Cars North America never heard of

[LosAngeles]

I mean we're all familiar with Skylines at this point (enough boy racers saw to that)

And we know of cars like Holden's Monaro and Commodore due to Pontiac getting the GTO and new G8.

But....who in North America knew....

...that there was a Mazda 929 before the one we saw?

And a coupe at that!:

which happened to have a Cosmo twin:

Speaking of Cosmos, look at the preceding version (looks like a Mustang II or Monza notch)

Note: We got the fastback, and hose are extremely hard to find these days. I've seen two ever, probably.

Who here knew that Mitsubishi was one of Australia's big 3 (along with Holden and Ford) and built cars like the Magna:

or local cult favorites like the Sigma Turbo:

More to come....bring on the pictures.

[HarleyEarl]

that Mazda 929 is amazingly like the 80s Volvo, except flatened a bit.

[Drew Dowdell]

You can get flatter than an '80s Volvo?

[Satty]

You can get flatter than an '80s Volvo?

Well, I guess Volvos also go through puberty, so yeah, I guess at a certain point in their lives they were flat, and noticed all the other cars getting curves, which made them sad.

[HarleyEarl]

What's interesting about Japanese cars over time is that even though they don't have a distinctive style, you can always tell if it's a Japanese car. They did a zillion variations on the same theme. The theme? Non-design.

[LosAngeles]

that Mazda 929 is amazingly like the 80s Volvo, except flatened a bit.

I was going to point that out, but forgot to.

[LosAngeles]

Brazil's Chevy Opala:

As one looks at Chevy, Opel, Vauxhall, Holden, and such around the world, esp. in the 60s and 70s, the GM DNA is obvious in the design language. With the Opala, and the Rekord the first Opala was based on, there's tastes of Nova, Chevelle, dare i say IM-pala (!), and the first Monaro.

[LosAngeles]

Brazil's Opala-based sports "exotic," the Santa Matilde:

[Intrepidation]

Damn, I lost the Silvia picture I originally posted.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Dodgefan

[Guest aatbloke]

or local cult favorites like the Sigma Turbo:

We had this first generation Mitsubishi Sigma in the UK, as well as an Australian-built variant badged the Lonsdale YD-series. The Lonsdale brand lasted only a couple of years and are extremely rare, being a slow seller to begin with.

[Sixty8panther]

That (early '70s looking) Chevy Opala hardtop is HAWWWT!!!!

Very nice lines...

As far as the rest: !!!!

Esp. the Mazda Pinto II & Mitsubishis

[Hudson]

Who here knew that Mitsubishi was one of Australia's big 3 (along with Holden and Ford) and built cars like the Magna:

I'm sure it has never been "common knowledge," but I would assume that many big car enthusiasts (a majority of the people on this site) would know many of these vehicles. And that Mitsubishi Magna was exported to the US and sold as the Diamante.

[LosAngeles]

I'm sure it has never been "common knowledge," but I would assume that many big car enthusiasts (a majority of the people on this site) would know many of these vehicles. And that Mitsubishi Magna was exported to the US and sold as the Diamante.

Well, yeah, the point is to reflect the public at large, who really hasn't seen or heard much of what came beyond North America. And the Diamante did not have THAT greenhouse (later Magnas do look like what was imported here)

Moving right along....we know of the Chevy Monza, but how about the Opel Monza?:

^^^This could have been federalized as a game changing Pontiac or Buick T-Type IMO. Sure would have beaten the 6000 or Century.

More to come, this is a developing thread....

[LosAngeles]

Honda Ascot:

[Sixty8panther]

ASS-cot is right.

[ZL-1]

Honda Ascot:

That face reminds me of one of the European Accords... Not sure if it is the exact same car though...

[ocnblu]

The Opel Monza was a J-body, I think, smaller than an A-body.

[LosAngeles]

The Opel Monza was a J-body, I think, smaller than an A-body.

Actually, it was based on the Senator, rear-drive and much larger (E-segment, executive car class, our premium mid-size):

You're thinking of the Ascona:

In the size case of that car (which WAS a J-car) and general style, we were well catered to by Cavalier, Sunbird and co.

However, in Brazil, there was a J-car Chevy Monza (this one with a Camira-style front end):

And in South Africa, the Monza name was on an Astra/Kadett:

Edited August 5, 2008 by LosAngeles

[Sixty8panther]

There's nothing wrong with the old school Euro-Monza...

The styling was a bit :blah: but it was much more appealing than those Mazdas & Mitshubishis

[LosAngeles]

Nissan Cedric/Gloria (basically just like how American standards had numerous names):

[LosAngeles]

This looks like a car one should be Holden Nova a fire:

One of Australia's many Button Plan tragedies.

[Robert Hall]

This looks like a car one should be Holden Nova a fire:

One of Australia's many Button Plan tragedies.

Wierd...looks like a '90s Corolla but with a badly styled hatchback.