Articles
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Hooniverse Asks- What's the Most Indistinguishable Major Model Redesign?
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Almost all vehicles these days go through a model life comprised of a debut, followed – two to three years on – by what’s called a mid-cycle refresh, and then some years after that another major re-think. The mid-cycle changes are typically minor, usually amounting to nothing more than a taillight design change and maybe…
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Pre-Last Call- Truth in Advertising Edition
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Want to run a small business, but don’t want to be too busy? Follow these pro-tips for a quiet life. A) Demonstrate enthusiasm, but not too much of it. B) Omit any contact details on your advertising. C) Profit (you, er, may need to take further advice on this bit). [Image: ©2013 Hooniverse/Chris Haining, All…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – Lada 2105 1200S
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So yeah, while last weekend Finland beat Austria with a nice 7-2 score and I was full of hockey-induced vigour, this weekend it all went down the toilet. We (or the team, however you look at it) lost to Sweden and USA, which means Finland didn’t even get the bronze medal. To commemorate the Finnish…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – 1982 Mitsubishi Galant
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Moving from the luxury that the drop-top BMW offers, to absolute day-to-day basicness. This 1982 Mitsubishi Galant is the 1600cc basic model, and I don’t think there’s much else there than door locks and steerable front wheels. And this is pretty much how a 30-year-old Japanese car looks like in Finland; it’s not mollycoddled, but…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – 1986 BMW 320i Cabriolet
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Like the Skoda featured in the preceding post, this BMW has something to do with open-air fun. But the E30 here ditches the top completely. Despite the ostentatious looks, this 1986 3-series Cabriolet is a mere 320i. So no revvy 318i, or burlier 325i – just the middle-of-the-road M20B20. But cosmetically, it’s perfect. The location…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – Skoda Felicia Fun Pickup
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The yellow Saab isn’t the only yellow thing you’ll be seeing this weekend. No, I present to you the 1998 Skoda Felicia Fun: a product of the time when Skoda dialed up the zaniness in their product portfolio. You see, not only did Skoda clad the plumber favorite Felicia trucklet with a substantial amount of…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – Elcat Cityvan, the electric Subaru van from Finland
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For some time, this white box was what Finns thought about when electric vehicles were mentioned. The Finnish company Elcat, owned by a larger energy company, churned out electric vans converted from Subaru Domingos until 2002. The Elcat Cityvan saw use by municipalities, graveyards and the like, including the Finnish Post. Before the Fiskers came…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – 1981 Fiat 124 Spider 2000
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I’ve shot an earlier, orange Fiat 124 Spider some time ago, but this one is of the latter batch. I also detect the presence of 5mph bumpers, which give this 1981 124 Spider some New York charm – to be charitable. The green colour with a contrasting tan top and tan leather interior really make…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – Yellow Saab 9-3 Cabriolet
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I first became aware of this very car in 2007-ish, when I was working in the central Helsinki webdesign agency situated on the same street. The yellow 2000 Saab 9-3 cabriolet was a familiar sight on my commute, parked around the neighbourhood, slowly getting more knocks on its bumpers and especially on the front plate.…
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Helsinki Weekend Edition – 1975 Lamborghini Urraco P250S
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This weekend, I’m posting some of the streetside shots I took a week ago in Helsinki. It’s a weird place: it’s our only city, with a population of some 600,000 people – even if the capital urban region has some 1,300,000 people living in and around Helsinki. Some of the more well-off neighbourhoods are good…
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Saturday Matinee – The Wraith
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Grab some popcorn and settle down for some quality ’80s entertainment. The Wraith, one of our favorite B movies is currently streamable online. For those of you unfamiliar, The Wraith is a story about a Dodge show car, wasted youth, revenge, and Ron Howard’s freaky brother. You couldn’t ask for anything more, and it’s coming…
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Last Call- Cruisin' for a Bruisin' Edition
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Here it is Friday night, and what better way to spend the opening of the weekend than by cruising down to the local drive-in, giving the cops the skinny eye when they pass, and showing off your sweet ride. Don’t have a sweet ride? Well then, just imagine yourself doing all that in this too cool…
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Amazing LEGO Technik Caterham Seven
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My parents tell me that in my childhood I have made some amazing LEGO creations. I don’t know about that, because apparently my creations were not amazing enough to take pictures of. All of my creations were limited to what we today refer to as the City Collection. Things changed dramatically when I received my…
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Fastback Friday Craigslist Find – 1967 Plymouth Barracuda waiting to strike
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For your Fastback Friday enjoyment, I give you one of the best muscle cars of all time: the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda. I don’t know about you, but when I think of muscle cars, a few cars immediately come to mind – a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396, and a 1967…
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Greenwich Concours Preview: 1974 De Tomaso Longchamp
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If you haven’t seen a De Tomaso Longchamp on the streets of your town lately, there is a very good reason for this. A grand total of 409 Longchamps were made during eighteen years of production, a number small enough to make ZiL’s limousine production facility go Pff, and the Rolls-Royce Camargue high tech assembly…
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The News for May 17th, 2013
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Welcome to the Hooniverse News! This is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or the bull. I also throw in a little opinion of mine, just because I can. This week: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is ready to be an elite Lamborghini gets selfish with a new one-off…