Mystery car pix

fintail

I think the 6000 might have actually been sold through MY 1991, although I can't imagine many found buyers by then.

dougb10

When you guys mention the "6000"...are you referring to the Pontiac 6000?

Basically the same body style, I had a new 1984 Pontiac 6000 STE. That was a great car....the best seats that GM ever made...cornered flat and had a fantastic exhaust sound. The digital dash looked like someting from Star Wars at night.

Moved from that car into three straight Bonneville SE's...1988, 1990 and 1993.

They were good cars and were driven for several years later by two of my sons.

Doug

andys120

stephen987

Fiat Ritmo (Strada in the US.) From the trick wheels and badging, I'm guessing it's perhaps an Abarth variant.

andys120

Right on Stephen, it's a Fiat Ritmo Abarth. I think it's from near the end of the run (1978-88) based on the chrome slants in the grille, perhaps Magnette or someone can nail that down a little. We got the two-headlight Strada version here with really ugly bumpers and little dealer support in the 80s.

stephen987

boomchek

The green cop car looks like a Nissan Sentra early 90s, but could still be in production.

Not sure about the white car.

magnette

I'm not good with South American cars, but the white one looks like a development of the Ford Corcel. Given this is Chile, I guess its actually Argentinian-assembled.

What the local cops drive, I don't know. It looks like the grille from a Vauxhall Frontera, stuck onto an early nineties Nissan but the car looks completely different - they have so many mixed-up cars there, like Toyota/VW or whatever....

stephen987

The white car is in fact a Ford Corcel. The Corcel was originally based on a Renault design for the Brazilian market, but was also marketed in Argentina and Chile if I recall correctly.

The police car is a Nissan Tsuru, a decontented version of the early '90s US-market Sentra. I tend to think of the Tsuru as a Mexican-market car, but it was sold (and possibly manufactured) in South America as well.

hudsonthedog

I believe the Nissan Tsuru (and Tsubame wagon) were only produced in Mexico.

andys120

<img src="http://images.trucktrend.com/autoshows/coverage/163_2008_cas_01z+suzuki_equator_pickup+front_view.jpg

boomchek

The new Suzuki mid size pick up truck, which is a rebadged and facelifted Nissan Frontier, and built by Nissan as far as I know.

andys120

Yep, it's the '09 Suzuki Equator, better looking than the Fronier from which it sprang IMO.

andys120

My bad, the yellow four-poster Buick intermediate I identifed as a '65 Special is neither a '65 nor exactly a Special but a '66 Buick, one of a small number badged as "Skylark Specials" (?) link

andys120

boomchek

Chrysler Imperial early 70s?

stickguy

when it is way longer than the house it is parked in front of is wide!

andre1969

It's definitely an Imperial, but I'm not familiar enough with them to pick the exact year. All I can say is 1969-73. I always thought those were nice looking cars, and the most attractive example of Chrysler's "fuselage" styling. I've heard though, that they took a big reduction in status in that generation. They were huge cars, but I've heard that all Mopars, from the lowly Plymouth Fury on up through the Dodge Monaco/Polara, the Chryslers, and even the Imperial, all used the same passenger cabin. So the net effect is that the Imperial gave you no more interior room than a Plymouth. A bigger trunk, perhaps, but most of the added length was in the engine bay. In contrast, in '68, I believe the Chryslers were bigger inside than the Plymouths and Dodges, while the Imperials were bigger still.

In 1974 they corrected this to a degree, where the Chryslers and Imperials were bigger inside than the full-sized Furys and Monacos. But by that time, Imperial was really a shell of its former self, and just not very distinguishable from the Chryslers.

bumpy

Some high school kid around here had a black SE-R with the Tsuru grille and headlights a few years ago. They're direct bolt-ons for the '93-94 B13s, so you see them swapped on every so often.

andys120

Yep, 1971 Chrysler Imperial Le Baron.

andys120

stephen987

Allard Palm Beach?

andys120

Good guess, there is a vague resemblance but the Allard PB was quite a bit better looking.

1954 Allard Palm Beach:


My car was an earlier design and like the Allard built in the UK... Magnette?

stephen987

Hmm, kite-shaped grille. Something Healey then?

magnette

It's a Healey Sportsmobile - about 1950

lostwrench1

1948-1949 Healey Sportsmobile. Only three are known to exist.

andys120

That's correct Magnette. Lost wrench is correct too, according to motorbase.com there are only a small # left. The owner of the pictured car says it is the car shown at the 1948 NY Auto Show.

. The Sportsmobile used the engine and chassis of a contemporary Riley.
I find it interesting that one of a handful of survivors lives in the US

andys120

lemko

1964 Chevrolet Chevelle station wagon.

badger16

It's certainly a 1971 Imperial LaBaron hardtop sedan, not a Chrysler.

andys120

If you say so, I don't recall when they became "Chrysler Imperials". Andre?

andys120

andre1969

If you say so, I don't recall when they became "Chrysler Imperials". Andre?

Well technically, 1955-75 Imperials are just "Imperials" and not "Chrysler Imperials". However, the cars got harder to tell apart as the years went by, and at some point, they had a badge on them that said "Imperial by Chrysler". It was probably in the early 70's, when that was a trendy thing to do...such as "Grand Ville by Pontiac" or "Monte Carlo by Chevrolet". I'm sure Ford did it as well. The car always did have a problem distinguishing itself from its Chrysler siblings.

lemko

I remember when Datsun transitioned over to Nissan in the early 1980s. I think the badges read NISSAN and in smaller text "by Datsun." Or was it the other way around?

stephen987

Looks more like a Suzuki Alto to me.

mpoisson1

Diahatsu Charade-1982

andys120

Yep, that's it, it's an '82 Charade.

andys120

stever

That would be the Nissan 370Z Coupe. Supposed to debut on 11/19 as an '09 at the LA Auto Show.

I thought I spotted one at the dealer a couple of weeks ago when my wife and I were making the rounds of a few dealers. It was a 350Z convertible.

My wife spotted the 350Z separately from me and later remarked that she thought it odd that the one on the showroom floor was an automatic. We don't have LA traffic here. :shades:

karsick

... but you do have poseurs? :P

A slushbox Z, what a shame!

stever

That was my wife's feeling, in so many words. "What a waste" was also uttered.

It was black so that was a deal killer anyway. :P

boomchek

The front overhang on the new Z makes it look like a front wheel driver.

Otherwise the belt line reminds me of th eold Zs from the 70s.

andys120

Yup, I don't know why the overhang so long, maybe to make it resemble the long nose of the original 1970 240Z. The beltline, the windshield and the rear side window all somewhat resemble that original car.

I think I like it.

stever

Me too.

I can't wait for the Nerd-Burging.

andys120

stephen987

Willys Commando?

stever

Was gonna guess 1949 Jeep Truck, but the grill doesn't match the one hanging on my garage.

qbrozen

First time I was in Mexico in '02, I asked a driver about the Tsurus down there. Although it looks straight out of the early '90s, he assured me they were still building them new. He also informed me you could go to the dealership and buy a brand new one for around the equivalent of $7,000 USD. WOW!

andys120

Willys Commando?

It's a 1952 Willys Pickup, I don't know if they used the Commando name back then, I associate it w 70s-80s era Jeeps.

andys120