Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Singer Vogue – Raised Eyebrows

posted at the Cohort by Chris Irber

When I encountered this face at the Cohort, I had a WTF moment. In the lower resolution image I first saw, it looked like this ridiculous face was sporting big fake eyebrows. And a big fat mustache. This is who came to mind:

He just needs quad eyeballs.

It came to me soon enough that this Singer Vogue’s hood wasn’t closed all the way, but now I keep seeing eyebrows. Even with that hood closed, this has to be one of the goofier faces on a car.

The Vogue was the top trim/rebadged version of the venerable Hillman Minx, in this case the Super Minx. Although the ’50s Audax Rootes cars looked like Studebakers because they were styled by Raymond Loewy Associates, this one looks a whole lot like a ’60-’61 Rambler from the rear.

The interior is typical high-trim British mass-market sedan: a bit ‘o wood veneer to give it the pretensions of being something a step or two higher on the social strata pecking order. Not exactly very convincing, but undoubtedly less drab than black vinyl. That tiny horizontal speedometer doesn’t do much to enhance the pretense.

That crook of a gear shift is a trip. The four speed box connected to the 1592 Rootes ohv four, making some 66 hp. The Vogue in this body style was made from 1961 to 1966, being replaced by the New Vogue for 1967, using the new boxy body of the Hillman Hunter.

Here we are again…

I’m not exactly seeing a lot of visual benefit for the extra money. I rather prefer the Super Minx, by a healthy margin. But then it’s not nearly as amusing.

 

Roger Carr’s Minx CC is here, which covers all the generations