Austin 1800/2200
1969 Austin 1800 MkII (ADO17)
Imported in March 2005
Aarhus, Denmark, May 2017 at the classic car park of the 2017 CRAA car show.
The ADO17 aka "Landcrab" is now a very rare sight together with its smaller siblings 1100 and 1300. Not only did it suffer from severe rust problems, there were also other models considered more "interesting" for preservation, like the Mini and Minor.
In some export markets the ADO17 was sold under different names like Austin Balanza, Austin Freeway, Austin Windsor and Morris Monaco.
The Landcrab is also said to bear a certain part of the guilt for the collapse of BLMC... When designer Alec Issigonis (of "Mini" fame) was designing the new 1969 car, Austin Maxi (ADO14), he had to do so under several restrictions, one of the demands being that he HAD to re-use the doors from the Landcrab. This meant, that certain dimensions were already given, and despite his best efforts, the new Austin Maxi ended up looking clumsy and badly proportioned and got ridiculed by many right from the start. Because it had to be bigger than intended to fit the doors, the 1500 cc engine was also underpowered... and the original gearshift was a disaster as well. The problems were so many, that many hated the Maxi with a passion, and called it "the worst car ever built" and consequentially almost none have been preserved.
Of course, the Landcrab-doors were not the only factor in the Maxi-disaster, but they certainly meant, that Issigonis was unable to design the car as intended.
#CarsOf1969 #ImportedToDenmark #CRAA
Extra information
- Make: AUSTIN
- Model: 1800, SALOON
- Model Year: -
- Colour: Ukendt
- VIN: 30684A
- Engine: Benzin
- Status: Registreret, 2005-03-31
- First Registration: 21. august 1969
- Mileage: 8000 Km, 2017-08-22
Comments (3)
Tasty 2022-07-08 11:50:52 | #2
Most people prefer cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche over classic cars, so these cars need "ambassadors" like us to try to give them the recognition they deserve and raise the public awareness of them, before it's too late and they all get scrapped.
Wayfarer 2022-07-08 14:30:30 | #3
Tasty (2022-07-08 11:50:52)Well, if you look at this photo, it only earned 2 likes in the first 24 hours after upload, and never even made it to the top 14 list of "popular photos of the day" from Denmark, despite of the fact that there are only 11 photos uploaded to the entire site of this model. I checked the others, and they generally have very low approval ratings as well, so it's definitely not a car that people like/appreciate.
Most people prefer cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche over classic cars, so these cars need "ambassadors" like us to try to give them the recognition they deserve and raise the public awareness of them, before it's too late and they all get scrapped.
I am very grateful to you for your photos and painstaking work in finding information about cars and their numbers. Indeed, automotive classics need to be photographed as often as possible.
It's sad that many people, like crows, rush to "glitters", not noticing rough diamonds - I read an article in the Russian automobile magazine "Za rulem", ("За рулём") which talked about cars that are unpopular with buyers. There were listed about a dozen models of different years and it was noted that therefore, very few of these cars have survived, therefore, they are very much appreciated by collectors. Unfortunately, I remember only Ford Edsel from this list, but I couldn’t find an article on the Internet, it will take a very long time to search in the magazines, but if I meet it, I will send a link to it. Therefore, I am always sad when I find out that a certain car is unpopular with buyers, it almost always means that a piece of history may not be preserved. Collectors should buy and keep such cars as long as there are enough left.
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