What do a Lexus LFA and a Chevy Beretta have in common?

[Camaroyenko]

That your opinion holds no merit because you are so open about your bias it is laughable.

And if this an attempt at trolling, you're really quite bad at it and I recommend you stop.

I'm. Not. Trolling.

 

[Azuremen]

I'm. Not. Trolling.

Sorry to hear that, because the alternative isn't much better.

 

[Camaroyenko]

Sorry to hear that, because the alternative isn't much better.

👍

 

[SpartanG]

I thought it was a Japanese/Asian thing..

Mazda RX7..

wow, what a great interior design. I miss the 80's and 90's dashboards, especially japanese ones, that were so simple but looked so good. I love how the tachometer is just huge.

Not my picture but I want this:

Not that electro-lcd stuff like the posted LFA.

 

[paskowitz]

The funny thing isn't how this lighthearted thread made just for fun has turned into another SRSBSNS "'Merica versus the world" mud slinging contest.


No. The funny thing is that people seem to think that the Chevrolet Beretta is the car to pick this fight over. Not the Corvette. Not the Viper. Not the Mustang. Not even a Cadillac. The CHEVROLET BERETTA! What the hell is wrong with you people?

Insert generic "I do not want to live in this world" pic.

I am going to decree a new direction for this thread. Find me any other car that has this interior knob dial thing attached to the instrument cluster. Go forth.

 

[Keef]

It seems an oil change and fuel-up are in order.

 

[Tornado]

What is that an interior of? It almost looks like a last gen Prelude, but the gauges aren't quite right.




Speaking of:

I am going to decree a new direction for this thread. Find me any other car that has this interior knob dial thing attached to the instrument cluster. Go forth.

First gen Prelude.




See that? Power steering!

 

[88FoxBodyFan]

There is a good reason why so many Berettas were turned into drag cars, because they made horrible street cars.

 

[homeforsummer]

First gen Prelude.

I really like the interior, and exterior of the first-gen 'Lude for some reason. Makes me want to get one after I'm done with the Beetle. I'd even have a Hondamatic one.

More knobs - First-gen MR2:

Albeit at a different angle to those in some of the other cars.

Anyway, as for controls sprouting from the instrument panel, the Japanese were lightweights. This is how Citroen did it in the 1970s/1980s:

 

[SVX]

 

[homeforsummer]

The one above is an early Citroen Visa. The one below is a CX (what's the ball on the centre console? Who the hell knows, but it's there!):

And this is a Citroen GSA:

See, you're all debating the merits of some POS Beretta and an ugly Japanese supercar, but neither have got anything on Citroen.

 

[astrosdude91]

My mom had a Beretta in the '90's. It always broke down, and the A/C would spit weird black tar like stuff all the time. She dumped it, bought a 4Runner, and never looked back.

Actually, that 4Runner is probably one of the best vehicles this family has had.

 

[AMCNUT]

My mom's friend used to have a Beretta when I was really young. I remember occasionally getting a ride home from school in it. I used to think that because it had two doors and a (vaguely) sporty shape that it some super-fast, super-cool sports car. Then I got older and realized how decidedly wrong that youthful perception was!

My other biggest memory of that car was the rust mottling on the fenders and running boards, but I don't recall any odd knob things on the dash...

 

[Tornado]

And this is a Citroen GSA:

See, you're all debating the merits of some POS Beretta and an ugly Japanese supercar, but neither have got anything on Citroen.

What is the thing that looks like a pull cord for a parachute?

I mean, it's a Citroen, so I assume there is a chance that it is actually a pull cord for a parachute, but I'm still curious.

I really like the interior, and exterior of the first-gen 'Lude for some reason. Makes me want to get one after I'm done with the Beetle. I'd even have a Hondamatic one.

But... the fourth gen has that full-width blue dashboard...

 

[McLaren]

Probably way off, but hand brake?

 

[homeforsummer]

What is the thing that looks like a pull cord for a parachute?

I mean, it's a Citroen, so I assume there is a chance that it is actually a pull cord for a parachute, but I'm still curious.

I think McLaren might be right actually:

Probably way off, but hand brake?

I could be mistaken, but I think you kind of pull it out and twist... or maybe pull out to put the handbrake on, and then pull further out and release to release the handbrake. Something along those lines.

Edit: It appears I'm right with the second method:

But... the fourth gen has that full-width blue dashboard...

I like those too. To be honest, I like every generation of Prelude. But the Mk1 has the slightly offbeat 1970s thing going for it. Ideally in gold, with a brown interior.

 

[McLaren]

What the hell? Did Citroen give that car all sorts of unique gauge clusters?

 

[homeforsummer]

What the hell? Did Citroen give that car all sorts of unique gauge clusters?

The one in the vid is an earlier GS with a (relatively) normal interior. Then they went a bit mental in the late 1970s (well... sort of more mental), which is the one you see further up.

You'll note the two yellow squares in each cluster on the later GS and the CX further up - that's the speedo and tach. Inside each is a little drum that rotates with the speed/revs on it, and it's kind of magnified by some convex lens thing, a bit like you find over the date thing on a watch.

It's all ludicrous and brilliant and it's why I love old Citroens.

 

[McLaren]

The one in the vid is an earlier GS with a (relatively) normal interior. Then they went a bit mental in the late 1970s (well... sort of more mental), which is the one you see further up.

You'll note the two yellow squares in each cluster on the later GS and the CX further up - that's the speedo and tach. Inside each is a little drum that rotates with the speed/revs on it, and it's kind of magnified by some convex lens thing, a bit like you find over the date thing on a watch.

It's all ludicrous and brilliant and it's why I love old Citroens.

I'm not knocking the company in anyway as it is quite interesting on how they decided to build these cars. But, when I see those gauge clusters (esp. the GSA & the picture before it on the last page), I keep thinking that somewhere, Citroen was coming up with a "Car of the Future" style behind it & didn't realize that idea about the car of tomorrow and its fancy gizmos died out long before its inception.

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm not knocking the company in anyway as it is quite interesting on how they decided to build these cars. But, when I see those gauge clusters (esp. the GSA & the picture before it on the last page), I keep thinking that somewhere, Citroen was coming up with a "Car of the Future" style behind it & didn't realize that idea about the car of tomorrow and its fancy gizmos died out long before its inception.

I dunno. Part of it is French bloody-mindedness I suspect, and doing things differently simply because you can (and there's a hell of a lot of clever engineering of course - hydropneumatic suspension delivered a ride quality so far ahead of anything else that Rolls Royce bought the rights to it).

The other part of it is questioning convention. There was nothing wrong with anything that Citroen did per se, they just suffered typical French-car maladies like rust and gremlins. And they sold really well too (in the UK as well as France) so it's not like buyers were too conservative to accept stuff like weird dials, or controls out on little pods.

If anything, we've gone backwards from there - today people think "ooh, those crazy Citroen folk! Weren't they mad!" but really modern cars are pretty stagnant in terms of innovation, and individual styling features aside, all broadly the same. Citroen wasn't really mad, just different.

It's why I quite like unusual cars. I like that Smart went back to sticking the engine in the back and chucked away the rear seats. I like electric cars because they allow companies to rethink how a car works. I like the Nissan Juke for looking a bit mad and randomly having a CVT transmission, etc etc.

I mean, I like regular stuff too - I'm rather fond of the Toyota 86, which is just about the most basic, traditional car we've seen in years. But people's tastes are so conservative these days, and it's a pity as carmakers can't risk doing something different for fear of collapse.

 

[McLaren]

I suppose I really should have made it more clear that I was referring to the interior & dash; it seemed very far ahead of its time & yet as if it missed a memo. If I were to drive one, I'd be too busy wondering how they expected you to work this car & yet liking the fact that they actually sold it in this exact configuration. Now-a-days, a dash like that is nothing more than a concept that would be changed in favor of the standard needle & what not.

I can't comment on the cars as an overall package except that Clarkson turned one into a "caravan" & that these cars appear to have quite a cult following in the US. I do understand how one can find them as a very interesting chapter in automotive history.

 

[homeforsummer]

I suppose I really should have made it more clear that I was referring to the interior & dash; it seemed very far ahead of its time & yet as if it missed a memo.

I reckon the same still applies, as above Combination of French "We don't give a stuff what you think is the way to do things, we're doing it this way" and a slice of thinking outside the box.

I suppose plenty of carmakers went with massive LCD displays with flashing lights in the 1980s (I've just done a brief search and the list was huge - C4 Corvette, Renault 11, Vauxhall Astra, Audi Quattro, Subaru XT and all manner of others...), which is really no less weird than spinning yellow drums

 

[ChaosStar79]

Wow, all the Beretta bashing in here I owned one and put over 150k miles on that beast delivering pizzas while i was in school, and I have to say, I loved it. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if there were still any on the road. The 3.1 wasn't the engine to have, despite being a v6. The 2.3 from the GTZ model was the one to have. I think the Quad4 was 185bhp and was easily bumped up by bolt ons to make a 14 sec car with no problems. Also it handled great for a factory econobox, even in the snow.

Also the gtz in this vid doesn't seem to have the knobs in question. I've never seen one with this interior shown, every one I have ever seen has has had the knobs on the dash like all the pics in this thread show.

 

[eiriksmil]

Several older Japanese 80s cars had it as mentioned.. Daihatsu Charade from '87 has rear wiper and defroster mounted that way.. Old '84 Mitsubishi Lancer (Plymouth/Dodge Colt) had front wiper switch mounted that way as well.. You can probably find more, I only know from cars I've had..

 

[MHPALA]

The one above is an early Citroen Visa. The one below is a CX (what's the ball on the centre console? Who the hell knows, but it's there!):


And this is a Citroen GSA:



See, you're all debating the merits of some POS Beretta and an ugly Japanese supercar, but neither have got anything on Citroen.

This does
subaru xt6

 

[homeforsummer]

This does
subaru xt6

That certainly gets a commendation for having what looks like an early videogame in the instrument cluster