What domestic DIDN'T have awful handling in the late 50s? They were all pretty much land whales unless you did some aftermarket stuff to them. Spongy coils and leaf springs, massive overhang, bias ply tires, numb steering, and a good portion of unsprung weight. I guess Corvettes weren't too bad, but even those pogo-sticked on rough roads.
I had a friend who's family drove a 60 Mercury wagon. What I remember most about it was the incredibly narrow in depth dash. As for the 58 Mercury, like many makes that year, I think they cluttered up the 57 looks wise. The 57/58 Mercury wagon that looked kind of different was the 2dr HT version. I just didn't think those lines looked proportionate or something.
What domestic DIDN'T have awful handling in the late 50s? They were all pretty much land whales unless you did some aftermarket stuff to them. Spongy coils and leaf springs, massive overhang, bias ply tires, numb steering, and a good portion of unsprung weight. I guess Corvettes weren't too bad, but even those pogo-sticked on rough roads.
I'm sure you're right, the 1960 Chevy we had for Driver's Ed was just as vile as the Merc. The steering had no power assist but that was no blessing when practicing parallel parking and three-point turns.
The Fintail is a top of the line 220SE. In front of it is a Volvo Duett wagon. The shabby thing in front of that looks like an Opel, so does the blue car behind it.
Magnette can tell us from the plates whether this was taken in Norway, Sweden or Finland.
That shabby thing is an early Vauxhall Victor - and I think the blue car beyond it would be another Victor too. The green car in our foreground looks like an Opel Rekord, I think.
The plates appear to be Norwegian I believe. EDIT Actually although these look like Norwegian plates they are Swedish - I've found some codes in a book which indicate BD on the Benz was the code for Norrbotten in Sweden and the county town or whatever for that region is Lulea - as on the sign.
Later Sweden went over to a unified system where all plates are issued centrally but these are prior to that (the change was the 70's I think..
That VW beige coloured 4x4 is an Iltis and pretty much the opposite of the Wrangler jeep - rather than being made as cheap as possible this was a civilian version of a vehicle designed to meet a NATO military contract and they made them at a high price for the German / Austrian / Dutch and a few other armies at one stage. Made it a very expensive piece of kit but no doubt it was a good performer - I think they sold it to all sorts of non military users too like rescue services, police etc...
going back to that view from Haiti, the car on the left is an Austin Cambridge A55 I think rather than the Morris Oxford - the chrome trim is different.
The black car obscured by the DKW is possibly a Ford or Simca - I am thinking of the French Ford Versailles which later became a Simca Vedette or the Ariane.
They made the latter as a basic car for the French taxi market,
I like the Innocenti - never sold them here although a couple are about - I've seen pictures of one at a British car show, and they are no doubt supported by the Sprite / Midget fraternity.
That shabby thing is an early Vauxhall Victor - and I think the blue car beyond it would be another Victor too. The green car in our foreground looks like an Opel Rekord, I think.
The plates appear to be Norwegian I believe. EDIT Actually although these look like Norwegian plates they are Swedish - I've found some codes in a book which indicate BD on the Benz was the code for Norrbotten in Sweden and the county town or whatever for that region is Lulea - as on the sign.
Later Sweden went over to a unified system where all plates are issued centrally but these are prior to that (the change was the 70's I think..
That's all I saw until I clicked a link to find the "Baja Bronco" edition which I'd never heard of. Baja bookends – first and last model year Bill Stroppe Broncos head to auction By 1971, Ford Broncos built by long-time Ford racing partner Bill Stroppe’s shop had amassed victories in both the Baja 500 and its bigger, uglier brother, the Baja 1000. To commemorate this—and to drive Bronco sales—Ford debuted a limited-edition “Baja Bronco” on January 28, 1971, built to resemble the Broncos raced by the Stroppe team and available through most Ford dealerships. Ford records indicate that roughly 450 were built before production ended in 1975...
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
I don't see any imports. The '58 Chrysler might be the oldest car in the pic. Considering it's a tire store the cars are all bunched in that they're US made '58-'63. The '63 is the Pontiac four-door behind the utility pole. I think it's the newest.
I'm not sure of the AMC (Nash?) in front of the Poncho, I'd guess '58 or '59.
Edit-I spotted the foreigner, you can just make out the roof and rear window of a VW Bus under the word "THE"
There exists a photo of Leonard Nimoy, costumed as Spock, between shoots, standing next to his beloved 1964 Buick Riviera someone may want to find and see.
A Bill Thomas Cheetah and a Morris Minor panel wagon support car in the background..
Yup, the Cheetah was a lightweight fiberglass-bodied car with a tube frame chassis designed to use Chevy or Ford V8s. A well-driven one was competitive with Cobras and big-block Corvettes but Thomas never made enough of them to compete in popular production sports or endurance racing. The car shown is classed as C-Modified (CM) which IIRC was for small or medium displacement sports prototype racers.
Picture caption: 'In Indy car racing in 1961, this was a classy combo: a brand-new Pontiac wagon pulling a single-axle trailer with sponsorship from Bowes Seal Fast. Driven by AJ Foyt, the Trevis-Offy (Watson copy) on the trailer won that year’s Indy 500. That’s crew chief George Bignotti on the left posing proudly with the top-shelf rig.'
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
Comments
1958 Pontiac?
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Magnette can tell us from the plates whether this was taken in Norway, Sweden or Finland.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The plates appear to be Norwegian I believe. EDIT Actually although these look like Norwegian plates they are Swedish - I've found some codes in a book which indicate BD on the Benz was the code for Norrbotten in Sweden and the county town or whatever for that region is Lulea - as on the sign.
Later Sweden went over to a unified system where all plates are issued centrally but these are prior to that (the change was the 70's I think..
The black car obscured by the DKW is possibly a Ford or Simca - I am thinking of the French Ford Versailles which later became a Simca Vedette or the Ariane.
They made the latter as a basic car for the French taxi market,
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2017/03/The-Italian-Sprite---1966-Innocenti-Coupe/3750617.html
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Baja bookends – first and last model year Bill Stroppe Broncos head to auction
By 1971, Ford Broncos built by long-time Ford racing partner Bill Stroppe’s shop had amassed victories in both the Baja 500 and its bigger, uglier brother, the Baja 1000. To commemorate this—and to drive Bronco sales—Ford debuted a limited-edition “Baja Bronco” on January 28, 1971, built to resemble the Broncos raced by the Stroppe team and available through most Ford dealerships. Ford records indicate that roughly 450 were built before production ended in 1975...
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I'm not sure of the AMC (Nash?) in front of the Poncho, I'd guess '58 or '59.
Edit-I spotted the foreigner, you can just make out the roof and rear window of a VW Bus under the word "THE"
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
1962 Chevy II to the left of van thing.
1962 Chevy II to the left of van thing.
A '62-'63 Dodge Dart to the right of the Chevy II and then a '62 Ford Convertible on the extreme left.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Year, tow vehicle, race car?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93