Mystery car pix

stever

Ford Fiesta.

When I looked at other images to "verify" my guess, your photo flopped up as a Fiesta Festival.

Back in the heyday of my '82 Tercel, a good friend was having equally good luck with her Fiesta (reliable, fun to drive, etc.). So I'm guessing this one is around an 81 or 82. (Well, reading the fine print I guess this one was no newer than a 1980?).

andys120

"Reliable" is aword I would not use for a Fiesta Mk1. :lemon:

stever

Ah, her's was a jewel and she put a lot more miles on her car than I did on my Tercel. Ford has made some 12 million Fiesta now over the last 30 years.

Mr_Shiftright

I, too, step forward courageously to defend the Fiesta's basic good nature.

karsick

Another Former Fiesta owner here.

Mine was reliable for the 2 yrs I owned it (other than an incurable, intermittent, mild front-end shake).

The impression it gave me was that it was not nearly as substantial & secure feeling as its VW rivals (since I had a MK1 Scirocco at the same time).

andys120

subearu

I had a remote controlled Audi Quattro car growing up. Though it wasn't a quattro in remote controlled size, it was RWD. It was silver with black stripes.

I'm guessing that is a mid '80's Quattro.

-Brian

guss

I am inferring they all run

Yea right, what would the odd of that be.

Pretty cool idea though.

karsick

Not just an plain ol' quattro, but a rare quattro Sport, a homologation special for FIA GrpB rallying.

-Several inches chopped from the wheelbase, an upright windshield & doors from an Audi 80 (aka 4000S)
-A 20-valve version of the legendary 5cyl Audi motor with (IMHO) one of THE most hauntingly gloriful engine sounds EVER.
-Many other tweaks beneath the skin

This was all done by Audi Sport in a vain attempt to compete with the purpose-built, mid-engine GrpB monster rally cars of the mid-80's.

BTW: Check out some epic 80's quattro videos by searching the names Rohrl, Mouton and Blomquist on youtube.

andys120

Right on the nose, Karsick!

andys120

andre1969

Nope, it's the clone, a Dodge Diplomat

A Diplomat in what country? AFAIK, no Diplomat ever had that squared-off formal roof with the blanked-out quarter windows. Now there was a version of the Diplomat, sold from around 1985-89 called the SE, which used the 5th-Ave style front-end, with the turn signals above the headlights, and a crosshair grille. But it still had the normal roofline with the slightly sloped rear window and exposed rear quarter window glass.

Here's a pic of the SE:


While most Diplomats just looked like this:

andre1969

I dunno, the '53 IMO seems a whole order of magnitude sleeker and more commanding than the '52 which is kinda frumpy by comparison and has little to distinguish it from Plymouths of the same year.

Chrysler did a pretty significant restyle on the 2- and 4-door sedan versions of their big DeSotos, Chryslers, and Imperials for 1953. In addition to the 1-piece windshield, they also re-did the roof around the rear, giving it sort of a reverse-slant C-pillar with a big wraparound rear window. It was similar to those PininFarina style Nashes, the '58 Chevy, or even, slightly, to a 2002 Altima. They also tried to integrate the rear fenders a bit better into the body, so they had less of a 40's style bolt-on look. The hardtop coupes still used the same 1952 roofline, and looked a bit dated, although they did at least incorporate the modernized rear fenders.

Now Dodge and Plymouth totally reskinned for 1953, resulting in a stubby, slab-sided look that didn't go over too well.

subearu

Most certainly an AMC Rambler, it's a '69 (thanks to the front plate). Looks like the SC package. Potent little bugger on the 1/4 mile for the time.

-Brian

toomanyfumes

Wasn't it called the Scrambler?

subearu

Yeah, but figured Andy would say I was techically wrong since it wasn't actually named that but commonly known as the Scrambler.

-Brian

guss

subearu

I live in SE Wisconsin where AMC (and Nash and Rambler and Chrysler) is home. While I'm no expert on the various AMC's and Jeeps, I do recognize 'em fairly well.

Your softball is the Jeep Scrambler, which was the pickup truck for the Jeep until the Comanche came out. I had an '87 Comanche if that matters.

-Brian

guss

Yup, dunno why Jeep never came out with another pick-up.

andre1969

Yup, dunno why Jeep never came out with another pick-up.

Probably because once Chrysler took them over, they figured that only Dodge should sell pickups, and let Jeep stay more true to its roots. How were those Commanches anyway, as pickups? The Cherokee upon which it was based was actually a unitized design, which doesn't lend itself well to pickup trucks. I know they had to design a partial frame to connect the bed and cab together. Earlier models used mainly AMC-4cyl engines or Chevy 2.8 V-6es, mated up to Chrysler torqueflite transmissions I think. But I think the later versions offered that HO AMC 4.0 inline 6?

My uncle had a 1976 Jeep pickup. I think they called it a Honcho or Hondo or something like that? It was a beefy, strong sucker. But also incredibly crude. Great farm truck or off-roader, but it was cramped for a full-sized pickup, at least by 1976 standards, rough riding, and incredibly thirsty. But I guess it's what a real "TRUCK" should have been, compared to the "car with a bed" that the breed was starting to turn into.

andys120

Some one more knowledgeable than me will have to sort out the exact nomenclature but according to the caption and Speed TV's Musclelcars it's a 69 AMC Scrambler.

andys120

Andre I bow to your expertise in all things MoPar and apologize to Jescue. I was victimized by a bad caption.

andre1969

Andre I bow to your expertise in all things MoPar and apologize to Jescue. I was victimized by a bad caption.

May your punishment be to be sentenced to drive a '76 slant six Volare with cracked torsion bars and rotten subframe bushings for one year! :P

Wow, the guys at that website were way off, not only is that not a Diplomat, but it's not a '78, either! The '77-79 models were a bit more rounded and flowing, whereas the 1980 restyle of the LeBaron/Diplomat brought about that more formal, upright, angular style. I think there actually was an option package for the 1981 LeBaron that gave it that extra thick, boxy C-pillar, but most of them didn't have it. For 1982, the LeBaron went K-car, and they transferred the New Yorker nameplate to this body, and that's when it got that thick C-pillar area standard. Well, the New Yorker went K-car for 1983, so that year they called the RWD model "New Yorker 5th Ave". Eventually they just started calling it "5th Ave", but I forget which year that was.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy

Technically it is an S/C package Rambler.

S/C Rambler just got shortened to Scrambler.

The American Muscler car episode on the AMCs was on today. Looks like a pretty neat car. 315HP 390 cube, but only about 2,900 lbs, so plenty quick. Sort of equivalent to a Dart 340 I guess.

andys120

That's a 2007 VW GTI with retro-70s-Orange paint (special edition?).
That color would be appropriate on a Mustang or a MINI but since there were no GTI's sold here in the 70's it doesn't work IMO.

I saw an orange Mustang the other day and it looked kinda cool.

Mr_Shiftright

not good enough! This car has a name.

british_rover

Fahrenheit GTI

Mr_Shiftright

Ker-rect. Took a ride in one---it's fun to drive.

british_rover

Possible contender for a Shifty Mobile???

VWs still make me nervous and that says something coming from someone who sells Land Rovers supposedly the least reliable vehicle sold in the US.

Mr_Shiftright

Nah I have no confidence in VW products but I'm willing to change my mind if the stats improve. It CAN be done!

andys120

I've had good luck with both V-dub brand vehicles I've owned ('65 Bug and '83 GTI)
as well as a couple of Audis I've had but their current FOR stats are daunting (albeit better than LR's).

I'll be looking for improvements in the new CR this Spring. If their numbers are up I might get a Jetta TDI Sportwagen but not unless I see some improvements.

andys120

on the correct name for this model>

hudsonthedog

(Austin or Morris) Mini Traveller

magnette

Well, it is a Mk 1, judging by the door hinges,. which makes it either a Morris Mini Minor Traveller or the Austin equivalent - Austin Mini Countryman...The first Austin Minis were known as Sevens, but I think by the time the Countryman had been introduced, the basic car was known as the Mini. With Morris the car was known as the Mini-Minor, and certainly some of the Travellers were badged similarly but they were all just known as Mini Travellers - even the Austin ones, because I don't think Joe Public ever remembered Countryman, while the Minor Traveller, was also a very famous car and as that had even more woodwork than a medieval house, I suppose the link all woody Minis was established.
They also made a version of both Minis without the wood, by the way -- which was cheaper, and was basically the same car - unlike the Minor, on the Mini the wood was purely decorative, not structural.

magnette

Re the French street scene a while back, the BMC 1100/1300 is actually either an Austin or Morris 1300 Mk III, and I think in France the Austin brand was more likely... The 1100 by this time had a single bar across the middle of the grille, not three close together.

andys120

Yep it's the (Morris) Mini Traveler. I think "Traveler" is a much cooler name than "Clubman", In wonder why they didn't use Traveler since they went to such pains to give the new Mini wagon retro touches reminiscent of the old Travelers.

I'll bet some smart guy will make some money applying faux wood to the new Clubmans.

Magnette, I was wondering if the Clubman name was ever used by British Leyland or BMC back in the day.

andys120

andre1969

The two copcars in the back are '80-89 Dodge Diplomats, but they all looked so generic during those years I can't tell 'em apart. They got the high mounted brakelight in the rear window for 1986, and driver's side airbags in mid 1988 necessitating a different steering wheel, but that's about the only visible clues I know to tell the years apart. The one in the foreground is probably a Diplomat too, but could be an '82-89 Gran Fury.

The quickest way to tell a Diplomat from a Gran Fury, without reading the badge, is that the grille on the Diplomat had blackout paint on it, versus a lighter gray for the Gran Fury. The only reason I know that is because I had an '89 Gran Fury ex-police car for a few years.

Oh, and that gray thing is a Chevy Corsica, but I couldn't narrow down the year. Did they change the style at all from 1987-96?

magnette

Clubman was the uprated Mini with a modified nose from 1970, which was intended to replace the standard Mini. It sold well enough for a few years, but really wasn't as popular, and I think they dropped it in about 1980, probably when the MiniMetro came along... I don't know why they didn't use Traveller, but the whole saga of who owns what name in respect of the wreckage of Leyland/Rover is probably a legal minefield... In Britain, at least, the Traveller that springs to mind is still the old Morris Minor, with it's 50's body, woody styling and all the aerodynamic streamlining of a galleon. Hardly a modern image for BMW Mini.
However, Minors were strong - I've seen three today, just on my journey to work ( 5 miles).

Mr_Shiftright

Traveller sounds like an RV to Americans I think...of course Clubman sounds like a gang member, so I dunno :sick:

kyfdx

I wonder if one of the Big Three still own rights to the Traveller name, from the '50s?

andys120

I wonder if one of the Big Three still own rights to the Traveller name, from the '50s?

That seems unlikely as it was used by companies that were definitely not
in the Big Three---International Harvester and Kaiser Industries.

andys120

Extra points if you can ID the silver car in the background>

stickguy

1970-72 Camaro SS

The silver one in the back is an Alfa GTV?

andre1969

Was that Traveller or Travelall, though? I'm thinking that the big, Suburban-like International was the Travelall, but "Traveller" sounds familiar, too...maybe that was the utility model that Kaiser-Fraser offered, with the folding back seat and the liftback?

I think if a name falls into disuse for a long enough period of time, a manufacturer has to file paperwork with the gov't to reserve it again, or someone else can pick it up. For example, I heard that Chrysler recently filed paperwork to reserve the Newport name, which they discontinued after 1981. Dunno if they're ever going to do anything with it though.

There have also been times when two competing companies used the same name at the same time. Chrysler has used the Suburban name off and on for years. From 1946 to around 1949 or 1950, the name graced the long wheelbase, 8-passenger DeSoto limo, which was often used for airports, taxis, etc. And the name popped up regularly on Plymouth wagons, perhaps as late as 1976 or so.

DeSoto also offered a Seville, twice. First in 1956, it was a stripper model, and that was the year that Cadillac started using the name to denote its top trim level. DeSoto used it again in 1959, as a "Spring Special" trim level, which was a common marketing ploy back in those days to get people into the showrooms once winter wore off.

ateixeira

Friend of mine has one of those, he insists the SS are rare and more valuable, even though his engine is not the original.

He painted his (a '72) candy apple green. It really pops in the sunlight.

andys120

Yep, it's a '71 Camaro. The correct name for the silver car is Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV to distinguish it from the other Alfa GTVs:

Alfa Giulia1750 GTV ('68-'70, 2000GTV '71-'76 was similar)>



Alfa GTV Coupe ('96-'05)>

andys120

Doh, my bad! It was indeed the International Travelall, a pioneer SUV.

hudsonthedog

The illustrated car was an '86 Fairmont Futura.

The final year for the Ford Fairmont Futura was 1983. It was replaced by the Ford Tempo that year.

As for a Lincoln version, there wasn't one. But the Lincoln Continental (1982-1987) and Lincoln Mark VII (1984-1992) were based on the same Fox platform that was introduced on the Fairmont/Zephyr in the 1978 model year.