We bought a Nissan Figaro

[pulsating]

I don't have any pictures of it with the Smart yet - they are still coming. But here are two of the car in our driveway, with my wife looking supremely pleased... It's a little dirty - it spent two weeks on a train. But it is an amazing car, and a perfect companion to the Smart.

Here is more information on the car:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Figaro

[darren]

Beautiful little car. It must be odd driving a RHD car on Canadian roads!

[Awesys]

Cool! That must be very rare to have in Canada. That's a classic Volvo wagon in front of it too?

[pulsating]

I had never driven a RHD car before - it took me all of about one minute to get used to it. The hardest thing to remember is the turn signal stalk is on the right side of the steering wheel!It is quite rare - there were only 20,000 made in total, all in one year (1991) and only in Japan. I have no idea how many there are in Canada, but probably about 20 or so.It is actually just a rebodied Nissan Micra, so it is no powerhouse. But it should be ultra-reliable, and trust me, if you think the Smart gets stares, you should try driving down the freeway in this thing - traffic practically comes to a standstill!I'll take more pictures of it together with the Smart when the inspection is all finished and we have had a chance to clean it all up. Believe it or not, it is not much bigger than the Smart!Oh, and yes - that is my 1970 Volvo 145 parked in front of it - my winter restoration project!

[Duck]

It's beautiful! I was startled to find out it's such a new vehicle. It really looks like it's from the 60's!Can you take some photos of the interior?-Iain

[pulsating]

The interior has to be seen to be believed. It is a real work of art... I don't have any pictures of it, but there should be some on the wikipedia page, or on some of the links therein.Our interior is still a little dirty. White leather is a bitch to keep clean, especially when it is 16 years old.Iain - you would love this car! It would go very well with the new apartment...

[MikeT]

Very nice! I've seen about three or four on Vancouver Island, which is just crawling with 15 year old Japanese cars now.You might want to pick up some spare parts for the body and a windshield too. I was reading about a guy in Victoria who has one, and he bought spare panels for the very reason that if he bends it, it can be fixed. With only 20,000 made, in 10-15 more years, the unique parts will be unobtainable, and no-one will be remanufacturing them either. I write from experience; my 404 C was in a poroduction run of 17,000 and it took me 10+ years to get all the OEM panels I wanted to have as spares. That assumes you're planning to keep it for the long term.

[mixed]

Wow that is a really nice lookin car....and I am suprised its not older too.......

[Francesco]

NIIIICE!!!There's a grey one for sale in the GTA, my sister called me about it... They want $15K. Yowza!

[Duck]

I love the wheels/hubcaps!!I searched for interior pictures, but can't find anything decent. If you could take some that would be great!-Iain

[MDFortwoguy]

Duck:

Take a look at this link

There are a couple of interior pics in there. Suprisingly elegant.

That's a nice little car.

Pulsating - have any pics of the Volvo? It looks clean from the back as well.

[pulsating]

Yep - that's the interior. They are all the same. The car is really thoughtful, actually. It only came in 4 colours - one for each season. There was a lottery held just to get a chance to buy it. And it was for sale for only one year - 1991. I just love how the Japanese carmakers think: so different from everyone else.The Volvo is in really good shape, for a 37-year-old car. It was my daily driver for three years before too many little things started to need fixing. That's when we bought the Smart. This summer we built a garage, so the Volvo is going in for a refresher - and in the spring it will be all good to go. There is some rust, but really not a lot, and with a little TLC and some strategically-spent funds, it will be a perfect car for runs through the mountains or on gravel roads where the Smart is not so comfortable.

[lebikerboy]

There's a few Figaros running around the Vancouver area and have seen one the same colour as yours quite often in North Van...

[mkt]

I'm not often jealous of another person.I am now.Wow... that is truly impressive.

[Kofångar-Lasse]

Absolute adorable, You lucky man ! - And as it comes to that vehicle,

the only thing that forgive its existence is common to the VOLVO ( wich is manufactured

some stonethrowings from where I live ), is REAL COWCATCHERS

The Unhumble, CcL

[SCHMART]

that's a beautiful car...definately has some retro lines..here is an early ancestor...the winner of the 2007 national mirocar meet

[MikeT]

Yeah I was mentioning in another thread a little while back that the Figaro looked like a melted-in-the-sun Vespa 400!There was someone driving a Vespa 400 on the streets of Vancouver back in the early 1980s.....

[Evilution]

There is something a bit too "Columbo" about the Figaro."Just one more thing", i'm not a fan of old looking new things.

[deezle]

Excellent investment!!I love those little beasts. I think it will appreciate in value over time. Here are a few photos that I took of one in Victoria:

[MikeT]

I think that's the one whose owner bought all the spare body panels for. That too is a good investment.

[Duck]

What is with the roof?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?????????????? Does it slurp up into the trunk or something?!?! Video!!!!-Iain

[pulsating]

Yep - the little trunk opens up and swallows the roof. Cool, huh? The other, lower trunk is where the spare tire resides.

[ValgardForkbeard]

Yep - the little trunk opens up and swallows the roof. Cool, huh? The other, lower trunk is where the spare tire resides.

Yah, as Duck says - Video, or at least 3 or 4 pics of it in action.MG

[Steve C.]

so cool...the wheels just look awesome, totally sets the car off. congratz!!!!

[Duck]

Definately need a video of this. C'mon, someone you know must have a camera with movie mode!!-Iain