Mystery car pix

fintail

Yep, I see at least 2 other foreign cars as well.

ab348 said:

Unknown location, around 1960. Might be California, where the foreign invasion has already begun.

fintail

That's a hell of a commute.

I had 3 relatives with HHRs (I think one might still have it) - all from eastern WA now that I think of it, might have been a local thing.

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Chevrolet HHR - GM's response to the PT Cruiser.

Memory lane! My mother put 162,000 miles on one of those in 18 months.

stickguy

outside my neighborhood, where I walk a lot, somebody has a red HHR SS on their driveway. Not bad looking.

Lostwrench3

Ah, the easy to ID 1956 Plymouth.

bhill2

Just over the rear taillight of that Plymouth, one row over, is a black ‘58 or ‘59 Rambler.

xwesx

fintail said:

That's a hell of a commute.

I had 3 relatives with HHRs (I think one might still have it) - all from eastern WA now that I think of it, might have been a local thing.

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Chevrolet HHR - GM's response to the PT Cruiser.

Memory lane! My mother put 162,000 miles on one of those in 18 months.

Haha; no doubt! She bought it as a pilot vehicle for those oversize rigs they use to move the monstrous wind mills all over the country. I believe the guy they piloted hauled blades, which were somewhere on the order of 120' long. Her husband used my grandparents' (former) 1997 F350 as his pilot vehicle. He still has the truck, which I think has somewhere around 350,000 miles on it.

The HHR met an early end while on the job due to a huffy soccer mom somewhere in middle America who didn't want to obey the flagging instructions while the big rig tried to maneuver an intersection. The lady started to speed through the intersection, saw the truck bearing down on her, and decided my mother's HHR was a more survivable target.

ab348

Around these parts HHRs used to be a common sight on the roads but have gone the way of the dinosaurs in the last few years. Amazing how quickly they seemed to disappear.

sda

@ab348 said:
Around these parts HHRs used to be a common sight on the roads but have gone the way of the dinosaurs in the last few years. Amazing how quickly they seemed to disappear.

With it being essentially a reskinned Cobalt I think most were driven as an economy car, not maintained and junked. I have seen many on the HHR forum go 200-300k. There is still a following for them, but that too is thinning quickly.

ab348

sda said:

@ab348 said:

Around these parts HHRs used to be a common sight on the roads but have gone the way of the dinosaurs in the last few years. Amazing how quickly they seemed to disappear.

With it being essentially a reskinned Cobalt I think most were driven as an economy car, not maintained and junked. I have seen many on the HHR forum go 200-300k. There is still a following for them, but that too is thinning quickly.

Yes, I believe that is the case. I knew a road warrior who had one and drove it over 300K km. It was a handy rig for his business where he needed to move some light but bulky cargo occasionally.

ab348

SoCal, likely the L.A. area, no earlier than 1958. I like the variety in this pic. I'll take the '57 Ford Styleside with the white sidewalls.

fintail

I hope she got a nice settlement out of that.

HHRs seem to be really thin on the ground here, maybe as they weren't sold for a terribly long time. However, the PT Cruiser could still be called one of the official cars of Spokane - I see them all the time, in varying conditions, even a convertible now and then.

xwesx said:

fintail said:

That's a hell of a commute.

I had 3 relatives with HHRs (I think one might still have it) - all from eastern WA now that I think of it, might have been a local thing.

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Chevrolet HHR - GM's response to the PT Cruiser.

Memory lane! My mother put 162,000 miles on one of those in 18 months.

Haha; no doubt! She bought it as a pilot vehicle for those oversize rigs they use to move the monstrous wind mills all over the country. I believe the guy they piloted hauled blades, which were somewhere on the order of 120' long. Her husband used my grandparents' (former) 1997 F350 as his pilot vehicle. He still has the truck, which I think has somewhere around 350,000 miles on it.

The HHR met an early end while on the job due to a huffy soccer mom somewhere in middle America who didn't want to obey the flagging instructions while the big rig tried to maneuver an intersection. The lady started to speed through the intersection, saw the truck bearing down on her, and decided my mother's HHR was a more survivable target.

fintail

Old timer in the middle is a 37 Chevy.

ab348 said:

SoCal, likely the L.A. area, no earlier than 1958. I like the variety in this pic. I'll take the '57 Ford Styleside with the white sidewalls.

texases

'58 Turnpike Cruiser, left side, 3rd row?

tmart

52 Ford, 53 Ford, 55 Ford wagon, 56 Ford wagon, 58 Ford

andys120

Oldest car is the light colored car in third row up. 1930s vintage but I don't know exactly what. Newest car is behind the boat. It has 4 headlights--'58 Foird or Edsel?

texases

Yep, '58 Ford (not an Edsel), same year as the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser behind it. Fin ID'd the oldster.

Lostwrench3

1946 Cadillac.

xwesx

fintail said:

I hope she got a nice settlement out of that.

HHRs seem to be really thin on the ground here, maybe as they weren't sold for a terribly long time. However, the PT Cruiser could still be called one of the official cars of Spokane - I see them all the time, in varying conditions, even a convertible now and then.

No, it was actually the opposite (nearly)....

If I recall correctly, the small-town "ol' boys" club kicked in on this one because the lady was the wife of some official. They cited my mother as being at fault, her insurance had to pay for the other person's car, bogus medical bills, etc., and they ended up selling their business because the trucking company dropped their contract and their insurance costs went up so much that they couldn't justify continuing the work (even though it was pretty lucrative before that).

I'm sure I don't have all the details correct on that, but this was the gist of it.

tjc78

@xwesx said:
No, it was actually the opposite (nearly)....

If I recall correctly, the small-town "ol' boys" club kicked in on this one because the lady was the wife of some official. They cited my mother as being at fault, her insurance had to pay for the other person's car, bogus medical bills, etc., and they ended up selling their business because the trucking company dropped their contract and their insurance costs went up so much that they couldn't justify continuing the work (even though it was pretty lucrative before that).

I'm sure I don't have all the details correct on that, but this was the gist of it.

Wow

ab348

In the SoCal pic, the black car in the outside lane next to the '56 Ford wagon is a '46-'48 Olds club coupe, which looks decidedly menacing.

fintail

Dang. I am glad we are in the era of dashcams now, if the corrupt try that today, you can roast them on social media and make them regret it.

xwesx said:

fintail said:

I hope she got a nice settlement out of that.

HHRs seem to be really thin on the ground here, maybe as they weren't sold for a terribly long time. However, the PT Cruiser could still be called one of the official cars of Spokane - I see them all the time, in varying conditions, even a convertible now and then.

No, it was actually the opposite (nearly)....

If I recall correctly, the small-town "ol' boys" club kicked in on this one because the lady was the wife of some official. They cited my mother as being at fault, her insurance had to pay for the other person's car, bogus medical bills, etc., and they ended up selling their business because the trucking company dropped their contract and their insurance costs went up so much that they couldn't justify continuing the work (even though it was pretty lucrative before that).

I'm sure I don't have all the details correct on that, but this was the gist of it.

bhill2

texases said:

Yep, '58 Ford (not an Edsel), same year as the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser behind it. Fin ID'd the oldster.

I think that Turnpike Cruiser is a '57. They had dual headlights (where legal). The '58 had a different headlight treatment.

texases

bhill2 said:

texases said:

Yep, '58 Ford (not an Edsel), same year as the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser behind it. Fin ID'd the oldster.

I think that Turnpike Cruiser is a '57. They had dual headlights (where legal). The '58 had a different headlight treatment.

You're right, when I googled '58 a pic of the '57 popped up.

ab348

This pic looks vaguely familiar to me but in searching here it did not come up, so I'll risk posting it because it's a nice picture and expands well. San Diego, mid-60s.

fintail

Strong It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World vibe, even if a few years later (1966 at least). I'll pick off the cute Hillman Minx convertible at front center.

ab348 said:

This pic looks vaguely familiar to me but in searching here it did not come up, so I'll risk posting it because it's a nice picture and expands well. San Diego, mid-60s.

sda

That’s when people perfected the skill of parallel parking. No power steering=strong arms.

fintail

Along with no parking sensors/cameras/automatic parking features. Of course, those bumpers could take a little bump without issue, and the cars had excellent visibility.

tjc78

@fintail said:
Along with no parking sensors/cameras/automatic parking features. Of course, those bumpers could take a little bump without issue, and the cars had excellent visibility.

Visibility is key. I could parallel park my 04 Grand Marquis easier than my 2012 LaCrosse that had sensors and camera

fintail

Yep, same for the fintail vs wagon. Modern car has surround view and sensors, but without surround view, some angles would be difficult. Fintail has fins for guidance, and lines of sight on body panels that end where the car ends, no guessing of how much larger the car might be vs how it appears - simple car to park.

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

Along with no parking sensors/cameras/automatic parking features. Of course, those bumpers could take a little bump without issue, and the cars had excellent visibility.

Visibility is key. I could parallel park my 04 Grand Marquis easier than my 2012 LaCrosse that had sensors and camera

bhill2

fintail said:

Yep, same for the fintail vs wagon. Modern car has surround view and sensors, but without surround view, some angles would be difficult. Fintail has fins for guidance, and lines of sight on body panels that end where the car ends, no guessing of how much larger the car might be vs how it appears - simple car to park.

tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

Along with no parking sensors/cameras/automatic parking features. Of course, those bumpers could take a little bump without issue, and the cars had excellent visibility.

Visibility is key. I could parallel park my 04 Grand Marquis easier than my 2012 LaCrosse that had sensors and camera

This is true. The easiest cars I have owned to park were my '69 and '72 Volvos. It's easy to park a box.

andys120

Michaell

Early 60's Buick rope drive - can't think of the model name.

I actually had a ride in one, when I was a kid. Was on vacation in Tennessee, visiting my mom's oldest friend. Her family all drove nothing but Buicks, and her son had one of these. I went with him one night when he went to visit his girlfriend. This was the late 70's, so pretty old even at the time.

I remember it had the 3.5 V8 and he had kept it in pretty good shape.

tmart

Well, it’s a Buick! I’ll leave the rest to y’all.

Lostwrench3

1962 Skylark.

ab348

That's a '61 Skylark. No rope drive (that was only in the Pontiac Tempest). This has the Buick aluminum V8 that GM later sold to Rover in the UK and went on to power all sorts of vehicles over there. These are very scarce now. They were not seen as "keeper" cars back when they were daily drivers and were not particularly durable.

ab348

Some interesting cars on the lot of Vinko Motors in Toronto, likely around 1970 or so. The neighborhood seems a bit shabby considering the types of cars available there. I wish this photo was of better quality. It expands a little.

sda

ab348 said:

That's a '61 Skylark. No rope drive (that was only in the Pontiac Tempest). This has the Buick aluminum V8 that GM later sold to Rover in the UK and went on to power all sorts of vehicles over there. These are very scarce now. They were not seen as "keeper" cars back when they were daily drivers and were not particularly durable.

Didn't Olds use the same drivetrain with the Gen-1 F-85 Cutlass but took it one step further and offered a turbo option? I think it was the same V-8 but not sure about the transmissions.

texases

Is that a 1970-ish BMW 2000cs front right?

ab348

sda said:

ab348 said:

That's a '61 Skylark. No rope drive (that was only in the Pontiac Tempest). This has the Buick aluminum V8 that GM later sold to Rover in the UK and went on to power all sorts of vehicles over there. These are very scarce now. They were not seen as "keeper" cars back when they were daily drivers and were not particularly durable.

Didn't Olds use the same drivetrain with the Gen-1 F-85 Cutlass but took it one step further and offered a turbo option? I think it was the same V-8 but not sure about the transmissions.

Yes, that's right. If you got the turbo, you had to also keep the "turbo rocket fuel" topped up, which I believe was either pure alcohol or a water-alcohol mix which got mixed into the fuel-air stream.

kyfdx

texases said:

Is that a 1970-ish BMW 2000cs front right?

That's what I thought... kind of hard to tell, though

texases

It has that unique (for a BMW) shape to the front corner, thanks to the Euro headlights:

andys120

The '61 Buick compact is a Special Skylark. The Special part was dropped in '62 and it became the Buick Skylark (not to be confused w the concept cars of '53-'54.)

The Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass similarly became simply the Cutlass in '62 and was the most popular model name in the 70s.

kyfdx

texases said:

It has that unique (for a BMW) shape to the front corner, thanks to the Euro headlights:

Yeah... that was my first BMW ('67 model)

imidazol97

ab348 said:

sda said:

ab348 said:

That's a '61 Skylark. No rope drive (that was only in the Pontiac Tempest). This has the Buick aluminum V8 that GM later sold to Rover in the UK and went on to power all sorts of vehicles over there. These are very scarce now. They were not seen as "keeper" cars back when they were daily drivers and were not particularly durable.

Didn't Olds use the same drivetrain with the Gen-1 F-85 Cutlass but took it one step further and offered a turbo option? I think it was the same V-8 but not sure about the transmissions.

Yes, that's right. If you got the turbo, you had to also keep the "turbo rocket fuel" topped up, which I believe was either pure alcohol or a water-alcohol mix which got mixed into the fuel-air stream.

I learn something everyday.

fintail

"Vinko Motors" looks and sounds like some kind of front operated by the mafia. I love the selection.

In the back row I see 2x MB W108/109 and a W114/115, wit a Silver Cloud III at the end, right. Looks like a W111 coupe behind that row, at left.

Front row from left, a S1/S2 or Silver Cloud, MB W100 600 (!), Bentley S1/S2, Miura (!) , 2x Silver Shadow

ab348 said:

Some interesting cars on the lot of Vinko Motors in Toronto, likely around 1970 or so. The neighborhood seems a bit shabby considering the types of cars available there. I wish this photo was of better quality. It expands a little.

ab348

Wilshire Blvd., L.A., later '70s.

andys120

Chevy Vega (Kammback/wagon?)coming toward camera on left, late 60s Pontiac behind it.

fintail

Driving away at right, Pinto and looks like an LTD II in front of it.

andys120

texases

andys120 said:

Chevy Vega (Kammback/wagon?)coming toward camera on left, late 60s Pontiac behind it.

I'm not seeing the Pontiac, looks more Ford/Mercury to me.