Practical, plebeian and cheap, the Renault R6 was a forward-thinking hatch sold in the millions but survivors are very rare today.
Posts tagged Economy Cars
Ford Festiva: The Cult Favorite
As is often the case with the cheapest new cars, nobody expected very much of the Ford Festiva. When new, it was a bottom-feeder. It was a cut above similarly cheap cars like the Hyundai…
Hyundai Excel: From Small Beginnings
You see Hyundais everywhere now, and the Korean giant is light years away from its origins as a bargain-bin brand, but it’s rare to see one of the early Hyundais. They were cheap cars (which…
1987-93 Pontiac LeMans: Partners at Odds
It seemed like a great idea – take a respected small car designed in Germany, where engineers know about good dynamics and quality cars, manufacture it cheaply in South Korea, then sell it in America…
Subaru Justy: The Little Guy
It was basic transportation in the eyes of American consumers. As small a car as you could get, with as small an engine as many of them could remember. The Subaru Justy, which arrived on…
1972 Datsun 1200: Competition Calls
For most buyers, the Datsun 1200 had but one purpose – economy. The 1200, known elsewhere as the B110 Sunny, was a bottom-feeder addition to the U.S. Datsun lineup for the 1971 model year and…
Three-Wheelin’: Reliant Robin Mk1
In time all Reliant 3-wheelers, including the earlier Regal and later Rialto, came to be commonly called “Reliant Robins,” (or worse – “Robin Reliants”) so familiar were they in the fabric of U.K. life. In…
Postmodern Italian: Fiat Ritmo/Strada
Long forgotten by most in America, the Fiat Strada – called the Fiat Ritmo in Europe – was delightfully strange and very familiar at the same time. Sometimes accused of being a copy of the…
Something Borrowed: 1980 AMC Spirit Kammback
Things looked bright at AMC in 1974-75, as the Gremlin was coming off a record sales year, the Matador coupe had debuted to good sales, and the new Pacer was generating considerable public interest. Like…