AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!
Puzzles, Games and Name That Car => Solved AutoPuzzles => 2011 => Topic started by: Joćo on April 03, 2011, 02:19:41 PM
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For one point, please identify the car!
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Experts!
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Aero Willys Bermuda?
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Not a Bermuda...but it's an Aero Willys,the American one.
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OK, it's the Aero Willys Sun Valley and whilst it looks just like a convertible Bermuda it was in fact converted from a '53 model in 1955 by Derham Body Works for Willys as a prototype for possible production.
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Spot on ;)
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Interesting. So was this a "Sun Valley" in the 1950's Ford/Mercury manner, with a plexiglass panel in the roof, or just another name for a regular convertible? Either way it's a neat piece of work - I always thought the Willys Aero was a tidy design, a convertble would have been a nice addition to the line. Unfortunately, the car's price was always against it and a convertible would have been even more so. Too bad.
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I assumed it was just coincidence that Mercury chose the same name. They were at liberty to do that since the Willys never made production and was no more anyway.
I agree it would have made a nice car; it was a neat tidy design and not too unwieldy as so many American cars were becoming at that time. But I think that's what went against it: bigger and better was what the American public seemed to want and this was just too small to impress the neighbours. Plus Willys didn't have a V8, only straight-6's, and V8s were becoming absolutely de rigeur.
It was perhaps the right car at the wrong time.