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Mystery car pix

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Comments

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    That Imperial is gorgeous. I'd take it
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I'd LOVE something like that! IIRC the '56 Imperial was on a 3" longer wheelbase than the '55. Something like 133", versus 130"? That's one reason why there's such a big gap between the rear of the door and the wheel cutout.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    Look at those tailights!

    image">

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I wonder how many of those are left in such a condition. I only see the normal sedans.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    how something that's literally just tacked on, such as those taillights are, can still come off as so graceful. I never really noticed how the backup lights are on the '56 Imperial. That's neat how they integrate them into the chrome strip that wraps around the back of the fin, just above the bumper.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Nice car, pre-monster fins.

    Asking price is way out of line, though, about double market value. A "classic" case here of true rarity not equaling value. The limo would be worth quite a bit more than the 8P sedan. Possibly a Pebble Beach quality limo could approach 20K but it would be a tough sell. Oddly enough, the limo is not as rare as the sedan but is worth more, probably because of style and functional use as a "classic for hire".
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    image

    I can't say I know much about it. :confuse: ">

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    ugly little mutt...well, BIG mutt...let's see....it looks British....MGA wheels? Cut down Jaguar body? Fiberglass?

    hell I dunno....
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Looks like Jonathan Steed and Mrs. Peel should be geting out of it!
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    the name Cunningham is popping into my mind. Y'know, if they widened and lowered the grille a bit and moved the headlights out a bit, it wouldn't be a bad looking car.
  • danf1danf1 Member Posts: 897
    Looks like an Aston Martin grill.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    The window line reminds me of a German car called the Goliath.

    Dunno about those plates...Sweden I think, if it matters
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    The license plates are indeed Swedish but the car is a Brit as so many have guessed. It's a 1954 Jensen Interceptor built on an Austin A70 chassis and powered by a 4.0 liter Austin 6 in both coupe and cabrio forms w aluminum bodywork.

    The Interceptor name is best known from the Mopar powered cars of the 60s and Jensen was the builder for the bodies of the Austin-Healey 100/3000, Sunbeam Tiger and Volvo P1800/1800ES.

    The pictured car is yours for only $35,000.

    http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/popups.carphoto/id/2189234

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You'd have to be certifiably crazy to pay that for it. It can't get out of it's own way, it's ugly and nobody knows or cares what it is. Other than that...hey, a "classic".

    Real value? Maybe $18,000 if it's really tip top.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    back in the old days when they used to offer both an 8-passenger sedan and a limo? I'm thinking mainly like 1954 and earlier Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler. IIRC they were on the same wheelbase and looked the same from the outside. Did the limo have a partition between the front and the back?

    Oh, here's a pic of a '56 Imperial limo. If you all thought the regular 4-door sedan was long, check this mastodon out!

    http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1956/Limo/1956CrownImperial.jpg

    Note the fins are a bit different here. That's because low-volume '56 Mopars, such as station wagons and the Imperial limo used some carryover 1955 stampings. Instead of making a whole new quarter panel for the limo and wagon with a fin incorporated into it, they just took the old '55 quarter panel and literally grafted a fin onto it. The seam was then hidden by a chrome strip.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    When I was in high school (early '60s) one of my buddies had a '54 Chrysler New Yorker limo. It used to be the family car, as he was from a large family, and his father was an MD, so they could afford it. Anyway, has the kids got older, the limo was eventually handed down from brother to brother. My buddy was the third brother in line to get it as a hand-me-down.

    We had a ball with that car. It was a hemi, and we would "triple-date" in it, as it had small fold-away jump seats in the back. It was painted "institutional green" (think old high school bathroom colors), and it was known all over town, as the hot ride—in more ways than one!

    Bob
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    If you look at that Imperial, you can see some of the Chrysler heritage that the new 300 exhibits.

    Bob
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    for such a big car it's rather handsome...not pretty, but handsome. Looks like a train.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    The Mopars of that era showed a strong Italian influence, especially Chryslers and Imperials with their beautifully proportioned grillework and flowing fenders. The funny thing is that the Italians and other Euros were copying American styling heavily but not always successfully

    image">

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • wale_bate1wale_bate1 Member Posts: 1,982
    that Italian influence might have come from those Exner Ghia showcars? On that note, is a Ford Mustang II Ghia or a Granada Ghia influenced by the Italians too? :P
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Italians don't ALWAYS get it right but they usually do. They been bangin' on metal for a long time, those people.

    You will see American influence on European design now and then, but it has rarely been successful for obvious reasons (see photo above). Nothing worse than fins on a SMALL car.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    I kinda like it. The front-end makes me think a bit of a '56 DeSoto or a '55-57 T-bird, or a combination of both. FWIW, I always thought the meshy grille of the '56 DeSoto made it look a bit T-birdish. The little fins on that sucker look kinda Ford-ish.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    The funky T-bird knock off is an Auto Union/ DKW 1000SP c.'59-'60. A roadster version was introduced in '62. Both coupe and Roadster were mechanically similar to the contemporary DKW sedan with two strokes/3 cyl. It was the last car to bear the illustrious Auto Union name and the next to last to be sold as a DKW. This was shortly after VW absorbed Auto Union and began using the Audi name as it's luxury brand.

    The four rings of Auto Union still seen on Audis stood for the component brands of the original Auto Union (a kind of German GM): Audi, Horch Wanderer and DKW.

    More on the 1000SP

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Citroen Dyane, the 2CV's ugly sister
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    Citroen Dyane, the 2CV's ugly sister

    You gotta go some to be the ugly one in that family. :D

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    The 2CV is tolerable in a bug like way, it's cheerful. The Dyane is just unhappy looking. I think happy and unhappy looks go a long way with ugly cars.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    C Pillar is a giveaway so I'll shut up for this one. Actually nicer looking than a Corvair because it's cleaner. don't like the hubcaps though.
  • fredmcmurrayfredmcmurray Member Posts: 215
    Front view of the same model?
    image
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Kinda cute...typical German "tommy the toaster" styling for the 1960s.

    Pretty rare car for the US. I don't think I've ever seen this model. I suppose most have rusted away by now.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    I wonder if they were sold here.

    Pretty though...a car being a hardtop gives it a head start on looking nice.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,655
    something about it makes me think of a combination of a '63 Dart hardtop and an Edsel! It might be nicer looking than a first-gen Corvair, but it ain't even close to the beauty of a '65-69! :P
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I like the Corvairs "grill-less" front end much better but not the slabs of stainless on the rear tail lights. An all-black Corvair is nice, very modern looking.
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    It's a BMW 3200CS from the early 60s. Stylistically this car married the strong front end of the BMW 503 with a Corvair inspired roof lines and rear.

    The 2000CS coupe that followed the 3200CS went all the way with a smooth pointy front end straight off the '65 'Vair, except for the BMW kidneys->

    image

    These were the first to use the famous Hofmeister kink on the C-pillar, perhaps to set them apart from Corvairs which they so closely resembled in profile.

    Eventually they " BMW-ized" the front end and came up with the beautiful 2800CS and 3.0CS/CSi/CSL coupes of the 1970s and set the tone for BMW styling until the Bangle era began.->

    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Triumph Mayflower

    Bob
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    image

    Bob
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Armstrong Siddeley something or other from the early postwar years (I like old Dinky toy cars, and I have one with that front end)
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Yep, Armstrong-Siddley.

    Bob
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    :P Here's another->

    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    vehicle is a Citroen Mehari, based on 2CV/Dyane underpinnings. I don't know if it had 4X4 or not but judging by the military markings on the nose, some did.

    Try this one but look carefully, it's not what it seems->

    image

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Canadian Ford Meteor, c.1950
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    Right, Fin. It's a 49, virtually identical to a '50 or '51. Since you fly the Maple Leaf perhaps you can clarify whether the Meteor was sold as a Ford or a Mercury in Canada.

    This ad says Mercury and this one says Ford :confuse:

    It looks like a US Ford Custom with a Mercury grille. :D

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Ford = Meteor

    Mercury = Monarch

    Also GM and Chrysler had their own Canada-specific models too.

    http://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/54pontiac/differences.html

    Bob
  • andys120andys120 Member Posts: 23,370
    Also GM and Chrysler had their own Canada-specific models too.

    Yep, quite a few of 'em and with some interesting twists. Canadian Pontiacs of the '60s were built in lighter Chevy frames and used Chevrolet drivetrains, thus you could have a 1964 Pontiac Parisienne 409. With the body and trim of a Bonneville but the wheelbase and motor of an Impala.

    Other model names used by Pontiac in Canada were Laurentian, Acadian and Beaumont.

    2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,097
    Yep, Ford Meteor, Mercury Monarch

    Does anyone know exactly why the big three did this stuff for Canada? I don't see the point.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,200
    I had a '67 2000CS... just about identical to your picture, other than color.. A neat car.. I owned it from '85 through 1990...

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  • oregonboyoregonboy Member Posts: 1,650
    It was 6-volt, wasn't it? I had a 1967 1600 and a '67 2000 4-door, both with 6-volt generators.
  • bumpybumpy Member Posts: 4,425
    Same reason we get stuff like the Pontiac Torrent and Buick Terraza: dealer networks. Lots of places would have either a Ford dealer or a Mercury dealer, or a Chevy dealer or a Pontiac dealer, but not both. Thus the rebadges which produced stuff like this:
    http://www.mercury-pickup.net/gallery/Mercurytrucks6768/1968_MercuryM100a?full=1
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