The Arrow Singers (1967-70)

The Gazelle, Hunter, Chamois.
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PaykanHunter
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:55 pm
First Name: Shahin
Location: Michigan
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The Arrow Singers (1967-70)

Post by PaykanHunter »

Hello!

How do you go from PAYKAN to SIGNER?... Well you certainly can't blame me for it, blame those bloody Rootes brothers!... :roll:

I never ever imagined owning a Singer, matter of fact I didn't know anything about the marque. I am just an Arrow enthusiast, not necessary because they were brilliant cars, but because the "Paykan" became part of our culture in Iran.

The production of Paykan (which means Arrow in Farsi) started in 1967, and for reasons mainly due to the 1979 revolution remained the sole passenger car transportation inside Iran for decades. The last Paykan (which only had one face-lift) rolled off the production line in 2005, after 38 years in production. The Pick-Up version is actually still is in production. The car did though kicked started mainly an assembly orientated industry in Iran, which has made Iran the largest producer of cars in the middle east at the moment.

The Arrow series was launched in 1966 and was in production in the UK till 1979. It is amongst the last Rootes designs, developed with no influence from future owner Chrysler (Chrysler took complete possession of Rootes in 1967). The range is sometimes referred to by the name of the most prolific model, the Hillman Hunter, but the story doesn't end here...

The Arrows were sold under 7 different marque, anywhere from Europe to New Zealand & Australia to South America, South Africa & Asia. There is probably close to 40 different models if you add them all up!...

1. Hillman (Minx, Hunter, ... )
2. Humber (Scepter MKIII)
3. Sunbeam (Vogue, Sceptre, Arrow, ... )
4. Chrysler Hunter (latest Hunters in the UK)
5. Dodge Husky (Pick up version in South Africa)
6. Paykan (Built in Iran)
&
7. Singer (Vogue, Gazelle)

The Singer Vogue and Singer Gazelle were positioned slightly upmarket of the Hillmans Hunter and Minx respectively. The Singers were short-lived models, retired early in 1970 along with the rest of the Singer range.

I know that for most of you here the Arrow Singers are not "true" Singers, and I could agree with you on that one. But Hey! How else you would have met an interesting Persian like me?!... :mrgreen:

For whole lot more on the Arrows, please visit my Blog which is devoted to them: http://www.PaykanHunter.com


Here are some sample Vogue & Gazelle models, starting with my 1968 Singer Gazelle, which I imported here from UK myself.

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1968 Singer Gazelle
www.PaykanHunter.com
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