Mystery car pix

texases

My favorite-looking GM of that era was the '66 Tempest 2dr. Always thought it was a clean, lean design. Neighbor had 2 when I was growing up, may have influenced my choice...

andys120

I always liked Wildcats, but they weren't all that popular in their time. When Buick drivers upgraded in those days it was usually from the LeSabre to the Electra..... Performance geared Buick owners seemed more oriented to midsizer Skylarks which were good lookers as well

That sure isn't how I remember it. Wildcats weren't hugely popular but Buick performance addicts, and others used to larger cars gravitated to them and not a few Electras were ordered with Wildcat 401 and 455 motors. The Big motor Skylark GS was never very popular compared to their Chevy, Olds and Pontiac counterparts.

I agree w you about the significance of 1961, that was the year Mitchell declared that there was a new boss in the styling world and recaptured the leadership from Exner and Chrysler Corporation.

berri

I looked up the production figures and was suprised to see that in 65 Buick sold around 98K Widcats versus 144K LeSabres because you just didn't see a lot of Widcats where I grew up. But like real estate, I guess car sales are local to each market. I thought the Wildcat trim was sharp and really made them stand out, not to mention the great engines. They sold around 86K of the much higher prices Electras and you saw a lot of these in the Chicago area back then. For some reason, in 1966 while LeSabre and Electra grew a bit in volume, Widcat dropped to near 69K units. Overall, Skylark did well in 65 considering Buick was better known for big cars and sold 115K plus another 28K in wagons. However, Skylark sales droppped down to 85K and another 22K in wagons for 66.

boomchek

ok, i'll give you that one on the Fiesta. It does remind me of a Clio though.

andys120

Last call for the silver sports coupe in 19575, going...going...

andys120

.....Gone! 19575 is a Ginetta 550 all 1750 lbs of it.

andys120

magnette

At first I thought this was a Daf 55 Coupe, designed by Michelotti, but the door handles etc are different, and it is shorter as well, I think.
So I am guessing a Fiat 850 or possibly a 600, styled by Vignale ?

stever

tmart

Hyundai.Genesis.Coupe.

stever

Look for it on a Super Bowl ad next year.

Hyundai's 2010 Genesis Commercials Will Get Super Bowl Watchers' Attention

andys120

So I am guessing a Fiat 850 or possibly a 600, styled by Vignale ?

This car is a bit of a mystery to me, it is badged as a Moretti 500 in the Brochure which also calls it a Fiat 500 Coupe and a 595SS. Click on the link and let me know if you can figure out what it is. :confuse:

andys120

Hyundai's 2010 Genesis Commercials Will Get Super Bowl Watchers' Attention

Let's hope the Super Bowl is less of a yawner than the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. :P

stever

The Manning brothers should keep us entertained, even if they give Archie and Olivia heart attacks. :shades:

And guess what - yep, we even have an NFL Football discussion here.

lemko

Shoot, I thought some kid souped-up a Camry Solara.

bumpy

Yeah, including that tire smoke generator so a FWD car can simulate a RWD burnout. :P

magnette

I should have thought of Moretti. I think that basically Moretti were contracted by Fiat for most of the sixties to build coupe versions of a few of the smaller Fiats, in much the same way as Vignale did with some others, and Autobianchi made the estate versions (although they were actually a subsidiary of Fiat). These were then sold through (some) regular Fiat dealers as additional models. We didn't get any of these here - except the Autobianchi 500 estate - which was sold as a Fiat.

I can't find anything on this specific model, though, although it looks a bit small for a 500 - but thats what the brocure says..

Anyway - nice link to an interesting site - I'll have to see if I've got any old brochures I can scan in for them.

Happy New Year to you all......

lokki

Lemko -

To be fair to Hyundai (and before the fanboys start whining) the Genesis Coupe is RWD. That doesn't make it any less ugly though, and I'm still betting on tire smoke generators in that picture above.

I can't put my fnger on it, but something just isn't right about the smoke patterns in that shot IMHO .

kyfdx

Hmmm... I thought Moretti was an Italian beer? :P

andys120

Moretti is also an Italian beer and proof that the Italians should stick to wine (and cars).

karsick

Not hating on Hyundai here, but....

If they really see the Infiniti G37 as a competitor, WHAT is up with yellow paint in a promo shot??? :sick:

Yellow is soooooo 1999 hey-look-at-me-cheesy.

A nice, classy hue would give their coupe some more class (which I think the Genesis sedan does have).

andys120

tmart

A 61 Mercury Comet. A nice car.

berri

Only problem was that early 60/61 Comets were too heavy for their drivetrain.

fezo

That would make sense. The Comet was originally supposed to be an Edsel model so they had to crew it up womewhat. It's almost a requirement.

andys120

That would make sense. The Comet was originally supposed to be an Edsel model so they had to crew it up womewhat. It's almost a requirement.

You may be thinking of another '61 'Merc, the Mercury Meteor. According to the LA Times:

Phil Skinner, editor of Kelley Blue Book's classic-car guide, says the dirty little secret about the Meteor is that it was originally designed to be an Edsel. "The 1961 Meteor 600 was the only full-size Mercury to ever offer a six-cylinder engine in the United States.

imidazol97

Weren't the Comets variations on the Falcon?

andys120

Yep, the Comet was based on the Falcon but the interiors and standard equipment were somewhat more upscale and IIRC the interior and trunk were slightly larger.

andys120

boomchek

Saab 9000, looks like an early version so I'll say about 86 or 87 model year, and it appears to be wearing British Columbia plates

fezo

You're good. That sounds right.

boomchek

Thx. The platform and some panels were also shared with Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema of that era but I don't think those came in a hatchback form.

fintail

I remember I thought those were sharp cars when I was a kid. Then they turned out to be extremely unreliable. Oh well.

kyfdx

Saab 9000CD in the US?

andre1969

You may be thinking of another '61 'Merc, the Mercury Meteor. According to the LA Times:

No, the Comet was originally supposed to be an Edsel. In fact, it uses 1960 Edsel taillights. However, once Edsel got canned, in November 1959, the decision was made to launch it as a Mercury, and in March of 1960, it was.

1961 signaled a move downscale for pretty much the whole midsized field. The mammoth Mercurys on the old 1957-60 body shell were scrapped, and for 1961 they were little more than upscale Fords, basically moving down into the price level that Edsel had occupied...so in a sense, ALL 1961 Mercurys could be considered Edsel successors.

In a similar fashion, with DeSoto and most of the bigger Dodges out of the way, Chrysler moved downscale considerably with the 1961 Newport. Even pricier cars like the New Yorker, 98, and Electra saw a price cut that year.

andys120

Saab 9000, looks like an early version so I'll say about 86 or 87 model year

I guess you didn't notice the tiny spoiler on the back which denotes the 9000 Turbo.
In the US the non Turbo(2.3L) version of the Gen I 9000 was badged 9000S.

I owned an '86 9000 Turbo/2.0.

Besides the Saab 9000 the same platform was used on the Alfa-Romeo 164 as well as the Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema. Only the Saab was offered as a hatchback, which would haul as much as the contemporary Volvo wagon.

andys120

The 9000CD, was the trunkback version offered alongside the hatchbacks starting in 1988, all were turbocharged

boomchek

Ha! Never knew about the Alfa! It's the most distinct looking of the 3 sharing no body panelks and even it's shape looks different. Never knew that!

andys120

I think they share a few body panels (door and roof) but the front and side glass on all four versions is identical.

Saab>

Fiat>

Lancia>

Alfa>

boomchek

The rear doors on the Alfa are different.

lemko

Indeed, here is a pic of the Edsel Comet prototype. Heck, it looks like an alternate design for an early Pontiac Tempest:

fezo

Wow! I'd never seen an actual picture! It does look like a Tempest.

The car that could have saved Edsel....

andys120

jlbl

I think she is a FIAT because of her bodywork and registration plates. In Spain that model was translated as a SEAT 1400 in the Fifties of last Century. Slightly different models had been built under that generic name, until the 'B' and 'C', very distinct cars, arrived eventually. I'm not so familiar with FIAT of those years, so I can only guess she should be a FIAT 1400.

Regards,
Jose

magnette

Yes - I'd go with Fiat 1400 - I think it's a 1400B - I've got a 1/43rd scale model of one of those and its very much like the car pictured...

andys120

Yowza, you guys are good! That is indeed a 1954 Fiat 1400 A. The still is from a flick I've never heard of with the delightful title Sedotta e Abandonata
(you can probably figure out what that means). :P

stephen987

Sedotta e Abandonata
(you can probably figure out what that means)

Yeah. It's pretty much the way I felt whenever my old Fiat left me high and damp.

jlbl

Sedotta e Abbandonata è un film commedia italiano del 1964, diretto da Pietro Germi, interpretato da Saro Urzì e Stefania Sandrelli. Presentato in concorso al 17° Festival di Cannes, valse al protagonista Saro Urzì il premio per la migliore interpretazione maschile

And Stephania Sandrelle was indeed a very pretty partenaire. Sedotta e Abbandonata was one of those Italian 'realistic' comedies. Everything happend in a classic Sicily dense big family crossed by internal secret love desires and affaires, in which an authoritary pater familias tried to maintain the family honour in a torrid Sicilian summer. :sick: The film was in black and white.

And yes, the name of the film was highly suggestive for we, teenagers of those years, and became sort of a leit motiv in many jokes at least in Italy, Spain and France.

Regards,
Jose

andys120

Sounds like a great movie (I'm half-Sicilian), unfortunately Netflix doesn't have it.

andys120