116-487: The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It was the first British car to feature a hatchback body style. Despite its practical design and remarkable space efficiency (it is shorter, narrower and lower than the sixth generation Ford Fiesta ), the Maxi never came close to reaching its projected sales targets. Just under half
232-567: A captive import in 4-door saloon and 5-door station wagon variants. It had 9.5" front disc brakes and 8" rear drums. Brochures included a cartoon cricket, possibly trying to capitalize on the popularity of the VW Beetle . A Chrysler Plymouth press release dated 30 June 1970 said the Cricket would be presented to the automotive press in November 1970. The first shipment of 280 Crickets from
348-470: A 'Countryman' version of the Austin A40 Farina two‑box economy car in 1959. Just like its A30 and A35 Countryman predecessors, it was a very small estate car — but instead of regular, sideways opening rear doors, it had a horizontally split tailgate, having a top-hinged upper door and bottom-hinged lower door. The 1959 A40 Countryman differed from the 1958 A40 Farina saloon, in that
464-480: A 1,485 cc (90.6 cu in), E-Series petrol engine which would later be used in other British Leyland products, such as the Austin Allegro . The 1750 and twin-carburettor 1750 HL models, added to the range in 1971, offered good performance by the standards of the era, with a top speed of 97 mph (156 km/h), while the smaller-engine version could exceed 90 mph (140 km/h). Despite
580-469: A 5-door hatchback or a 5-door station wagon. Often the hatchback and the sedan shared the same wheelbase and the same overall length, and the full rear overhang length of a conventional sedan trunk was retained on the five-door hatchback version of the car. The 1989-2000 Citroën XM and second-generation Skoda Superb (2008-2015) are cars that blur the line between hatchbacks and sedans. They feature an innovative "Twindoor" trunk lid. It can be opened like in
696-439: A 5-door more horizontal hatch, for which the term Liftback was used. The first production hatchback was made by Citroën in 1938: the (11CV) "Commerciale" version of their 1934–1957 Citroën Traction Avant series. The initial target market was tradesmen who needed to carry bulky objects, like butchers, bakers, vintners, and grocers. Before World War II , the tailgate had two pieces, a top section hinged from roof level and
812-526: A Hillman, while in New Zealand the car, assembled from CKD kits by importer Todd Motors (later Mitsubishi Motors NZ), was available initially in 4-door and, later, 5-door estate forms. In Denmark , the versions being sold were: These Danish versions had two-door equivalents which were sometimes exported back to the UK, since two-door models were phased out in the UK market in 1979. The Hillman Avenger name
928-571: A Maxi as their "Fab-Mobile" decked out in Punk-art graffiti. It also made an appearance in a video of The Farm's cover version of The Human League's "Don't You Want Me". The 1750 was registered as FRK 315T and according to the DVLA website was last taxed in April 1993. The Maxi, grumbled AC/DC singer Brian Johnson , "was like a matchbox on steroids . The only reason you knew it was a car was cos it had
1044-531: A bottom section hinged from below. When production of the Commerciale resumed after the war, the tailgate became a one-piece design that was hinged from roof level, as per the design used on most hatchbacks since. In 1949, Kaiser-Frazer introduced the Vagabond and Traveler hatchbacks. These models were styled much like a typical 1940s sedan, fully retaining their three-box profile; however, they included
1160-460: A flexible seating arrangement which gave the option of forming a double bed. Created by the same designer as BMC's Mini, sir Alec Issigonis – accountants had determined that the car had to use the same set of doors as the Austin / Morris 1800 , but would be marketed below it in the model range, so needed a shorter rear body. A curtailed rear end with a big hatch resulted. The Austin Maxi operated in
1276-580: A full model line-up, completed by a station wagon, as well as panel van versions. Also in 1967, Citroën released the Dyane , a redesigned 2CV with a large rear hatch, to compete with the Renault 4. The Simca was closely followed by Mini's larger stablemate, the Austin Maxi . Counting the rear hatch made it a five-door saloon. It featured a transverse-mounted SOHC engine , a five-speed transmission, and
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#17327760851761392-476: A hatchback is a rear door that opens upwards and is hinged at roof level (as opposed to the boot/trunk lid of a saloon/sedan , which is hinged below the rear window). Most hatchbacks use a two-box design body style, where the cargo area ( trunk/boot ) and passenger areas are a single volume. The rear seats can often be folded down to increase the available cargo area. Hatchbacks may have a removable rigid parcel shelf, or flexible roll-up tonneau cover to cover
1508-425: A hatchback until the early 1980s. One unusual feature of this car was that the rear seat back, as well as folding forward as in a conventional hatchback, also folded back. In combination with fully-reclining front seats, this gave satisfactory, if spartan, sleeping accommodation. Towards the end of the Maxi's life, in 1980, a lightly revised model was marketed as the "Maxi 2", although by now sales were declining and
1624-570: A high-compression 1.6 L form. From the beginning of production in 1970, the Avenger's bodyshell components had been manufactured at Linwood , and then transported south to Ryton on the component trains used to move materials for the Hillman Imp north to Linwood. Following the Imp's discontinuation in 1976, the Avenger production line was moved from Ryton to Linwood where it was produced until
1740-456: A hospital stay in Golspie's Lawson Memorial Hospital for five days where he was treated by Dr. Michael Simpson. After they returned to London, Lennon arranged for the Maxi to be placed on a plinth outside his Tittenhurst home as an homage to their luck, where it stayed for the next few years, during which time Julian took the silver apple from the dash and kept it as a keepsake, though the vehicle
1856-604: A locally made 1.6 L Peugeot engine, shared with the locally assembled Peugeot 404 , was used. The Avenger was available from 1975 until its discontinuation in 1976, when it was renamed as a Chrysler . After Chrysler ZA was merged into Sigma Motor Corporation in 1976, the Avenger was soon cancelled to allow SIGMA to free up more production capacity for the Mazda 323 . The Avenger was built in Iran from 1978–1980 in two-door, 60 hp (45 kW) form by Iran Khodro Co. and called
1972-414: A million were built over a 12 year period. BL management decisions involving the Maxi had significant knock-on effects to the rest of the car line-up. BL marketing decreed that the Maxi should be the only car in the range to feature a hatchback . This stance prevented the Austin Allegro and Princess models gaining hatchbacks despite those designs being capable of receiving them. The Maxi (code name ADO14)
2088-745: A new car to succeed the Allegro and Maxi was being developed. Its launch was delayed by the extra investment required to develop the Austin Metro , launched in October 1980. On 8 July 1981, the Austin Maxi's 12-year production run came to an end. Its replacement, the Austin Maestro , which also replaced the smaller Allegro, was introduced in March 1983. Shortly after the Maxi's demise, BL met
2204-637: A new dashboard. Both treatments looked similar to those of the Chrysler Alpine . The greatest change was at the rear where, on the saloons, the distinctive "hockey-stick" rear lamp clusters were dropped in favour of a straight "light-bar" arrangement. The top of the former "hockey-sticks" had metal plates in their place, whilst the fuel cap was moved from the rear to the right hand side of the car. Three trim levels were available, LS, GL (known as 'Super' in certain markets) and GLS—the GLS being only available in
2320-718: A raft of new hatchback models. The Austin Metro, launched in 1980, was only available as a hatchback, as was the 1983 Austin Maestro. On 1 July 1969, John Lennon crashed a white Maxi on the single track A838 road near Loch Eriboll in the Highlands of Scotland. He was on his way to visit his uncle in Durness with Yoko Ono, his son Julian and Yoko's daughter Kyoko. Originally they had set off from Tittenhurst Park, his home near Ascot in his Mini Cooper, however it soon became apparent that it
2436-433: A rear door (often called a tailgate in the case of an estate/wagon) that is hinged at roof level, similar to hatchbacks. Liftback cars are similar to hatchbacks from a functional perspective in having a tailgate hinged from the roof, but differ from hatchbacks from a styling perspective in having more of a sloped roofline. The term " fastback " may sometimes also be used by manufacturers to market liftback cars. A fastback
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#17327760851762552-708: A rebadged Dodge Colt in mid-1973 model year. The Cricket's version of the Colt GT was called the Cricket Formula S. For the 1975 model year, the Plymouth Cricket was rebadged as the Plymouth Colt. Thus began Chrysler Canada's dual marketing system for this car, selling the Colt as both a Dodge and a Plymouth. The later Plymouth Arrow was similarly sold as a Dodge Arrow. Named to evoke memories of
2668-550: A result, the hatch is lifted more upwards than backward, to open. The term was first used by Toyota in 1973, to describe the Toyota Celica Liftback GT. Toyota called the new body style a Liftback, signifying that it was a three-door hatchback rather than a two-door coupe. With its sloping fastback roofline, the Celica Liftback was, if anything, even less habitable for rear-seat passengers than
2784-479: A saloon version the "Morris 1500" was to follow in the autumn. However, upon the merger of BMC and Leyland the new management abandoned the four-door saloon notchback and developed the Morris Marina instead. The Marina, launched in April 1971, was a rear-wheel drive car available as a saloon, coupe or estate. The new chairman Lord Stokes decided to also change the hatchback's name to the Maxi in homage to
2900-463: A sedan, using the hinges located below the rear glass; or together with the rear glass, like in a hatchback, using the hinges at the roof. Audi and BMW introduced hatchbacks in 2009, but marketed them as "Sportback" (Audi) or "Gran Turismo"/"Gran Coupe" (BMW). In the 2010s hatchback versions became available on luxury cars such as the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo , Porsche Panamera , and Audi A7 while
3016-490: A single-carb unit and also available for the first time with automatic transmission, the Borg Warner 45 four-speed unit). The Super sedan also gained the 1.6 L engine and auto option in '73 while the range was expanded in 1975 when 1.3 L variants (a result of the fuel crisis that also prompted rival Ford New Zealand to reintroduce a Cortina 1.3) and 1.6 L manual or automatic 'Super' wagon models were added to
3132-540: A spacious interior, comfortable passenger accommodation, competitive prices and reasonable running costs. It was let down by a dull interior and poor build quality, although it was not as notorious for its failings as the Austin Allegro and Morris Marina were during the 1970s. The Maxi had several rivals during the 1970s, including the Volkswagen Passat (1973) and Chrysler Alpine (1975), although its best-selling rivals from Ford and Vauxhall did not produce
3248-406: A steering wheel. It was the most basic form of frickin' transport! But it could have been worse. My next-door neighbour had a Lada ." Hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where
3364-584: A television advert shown across West Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Also in 1972, at the Earl's Court Motor Show a competition was staged by The Daily Telegraph , the Institute of British Coachbuilders and Motor Manufactures (later incorporated into the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders ) to design a futuristic concept car based on a Maxi. The winning design was by a young designer, Chris Field, and
3480-532: A time when curvaceous American-inspired " coke bottle " styling (typified by contemporaries such as the Ford Cortina Mk III and Hillman Avenger ) was very much in vogue, contrasting sharply with the Maxi's obviously mid-1960s looks. Another styling ambition for the car was a four-door saloon version, to compete directly with the Ford Cortina . A prototype was built, badged as a Morris, but it
3596-608: A top award as 'Best Feature' at the 2017 Bauer Awards. In 1972, a married couple escaped the Soviet quarter of Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie in the back of a Maxi. Once over into the western sector, the British Royal Military Police and the West German Polizei were so surprised that two people could fit into a Maxi's boot, that it was then taken up by Leyland West Germany and re-created in
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3712-458: A two-piece tailgate as per the first Citroën 11CV Commerciale. The Vagabond and Traveler models also had folding rear seats and a shared volume for the passengers and cargo. The design was neither fully a sedan nor a station wagon, but the folding rear seat provided for a large, 8-foot (2.4 m) long interior cargo area. These Kaiser-Frazer models have been described as "America's First Hatchback". The British Motor Corporation (BMC) launched
3828-483: A unique-to-NZ, sporty, 1.5-litre twin-carburettor 'TC' model with all-black interior trim, dashtop rev counter, side striping, high-back 'tombstone' front seats, special bright paint colours and new wheel trims, among other detail changes. This was loosely based on the UK GT but lacked that car's 'Rostyle' wheels, using locally-made, look-alike pressed aluminium wheel trims instead. The TC was effectively replaced in 1973 by
3944-519: Is a broad automotive term used to describe the styling of the rear of a car in having a single slope from the roof to the rear bumper . Some hatchbacks are notchback three box designs , bearing a resemblance to sedans/saloons from a styling perspective, but being closer to hatchbacks in functionality by having a tailgate hinged from the roof. This is featured on cars such as the 1951 Kaiser-Frazer Vagabond, Simca 1100 , Mazda 6 GG1 , and Opel Vectra C . As such, notchbacks are not fastbacks, as
4060-422: Is probably a good idea that just needs a little bit of working on." This criticism actually came as a result of a road test two months before the car officially went on sale. The later rod linkage was less problematic. All models were prone to problems brought on by the "cogs in the sump" layout, whereby the gearbox and engine shared a common oil supply. The clutch oil seal was also prone to leakage. Power came from
4176-687: Is the Mini-Camper Kit for the AMC Hornet, a low-priced canvas tent that converted an open hatchback into a camping compartment with room for sleeping. The "Mini-Camper" was a weatherproof covering that fitted over the roof section from the B-pillar back to the rear bumper that was easy to set up. Ford Motor Company 's first hatchback was the Ford Pinto Runabout, introduced in 1971. The Pinto-based 1974-1978 Ford Mustang II
4292-633: The AMC Gremlin . Although the Gremlin has the appearance of a hatchback, it is frequently called a Kammback coupe instead, with only its rear window being an upwards opening hatch, that gives access to the rear cargo space. The Gremlin was based on the AMC Hornet , but its abrupt hatchback rear end cut the car's overall length from 179 to 161 inches (4,500 to 4,100 mm). AMC added a hatchback version to its larger compact-sized Hornet line for
4408-544: The Chrysler takeover in 1967. Stylistically, the Avenger was undoubtedly very much in tune with its time; the American-influenced " Coke Bottle " waistline and semi- fastback rear-end being a contemporary styling cue, indeed the Avenger would be the first British car to be manufactured with a one piece plastic front grille. It was similar in appearance to the larger Ford Cortina#TC Mark III (1970–1976) , which
4524-537: The Datsun 180B (due to Todd Motors for a time having a contract to build those as Nissan's other contractor at the time, Campbell Motor Industries, did not have enough capacity). The New Zealand Avenger initially was similar to the British line but there was just one engine and trim level to start: the 'Super' (two headlights, vinyl trim, 1.5 L single carburettor engine, manual 4-speed gearbox.). In 1971 Todd's added
4640-499: The Ford Cortina . The Maxi production lines at Cowley were taken over by production of the Triumph Acclaim , which was launched in October 1981. Despite its practical design and remarkable space efficiency (it is shorter, narrower and lower than the sixth generation Ford Fiesta ), the Maxi never came close to reaching its projected sales targets. BL management decisions involving the Maxi had significant knock-on effects to
4756-641: The Horizon , the Avenger and Sunbeam retained the Chrysler "Pentastar" badge, instead of the Talbot logo featuring a letter "T" inside a circle – this was because Chrysler had retained the rights to the Avenger and Sunbeam models after the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA, who only had purchased the rights to the Simca-based Alpine and Horizon. Production continued until the middle of 1981, when PSA closed
Austin Maxi - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-697: The Linwood production plant and concentrated all British production at the Ryton plant. The Avenger was discontinued with no direct replacement – the Peugeot 305 , introduced in 1977, was the closest car to the Avenger's size in PSA's lineup; although the slightly larger Talbot Solara (a saloon version of the Alpine/Simca 1307) had been introduced shortly before the Avenger's demise. Chrysler retained ownership of
4988-601: The Plymouth Cricket and was the first Plymouth to have a four-cylinder engine since the 1932 Plymouth Model PB was discontinued. The Avenger was initially produced at Rootes' plant in Ryton-on-Dunsmore , England, and later at the company's Linwood facility near Glasgow, Scotland. Introduced in February 1970, the Avenger was significant as it was the first and last car to be developed by Rootes after
5104-580: The Renault 4 as a moderately upscale alternative to the Citroën 2CV . The Renault 4 was the first million-selling, mass-produced, compact two-box car with a steeply raked rear side, opened by a large, one-piece, lift-gate hatch. During its production life cycle, Renault marketed the R4 calling it a small station wagon , just like Austin's series of small Countryman estate models from 1954 until 1968 – even after
5220-774: The Sunbeam Tiger , the Avenger Tiger concept began as a publicity exercise. Avenger Super (four-door) cars were modified by the Chrysler Competitions Centre under Des O'Dell and the Tiger model was launched in March 1972. Modifications included the 1500 GT engine with an improved cylinder head with enlarged valves, twin Weber carburetors and a compression ratio of 9.4:1. The engine now developed 92.5 bhp (69 kW) at 6,100 rpm. The suspension
5336-449: The gas crisis of 1973 . The success of the similarly-sized Dodge Colt captive import, built by Mitsubishi Motors , doomed the Cricket. With the Colt selling much better than the Cricket, re-engineering the Cricket to meet new 1974 U.S. safety and emissions standards did not make financial sense. The last Crickets were exported to the U.S. in late 1972 but were sold as 1973 models, as U.S. safety and emission laws were applied according to
5452-531: The "Avenger" trademark, subsequently used on the Dodge Avenger 2007–2014. The name was also used on Jeep 's first electric model to be marketed in Australia in 2024 Chrysler's operations in various countries around the world also marketed (and in some cases assembled) the car. In South Africa , the car—like the larger Hunter assembled there—used Peugeot engines and was badged as a Dodge rather than
5568-432: The 1500 DL, Super and GL). The GT featured twin round headlights, go-faster stripes along the sides of the doors and "dustbin lid" wheel covers, which were similar to those found on the various Datsuns and Toyotas of the 1970s. The basic fleet Avenger was added to the range in February 1972. It was offered with either 1250 or 1500 cc engines (the latter available with the automatic transmission option). The fleet Avenger
5684-452: The 1500 cc engine. Since the DL was the basic model in the range, it featured little more than rubber mats and a very simple dashboard with a strip-style speedometer. The Super was a bit better equipped, featuring carpets, armrests, twin horns and reversing lights, though the dashboard was carried over from the DL. The top-spec GL model featured four round headlights (which was a big improvement over
5800-620: The 1958 DB Mark III , also offered a folding rear seat. The 1954 AC Aceca and later Aceca-Bristol from AC Cars had a similar hatch tailgate, though only 320 were built. In 1965, MG had Pininfarina modify the MGB roadster into a hatchback design called the MGB GT, becoming the first volume-production sports car with this type of body. Many coupés have 3 doors , including the Jaguar E-Type and Datsun 240Z . In 1961, Renault introduced
5916-532: The 1970s led to the release of models such as the Austin Ambassador , Austin Maestro , Fiat 127 and Renault 5 . By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of superminis and compact cars had been updated or replaced with hatchback models. Hatchbacks were the mainstay of manufacturers' D-segment offerings in Europe in the 1990s (they were already popular in the 1980s) and until the late 2000s. It
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#17327760851766032-535: The 1971–1979 Vauxhall HC Viva , 1968-72 FD Victors , and 1976–1981 Vauxhall Chevette ranges, and Austin Allegro , Maxi and Princess , the Avenger was one of several British models to be sold in New Zealand but not Australia . The Avenger was planned initially as a Hillman Hunter replacement for Australia but, due to economics of sourcing, the Japanese Mitsubishi Galant was chosen instead by Chrysler Australia for that market, though it
6148-464: The 1973 model year. The design and fold-down rear seat more than doubled cargo space and the Hornet was claimed to be the "first compact hatchback" manufactured by U.S. automaker. The 1975 Pacer featured a rear door or hatchback. A longer model with a wagon-type configuration was added in 1977 with its large rear "hatch" as one of the car's three doors, all having different sizes. The 1979 AMC Spirit
6264-510: The 1978 Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon models, which were based on the French Simca-Talbot Horizon . These were followed by the 3-door hatchback Dodge Omni 024 / Plymouth Horizon TC3 which were later renamed Dodge Charger and Plymouth Turismo . The first Japanese hatchbacks were the 1972 Honda Civic , Nissan Sunny , and Nissan Cherry . The Civic and Cherry had front-wheel drive powertrains, which later became
6380-578: The Avenger to be a "world car", and took the ambitious step of marketing the Avenger as the Plymouth Cricket in the U.S. Complaints of rust, unreliability, plus the general unpopularity of smaller cars on the American market, saw it withdrawn from that market after only two years. In October 1970, the Avenger GT was added to the range. It had a twin-carburettor 1500 cc engine, four-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission (also optional on
6496-482: The Brazilian market, for example, the Fiat Premio and sedan versions of the Opel Corsa and Ford Fiesta . The vehicle is classified as a B-segment marque in the European single market, a segment referred to as a supermini in the British Isles. Prior to this, the "Swift" nameplate had been applied to the rebadged Suzuki Cultus in numerous export markets since 1984 and for the Japanese-market Suzuki Ignis since 2000. The Swift became its own model in 2004. Currently,
6612-475: The British model. More obvious is the use of larger bumpers, a four-headlamp grille (which was different from the design found on the quadruple headlamp Avengers and the American Plymouth Cricket ), and conventional tail lights, which did not have the "hockeystick" shape of the Hillman Avenger. It was presented at the São Paulo Motor Show in November 1972. In 1976, the car was renamed Dodge Polara (a nameplate Chrysler previously used on full-sized Dodge models in
6728-404: The Cruze Hatchback. Hillman Avenger The Hillman Avenger is a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured by the former Rootes division of Chrysler Europe from 1970–1978, badged from 1976 onward as the Chrysler Avenger . Between 1979 and 1981 it was manufactured by PSA Peugeot Citroën and badged as the Talbot Avenger . The Avenger was marketed in North America as
6844-427: The Maxi and his driver took the Mini back to Tittenhurst, and the four set off north again to Northern Scotland; stopping briefly in Windermere and Edinburgh . Whilst driving along the narrow A838 road, Lennon panicked when he saw another car approaching him and sent the Maxi headlong into a ditch. While the children escaped relatively unhurt, Lennon received a gash to his forehead and Ono injured her back, resulting in
6960-426: The Maxi being uneconomic to build, Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia developed in the UK the Morris Nomad , a hybrid utilizing the Maxi's E-series engine/transmission and rear tailgate, fitted to the Morris 1100 body which was already being assembled in that country. For a short while the Nomad (under the Austin name) was exported to New Zealand and offered alongside the locally assembled Maxi. The Maxi featured
7076-462: The Mini of 10 years earlier. All Maxis were produced at the Cowley plant in Oxford , although the E-Series engines were made at a new factory at Cofton Hackett in Longbridge . The Maxi was launched in Oporto, Portugal, on 24 April 1969, in a blaze of publicity; it was one of the first cars to appear on the BBC's new car programme Wheelbase . Underneath the Maxi's practical and spacious bodyshell lay an all-new front-wheel drive chassis, which
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#17327760851767192-529: The New Zealand assembled range. Todd's updated its Avenger line in 1978 with the Simca-style front end and dashboard and new tail lights, and added a luxury GLS version, similar to the UK model, in place of the earlier Alpine while the range was rebranded Chrysler Avenger. It again broadly followed the British lineup, albeit with a limited range of models, now consisting of a 1.3 GL sedan, a 1.6 LS wagon (marketed as Avenger Estate) and 1.6 GLS sedans, again with manual or automatic transmissions. The 'base' 1.3 GL sedan
7308-409: The Skoda Octavia was always available as a hatchback. Meanwhile, three-door hatchbacks have seen a fall in popularity, compared with 5-door models. This has led to many models no longer being offered in 3-door body styles, for example, the Audi A3 and Renault Clio . In 1970, American Motors Corporation (AMC) released the first North American subcompact car since the 1953-1961 Nash Metropolitan ,
7424-461: The Swift is positioned between Ignis and Baleno in Suzuki's global Holden produced the Torana Hatchback from 1976 to 1980 across the LX and UC generations. Up until recent years, buyers in Australia have preferred the station wagon body style, with the big three Australian manufacturers; Holden , Ford Australia , and Chrysler Australia all producing station wagon models of their sedan models. Australia started moving to hatchbacks partially in
7540-589: The U.S. and on a series of large Dodges in Argentina), and underwent a comprehensive facelift (in 1978), gaining the Chrysler Avenger 's front styling, and dashboard setup, the revised bumpers and tail light treatments remaining unique to Brazil. A further light facelift was given in 1980 before production ceased in 1981. The Avenger was sold by Todd Motors in New Zealand from 1970–1980 in four-door sedan and five-door wagon (1975 onward) forms only. Todd's of Petone and, later, Porirua also sold Chrysler Australia and Mitsubishi products and their assembly lines both at
7656-409: The UK arrived in the U.S. on 20 November 1970. Another press release issued on 23 February 1972 stated that the station wagon version would debut in early spring of 1972. The 1500 cc engine was offered on the Plymouth Cricket. Side marker lamps (US DOT required) were added, and front disc brakes were standardized; these were originally optional in the UK. The single carburetor / manual choke combination
7772-401: The basic fleet Avenger, which was discontinued at this point. The automatic option went from three speed to four speeds with the Borg Warner 45 transmission replacing the earlier 35. The GL and GT trim levels were now also offered with the 1300 engine and two-door saloon body. In North America, a rebadged variant of the Avenger was marketed as the Plymouth Cricket through Plymouth dealers as
7888-417: The beginning of 1980 Volkswagen acquired Chrysler International's remaining shares in their Argentinian subsidiary when the latter withdrew from South America (Volkswagen held 49% since earlier). The deal included the tooling to the Dodge 1500. The Chrysler range was discontinued, but the Dodge 1500 continued with a new "Serie W" suffix. In 1982 the car was renamed the Volkswagen 1500 (not to be confused with
8004-408: The bonnet bulge was lost although the bonnet turned matt black, and there were changes to wheels and seats. These cars went on sale at £1,350. Production was around 400. Red ("Wardance") was now available as well as yellow ("Sundance"), both with black detailing. In September 1976, the Avenger was rebadged as a Chrysler. It also gained a comprehensive facelift which included a new frontal treatment and
8120-412: The calendar year when a car was manufactured or imported, as opposed to the model year when it was sold. A total of 27,682 Plymouth Crickets were sold in the U.S. During the same time period, the competing Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Vega each outsold the Cricket by a margin exceeding 10:1. The Cricket nameplate continued in Canada, when Chrysler Canada replaced the British-built Plymouth Cricket with
8236-399: The cargo space behind the rear seats. When describing the body style, the hatch is often counted as a door, therefore a hatchback with two passenger doors is called a three-door and a hatchback with four passenger doors is called a five-door . Estates/station wagons and liftbacks have in common a two-box design configuration, a shared interior volume for passengers and cargo and
8352-690: The common configuration for a hatchback. Along with the Honda Civic, other Japanese hatchback models included the Nissan Pulsar , Toyota Corolla , and Suzuki Swift . Almost all Japanese Kei cars ("city cars") use a hatchback body style, to maximize cargo capacity given the overall vehicle size is limited by the regulations applicable to these vehicles. Kei cars include the Mitsubishi Minica , Honda Life , Suzuki Fronte , Subaru Vivio , and Daihatsu Mira . The first Soviet hatchback
8468-539: The demand for a larger family hatchback by revamping the Princess and renaming it the Austin Ambassador , although this was a short-lived model which only lasted until 1984, when the Austin Montego was launched. This completed BL's rationalisation, as it now had just one model competing in this market sector, whereas the Maxi had been one of three designs competing in a sector of the market which had been led by
8584-645: The end of its UK production life., whilst Ryton was switched over to producing the Simca-based Chrysler Alpine and later the Talbot Solara. Following the collapse of Chrysler Europe in 1978, and its takeover by PSA Peugeot Citroën , the Avenger was re-badged with the resurrected Talbot brand with the Avenger remaining in production alongside the hatchback-only Horizon to meet the demand which remained for traditional saloons and estates in this sector. Unlike newer Talbot models such as
8700-522: The engine design was the same as found in Avengers sold elsewhere, although enlarged to a 1.8 L capacity. Styling was completely different from the British built Avengers (which only arrived four months later), with the bodywork from the A-pillar back being unique. The differences are very small, with the rear side window being somewhat larger and the overall appearance being slightly less curvy than
8816-456: The footsteps of the 1959 BMC Mini with front-wheel drive, a more space-efficient transverse engine layout, unitary bodywork, and independent suspension (features which became key design concepts used by almost every mass-market family car since) - and it was the first hatchback with these features. The Simca 1100 also came in both three and five-door variants, and the hatchback models took a central position, traditionally taken up by saloons, in
8932-540: The interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. While early examples of the body configuration can be traced to the 1930s, the Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the term itself to 1970. The hatchback body style has been marketed worldwide on cars ranging in size from superminis to small family cars , as well as executive cars and some sports cars . They are a primary component of sport utility vehicles . The distinguishing feature of
9048-632: The larger Chevrolet Nova became available in a hatchback body style. The Nova hatchback was also rebadged as the Chevrolet Concours , Pontiac Ventura , Pontiac Phoenix , Oldsmobile Omega , Buick Apollo , and Buick Skylark . In 1980, General Motors released its first front-wheel drive hatchback models, the Chevrolet Citation and Pontiac Phoenix . Both AMC and GM offered a dealer accessory that turned their compact hatchback models into low-cost recreational vehicles. An example
9164-588: The larger "Arrow" series Hunter . Another novelty for the Avenger was the use of a plastic radiator grille, a first in Britain and at 4 ft 6 in (137 cm) wide claimed as the largest mass-produced plastics component used at this time by the European motor industry. The Avenger was a steady seller in the 1970s, in competition with the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Viva . Chrysler was attempting to make
9280-677: The mid-1990s with relatively cheap offerings from Hyundai and Honda . Australia now sells mostly hatchbacks, after the last domestic-built wagon, the Holden Commodore Sportwagon ceased production in October 2017. The Ford Laser hatchback was produced in Australia. Nissan produced the Pulsar and Pintara hatchbacks and Mitsubishi built the Colt hatch. Toyota produced the Corolla hatchback, and more recently Holden produced
9396-572: The more modern Volkswagen Gacel/Senda , with a total of 262,668 units sold in its almost 20-year lifespan. This vehicle was very popular with taxi drivers, but by the end of 1998 they had all fallen foul of the ten-year age rule on Argentine taxi vehicles. It was also very popular in the early TC 2000 touring car racing series, winning the 1980, 1981 and 1982 championships. The Avenger was also built in Brazil from 1973 until 1981 in two-door sedan form only, sold initially as Dodge 1800, named for its motor —
9512-425: The more upmarket Avenger Alpine, another local special loosely based on the UK 'GL' (four headlights, four-round-dials dashboard instead of a rectangular instrument cluster (though early cars had a blanked-off space instead of the rev counter standardised later), better trim, twin carburettors and vinyl roof), initially with the twin-carburettor 1.5 L engine (changed to a 1.6 L from 1973, later changed again to
9628-429: The new platform, the Maxi's styling suffered from the decision to save tooling costs by re-using door panels from the Austin 1800 "Landcrab", which gave the Maxi an unusually long wheelbase in relation to its length, coupled with the fact that the carried-over doors made the Maxi resemble a scaled down version of the 1800 (and the Austin 3-Litre , which also used the same doors). This design was by then five years old, at
9744-506: The new size of almost-square rectangular ones later fitted to the Hillman Hunter that were used on the DL and Super), internal bonnet release, two-speed wipers, brushed nylon seat trim (previously never used on British cars), reclining front seats, and a round-dial dashboard with extra instrumentation. Not only was the Avenger's styling totally new, but so were the engine and transmission units, which were not at all like those used in
9860-526: The original Petone plant (dating from the mid-1930s) and the new purpose-built plant opened in Porirua in 1974 were notable for the variety of models coming down the twin final assembly lines at any one time—vehicles sharing the trim lines with the Avenger on a daily shift might include the Hillman Hunter , Chrysler Valiant and Alpine hatchback , Mitsubishi Galant , Mirage and Lancer , as well as
9976-449: The press for its good handling characteristics and generally good overall competence on the road and it was considered a significantly better car to drive than contemporaries like the Morris Marina . Initially, the Avenger was available as a four-door saloon in DL, Super and GL trim levels. The DL and Super could be had with either the 1250 or 1500 cc engines, but the GL was only available with
10092-713: The prize was to have his design on paper turned into reality. The "Aquila" was constructed by Woodhall Nicolson of Halifax with help from Lucas , Smiths (Motor Accessory Division & Radiomobile) and Triplex . The resultant car was exhibited at the 1973 show and then given to Field. From 1975-80, British Leyland supplied the Lawn Tennis Association every year with official "Wimbledon" Maxis. These were standard single carburettor 1750s but fitted with HL velour seat trim and extra sound proofing. Afterwards, they were sold through local Surrey dealers as ex-demonstration cars. In 1991, punk revival band Fabulous used
10208-466: The rear window was marginally smaller, to allow for a frame that could be lifted with roof-mounted hinges and side support struts so that the car now incorporated a horizontal-split two-piece tailgate. The lower panel was now flush with the floor and its bottom-mounted hinges were strengthened. In 1953, Aston Martin marketed the DB2 with a top-hinged rear tailgate, manufacturing 700 examples. Its successor,
10324-491: The rest of the car line-up. BL marketing decreed that the Maxi should be the only car in the range to feature a hatchback . This stance prevented the Austin Allegro and Princess models gaining hatchbacks despite those designs being capable of receiving them. The policy was discontinued with the arrival of the Rover SD1 in 1976, and the fast-growing popularity of hatchbacks during the 1970s and 1980s saw British Leyland launch
10440-421: The saloon versions. However, 'heavy-duty springing' was fitted and the estate had a maximum load capacity of 1,040 lb (470 kg), compared to 840 lb (380 kg) for the saloon. The two-door saloon models were added in March 1973, with all engine and trim options of the existing four-door range. Styling of the two-door was similar to the four-door, but the side profile was less curvaceous. The car
10556-603: The same market segment as the Renault 16, and the two competitors were closely matched in specifications and exterior dimensions, although the Maxi had significantly more interior space due to its transverse engine. In 1974, the Volkswagen Golf was introduced, intended to replace the ubiquitous Beetle . In 1976 British Leyland introduced the Rover 3500 , a rear wheel drive executive car five-door hatchback. Increasing demand for compact hatchbacks in Europe during
10672-410: The slope of the roofline on a notchback is interrupted by its three-box design. An estate/wagon typically differs from a liftback or hatchback by being longer (therefore more likely to have a D-pillar ). Other potential differences of a station wagon include: "Liftback" is a term for hatchback models in which the rear cargo door or hatch is more horizontally angled than on an average hatchback, and as
10788-480: The term "hatchback" appeared around 1970. The company only offered one two-box body style. The Renault 4 continued in production through 1992, selling over 8 million cars. In 1965, the R4 economy car was complemented by the D-segment Renault 16 , the first volume production two-box, hatchback family car . Its rear seats were adjustable, would fold down, or could be completely removed. The Renault 16
10904-460: The totally different Volkswagen Type 3 , which had been sold elsewhere in the world between 1961 and 1973 as a Volkswagen 1500 too). Under Volkswagen, the car received its final facelift, gaining a sloping front grille which was more in vogue in the early 1980s. Details such as the rearview mirrors and doorhandles were replaced by squared-off units in black plastic, rather than the earlier chromed filigrane ones. Production ended in 1990, replaced with
11020-504: Was a van – basically the manual Avenger wagon with a flat rear floor in place of rear seats and fixed, rather than wind-down, rear door windows. This, and rival models, were introduced around 1975 to get around New Zealand's strict oil crisis hire purchase laws that required a 60 per cent deposit for a new car with only 12-month terms, versus 25 per cent and three years for a light commercial vehicle. All New Zealand Avengers from 1973 onwards had metric instruments. Along with
11136-505: Was a very popular entry level B-category model for rental car company Avis right up to the Avenger's demise in 1980. While Avenger models in Europe were rebranded as Talbot, the New Zealand Avengers kept the Chrysler branding for 1980. 1980 models could be identified by a black grille, protective black body-side mouldings, window blackouts and unadorned steel wheels. A variant unique to New Zealand, available for some years,
11252-495: Was also uprated, whilst brakes, rear axle, and gearbox are directly from the GT. A distinctive yellow colour scheme ("Sundance") with a bonnet bulge, rear spoiler and side stripes was standard, set off with "Avenger Tiger" lettering on the rear quarters. Road test figures demonstrated a 0–60 mph time of 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h). These figures beat the rival Ford Escort Mexico , but fuel consumption
11368-506: Was auctioned many years later. Lennon also had its steering wheel removed and it was hung up in his billiard room in the house. When Lennon and Ono finally left the UK for the United States, Lennon sold Tittenhurst to friend and former bandmate Ringo Starr who had the Maxi scrapped. In October 2016, James Walshe, the deputy editor of Practical Classics car magazine retraced Lennon's journey in his 1969 Maxi. The feature later received
11484-719: Was available in two designs, a "sedan" with a rear lift up window and a semi-fastback "liftback" version. General Motors ' first hatchback model was the Chevrolet Vega , introduced in September 1970. Over a million Vega hatchbacks were produced for the 1971–1977 model years accounting for about half of the Vega's total production. The Vega hatchback was also rebadged and sold as the 1973–1977 Pontiac Astre , 1978 Chevrolet Monza S , 1975–1980 Buick Skyhawk , 1975–1980 Oldsmobile Starfire and 1977–1980 Pontiac Sunbird . In 1974,
11600-685: Was common for manufacturers to offer the same D-segment model in three different body styles: a 4-door sedan, a 5-door hatchback, and a 5-door station wagon. Such models included the Ford Mondeo , the Mazda 626 / Mazda6 , the Nissan Primera , the Opel Vectra / Insignia , and the Toyota Carina / Avensis . There were also models in this market segment available only as a 5-door hatchback or a 4-door sedan, and models available only as
11716-596: Was extensively marketed in continental Europe, first as a Sunbeam . It was without the Avenger name in France, where it was known as the Sunbeam 1250 and 1500; later the 1300 and 1600. Some northern European markets received the car as the Sunbeam Avenger. Both engine sizes were upgraded in October 1973. The 1250 became the 1300, while the 1500 became the 1600 with nearly all the same previous trim levels except for
11832-504: Was heavy. Even in 1972, the Tiger developed a reputation for its thirst. All Avenger Tigers were assembled by the Chrysler Competitions Centre and production figures are vague but around 200 of the initial Mark 1 seems likely. In October 1972, Chrysler unveiled the more "productionised" Mark 2 Tiger. The Avenger GL bodyshell with four round headlights was used. Mechanically identical to the earlier cars(from contemporary road tests, however, there were better performances and fuel consumption),
11948-528: Was interlinked with an innovative five-speed manual transmission ; the fifth gear was another rarity on family cars in 1969 and one which many manufacturers did not adopt until more than a decade later. The gear selector suffered from notorious problems with its control linkage, especially in early models which had a cable-operated linkage prone to cable stretch and other problems. These were noted by autotesters such as Vicar in Today's Driver (1969), who wrote: "This
12064-469: Was introduced. It had the 1800 engine, two Stromberg carburettors, a 8.5 in (22 cm) diameter clutch and a high performance manifold. This model could be had only in dark blue or black with obligatory sports stripes. In 1978, the first station wagon (estate version)–Dodge 1500 Rural–were announced. Later on, the Rural was only available with the 1.8 liter engine, albeit still using the "1500" name. In
12180-409: Was launched later in 1970. However, from an engineering perspective it was rather conventional, using a 4-cylinder all-iron overhead valve engine in 1250 or 1500 capacities driving a coil spring suspended live axle at the rear wheels. Unlike any previous Rootes design, there were no " badge-engineered " Humber or Singer versions in the UK market. The Avenger was immediately highly praised by
12296-624: Was marketed as the 'Chrysler Galant'. By contrast in New Zealand , the Avenger, Hunter and Mitsubishi Galant (offered from 1972–1977 in coupe form only) co-existed together in Todd Motors' overall lineup, though the Avenger-sized (but much more cramped inside) Mitsubishi Lancer eventually went into local assembly in 1975. The Avenger was assembled and sold in South Africa badged as the Dodge Avenger . To satisfy local content rules
12412-470: Was not put into production, since the booted extension made the Maxi almost the same size as the 1800 model, which was itself replaced in March 1975 by the 18-22 series models (renamed the Princess soon after its launch). Also worthy of note is that the Maxi was voted the least stolen car in 1971 and 1972. In Australia, owing to recently increased local content assembly tariffs which would have resulted in
12528-615: Was not used, instead the cars were simply badged as Sunbeam and the engine size and trim level (e.g. Sunbeam 1600 GLS ). Throughout most of Europe the Sunbeam name was used, except for the Netherlands , Italy and Spain . The Avenger was built in Argentina between 1971 and 1990, initially as the Dodge 1500 (or Dodge 1500M with the 1.8 engine) as a four-door sedan. In 1977, the Dodge 1500 GT-100 producing 105 bhp (78 kW)
12644-667: Was offered as a hatchback. The body style was continued for the redesigned Fox platform -based 1979 third generation Mustang and the Mercury Capri derivative. For 1981, Ford offered hatchback versions of its sub-compact Escort and the badge-engineered Mercury Lynx , which were now front-wheel drive. Two-seat hatchback derivatives were introduced for 1982, the Ford EXP and the Mercury LN-7. Chrysler Corporation 's first hatchbacks (and first front-wheel drive cars) were
12760-531: Was standard. From 1972, the single carburetor / automatic choke combination, dual carburettors, and air conditioning were all options. In both the USA and Canada, federal motor vehicle safety standards required the round four-headlight grille of the GL and GT model Avengers. The Cricket was discontinued during the 1973 model year despite a sharp increase in demand for small cars in North America brought on by
12876-409: Was successful in a market segment previously exclusively populated by notchback sedans and, despite making only one body style for 15 years, consumers purchased over 1 3 ⁄ 4 million R16s. Unlike the Renault 4, which had a semi-integrated body, mounted on a platform chassis , and a front mid-mounted and longitudinally placed engine behind the front axle, the 1967 Simca 1100 , which followed in
12992-519: Was the hardtop, but the hatchback roof and folding rear seat made the Liftback more versatile for quotidian chores or the sort of "active lifestyle" pastimes that so fascinate advertising copywriters. Later, Toyota needed to distinguish between two 5-door versions of the Toyota Corolla , one of which was a conventional 5-door hatchback with a nearly vertical rear hatch while the other one was
13108-520: Was the last car designed under the British Motor Corporation (BMC) before it was incorporated into the new British Leyland group, and the last production car designed by famed designer Alec Issigonis . It was the first car to be launched by British Leyland. Originally, under BMC's plan for its new model range, which it had been developing since 1965, the Maxi was to have been called the "Austin 1500" on its spring 1969 launch, and
13224-487: Was the rear-wheel drive IZh 2125 Kombi , which entered production in 1973. This was followed only in the 1980s by the front-wheel drive Lada Samara in 1984, the Moskvitch 2141/Aleko in 1986, and ZAZ Tavria in 1987. In 2014, four of the top five selling models in Brazil were hatchbacks. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, hatchbacks were less popular than sedans, leading manufacturers to develop compact sedan models for
13340-536: Was too small for them to drive all the way to Scotland, so they stayed overnight at his relatives' home in Liverpool. From there, he rang Apple Records and arranged for a driver to bring the "staff" car; a recently acquired Snowberry White Austin Maxi registered RLA 888G. It featured a full-length white webasto roof and also had a silver apple mounted on the radio speaker top of the front fascia. The following morning, Ono and Lennon transferred all of their luggage over to
13456-482: Was very basic: it did not have a sun visor for the front passenger, and the heater blower had just a single speed. In October 1972, the Avenger GT was replaced by the Avenger GLS, which came with a vinyl roof and Rostyle sports wheels. In March 1972, the five-door estate versions were introduced, in DL and Super forms (both available with either 1250 or 1500 cc engines) and basically the same specifications as
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