This 1971 Toyota brochure from Finland provides a good illustration of how advertising norms have changed over the years, featuring a cover image of a driver with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth to mark the arrival of the 'radically different' new Crown saloon. #weirdcarbs
Fiat cars were first built in Poland in the 1930s, with the relationship rekindled in the post-war communist era. Fiat's 126 was one of the most successful Polish products, built there from 1972, and is shown as the Polski-Fiat 126P in this brochure. #weirdcarbs
Dating from a time when Japanese brands were starting to make serious inroads into many European markets, the fourth-generation Crown featured American-inspired styling and offered a lot of car for the money. Shown are the entry-level 2000 - with bench seats - and the range-topping 2600 BS.
The 126P became a national institution in Poland itself, and was also exported by FSM to other Eastern Bloc countries. This early '80s publication in German was probably produced for use at trade fairs. The company was also supplying Fiat-badged 126s to western markets.
Also shown was the technique for putting the Corsaspider's roof section in place, a job claimed to only take 20 seconds. The model arrived at a time of renewed interest in small convertibles across Europe, although reportedly only 98 examples were sold.
Rather than just make a simple chop-top conversion of the Opel Corsa A (Vauxhall Nova) hatchback, German coachbuilder Michalak came up with the sleek-looking two-seater Corsaspider, shown in this 1984 brochure. #weirdcarbs
Italian Fiat 126 production had ended in 1980, after which all markets got models built in Poland. They were little changed apart from a '126 made by FSM' badge on the (rear) engine lid. This 1982 UK brochure features three versions including an alluringly-named special, the Fiat 126 Brown.
A different and rather more conventional Corsa Spider was also developed Irmscher, a long-time German partner of Opel. This 1987 leaflet showed it was being offered alongside regular members of the Corsa range by GM's Swiss importer.
