Like many humans, I love beach sunsets, puppies, kittens, and of course, traveling. I enjoy it for many of the same reasons as my fellow earthlings (experiencing new cultures, food, architecture, etc.) but as an Autopian, car spotting is another juicy item on the menu of possibilities.
The global automotive marketplaces have become more homogeneous over the last few decades due to merging brands and the realities of economies of scale, and thanks to the Internet there are fewer surprises when it comes to late-model products. Nevertheless, each country still possesses its own unique automotive ecosystem and culture, past and present, and like an avid birder I relish documenting these specimens.
This report features the more interesting sightings from a recent trip to Thailand, the birthplace of my lovely wife and home to her family. Some of the photos were taken from a moving vehicle whilst squished by a few extended family members, hence the zoom grain and non-ideal crops – my apologies. Now on with the show!
Tuk-Tuks are popular in Thailand, as in many other Southeast Asian countries, and we’re all familiar with the traditional design which looks like the front of small motorcycle grafted onto a utility cart with canvas gazebo slapped on top. In more rural areas, I spotted larger, dare I say, more luxurious Tuk-Tuks that recall the Kei-sized Mazda K360 and second-gen Daihatsu Midget three-wheelers of the 60’s.
They flaunt more integrated streamlined bodies, which I’m assuming are made of fiberglass and cutting-edge design elements such as square headlights which give off Hypnotoad vibes. All glory to Hypnotoad! Fancy taillights and door handles cribbed from mass-production vehicles complete the ensemble. The cockpits are downright posh by Tuk-Tuk standards and feature roll-up glass windows, padded steering wheels, and luxuriously cushioned bench seats. Disappointingly, passenger accommodations are not much better than the OG Tuk-Tuks, which means basic padded benches and zero seat belts or cup holders.
The canopies are metal for added rollover protection. Like regular Tuk-Tuks, and somewhat surprising to me, they’re all powered by 4-stroke engines, with performance enhanced by bespoke, sonorous exhausts.
As you may have gathered by now, automotive passenger safety standards in Thailand differ a bit from the ones in the US, with private cabs focusing on practicality and low cost, while Kei vans and pickups are popular foundations for people movers. With 33% more wheels than three-wheelers, the Kei vans are more stable, sturdier, and more comfortable for chauffeurs and passengers alike. Based on mass-produced vehicles, they allow more opportunities for customizing with body kits and the integration of expressive light assemblies from larger vehicles. The nicer examples sport aftermarket wheels and roll-up vinyl windows for passengers riding in the bed. I even saw a few that enticed riders with the decadence of air conditioning.
Climb another step up the ladder you’ll find luxury VIP vans like the one we rented for a five-hour drive from Bangkok to a beach resort. They’re Japanese or Korean full-size passenger vans, in demure shades of silver, white or black, rolling on custom wheels and complemented by dark tinted windows and often, high roof caps for more headroom. The interiors tend to be a bit more, uh, expressive. Our lux bus featured plush custom leather captain’s chairs, blackout curtains, well-stocked built-in drink coolers, and an ornately sculpted, upholstered and mirrored ceiling that looked like it was ripped from an 80s Vegas casino. Not only did it integrate a smattering of map lights, speakers and directional AC vents, but quizzically, Transformers logos etched into custom-framed cocaine mirrors. Sadly, it did not transform at any point in the trip.
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Vehicle mods are common throughout the world, but in Thailand, even ambulances get faster and furioser! While walking through a Bangkok suburb, I stumbled upon an auto accessory shop that had just finished installing high-performance rubber, aftermarket alloys, and custom exhaust tips on two of Emergency Team Thailand’s slick rescue shuttles. The stylized emergency graphics were on point, and overall they were a much cooler way to get your mangled body to a human repair shop than a box welded to the back of a van or pickup cab.
But what if you spent all your money on go-fast bits and you want to let people know? Easy, just cut a Plexiglass window into your hood. This Isuzu D-Max also had a viewing window cut into its bed to show off the shiny rear axle bits, which obviously influenced the ’25 Mustang GTD’s suspension window.
A lowered and body-kitted Juke ‘Impul’ with a triple rear wing surprised me by actually looking kinda cool and slightly ridiculous, like a tough and funky Dakar Rally car in search of ground clearance. It stood out because it’s not a car I’ve ever seen modded, Nismo Juke R excepted.
Old cars don’t escape the tuning culture as this wide body Mk I Civic demonstrated. Coincidentally, before my trip I had customized a Hot Wheels‘ 73 Honda Civic Custom, repainting yellow with black wheels that looked remarkably like the one I captured. Maybe it came to me in a dream?
The highlight of my car spotting adventures was this early 70’s Peugeot 504 muscle car with its subtle “corps large” fenders and classic raked stance. I supposed the GT badges on its flanks indicated this belle bête was powered by the top-of-the-range 2.0-liter fuel-injected inline four churning out 103 angry chevaux, but then I noticed the massive intercooler and understood the need for the steamroller stretched tires on a +3 tire/wheel package. Its intent and capabilities were conveyed by the mismatched front and rear wheels, as found in modern endurance racers. I surmised this to be a rare example of Peugeot’s answer to the Dodge Hemi Coronet, featured in the French remake of the Road Warrior, the seminal “Le Guerrier de La Route,” filmed in black and white of course. I’m hoping to see Hot Wheels make this in 1:64 scale soon.
Some random sightings included an early 70’s 4-door Ford Maverick with racing stripes, and a super cool early ‘00s Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, which was powered by a 250hp 3.2-liter 24V version of the iconic Busso aluminum V6. I’m betting most would be surprised to know that Alfa produced 156s in Thailand from ’02 to ’04 for Asia-Pacific markets.
Last but not least on my automotive safari, I spotted various Nissan NV Wingroad Queen Cab pickups. These are based on the AD family of subcompact vans and wagons produced from 1994-2005, and are essentially N14 Pulsar El Caminos propelled by a 1.6-liter, 5-speed manual FWD drivetrain. Their softly rounded lines, compact size, and overall approachable design contrast starkly with the road-rage-inducing angry origami robots that are the current trend in SUVs and pickups in the US. Their outré pickup shape appeals to me, looking a bit like a smoothed-over Subaru Brat, but most I saw had color-matched model-specific bed caps, which I assume were offered from Nissan as they integrated seamlessly and made them look like little shooting brakes.
Some brilliant individual decided to give this particular Wingroad some wings by swapping the stock 1.6 power plant with a 2.0 DOHC 16V Turbo SR20DET from a WRC homologation special ‘90-’94 Pulsar GTI-R and throwing on its rally-ready front fascia and hood too. The 227 hp it made in OEM spec is a significant increase over the 1.6’s 110hp, and with only 2,600lb to haul around, it boasts a better power-to-weight ratio than a GMC Syclone, just saying. Sadly, it didn’t get the R’s AWD system, but still, it’s the brattiest of Brats. It can be had for the low-low price of £5,500, which is under $7k USD.
While on this exploration I also discovered a Lost World of peak Autopian-ness in a quirky car museum outside of Bangkok, but its density of funk requires its own article. Stay tuned!
Carlos Ferreira is Creative Director and Environmental Designer with a BFA from the College for Creative Studies. A professor of Spatial Experience Design at Art Center College, Carlos lives in Pasadena with his wife, six cars (four of them Italian, four of them running) and four cats (none Italian, all of them running).
All photos by the author unless noted
I Share A Small House With 7,042 Model-Cars. Here’s The Obsessive Way I Organize Them – The Autopian
These Amazing Concept Cars Were Sold By The Thousands, Just Not Full Sized – The Autopian