Favourite Civilian Pattern Car

[dvyws]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

At least you need four bad guys. By the way you could have been brighter and the guy much less lucky. You can strip a 2CV of its body and remake it in less than 1:30 hour. To strip it of its body you need a simple key of 8 (for the 3 screws holding the sides), a crank of 19 ( for the 4 nuts holding the front part), for the hood you go by hand) and another key of 11 to get the doors. Then, you could have make it appear as normal until he would have opened the door.

I hope my words are the good ones.

Too bad you didn't know that at the time.

But.....

see, we were the Deck (seaman) trainees.

The engineers were our mortal enemies. (the 2CV owner was a [spit!] engineer).

Dismanting it was an engineer task, obviously.

As deck types, our options were limited to inverting it, repainting it [we did that once), or throwing it into the river Clyde - which would have been unseamanlike...

[dragoon500ly]

Originally Posted by dvyws

But.....

see, we were the Deck (seaman) trainees.

The engineers were our mortal enemies. (the 2CV owner was a [spit!] engineer).

Dismanting it was an engineer task, obviously.

As deck types, our options were limited to inverting it, repainting it [we did that once), or throwing it into the river Clyde - which would have been unseamanlike...

We tied one to a AVLB....then folded the bridge so the 2CV was left about 30 feet in the air.

Also saw a VW Beetle that tried to beat a M-60 tank through an intersection, didn't know that the front end could be squashed so flat!

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

Also saw a VW Beetle that tried to beat a M-60 tank through an intersection, didn't know that the front end could be squashed so flat!

Normal, the engine is at the rear. However, I once saw one doing the same with a BMW. The BMW had its front down, the VW simply had a scratch. M60 was simply a little too much.

[dragoon500ly]

When you start talking about civilian vehicles meeting military vehicles...

There is a story from Ft Knox, Kentucky about a M-60 tank and a 18-wheeler.

There is a highway called US 31E that cuts right through the middle of Ft Knox, the main maneuver area is on the south side of the post, while the gunnery ranges, gold vault, and main post or on the north side. There is a tank crossing that is marked and lighted to warn of movement of vehicles from one side to the other.

One night a tank crew of officers from the Officer Basic Armor Course were driving their tank through the crossing, a semi and trailer ran the warning lights and hit the tank just about dead center on its left side at what was later determined to be at a speed of 75+mph. The damage was extensive...

To the semi.

The semi was completely demolished, I was on the scene of the accident the next day and the only word to describe the wreckage was "confetti". Total damage to the tank...$600.00. The left rear sponson box and fender were destroyed.

[Mohoender]

This is Just a small list which shouldn’t be restrictive and, of course, availability is always the question. Some choices can be contested but they are quite handy.

Zastava 750/Fiat 600: Slightly bigger than the Fiat 500, it has been built from 1955-1985 (Italy, Latin America, Spain and Yugoslavia). Several are still in working order in Eastern and Western Europe as well as in Latin America. Good fuel consumption, poor off-road, simple and easy to fix.
Hindutan Ambassador: Built in India from 1958 up to the war, this is a simple and sturdy car. However, it is found mainly in India with a small number in Asia and a few in UK (in fact these are rare surviving Morris Oxford).
Dacia 1300/Renault R12: Built from 1969 up to the war, these can be found in Europe, all over the Mediterranean Basin, in the Balkans, South America and Australia.
Opel Blitz: Built in Germany up to the 1970's, this light truck can be found from time to time in Europe, Africa and Latin America
Zil 130: Simply the main civilian truck in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union. Most are now in the hands of the military.
Citroën Mehari: The main French off-road vehicle, it is seldom found off France. However, I consider, that production was resumed in the mid-1990’s, no more than a hundred a month. A little few might be found in the USA. LOL
Citroën 2CV: A top car again (no just kidding). It is found in Western Europe and Latin America. As for the Mehari, production was resumed in the mid-1990’s a a rate of a few hundreds every month. Slow very slow. Noisy, very noisy. But it will get through about anywhere and the van version is very handy.
Renault 4L: The most successful Renault, it is an old model dating back to 1961 but it is still in limited production. The van model is quite popular. They are found in Western Europe, the Balkans, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Australia.
Renault Super Cinq: Still in limited production, they are found in Western Europe, in the Balkan but also in Latin America and the Middle East.
Peugeot 205: Still in limited production. They are found mostly in Western Europe.
Peugeot 405: Still in limited production. They are found in Western Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Peugeot 504: Production has ceased with the war except for the Pickup version. They are found in Western Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, China and Australia. IMO the best car to get in Europe.
Citroën GS: Production has ceased ten years before the war but several are still found in France and Western Europe but also in Latin America and Thailand.
Yamaha: Just for the motorbike. Can be another brand but I tend to use an enduro type.
Honda Civic: I chose it as the main Japanese Car. They can be found everywhere.
Toyata Crown: This is the main luxury car from Japan. Availability is in question but I would consider it extremely rare in Europe.
Datsun/Nissan 720: I took it for the main Japanese pickup (In fact, it can be any Japanese pickup). They are everywhere.
Nissan Patrol: Again, the main Japanese FWD (pick anyone you want). Again, they can be found everywhere.
Honda Acty: Either a small truck or a tiny van (known as Kei Truck), they remain quite common in Asia but also in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Mitsubishi L300: Simply a van.
Nissan Cabstar: the main surviving light truck.
Saab 900: Can be found in Europe and the USA but it is found mainly in Scandinavia. It is still in production.
Volvo 240: More common than the Saab, it obeys the same ideas.
BMW Motorbike: What would French cops do without them
VW Beetle: May be the most common civilian car for T2K. It can be found everywhere, and production ceased only with the war in Brazil.
VW Golf: Could still be quite common and sometimes in military use. I don’t expect to find it in Asia.
VW Passat: Almost like the golf when it comes to availability but also present in Asia (including China).
Audi 100: An executive car, I would expect some to be still running. It could be found in Europe, Africa and Asia (including China).
Mercedes: Either station wagon or sedan, I consider that several are still running everywhere.
Kürierwagen: Heir to the Kübelwagen, I just find it fun.
VW T2 and T3: The VW van, they should still be around and everywhere except may be in Asia and Soviet Union.
Vespa and Vespacar: No comments.
Fiat/Polski Fiat 126: Most were built in Poland and they could be quite common in Europe may be along the Fiat Panda.
Fiat Uno: A very common Fiat, it is found in Europe, in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.
Fiat Croma: Just like this.
Iveco Van: With the VW, the most common van in Europe.
Austin Mini: In normal version and pick up version. Could well be in limited production among HMG (especially the pick up). If it’s not it should be intended to put it back in production. It is quite common in Europe.
Opel/Vauxhall Cavalier (Ascona): You could find some in Europe.
Daimler 420: Don’t forget about the government’s pride.
Morgan: An anachronism today, an anachronism then.
Austin FX-4: Back in production and somewhat common in UK. HMG likes symbols. (Hi hi)
Harley: Hit the road
Chevrolet Bel Air: to have an older American car.
Ford LTD: the bases for the main car.
Cadillac Seville: Wasn’t it one in New York 1997?
Station Wagon: Just pick one.
Chevrolet 1946 step side: I love these and they are so many sitting in ones backyard.
GMC Van: I love these.
Jeep CJ3B: Or the Hotchkiss, the Mitsubishi…
Jeep CJ5: Or the M38 or the CJ7…
Jeep Cherokee: In both Europe and the USA.
Chevrolet Blazer: The regular.
Chevrolet Suburban: The Oversize.
Chevrolet C30: I was just looking for a crewcab.
Dnepr Motorbike:still the old BMW R75
Fiat/Lada 1200: Still common in Europe, Soviet Union and Elsewhere.
Oka: The small soviet car.
Volga: one for the party.
Lada Niva: quite common in Europe and Asia.

[bobcat]

how bout any bond car that actually has all the accessories working, and hasn't been abused, er, issued to 007.

[Graebarde]

Well being in the US, I prefer a late 60's Ford F100 4x4. Of course parts are harder to comeby, but they are better made IMO than the new ones. An alternative is an early model Toyota SR-5 4x4 with the 22R engine. IMO the best little four-cylinder going.. had one that I had 240K miles on and never had the valvecovers or pan off. ONLY problem I ever had was the tranny main bearing went at 70K and they fixed it for 1/2 the price normal, and a waterpump went.. strong little engine, vehicle light enough to be able to maneuver where heaver trucks couldn't, and still carry what you need...