Curbside Classic Outtake: Get More Shorties Edition

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer
curbside classic outtake get more shorties edition

All right, I have a thing about short cars. I haven’t spoken to a therapist about it yet. Perhaps its just a reaction against the obesity crisis in modern cars and trucks. But where did they all go? There were once so many of them. Well, I’m going to collect all of them: Have the Suzuki Samurai, X-90 and the shorty Kia Sportage. That leaves as few to still find:

Let’s see: Suzuki Sidekick, Geo Tracker, Daihatsu Rocky (in the can), and Isuzu Amigo. I already have a custom shorty VW (which included the shorty Lancer). I could use one of those crazy shortened VW buses to make the collection complete. Did I miss someone?

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  • BuzzDog BuzzDog on Mar 11, 2010

    This isn't a factory-built shorty, but well into the 1980s there was a company in Simi Valley, CA that sold kits used to build a short-wheelbase roadster out of a 1975 - 1979 Cadillac Seville. It was called the "Milan," and the proportions were horrible. I recently saw one on eBay, and it made me sad to see a butchered Seville of that era. These are some of the few Cadillacs of the '70s that actually had halfway decent materials and build quality.

  • Bancho Bancho on Mar 11, 2010

    The 2 door mitsubishi Montero was a good SWB vehicle.

  • Jay Mason Your outdoor space will get better every year with a pergola. A horizontal, pole-supported framework for climbing plants is called a pergola. It creates a closed off area. pergola builder denton texas by Denton Custom Decks provide cover for outdoor gatherings. They would be more than happy to assist you with the pergola's framework.
  • Alan I would think Ford would beef up the drive line considering the torque increase, horse power isn't a factor here. I looked at a Harrop supercharger for my vehicle. Harrop offered two stages of performance. The first was a paltry 100hp to the wheels (12 000AUD)and the second was 250hp to the wheels ($20 000 (engine didn't rev harder so torque was significantly increased)). The Stage One had no drive line changes, but the Stage Two had drive line modifications. My vehicle weighs roughly the same as a full size pickup and the 400'ish hp I have is sufficient, I had little use for another 100 let alone 250hp. I couldn't see much difference in the actual supercharger setup other than a ratio change for the drive of the supercharger, so that extra $8 000 went into the drive line.
  • ToolGuy Question: F-150 FP700 ( Bronze or Black) supercharger kit is legal in 50 states, while the Mustang supercharger kit is banned in California -- why??
  • ToolGuy Last picture: Labeling the accelerator as "play" and the brake pedal as "pause" might be cute, but it feels wrong. It feels wrong because it is wrong, and it is wrong because Calculus.Sidebar: I have some in-laws who engage the accelerator and brake on a binary on/off all-in basis. So annoying as a passenger.Drive smoothly out there. 🙂
  • Johnny ringo It's an interesting vehicle, I'd like to see VW offer the two row Buzz in the states also.
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