Car marques in the ACT?

The 2009 GT-R has dropped the Skyline name – it’s just a GT-R now.

Fortunately the Skyline is still alive and well in Japan, and they’re bloody beautiful cars at that (leagues ahead of the land-whale Maxima we get, imo). Sold in America, and hopefully in Australia in the (probably distant) future under the Infiniti brand. There’s a couple of Japanese Skylines around Canberra though, I sometimes see an absolutely gorgeous black one around.

Yep. Yer can’t have Rice Burners beating the Falcodores. I’m sure Dick Johnson had a lot to say about that. Their outrage at Moffat and his RX7 was an indication.

caf said :

ant: Nissan imported 100 R32 Skyline GT-Rs in 1991. I believe this was done to let them compete in the Australian Touring Car Championships.

And compete they did, until they started beating the mighty Falcadores, so the rules were quickly changed to get rid of them.

And so began the V8 SuperTaxi era..yawn….

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

You sure it wasn’t a pintara you drove? Identical body (for both sedan and wagon) as the skyline, but used a 2 litre 4 cyl engine instead.

Nope, it was a Skyline! The friend had it for years, such a beige car (it was dark blue, but it was really beige). I think he got it because it would hold lots of hockey players, and beer (for heading to carnivals).

When I first read about Godzilla, I could not believe it was the same Make, and same model name! How nuts. The friend’s Skyline was like a station-wagon version of a 120Y.

Soon taken over by Nissan, the Skyline name has continued, but these days as performance oriented cars.

The 2009 GT-R has dropped the Skyline name – it’s just a GT-R now.

Many years ago, the number of cars of various makes registered in the ACT was published in the CT, probably as an ‘info’ press release from ACT Rego. Not a regular occurence, more like every couple of years.

As expected, made interesting reading.

Skylines have been sold in Australia since the late 60’s. Originally a 4 cylinder from the Prinz (I think) company, they brought out a triple Webered 6 cylinder version (the GT) that flew. Soon taken over by Nissan, the Skyline name has continued, but these days as performance oriented cars.

The Nissan Skyline of ‘86 and ‘87 had the 3 litre straight six that made the VL Commodore such a cult car. They were considered pretty lively for a family car back then.

My grandmother-in-law had one until recently. I thought it was a pretty zippy car for a small old woman.

Absolutely – the 3 litre skyline was not a ‘performance’ car. The one you drove was possibly fairly old and tired, though, and the fact that the old skylines weren’t heavy cars means that when fully loaded, the occupants and luggage represent a fair proportion of the overall mass.

You sure it wasn’t a pintara you drove? Identical body (for both sedan and wagon) as the skyline, but used a 2 litre 4 cyl engine instead.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

The Nissan Skyline of ’86 and ’87 had the 3 litre straight six that made the VL Commodore such a cult car. They were considered pretty lively for a family car back then.

The one I drove might have felt sluggish because it contained a full load of large hockey players and beer, but it was a slug, and the handling was downright weird and unpleasant (and my regular driver was a falcon xc ute so I knew weird handling!). Nothing like the monster Skyline.

My 10yo son has a comprehensive list in his mind, and can categorise the contents however you wish (alphabetically, according to shape or colour of symbol, by maker). However this list would be of those on the road, not necessarily registered. The list has been developed from 2 years of obsessive observation. I can ask about his consulting fees if you are interested.

ant: Nissan imported 100 R32 Skyline GT-Rs in 1991. I believe this was done to let them compete in the Australian Touring Car Championships.

The Nissan Skyline of ’86 and ’87 had the 3 litre straight six that made the VL Commodore such a cult car. They were considered pretty lively for a family car back then.

p1 said :

Learn something new everyday. And today, that something is that the term Marque is used in the car industry.

I would imagine that Canberra is probably just big enough, and just wealthy enough that there is a pretty good selection of the less common makes out there, as well as anything sold in numbers in Australia over the last fifty years. I would be very interested if you got your hands on a list of how many of each there were. I want to know if my communist motorbike is one of a kind in the ACT.

Is the bike red??

‘zackly. The super Skylines are really something to see, I don’t think Nissan ever sold those locally? people had to import Godzilla themselves. or did they?
It’s rather funny, as in the 80s, Nissan Skylines were seriously underpowered station wagons for people who didn’t like cars. They handled like cows.

I’ve always wanted a Cappuccino, the pictures don’t accurately portray how very tiny they are. I think they modelled them on MG Midgets, but they’re a Kei car so some ingenuity went in to giving them performance (plastic cladding, and a turbo did the trick). But they cost a motz here due to having to be grey/small volume imported.

Love these interesting cars… when I see one on the road or in a carpark, I develop bug eyes and drool.

ant said :

Actually, just a list of Makes would not show the interesting range of cars/bikes registered. For instance, grey and small volume imports of exotic models of Makes that are normal in Australia would not show up. eg Skylines and Cappuccinos.

Oh, those rare and exclusive Skylines! You see Ferraris all the time, so common, but Nissan Skylines? What I’d give to own one of those…

Cappuccinos are actually rare in Australia though, and have seen one or two putting around Canberra. Generally, the higher income here should lead to more expensive brands: Mercedes, BMWs, Bentley etc etc

Actually, just a list of Makes would not show the interesting range of cars/bikes registered. For instance, grey and small volume imports of exotic models of Makes that are normal in Australia would not show up. eg Skylines and Cappuccinos.

I would use it if speaking French. When speaking English I would simply have said “brand”, although now I know…

p1 said :

Learn something new everyday. And today, that something is that the term Marque is used in the car industry.

Teach me something p1, what else would you use the term for?

The rego people would have this info, as every vehicle registered has its make and model recorded. Trick would be getting access to it, but they would be the place to start. Chances are, they do have something of this nature as it’s interesting info.

The commencement of grey importing would make the list very interesting indeed.

Learn something new everyday. And today, that something is that the term Marque is used in the car industry.

I would imagine that Canberra is probably just big enough, and just wealthy enough that there is a pretty good selection of the less common makes out there, as well as anything sold in numbers in Australia over the last fifty years. I would be very interested if you got your hands on a list of how many of each there were. I want to know if my communist motorbike is one of a kind in the ACT.

Hmm, that’s a tricky one. How detailed do you want it to be? For example, there’s be a few old historics lying around town I imagine that may not show up in an initial data capture.