Mystery car pix

uplanderguy

The wagon ahead of the Merc looks like a Volvo to me.

What made me think that was a '62 Impala wagon was:

1) Shape of front and rear wheel openings
2) Square shape of door windows..mostly rear doors
3) But most of all:
a) The "furrowed brow" look trim in the rear/tailgate
b) The silver trim on the tailgate, characteristic of Impalas that year:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2194230144_bbd2edbef9_z.jpg?zz=1

stever

The movie marquee is promoting Texas Across the River with Dean Martin, which came out in October of 1966.

fintail

If you are in a mozilla browser and right click on the image, you can view the original ,which is larger. If not, Click here. I don't think the relatively smallish wagon is a Volvo

andys120

I tried your right click trick and it worked. I can now kinda see the front wheel well on the Merc but I still can't really tell what year it is, if hadda guess I'd say it's a '63.

As for the wagon, look how tall it is compared to the Mercury. An Impala would look the same height.

stephen987

It looks a bit like a Citroen DS wagon--probably the only time anyone ever asked whether or not a particular vehicle is a Citroen!

uplanderguy

Did a Volvo or Citroen have that 'furrowed brow' piece of trim and silver inlay?

uplanderguy

I'll admit to not being certain on the wagon, but I am certain on the Merc. Here's a '63:

http://www.cd1059.com/Portals/50/images/JBM/car%20vote/1963%20mercury%20montery%- 20S%2055.jpg

Here's a '64:

http://www.bluesarthouse.com/fordimages/1964mercury.gif

Note how the front fender, from the side, comes to a point in front on the '64, but not on the '63.

fintail

I'm not sure it is foreign. Could be it a Rambler?

A Citroen in that environment would have been like a UFO...locals probably would have burned the driver at the stake :shades:

jwilliams2

Looks like a Chevy to me. Citroen didn't have a wagon that looked like that in the mid-sixties. If it were a Volvo, it would be a 140 series, which it's not.

andys120

I can't make out the silvered tail that's supposed to denote an Impala, in fact the Merc's nose blocks all but a sliver of the tail. I sure don't think the wagon's a Citroen but if it's a Volvo it's not likely a 14o series. I think it's a 120 Series (Amazon) and here's one w a similar roof rack>



I still can't tell if that Merc's fender comes to a point.

wgrafer

Uplander guy--I agree on your corrections! I tried the 'view image' trick
and it gave a better pic. It's definitely a '64 Mercury, it does look like
a '62 Impala wagon, and on second look what I thought
was a '64 Olds is definitely a big Buick. Good eye!!

stever

Most browsers have a view feature, usually in the bottom status bar, that you can use to blow up the whole page, or shrink it. Up top, there's usually a View > Zoom tool that does the same thing. And my keyboard has a zoom toggle key that's handy for zooming in and out.

stephen987

I was thinking of this one, but it's pretty clear I remembered it incorrectly--the Citroen is too long:

texases

Let's guess how many of those have ever been in the U.S...5?

stephen987

Yeah, maybe as many as a dozen.

uplanderguy

Thanks. When I was a kid, that's all I did...absorb new-car brochures! I never got into football. When friends or relatives came over, my parents would have everyone go out on the front porch and have me identify the cars as they went by!

Incidentally, I suppose I ought to change my 'handle'. When I first went on Edmunds several years back and had a question about our new Uplander, I chose that just to hurry up and get on. I'm surprised it hasn't resulted in derision (at least to me, in writing!). After over five years and 86K miles, we still have it...it's primarily my wife's vehicle.

fintail

Heck, there were two of those things - unrelated owners - in the town where I went to college...hippie place of course.

stephen987

Fintail:

Berkeley or Eugene?

andys120

This inspection station is still there; I went thru it two years ago coming from Phoenix to Palm Springs on I-10. I t looks exactly the same except the cars. Supposedly they're looking for plant material and bugs that might impact California's massive agricultural industry.

stephen987

Dibs on the '61 Impala Sport Sedan (hardtop) in the middle.

cooterbfd

The car on the left could be a '62 Wildcat. It IS a '62 Buick. On the right a '62 Mercury??

fintail

Bellingham. Several DS and even a couple 2CV there too.

To the Edmunds web developers - can we please get some wider screen space? We're into the second decade of the 21st century and this insane wide right margin remains.

wgrafer

The white 4-door hardtop on right is a '61 Pontiac Ventura.

andys120

Good job guys, they are left to right.

-'62 Buick 2dr h/t, upscale model not sure if it's a Wildcat or Electra.
-'61 Chevrolet Impala 4d Sedan, not sure if it's a h/t or b-pillar sedan.
-''61 Pontiac 4dr h/t sedan, could be Ventura or Catalina.

uplanderguy

That '62 Buick is a Wildcat. The Electra had more of a formal roofline without the faux convertible "bows":

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/03/automobiles/480-buick-electra.jpg- -

The '61 Impala is a four-door post sedan, since it has the overhang over the back window. The Sport Sedan (hardtop) did not.

andys120

You are probably right on both counts. The fake convertible style h/t was an option on '63-'63 on many popular GM coupes but I haven't found any pix of '62 Electras with that roof. My Mom was one of those people that liked the convertible look but had no desire to actually put the top down and muss up her hair so she liked that style but we always had four doors anyway.

'62 Electras were good-lookers with any roof or better yet, no roof at all>



I couldn't recall if they put those extended roof wraparounds on the rear of any h/ts but I'll bet four-poster Impalas were rarish in 1961.

andys120

cooterbfd

Electras had 4 ventiports, that car had 3. Don't know if the Invicta was also made as a coupe that year, as there were only 2000 Wildcats. Also, don't rule out the LeSabre.

jwilliams2

Farbio GTS, made by the British Farboud car company.

andys120

Electras had 4 ventiports, that car had 3.

"That car" I assume refers to the one seen at the inspection station. It's true that you can only see three portholes but the fourth one on Electras was fairly far forward (see maroon convertible) and might be blocked by the Impala.

I guess it could be an Invicta or even a LeSabre but it has an upscale look with the full wheel covers and two-tones so I'm sticking with Electra as the most likely. Wildcats were new in '62 and not many were made, I think only coupes that year.

Speaking of those classy old Buick model names, jalopnik.com sez the Chevy Volt was almost the Chevy Electra.

jwilliams2

Don't think it's an Electra, as it's missing the extra trim and name script
behind the rear wheel well.
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uplanderguy

Having that round emblem on the roof sail panel also leads one to believe it's a Wildcat. The LeSabre didn't have anything there, and as mentioned earlier, the Electra coupe had a slightly different roofline.

andys120

Good point about the roofline. I can't find a good picture of a '62 Wildcat.

Mr_Shiftright

Reminds me of how much handsomer GM cars were then Fords or Chryslers of the early 60s. Look how clean that car is. Hardly any birthday cake decorations on it.

jwilliams2

I suppose that after their gaudy, obnoxious, and overchromed efforts of the fifties, they had learned their lesson. :P

Mr_Shiftright

briefly, yes.

andys120

Farbio GTS, made by the British Farboud car company

Not exactly, it's the same car but not made/sold by Fabroud. The owners of Ginetta bought the design and sell it as the Ginetta F400. Power comes from a Ford Mondeo V6 mounted amidships.

Makes the Lotus Evora look like a lump IMHO.

jwilliams2

You are correct, Ginetta aquired Fabroud earlier this year. However, I believe the car in the picture is a Farbio GTS. The nose badge on this car is visible in the larger picture, bottom right on this page:

http://cars-wallpapers.net/category/car-wallpapers/farbio-wallpapers/

4papa

My family has this photo in its archives and have been trying to date it. Best clue might be the car(s). Can anyone give the year, make and model of the dark car in the foreground (full profile)? Bonus points if anyone can figure out the car behind it with the partial profile. Thanks loads. Sorry for just the thumbnail. The actual photo is larger but the software converted to a thumbnail.

fintail

I'm pretty sure the car in the foreground is a 1940-41 Mopar product, likely a Dodge or Plymouth. Car in the background is almost impossible but it does give me a ~1935 GM vibe.

Mr_Shiftright

I think that's about right, fin. The car doesn't have the "spears" on the front fender that the 46-47 models had. Since prewar and postwar are actually the same basic cars except for trim, this is a good guess.

cooterbfd

http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/saab/307/1962.html

What leads me to say Wildcat is the white roof, as the one I have seen have the white roof. I'm just not sure about an Invicta. The Lesabre was a base model.

andys120

What's that classy little Cabriolet (it's post war-1949 MY)?

jwilliams2

Very classy.....Talbot Lago Record Cabriolet.

Mr_Shiftright

170 HP, "hemi" engine.

berri

The 62 Olds was a nice looker too. These cars were near the beginning of Bill Mitchell's great styling leadership at GM.

andys120

..Talbot Lago Record Cabriolet.

Yep!

andys120

4papa

Thanx to Fintail and Mr. Shiftright for their answer for my old photo. Another mystery solved.

jwilliams2

Looks like about a '55 Cadillac, 55 Chevy?, '56 Mercury, a '52 or so Plymouth, and a '54 Oldsmobile?