A 1972 Buick, 1971 Opel, 1969 Tatra, and 1977 Chevy Corvette, captured in one picture. An eclectic mix of vehicles is guaranteed when visiting an Autotron classic car event in the Netherlands. As always, the real party took place in the main building’s backyard, where visitors with a classic car, van, or pickup were allowed to park. Pictures say more than words, so enjoy the first round around the field.
1972 BMW 1802.
1972 Buick Sport Wagon.
1989 Toyota (HiLux) SR5 V6 4WD.
1955 Packard Patrician.
1960 Borgward Isabella Coupé.
1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupe.
1967 Lancia Flavia Coupé 1800 Iniezione (injection). The star of the show. The star of any show.
1970 Citroën Ami 6 Break Service Tôlée (windowless van). Beautiful, thanks to its ugliness.
1986 Citroën CX 22 TRS. Beautiful, thanks to its beautifulness.
1967 Mercedes-Benz 230.
1974 BMW 2002 Automatic.
1972 Audi 100 GL Automatic.
1959 Edsel Ranger.
Chevrolet C20 Silverado Crew Cab. First registration in February 1976, according to our official website, yet the grille says MY 1974.
Do not give the keys of this 1983 Audi (Ur)quattro to Jim Klein. He’ll rip that whole lawn apart.
1977 Peugeot 104 GL with a twist.
Another 1977 Peugeot, a 304 GL with all the front lighting you can possibly need.
1969 Chrysler 300 two-door hardtop. Who knows what lies in the trunk.
1979 BMW 323i (E21).
1966 Toyota Corona 1500.
1973 Renault 17 TS.
1966 Volkswagen 1600 Variant (VW type 3). Well, that’s it for today folks! Oh, wait….
…I almost forgot to include the Tatra T 2-603, 1969 model.
To be continued.
I like Tatra’s, The Lane Museum in Nashville has huge collection of Tatra’s/
Is the 3.0 gasoline (petrol) V6 Hilux a European market vehicle or a US import? I just assumed these were diesel pretty much everywhere except North America and maybe parts of the Middle East. Some nice cars here; in no particular order I like the Lancia, the Quattro, and even the Ami 6 van … the wagon roofline redeems these cars for me.
It was imported alright, in March 2024, more precisely. Unknown from which country though (as in not publicized).
I love this show; it’s just so different from American car shows. Amazing cross section of cars and trucks. I quite forgot that BMW made an 1802.
I need to come over and see this for myself one of these years.
An 89 Toyota pickup at a car show, seems wrong to me or maybe im just that old now
I saw a handful of this gen pickup on my 45 minute dog walk today. On the other hand there are usually also a handful of these on CL or FB Marketplace for 1.5 to 2x what they cost new, and usually beat to crap, so seeing a clean one like this in Europe is probably show-worthy. But yes, we’re getting old).
Outstanding photography, subjects, and comments, Johannes. Thank you! Great variety, and design themes. And the fallen leaves provide a nice contrasting texture to some pics.
Thanks! Yes, the fallen leaves are a nice touch. Especially the Audi 100 seems to float on them.
Are owners’ required to bring their own drip pans? What a great idea!!
The Autotron organization took care of that, specifically in the unpaved part of the yard. You can see their van (loaded with those drip pans) in the background of the second picture with the silver Bimmer.
The Tatra looks like a larger Saab 96.
Love that Tatra. Holland has such an amazing variety of cars. I’m looking forward to our annual trade show in Amsterdam this May. Despite its size, Amsterdam seems to have less variety of cars than surrounding towns. Even so, it offers a chance to see cars I’d never see over here.
Canta LX, a strong contender in the max. 45 km/h segment!
The Buick and Opel (which we didn’t get a closer look at) could’ve shared a showroom as Opel was sold by Buick dealers in the US from 1958-75.
I think the Chevy pickup is a ’76 – the clear/white turn signals (which are easy to swap but tough) and the side emblems (which are NOT easy to swap) are the later style. The grilles are not tough, at least not after 50 years of plastic outgassing and impact potential, so it’s likely the original was broken and replaced with an earlier type because that’s what the junkyard had…
What a great assortment of vehicles! And if you don’t want to give the Quattro’s keys to Jim, I’ll take them and be nice to the lawn too.
I agree that the Lancia is the star of the show – I’d love to see one up close. And to round out my Top 3, I’ll pick the Audi 100. It’s doubtful that I’ll ever run across one in that kind of condition (or any condition, for that matter) again.
As much as I loved looking at the featured cars, I also like the quartet photo-bombing the background of the lead photo, with their curved European rear ends: Beetle, 2CV, Dyane and 544.
You picked my pick for me alright, I’ll exit stage left with it through the gap in the fence, sideways of course, the grass will grow back. The Sable Brown looks great on it as well. The values of these things are starting to get astounding as well as eye-watering, this one looks impeccable.
And my Dad would have been all over the 100GL back in the day, we had at least four and perhaps five of them split between sides of the pond, although I think most of ours were LS versions, usually with automatic for my mom.
The Toyota pickup looks very American-market, straight out of a SoCal showroom, and in a very desirable configuration. A few more years and the happy owner may well be able to send it back over here and regain all of his investment and then some.
Somehow I’m also attracted to the Chrysler 300, it needs a little mud splattered on its fenders and it would give my Cadillac-Man find a run for its money. Perhaps that color speaks to me?
A wonderful mix of vehicles. I also agree that the Lancia is outstanding. I don’t remember ever seeing one in the metal, but there are others that bring back memories. In high school my best friend’s father bought a Toyota Corona. It was the first Toyota I remember and then in a few years they were everywhere.
A friend of my father’s had a Borgward Isabella. He lived in the Toronto area, so they were not common even then. My dad, who was an automotive engineer, was very impressed with Borgward. His friend drove it over 100,000 miles without any major repairs.
The Citroen Ami is currently for sale on the Canadian website Citroenvie. It looks to be in good shape and the asking price is 15,000 Euros.
Great selection – and photos. Amazing to see a showroom-perfect Packard Patrician.
Just curious Johannes, how easy or hard does the Dutch government make owning an older classic car?
That’s actually quite easy! When a car is older than 40 years it’s considered a classic car (or ‘oldtimer’ as we call them here) so you don’t pay any road tax. You also have special inurance rates for classic cars that are far lower than convetional insurance rates.
Thus, owning a classic car is actually rather cheap. The offset is of course possible expensive maintenance and in case of American landyachts, fuel prices (unless it runs on LPG/Autogas).
As edw8 says in the Netherlands it is easy and quite cheap to own a classic car.
If you are interested here is a bit more comprehensive break out of the costs.
There may be fixed costs for road tax, yearly inspections and insurance. There is an opt-out for all these costs as well.
1. Road tax. There are three levels based on the year of the car:
1a. Over 40 years old (floating limit). Road tax is free/gratis.
1b. Between 40 and 1988 (a fixed year). Road tax is around $130 per year if the car is used March – November. However if the car is used all year round you pay normal road tax which can vary – depending on the weight of the car (and the type of fuel) between $30 – $300 per month.
1c. Between 1988 and now. Normal road tax depending on weight, type of fuel and emissions. Diesel is 2x the price compared to petrol, LPG (not common anymore) is around 1.5 – 2 time the price of petrol. Full electric is free I believe (not sure about that, and it might be changed in the near future). Weight is the most important factor. A 1000 kilo petrol car cost $480 per year, a 2000 kilo petrol car cost $1540. According to current law, no exceptions (even in the future) will be made for (classic) cars made after 1987.
2. Yearly inspection
Classic cars over 50 years (floating limit) are exempt from inspections.
All other cars should be tested yearly at a garage which is allowed to do so (most car dealers, but also most independent garages). Cost is low at $40-$50, usually this is the prime reason to have a yearly service done for the car. The test is a basic inspection of the complete vehicle. Lights, brakes, suspension, wipers, advanced rust, tires, etc etc all is checked. Results should be above minimum requirements depending on the age of the car.
3. Insurance
For any car on the road, insurance is a must have. Most car insurance companies offer cheap basic insurance for any kind of car. This varies from about $40 onwards per month. For classic car owners, the insurance fee can be as low as $40 per YEAR with some limitations. Usually the insurance company asks that the classic car owner has a daily modern car as well (and insured with them). Mileage is limited. Most classic car owners will not have the basic insurance but something with more coverage (and maybe more mileage). What year a classic car is for the insurance company varies. Some offer classic car insurance for cars 10 years and older.
4. The opt-out
No insurance, road tax or yearly inspection is needed. There are no fixed costs but you cannot use the car on the road.
The easiest option is when the car is not registered to its owner. That may be the case when for example a classic car is imported and not yet registered.
The second, widely used option is when the car is registered to the owner but when it will not used on the road any time soon. Think of restoration projects or stored under cover for a longer period. Then a fixed yearly payment is required. The amount depends on the year of the car. There is a floating limit at 25 years. Older than 25 cost is about $30 per year, newer cars pay a quarter of the annual road tax for the car.
Thats a very tidy Hilux, some obviously dont get worked to death several times by multiple owners, Great array of cars, I do like those Tatras
The Europeans must be blown away when ever they see a fuselage Chrysler with a bigger is better attitude.
However, I have noticed a size creep last time I drove in England with a Peugeot 5008 with automatique. About the same size as a US minivan. Only concession was turbo diesel. The rest was better than what you could find back home.
Very nice collection of cars, the Lancia coupe is very beautiful, the refreshed Jaguar XJ6 in late 1970s. My favorite is Tatra 603, the most capitalistic looking one among them
Hard to choose .
I can’t imagine feeding that Chrysler 300 .
-Nate
The Borgward Isabella is a saloon/sedan/limousine (as the Germans call this body style).
The coupe was much lower slung and more rakish.