Mystery car pix

jmmate

the car that was used in the original kojak series was a buick CENTURY! not a REGAL. there is a difference. if you look close enough in the show, you can see the "century" emblems on the front fenders of the car. and "yes" there is a difference between a regal and a century. even though not too many people really know what the difference is. also, i believe he used the same car or year car the whole show. in 1975 (1975-1977) regals and centurys had square headlights. the car in the show had round headlights. then the body style changed completely in 1978.

jmmate

wrong wrong wrong. kojaks cars was a 1973-1974 buick CENTURY. not a regal. in 1975 the regals and centurys had 4 square headlights. in 1973-1974 they had 2 round headlights. his car clearly had 2 round headlights, and clearly said century on the front fenders.

stephen987

Not to reopen a discussion that happened here two months ago, nor to encourage the recent round of repetitive posts, but here goes:

The '75 Century had round headlights. Not till '76 did they get the stacked rectangular lights.

For the '70s survivors out there (like me), here's a '75 Century Colonnade Coupe. (note the Century script on the lower front fender). The Regal from that year had a more formal roofline.

jmmate

actually that is a regal. regals and chevelles were very similar and built on the same assembly line. and no the 1976 and 1977 did not get squared off. actually 1973-1977 were the same car. the difference mainly was the 1073-1974 had 2 round headlights, and the 1975-1977 had 4 square or rectangle headlights. 1978 they changed the body style completely, downsizing them.
kojak drove a 1973-1974 buick century. look close at the headlights and the emblems on the front fenders that say "century".

jmmate

see correction

jmmate

correction to my last post,..that picture is most likely a 1975 built in late 1974. the regals had square or rectangle stacked headlights right away in 1975, the century came real late in 1974, which actually made it a 1975. kinda like the 1954-1955 chevy truck. they made a 1954 1/2 and they made a first series and second. you could actually buy 2 different 1955 chevy trucks. one looked like a 1954 and the other looked like a 1956, but both were "titled 1955". i have a picture of a 1975 regal, but dont know how to download it on here. type in 1975 buick regal picture, on the website flickr

fintail

Tatra T600 Tatraplan

stever

fintail

The trim under the windows irks me, somehow. (I assume it is trim and not painted metal)

The wheels are interesting, reminds me of butcher knives...cooler if the design went the other direction.

boomchek

The wheels are interesting, reminds me of butcher knives...cooler if the design went the other direction.

Probably do....on the passenger side of the car.

jlbl

Though I can see the body difference between a TR4…


(Sorry, the TR4 pic was reluctant to get copied here)


and a TR4A…



I cannot found any between the latter and the TR5…



or the TR250…



As taken from Wikipedia.
Engine and other internal differences can be found there and also in…

jlbl CarSpace '5 Triumphs' Album

Can anyone tell me more about body differences along 4a-250 Triumph series? :surprise:

Regards,
Jose

stephen987

Precisely, Fintail, it's a Tatraplan T600 by Tatra.

stever

There's two more pics of the Volt sitting at the curb at Edmunds HQ over in the Strategies blog. Goes on sale in 2010. Maybe. :shades:

Chevrolet Volt - Edmunds.com Gets First Look at Historic Electric Car

andre1969

For the '70s survivors out there (like me), here's a '75 Century Colonnade Coupe. (note the Century script on the lower front fender). The Regal from that year had a more formal roofline.

Yeah, the quickest way to tell the Century/Regal apart, other than looking at the badging, is the roofline on the coupes. The Regal used a more formal roofline, which it shared with the Cutlass Supreme, Grand Prix, and Monte Carlo. The opera windows had a forward slant to them, but had more pronounced corners. And the rear window, IIRC, was sort of vee'd toward the center of the car.

The Chevelle/Malibu, LeMans, Century, and cheaper Cutlasses used a more fastback roof. I think what might lead to some confusion though, is that there were several quarter window treatments available. Standard was a large, triangular window that made for a slim C-pillar. It was popular in 1973, but became less so in the later years. Pontiac didn't offer it at all in '76-77. One option was a louvered quarter window, which was common in cars like the Pontiac Grand Am, Laguna S-3, and LeMans Sport Coupe. I can't remember seeing any Cutlasses or Centurys with it, though. The other option was the small opera window, which is what the Century you posted is sporting. That, plus the landau padding, give the roof a more formal look, that at a quick glance might look like the roofline of a Regal, Grand Prix, etc. But to see them side by side, the difference would be much more noticeable. But then, just to be annoying, in 1976 the Century coupe started using the more formal roofline. There was a Century Special that still used the more fastback roof, though.

Also, to add to the confusion, when the cars went to rectangular lights for 1976, the treatment was different on coupes versus sedans. Sedans, both Century and Regal, used the stacked quad headlights, with the turn signals mounted inboard of the lights, while the coupes used more conventional side-by-side lights, with the turn signals underneath them.

BTW, I like that '75 Century coupe you posed, Stephen. That color looks close to my '76 Grand LeMans, although my vinyl roof is burgundy as well. I wonder how white would look on it, if I ever needed to replace it?

andys120

Can anyone tell me more about body differences along 4a-250 Triumph series?

I'm a-quasi expert on these cars. I owned a non-IRS '66 TR-4A and my 'Bro owned a '68 TR-250. I know less about the TR-5 PI since we didn't get that one in the USA but I believe that except for under the hood, badging and the nose stripe it was identical to it the US market version

The main differences between the TR-250 and the TR-4A
were-

-Nose stripe across front hood, fenders (TR-250 only, not on TR-5 PI)
-Side marker lights in side of rear enders,
-Backup lights under tailights
-Aforementioned stripe on front hood.
-Stripe outlining sides of convertible top (luminescent)
-Full-wheel covers on disc wheel versions
-No knock-off ears on wire wheel versions.
-Fold-down sun visors.
-Taller seat backs.
-Matte finish wood on dash, black instrument surrounds
-No faux crank hole in lower grille.

1968 Triumph TR-250>

.

FWIW the TR-250 was a far superior car to the earlier TR-4/4A with more power and better build quality as well as some welcome amenities (sun visors!). The non-IRS 4-banger might be a little quicker thru a very tight curve but the 6 cylinder car was the one to have IMO.

Unfortunately in '69 safety regs caused Triumph to drop the Michelotti-bodied cars
in favor of the comparatively ugly Karmann designed TR-6.

andys120

tmart

The new 2010 Stang.

qbrozen

really?
Am I supposed to see a difference between that and the current one? I think the hood bulge is different ... maybe the headlights. Nothing that makes it stand out, though.

tmart

Check out today's Inside Line for more info.

jlbl

Many thanks, Andy. :P

Regards,
Jose

andys120

really?
Am I supposed to see a difference between that and the current one? I think the hood bulge is different ... maybe the headlights. Nothing that makes it stand out, though.

The matte black grille surrounds for the GT versions are new for '10.

stephen987

Am I supposed to see a difference between that and the current one? I think the hood bulge is different ... maybe the headlights. Nothing that makes it stand out, though.

I have to disagree. They fixed what wasn't broken (the styling) along with part of what was broken (the Fisher-Price interior) and left the weakest link (the base engine) undisturbed. Compare this to the new V6 Camaro or even the 3.5L Challenger and it's clear Ford has missed an opportunity. Why not install the 3.5 Duratec from the 2010 Fusion?

Cost. That's why. Dang.

magnette

I have only seen one or two TR250s but the TR5 had a bonnet badge which was narrower at the top than the bottom as it said TR on the top row, and 5 below.
I think the Tr 250 had a badge the other way up, TR and than 250 Certainly looks like it in the pictures

andys120

stephen987

Well, let's see. On the far right I can make out a Mercedes-Benz Ponton, most likely a 180. Behind that are a couple of mystery cars (the red one might be a Ford Taunus, the green one could conceivably be a VW Type 3 Ghia), and a couple of VW Bugs.

The big black thing in the foreground with the license plate in Cyrillic? Ya got me. . .

lemko

Is that one of those old GaZ Volga sedans?

stephen987

Correction: I think the mint green thing (which I had labeled a Type 3 Ghia) might be an Auto Union/DKW 1000 coupe.

andys120

Nope, it's not a Volga or a GaZ, different national origin.

fintail

Scene is shot in Berlin...I can't figure out that black car though. I see the emblem resembles an H....it certainly has some red flair...I don't know what an early Hongqi looks like or if it would have an H on the hood. It must have some cold war or commie connection.

I agree on the ponton and German Ford.

stephen987

I thought Volga or Pobeda at first too. I then thought "big Fiat"--but I think there weren't any postwar Fiats that big until the much more modern 2300/2300S.

It's obviously big, by Fifties Euro standards. Looks comparable in size to the Ponton. But not as big as a ZIL or a Hongqi.

So. . .

fintail

I think it's even bigger than a ponton. It looks like a decent tank for the time and place. I wonder if the H means something maybe in a different alphabet.

I know it's not a Honda or a Hyundai! :shades:

stephen987

I know it's not a Honda or a Hyundai!

Nor a Hanomag?

fintail

I think all Hanomag passenger cars are prewar

andys120

Nope, it's not a Hanomag but you're getting a little warmer. The plate is one issued
by/to the Soviet Occupation Forces operating in Eat Berlin (hint), a real collector's item nowadays.

stephen987

Hmmm.

Doesn't look like any Borgward or Hansa I've ever seen. Then again, I haven't seen many here in Jawjah.

magnette

Sachsenring P240 - a post-war DDR revival in the old Horch factory - early 50's

stephen987

Is that the same factory that later built Trabants?

magnette

Yes, I think the Trabant factory at Zwickau is the old Horch factory - and on reflection I think our mystery car there was originally made as a Horch P240, and then later as the Sachsenring P240, so it could be any time from about 1953/58... I believe thay made them in limited numbers alongside the Zwickau P70 which was about 1956, and then for a time alongside the first Trabant which evolved from that..

magnette

I think the mint green car might be a BMW 700, and the red one looks a bit like an Opel to me, but I am at work and the monitor here is not good, so I would need to wait until Iget home tonight to have a better look...

andys120

The black car is indeed a P240 from the Zwikau factory, by then controlled by IFA (Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau) which took over the BMW plant in Eisenach as well as the Auto Union factories in Zwickau and Chemnitz as well as all other vehicle production facilities in the DDR.

IFA manufactured cars using the brands EMW, IFA, Sachsenring, Wartburg and Trabant, and in this case Horch (the H on the nose is for Horch), The P40 was orginally sold as a Horch Sachsenring P240). The plate seen in the still replicates those issued by the Soviet Occupation Forces (real collectors items for plate buffs).

There was a fairly spiffy looking cabrio version of the P240 (note Horch emblem on nose)..

There was an abortive attempt to revive the Horch brand by Auto Union AG based in Ingolstadt West Germany. During the early 50s Auto Union workers built a single prototype on the chassis of a prewar Hoch 830BL. According to the Nov. issue of Octane this car was operated by the US Occupation Forces and found it's way to Texas where it sat idle for many years and was recently acquired by a collector with an eye toward restoring it.

andys120

stever

Rebadged Honda Fit from the NUMMI joint venture? The Pontiac Conniption?

oops, must be a Toyota platform.

lemko

That's a Pontiac G3 - a dumb exercise in badge-engineering of the Chevrolet Aveo. I recall a time when a Pontiac was a clear step up from a Chevrolet. Take a look at any mid-1960s Poncho.

michaellno

Close, but no cigar.

Rebadged Chevy Aveo to be sold as the Pontiac G3.

When, oh when will GM bring over the Corsa instead?

stephen987

When, oh when will GM bring over the Corsa instead?

When the dollar rises to parity with the Euro. . . or they realize that US consumers really do care about quality even at the bottom end of the market.

Or when the FAA reports that a squadron of flying pigs is circling Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and requesting permission to land in Atlanta. . .

Wait a second--isn't the Corsa already sold in the Mexican market?

michaellno

When the dollar rises to parity with the Euro. . . or they realize that US consumers really do care about quality even at the bottom end of the market.

But, why not retool one of the many plants in the US to build it here ... like Ford is going to do with the Fiesta.

fintail

Geez, the Saschenring organization slipped my mind. Doh! I hope that big old thing didn't have some two stroke lawnmower engine, anyway.

I can see the red car being an Opel Rekord A, yeah.

andys120

texases

Porsche 944 (edit: S2, that is) cabriolet, about 1990? I didn't remember they had one, thought it started with the 968...obviously not!

andys120

Yep, 1990 944 S2 Cabrio is correct.