Cars that have disappeared from our roads

[Calaber]

The other thread in this forum asking if you own a car made before the mid 80's has a photo of an immaculate Sigma and that got me thinking. Sigmas used to be extremely common and you saw them on the roads every day but these days, they are pretty rare, especially clean ones. There are lots of cars that are rare on our roads today, but only a few years ago, they were everywhere. For example:

Mini
Beetle
Datsun 180B
Pre XD Falcons
Any Valiant

Now, some of them were shitboxes and have probably rusted away (eg 120Y), but some old cars were classics and very popular, even as late as the early to mid 90's. Anybody got some other nominations? And even though this is a Commodore forum, let's leave the old Holdens out of the discussion.

[Hangman]

Even XD-XF Falcons are rarely seen now.
Datsun 200B
Old model Toyota Cressidas and Crowns used to be everywhere.

[ari666]

you are gonna laugh at this but:

camira.

i was actually happy to see one the other day. was in immaculate condition too!

[VK SL 3800]

Theres lots of car to choose!
Ka & KB lasers
Early Colts
The early Corollas
Toranas
Escorts
Cortinas
Australian Boxy style Skylines.

Just to name a few that i rarely see.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Now, some of them were shitboxes and have probably rusted away

Thats the exact reason you don't see many of the cars listed on the roads anymore. The only old/er cars you see on the roads now are the ones that are actually worth restoring.

Probably a bit off topic, but anyway.

[som]

i saw a camira a while ago that wasn't blowing smoke.it was on the back of a tow truck.

[Cheap6]

you are gonna laugh at this but:

camira.

i was actually happy to see one the other day. was in immaculate condition too!

I'm a sick bastard; I like them. (Too?). I have fond memories with mates thrashing parent owned versions when I was younger. Nothing does easier handbrake turns than a (FWD) Camira with it's VB-VL Commodore size drum brakes on the rear.

Back on topic.

Early Mazda rotary engined cars. I saw an RX-4 yesterday, looking original and in pretty good nick. Unless it's tubbed, with brightly coloured paint and 18" wheels you seldom see RX-2's,3's and 4's these days.

RWD Gemini's.

[Dayvo]

you are gonna laugh at this but:

camira.

i was actually happy to see one the other day. was in immaculate condition too!

When i worked at GMH we used to have races with the old camira . We used to put the handbrake on and then plant the foot to see who could drag the rear wheels the furthest .
I miss the old EH HR HK Holdens thats what my gen drove .

[philba]

when i was living in canberra, i saw the majority of these cars on the road on a daily basis, but now living in melbourne, i seldom see these cars
another would the old Valiants

[Reaper]

Pretty much anything pre 1985 is getting very few and far between. Pre 1980 is nearly unheard of.

As for the much maligned camira - I say they were the biggest "miss" when it came to HEC. The first JB Camiras had rings that were too soft and thus the chugged out smoke + some had rust problems. Both of those things should not have been in a car built in the '80s. As a car however, compared to it's piers it drove magnificently. A huge step forward and far better than the Carolla/323/Laser of the day. Pitty when Holden finally fixed the problems in the JD/E public perception was set and recovery was impossible. It was a real "own goal" with a certain winner turning into a turkey.

Reaper

[m1lky]

Heaps of the boy racer cars from 5 years ago are pretty much gone from nz roads now.

Gtx familias have all blown gearboxes and been scrapped
~1990 legacys, even the mid to late 90s ones are dissapearing fast
V1 wrxs are getting more rough and less common
Cortinas, escorts etc are all but gone
Boxy civics up to like 92 have rusted away

Pretty much anything that was cheap looked decent or was fast has had the crap raped out of it and is disappearing from our roads.

[dumpedvs]

I can honestly say I had to look up to see what a camira was :/
Clearly havnt seen any in my 18 years of life.

[VK SL 3800]

ill add another, remember those really popular hyundai Excels? I remember they used to be everywhere and now i hardly ever see one (in wagga anyways), and thats a 90's car.

like this shape:

[Dangerous Dave]

Thankfully, another one you RARELY see - The Leyland P76.

I know i keep mentioning them, but i'm torn between admiring the engineering prowess and loathing the aesthetics and form..

[Hangman]

There's still excels running around up here.

Early WRX's is another one.

[dumpedvs]

Them excels are everywhere down here, see to many of them

[turmoil117]

There's a damn plague of excels in Perth and kalgoorlie

[GEN3RATD]

Honda CRX del sol's

[wraith]

What about nissan exas? Used to see them all the time now there a dime a dozen.

[Jonno]

Got a mate restoring a old sigma, very nice (:

[Dougs.8]

Most of the Toranas , Valiants , Falcons are so modified you'll find them mostly at drag strips

[ari666]

What about nissan exas? Used to see them all the time now there a dime a dozen.

i used to have one

[ToMMMaY]

cordia turbos... they where trolling the streets for the cheap price then they realised a n/a commy would rip there ass in half
lol

[Calaber]

I'm a sick bastard; I like them. (Too?). I have fond memories with mates thrashing parent owned versions when I was younger. Nothing does easier handbrake turns than a (FWD) Camira with it's VB-VL Commodore size drum brakes on the rear.

I must be really sick then. I've had four Camiras, one of every model and two JB's. Reaper is dead right with his description of the Camira. It handled brilliantly, was comfortable and roomy but was built like a crippled turd. Rough assembly, poor quality interior compenents (JB's were mainly European spec components and hated our summers, the same as early Commodores). I rebuilt two engines with re-ring kits and they were dead reliable, economical and just kept going and dead cheap to repair, especially from wreckers, because nobody wanted them or parts for them so they were always glad to sell anything they could to get rid of them. You could replace the clutch without having to remove the engine or transmission - they just came out from underneath. Dead simple. I love them but Reaper's description as "own goal" fits the bill perfectly.

And yes, they are getting rare these days. Rust will kill them - they suffered chronically from it in all sorts of serious structural locations.

[Jonesy484]

i haven't seen a 180 sx in over 9 months