It is indeed an Austin A35, 1956-59. You can tell the A35 fom the earlier A30 easily by the larger back window, and as seen in this shot, the thick chrome strip round the grille.
Seeing that pic brings back memories...not the cars, but the movie. Many of the scenes from Risky Business were shot in the next town over from where I grew up.
Good call. I thought I saw 4 doors, but I guess not.
The wagon was also called a GL, I believe.
That 4WD wagon even had a low range, and preceeded the AMC Eagle by half a decade, so it was the true first Sport Utility Wagon, not the Outback.
Yes, there was a DL and a GL wagon...and the GL was offered as 4wd starting in 1975. I don't believe, however, that the Subaru offered a low-range. It was switchable between FWD and 4WD though. The 1980 AMC Eagle was "automatic 4wd" which simply meant you couldn't switch it yourself, althought they did add that feature in 1981.
I'm going to guess that it's later than 1986 because of the fully composite headlights. After the quad round headlights were replace, it was a few years with the Euro-looking lights with composite surrounds encasing the dual rectangular sealed-beam headlights in the US.
Yeah I think the more flush lights came in 88 or so...but I want to say they were still slightly different from the Euro models. The round lights were gone in maybe 1984?
Did those 505's ever come with round headlights? My 1985 Consumer Guide has a pic of one with rectangular headlights, but they're not composites. Just normal halogens inset a bit, with plastic trim around around them that filled in for the fact that the rectangular headlight was smaller than the composite.
Yep, the early 505s had round lights - I want to say up through 1983-84 or so. My 1981 Consumer Guide has a test of a very early example and it has round lights - they raved about the car ...probably not a good idea. I think around maybe 1988-89 the lights changed again to something more flush.
The primary car is a Vauxhall Victor ca. 1958-60. The nearest car in motion is hard to discern - but it appears to be French, reminds me of a Peugeot 206, but I can't determine it. The silver car in the background is a Renault Scenic. The White van appears to be a Renault Trafic/Vauxhall Vivaro, and behind looks like a Toyota Landcruiser. There is a silver Ford Focus in motion, and in front of it appears to be a red later model Vauxhall Cavalier - the oncoming car between these looks like an earlier VW Polo. I can't tell what the tall white van is, but I think I see a BMW E36 coupe parked near it. And of course there is a Mini parked in the driveway near top center.
Well done fintail - I think you got all the cars here - the only one I would add is the far white van is, I think, a Ford Transit. And I wondered whether the blurry car arriving from the left is a Toyota Yaris,but I'm not sure..
The Vauxhall Victor is what was later retrospectively called the FA model, although not until the FB had come along. But the FA was actually facelifted in late 1958, and thereafter known as the series II, until it went out of production in mid 1961.
This one appears to have its original registration. TO is Nottingham, and LTO as a suffix was issued in April or early May 1961. ( I have a book that tells these things, for the few who are interested.)
I'm guessing it's a later Pontiac, called the Parisienne, a thinly veiled mid-80's Caprice (hunkered-down hood and more upright c-pillars).
I believe Pontiac was without a full-size for a year or two during the gas crunch, then had a second thought during the booming, cheaper-gas era that followed.
I wish there were such books for North America, although they would have to be on a state/provincial basis and some would be huge. It is really impossible to discern age or locale of registration on this continent, save for the few areas, mainly in the past that used certain combinations for this - I know WA state did decades ago.
Of course one can discern location with a good amount of German plates - and this has been true since the dawn of time - and a few other locations, but age isn't usually so easy.
That's right Karsick, that one happens to be a Canadian DM Parisienne with a 305 under the hood. The Parisienne name as you know was originally the name for the Chevy-powered top-line Canadian Poncho equivalent of the Bonneville.
It used to be possible during the 1960s to tell where an automobile was registered in New York State. Each county had unique two letter codes proceeding the numerical code. "I went to a college in upstate New York that had a student body divided between upstate and NYC area students so there were always plenty of plates from all around the state to look at so if you were observant you could figure out a lot of the county codes.
As much as I can recall anything with a Y or J was my home County of Nassau, Q was Queens, K was Kings (Brooklyn), S was Suffolk, AB was Albany, TS was Steuben County, BS or BF was Erie County (Buffalo) etc etc.
I'm farily certain number assignments are arbitrary in Massachusetts; since changing from the old-school green letter plates in the early 90s, the numbering schema has changed several times anyway. Same with New Hampshire; I'm not sure there's any way to tell locale from the numbers.
When I was stationed in South Dakota, the first one or two digits denoted the county (so my Integra's plate started with 2, for Pennington County.) Here in Iowa the issuing counties' names are simply printed on the bottom of the plate. Fun fact: Des Moines is not in Des Moines county.
I believe Pontiac was without a full-size for a year or two during the gas crunch, then had a second thought during the booming, cheaper-gas era that followed.
Yep, Pontiac dropped the full-sized Catalina and Bonneville after 1981, believing the market for big cars was gone forever. Big Pontiacs used to be wildly popular in the 60's, and on up through 1973. However, the first oil embargo seemed to hit Pontiac's big cars worse than the other GM divisions, and once big cars started getting popular again, Pontiac just never recovered the way the other divisions did. When the second fuel crisis hit, Pontiac decided to just pack it in.
For 1982, they took what had been the midsized LeMans, and gave it a more formal looking front-end, and called it Bonneville. It was a lame attempt to make buyers think that it was a downsized full-sized car. I think Chevrolet was actually considering doing this with the Caprice for 1982, leaving only Buick, Olds, and Cadillac to push true full-sized cars, but wisely backed off at the last second. Still, the 1982-83 Malibu has a front-end that bears a striking resemblance to the Caprice, as if it was poised to take over in a moment's notice if Chevy dropped its big cars.
Interestingly, in 1982, despite being a full-blown recession, demand for big cars returned. I have an old Motortrend magazine from early 1982, which tested a Caprice, and they commented that Caprices were going out the showroom door at full sticker, while it was taking heavy incentives to move the new Celebrity, which was supposed to represent a giant leap forward in fuel economy and efficiency.
The folks at Pontiac probably regretted dumping their big cars prematurely, so in mid-1983, they brought down the Parisienne from Canada. However, while the old Catalina/Bonneville had unique sheetmetal and interiors, and used mainly Pontiac V-8's, the Parisienne was basically a Caprice/Impala with a different grille insert up front, nicer interior fabrics, and a dash that had round dials instead of square. And the rear end was actually modified from the Impala, rather than the more expensive Caprice! The Caprice had bigger taillights.
Now for 1985, Pontiac restyled the rear of the Parisienne, like the one pictured above. That made it look more like a 1980-81 Bonneville. They also started putting on rear fender skirts in 1985, although I can't remember if they were standard or not.
The Parisienne sedan was dropped after 1986, although the wagon continued through 1989. I wonder if the sedan carried on for a few more years in Canada, though?
IIRC, the body-color fascia around the headlights makes it the Brabus version. If smart had brought the Roadster-Coupe (the hatchback version) over here, I would have bought that instead of the fortwo.
I dunno, I sat in a Brabus version in 05 or 06 at NAIAS, and I barely fit. I'm only about 6'. That car is too small for taller americans. Height limit maybe 5'10" or so, and even then you'll feel squeezed in.
The ForTwo is a lot roomier. It will easily accomodate me.
I remember Clarkson (the big guy) from top gear driving one a few years ago. Although it was pretty slow for a roadster , I think he fit in it and actually liked it.
Comments
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I almost hate to admit my level of automotive addiction...but I can tell.
The DL was a 2-door sedan while the GL was a 2-door coupe. And this one seems to be a 1974 or 1975 (the 1973 had a different grille).
It is indeed an Austin A35, 1956-59. You can tell the A35 fom the earlier A30 easily by the larger back window, and as seen in this shot, the thick chrome strip round the grille.
The wagon was also called a GL, I believe.
That 4WD wagon even had a low range, and preceeded the AMC Eagle by half a decade, so it was the true first Sport Utility Wagon, not the Outback.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
SWAG on the year - 1986.
The wagon was also called a GL, I believe.
That 4WD wagon even had a low range, and preceeded the AMC Eagle by half a decade, so it was the true first Sport Utility Wagon, not the Outback.
Yes, there was a DL and a GL wagon...and the GL was offered as 4wd starting in 1975. I don't believe, however, that the Subaru offered a low-range. It was switchable between FWD and 4WD though. The 1980 AMC Eagle was "automatic 4wd" which simply meant you couldn't switch it yourself, althought they did add that feature in 1981.
SWAG on the year - 1986.
I'm going to guess that it's later than 1986 because of the fully composite headlights. After the quad round headlights were replace, it was a few years with the Euro-looking lights with composite surrounds encasing the dual rectangular sealed-beam headlights in the US.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
-and extra points for any of the cars in the background
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The Vauxhall Victor is what was later retrospectively called the FA model, although not until the FB had come along. But the FA was actually facelifted in late 1958, and thereafter known as the series II, until it went out of production in mid 1961.
This one appears to have its original registration. TO is Nottingham, and LTO as a suffix was issued in April or early May 1961. ( I have a book that tells these things, for the few who are interested.)
Nope, it's neither a Bonneville nor an '85. It is however it is a Poncho (that's slang for Pontiac
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I believe Pontiac was without a full-size for a year or two during the gas crunch, then had a second thought during the booming, cheaper-gas era that followed.
Of course one can discern location with a good amount of German plates - and this has been true since the dawn of time - and a few other locations, but age isn't usually so easy.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
But I will give a hint - dirtbikes.
As much as I can recall anything with a Y or J was my home County of Nassau, Q was Queens, K was Kings (Brooklyn), S was Suffolk, AB was Albany, TS was Steuben County, BS or BF was Erie County (Buffalo) etc etc.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
When I was stationed in South Dakota, the first one or two digits denoted the county (so my Integra's plate started with 2, for Pennington County.) Here in Iowa the issuing counties' names are simply printed on the bottom of the plate. Fun fact: Des Moines is not in Des Moines county.
Yep, Pontiac dropped the full-sized Catalina and Bonneville after 1981, believing the market for big cars was gone forever. Big Pontiacs used to be wildly popular in the 60's, and on up through 1973. However, the first oil embargo seemed to hit Pontiac's big cars worse than the other GM divisions, and once big cars started getting popular again, Pontiac just never recovered the way the other divisions did. When the second fuel crisis hit, Pontiac decided to just pack it in.
For 1982, they took what had been the midsized LeMans, and gave it a more formal looking front-end, and called it Bonneville. It was a lame attempt to make buyers think that it was a downsized full-sized car. I think Chevrolet was actually considering doing this with the Caprice for 1982, leaving only Buick, Olds, and Cadillac to push true full-sized cars, but wisely backed off at the last second. Still, the 1982-83 Malibu has a front-end that bears a striking resemblance to the Caprice, as if it was poised to take over in a moment's notice if Chevy dropped its big cars.
Interestingly, in 1982, despite being a full-blown recession, demand for big cars returned. I have an old Motortrend magazine from early 1982, which tested a Caprice, and they commented that Caprices were going out the showroom door at full sticker, while it was taking heavy incentives to move the new Celebrity, which was supposed to represent a giant leap forward in fuel economy and efficiency.
The folks at Pontiac probably regretted dumping their big cars prematurely, so in mid-1983, they brought down the Parisienne from Canada. However, while the old Catalina/Bonneville had unique sheetmetal and interiors, and used mainly Pontiac V-8's, the Parisienne was basically a Caprice/Impala with a different grille insert up front, nicer interior fabrics, and a dash that had round dials instead of square. And the rear end was actually modified from the Impala, rather than the more expensive Caprice! The Caprice had bigger taillights.
Now for 1985, Pontiac restyled the rear of the Parisienne, like the one pictured above. That made it look more like a 1980-81 Bonneville. They also started putting on rear fender skirts in 1985, although I can't remember if they were standard or not.
The Parisienne sedan was dropped after 1986, although the wagon continued through 1989. I wonder if the sedan carried on for a few more years in Canada, though?
500 MWB from what was then West Germany.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The ForTwo is a lot roomier. It will easily accomodate me.
It's one thing to sit inside for 30 seconds, and say, "I fit".
But imagine driving one for 30 minutes or more. Then you start to feel claustrophobic, uncomfortable, can't stretch your legs, etc.
Right on both counts Lancer. :shades:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93