now, because when their gone, their gone!


The LHE Satalite Mk I was introduced in 1970 as an option to fill the gap between the compact Comstar, and the Fullsize Orbital. The Satalite was LHE’s first FWD platform, but continued to use the longitudinal layout, originally equipped with the AM4 Gen I engine found in the Comstar, initial sales were hung up by the vehicles lack of power, and low economy.

Thankfully these issues were ironed out in the 2nd generation introduced in 1976, when the lineup received LHE’s new enlarged 3v OHC BM-Series power-plants. The Satalite now enjoyed adequate power, and improved economy over the larger Orbital, and a roomier interior over the smaller Comstar. In 1982 the Satalite would enter its 3rd generation, sporting a reduced wheelbase, and more refined, fully independent suspension at all four corners. At this point seeing the success of marketing a car as a ‘rally’ car, the Satalite platform was put through rigorous changed with a mid generation face-lift in '84 and the introduction of an AWD option.

Out of necessity, the Satalite X4RS was birthed, a homolgation special which was built, and sold only in the numbers required to enter the vehicle into production car classes. From '85-'87 only 1,057 examples were produced, and with a non treated steel chassis and body, even fewer are expected to have survived out side of enthusiast owners.

(Let me know if I went too info heavy for ya @VicVictory)

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1982 CMV M48 R

@watermelon3878

What happens when you take a luxury performance sedan, strip it down to a bare bones interior, and slap a more powerful engine in it?

You get the rare CMV M48 R. A car that, in the early 80’s was a high profile race-bred sedan with a bit of a killer streak in it.

We’re not just talking about it killing the competition in IMSA racing. The high power and razor thin margin for error at the edge of handling took the lives of more than a few people, including separate incidents in which young heartthrob actor Wall Parker and rock and roller C.C. Queen passed on.

The negative publicity from these high profile accidents soured the reputation of the M48 R, and it has taken a long time to recover. But its 401 horsepower (in stock form; IMSA models ran MUCH higher) and modest 3000 pounds of weight made it very formidable indeed. Perhaps the tuning of the suspension was a bit off, or tires of the time just weren’t good enough to keep them planted well enough.

Nowadays, the few survivors still tear it up at tracks, mostly in the hands of vintage enthusiasts and club racers. We recently got the opportunity to watch one do a lapping day at Laguna Seca, and it was a thing of absolute beauty.

M48 R’s do still exist out in the wild, so if you’re looking for an absolute scorching bit of automotive history, keep your eyes peeled. Just remember: they’ll cost a pretty penny, and they are not for the faint of heart. And if you want the killer looks without the deadly setup, try a much more sedate non-R version.

Scoring:
Mainstream Culture - Muscle: Low (Currently in 2nd)
Mainstream Culture - Retro Motorsports: Very high (Currently in 1st)

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@VicVictory love the review :smiley:

If anyone’s interested here’s the .car: CMV 1M - M48 R.car (24.4 KB)

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1969 Rado Communt 67 Standard

@nerd

Let’s talk about bad for a moment. No, not like “my alternator went bad” or “I picked a bad color.” We’re talking flat-out bad. The kind that smells like roadkill and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth just for getting near it.

That’s what the Rado Communt 67 is for us. “A what?” you may ask. No surprise there, as the model lasted just a handful of years before the NHTSA mercifully stepped in and banned their sale due to dismal crash safety scores.

Yet before the “intrusion into our lives” (ask your grandparents) of the government getting into our business and telling us what you can and can’t buy, the Eastern Bloc foisted thousands of these onto us. Why would we have ever bought them to begin with? And does this mean that Ralph Nader really is our savior?

To the second question, the answer is most unfortunate. “Yes.”

But to the first, well… there were a lot of drugs in the late 60’s. I mean, a LOT. Mind altering and psychedelic. That might explain why so many people would elect to spend nearly $800 buying a brand new Rado instead of, say, an 8 year old Ardent Starlight.

By all measure, said out-of-date Ardent would have been the wiser pick. Even if it had almost a hundred thousand miles on it, it was sure to be at LEAST as reliable as the Rado. And more comfortable, quicker, and so on and so forth.

Take a look at some of these test specifications from back in the day that we found locked in the dark archives of the library. The Communt 67’s wheezing 1.1 liter engine managed to squeeze out just 32 horsepower, last seen as “acceptable” in the states when actual horses were used for transportation. 7.7 miles per gallon. We’ve seen Alameda Vegas with better fuel economy. Oh, stopping distance. This is a fun one. From 60 miles per hour, it took 119 meters to come to a stop. Yeah, that’s right. Longer than a football field, including BOTH end zones. Speaking of 60 miles per hour, the Communt 67 WAS able to get up to that speed in just under a minute (not a typo), and had a top speed of 65 miles per hour (also not a typo).

We figured that it would just be high-as-a-kite hippies that would buy these, but not one of our parents or their friends knew anyone who owned one back in the day. Amazingly enough, the largest concentration of these old heaps that we’ve found for sale in the States seem to be concentrated around Albuquerque. No one can seemingly explain why.

We can, however, explain why they keep showing up at cruise-ins now and then. It’s as a simple, straight up, “screw you” to the entire automotive world. At least according to forum user pinkosrock6769, who seems to own a pair of them. One to show off, and the other to serve as a parts car (and hold all the parts from all the other parts cars he’s cannibalized over the years).

All we have to say is: Egads.

Scoring:
Counter Culture - Classics: Very Low (Currently in 3rd)


More reviews to come. I need a nap.

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OK, many of us were wondering how bad it had to be to be banned back in “generations”, now we know.

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The actual safety score is 0.0, I shit you not.

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Lagau Autoroute et la Piste Gagnant (APG) (1987- 1989)

(GT Trim shown)

The Lagau APG is a sports car that was introduced with trackdays in mind and it shows just in the design itself.
It’s looks are very aggresive and edgy, it looks like something that would kill. And perhaps it can kill if in
the wrong hands, because this car is purely a driver’s car.

The APG comes with three trims,

The "N" model, which is the base car,

The "S", a turbocharged beast that came in it's last year of production,

and the "GT" model, which is a car with a V12 and a more luxury-biased interior.

The APG was designed to be cheap. whilist using advanced materials and techniques, it was because it doesn’t have to be mass produced and it was somehow poorly made in a sense that it doesnt feel like quality.The engine was lifted from 1987 Lagau Merveille and was restroked to its original size which is 3.9L, 3.5L in the “S” trim.

However, The APG is a good track car, especially in “N” and “S” trims because they have less weight to lug around and it has nearly no driver aids and power steering, with the exception with the ABS (This is only true for N trim, S trim has power steering and traction control.)

Meanwhile on the GT trim, it’s a serious competitor for the Ferrari Testarossa, being more luxurious, lighter and equaling style with the Testarossa meant that it was a alternative choice for those who are not rich enough to buy a Ferrari Testarossa.

Many APGs have landed on owners who liked to take it for a drive in B-roads and their local race circuit, And because of its appealing performance, private race teams started to take notice.

We even had a look of a private race team, which it wishes not to disclose the name, where we have the chance to photograph
at a prototype for the IMSA GTP Series.

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