Bristol Lodekka

Here is a bus spotted today.

Spotted today at Stary Arbat in Moscow is this Bristol Lodekka (= low decker).

Per wikipedia, the Bristol Lodekka is a half-cab low-height step-free double-decker bus built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England during 1949-68.

What it is doing where it is, and how it got there in the first place, I haven't got the foggiest, so don't even ask.

Probably some bus tour company operates it... that is, if it is still capable of being operated.

However, there the name of a website on that yellow banner - www.drivebus.org which loads slowly but says that it is a 1964 Bristol Lodekka.

Rover 416 Si

Yesterday we had a Rover... and today we have another Rover, and in British Racing Green, no?

But there are differences from yesterday. Yesterday's Rover 416 SLi was a first-generation member of the Rover 400 Series, today's Rover 416 Si is second generation.

Yesterday's Rover was a clone of the contemporary Honda Concerto, this one is closely related to the Honda Civic of the same vintage (late 1990s.).

And unlike yesterday's specimen, this one is still a driver.

Rover 416 SLi

Here is a near-abandoned Rover for today's featured car spot.

The car is a Rover 416 SLi estate version, a member of the first generation of the Rover 400 series family.

The car was developed together with Honda, the Honda Concerto specifically.

The Rover is Over.

Nice window sill ornament.

These look like genuine Rover 416 wheels? I think they might be.

GAZ-13 Chaika Sans Grille

Pictures of a grille-less GAZ-13 Chaika automobile seen last fall 2016.

Dodge Intrepid 2nd Gen

From my other blog, VreMax, where I also used to run a series of posts on every-day car spotting before transferring such activities to this current blog.

The subject is this Dodge Intrepid Second Generation (pictured below) and was seen on a dealer's lot quite some time ago.

Not the first Chrysler product on this series... to be fair this one is neither RWD nor does it seat six people but is surely classed as a full-size car as it checks most of the other boxes -- V6 power (at least), length over 5,000 mm, a roomy passenger compartment, etc.

It may have been in a minor accident -- or, God forbid, it struck somebody in the safe hands of its previous owners... also "rust coloration" is visible in places.

This car is likely over 10 years old at the very least as production was ended in 2003.

But it is now available to buy as somebody's trade-in at my Ford dealer where I made these photos some time ago.

Chrysler's LH platform, cab-forward design or something. I actually like the look of this car... coming from a time when car designers were willing to try something new, to introduce new concepts and their designs ended up mostly looking much better than current blobs of cars which almost all look boring and unappealing... to me anyway, also bloated like.

Other than the front end, it doesn't look that bad for a ten (at least) year old car.

Lada Kalina Sedan

Here is a first-gen (2005-2011) Lada Kalina Sedan.

The Lada Kalina is a supermini car produced by Lada in a hatchback, sedan (like pictured) and combi versions.

The car is now in the second generation, except for the sedan version which did not get the luxury of a second generation and instead was terminated by 2011.

The pictured car is the sedan version no longer in the Kalina line-up. 

It is also alternatively known as Lada 1118 or VAZ-1118.

These cars, especially sedan versions, were never produced in number to rivals Lada's earlier mass-production models so they are not very often seen here in Moscow nowadays but are not yet exactly rare.

Lada Niva with curtains

Here is a well used-up but still solid Lada Niva with curtains in the window.

I say "Lada Niva" but the proper name for this long-running VAZ-2121 model is "Lada 4x4" as the "Niva" name migrated to Lada's Chevy Niva in the early 1990s which is the same car but with a different body.

This is a regular 3-door Lada 4x4, there is also a 5-door version and two (3-dr and 5-dr) Urban versions.

Lada Racer Crashed

Here is a crashed classic Lada racer.

Seen locally (to me) in the first snows of this (2016) fall.

This No. 74 hit something pretty hard but not hard enough to cause injuries (I hope), the windshield is intact or maybe it was hit while stationary. In any case it is now well and truly crashed.

As to the model, I think it's either a VAZ-21011 or VAZ-21013 - both are versions of the first Lada model - the Lada VAZ-2101 and look pretty similar.

Toyota Chaser Avante

Only a couple of posts back there was a Toyota Chaser but here is another one.

A proper Japan car, not some rubbish they send over to rest of the world as export; this is JDM.

The Toyota Chaser is the X chassis which it also shares with the Toyota Cressida / Mark II; and there is also a Toyota Chaser (and X chassis) global forum and community.

And while the other one was a Tourer (sportier version) this one is an Avante (more luxury).

Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

Here is a 3rd-Gen Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.

Photographed on a very warm and humid day in last July (2016); even my cellphone seemed wet.

The 2000-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is a soft roof convertible and is one of the models of the base 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe.

Although nominally Japanese, the car was designed and built by a Mitsu-Chrysler JV with the North American market in mind and had its Chrysler siblings in the 2003-05 Chrysler Sebring coupe and the 2001 Dodge Stratus coupe. But the Mitsubishi version looks way better.

I still see 3rd-gen Mitsubishi Eclipse coupes here in Moscow.