Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Buran USSR Space Shuttle

Not a car but a vehicle of sorts too - a re-entry vehicle and I spotted it - saw Buran the USSR space shuttle last winter at the VDNKh, a well known facility in north Moscow.

Here it is.

I suspect it's a replica, or a mock-up (some parts maybe genuine though).


Buran landing gear.


Nose section up close.




Under the belly.


Tail section.






Vostok spaceship....also a mock-up, probably.



Mounted police. 

Friday, July 24, 2015

LADA 4X4 Elbrus Edition

More news from AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada cars, announcing a new LADA 4x4 (formerly known as the Lada Niva) edition - the Elbrus Edition.



This special edition is all about new 16 inch wheels, a new seat fabric and 3 new paint colors.

The press release in Russian is below.

Pre-1982 Moskvitch 2140

This pre-1982 Moskvitch 2140 was seen a couple of weeks ago (in July 2015).

The Moskvitch 2140, also known as the Moskvich 1500, was a small rear-wheel drive sedan produced starting in 1975 and until about 1988... which means that the subject is at least 27 years old...

On second thought, it is even older than that because it is clearly the pre-1982 version - so 33 years old and not a day younger. 


Here it is... the star of the line-up.


It is a pre-1982 version with the Moskvitch factory emblem on the grille.


It is also the last true Moskvitch, i.e. a rear-wheel drive sedan.


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Two-Tone Lada Priora

By way of a short break in my car spotting activity, here is a bit of automotive news courtesy OAO AvtoVAZ, the maker of the Lada.

A new two-tone paint scheme for the Lada Priora - white body-black roof - has been announced.





 The pictures are from the AvtoVAZ press release which I quote below (in Russian) and link to.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

GAZ-53A at an Exhibition

This is from my other blog, VreMax.

In August last year (2014) we visited the VDNKh, a permanent expo and entertainment facility here in north of Moscow where I am based, as I mentioned in this post -- Pictures from an Exhibition.

And here's the GAZ-53A truck that I saw there.


The GAZ-53A truck (even though the English wikipedia entry on it contains an outrageous claim).



 Seen many of these in my time on a daily basis.

But now they seem to have disappeared even more completely than comparable ZiL trucks... at least in Moscow.

The GAZ-53A in old promo pictures on the Internet.





Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Toyota Land Cruiser J100 Spotted Through the Windshield

A Toyota Land Cruiser J100 spotted through the windshield in Moscow traffic recently.


These are not my all-time favorite cars - far from it but they are quite common in Moscow... not as common as dirt but almost... in all versions and iterations. 

At first, I was confused a bit about which particular Land Cruiser model this was but then the taillights in particular pointed me in the direction of 1998-2007 Toyota Land Cruiser J100, first facelift, I think, even though it looked younger than 2007.


The Toyota Land Cruiser (Japanese: トヨタ ランドクルーザー Toyota Rando-kurūzā) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series.

In Russia, is sometimes also known (not quite affectionately) as the kukuruzer... maybe it's a bastardization of the Japanese kuruza.  

V8?



***

Monday, July 20, 2015

IMCDb - Internet Movie Car Database

A great online car spotting resource -

IMCDb which is an Internet Movie Car Database


Welcome to the Internet Movie Cars Database. You will find here the most complete list on the web about cars, bikes, trucks and other vehicles seen in movies and TV series, image captures and information about them.
To start your visit on the site, you can search for a movie by typing a part of its title in the search box in the top right corner of the page, or select a make in the list below.

Recommending it and adding to my list of car spotting websites and blogs. 

Sunday, July 19, 2015

2014 Ford Mondeo for Europe

In March this year, I went to have a look at the new Ford Mondeo (fourth-gen Mondeo / Mondeo Mk V) which is apparently the 2014 Ford Mondeo (as it was finally made available in late 2014 in Europe and in Russia in 2015) aka the 2013 Ford Fusion - a local Ford dealer was throwing a party aka presentation.

Here are some cheap camera pics.

Test drive unit.




It was taken on a test drive quite soon. Not by me though.


A view on the passenger compartment through the front passenger window.


The rear end... some complain it looks too much like that of the Ford Focus III sedan.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Spotted in China: first generation Lada Niva 1600 | CarNewsChina.com - China Auto News

Spotted in China: first generation Lada Niva 1600 | CarNewsChina.com - China Auto News

A very rare Lada Niva 1600, Spotted in China on a car market in Beijing by Reader & Serial Spotter Navigator 84, thank you for the pictures! The good Lada is in a very good shape. Paint looks fresh, chrome mostly shiny, and all parts appears to be in place. Large tires and alloys are not original but are probably period.

Friday, July 10, 2015

MNN - Car Spotting on Streets of New York

Car spotting on the streets of New York


New York is hardly the car spotter's paradise that is Los Angeles even on a bad day, but it's full of individualists who express themselves in all sorts of ways, including in their sets of wheels. These shots were all taken in the East Village over a recent three-day stay. I was blown away by the cool old metal I encountered. Let's dive right in...

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

1993-97 Chrysler Concorde

The car spotting trophy of a couple of days ago (on or about July 5, 2015) was this 1993-97 aka 1st-Gen Chrysler Concorde.

There it is - in my rear view mirror... meaning it's behind my vehicle not in ahead of it (joke).


 According to wikipedia:

The Chrysler Concorde is a large four-door, full-size, front wheel drive sedan that was produced by Chrysler from 1993 to 2004. It replaced the Chrysler Fifth Avenue on the lineup. It was one of Chrysler's three original Chrysler LH platform models derived from the American Motors/Renault-designed Eagle Premier, it used revolutionary cab forward design. The Concorde was related to the Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, Chrysler 300M, Chrysler LHS, and the eleventh and final generation Chrysler New Yorker. It was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1993 and 1994.



This one is the 1st-Gen (1993-97) Chrysler Concorde.



Waterfall grille!

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