Techzle has been in existence for 30 years and that is why we look back every week on this week’s edition in 1990. Currently number 51/52 is in the shops, so now after a review of number 51 of 1990 it is time for number 52. The last time that we look back, unfortunately, because the anniversary year is almost over.
News
The last issue of 1990 was not a bright spot when it came to hard news, but one piece of news stood out on the news pages. The Daimler Limousine (also known as DS420) went out of production. After 24 years to be precise. The stately Daimler was already quite old in 1990, and it showed. Nevertheless, it must have been a disappointment for several royal houses, because the extremely luxurious British battleship was very popular among the regents of many countries. In 1990, however, the years began to count, not only because of its appearance, because the Daimler introduced in the late 1960s was still on the basis of the Jaguar Mk10, the predecessor of the Jaguar XJ. In the end, it was only in 1992 that the last of the band really ran. One of the last four went to Queen Elizabeth, another to her mother.
There was no really hard news, but at the last minute in 1990 we were presented with some interesting concept cars that would ‘take a look at the 21st century’. Including two concepts based on the Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar of the future drawn by Giugiaro. The latter in particular turned out to be an interesting prospect. You may need some imagination, but in general we already see some of the rounder shapes of the later XJ and X-type in the ‘Kensington’ baptized study model.
Tests
Also in terms of tests it was not really about the end of 1990. Halfway through issue 52 of that year there was still a two-page driving impression of the Rover 200 series. A car that is almost no longer spotted in 2020 and that no longer has a contemporary descendant. At most in the form of the Honda Civic, because with that the Rover (which by the way shared its basis with the Concerto) shared a lot of technology. The editor on duty was very pleased with the 200 series and in particular with the then newly introduced toppers: the 416 GSi and the 216 GTi. With their 112 and 122 hp 1.6, they were nice and fast for their time.
Reports
Last year it was very busy in the Amsterdam port area because of the arrival of a huge load of Tesla’s Model 3. In 1990, people were looking forward to completely different cars: the unsurpassed success numbers of Nissan. Techzle was there for a day to see how it worked and was allowed to drive a 300 ZX off the boat.
After a journey of 30 days, the Honmoku Maru arrived from Japan in the Netherlands with the enormous shipment of Nissans, 5,500 pieces to be precise. The Honmoku Maru not only went up and down to the Netherlands, but also brought cars to other ports in Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, it was one of Nissan’s eight ships that accomplished this task. Most of the cargo from 1990 is no longer with us, but the ship itself is still sailing! The only thing is that there is no Nissan anymore, since 1997 the ship has been owned by another company.
A tradition that we have been honoring since 1990 is to look back on the past year as editors. We will do that again this year, but you will see more of that later on this website! In 1990, the above list of cars was in any case the most impressive that the test editors could have tested that year. A striking number of Japanese cars, with some striking excesses in between. Of the entire list above you see the Suzuki Swift, Lexus LS and Renault Clio most often nowadays.
Advertisement
Nowadays you can knock at Subaru in the Netherlands for the XV, the Forester and the Outback. Three adventurous cars that follow roughly the same shape. In 1990, the range of the Japanese brand was even more diverse, as shown in this ad. Look at that Mini Jumbo!