Mystery car pix

andys120

urnews

1949 Cadillac

texases

1949 Cadillac Coupe de Ville?

wgrafer

From this limited view I can't tell if it's a '48 or a '49 Cadillac - can anyone be sure???

andys120

You get the prize for the most correct and complete answer. It's a 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe De Ville and to answer Wgrafer's question I don't know how to tell it from a '48 (or a '50).

lemko

The 1948 Cadillac had a completely different one-year only intrument panel. The 1948 Cadillac had a different grille with a raised center section, more vertical pieces, and a different hood.

ateixeira

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/11/tsunami-in-japan-destroys-fleet-of-cars-ready- -for-shipping/

Try to guess what make before reading the comments...

qbrozen

my guess is Nissan because it looks like a couple of 370Zs near the top and a bunch of FX/EX models to the right, and maybe a few G coupes there in the mid-left (or altima coupe ... really tough to tell from that distance).

ateixeira

Correct, Nissans and Infinitis that were ready to get on the boat.

lemko

andys120

Boy, talk about nondescript! All you can make out is a door, a C-pillar and a wheel well. I'm going to take a stab and say it's a GM X-car from the 80s.

kyfdx

Not that I have any idea, but it looks longer than an X-body, to me.... (unless, of course, the two pieces are just sitting farther apart..lol)

bumpy

Looks to me like some big '60-70s squared-off luxury barge.

Mr_Shiftright

it's the Rolls nobody wants. :P

uplanderguy

I say a '66 or '67 Olds Cutlass 4-door sedan.

andre1969

I say a '66 or '67 Olds Cutlass 4-door sedan.

Yeah, that could be, but something about that front fender and wheel cutout makes me think '66-67 Tempest. That front door and roofline is definitely '66-67 GM intermediate SOMETHING, though!

andre1969

I liked the El Camino's, but I thought the full sized Ford Ranchero's were nicer, particularly the 57.

Both the Ranchero and El Camino were based on existing 2-door station wagons, a style that was often considered bargain-basement, and sort of on its way out. I wonder if the Ranchero was an attempt to wring a bit more profit out of that low-end 2-door style? They would've had to make a lot of Ranchero-specific parts, but maybe in the end, it was enough to be profitable?

I guess it must have sold well enough, for Chevy to copy it, two years later!

Once two-door station wagons were no longer around, El Caminos and Rancheros were sort of a combination of 2-door coupe and station wagon, modified with a truck bed. Ford got out of it after the 1979 LTD-II was canceled, but GM ran the El Camino right up through 1987. It actually outlasted the Malibu it was based on by 4 years. And the Malibu coupe, by 6 years! By that time I think they were only building about 20-30K per year, but I guess it had been in production long enough, and maybe there were enough common parts still around, that it was profitable even at that low number?

wgrafer

Well, I have no problem with telling a '48 Caddy from a '49 IF there is enough of a pic to tell. The mystery car #28257 simply did not show enough detail to pinpoint the exact year as the rear wheel area and trim are exactly the same on a '48 and a '49 as shown in the above full size pics.

andys120

This must've been taken somewhere in California, no other place would have this amazing variety of vehicles, anybody recognize it?>

stever

Black license plates and smog hiding most of the mountain views. LA somewhere?

Those plates were issued between '63 and '69.

andys120

Black license plates and smog hiding most of the mountain views. LA somewhere?

Those plates were issued between '63 and '69.

Makes sense. The newest car in the picture is probably the Banana-'Bird, a '61-'63 design although the Corvair could be a '64. I'd guess the photo was taken between 1963 and 1964.

stickguy

Fiat 500 on the left. Falcon going the other way. Looks like a Stude (hawk?) on the cross street.

Mr_Shiftright

Not a Hawk...probably a '55 President 2dHT

andys120

I'm inclined to agree, don't think it's a Hawk. You can see the nose of a Ford Squire wagon ('55-'56?) going the same direction, The wide whitewalls on the Fiat strike an odd note but they were on all sorts of cars back then.

Is that a '57-'58 Pontiac Safari wagon in the left turn lane?

FWIW I don't think dedicated left turn lanes existed on the East Coast back then.

lostwrench1

It's a 48.
It has two horizontal pieces in the grille, the 49 had one.
And the big clue, it doesn't have the chrome wrap-arounds on the outsides of the parking lights which the 49 did.

andys120

So far no one has identified the oldest vehicle in the picture, (except the Bucket-T street rod) the two-tone sedan going away in the middle lane.

It's a pretty well known shape.

lostwrench1

I'll try a 51 Mercury.

andys120

I'll try a 51 Mercury

Could be, frankly I don't recall how you tell a '51 Lead Sled from a '49 or '50.

andys120

kyfdx

Ford EXP.. early '80s

andys120

Yup, an attempt by FoMoCo to make a sexy 2-seater off the Escort platform which might have worked if they'd at least used sexy styling. It sold like Sno-Cones in February.

kyfdx

What was the Mercury version? Was that the Lynx LN7?

andys120

Not the "Lynx LN7" but just the "LN7" and just as fugly>

lostwrench1

The 49 and 50 Mercury had horizontal tail lights.
The 51 Mercury had vertical tail lights.

andys120

Thanks, Lostwrench. Now we know.

grahampeters

G'day

Wonder if it is a Rover 3500 P6

Cheers

Graham

grahampeters

G'day

It is either a Riley 4/68 or 4/72, the last of the variations of the Pinin Farina designed BMC four door saloons, running from about 1959 to 1969. My guess would be a bout 1961-63 from the two tone colour scheme (which looked unbelievably smart at the time.

The Farina design included a marked Ponton front with the fins which were most pronounced on the Austin Cambridge. There are close similarities to the Peugeot 404 which was also a Farina design

Cheers

Graham

grahampeters

G'day

The Pinzgauer is still being made (I think in Britain) having originally been developed by Steyr Daimler Puch in Australia and built on the same assembly line as made the G class. The Pinzgauer was a development, but on a dramatically larger scale, of the wonderful little Haflinger. Both have portal hubs, lifting the ground clearance dramatically. The chassis is essentially the tube for the transmission which is (not sure how) connected to the body.

The Pinzgauer is still in use by the British Army and is being considered for other armies around the world.

The little Haflinger was small enough for four solid guys to lift it. It would climb as steep a hill as the tyres would give it traction and, if held against a vertical wall, would actually try and climb it, being incredibly low geared. My recollection is that it would reach a top speed of about 45mph. Typically, serious off roaders, carried them on a quite small trailer or the rear of a larger utility (they have a wheelbase of about 60 inches with small overhangs and only weigh about 1100 lbs) and would then go off road when the country got seriously rugged..

The Haflinger and Pinzgauer were air cooled and this proved problematic in Australia where dust was ingested and caked onto the cylinder head, where it glazed and progressively reduced engine capacity and increasing compression ratio (and chewed out rings etc). The air cleaner was replaced with an oil bath design, usually sitting forward of the front bonnet.

Later Pinzgauers are powered by a VW water cooled diesel.

I have periodically dreamed of buying a Pinzgauer. It is probably the most competent off road vehicle in the world, but heavens knows whether you could live with it as a daily driver.

Cheers

Graham

andys120

ateixeira

My roommate in college had one of those.

Very blah.

lemko

It appears to be the Chrysler-powered Cunningham C3. I'd guess it's a 1952 or 1953 model. Here's some info about the Cunningham:

Cunningham C3

Mr_Shiftright

Ferrari would never use wheels like that. It does look Ferrari-like in general though because of the Vignale influence.

Neat car, though:

andys120

Youse are correct it is indeed a Chrysler-Hemi powered Cunningham C3
ca .52-'53. It does look more Ferrari-like with the Halibrand mags wheels most were delivered on.

">

...and here's a contemporary 1952 Ferrari 212 Vignale>

Mr_Shiftright

Gee I hope the emergency brake is on! :P

lemko

Who's the U-Boat commander?

ateixeira

Ferris? Ferris? Ferris?

jwilliams2

Tom Cruise....'79 or so 928...

lemko

Porsche is a 928. The link identifies it as a 1976 model.

tmart

Risky Business.

jwilliams2

Here you go, found this....."The fourth and final RB928 used for filming was … dumped into Lake Michigan. …started life as a brown 1979 928 automatic with 16-inch Phone Dials… was re-sprayed in Platinum Metallic to match the others ... To comply with state pollution regulations as well as to "preserve" the drivetrain and electronics, the dump car was gutted. The missing V8 is obvious on film, as the front ride height is several inches higher than normal when it teeters on the rickety wooden pier… "