…er, that’s not an Erin, it’s an early 90s Saminda C5.
Sort of. It’s the Erin Lomaron, one of the cars produced during the Erin-Saminda Partnership years. Most of the engineering was done by Erin, but the car was sold under both brands around the world.
Well it doesn’t really look like an 80s Erin.
Yeah, Erin wanted to go for a more “world car” look as opposed to their design language of the time.
Well whatever the inspiration was, it clearly wasn’t that interesting was it.
No. This really is one plain old looking car.
Is it also plain when it comes to performance?
You bet! Some of the more expensive trims came with inline 6s, but the one we’re entering into this competion is the base-spec EL trim, which came with a 1.8l inline 4 producing 113 hp.
That’s not very luxurious. And that advert says it’s supposed to be ‘luxurious’.
Erin, being British, decided that when it came to selling premium cars in non-Western markets in the late 80s, they could get away with a lot of crap. This is no exception. And what “luxuries” there were have been stripped out in the name of performance.
Has anything else been done ‘in the name of performance’?
Er, not really. This really is as stock as it gets.
Sounds about right for a clunker challenge then.
You bet.
What we have here is a 1991 Erin Lomaron EL 1.8, finished in Polished Leather Black. This one was built at the Saminda plant in Ayutthaya, Thailand before being sent over to Australia and later imported to New Zealand. 148k miles on the clock, a decent service history and pretty much rust-free. It’s lived a good life, though that plucky little i4 engine is showing its age, and the interior could really do with a full re-upholstering.
There’s a pretty extensive back story about this car and the time period it came from, so I’m going to list that here rather than shoving it all into one post because nobody is going to be that interested in all those details apart from me.
Prelude: Erin’s late-70s financial crisis
Erin-Saminda Partnership: Part 1
Erin Saminda Partnership: Part 2 (including more details about the Lomaron)
One of the off-trails of the end of the partnership: Enactor and the Series 1 Estate Roamer
But who is going to be driving this damn thing?
Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
The three Brits who survived the Roulette Runner, Kinda Grand Tour and the Go-West Deathtrap Tour are back in yet another Erin. I’m starting to think there’s a pattern occuring here with what cars they always drive but I can’t work out what it is…
Last time we saw them, they’d just graduated university and had one last summer to make the most of before finally giving in and living in the real world. We’re about 3/4 of a year on from that now…
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James Hurley - 22 year old actually named after the Twin Peaks character by his mother, and not even for a joke. Still your stereotypical CarThrottle fan, only now he’s working as a Market Data Analyst for a business investment firm in London. Has almost saved up enough for his dream BMW 3 series, has a thing for Emma Stone and is the best amateur cook there is.
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Seb Anitolo - 21 year old Spanish guy with a Geography degree that, like most people who take Geography, he has no idea what to do with. He’s been back at home in Guadalajara for a while whilst trying to find a job in Madrid, but it hasn’t been easy so far. Has been known to attract both women and men with his thick black hair, which he keeps perfectly maintained via a kit-bags worth of products.
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Martin Deenham - 22 year old with a not-so-secret love of indie rock, and the only one with proper mechanical experience. Like many post-grad students, he’s currently working as an accountant, because his degree is worth shit all else. Still very, very particular about everything, but he’s managed to end up in a relationship, which James isn’t salty about at all.
Do they have any idea what they’re doing? No! Are they using this as an excuse to get away from dealing with real life and responsibilities? Yes!