Well, it's not a Blacktron Cadillac (I wonder who will get the reference)

@TheOtherMike said:
"This is something I'd love to see them update. It may not have appealed to kids in the '70s, but I think it could have a decent shot as a modern 18+ product. and just imagine what it could look like with today's parts palette!"

I cannot agree more. Such lovely models these were, as were the subject matter. I love old cars and I'm certainly not alone. Indeed, we've seen quite a few vintage vehicles successfully presented as Ideas sets (including both a vintage fire engine and vintage roadster as Bricklink Fan-Made sets). Unfortunately Lego continues to ignore the market of people interested in old cars and cars generally. We did have the VW Beetle, Morris Minor and Fiat 500, but it would be nice to get some older cars as well, such as the very famous 1906 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost or 1928 Bentley 6 1/2 litre (which interestingly was James Bond's car in the original books, so could be branded 007 if so desired by Lego).

@MCLegoboy said:
"Huwbot, it's too beautiful looking, how am I supposed to make fun of it?!"

I wasn't gonna make fun but I thought I was alone when I find this set beautiful.

@MCLegoboy:
Oh my gosh, the front windshield looks like it has bars in it, like a jail cell. What is this, a Chima set?

Oh, what a beautiful Speed Champions flashback.

Yummy wheels

@Brickchap said:
"We did have the VW Beetle, Morris Minor and Fiat 500"
I can't recall there ever being a Morris Minor, but that I would certainly love to see!

Finally, a vintage set that I actually have some experience with! I got one off a flea market back in 2016, complete including instructions. I owned it for a bit but after the nice basic-yet-advanced-for-the-time build it was. Ehm. Boring. Turns out I'm not a car guy or a display guy. And this thing can't be used for much else than display. And as display sets go it's very basic, only working from mid-distance. So I sold it to someone who hopefully has a better time with it.

If you're curious, the most interesting things to the build are using plates to approximate curved shapes and inserting a brick that holds the rear wheel in an alcove at the back so it lies at an angle. I believe it might have been secured a bit by putting something on top.

@GBP_Chris said:
"Golly gee mister those headlight bricks are too specialized a piece. I bet you they will never use that mold ever again, absolutely nothing you could ever do with a brick like that. They should have just stuck with regular 1x1 bricks. Embarrassing! "

Well, technically they _were_ too specialized! This kind of 1x1 window brick saw two or three versions through the years depending on whether they had glass and/or an extended bottom lip. So the design had to be reitterated already. And even so they barely lasted past the start of the minifigure era.
Why? Well, they were just windows with no other functionality. They look like headlight bricks, but aren't. I recall mine not holding bricks to the side despite the square shape on them. Nowadays we would use headlight bricks for them with a tile or something. So as soon as the headlight brick actually appeared these were too obsolete and too specialized.

I set aside and ordered parts, but I never got around recreating the red LEGOLAND train that was released as an inside tour exclusive from 2014 (4000014), but I surely was going to replace the headlights with vintage yellow ones as I so vividly remember from my Billund visit in the early Eighties!

I have this as my dad had it when he was a kid

I had this one as a kid. The way they've done the spare wheel is very clever, way ahead of its time.
Just compare this to 196 Antique Car from the year before to see what a jump they made in 1975.

Such a great set! And not even the best of the line, as that title easily goes to the Renault.

Dare I say these Hobby sets are among the best Lego has ever made? There's just a charm to making things like these from mostly just very basic pieces.

When comparing these with nowadays Creator Expert/Icons sets it's obvious what evolution Lego has undergone in almost half a century. With so many new pieces that make more accurate models possible. But here's the thing: the more accurate it all gets, the more the inevitable flaws start to bother me. I don't mind if a Lego set looks like, well, it's made from Lego. That's not to say it's all bad nowadays, there are some amazing sets out there. But some also crossed the line into the uncanny valley between a Lego build and a model car. I'd say the worst offender is the 10279 VW T2, which to me just hardly looks like Lego anymore, but rather looks like a poor model car. In theory it should be so much better than its predecessor, but it just doesn't do it for me.

I fully understand the old times will never come back, but I wouldn't mind if Lego would again do some sets like these. Maybe even just a (appropriately named...) Classic set with such wheels and otherwise mostly generic bricks and plates to make a couple of cars like these? I'd buy that....

I like how they set it on (the very edge of!) a rock with a real watercourse background. Or maybe it's a concrete rail.

Love it, have rebuilt it and now has pride of place in my collection

@Norikins said:
"Well, it's not a Blacktron Cadillac (I wonder who will get the reference)"

I don't get it, but I'm curious what do you mean.

@VintageDude said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @Brickchap said:
"We did have the VW Beetle, Morris Minor and Fiat 500"
I can't recall there ever being a Morris Minor, but that I would certainly love to see!"

Maybe not a Morris Minor,
but a Morris 1100
and Mini Cooper"
Yes, it was the Mini that drew me back to Lego.
Maybe an Issigonis sub-theme is needed!

@WizardOfOss:
https://brickset.com/article/58636/%5Bapril-fool-s%5D-introducing-18-duplo-design

There you go. Enjoy!

@MusiMus said:
" @Norikins said:
"Well, it's not a Blacktron Cadillac (I wonder who will get the reference)"

I don't get it, but I'm curious what do you mean."

https://youtu.be/aBW9JqHpNNU?t=4

@PurpleDave said:
" @WizardOfOss:
https://brickset.com/article/58636/%5Bapril-fool-s%5D-introducing-18-duplo-design

There you go. Enjoy!"

Lol, hadn't seen that before, brilliant!

Yes I meant Mini Cooper, not Morris Minor. Morris Minor would be cool though. Large scale Citroen Traction Avant, an early Renault (with the iconic rounded 'nose'), FJ Holden (Aussie Aussie Aussie), 1960s checker cab, the list goes on of iconic vintage or classic cars Lego could do!

@Brickchap said:
"Yes I meant Mini Cooper, not Morris Minor. Morris Minor would be cool though. Large scale Citroen Traction Avant, an early Renault (with the iconic rounded 'nose'), FJ Holden (Aussie Aussie Aussie), 1960s checker cab, the list goes on of iconic vintage or classic cars Lego could do!"
If you don't mind other brands, Cobi has an excellent Citroën TA, while BlueBrixx has a Checker cab.

A colleague gave me old bricks last years, and this set was inside, complete, and in nice condition. I'm so happy to have such a nice model. Very basic, but very accurate at the same time. I have it on display since I rebuilt it.

And I'm a huge fan of these wheels, I might have 20 of them. Very useful to create updated Fabuland cars. I made this one for example https://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=4224528