Mystery car pix

imidazol97

Mercury Cougar, 1971. I think.

wgrafer

I was going to say '70 Cougar.

andys120

Yep, '71 Mercury Cougar XR-7.

andys120

karsick

Those hubcaps.

Those tires.

That grille.

It had to be Japanese, and some research revealed it's a car I wasn't aware of:

Datsun Sports S211.

Good one

andys120

Datsun Sports S211.

Yes. indeed, the SP 211 was the first of a long line of Datsun/Nissans to be popularly known in the JDM by the name "Fair Lady", thus it is the ancestor of the Z-cars including the 240-Z and the current 350-Z.

2008 is the 50th in the US for Nissan (aka Datsun).

andys120

Movie still from Silkwood (1983).

davethecarnut

73 or 74 Pontiac and 74 Civic?
Which one did Cher drive?

andre1969

I'm gonna go with a '72 Pontiac LeMans for the burgundy one. Hard to tell from that angle, but it looks like it might be a 4-door hardtop, which was a fairly rare body style.

I really don't know my Civics from that era, but I'm going to guess a '77?

andys120

I don't know the year of the Civic but '76-'77 looks about right. The Poncho is a '72 LeMans but I don't think it's a H/T, I think I can see a B-pillar.

ateixeira

Didn't that Civic basically have a motorcycle engine?

Civic has come a long way, eh?

andre1969

Hmm, that angle really threw me off. Turns out it's actually a hardtop coupe! From the front-on shot, the chrome trim piece that separates the rear window from the front window just looked like it was further forward, which made me think it was a 4-door. It has skirted rear wheels too, and a thick trim strip running along the lower bodyside, so I'm guessing it's a high-end model, like a Luxury LeMans?

Those were sharp looking cars, but IMO look awful with the rear fender skirts.

texases

Small (1.5l, same size as a Fit), but not related to their motorcycles. That had the CVCC (prechamber) engines, I think, that got Honda a lot of good press for dealing with US emissions regs while Detroit complained. Made obsolete by cat converters, though.

ateixeira

Didn't they have even smaller engines at one point? 1.3 liters?

bumpy

Didn't that Civic basically have a motorcycle engine?

No, that was the old N- and S-series cars in the '60s and the pre-Civic Z600.

texases

Yes, I think there was also a 1.2 l available for some period, but it also wasn't related to the (then air-cooled) motorcycle engines.

bumpy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic

ateixeira

1.2l, wow.

In Brazil the most popular Fit model comes with a 1.3l. So you could even say they're still in that market segment.

andys120

kyfdx

The base Civic engine was still a 1.3 litre, even with the new generation that came out in 1981... 1.5 litre was optional..

My '82 Accord still had the 1751cc engine...

karsick

Didn't that Civic basically have a motorcycle engine?

I was one of the kooks to buy a (used) 2-cylinder, air-cooled 1972 Honda N600 sedan. It was my first car, and was basically a rolling protest to all my car buddies in high school who had 454's, 396's & 440's. Yes, my car measured out to 36 cubic inches, but it had the bragging rights of One HP per Cubic Inch :P

BTW - If 20" wheels are now called "DUBS", what are 10" wheels called? :confuse:

texases

"what are 10" wheels called?"

Nubs?

Kid at school had a N600, his 'buddies' turned it sideways in the parking spot, he missed work, and it broke something on the car. :sick:

karsick

Reminds me of the Cisitalia, but I assume by the title that this is a French car, oui?

Cool looking, nonetheless. :shades:

savoy

http://litwc.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_1938_Phantom_Corsair.jpg
I was wondering if any knew what kind of car this is.

andys120

I was wondering if any knew what kind of car this is.

Just as the url suggests, that is a 1938 Phantom Corsair and it's AFAIK a one of a kind protype built on a Cord 810 chassis. It looks like something a 1930's comic strip character like Tim Tyler or...well... The Phantom would ride around in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Corsair

andys120

It does indeed look like a Cisitalia but it is indeed French...body by Chapron.

andys120

Here's another angle on #15972>



It looks even more like a Cisitalia when you can't see the notchback, doesn't it?

magnette

This is a Delahaye - possibly a 235 ?

andys120

Oui! It's a 1953 Delahaye 235 MS, coachwork by Chapron.

andys120

ateixeira

Wow, looks like a mix of...

Toyota green house?

Acura lights?

It's not the JDM Odyssey/La Grand.

JDM Toyota Previa, maybe?

fintail

The front looks like a Pokemon character painted black. Cartoony pseudo-aggressive expressions on some of these vehicles represents a fad that needs to die.

hudsonthedog

JDM Toyota Previa, maybe?

Yes, but it's called the Toyota Estima.

andys120

Yes, but it's called the Toyota Estima

That's a Bingo, Hudson.

andys120

karsick

Opel Kadett lineup for Germany ca. 1976. :confuse:

guss

That's a good picture for Easter. They look like 3 Opel Easter eggs in the grass.

andys120

'76 sounds about right and they are all Opel Kadett Cs.

andys120

pat

LOL!!!

That's the kind of post that should come with a warning -- put down whatever you are drinking before reading to avoid potential harm to monitor/or and keyboard!! :shades:

magnette

Vespa 400 - made by the French Vespa distributor from c. 1957-1959

andre1969

are kinda cute little cars. I wonder GM would have been better off just bringing those over to the US and badging them as Chevrolets, than foisting the Chevette on us. Actually, isn't the Chevette the same basic platform as these? Those windshields at least look a bit Chevette-ish. But the overall cars look a bit more substantial and upscale.

andys120

The Opel Kadette C was sold in Brazil as the Chevy Chevette in 1974 before it's introduction in Europe, I saw quite a few when I was in Rio in '76. It's the same car that was sold in the US as the "Buick-Opel"
in coupe, sedan and wagon form.

The US Chevette Hatchback was virtually identical to the hatchback sold as an Opel/Chevy/Vauxhall in various markets., collectively they are known as T-cars.

Here's the Opel version with the same (Rostyle) wheels as the Kadette Cs in the earlier photo.>

ateixeira

T makes sense, wasn't it also called the T1000? By Pontiac, IIRC?

andys120

From the original The Manchurian Candidate (1962)



If anyone knows Manhattan, they could guess the approximate location.

fintail

Nearest car, the convertible, is a 55 Pontiac. Behind it looks like a Rambler ca. 1960. Across the street L-R looks like a Falcon wagon, then a Beetle, then maybe a 60 Caddy? I am not on the best monitor so my details could be wrong. The car on the street with what looks like a taxi sign on the top reminds me of a 49-51 Ford wagon. I want to say the fins in front of the Pontiac are from a 58 Ford.

andys120

Good job, Fin. The picture is pretty fuzzy but AFAIK you've identifies everything correctly except for the cab which IMCDB IDs as a '53 DeSoto Powermaster.

DeSotos were the most numerous NYC taxis IIRC starting in the 40s with the incredibly roomy Suburban types through the mid 50s when Checkers began to take over. It is curious that a nine year old unit would still be viable after pounding the potholed Streets of Manhattan for so long.

Speaking of Manhattan, the photo appears be of upper Fifth Avenue near one of the Central Park transverse roads.Nowadays Fifth Avenue is one way going downtown (i.e. to the right of photos).

Here's a better look at the DeSoto and the '57 Ford>



.

andre1969

I wonder if one reason that Checker started getting a foothold on the taxi cab market in 1955 was that Chrysler got out of the mass-produced long-wheelbase sedans after 1954? In fact, in 1952 I think you could even get a LWB Plymouth or Dodge. However, they went through a heavy restyle in 1953 that made them stubbier, and dropped the long models, leaving just DeSoto and Chrysler/Imperial.

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I don't think a long wheelbase DeSoto or Chrysler was all that expensive. Probably less than $1000 more than a regular sedan counterpart. In 1955, I think Chrysler started farming out the limos to Ghia, and the result was a $15,000 car. In an era where even an Imperial still base priced for around $5K or a bit less.

I wonder, if Chrysler kept building its long cars in-house and keeping the prices down, if they might have held onto the taxi market longer?

That '55 Pontiac looks like it could be sitting there, waiting to take the Ricardos and Mertzes off to sunny California for Ricky's screen test.

andys120

That '55 Pontiac looks like it could be sitting there, waiting to take the Ricardos and Mertzes off to sunny California for Ricky's screen test.

LOL! Wasn't that a Mercury?

andre1969

LOL! Wasn't that a Mercury?

Close...that's what Mickey and Tacey had in The Long, Long Trailer.