# Daewoo's sad LeMans - Out of Box



## Faust

You know how, at this time of year, there’s a big push for “out with the old, in with the new”? Well, certainly you MUST have known that I would do just the opposite! 

Just in time for New Years, then, I thought I’d treat everybody to a great remind of just how far we’ve come from some of our darker days in motoring history. Nothing makes the past look better than distance, but it’s still going to take a few years to make anyone miss, pine for or maybe even forgive this horrible little toad of a car: The Daewoo Lemans! 

Remember when the great LeMans nameplate got stuck onto a horrible sputtering little Korean junkbox? If not, you will when you check out the out of box like below! Have a peek, and be glad that 
with each passing day, ever fewer of these things can be seen on the roads!

Happy New Year!

*https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/academy-124-daewoo-lemans-gse-oob/*


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## aussiemuscle308

can't wait to see you build it

i read your rant about the blue windows and lights with interest, because i came across the same conclusion when i build an academy Hyundai Excel with the same horror. I wanted the first gen Excel as i owned one and built it exactly as it was during our time together.


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## Faust

Oh man, that Excell kit is awesome!

I need to get me one of those! Nicely done, too! How did you get the side-swoosh decal?

Congrats an a miserable car very nicely resurrected!


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## f1steph

No way, a kit of that car!!!! I owned a 1988 Passeport Optima (that's how it was called in Canada). A 2 doors hatchback, 4 speeds and red..... paid 8000$ brand new, no right side mirror and no tachometer (both were an option). Drove it for 10 years, 160 000km. At the end, the bugger was burning oil...... sold it for 100$ to a scrap yard. It was a good first car for a student. 

Steph


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## Faust

I had forgotten about the "Passeport" cars. I'm in Canada too, but in Ontario, I don't remember seeing them, or at least not much. I do remember a frightening number of these on the roads, though!

It's cool to have a kit of a car you've owned. I really would love that to be the case for me. Alas, no G8 kits...

Say, do you have any pics of your Optima?


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## Zombie_61

Faust said:


> ...It's cool to have a kit of a car you've owned. I really would love that to be the case for me...


Same here. Until recently, the only model kit that matched any car I've owned was Tamiya's 1966 VW Beetle. Now, I could also use Revell's Starsky & Hutch Torino to replicate the '74 Gran Torino I had, but I didn't really have that car long enough to generate enough fond memories to do that. :lol:


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## f1steph

Faust said:


> I had forgotten about the "Passeport" cars. I'm in Canada too, but in Ontario, I don't remember seeing them, or at least not much. I do remember a frightening number of these on the roads, though!
> 
> It's cool to have a kit of a car you've owned. I really would love that to be the case for me. Alas, no G8 kits...
> 
> Say, do you have any pics of your Optima?


I've just remembered that a guy at my electronic school had a Pontiac LeMans so it was probably a 1987. Then for an unknowed reason, GM decided to create the Passeport division. They were selling the Optima's sedan and hatchback and also the Isuzu brand like the Impulse (handling by Lotus), the Trooper. 
I found only one picture of my car, taken when I had my only car accident in 1989 (yeah, only one year after I bought it brand new). I'll look further if I can find one in a better condition....

The Pontiac LeMans/Optima was in fact a sorta lower copy of the Opel Kadett found in Europe. They had the GSI and GTE that was a really nice and powerfull car and was in the class of the Golf GTI . To bad we didn't get that version instead.


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## slotcardan

..............


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## Faust

that is NOT a cool way to go! 

One mean Lanos, though.


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## aussiemuscle308

Faust said:


> I need to get me one of those! Nicely done, too! How did you get the side-swoosh decal?


i printed the side decal myself on clear decal paper. i just 'cut' the stripe from a photo of the car and pasted to a new photoshop image and printed that. When you take photos of your car, always get some square on (rather than 3/4 view like most photos) as they can be handy for just this occasion.

it still looks odd with the blue headlights and glass 
I also printed the correct number plates. :hat:


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## f1steph

Faust said:


> I had forgotten about the "Passeport" cars. I'm in Canada too, but in Ontario, I don't remember seeing them, or at least not much. I do remember a frightening number of these on the roads, though!
> 
> It's cool to have a kit of a car you've owned. I really would love that to be the case for me. Alas, no G8 kits...
> 
> Say, do you have any pics of your Optima?


Better late then never, I found only one picture. It was taken when I had my big accident with it..... 5000$ later, it was back on the road for almost 10 years....yellow Converse pants.... Yek....

https://goo.gl/photos/H1JvqLrKCN7gu2KG7

Steph


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## terryr

Faust said:


> Remember when the great LeMans nameplate got stuck onto a horrible sputtering little Korean junkbox? ...


Wow. That's even worse than the GTO from 2005-ish. at least it had a V8.


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## f1steph

Faust said:


> I had forgotten about the "Passeport" cars. I'm in Canada too, but in Ontario, I don't remember seeing them, or at least not much. I do remember a frightening number of these on the roads, though!
> 
> It's cool to have a kit of a car you've owned. I really would love that to be the case for me. Alas, no G8 kits...
> 
> Say, do you have any pics of your Optima?


Finally found the pictures I was looking for. There's one showing my Optima in mint condition and some pictures showing the mega damage to the passenger side. My friend at the time was sitting right there, he didn't get hurt at all during the impact, luck was on our side....

https://goo.gl/photos/eNrYF9VXJoGW76SY7

Steph


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## Faust

It almost doesn't look terrible in mint condition.

I'm amazed your friend wasn't hurt or worse in that side impact. that's a nasty hit. Sometimes, luck is all you can hope for!


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## aussiemuscle308

Faust said:


> How did you get the side-swoosh decal?


it actually came from the photo of the real car (above). printed it on decal paper.


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## Faust

Nice work!

That's a pretty good way to get the right proportions, at least!


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## Milton Fox Racing

Did you side swipe a squirrel? 


:jest:


(Glad your friend wasnt hurt. :Angel_anim: )


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## Faust

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Did you side swipe a squirrel?
> 
> 
> :jest:
> 
> 
> (Glad your friend wasnt hurt. :Angel_anim: )


Likely a bird strike. Hummingbird, that is. :laugh:


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## f1steph

I wish.... I wish.... but no, I passed over a red light...... It was my fault big time. I didn't see the red light (on my left) 'cause it wasn't directly on the corner of the street, and on my right, there was a bus that was hiding the other red light. It's still like that today. I still get flashbacks on this accident everytime I cross that street..... almost 30 years ago... and it was my only accident. 

When I bought that car, almost everything was an option. It was a 4 speed manual, the tach was an option (WTF !!!!), no passenger side rear view mirror.... , no air conditionning, no electric windows...... but the steering wheel wasn't an option... hehehehe..... I told the insurance that I had a passenger side rear view mirror.... so they installed one during the repair.....


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## f1steph

I found a couple more pictures of my car in almost mint condition (can you see my little Garfield on the driver side !!!), before the accident and more pictures of the damage.

https://goo.gl/photos/eNrYF9VXJoGW76SY7


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