Mystery car pix

wgrafer

Looks like a '73 Pontiac LeMans Grand Am. Nice. I can barely see its reflection
in the window, but I think I also see a '65 Malibu inside the showroom.

andys120

Yup it's a '73 Pontiac Grand AM/400.

andys120

tmart

Haven't a clue, but it's cute. I like it.

boomchek

Modified Kia Elan?

andys120

That's right Boomchek. Kia motors bought the design of the FWD Lotus Elan M100 after Lotus ceased production of it in 1995 and made their v ersion nearly identical except for badges and the substitution of a 1.8 liter Kia for the Lotus' 16 liter Isuzu I-4.

Kia made Elans for two MYs, 1996-97.

kyfdx

That just seems wrong..

(Of course, a FWD Elan with a Toyota engine seemed wrong at the time, as well).

andys120

a FWD Elan with a Toyota engine seemed wrong at the time, as well.

FYI the Lotus Elan M100 used an Isuzu engine. It's the Lotus Elise that uses a Toyota unit.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

Yes, and the white house behind the pumps was worth $35,000.

Just add X10 to everything (at least)

lemko

Hmmm, I don't know what the fintailed little red sports car is, but the car at the pump appears to be a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville convertible and I can just barely make out a white 1953 Buick Special with a black roof in the background.

Chances are that white house in the background only went for $15,000. Thirty-five grand could still get you a pretty substantial house in the 1950s, especially if you lived in a more rural area. Your typical Airlite home in NE Philly only ran about $14,000 when they were new in the mid 1950s.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm thinkin' this photo is early 60s.

jwilliams2

My guess on the red sports car is a 1960 or so Sunbeam Alpine.

andys120

Yup, the sports car is a gen I Alpine with the big MoPar-inspired fins and the Poncho is a '59 Bonnie. The photo is from Butterfield 8 released in 1960 so probably filmed in '59.

fintail

Yeah it looks like an early Alpine to me.

Regarding the housing...around that time, early 60s, my grandparents bought a new ~1700sq ft rambler in suburban Seattle, I think it came in at just under 20K. Solid middle class house, nicely finished - hardwood throughout, 2 car garage, lots of funky "mid century" style fixtures. Even in the depressed market it's worth much more than 10x now...sadly salaries haven't changed likewise.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

Wow, a Lincoln with a dive platform!

lemko

1957 Lincoln. Not sure which model. This car would look infinitely nicer without the stupid Continental kit.

fintail

Lots of interesting stuff here:

ateixeira

And the 3 foot bumper.

wgrafer

Regarding house prices, in 1962 my parents bought a .4 acre lot in a nice town in Northern NJ (Ramsey) for $3k and had a 3/1.5 w/2-car garage built for $27k for a total of $30k. I just checked Zillow - it's now worth $427k, down from $550k at the peak. I remember our '64 Impala 283 4-dr hardtop listed for $3k and actually cost $2,727. Do the math - 10x the original house cost now gets a way smaller house, while 10x the '64 impala cost still gets a comparable car. Of course gold was fixed at $35/oz. back then...

wgrafer

Well, I'll go for the easy stuff. How about a dark color '67 Camaro top left and a '68 white Camaro (with a vinyl roof?) up front. Top left corner looks like a '63 or '64 Oldsmobile 4-dr hardtop, but can't tell the model for sure. This looks like a H.S. auto shop class!! And I think I spy a fintail somewhere....

stephen987

The white mid-engine sports-racer looks a bit like a Chapparal. OK, so the only Chapparal I've ever seen was from Hot Wheels, but it looked like that.

berri

I think a lot of collectors add those continental kits. I was just a little kid back then, but I don't recall those many continental kits on cars in the mid-late 50's.

lostwrench1

Premiere?

andys120

Yup, it's a '57 Lincoln Premiere.

andys120

The white mid-engine sports-racer looks a bit like a Chapparal. OK, so the only Chapparal I've ever seen was from Hot Wheels, but it looked like that.

I agree. It looks like a Chapparal 2A, which was Jim Hall's first real design; the earlier Chapparal I was an update of Lance Reventlow's Scarab-Chevy, a front-engine design.

Chapparal 2A>

Mr_Shiftright

Jim Hall was a genius.

I always admired people like him, or like Colin Chapman, who looked at a racetrack or the cars on it and said "you know, I can beat these guys with brains rather than horsepower".

And did they ever!

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

andys120

michaellno

Dodge Challenger / Plymouth Sapporo - circa late 70's.

ateixeira

Built by Mitsubishi, right?

stickguy

that was one of the Chrysler Mitsus of the era.

I kind of liked them too.

ateixeira

I drove one with my roommate on a ski trip, though it was his sister's car (borrowed).

He hurt his shoulder so I drove it home.

Decent car, and considering how bad the cars from that era were, perhaps it was more than decent.

andys120

Yup, 1978 Dodge Challenger (by Mitsubishi).

stephen987

They were a bit overstyled--not bad for the time period. They were, however, supremely comfortable and luxurious by small-car standards of the day. And the 2.6 Mitsu motor was one of the first (if not the first) to offer balance shafts to cancel out second-order vibrations. It was also acceptably torquey, though not a high-revver.

jlbl

As well as their performances and mechanical qualities, I've always admired Chaparral strange but very appealing aesthetics. :surprise: Beautiful mobile cans.

Regards,
Jose

michaellno

And the 2.6 Mitsu motor was one of the first (if not the first) to offer balance shafts to cancel out second-order vibrations. It was also acceptably torquey, though not a high-revver.

IIRC, it had 120HP, which was pretty decent for a 4-banger of the era. I had a '79 Sunbird with the Iron Duke 2.5L 4-cyl, and I think it put out something like 80 or 85 HP.

Wasn't that engine also used in the Dodge Fire Arrow?

stevedebi

"Regarding house prices, in 1962 my parents bought a .4 acre lot in a nice town in Northern NJ (Ramsey) for $3k and had a 3/1.5 w/2-car garage built for $27k for a total of $30k. I just checked Zillow - it's now worth $427k, down from $550k at the peak. I remember our '64 Impala 283 4-dr hardtop listed for $3k and actually cost $2,727. Do the math - 10x the original house cost now gets a way smaller house, while 10x the '64 impala cost still gets a comparable car. Of course gold was fixed at $35/oz. back then... "

Interesting since the US went off the Gold Standard in 1932, IIRC...

michaellno

Interesting since the US went off the Gold Standard in 1932, IIRC...

Sort of. The Fed 'officially' abandoned the gold standard in 1933, but ....

... after WW2, the Bretton Woods system allowed most currencies to fix their exchange rate to the US Dollar, and the US Gov't promised to fix the gold rate at $35/oz.

Nixon suspended the convertibility of the dollar to gold in 1971.

So, I suspect you're both right!

berri

IIRC that was during Nixon's economic crisis and wage/price controls. There were a lot of arguments that the US was being hurt by its strong currency back then. It has seemed to me that for a long time now there has been no logic to a Euro or Pound being worth more than a US dollar, maybe that was by design back then - but who knows. I think the only thing letting go of the gold standard accomplished was making gold a more volatile commodity. You can make a lot, or lose your shirt pretty quickly in gold sometimes. Globalization and China were inevitable, so gold standard or not, the US was going to face pressure down the road.

andys120

Those Chapparals were just amazing to watch. If you saw one running at full tilt you
wouldn't forget it.

Especially the high wing cars>

Chapparal 2E/Chevy:


..or the incredible "sucker car">

Chapparal 2J/Chevy:


The 2J used Lexan skirts and a pair of fans to create major down force to create enormous downforce.

Mr_Shiftright

The "sucker car" enraged the competition and I think it was banned.

andys120

The "sucker car" enraged the competition and I think it was banned.

Yes, it was banned despite never actually winning a race.

The tall wings were also banned but there were legitimate safety concerns. Adjustable wings were also banned (cars so equipped did win some races.)

jlbl

Pity I've never seen one but in pics. Yet for me are like 'Bauhaus' cars. Really best pieces of functional art.

Regards,
Jose

texases

The place to see all of these Chaparrals is (surprisingly) at the Permian Basin Oil Museum in Midland, Texas. A bit out of the way, I understand, but they have an excellent exhibit, including each model.

jlbl

Thanks for the link.

Regards,
Jose

andys120

stephen987

Buick Excelle GT (Chinese market version--we might be getting it in the US in a year or two).

ateixeira

I'm guessing they'll bring back the Skylark name.

Handsome little sedan, IMHO.

lemko

I'd like to see the "Special" nameplate myself.