How Hoards of RHD Corollas Ended Up In Kabul

Virtually every news footage of traffic in Kabul shows the obligatory yellow and white early 1990s Toyota Corolla wagon turned taxi. This begs the question*, where did all of these right hand drive Corollas come from?

Well, it all starts in, you guessed it, Japan. White is by far the most popular car color in Japan, whether you're a middle class housewife with a Corolla sedan or a Ricoh copy machine repair guy with a company-owned Corolla wagon. The only difference being, the commercial wagon has the company logo, telephone number, and random advert words stenciled on the body panels.

Oh what a feeling!

The other Corolla ad I could have posted starred Peter Falk (as Columbo)

Due to Draconian inspection regulations meant to stimulate the domestic auto industry, Japanese cars in Japan become prohibitively expensive to keep after three years. Millions of low mileage (100,000 kilometers), reliable, and well maintained cars and vans flood the non-existent Japanese used car market annually.

In the first half of 2005, auction houses throughout Japan exported 350,000 used vehicles. Most head to either Vladivostok for the insatiable Russian Far East market or Dubai, where they end up in South Asia or East Africa.

Savvy Pakistani businessmen buy the cars from the Japanese auction houses and have them shipped to Dubai. There, Afghan expats buy them and ship them to Bandar-e-Abbas, on the Iranian coast. There, the cars, still in their containers, are shipped overland to the frontier town of Islam Qala. The cars are then driven over the Afghan border to Herat, where they sit in huge car lots owned and operated by a few Kandahari families. Finally, the Corollas are driven to Kabul, where they are painted partially yellow. However, the Japanese characters, logos, and telephone numbers are kept in place, as they are evidence that the car was Japanese, well taken care of, and most importantly, reliable.

Suburb of Kabul or Yokohama?

In 2005, a 1992 to '94 Corolla in good condition sold for $5,400 to $6,800 in Kabul. Importers of right hand drive Corollas took a beating recently when the Afghan government banned the import of all right hand drive vehicles. Investors lost their shirts on that gamble.

In this consumerist and disposable world, it's good to see perfectly fine cars being used to its maximum (and beyond) potential. These Corollas are used by hard working entrepreneurs ad infinitum.

I must say, though, it was extremely difficult to find any decent photographs of the ubiquitous Kabuli Corolla taxi on the net. Their importance is taken for granted. They merely blend into the bleak and dusty background. But if anything will raise the phoenix from the ashes that is the Afghan capital, it is the peppy Corolla. Fight on!

CKY

*Big thanks to Anna Paterson of AREU for her extensive research on a topic only she and I care about. Read her 31 page pdf tome on the subject on AREU's website.

Most Adorable Photograph, Ever!

I'm not one to push cutesy crap, but this has to be the most endearing photograph ever taken. See it and Diane Arbus' other works now at the Fraenkel Gallery!

CKY

The Vehicles of The Lives of Others

I can't believe that William F. Buckley and I have the same taste in movies, but we both think The Lives of Others is one of the best movies ever made. Ulrich Muhe's performance was extraordinary. It was like watching a German version of Kevin Spacey, but without the ego, the snarky facial expressions, or the multi-million dollar salary. The story, the message, and the ending blew me away.

This movie was made with a budget of less than $2 million. The period sets (mid-80s Eastern bloc) were exact down to the smallest detail, such as the frame of old man Honecker's portrait hung in the background. The filmmaker could have taken the easy route and just called up the local Trabant club to decorate the street scenes. But no. The detail-obsessed will note the variety and quality of the vehicles in the background. Since imcdb.org does not have a listing for this movie yet, I'll dissect some of the vehicles that piqued my interest.

Minister Hempf's Volvo limousine. Rather than a Russian-made ZIL, the Polish elite rode in stretched Volvo's. Even the most powerful men in East Germany had slow, boring cars. But at least they were reliable and not made of wool or cotton, like the ubiquitous Trabants.


Paul Hauser's West German Uncle's W126. In contrast to the unglamorous, and let's face it, shitty, cars of East Germany, Paul's uncle drove a powerful and roomy Mercedes sedan. The gold W126 "personified" West Germany. It was confident, strong, and rich.


The Stasi's Barkas delivery truck. CMS was transported to her interrogator in a Barkas delivery truck. These little putt-putt utility vehicles had three cylinder, two stroke engines displacing a mind-blowing 992 cc's. Unbelievably, they served their drivers well and carried East Germany forward into the 1990s, almost.


Wiesler's Lada. Square. Anonymous. Bland. Reliable. Socialist. These words describe both the movie's protagonist and his Lada.


Now go and rent the movie! It's out on video.

CKY

Bring Back the Fender Mounted Side Mirrors!

In the 1970s, virtually every sporty Japanese car in the Japanese market had fender mounted side mirrors. Though they look odd to the contemporary round eye, hundreds of millions of people grew up accepting the fender as the default location of side mirrors.

The location forward of the A-pillar meant the mirrors had no blind spots whatsoever, an ergonomic gift to drivers in congested Asian highways and byways.

But anti-fender mounted mirror advocates had more reasons to protest. They were too far to see for the average driver with below average eyesight. They were difficult to adjust manually (Need to adjust your mirror? Bring a friend!). And finally, due to the laws of aerodynamics, some of these mirrors vibrated to the point of uselessness at highway speeds.

But all these arguments, albeit valid, cannot overcome the aesthetic je ne sais quoi quality of the fender mounted side mirrors. They just look so damn good!

CKY

Japanese Super Fantastic Smokeys Caravan

While you try to fight those droopy eyelids and wait for the flag to drop for the Turkey GP, take a gander at what the Japanese highway cops have been driving.






CKY

The Killer Bs

1982 through 1986 will always be fondly remembered by rally enthusiasts. The ephemeral existence of Group B brought a level of excitement the sport had never seen before, and will never see again. When lightweight materials and no technological (read: boost) restrictions mix, you get lethal (literally) road rockets. The following are my favorites Group B cars.

1. Ford RS200. As a teenager in the late 1980s, I bought a large coffee table book creatively entitled The World's Fastest Cars. In it was a white RS200. I had never seen it before. It was beautiful. When I read that a 650hp version reached 60 miles per hour from a standstill in 2.1 seconds, I knew this was special. To this day, this is one of my top five favorite cars. Ever.


2. Lancia Delta S4. For some reason, whenever I think of 80s rally racing, the Martini Racing Lancia Delta S4 immediately pops into my head. Meant to replace the 037, infra, the Delta S4 was advanced in many ways. But most curious of all was the fact that it had a supercharger for low rpms and a turbocharger for higher revs. It was on course to dominate the sport when a Delta S4 crash killed its driver and navigator. This tragedy led to the demise of Group B, as safety advocates, and sane people, finally realized these cars were too fast and too dangerous.


3. Audi Quattro S1. Audi revolutionized rally racing, and treacherous roads to ski resorts in North America and Europe, with the Quattro all wheel drive system. Audi perfected its Quattro racers by pluncking down the most powerful engine in rally racing history-- a 2133 cc turbocharged five banger capable of 600hp-- and by chopping its wheelbase by more than a foot. One of these nimble and quick cars even broke a Pikes Peak climb record.


4. Lancia 037. The 037 was like nothing else. Though it looked cool and menacing, it was slow and rear wheel drive. It was not cutting it and was replaced by the Delta S4.

5. Renault 5 Turbo. 1983's unofficial Bond flick, Never Say Never Again, featured a red hot Renault 5 Turbo. Its ridiculously wide track and powerful engine mid-ship made it look, sound, and move like a beast, even though it's only slightly larger than a Yugo.

For the sights and sounds of Group B racing, go to youtube. The Group B tribute, with Metallica playing in the background, rawks.

CKY

Lambo S8 v. Ferrari Quattroporte

With my promotion to mailroom boy, I get to look at other people's mail, including their junk mail. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the local Maserati dealer is luring the well heeled into its showroom by offering a box of Omaha steaks in exchange for a test drive.

Though most upper income bracket work-a-holics are satiated with the torque-crazy AMG S-class and the hyper-complicated M5, nothing says exotic sports sedan like shoehorning a northern Italian engine into the bonnet. Thankfully, the world currently has two such sedans on sale.

1. Maserati Quattroporte. A detuned 4.2 liter V8 from the Ferrari F430 provides the driver with 400hp. And finally, in 2007, a smooth manu-matic transmission is available (the new tranny's arrival was mentioned in the junk mailer). But what sets this full-sized sedan apart from all others is the Pininfarina body. Mama mia, that's-a spicy meat-a-ball!




2. Audi S8. The S8 gets a detuned 5.2 liter V10 from the Gallardo. But the engine's soul got lost in the translation. Even though the big Audi is chock full of aluminum, it weighs just as much as, if not more than, its 7-series and S-class competitors. And with it looking virtually identical to run-of-the-mill A8s, this car just ain't happening. An example of the Lambo-Audi synergy, this is not.



CKY

1971 Super GT Comparo

During Concours week, I picked up a couple of compilation-style books on Lamborghinis that were put out by Brooklands. They included magazine articles about Lambos from 1965 through 1975. In a road test article about the 1971 Jarama, the specs page compared it to five other super, yet oft-forgotten, cars of that era.

1. Lamborghini Jarama. This was one of the first of a two decade-long line of forgettable Lambos. This has to be one of Bertone's worst designs. But according to Motor magazine, the 350hp V12 got it to go to 60 in 6.8 seconds and topped out at 168 miles per hour. No matter what the performance numbers, the dull styling relegated this model to the role of bench warmer.

2. Aston Martin DBS V8. That its most famous movie role was as George Lazenby's ride is emblematic of its obscure existence. Though the understated chaps at Newport Pagnell never disclosed the engine's specs, it was common knowledge that the 5.3 liter V8 was good for 350hp. But as the middle sibling between the classic DB6 and the more contemporary Vantage, the DBS is the equivalent of Jan Brady. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

3. Jensen FF. No, this is not the rusting Jensen Interceptor you saw last week in the Auto Trader. Years before the Audi Quattro climbed Pike's Peak, Jensen introduced the first all- wheel drive sports car with the FF. It was so advanced, it even had anti-lock brakes! Because the drivetrain was so complicated and unconventional, many pieces intruded into the left front seat. As such, no left hand drive FFs were ever made. Sorry, America.

4. AC Frua. Only 49 coupes were ever made. They were built on a stretched Cobra chassis. This Maserati Mistral look-a-like was expensive to build. The chassis was built in England. It was then shipped to Italy for the bodywork, then shipped back to England for the powertrain (which included the 428 c.i. engine) and trim. At a cost of 7600 British pounds, only the Lambo and the Jensen cost more.

5. Jaguar E-Type Series II 4.2. No early 70s GT comparo can be without the E-type. Enough has been written about this classic elsewhere. All that needs to be said is that in this comparo, it finished second to last in all the performance figures, just above the Franco-Italian SM.

6. Citroen SM. Ah, the SM. Faithful readers of this blog know that it is one of Tamerlane's favorites. He saw a beautiful, unrestored, rust-free specimen at a local Shell station recently. The "owner" just bought it in Orange County and was about to ship it overseas for a song. Pity, that.

Finally, I want to sum up my experience at Concorso Italiano last week. As spectators and participants left the grounds around 4pm, I was caught up in a traffic jam. In front of me, an Iso Grifo. To my right, a hulking black Lamborghini LM002. And behind me, a pedestrian Ferrari 308. It was heaven.

CKY

1970s Maserati Ugly Ducklings

In anticipation of the Concorso Italiano next Friday, I give you the ugly, oft-forgotten 1970s Maserati two-doors. I leave the aesthetic critiquing to my readers. I will just provide the facts:

Model: Merak
Meaning of model name: Star in Ursa Major
Years in production: 1974-1982
Layout: MR
Engine: 3.0 liter V6 (190hp)
Designer: Giurgiaro
No. of models expected at Concorso It.: 4

Model: Kyalami
Meaning of model name: South Africa's F1 circuit
Years in production: 1976-1983
Layout: FR
Engine: 4.2 liter V8 (255hp)
Designer: Carrozzeria Frua
No. of models expected at Concorso It.: 0

Model: Khamsin
Meaning of model name: Hot violent wind from Egyptian desert
Years in production: 1974-1980
Layout: FR
Engine: 4.9 liter V8 (320hp)
Designer: Bertone
No. of models expected at Concorso It.: 0

Model: Indy
Meaning of model name: Take a wild guess
Years in production: 1969-1974
Layout: FR
Engine: 4.2 liter V8 (260hp)
Designer: Vignale
No. of models expected at Concorso It.: 1

Model: Bora
Meaning of model name: Wind in the Adriatic
Years in production: 1971-1980
Layout: MR
Engine: 4.7 liter V8 (310hp)
Designer: Giugiaro
No. of models expected at Concorso It.: 6

CKY

Bitter Bitte!

As a child with undiagnosed OCD, I obsessed over my ability to identify every passenger car on the road. In that vein, I bought a Consumer Reports type guide which had a picture and description of every 1984 model year vehicle sold in America. One particular model was etched in my mind forever. It was the Bitter SC coupe.

Good Enough for A German Museum

Step Aside, 959...

Growing up, I thought: "Bitter? What a strange name." It turns out that it was named after a German ex-racer who decided to convert run-of-the-mill Opels into luxury sports cars. The SC was the most "successful" endeavor for Bitter. Between 1979 and 1989, a whopping 461 coupes, 22 convertibles, and 5 sedans were built. It borrowed the Open Senator's chassis and Opel/GM's 3 liter inline 6, capable of 177 horses. Bored out versions, at 3.9 liters of displacement which put out 207 hp, were also available. Many ended up State-side. Brand new, they cost $43,000 to $55,000. Exclusivity and eccentricity have their price, I guess.

Derivative Styling: Bitter SC or Ferrari 400/400i/412?

Guess Again: Bitter or Ferrari?

CKY