It’s funny the things you miss when you move to a new place. I moved into my new apartment a couple of months ago and I love that I can now walk to work, but I miss being situated directly between two shopping malls. They both had my preferred supermarket chain, good produce stores (with free samples!), and ample parking, which also meant they afforded plenty of great car sightings.
Of course, the crappy thing about shopping mall parking lots is they’re dingy and ugly and poorly lit. I try to avoid using parking lot photos in my articles but evidently a few have slipped through, to the point where our Jim Klein has dubbed me Curbside Classic’s resident “mole”*. Well, I may have to surrender that title as I no longer find myself in undercover parking lots quite so frequently. I’d like to start seeing cars like this Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback above ground, thank you.
To my eyes, this is the most attractive of the three Type 3 variants. Oh, and this body style was actually called Variant in some markets. This particular example has some patina here and there but looks to be holding up well. There’s not many of these left on Aussie roads, perhaps because the related Beetle and Kombi (Bus) hold more retro appeal to classic car buyers.
I’ve shared with you the story of the Ford Laser Lynx, an eccentrically styled Mazda 323 derivative sold in Asia-Pacific markets. If you’ll recall, I hadn’t seen any in years and then saw three in the same week, two of them on the very same street! Well, there were no further Lynx sightings in the wild until I stumbled across this one at my local.
The paint job on this Lynx was holding up much better than the very faded red and blue examples I’d previously seen. The quad headlights, the funky wheels, and the curvy wedge shape of these seemed so bizarre at the time but, in my opinion, the Lynx has aged well.
It was never really destined for success here, however. A restyled version of the three-door Mazda 323F/Lantis not sold here, the Lynx was positioned as the flagship of the Laser range. But while it was well-equipped, it came only with a manual and didn’t offer any extra performance even though past Laser flagships had offered four-wheel-drive and turbocharged engines. The rising Yen also made the Lynx a pricey proposition and so it was quietly retired after just a few years. The three-door 323F wasn’t positioned as a flagship in the markets where it was sold but even if the Lynx had been correspondingly repositioned, its lack of two back doors may still have doomed it.
Speaking of bug-eyed cars, the Jaguar S-Type always struck me as rather gauche—that retro design fad of the late 1990s and early 2000s wore thin rather quickly. With the right trim and wheels, however, the S-Type looked passable. In R trim, it looked downright handsome.
Even if you didn’t like the look, it was hard to argue with a supercharged 4.2 V8 producing 390 hp and 399 ft-lbs. Or a 0-60 time of just 5.3 seconds. Seeing it parked next to my similarly-sized Falcon made me realize how much of a shame it was Ford didn’t borrow the R’s V8 for a sporty Lincoln LS. After all, the S-Type and LS shared a platform. The 4.2 produced roughly the same horsepower and torque numbers as the Cadillac CTS-V, which would have made for a real Hot Rod Lincoln. Sadly, it was never to be.
Yes, among the hordes of late-model compacts and crossovers, there were often interesting cars to be spotted at my local shopping malls. In the next instalment, we’ll look at some more mediocre photographs of another motley assortment of cars.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1969 Volkswagen 1600 Type 3 Fastback – Fast In Name Only
Curbside Capsule: 1994-96 Ford Laser Lynx – The Sun Sets In The East
The Mazda version of this car, the Familia Neo, popped up in Barbados as one of the first foreign used cars sold here in the mid-1990s. I never knew there was a Ford equivalent. The Mazda version was more conservatively styled, with a grille reminiscent of that generation of Familia/323/Lantis, and I always saw a hint of Honda CRX at the back. In fact, I often described it as “Lantis meets CRX”.
I think the Type 3 Squareback may be my favorite VW – and I cannot tell you when I saw the last one. Beetles and the bus get all of the love. These were pretty common in my youth. My mother for awhile had a job that involved running samples to and from a medical lab and was provided with a beige squareback in which to do the running. Also one of my scoutmasters had one.
The squareback seemed to give that little extra bit of room that kept most of the Beetle’s good points but with a little more utility.
I like the Squareback also. I had one to use in 1972 for one year as a company when in 2nd year college. Yes, they are hard cars to find today even out here where Bugs are all over. Wouldn’t mind a stick shift one. I had an automatic, which isn’t exactly a quick car, nonetheless I managed to get two of my three speeding tickets in it. It did coast really well downhill during the first gas crisis.
I see a Swedish Brick in the background of that third pic. Always interesting to see what you find in underground garages. Which made me think- it’s been over a year since I’ve been downtown, and it’s only a dozen miles or so as the crow flies. Not that there’s any rush…
Yes, it look like a 740 wagon
Those VW’s now command decent prices, even these clumsier-looking 1600’s, which here deserves to be skulking in the dim recesses of mall-moledom. Even in that state, the owner could get $7,000+. Which is slightly wonder-inducing, as they were never any good.
The Teutonic panelling quite overwhelmed 1935’s finest engine tech, causing both sloth and paradoxical thirst. The pancake motor in it’s hotbox did not even compensate with long life. The steering mechanism worked if no wind puffed, but if it did, it became no more than an absent-minded approximator. The heating was the familiar VW fumigator, and the seating ungenerous for the size outside. Even the gearchange had gone odd by the time of this longnose model.
The contrast with the replacement Passat wagon in ’74, only a few years newer than this type 3, showed starkly how the tech had moved on. The flimsy Passat drove delightfully, and still felt modern 10 years later. If it lived that long.
I’ll concede that a concours early 1500 type 3 Squareback in, say, forest green, is a real looker. But with swing axles and all-drum brakes to pile onto the list of deplorables, it’s a lot of money for a pretty ornament.
“The flimsy Passat drove delightfully, and still felt modern 10 years later. If it lived that long.”
That Passat made many VW owners wish they were back in the days where models are identified by Type(I,2,3). For all their faults, air-cooled VW’s were reliable. The Passat (and next the Rabbit) blew that reputation to shreds in a few brief years.
Quite true. Though I reckon the reliability of the later, heavier VW’s was never that of the economy-purchase Beetles, possibly because they looked so much more “normal” that folk expected “normal’ car service from them. Loaded up as a family car, especially with an automatic, the engines had a hard and often brief life.
Ford Laser Lynk. Haven´t known that this existed. Looks bizarr.
The Type 3 Squareback is nice. Like this one, which is called Variant in Germany and the Coupe version, guess it called Fastback in the US. Both have these louvres for cooling on the side.
The LS8 did come with a short-stroked version of the Jaguar V8.
I’m intrigued by what appears to be a light on the front fender near the door. I had thought only the early Type 3s had this, but a quick check with Dr Google shows it randomly cropping up on early and late ones. Any ideas?
My ’64 VW Notchback had them.
Some countries required side turn signal repeaters at that time; others didn’t. Some carmakers sent cars with repeaters even to countries where they weren’t required (such as Australia); others didn’t. Here’s a big, high-quality pic of another Australian Type-3 with repeaters. What’s unusual is that the lens is of colourless plastic rather than amber. TTBOMEK Side turn signal repeaters have always only ever been permitted to emit amber light, never white*, and amber bulbs in that size that German makers would use were many years in the future when these cars were built, so it is probable these repeaters had amber paint on the surface (which fades to white over the years) or, less likely in that timeframe, an internal amber plastic balloon over the bulb. This car appears to support the amber-paint theory, and VW did use that technique to make turn signals that complied with Italy’s unique requirements in the ’60s and early ’70s, too.
If that’s not it, there’s also the (slimmer) chance they could be literal, actual, old-fashioned “sidelights”, which is what the Brits still call what are officially known as “front and rear position lamps” (Americans know them as “tail lights” in the rear and “parking lights” in the front). The pics of the green car aren’t big enough or of high enough resolution to determine if the paint on them is red or a dark amber.
*-notwithstanding sloppy North American regs that don’t require any repeaters, but permit some kinds of repeaters to emit red
The mole man strikes again! I spent a lot of time in the red ’71 Squareback owned by my best friend in high school (who, coincidentally, now lives Down Under). No powerhouse, but lots of fun to cruise around in around the greater L.A. area. One of the highlights included a little round knob near the passenger’s knee, that when pulled, resulting in “Boinggg!” the fuel flap springing open. Lots of fun to pull while driving to annoy Ken to no end…Good times!
I took my Driver’s Ed class in a ’70 Squareback Automatic. Clementine, I believe the color was named.
I’d say that was very childish of you with that fuel flap, Mr Klein.
Except that I frequently did the self-same thing in my mate’s fastback. For some reason that cartoon noise made me roll about laughing, which the increasingly grim-faced response of my mate made worse. “Grow up,” he’d say.
I did. I still find it funny.
I have unusually old memories, some dating back to when I was very young, before I could talk. One of these, from when I was somewhere between 18 months and 2 years old, involved a trip somewhere in a VW wagon like that, except light blue. Don’t know whose it was—probably a babysitter or the mother of a fellow attendee of the daycare center. My mother carried me out the front door and as soon as I saw it in the driveway I started crying. Not just a little, either; really howling and wailing. I don’t know what it was I found so threatening about that car, but I do remember that’s what it felt like: extremely threatening, severely dangerous. No way was I gonna get in that car if I could possibly help it. I used the only tool I had, my voice, and it worked; whatever trip had been planned was scrubbed. Mother carried me back inside the house. Threat gone, I calmed right down. I remember this viscerally and in crackling detail, right down to the angle of the car in the driveway and the tone of the adults’ voices (I couldn’t yet understand the words) as they tried to calm me down and then spoke to each other in resignation.
The conversation that you coudn’t understand at the time was likely as follows:
Daniel’s Mom: Oh, I’m so sorry, he’s just not having it today, I suppose.
VW Owner: Gee, I wonder what it could be. He’s usually fairly agreeable about things when we are inside.
DM: Well, it could be…
VO: Please, do tell! Do!
DM: Well, he’s got this thing about…lighting.
VO: Lighting? What the? What do you mean?
DM: Well, I suspect he’s not thrilled with the output and beam pattern of the stock VW lights.
VO: Really?
DM: Yes. And perhaps they are aimed poorly as well. You should get it looked at.
VO: But they sold me the car this way. Surely the lights were government approved.
DM: You would think, right? But our Little Daniel is very particular about these things. Perhaps we will try again when you get a new car.
VO: OK. Gee, I had no idea. Kids these days….
Nawwwwww, it wouldn’t’ve been that; Pennsylvania had fairly strict periodic vehicle inspections at that time which included headlamp aim. It might’ve been the red rear turn signals, though…!
Our across the street neighbors were VW folks back in the 70’s. The two daughters Linda and Sandra had Karman Ghia’s, Mom had a Bus, Dad went to work every day in a Oval Window Bug he had bought new, and their Grandma who I met several times had a Type 3 Squareback. We had a 69 C10 and a 65 Impala SS.
This is going to sound sappy, but a 1974 Type 3 was my first automotive infatuation. I grew up with one and it taught me much: The difference between leaded and unleaded gas, how to stay warm in the winter (shiver really hard, sit on foam hot seat), how to stay cool in the summer (roll down the windows, don’t touch the vinyl seats without barrier protection), where to park (never on an uphill) and how to start a car (push real hard, have someone pop the clutch…and with practice, it becomes a one person operation). Our Type 3 ended up introducing me to a lot of it’s misfit (southern and central) European friends in the local salvage yard as we scavenged for parts to keep it alive. Ultimately, we ended up with two Type 3’s, one for driving and the other for parts. This is a most excellent solution, actually, because it’s mighty hard to get to the salvage yard if the “driveable” Type 3 attempts to give up the ghost. Good times…in retrospect.
We got the Mazda version of that Laser hatchback as the 323 Neo in Canada for a single year (1995), I don’t believe it ever made its way to the states. I have only ever seen one in the metal.
Had a ‘70 Squareback in elm green with biscuit-coloured interior. Fun, economical, reliable despite other owners’ problems with fuel injection. Practical as all get out, indestructible vinyl interior, gas heater. Good for (eventually) up to 80 MPH or so — about 130 km/h — when valve float would set in. A terrific car for ski trips with school pals, or just tearing over snowy roads in general. And with the back seat folded down it provided plenty of space for, um, leisure activities!
That Laser Lynx looks like a swollen (in a better way!) Aspire! 🙂
You’re absolutely right – many S Types were visually disappointing but in the right colour (dark blue, British racing green), mesh grille, limited chrome and good wheels it could look good.
But ultimately, there was reason why Jaguar style changed so much from the 2006 XK and 2008 XF
LOL this is one I know about you se a cool car in underground parking for me it is in underground parking at a apartment complex