Thomas Motors Car Designs

[Lothoren]

Just take my money now

[accent]

This is a story of TM's first car, the Family Friend, and later cars sharing the name.

The Family Friend was introduced during the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. It was a midpriced large family car. Styling was influenced by the British Mark III Humber Hawk. The car was relatively successful in Northern Europe, particularly in its home country, Finland. Minor facelifts kept the model going through the 1950's, but by 1960 it was deemed well behind times both stylingwise and technologically. Production ended that year.

1952_TM_FamilyFriend.jpg (190.31 KiB) Viewed 2455 times

In 1974 TM Introduced a new version of the Family Friend. Several car magazines dubbed it the ugliest car of the year 1974. To offset this, the car was fairly comfortable, safe and reliable. It was favored by caravaners, as the engine had lots of torque and the ride comfort was perfect for long roadtrips.

1974_TM_FamilyFriend.jpg (229.35 KiB) Viewed 2455 times

Following General Motors' acquisition of TM in the early 1990's, yet another whole new Family Friend was developed. This time the car was based on the Opel Omega and featured similar styling and same two liter engine.

1995_TM_FamilyFriend.jpg (210.31 KiB) Viewed 2455 times

[accent]

The Opel Omega -based Family Friend continues to be a successful car to this day. At a bit higher price range than previous models, the newest model is considered by some to be an entry level luxury car. This has been problematic to TM as it's stepping on the toes of TM's other luxury model, the Feels, which has lost some of its sales to the cheaper Family Friend, even though the Family Friend's target audience remains upper class families rather than people looking specifically for a luxury car.

2014_TM_FamilyFriend.jpg (232.81 KiB) Viewed 2455 times

[accent]

The Mk II TM Slider (see a few posts up) became quite popular in tuner circles. All kinds of aftermarket parts are available. Popular modifications include wider wheel arches, clear light fixtures and removing badges. Here is one example where the engine has been tuned to produce 185 horsepower and many parts of the body have been changed.

TM Slider tuning.jpg (270.75 KiB) Viewed 2425 times

[SuperSportNick]

I love the Potatismos RC the concept is like an old school Cosworth Escort. Heh, love it! Some great ideas here

[Microwave]

Love the wheel photoshop!

[accent]

1986 KM Vatanen Turbo, the road version of Kaveri Motorsports' Group B rally car. Named after rally driver Ari Vatanen.

1986 KM Vatanen Turbo.jpg (208.9 KiB) Viewed 2163 times