Mystery car pix

seminole_kev

magnette

Dodge Spirit ES -I would say 1990 by the wheels.

bumpy

And a S13 240SX coupe behind it.

seminole_kev

You're realllly close, but not quite.

bumpy

Looks more like a New Yorker or LeBaron, or whatever the Dodge version was.

seminole_kev

It's a Dodge Spirit R/T. Very similar to the ES version, but with different wheels and exterior triming. I actually wanted one of those in the day as they were very quick for the time.

andre1969

of 1988-92 vintage (they gave them a thicker, clunkier grille for 1993). It might be a Spirit R/T model.

As for the thing in the back, it looks like a P-body coupe (1987-c1994), but I can't tell if it's a Plymouth Sundance or Dodge Shadow. Essentially, the intended successor to the Omni/Horizon, although they overlapped for a few years, and ultimately replaced by the Neon.

seminole_kev

Andre, I had a step-sister who had Sundance in the early 1990's that was new at the time.....and still carbureted. Couldn't believe it as everything by then had gone to fuel injection. Had to be one of the last regular production cars in the States that wasn't using F.I. by then.

fintail

Yep, that's what the car in the back is.

My brother has a 1993 Sundance Duster, which has a V6. He's done a few mods and claims it is an OK performer. However, the cosmetics are of typical early 90s domestic quality, in other words, the car isn't looking too awesome anymore.

seminole_kev

Speaking of Duster, anybody remember those cheesy "My Duster" ads from the 80's. I don't remember much except for a female singer singing "My Duster" and maybe something to the effect of leaving it all behind. I'll have to do some youtube digging to see if it is out there.

andys120

Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 - this was the facelifted version judging by the vents behind the rear doors, so 1983-4 ?

Not sure of the MY but they were made thru '85 according to motorbase.com. Mag has the advantage of us on this one, it was never exported to the USA, like so many post '60s Alfas.

The Alfa 6 was their attempt at an Executive Car so it doesn't look like we missed much.

andre1969

Andre, I had a step-sister who had Sundance in the early 1990's that was new at the time.....and still carbureted.

Kev, are you sure it wasn't one of those TBI setups that looked like a carburetor? I think the 2.2 went to TBI setup back in 1985, but maybe there was a strippo carbureted version that was available for a bit longer?

seminole_kev

I swear I remember it as being carbureted, but it is possible it was just a really crude TBI setup and my memory has failed me (once again).

magnette

The Alfa Six probably was made to 85, but it didn't exactly take the market by storm... I didn't even see one on the road until 1985/6 (it was on my way home from a job I started then) and apart from that one example, I don't think I ever saw another until about eight yearsago, when one turned up at a car show in South London.
It actually got a reasonable write up in the contemporary motoring press, I think, but they must have only sold a couple of dozen in Britain - I'm not even sure if it was in RHD.
It was from the days when Alfas came with a dustpan and brush in the toolkit to sweep up the rust, so they are probably rare everywhere except maybe Italy where the cars don't rust (although they have to survive Italian driving, so who knows !)

andys120

This still is from That's 70s Show. That's the "Fez"
character behind the wheel of a car that wouldn't be exported in that decade IIRC. :P

boomchek

Mid 80s VW Golf Cabrio.

magnette

Even in the 80's they had glass windscreens, too.

andys120

Mid 80s VW Golf Cabrio.

Yes and no, first generation Golf Cabrios were sold as Rabbit Cabriolets in the USA.

andys120

kyfdx

That looks like a Jaguar XJ. Sort of looks like the crappy '88 re-design... But, something makes me think it is something else.. and a little older than that.

magnette

Monteverdi 375/4 - sometimes sold as the High Speed 375/4 - circa 1972-77...

kyfdx

A Mustang II with the 302 V-8 (only 2 bbl, unfortunately) and a stick would eat up a '65 289 Mustang off the line.. Not sure how it would do after you got into third gear, though...

In '77, a V-8 Mustang II would even take a '77 305 V-8 Camaro up through about 50 MPH.. Runs out of breath pretty fast after that.... Top speed of about 108 mph.

andys120

Yep, that's the Mopar-powered Monteverdi 375, body by Frua I assume like the others in the Monteverdi stable.

andys120

This is one of the most famous cars in the world, do you remember what movie it's from?

scscars

That's a little too easy. James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger. Saw it last night on Spike.
The best line from the movie? "Ejector seat? You're joking!"

andys120

Drat, I didn't know Goldfinger just ran on Spike (aka the James Bond channel).

andys120

It's based on a street model>

andre1969

I like that Monteverdi thingie. Here's a pic that shows the whole thing:


Kinda makes me think of a blend of a 2nd-gen Corvair front clip, a downsized late 70's GM full-sizer greenhouse, and a squared-off Jaguar rump. But somehow, they found a way to make those three different design elements fit together.

I wonder if GM might have used this thing as inspiration for their 1977 big cars? I remember years ago, looking through the 1977 COTY issue of Motortrend, and they showed some pics of the various prototypes and test mules for the '77 Impala/Caprice, and I swear the greenhouse was similar.

boomchek

Looks like an early 70s Alfa Romeo Bertone Gt.

Of all the classic Alfas on the road I probably see this one most often.

boomchek

andys120

You're close, it's the track version of the Alfa 1600 Guilietta Sprint Veloce known as the 1600 GTA or 1600 GTAm, it was highly successful in Trans Am racing during the mid-late 60s scoring several Championships in the under two-litre category (GTU).

andys120

It's a Skoda Superb, current model, the red car is a '50s Skoda Felicia, the other two are likely Skodas from the 30s.

andys120

How many of the several make/model names that were used by this car's marketers can you name?

andre1969

That's not that world-car "T" platform that spawned the Chevette, is it? Something about the shape of the windshield and the front doors makes me think that it is.

Some of the names I can think of that it was marketed under were...

Chevy Chevette
Pontiac T1000
Pontiac Acadian (Canada)
Isuzu I-Mark
Daewoo Maepsy
Opel Affliction
Vauxhall Victim

andys120

LOL Andre, that's the Chevette's T-Car replacement (GenII-1985) so the names used were:

Chevy (later Geo) Spectrum
Isuzu Bellet Gemini (JDM)
Isuzu I-Mark (US)
Pontiac Sunburst (CDN)
Holden Gemini (Oz)
Buick Opel (US)
Daewoo Maepsy (I thouht you made that one up
and of course Opel Kadette C

There may have been a few others. :confuse:

andys120

seminole_kev

I'll let fintail swoop in and tell me what model that is, but....I thought those headlights were illegal in the US. Is that a Canadian version, and if so, were those lamps legal up there?

(or am I completely mistaken about the headlight situation?)

andys120

It's not a US version like my Dad had, note the front license plate (South African).

seminole_kev

The standard (at least appears to be) stop sign in the background is what was really throwing me off for location in conjuction with the headlamps.

fintail

Either a W114 or W115, could be a few models.

And yeah, it's probably in South Africa, with the plate and it's RHD.

The lights were technically 'illegal' as they weren't compliant to archaic DOT standards, but I think retrofits were pretty much an unenforced law.

derrado1

No, it's a first-generation Skoda Octavia hatchback.

Superb is based on the previous-generation Passat, except a fair bit longer.

andre1969

where the car might not be too hard to figure out. But can anyone pick out what's "wrong" (if not improved) with this picture?

subearu

it has been converted to RWD, whereas the original was FWD, not to mention it also appears to have a V8 whereas the original had a I4.

-Brian

fintail

Hmmm what catches my eye more is a NYer having an identity crisis, that thinks it is a police car :P

andys120

The pictured Merc is a 1974 230 sedan. IIRC my Dad's was a '74 240 the same color as the SA car.

andys120

subearu

Also, it would appear to be a Dodge carshow, but yet there is a Ford superduty on the premises...oh the humanity! :P

-Brian

fintail

One of those Farina Austins, I don't know which model...Cambridge?

The wagon/estate side of it is would be by an aftermarket builder, I think.

andys120

Yep, it's an Austin Cambridge Estate ca. 1965, styled by Pininfarina IIRC.

andys120

There's a lot of great Detroit Iron in The Godfather