Five automotive cockroaches
Monday, 12 September 2016
The Land Rover Defender finally chugged its way out of production at the start of this year, ending a production run that essentially started in 1983 with the introduction of the 90 and 110.
But there are still some cars that are carrying on way past the Defender's end and some of them even started before it!
Here are five of the hardest to kill cars in the world.
Morgan 4/4 - 1955
While the Morgan 4/4 first appeared in 1936, it is the Series II, launched in 1955 (yes, that's right, even the Series I lasted 19 years!) that we all know and love today.
While engines, transmissions, suspension set-ups and steering systems have changed multiple times (with donors including Ford, Fiat and Mazda) the basic appearance is largely unchanged, save for a few tweaks, since it first appeared 61 years ago. As of 2009, the 4/4 features an 82kW 1.6-litre Ford engine and a Mazda five-speed manual transmission.
Lada Riva - 1979
That wonderful automotive mongrel known variously as the Lada Riva, the Lada Nova and the AvtoVAZ VAZ-2105 was based on the Fiat 124 and basically WAS the Russian automotive industry until it finally limped to a halt in 2010, with the wagon hanging on until 2012.
But that wasn't the end for the venerable Riva, as is still actually in production in Egypt as the 2107 Estate. They even produced a version powered by a rotary engine. Rather startlingly, the Riva is actually the third best-selling automotive platform after the Volkswagen Beetle and Ford Model T!
Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen - 1979
Much like the Defender and the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen has simply blatantly ignored the need to evolve to survive.
Built by Magna-Styer in Austria since its inception, the G-Wagen has been everything from the original Popemobile right through to the utterly mental fire-breathing AMG 63 6X6 six-wheeler of a few years back. Even the boss of AMG admits that making a hot version of the G-Wagen makes absolutely no sense, but that is exactly why they do it. Who says Germans don't have a sense of humour?
Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series - 1984
The 70 Series originally replaced the 19-year old 40 Series way back in 1984. While the other vehicles in the Land Cruiser range went on to become more luxurious (eventually becoming the Prado and 200 Series we have today), the 70 Series just, well, stayed the same.
Not entirely the same, mind you, as it has had several new faces and now packs a big, brawny turbo-diesel V8 engine, as well as cursory nods to safety like ABS brakes and airbags. But you do get the sense they are only grudgingly accepted.
Peugeot 405 - 1987
The 405 was a much-loved and successful car for Peugeot, so much so that every mid-size Peugeot since has struggled to live up to the 405's reputation.
That is also probably why the 405 still exists today, albeit under another name. Actually, make that a few other names.
The 405 lives on in Iran as the Peugeot Pars, as well as the Iranian 'National Car', the Iran Khodro (IKCO) Samand.
The Samand's pricing starts at around NZ$10,000 and it boosts a range of petrol and CNG (yes, really!) powered engines, all of which have utterly glacial 0 to 100 times of between 10 and 13 seconds.