Mystery car pix

british_rover

I worked with a guy that had one of these. It was his Dad's first new car and had been handed down to all of the 10 children in the family as their first car.

jescue

I have always heard the first generation referred to as the Honda Quaalude because it was so slow.

british_rover

hahah I hadn't heard that but it makes sense. His car was very slow but it had over 250,000 miles on it so I figured it would be.

andys120

I have always heard the first generation referred to as the Honda Quaalude because it was so slow.

IIRC that first Prelude was basically a Civic with coupe bodywork instead of the Hatchback.

andys120

magnette

Lancia Appia convertible, circa 1958-61, coachwork by Vignale

magnette

Thanks to steve and british rover for the links to local museums, etc - one day I'll get there ! Anybody who is in London on the first Sunday in November, it's the London-Brighton car run for really old motors - pre 1905 - I'll be there from about 7.30 - 8.45am at the north end of Westminster bridge...

texases

At least they put the Accord engine in it. It looked like a Civic from the front, a bit odd from the rear (the article with the original pic mentioned some 'thought it looked like a MB SL' Really?!?!:

stever

Do dozens of (Escargot?) enthusiasts still run the one piston jobs every weekend in one of the park ponds/canals there? Talk about a blue haze. :shades:

andre1969

the article with the original pic mentioned some 'thought it looked like a MB SL' Really?!?!:

LOL, that makes me think of those old Ford Granada ads where they'd put up a pic of a Granada, put up a pic of a Benz, and ask people to point out which is which.

I remember an old MT or C&D test of a 1978 Pontiac Grand Am (based on the downsized LeMans) They said that if you squinted your eyes enough, it looked vaguely like a 1965 GTO! I think they were being sarcastic though. :P

jescue

They also had an ad with a diamond cutter in the back seat of a Granada didn't they? I think they did a parody of it on SNL.

lemko

That was a Mercury Marquis.

The SNL parody had a rabbi performing a circumcision as a Mercury Cougar sedan drove over a rough surface.

jescue

Thats it- that was pretty good.

hudsonthedog

It looked like a Civic from the front, a bit odd from the rear

If you notice, the taillights and rear fascia for a stylized "H".

andys120

bhill2

I'm going to take a WAG. Is it a Sabra?

andys120

Nope, not a Sabra.

hudsonthedog

Berkeley

andys120

Berkeley

Now you're talking, it's a 1959 Berkeley Sports and it does look like a Sabra.

andys120

stickguy

450 SEL 6.9. Somewhere in the late 70's/early 80s?

Don't ask me the W number though!

andys120

450 SEL 6.9

That's it.

Don't ask me the W number though!

W116? I think, maybe Fin can confirm that.

andys120

imidazol97

Oldsmobile convertible. Starfire. 1962.

imidazol97

Here's another one with real seafoam green. The prow must be a dealer-installed accessory.

andys120

Well Seafoam Green is certainly appropriate for that environment. :P

It looks like a '59 Buick.

andys120

Oldsmobile convertible. Starfire. 1962.

Well it would be if it were a convertible.:P It's wearing the faux convertible roofline GM introduced in 1962 as an alternative to the "bubbletop". It soon overtook the bubbletop in popularity and since many were ordered with the new vinyl top option to enhance the resemblance to a convertible, it was responsible for a craze that outlived the roofline itself. I saw an old BMW two-door (E30) with one of those vinyl roof treatments the other day :sick: I suppose I should be glad they didn't get landau irons or the continental spare.

urnews

Well it would be if it were a convertible. It's wearing the faux convertible roofline GM introduced in 1962 as an alternative to the "bubbletop". It soon overtook the bubbletop in popularity and since many were ordered with the new vinyl top option to enhance the resemblance to a convertible, it was responsible for a craze that outlived the roofline itself.

When I was 20 -- and driving a 1958 VW -- my mother bought a new 1962 Pontiac Catalina with that roof line. It was a very sharp-looking car. Later, I bought a new 1966 Dodge Monaco which had a similar roof line, covered in vinyl. That was one of my all-time favorite cars.

andys120

imidazol97

Right on.

fintail

Yep it's a W116 6.9, looks like a period promotional photo, ca. 1978.

fintail

Maserati Biturbo, mid-late 80s. I don't know of these had a numerical designation as did the closed cars (I seem to remember '425'). A car loathed by many, very poor quality control.

andys120

That's right, I recall a Tipo number "425" as well.

andys120

imidazol97

Don't know what I was thinking while typing. The car I looked up to verify the year--was a convertible! I wrote what I wrote.

andys120

No takers on the ragtop in post #13193?

fintail

Looks very Audi-ish

andys120

You're getting warm, Fintail.

andys120

Looks very Audi-ish

Probably because it's the upcoming ('09?)Audi A3 Cabriolet. Santa Claus must've ordered one because I don't know who else would want a green car with a red top. :sick:

tmart

Opps, I thought it was blue, not green!

andys120

Opps, I thought it was blue, not green!

Better adjust your monitor.

andys120

magnette

It's a Kaiser/Frazer Traveller. To be honest, from the rear I don't know whether it's a Kaiser or a Frazer, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the hatchback body was introduced on the Frazer so I'll go with that. Circa 1949

magnette

You don't actually see a lot of veteran cars running around, I'll admit, although the Veteran car club does organise quite a few events over the summer, mostly in rural areas as these cars obviously have a hard time coping with modern traffic. For the Brighton, though they have about 500 entries this year, and the theme for 2007 is apparently the American car, so nodoubt there will be a number of the latter - just about the most common car in most years is the curved-dash Oldsmobile.
The start is actually at 7.15 from Hyde Park Corner, but I prefer to watch them from Westminster Bridge as they rattle past Big Ben, which is a good spot to watch about a mile from the start.
They certainly leave a haze, although some are steam cars and there are even a few electrics (mainly Columbia or similar) which are capable of running the sixty miles to Brighton, and really that isn't much different from the performance which modern electric cars can achieve - it is surprising how little progress appears to have been made in 100 years in respect of elctric cars in particular.

andys120

It's a Kaiser Traveler, don't know the MY. Apparently the Moon Township in Western PA favored the Traveler configuration for their Prowl Cars because they could double as ambulances
(not visible in the photo is a small Red Cross on the front door).

andys120

stickguy

1971ish AMC Javelin.

guss

AMC Javelin, 1968?

I always loved the tail lights that went across the full length of the bumper.

british_rover

I would say no quality control.

british_rover

I was at a car show one time and some guy goes up to the owner of a Javelin, or it might have been an AMX I don't remember exactly, and says, "Why did you put corvette fenders on that Mustang?" :surprise: :confuse: :sick:

The laughter from those in the know was incredible.