Don Kincl found a very wide assortment of cars somewhere in Abilene, TX, including two rather rare veterans of the 1950s import boom: a Fiat 1100 and a Renault Dauphine. The Fiat looks like it might even be roadworthy. And there’s some other interesting inmates here too…
A ’63 Buick Skylark ragtop.
A ’73 Hurst/Olds Cutlass W30
As verified by the badge.
Another look at the Fiat. These were absolutely everywhere in Austria when I was a kid. Of course they were assembled in Austria by Steyr-Puch, but the 1100 was a big success for Fiat. Well, except in the US.
Wow, quite a diverse range of not so common, even when new, vehicles.
Looks like a Champ is peaking its nose out in the Skylark pic.
Another younger hot Olds Colonnade a 442 is sneaking into the Hurst’s pic.
The row with the Wagoneer, Ranchero and Firebird catches my interest and is that a Rambler American Wagon in front of that row?
There is also a El Camino poking its tail out in the Fiat photo.
Behind the 1963 Buick is a 1938 Buick, I think. If it’s a Century it would be fairly rare, but probably is a more common Special, which had 4 inches less wheelbase and 72 fewer cubic inches than the Century.
Definitely a ’38, the grille bars are too large for a ’37. Afraid I can’t guess whether we’re talking Special or Century, as it’s been way too long since I sold off my ’37 Special, and you almost had to see them side by side to tell the difference between the small and large engine models.
Cool collection. That Dauphine may not have been roadworthy when new.
I only knew of two Dauphine owners. One was a high school classmate in 1972, the other was my wife’s younger cousin in about 1978.
The result?
Teenage males + Dauphine = Rolled Renaults.
Fortunately, both escaped with only bruises from their low speed roll overs.
You know it is bad when a car company markets a car’s successor as, “The Renault for people who swore they would never buy another one.” Renault was starting to rebuild its reputation with the R5 Le Car in the ’70s, but then the Alliance turned out to be another strong-selling customer-burner.
The automobiles in that storage lot look like they could easily be sold to optimists as project cars. I see worse being discussed on Barn-Finds all the time.
That slogan is really another way of saying “if you think you hate it now, wait til you drive it”
Fool me once, shame on you.
For one or two years around 1958-59, the Dauphine actually matched the Beetle’s sales in the US. On paper it had some advantages. It had four doors, making the back seat more useful. Up front, there was an actual trunk, thanks to the more squared-up bodywork, the gas tank being in back unlike the Beetle, and the clever horizontal stowage of the spare underneath. Being water-cooled, it had somewhat of an actual heater. You could even buy one with a semi-automatic transmission long before the VW Autostick (and an even stranger pushbutton automatic starting in ’63).
The challenge was keeping the Dauphine running. It didn’t help that Renault provided meager parts and service support, and had extremely minimal standards for dealers — all mistakes that VW did not make.
My Dad had a Dauphine for a short while in the early 60’s. Mostly I remember that it was just fine up to about 40-45 mph, and after that flooring the pedal just made it growl and shake more without adding any velocity. Dad gave up on it after something broke in the front end one day and he had to drive home from work making only left turns.
Back in the 1960s, my Mom drove a Fiat 1100, the apparently common gray with a dark blue roof version. I would guess that it was an inexpensive car, as most of the cars my folks had back then included a bigger wagon (financed) to haul around the family and another cheap car (cash) for the other parent to drive. As both parents worked, somehow my Mom got the smaller car, apparently as she had the later shift for work. I remember the car, and yet I don’t recall seeing another one – or a Dauphine – on the road at that time, probably about 1965. They were long gone and off the road by then, and the American compacts took their place.
I hadn’t even thought about these cars for decades, but when you described the colours my mind went “Yep!” – I know exactly what you mean!
You still see Dauphines occasionally in fields across the U.S. but wow, that Fiat is super rare
Nice spots. I’d take the Buick, but the RX-7 in the background looks tempting too.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen whitewalls on a late ’90’s Jaguar XJ8…Some tasty stuff there though.
I never noticed before how similarly shaped the quarter windows are between the 66-67 Charger and 70-72 Chevelle before. Speaking of which is that a SS badge on the fender? Could that be the last surviving specimen that hasn’t been turned into a TV auction football?
I believe that fox Mustang on the far left is a 1992 summer edition convertible, I always liked that red on white scheme
Yeah I think that is a SS badge.
The Fiat 1100 was a front engine/rwd design, but that one really looks like a rear-engine car with the engine out. Distinctly high-tailed.
Quite the assortment here. I remember Dauphines on the road in early 60s Pittsburgh, but not the Fiat 1100.
Looks like the best pick is the 63 Skylark convertible.
What a great and varied collection.
I’d have to have the short bed and red Chevy/GMC pickup though. I’m a sucker for those.
I remember when Dauphine were quite common here. The Fiat 1100 – I’ve only seen a few. And those may in fact have been in Italy. I think 600’s were more common in the US than those.
’73 Hurst/Olds Cutlass W30 picture – is that a Nash in the top-left corner?
Rambler American, circa ‘58-60. Had Rambler owning parents in high school. Most uncool car on the 60’s – maybe ever.
The Fiat and the Renault are two more examples of how a basically sound design gets a terrible reputation as an export. Both cars were not thought of as significantly worse than the Beetle here in Europe – nothing spectacular but not desperately bad as accounts from America seem to indicate. I have no doubt that with a proper dealer network and quality control they could have been as almost as successful as the Beetle.
My dad had two 1961 Dauphines in the mid 1970’s. One of them was a parts car. He drove the “good” car to work for a couple of years but he decided he was spending too much time working on it. He tried driving a later Renault whose model designation I don’t remember anymore that was the most spectacularly unsuited for interstate highway driving I’d ever ridden in. This was for a family trip in the late 70’s. One of the 1961 cars can be seen not from from my parents’ house at an auto repair shop. Without a close up look at it, I can’t tell if it’s the “good” car or the parts vehicle. My guess it’s the “good” one but both of them were the same colour so who knows.
I remember riding in the Fiats in Mumbai in 2008 – they were locally made as the Premier Padmini in India from 1964-2000 and made up most of the taxi fleet. They felt quite peppy from the rear seat, unlike the Hindustan Ambassadors, which seemed more ponderous.
How about that John Deere 720 or 730 LP gas fueled tractor. I’ll bet that was a scarce and collectible model!
In early 1964 , during the second semester of my freshman year at the University of Arkansas, a roommate had a Dauphine. To wash it, he would fill a bucket of water at our 6th floor dorm, add soap and give the car a sponge bath in the parking lot. Then he would refill the bucket of water back at the 6th floor and rinse to complete the bath.
That junkyard has all kinds of CC’s there. As a car guy, it’s heaven! I went there a few times to get parts for my 2000 Century when I was stationed at Dyess over there. I do remember seeing that dauphine in person, but not the 1100. I think the dauphine still had most of it’s parts, and I’m sure the same can be said for the 1100, since most people in Texas would not have driven those even back then hahaha.
Those Fiats were in production in India for a long time when Fiat gave up on them theres probably some still on the road over there.