and used the Herald 13/60 engine and gearbox. Autocars assembled several car models of other manufactures, using complete kits received from them. For example: Triumph 1300 / Triumph 1500 - British Triumph cars from kits in the late 1960s. The Triumph lineup included the Triumph 1300, although originally only with a 1500 engine as the 1300 was considered too close to the 1.3 litre Hino Contessa. Hino Contesa 900 / Hino Contesa 1300 - Assembled from original kits received from Hino Japan. The franchise, to assemble the Contessa, moved in 1969 from Eilin to Autocars, after the Israeli government forced the merger of the two companies. The contract was discontinued when Toyota had taken over Hino. Autocars went bankruptcy in 1970. Its assembly lines were bought by Rom Carmel Industries. Rom Carmel continued to manufacture the Sussita 13/60, till 1975. Rom Carmel manufactured their own models: Rom Carmel 1300, and Rom Carmel 1301, till 1980. Sabra The name "Sabra" was chosen because it means both "born in Israel" and a cactus (its fruit, prickly pear), which was used as its logo. In 1960, Yitzhak Shubinsky launched an Israeli-made car at the autoshow in New York City. It was a very small, underpowered pick-up truck. At the show Shubinsky realized that it was a futile attempt, and set forth on a new project. He bought the rights to use an Ashley body on a Leslie Ballamy chassis. He reached an agreement with Reliant (who had helped producing the "Carmel" and the "Sussita") to combine engine, body and chassis into a convertible sports-car. The engine was a Ford 1703 cc. Reliant was authorized to deliver the first 100 cars to the United States market. In 1961, at the New York Autoshow, the first Sabras were introduced. Reliant produced the first 100 cars. Their VIN-plates read "AUTOCARS COMPANY LIMITED HAIFA ISRAEL", though they were actually made in the United Kingdom. The rest of the cars were produced in Israel, but only 41 of those were exported to the USA. One of these was entered into the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1963 but did not finish due to a drive shaft failure. Between 1964–68, some 81 cars – a quarter of the Israeli production – were exported to Belgium. Production stopped with the Six-Day War. Orders already placed were honoured, but delivery was delayed until 1968–69. Worldwide, over 100 Sabra cars are still