As a European I only know the notorious image of those “love wagons” of the 70ies. So what sense does a “Sandman” “ute” make?
I can think of a lot of slippery jokes, but there must be an angle to it, that I do not see.
They get used a lot as trade vehicles to carry around tools and materials. Its much more likely to see a tradesman/contractor here driving around in a ute than a van, which is more common in Europe. Ute is short for utility, and is the exactly the same in principle as an American “pickup”. As to why we use them instead of vans, besides the long-standing cultural image that “it’s Australian”, I have no idea. It could be because some of them have huge engines/go-fast-bits while still being able to cart things around.
The panelvan, despite its notoriety, was presumably targeted at being able to camp in the back, rather than setting up a tent, and still being able to fit in a surfboard etc.
Just noticed something. Look at the back view of that Toyota, and the Toyota badge on the lower right. It curves around the radius toward the right rear panel. One would think that TOYOTA of all places would dictate “make that badge flat!” Instead the badge matches the radius, just for the last letter. I could imagine this being infuriating for someone in engineering or assembly. Or maybe its easier to align it.
I saw a very similar one of these this morning, I’ll see if it’s the same. It looks like the badge aligns with the door gap on the left side as well, which would have made it easy to stick on anyway? It seems strange to bend it like that instead of making the badge smaller.
It reminds me of a dream that I had where I was rebuilding a Honda del Sol. I had the chassis on a rotisserie and had just painted it beige. I woke in a cold sweat.
Is the 959 disappointed in real life? I’ve never seen one, but I figure it must seem small and fragile in person.
He did drive it. I’m not sure about the plates, I didn’t see any evidence of them. This particular owner has a crazy collection. Ferrari GTO, F40, F50, Enzo, and Porsche Carrera GT, 959, and a bunch of others. Pretty bonkers…
Till today I thought that I was the guy with the ill car related dreams…
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lately found out, that the car often is a standin for a certain time frame in my life.
(would never confess that to the girl, though)