More forgotten cars

It’s good to have the server running more speedily, thanks to the Rackspace guys. From Autocade, some of the cars you might have forgotten, sometimes for good reason. Pity, I always liked the look of that SEAT Sport; and the CityRover is an interesting could-have-been if MG Rover had only priced the base model under £5,000.

CityRover (RD110). 2003–5 (prod. approx. 6,000 sold to 2004). 5-door saloon. F/F, 1405 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC). Badge-engineered Tata Indica (1998–) with 14 in wheels (up from Indian model’s 13 in) and revised grille, though no sheetmetal changes. Ride height lowered 20 mm. Not formally a Rover—an Indian-made base model seemed a stretch too far for the brand that had already been downgraded to adorn Metros. Even Rover badge on CityRover appeared different—as with no-marque Metros in the late 1980s. Base model without electric windows; generally dated against European competition. Rover botched the launch, pricing the vehicles far too high, making them uncompetitive—it was generally regarded that the price was £2,000 more than what it should have been. Price drop eventually, with £900 cut and standard equipment upgrade in 2005. Mk II models built but never officially launched, arriving one month after May 2005 collapse of MG Rover.

Beijing BJ750. 1973–5; 1988 (prod. 93). 4-door sedan. F/R, 2445, 2465 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Unclear information on mid-sized sedan dating from mid-1970s from behind the Bamboo Curtain; some sources indicate production continued to end of 1970s and beginning of 1980s, updated with features such as extra turn signals in 1980. Years given (1973–5 and 1988) from Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, which indicates short production was due to Red Chinese government preferring the manufacture of the Shanghai automobile over the BJ750. BJ751 was a Wankel-engined model, two examples made for evaluation and existing around 1980. The 1988 revival (BJ752) featured larger Beijing Jeep Cherokee engine, prod. 3.

Daihatsu Charmant (E20). 1974–81 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon. F/R, 1166, 1290, 1407, 1588 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). Toyota Corolla (E20)-based car from Daihatsu, with particularly long life by Japanese standards. Upgraded to 1·3- and 1·6-litre engines, later shared with E70 Corolla, in 1978. Short-lived wagon model. More upscale than Corolla, though dynamically nothing remarkable.

SEAT 1200 Sport/SEAT 1430 Sport. 1975–80 (prod. unknown). 2-door coupé. F/F, 1197, 1438 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV). SEAT coupé based on 127 platform but 124 engines, characterized by blackened front end, earning it the nickname bocanegra in Spain. Larger-engined model from 1977. Attractive, contemporary 1970s’ design, though not very successful and not directly replaced.