'90 Maui in England?

[NCReatta]

American Cars for Sale. American Car For Hire. Buick Reatta 1990. Spurr Classic Cars.

Just found this.. thought it was interesting.

[Booreatta]

Kinda weard amber lights on the side and rear of the car. What are they for? anybody know UK law?

[Guest Greg Ross]

Bad taste in customzing maybe, the clearance lights on the front fenders don't look too bad but........

If he gets anywhere near the 6600 Pounds maybe we need to consider exporting cars "for sale" 6,600.00 GBP = 10,686.03 USD

But then again only 14000 miles.

[NCReatta]

Kinda weard amber lights on the side and rear of the car. What are they for? anybody know UK law?

The red light is the "rear fog light" (See: "Front End Done" thread. Particularly post #10 by wws944)

I'm guessing the others are something to do with turn signals as they are amber.

In my opinion, it seems a bit rough for a 14k mile car. I would expect it to be pristine. but it obviously hasn't been garaged all it's life. It does seem to have the original tires though..

I also found it interesting that they listed the total MILES it has on it. I would've thought, since in England, they would've said how many kilometers it has on it. :confused:

Edited November 8, 2010 by NCReatta (see edit history)

[juddev]

I would like to tour Europe in this one, it reminds me of one of my favorite driving cars of my youth. The Citation X-11, it out handled the Z-28. I still own 3 82's.

[Guest Greg Ross]

Primary units of measure in the UK is miles and speeds are posted in MPH. Canada is far more "metric" a country then England is.

[Guest Greg Ross]

Juddev,

The X-11 was FWD right? Engine options?

[Ronnie]

With the extra lights rigged up on the back and the condition of the car makes me think it might have been towed around behind a motor home.

[Booreatta]

That makes sense, that would account for the rear amber lights and low mileage, and rather rough condition

[juddev]

Juddev,

The X-11 was FWD right? Engine options?

Yes it was FWD

2.8 HO was the only engine offered.

A guy down in Atlanta put both a cad 4.9 and a supercharged 3.8 in his.

The 4.9 would get 30+ mpg highway and over 20 city. Cheap engine that weighs less than the 2.8 it replaces. Someday I will do the swap......... well maybe....

Edited November 8, 2010 by juddev
Forgot to answer the original question duh (see edit history)

[wws944]

The amber lights in front of each door are European turn signals. The red light under the rear bumper on the right side is the rear fog light. (In countries where people drive on the 'right' side of the road, the rear fog light is on the left side.) Not sure about the two lights that are on the rear bumper itself.

Bet it has RHD versions of E-code headlights too.

[wws944]

... Not sure about the two lights that are on the rear bumper itself...

Actually I do know. European lighting requires *amber* rear turn signals, not red. Another example of where the US lighting regs trailed the Europeans by several decades.

[NCReatta]

Primary units of measure in the UK is miles and speeds are posted in MPH. Canada is far more "metric" a country then England is.

Hmm, interesting. I wouldn't have guessed. As I've never been to europe (or even Canada for that matter), I would have guessed it was all strictly metric

With the extra lights rigged up on the back and the condition of the car makes me think it might have been towed around behind a motor home.

That does make sense. I didn't see any evidence of how it was towed though. No tow bar or anything. Must've been a dolly.

Bet it has RHD versions of E-code headlights too.

What do you mean by that?

So, do we think it was towed behind an RV, which accounts for the low milage, rough condition, and strange lights?

Or do we think, since the UK requires amber lights, that these were just added when it was imported, and the car was never babied? but only driven to work and around town, and stored outside?

While the RV idea is very plausible, I think the latter fits better.

Just my 2 cents.

[KDirk]

Most of Europe requires amber colored rear turn signals, as well as amber side markers, both of which were installed (somewhat slapped-on style) on the car in question. Many US cars that had all red lamps in the rear had alternate lenses made with amber sections for the turn signals. Obviously, the Reatta didn't have this "Euro-spec" part made as it would've required a seriously modified tail lamp assembly, and was never intended for export to Europe so GM clearly didn't consider it necessary to make such a tail lamp lens.

Many 90's Cadillacs (like my own Deville) had available Euro lenses that could be fitted with both Red and Amber sections, instead of all red, to comply with European auto lighting requirements. The Cadillac forum I used to hang out in had guys posting about jumping through hoops with US dealers to find the part number for the Euro-spec lenses and ordering them to put on their cars for use here in the US. Mostly D-Body (Fleetwood Brougham) guys were doing this, just for something that looked different.

So I'd say it has less (if anything) to do with tow-behind than it does with complying with the requirements the European countries impose for vehicle lighting standards.

KDirk

[wws944]

Using amber for the rear turn signals allows for red to be used for two functions (tail light and stop light), instead of three (tail, stop, turn). Less ambiguity means better safety - especially when things like burned out bulb filaments are taken into account. Not sure when amber rear turn signals finally became legal in the US, but it was probably somewhere in the 1990s. Lots of cars and trucks have them now.

Marck: E-code headlights have an upward tilt on one side for illuminating roadside signs. So while most are for LHD countries w/road signs on the right, some are for RHD countries - such as the UK and Japan w/road signs on the left.