Q#14 - Solved Automeccanica Daihatsu Zebra

[Quiller]

What's the make and model of this car?

[Quiller]

Do the experts know?

[grobmotorix]

The basis is obvious, but this strange Renault Rodeo look makes me feel this may be a european conversion?

[Quiller]

Hmmm, I wouldn't have said the basis was that obvious - it's actually quite obscure, but maybe you know something...

[@re]

You know - I thought "that front end is very reminiscent of a Daihatsu Charade" but really didn't expect that hunch to get anywhere. But what got me there eventually was the little detail in the grille which you have now removed, but which was visible when you first posted the puzzle - it said "zebra". This appears to be a Daihatsu Zebra, probably based on the second-generation Charade that was built from 1983 to 1987.

[Quiller]

Excellent sleuth work. It is indeed a Zebra, built by Automeccanica in Greece, the company that assembled the Daihatsu Charade - the car which form the basis of the Zebra. Well done!

[Djetset]

Make, model name and country of manufacture to gain a point please.

[Allemano]

hmmm.... wasn't it one of Mr. Quiller's puzzles?

[Allemano]

http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=4005.0

[Djetset]

Ah, ok thanks.  No show on a Search, but perhaps this one can be merged.  Here is another photo to add to the folder.

[Allemano]

Merged.

[Rainer]

...This appears to be a Daihatsu Zebra, probably based on the second-generation Charade that was built from 1983 to 1987.

NO! I am sorry. I am the administrator of the "Daihatsu Charade G10 owners club" (www.charade-g10.net). The Charade G10 was build from 1977 till 1983. From the 1981 modell on Daihatsu changed a few things like squarde headlights a cleaner hood, different dashboard and some other small changes. For more details look here http://www.charade-g10.net/diffs_de.htm we (the club) named the two different versions MK-1 and MK-2.

So the Zebra is based on the MK-2 Charade G10 (1981-1983) from 1983 to 1987 the Modell was known as Charade G11.

The Zebra was not build by Daihatsu, it was made by Automeccanica.

Automeccanica was a Greek automobile producing company. Founded in 1981, it was one of the companies that produced the "passenger-uitlity" type of vehicle popular in Greece at the time for tax categorization reasons. Its creators were former executives of Autokinitobiomihania Ellados (meaning 'Greek Car Industry') a company founded in 1975 to also produce vehicles of this type â€" it assembled Italian Fissore models based on Fiat products, as well as other Fiat models and variants. Automeccanica followed a different path, building (not just assembling) the Zebra model, a passenger-utility car based on the Daihatsu Charade, as well as assembling the Charade itself. In 1985, when the law favoring the Zebra-type vehicles changed, Automeccanica started licence production of the Soviet Lada Niva model, while it developed its own cabrio-version of the car. In 1988 it acquired its former "father" company, Autokinitobiomihania Ellados and the latter's factory in Thiva. Automeccanica went out of the car-construction business in 1995.