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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
My passion is also my business, as I am with the Toronto based Hav-A-Kar Auto Group. I sell or lease any make of car, van or truck available in Canada. My interest in all things "car" has helped me with my many clients in Ontario over the past 25+ years. Please give me the opportunity to assist you.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Aug 27: A question of taste

No question that this 1930's Mercedes-Benz SSK is one of the most beautiful designs of that or any other era. The flowing fenders, the slanting windscreen, the look of sheer power combined with extreme elegance. A highly desirable automobile and one that has generated collector interest, that has driven the current prices over $1m. And justifiably so.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so back in the 1970's some enterprising individuals decided that what the world needed most was not "love, sweet love", but a copy of this classic car. There were others, but the one I'm focusing on today is in my mind, the most over the top and tasteless copy, the Zimmer Golden Spirit. Behold this modern day classic(?)........


Not quite the smooth beauty of the original, Zimmer ticked off all of the cliche buttons with their version. These days, the two door is based on a Mustang chassis and body (oh, that poor car!).


Started in 1978, the Zimmer Motor Car Company has produced this model off and on since then. Probably if the Florida crowd didn't buy them, there wouldn't be any sold. Cheap? Not a chance, but not quite Rolls pricing with the two door going for $110,000k and a small variety of others topping out at about $180,000.

Love the neo-classic look, but need the convenience of a larger sedan, then look no further than this Lincoln Continental based model........


Can't quite picture this as an airport limo? Yeah, you're probably right, as it would be a bugger trying to lift those heavy bags over the spare tire. But hey, how about that nifty luggage rack, that surely has to account for something. For those a little more discerning, there is also a four door convertible version of this car.

Zimmer Golden Spirit. It takes all kinds to make a world and to support a business. If we all thought the same way, we'd all be driving Corvettes and wondering how we'd get the family in them.


But please don't ever say that this car is anywhere near as beautiful as the SSK from which it drew its inspiration.

Until next time........




1 comment:

  1. The back end of the first Zimmer car honestly was a little too boxy and jarring with the nice flow of the rest of the vehicle...had they fixed that problem, then it would have been a very nice looking vehicle in its own right. If I could ever get a hold of a decent custom vehicle manufacturer, and one of these Zimmer vehicles, then I could give the vehicle what it truly needs, which is a nice sloping away of its rear section, and the back half of the roof of the car. Now as for the custom Zimmer Lincoln Town Car, well, what I said should not have been done for the Zimmer Ford Mustang SHOULD have been done for the Zimmer Lincoln Town Car, as four door cars of that time frame tended to have a more boxy look in the 1920s and for the majority of the 1930s, and it was not until World War II happened that the teardrop two and four door vehicles would begin to emerge, which, in all honesty, were rather simplistic and spartan in design in comparison to the vehicles of the 1920 and the majority of the 1930s, though one manufacturer in the UK in Morgan still makes vehicles generally in the 1920s to 1930s designs. I would simply redo the entirety of the Lincoln, give it a more boxy appearance in the back, keep the front fender flares, as well as spare tires on the sides, and possibly reworked the headlight, grille, and signal lights a bit better on the vehicle.

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