Local Car Industry History WTK

[Syberfraggle]

Can anyone give a run down on the local car industry of years ago?...The cars that were locally assembled and wher the factories were located..All i know so far is that the Holden Kingswood/Belmont was assembled and sold here...also the Datsun 120Y ..and of Datsunville...

[Rory Phoulorie]

Nissan - Neal & Massy - Wallerfield factory
Toyota - Amar - Las Lomas
Mitsubishi - H.E. Robinson - Not sure of location of factory
Mazda - Southern Sales & Service Co. Ltd. - Not sure of location of factory

[ronsin1]

Nissan - Neal & Massy - Wallerfield factory
Toyota - Amar - Las Lomas
Mitsubishi - H.E. Robinson - Not sure of location of factory (trinity motors Santa rosa)
Mazda - Southern Sales & Service Co. Ltd. - Not sure of location of factory

[eliteauto]

^^Ford- McEnearney Motors-Amalgamated Industries Tumpuna Rd Arima

[megadoc1]

a lot of buried cars tooo

[TrinbagoMan]

The Syrians dominated the industry in the earlies with profits made from selling cloth.

[tr1ad]

The Syrians dominated the industry in the earlies with profits made from selling cloth.

what you don't know about that?

[eliteauto]

^^but N&M, SS, TTTL ( then Amar) are not Syrian Companies

[tr1ad]

in the beginning there were


(silent bizness runnings)

[teems1]

Datsunville is what Beetham, Cunupia and somewhere in south (not sure) was called in the early 1980's.

When Datsuns and their parts were shipped, it was in huge plywood boxes.

The poor people took these boxes and either lived in them or made houses with them. Many walls of the houses in these slums were made from these boxes.

[horsepwrjunki]

huge plywood boxes = Shippin crates???

[neoise]

CKD

[Syberfraggle]

What I'm intrested in also is the makes and models of the cars that were assembled here..Also the local car that was was designed and built by Amar I think it was?..anyone have a pic of that?

[Dave]

^^The BUV, Basil Utility Vehicle

[VexXx Dogg]

Locally assembled cars i can remember..

Toyota ke70 - Las lomas
Nissan Laurel - Arima?

[Greypatch]

this could turn out to be a very good thread

[Syberfraggle]

Quote from Wikipedia

Early Holdens were manufactured in New Zealand at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone until 1967, and Kingswoods were later assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits at the new car plant at Trentham Upper Hutt further up the Hutt Valley from Wellington. Other Holden models like Monaro were imported completely built up (CBU) from Australia. From the 1960s Australian-made models were exported to Southeast Asia, and also to the Caribbean—the Kingswood was assembled in Trinidad and Tobago.

Which company assembled the Kingswood here?

[K74T]

Bumping an old thread. All images courtesy The Amar Group.

Amar Toyota Factory


Amar Service Department




Amar Auto Supplies


The Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) built by Amar


Crown/Royal Saloon Limousine conversion done by Amar

[Dave]

Lovely. Had a friend used to be vehicle inspection. He said whenever a crown was in black it was for someone important.

[K74T]

Image courtesy the late historian Angelo Bissessarsingh.


Vauxhall Assembly Plant, Trinidad, 1965


Neal and Massy Motors began assembling Vauxhall cars locally in 1959. The plant switched to Datsuns in 1972 when Vauxhalls were no longer imported. The plant closed in 1993, along with the local Toyota plant. This photo shows a Vauxhall Victor FC both fully-erected and as a mass of components. The unskilled local labour meant that the cars assembled in this factory were poorly built, with no rustproofing. These Victors were exceedingly popular as midrange family runabouts in the pre-Japanese cars era.

[Rovin]

nice history here

cant recall when last i see 1 of dem BUV , still remember how it was not exactly a attractive looking ride ...

[pugboy]

Always wondered how come there were never any public pics of the local assembly lines.

Them plywood used to last real long.
I assume it’s Japanese made plywood.

[antlind]

Quote from Wikipedia

Early Holdens were manufactured in New Zealand at the General Motors New Zealand plant in Petone until 1967, and Kingswoods were later assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits at the new car plant at Trentham Upper Hutt further up the Hutt Valley from Wellington. Other Holden models like Monaro were imported completely built up (CBU) from Australia. From the 1960s Australian-made models were exported to Southeast Asia, and also to the Caribbean—the Kingswood was assembled in Trinidad and Tobago.

Which company assembled the Kingswood here?

I believe Southern Sales were the agents for Holden back in the day. Not 100% sure though.

[K74T]

Correct, Holdens were assembled and sold by Southern Sales.

[MaxPower]

Dem days didnt have RORO...

Was knock down.

[antlind]

Dem days didnt have RORO...

Was knock down.

Funny story. Back in 1977 my dad purchased a new Renault 12 from HE Robinson. He paid extra to get the car rust proofed by Zeibart. Back in those days they used to use a black tar like substance to coat the under body and the inside of the doors.
Some time later we realized that water was being trapped in the door. Apparently the black tar clogged the drain holes so the inside of the doors were filled with water.

[rspann]

Neal and Massy used to sell Chevrolet and then Holden . They also sold Bedfords . Southern Sales took over Holden afterwards .

I walked every square inch of the Toyota plant in Las Lomas , even the section they use to make big maxis on the Dyna front and chassis . Even the jigs they moved the cars on the assembly lines were locally made . The last thing they were installing was an electro-dip and a modern painting section and then they closed . The sold out the parts retail up until there was a fire that burned down the parts section. What the Maxi was called ? Lemme see if anybody know .

Anybody ever heard about J k BAyne ?

Charles Mc Enearney sold Austins and some other cars . That was long before they became a part of McAL .

[Dizzy28]

Image courtesy the late historian Angelo Bissessarsingh.


Vauxhall Assembly Plant, Trinidad, 1965


Neal and Massy Motors began assembling Vauxhall cars locally in 1959. The plant switched to Datsuns in 1972 when Vauxhalls were no longer imported. The plant closed in 1993, along with the local Toyota plant. This photo shows a Vauxhall Victor FC both fully-erected and as a mass of components. The unskilled local labour meant that the cars assembled in this factory were poorly built, with no rustproofing. These Victors were exceedingly popular as midrange family runabouts in the pre-Japanese cars era.

My father's first car he bought brand new was a Vauxhall Viva. It was written off when I was 2 or something so only ever saw black and white photos of it.

[MaxPower]

Dem days didnt have RORO...

Was knock down.

Funny story. Back in 1977 my dad purchased a new Renault 12 from HE Robinson. He paid extra to get the car rust proofed by Zeibart. Back in those days they used to use a black tar like substance to coat the under body and the inside of the doors.
Some time later we realized that water was being trapped in the door. Apparently the black tar clogged the drain holes so the inside of the doors were filled with water.

Yeh bro, even up to today you get those problems and more......Trinis dont really change much

[K74T]

Some advertisements that were carried in the newspapers. All images and information courtesy of the late Angelo Bissessarsingh.

Renault 12 Ad, Trinidad , 1972


The local Renault dealership soldiered from 1957-94 when the brand was lost to these shores. It returned from 1999-2007 , and while initially popular, has since been dropped because of poor sales. The 12 was a popular local alternative to the Ford Cortina or Datsun 1200, its main rivals.

Tata truck Ad, Trinidad, 1998


Tata trucks, pickups and SUVs were sold in Trinidad by the local Mitsubishi dealer from 1996-2001. The Indian-built workhorses were popular , but their low price and rugged build were overshadowed by a lack of spares and service. Tata was pulled from the market after a plummet in sales.

Mahindra Bolero Ad, Trinidad, 2001


This attempt to sell the Indian Mahindra pickup in Trinidad ended in failure after only 3 units were sold. Based on the Willys CJ3 , they were hopelessly crude and poorly built. Moreover, they cost as much as an entry-spec Nissan Frontier.

Lada Ad, Trinidad, 1995


From 1995 until 2001, there was a fairly successful attempt at marketing Lada Riva saloons, estates, Nivas and Samaras in Trinidad and Tobago. Using right hand drive kits from the defunct Lada UK , these were sold as budget transportation as at one time the Riva 1.5 SE saloon was the cheapest new car available. Trinidadian dealer , Petrogas Ltd. marketed the Riva as a family runabout and the Niva as a lifestyle 4x4. Both were reasonably well equipped and retailed for between US$8,000.00-$15,000.00. Rust , reliability issues and increasing competition from grey market Japanese imports soon forced Ladas off the market. The Samara was introduced in 2000 as a last-ditch attempt to salvage the brand. It failed and the last Samaras were sold as unfinished kits in 2003

Holden Ad, Trinidad, 1965


Holdens were assembled and sold locally by Southern Sales and Service Ltd. Their mighty 6 and V8 engines and ample size made them a popular choice for well-heeled buyers. They were sold locally from 1960-86, the last in the line being the Vauxhall Carlton-based Commodore . There are still several Kingswood sedans , wagons and pick-ups around.

Vauxhall Cresta PC Ad, Trinidad, 1967


Sold by Neal and Massy who held the local GM franchise. The Cresta was the ultimate statement that you had arrived. That sticker price could have bought a decent house in the '60's.

Ford Cortina Ad, Trinidad


The Cortina was the quintessential midrange Trini cruiser from the late '60's to the mid-80's. The Mk. III L model was exceedingly popular as it offered decent power and accommodation at a bargain basement price.