Mystery car pix

andys120

It's the Lancia version of the Chrysler 300 ...


Yup, it goes by the name Lancia Thema. Both Lancia and ChryCo are units of Stellantis which produces the Thema at the same Ontario plant that makes the Chrysler 300.

explorerx4

Another convertible out of the garage after the winter.

andys120

I knew it was a Pontiac but I couldn't recall the model name. Av little research turned up
Pontiac Solisitice (mid 2000s). There were Saturn and Opel versions as well.

laurasdada

Sister to the Saturn Sky, my preferred styling.

texases

Agree, I much prefer the Sky. Surprised me how bland the Solstice was.

fintail

I was always amused that sporty brand Pontiac got the soft rounded Solstice, while friendly brand Saturn got the more aggressive looking Sky.

tjc78

@fintail said:
I was always amused that sporty brand Pontiac got the soft rounded Solstice, while friendly brand Saturn got the more aggressive looking Sky.

In that time frame GM’s divisions had a major identity crisis.

sda

From what I’ve read GM is still trying to find its way and is lost as a goat. Buick could be history in the near future, at least domestically, if it doesn’t get new product. Sales are down significantly and if I had a dealership I would be very concerned.

tjc78

I’m not sure what to think of GM right now. I love the Tahoe and all its variants, the new Vette is amazing and the pickup truck lineup is solid. After that it is a sea of car based SUVs. None of them are inherently bad but none are class leading either.

I wouldn’t mind a CT-5 but once you option it up the price puts it against a lot of good competition.

ab348

The CT4 and CT5 are good vehicles and the performance variants are less expensive than BMW and M-B equivalents. You do have to get past the styling though, which took a step backwards in this generation. I saw this week a shot of a new CT6 being tested in China which did not look bad.

It is ironic that their "car-based SUVs" are based on a lineup of cars that no longer exist in the market (unless one is Malibu-based).

Buick has been lost for a few years now. There is a new small Buick SUV coming to replace the Encore.

Speaking of the Solistice, I was behind one in traffic just now, obviously a garage queen for the mid-age couple riding in it, bright yellow in color, top down and looking pristine. I don't think I ever saw one in that shade, looked good.

andys120

fintail

I kind of like the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq and Celestique (not so much the names), but when you option them up they can be dear, the latter will especially be a hard sell. Corvette is a legit value and the big SUVs are leaders, but I am sometimes surprised the rest hasn't pulled a Ford in this market and gone to all CUV/SUV/truck.

stickguy

I forget what that Plymouth version of the Dart was called. But I want it.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I forget what that Plymouth version of the Dart was called. But I want it.

Scamp?

stickguy

I think that you are right. Dodge had a lot of names (Dart, Demon) but I think Plymouth only had scamp for the 2 door hardtop (not the coupe style Duster). Not sure if they used Valiant on that body style, but the sports model definitely had a unique name.

a Dart sport or Duster 340/360 4 speed would be fun to have!

andys120

stickguy said:

I think that you are right. Dodge had a lot of names (Dart, Demon) but I think Plymouth only had scamp for the 2 door hardtop (not the coupe style Duster). Not sure if they used Valiant on that body style, but the sports model definitely had a unique name.

a Dart sport or Duster 340/360 4 speed would be fun to have!

My recollection is that initially Plymouth used the Valiant name for their version of the Dart. That one is a 1973 Scamp that's been re-engined with a 340CID motor and the color is Plum Crazy.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

The CT4 and CT5 are good vehicles and the performance variants are less expensive than BMW and M-B equivalents. You do have to get past the styling though, which took a step backwards in this generation. I saw this week a shot of a new CT6 being tested in China which did not look bad.

It is ironic that their "car-based SUVs" are based on a lineup of cars that no longer exist in the market (unless one is Malibu-based).

Buick has been lost for a few years now. There is a new small Buick SUV coming to replace the Encore.

Speaking of the Solistice, I was behind one in traffic just now, obviously a garage queen for the mid-age couple riding in it, bright yellow in color, top down and looking pristine. I don't think I ever saw one in that shade, looked good.

Which of their car platforms are used for SUV's making them car based?

andys120

.

sda

Seat Bora?

andys120

sda said:

Seat Bora?

Close it's an early 2000s Skoda "Octavia which is a version of the Seat Bora made by VAG's Czech Republic subidiary. SEAT of course is based in Spain

andys120

magnette

I think this car is rather too rare to qualify for our usual criteria but I thought I would post it to show it is possible to upstage limos even in a rag-top

magnette

I think the above may have been taken in Paris but have no other details



By contrast this is a vehicle which was the best seller for a long established British manufacturer - particularly in the post war period - though mostly as a van or truck rather than this deluxe Utility Estate... The person posting it said it was still a daily driver in the late seventies

texases

I'll take your 6-wheeler and raise it a google maps oddball that my brother sent me this morning:

magnette

Although this one is selling Ices they also appeared every where in the sixties selling Hot Dogs etc...




Ideal for a short order cook I suppose

tmart

@andys120 said:

61 Chevy Impala coupe. Nice color.

sda

Seat Bora?

andys120 said:

stickguy said:

I think that you are right. Dodge had a lot of names (Dart, Demon) but I think Plymouth only had scamp for the 2 door hardtop (not the coupe style Duster). Not sure if they used Valiant on that body style, but the sports model definitely had a unique name.

a Dart sport or Duster 340/360 4 speed would be fun to have!

My recollection is that initially Plymouth used the Valiant name for their version of the Dart. That one is a 1973 Scamp that's been re-engined with a 340CID motor and the color is Plum Crazy.

The 340 was a great engine and put some bigger engines to shame.

fintail

magnette said:

I think this car is rather too rare to qualify for our usual criteria but I thought I would post it to show it is possible to upstage limos even in a rag-top

Panther 6. I remember seeing that in books when I was a kid, and I have a period diecast model of it.

fintail

magnette said:

I think the above may have been taken in Paris but have no other details



By contrast this is a vehicle which was the best seller for a long established British manufacturer - particularly in the post war period - though mostly as a van or truck rather than this deluxe Utility Estate... The person posting it said it was still a daily driver in the late seventies

I think I spy a Cortina behind the prewar looking postwar car.

ab348

fintail said:

magnette said:

I think the above may have been taken in Paris but have no other details



By contrast this is a vehicle which was the best seller for a long established British manufacturer - particularly in the post war period - though mostly as a van or truck rather than this deluxe Utility Estate... The person posting it said it was still a daily driver in the late seventies

I think I spy a Cortina behind the prewar looking postwar car.

Indeed. However, MNE674 has me stumped.

magnette

Well it is a Jowett Bradford

They made vans in this shape before and after the war and it was a flat two cylinder water cooled engine - 1005 cc and was a direct development of the same engine introduced in 1906 !

Jowett were more famous after WW2 for the Javelin saloon (styled by Gerald Palmer who went on to design the MG Magnette ) but the Bradford sold in high numbers for such a small make because it was cheap and pretty much indestructible.

Including the vans and pick-ups they made about 40,000 and they sold particularly well in the remnants of your empire - especially Oz/NZ and India- they had an assembly plant there for a time too.

The firm couldn't develop a more mainstream car as they were under capitalised and went under in 1954 but they were still chugging round into the early seventies

texases

Here's a pic of an engine in a '48 Bradford van. Imagine the stump-pulling torque of that 1 L twin! Acceleration expectations have changed a bit since then.

magnette

I saw that Panther six at the 1976(?) motor show -they only made two and then I saw was a white one rater than the B/W one in the picture

one of them went to Saudi for a bit but they are both in UK now I think but I never saw one on the road

The motor was a mid-mounted contemporary Cadillac lump from an Eldorado so about 8.2 litres -

magnette

Yes - but the Bradford had very light steering with a pretty tight turning circle - not matched till the Triumph Herald., low fuel consumption and was made of basic bits moree akin to a model T or something.

They were actually built in Bradford and tested them over the Yorkshire moors

A bit like the Renault 4 in some ways - Those were lighter though and obviously faster than a Bradford.

magnette

@texases

Thanks for posting that engine picture

Think the Bradford was one of the last cars to be repairable by the average village blacksmith

Secondly, that six wheeler looks like a sort of animated Caterpillar somehow.

Weird anyway

xwesx

The funny part is that the photo's merging was done so perfectly that the tires look like they really do belong to a 6-wheeler. The roof line duplication gives the trick away, though.

texases

And it was all by accident, an artifact of how Google streetview takes its photos.

bhill2

xwesx said:

The funny part is that the photo's merging was done so perfectly that the tires look like they really do belong to a 6-wheeler. The roof line duplication gives the trick away, though.

Not to mention the duplication of the fuel filler flap.

tjc78

explorerx4

Pretty funny, it read Ram Charger on the side.
How about a DurRAMgo?

Michaell

Mexican domestic market vehicle

fintail

Forbidden fruit, another one of those things that might not have sold here in any real volume but a dedicated fanbase wants now.

tjc78

I had never seen one before. This one was a 99.

andys120

The lead car appears to be a pillarless h/t but look carefully and you can see the ribs of the folding top.
Not sure if this is late 50s Vegas or Reno.

stickguy

Edsel on the left.

sda

4 port hole senior (Riviera?) 55 Buick behind the 57 Chevy. Actually I think its a Roadmaster. Too lazy to research as I sip coffee.

kyfdx

Yep.. do not mess with my coffee drinking.

stickguy

little blue sports car behind the Edsel. Gives me a bugeye Sprite vibe.

fintail

I bet that's Fremont St in Las Vegas. Sports car could also be a TR3.

ab348

fintail said:

I bet that's Fremont St in Las Vegas. Sports car could also be a TR3.

You are correct!