Cars We Remember/Collector Car Corner; A special ‘mystery car,’ 1948 Chevy goes to Sweden and more Saab lovers

The mailbox is overflowing again. Here we go.

Mystery car bewilders our author

Q: Hello Greg, and by now you should have received pictures of a “mystery car” I’m trying to identify. These are two views of the car taken by my daughter and it has been around for several years in this superb condition. 

When I looked closely, I compared it with the TV series Columbo car that was a 1959 Peugeot 903 convertible. I know they are different, but close, so I wondered what it could be. 

I live north of you in Ontario (Canada) and discovered your contact information from the article you wrote about two years ago about the famous cars in a TV series. This intrigued me and I appreciate your interest and reply.   

It wasn’t until my daughter sent me a photo of the front end of the mystery car and I saw the name on the hood symbol when I increased the size. I have never heard or seen a car like this and I doubt it is driven much with the steering on the “wrong” side, but it does stand out. As for identifying the car, I’ll leave that up to you to print. Kenneth O., Ontario, Canada. 

A: Kenneth, in my 50-plus years of writing car columns and features, no one ever completely stumped me on identifying a car. Well, you are now the first person who has.

Thanks to the link you provided me, I’ll print the Wikipedia information as to the manufacturer of this car, and I’m shocked it was a 1991 model. Trust me, I searched everything I could from Peugeot and then also Renault, but my searches were on the models from 1950 to 1980 decades. I even checked Volvo, Nash, Kaiser and so on with no luck. So, not to keep the readers waiting any longer, here is the info on the mystery car.  

The car pictured is a 1991 Nissan Figaro, a front-engine, front drive, and two-door fixed profile convertible manufactured by Nissan for model year 1991. It was marketed in Japan at Nissan Cherry Stores.

A total of 20,073 Figaros were produced that single year of production, all with right hand drive. There are a few examples of left hand drive conversions for those countries that have right hand traffic. 

As a fixed-profile convertible, the upper side elements of the Figaro’s bodywork remain fixed, while its fabric soft top retracts in conjunction with a solid panel with a defroster-equipped glass rear window as seen in other fixed-profile convertibles like the 1957 Fiat 500 and the Citroen 2CV.

With its design variously attributed to Naoki Sakai and/or Shoji Takahashi, the design recalls that of the Gutbrod Superior, a German fixed-profile convertible marketed from 1950-1954. 

Because of its origins at Pike Factory, Nissan’s special project group, the Figaro, along with the Nissan Pao, Be-1 and S-Cargo are known as Nissan’s “Pike cars,” and represented a design strategy that adapted “design and marketing strategies from other industries like personal electronics. 

Thanks for your mystery car question Ken. 

Saab with a Ford V-4 engine 

Q: Greg I enjoy your articles in the Press Enterprise (Bloomsburg, Pa.). I’d like to add an important fact to your Saab article you recently wrote. Your Saab article didn’t mention an interesting Saab configuration, as my soon to be wife and I bought a 1967 Saab from Knuckle Motors, Dallas, Pa. in 1967. 

I don’t remember the model, but I remember it cost $2,395 and it was ridiculed because the Volkswagen Beetles were much cheaper. The interesting fact is that our Saab was equipped with a Ford V-4 engine and we had it repainted once and owned it for 13 years. Thanks, Don Pissott, Hunlock Creek, Pa., and I’m looking forward to your future articles.
A: Don thanks for the information on that Ford engine and the Saab photos you shared with my readers. The V-4 engine was initially tested in the Saab model 96, and in cooperation with Ford. Pleased with the outcome, Saab the purchased Ford V-4 engines in 1966 for use in its 1967 models 95, 96 and 97 (Sonett) 1967 production models. 

Most important is that these ’67 Saabs eliminated the need to mix oil with fuel for the engine it replaced, namely the 2-cycle Saab “Shrike” engine. Further, Saab dealers also offered a lifetime engine warranty to original owners of the V-4 Saabs for just $50 more. Thanks again for your question and kind words. 

1948 Chevy now in Sweden and more Saabs 

Q: Greg, I have wanted to email you for a long time. I look forward to reading your column each Sunday as I have my coffee and breakfast right along side the Lancaster (Pa.) newspaper. This morning’s column struck a chord! Several years ago my Father asked me to help him sell his beloved ’48 Chevrolet. I did and the end result is the car is now in Sweden and we made a new car friend! 

This experience is one of the most enjoyable benefits of the old car hobby! Further, the new owner of my Father’s car is the owner of two Saabs that your article featured this morning! He owns a ’59 Saab that he describes as raucous and also has a ’64 Saab Monte Carlo edition. Thank you for your interesting articles, I have most of them in a notebook that I am keeping!  

My friend in Sweden told me after we met that ‘old car people’ are kindred spirits no matter where they are from. I feel that same connection with you when I read your columns. My Swedish friend, Wictor, came back to Pennsylvania in 2019 to attend the fall meet in Hershey, and it was so much fun experiencing something I have done very often through his eyes as he was enjoying it for the first time! Thank you again and keep those columns coming! Robert Sands, Lancaster, Pa.

A: Robert, I’m receiving more mail now than in the past, and for that I am grateful. Letters like yours keep me going, and the photos you’ve attached are great. The fact that your dad’s beloved 1948 Chevy is now being well cared for in Sweden is quite the story. It also solidifies that the collector car hobby is proof of the kindred spirits you mention. Glad you enjoy my work and thanks so much for your kind words.

 (Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input on collector cars, auto nostalgia and motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com)