I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

kyfdx

fintail said:

I was born in the malaise disco era, and I got 37 out of 44, 84%. I am pleased. I am an obsessive I guess.

I guess? lol..

fintail

It's a gift

I could probably do a MB one and make reasonable guesses with steering wheels and radio head units. Obsessive.

kyfdx said:

I guess? lol..

uplanderguy

Just curious, did you get the Avanti?

roadburner

I did- got more makes correct than years overall.

fintail

I got the Avanti

ab348

Just down the street and around the corner from my place, a 1964 Corvair Monza 4-door sedan, kind of a handsome flattop in dark blue with bright frames around the side windows. Had a temporary tag so either just bought by the resident or the new owner was visiting to show off his acquisition. Hopefully not bought to use as a winter car, it looked too nice.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd do great on a photo quiz that showed the underside of old cars

stickguy

out driving around on the road today, a Plymouth Prowler.

stickguy

I got 43%. better than I expected.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Here's a good quiz on old-car instrument panels (all domestics):

http://www.americantorque.com/game/dash-id-54-64/

I got 41 out of 44. I thought I'd do better....LOL--when I was a kid I wasn't into sports at all but just absorbed cars and brochure info! I did poorly at early-mid '50's--sometimes I'd know it was a Mopar but I'd miss which division--same with '50's Buick and Oldsmobile.

My score as well! 41 of 44. The Mopars gave me my errors - I would either get the year or the make right, but the errors were not getting them both right.

berri

Coincidence, I got the same score and I'm much older than you Fin. I love dashboards and wish magazines would show more of them. Over time you start forgetting the specifics, maybe because you haven't seen it for many years. On this quiz I found it fairly easy to guess the year (or era) probably due to the answer spreads, but not as easy to always pinpoint the vehicle.

berri

Say bhill, I believe you are a Rambler fan. Caught up on some reading today and the December Collectible Automobile magazine has a good article on the 58-62's. Growing up in the Chicago area (not far from Kenosha, WI), while we never owned one, I did see a fair number of these vehicles since they were pretty popular there back then.

Now settle down Uplander, I know deep down you are going to run out and get this issue

bhill2

berri said:

Say bhill, I believe you are a Rambler fan. Caught up on some reading today and the December Collectible Automobile magazine has a good article on the 58-62's. Growing up in the Chicago area (not far from Kenosha, WI), while we never owned one, I did see a fair number of these vehicles since they were pretty popular there back then.

Now settle down Uplander, I know deep down you are going to run out and get this issue

Thanks, Berri. Probably not surprisingly I subscribe to that magazine. The feature was pretty sweet, although I would have enjoyed having the Ambassadors included (the article was about the six cylinder ones only).

uplanderguy

Now settle down Uplander, I know deep down you are going to run out and get this issue

Ah, that's OK; as I've said, I knew two people who had two different series of 1964 Rambler and they both said they were really good cars.

When I was in college, a guy I knew had a '62 Rambler Classic 4-door. He called it the 'Whipporwill' for the sound it made when running/driving...he never did figure out what made that noise. Of course, it was a good 15 years old by that time. He traded for a '74 Matador coupe, six with 3-speed, bathroom green, while we were still in college. I always liked those Matador coupes (you heard it here!).

uplanderguy

I took that instrument panel quiz again and got the same score...can't teach an old dog...etc.

Buick versus Oldsmobile, mid-fifties, tripped me up. I'd see a shield on the steering wheel hub that reminded me of what I'd see on some '80's Oldsmobiles, but the car would end up a Buick.

tjc78

I got 45%.  Better than I expected.  It was pretty easy to pick out the GMs, from the Ford and Chryslers

fintail

I'll admit looking for nameplates and symbols helped me, windshield shapes too. And having multiple choice helped a lot.

berri said:

Coincidence, I got the same score and I'm much older than you Fin. I love dashboards and wish magazines would show more of them. Over time you start forgetting the specifics, maybe because you haven't seen it for many years. On this quiz I found it fairly easy to guess the year (or era) probably due to the answer spreads, but not as easy to always pinpoint the vehicle.

imidazol97

I thought my many misspent years of visiting car shows and cruise ins
would help me on the instrument panel quiz. Only got about 2/3 of the points.
Variations between years offered are deceiving.

berri

My big hits were the earlier 50's, particularly Buick v Cadillac of those early years. But also Desoto v Dodge.

imidazol97

Thanks to whoever posted the two quiz links. They have been fun to do.

For something little easier than the dashboards, here's another from their site
just naming the cars or determining the years.

http://www.americantorque.com/game2/14/13/#cntnt

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

Thanks to whoever posted the two quiz links. They have been fun to do.

For something little easier than the dashboards, here's another from their site
just naming the cars or determining the years.

http://www.americantorque.com/game2/14/13/#cntnt

73% on that one... wow, were there some ugly cars from '58-'61

stickguy

71% new record for me.

imidazol97

kyfdx said:

http://www.americantorque.com/game2/14/13/#cntnt

73% on that one... wow, were there some ugly cars from '58-'61

Gotta consider the glitz and the exuberance in styling in terms of the times,
but, yeah, some of them were/are ugly! LOL

bhill2

kyfdx said:

imidazol97 said:

Thanks to whoever posted the two quiz links. They have been fun to do.

For something little easier than the dashboards, here's another from their site
just naming the cars or determining the years.

http://www.americantorque.com/game2/14/13/#cntnt

73% on that one... wow, were there some ugly cars from '58-'61

Yeah, the ultra-fin era started in '57 with the "Forward Look" Chrysler Corporation cars. GM joined in '59. Ford never did the fins much, but some of the designs were a little funky. The '61 Plymouth set a record for fugly that I think still stands today (although the Aztek is a worthy successor).

ab348

imidazol97 said:

Thanks to whoever posted the two quiz links. They have been fun to do.

For something little easier than the dashboards, here's another from their site
just naming the cars or determining the years.

http://www.americantorque.com/game2/14/13/#cntnt

100% here!

berri

Aced it - Thanks IMA for the quiz that let us old guys redeem ourselves

wow, were there some ugly cars from '58-'61

Hey, it was Sputnik and the space age baby

Those were the days when each new model year was a huge deal. There weren't a lot of spy pics available back then and dealers hid the new inventory until reveal day. In a way, some of those unique styles, like them or not, got a lot of youngsters interested in cars and car design. The second half of the fifties and the first part of the 60's were an awful interesting and exciting time to be growing up! America worked and we had a big, successful middle class back then. People were more polite and respectful to each other as well.

ab348

berri said:

Those were the days when each new model year was a huge deal. There weren't a lot of spy pics available back then and dealers hid the new inventory until reveal day. In a way, some of those unique styles, like them or not, got a lot of youngsters interested in cars and car design. The second half of the fifties and the first part of the 60's were an awful interesting and exciting time to be growing up! America worked and we had a big, successful middle class back then. People were more polite and respectful to each other as well.

Yep. I was born in '56 and my first interest in cars was around the mid-60s. I remember the days when the newspaper would be full of full-page or multi-page ads from all the manufacturers announcing the new models and inviting you down to the dealers one night for the great unveiling. It was quite the event. I think the first car I remember some dealer excitement over was the Mustang, and after that I started to become interested in the new model intros. I would bug my parents to go, and they usually went along with me. I remember the '67 Camaro introduction, the '68 through '70 Ford intros (probably because the dealer here made a big event of it), the '71 Dodge intros, and because they were the closest dealerships to my house and I could visit them on the way home from school, most of the Plymouth and Mercury intros from '67 on. I have to give those two dealers a lot of credit for putting up with a kid too young to have a driver's license coming in, sitting in their showroom vehicles, and taking a stack of brochures.

andre1969

I think the rear end of the '60 Plymouth is actually kinda cool. A bit Cadillac-ish, IMO. The problem, is that they picked 1960 to go with the most heroic fins of all, and by that time they were falling from favor. And, I just don't think it blends that well with the rest of the car.

My issue with the '60 is the front, where it looks like one car is trying to swallow another. I think that look has also been called the "Whale swallowing a car".

As for the quiz, I ended up with an 98%, or 55/56. Which is odd, because you'd think that if I mixed two cars up on a question, I'd get a 54/56. I might have accidentally clicked a wrong button, but not sure where I screwed up, because I went through it kind of fast.

I do remember the one question that had a '55 and '56 Ford in it, I took an educated guess, but got that one right.

fintail

96, I forget what I goofed but it was an easy one at the beginning. I remember guessing on the 55-56 Ford too.

berri

55/56 Ford is a tough one from the back. The 56 has a bit more ornate tail light assemblies. I can get mixed up particularly it seems on some 55/56 models like Mercury, Lincoln, Olds and Buick. The mid 50's Caddies throw me sometimes as well. Also 58/59 Ramblers and a lot of the Studebakers from the first half of the Fifties. Kaiser's are kind of look-a-like in the early 50's too for me at least. So don't go customizing a quiz to get me Ima

ab348

The '55 vs '56 Ford threw me at first, but the side trim gave away the '56.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

100% here!

Impressive.

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

As for the quiz, I ended up with an 98%, or 55/56. Which is odd, because you'd think that if I mixed two cars up on a question, I'd get a 54/56. I might have accidentally clicked a wrong button, but not sure where I screwed up, because I went through it kind of fast..

Was it the one where Packard was used twice and one of the 4 choices was not used? Most questions used all 4 choices so elimination helped on the ones where I was weak.

uplanderguy

I got 56/56 on that one, pretty easy I think for someone of my general age group.

jwilliams2

Aced it! Born in '44 so it was pretty easy. Now, if this had been cars of the 80's or 90's, I would be totally lost.

berri

That's a great point! I think I paid much more attention to automotive stuff when I was younger.

explorerx4

Today Green MGB convertible, Orange Pinto wagon, Silver TR-8, robin egg blue VW Super Beetle.

andre1969

I took that test again, and this time managed 100%, or 56/56. I didn't notice a question that had Packard used twice, though. Weird.

fintail

Today I saw a weathered looking mid 70s Civic sharing a driveway with the decrepit remains of a Model T touring car.

imidazol97

andre1969 said:

I took that test again, and this time managed 100%, or 56/56. I didn't notice a question that had Packard used twice, though. Weird.

You are right. I clicked the Packard and DeSoto backwards on #6 frame and then misunderstood the
corrections. I knew the difference in the cars. Now I feel dumb that I mixed up the corrections. LOL

texases

Chrome bumper red MGB on a great fall day, 75F and sunny.

stickguy

On jersey turnpike, a tri5 Chevy bopping along. Mild hot rod looking from the mag wheels. Really stuck out!

fintail

Today saw an immaculate Fiat 124/2000 Spider, silvery blue with a beige top, it seriously looked new. Also a highline Saab 9000 on 3 spoke wheels, and a white on white 70s Monte Carlo.

tjc78

Early 80s VW pickup, lowered with a cap. 88-90 Crown Vic (looked new in wrapper)

andre1969

I didn't really care for those last few years of the "flying brick" Crown Vic and Grand Marquis when they were new, but now I kinda like them. Every once in awhile I'll see a nice one for sale at one of the Carlisle PA swap meets. For some reason, they're always gray or silver.

uplanderguy

I ALWAYS seem to see them in a light, non-metallic gray.

stickguy

I would figure they were two-tone black and white, or yellow!

andre1969

I think by this point, most of the black-and-whites got auctioned off, turned into yellows, and subsequently run into the ground. So all that's left are the occasional Ben Matlock specials that pop up from estate sales and such.

stickguy

i never understood personal sales on these, but TETO

ab348

stickguy said:

i never understood personal sales on these, but TETO

My 83 year old neighbor has had one for a number of years. Complete with Florida faux-convertible top. White over white. Must be seen to be believed.