Man, what did you say to that Indian-built Standard Gazel up there? You must have said something because it looks absolutely pissed. Not only does it look pissed, at you, I think, but it seems to have actual pupils, in the headlights. This may be one of the most blatantly and aggressively anthropomorphic cars I’ve ever seen!
Standard of India was based in Madras and active from 1951 to 1988; the cars were based on British Standard-Triumph cars, but over the years became a bit more distinct. The Gazel there came out in 1972 and was an updated version of the Standard Herald, itself based on the Triumph Herald. The Gazel had a 948cc engine and was said to be the first car to be remodeled/engineered in India.
But those pupils! I thought maybe this was some strange affectation of the brochure here, until I saw these pictures:
The hell is going on here? What are they? Are they to block the filament of the headlight, for some reason? Why won’t any of the few sites to talk about these cars address just what the hell the black circles in the center of the lights are?
Other Standards have similarly strange headlight shenanigans. Check out the Standard Herald Mark III, which seems to have eyelids:
These give the car a sort of angry demeanor as well, and these do appear in multiple images:
What are they for? Is this some anti-glare solution? I don’t think they’re like modern Jeep angry eyes, as those are a distinctively and embarrassingly American phenomenon.
The headlight arrangement is the result of using the hood of the Triumph Vitesse, but only keeping the inboard headlamps and replacing the outers with the sidelight/turn indicators.
I need to do some more research here, especially on those pupil’d headlamps, because I think I’m going to want them on all my cars.
The brows and the pupils are the result of an archaic MOT India code The intent was to reduce glare from the headlights to oncoming traffic. They may have cut down the glare, but the car looks like it’s glaring anyway.
Fun fact: auto parts companies used to give these pupils for free, branded. I’ve had Exide and Lucas branded pupils on my Ambassador.
It’s called the Gaze-l for a reason!
“Here’s Johnny!”
Oh – That’s just Acala “The Immoveable”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acala
I like to think it’s conflicted and angry after reading a little Frantz Fanon and pondering its own relationship with and place between the colonizer and the colonized.
Well, it was the ’70s. I guess if it had been here in the US it would have thrown its own keys in a bowl at a party.
Are you sure they used a Vitesse hood? The Herald 13/60 had the same slanted hood line but the headlights are outboard. The “pupils” are probably metal caps over the bulbs to control glare. I have seen these on some old halogen headlights and fog lights.
Gazel’s slogan should be: “You know what you did!”