Mystery car pix

berri

Guys - good eye on that Plymouth tailfin. I'm not very familiar with Canadian cars. I wonder if that Dodge has the traditional 2 taillight set up or the single lollipop on the 59 Plymouth, or something totally different?

andys120

I couldn't find any photos of that year tailights but it's my understanding that Dodge front clips were grafted onto Plymouth (Savoy) bodies to create the Regent/Kingsway.

This 1957 Regent had Plymouth-style T/ls >

andre1969

Shame on you if you don't know the actress.

Justin Bieber?

berri

I had a business prof back in the 70's who consulted for Chrysler. He said when N/C (numerical control) first came on board, some of their plants were inadvertently mixing up Plymouth and Dodge front and rear ends. Evidently, UAW work rules and costs at the time made it cheaper to crush than repair. Or maybe they just shipped that stuff up north - just kidding!

andre1969

Wasn't there also a Canadian Dodge called the Crusader? AFAIK, all these "Plodges", as well as the "PleSoto" Diplomat, still used Plymouth taillights. In 1957-59, Plymouths, Dodges, and DeSoto Firesweeps used interchangeable front-end clips, so it wasn't hard to mix and match. While a US-spec Dodge/DeSoto Firesweep (and '58-59 Windsor) was on a 122" wb versus 118 for the Plymouth, the extra 4" was in the back, rather than ahead of the firewall, so it was an easy swap.

berri

I don't recall the prof saying what years were involved, but I'm thinking N/C started coming into the big plants around the late 60's or early 70's. I was in MBA school in the mid 70's.

As for the late 50's, I think Plymouth generally had a better looking [non-permissible content removed] end than Dodge, but the 57 Chrysler and DeSoto had the best looking butts (-:

andre1969

As for the late 50's, I think Plymouth generally had a better looking [non-permissible content removed] end than Dodge, but the 57 Chrysler and DeSoto had the best looking butts (-:

I like big butts and I can not lie, you otha brutha's can't deny... :P

berri

Junk in the trunk - she's built like a brick house!

berri

Wasn't there also a Canadian Dodge called the Crusader

I just got my June Hemming's Classic car magazine and there was an article on Canadian cars and a page listing Canadian models. I didn't see a Crusader, but I'm not sure the list is complete. Most of the Canadian cars they showed weren't improvements, but maybe they had to be different during those days in order to be sensitive to any Canada nationalism - otherwiseI don't get it?

andre1969

Yeah, Canada was weird when it came to some of their cars. I think their compact in the '60's was called the Chrysler Valiant, and was a Dodge Dart with a Plymouth Valiant front-end.

The name "Plymouth" didn't have much equity outside of the United States, so that's why their cars were usually branded as Dodges, DeSotos, or Chryslers elsewhere.

I think the export DeSotos were actually fairly popular, as that was a name more accepted abroad, what with Hernando and all.

fintail

Yep, there was a "Crusader", stripped down to the bare bones. I actually saw one in my town a couple months ago.

Mr_Shiftright

Yes, a Canadian variant called the "Mayfair"!

andys120

andre1969

2013 Malibu? I like the update. Doesn't look all-new, but still a nice restyle. I think the front-end looks better, with the grille and headlights a bit better-proportioned.

uplanderguy

I like that blue, too.

texases

Looks good - I'm happy they didn't bite on the '4-door coupe' bait, like the Sonata and Mazda 6.

andys120

Yep it's the "new" Malibu. I can make out a slight change in the h/l's but that's about it for the so-called re-style.

Perhaps it's just as well, the current 'Bu is the best looking Chevy since the early 70s, it'd be easier to mess it up than improve.

Mr_Shiftright

yes, but what MODEL of ______ is it?

andys120

yes, but what MODEL of ______ is it?

'57 Studebaker, that part's easy but models are tough, they had all kinds of model names that were in one year and gone the next. This one's a President..>



...but I'll say yours is a Scotsman.

jwilliams2

Maybe a Provincial...

Mr_Shiftright

nope not a President and it's not a Scotsman and it's not a Parkview. It is a "commander" but that's not its only name.

andre1969

Is it "Commander Conestoga" or something like that?

jwilliams2

It looks like a 4 door, so it should be a Commander Provincial or President Broadmoor...If it were a 2 door it should be a Pelham or Parkview...

Mr_Shiftright

That's it, a "Provencial", based on the mid-range Commander. Studebaker never had much luck in the "glamour" market, and relied heavily on the sturdy, utilitarian characteristics of their products for the bulk of their revenue.

texases

"Studebaker never had much luck in the "glamour" market"

They don't seem to have had much luck with the names, either - 'Provincial' (edit-means quaint or backwards to me) is hardly awe-inspiring, and didn't they have a 'Dictator' for a while?

jwilliams2

They don't seem to have had much luck with the names, either - 'Provencial' is hardly awe-inspiring, and didn't they have a 'Dictator' for a while?

Actually, the name was "Provincial", as opposed to "Provencial".

And they did have a model named "Dictator", although they changed the name to "Director" in some sensitive export markets....

Mr_Shiftright

"Hawk" was a cool name, though and so was "Speedster". But when I drove my Studebaker 2D HT in college, I never told anyone it was a "president". Nobody knew that name.

andys120

Nearly every recognizable car in this 1959 photo of Woodward Ave. is from a brand that doesn't exist anymore; the notable exception is on the extreme left>



BIGGER!

jwilliams2

Nice, a '57 Chevy, about a '57 Nash Metropolitan, a '57 DeSoto, a '56 Mercury, a '57 Plymouth, and a couple of mid 50's Pontiacs...maybe a '56 and '57..... What are the odds?

wgrafer

Great pic, great job -- And I think I spy another fallen brand way in front of the metropolitan - looks like a '57 Oldsmobile!

jwilliams2

I believe you are right. It does look like an Olds. That picture must be of the road to oblivion. Good thing that Chevy pulled over.

andys120

That picture must be of the road to oblivion. Good thing that Chevy pulled over.

Anyone notice the car on the end of the row in front of the store? It definitely looks like a '49-'52 MoPar to me, I s'pose it could be a Chrysler or Dodge but in keeping with theme of the "road to oblivion" let's call it a DeSoto or Plymouth

I can't make out the alleged '56 Olds.

jwilliams2

"let's call it a DeSoto or Plymouth"

Yes, could be a Plymouth or DeSoto. But what's that parked next to it? :confuse:

andys120

Yes, could be a Plymouth or DeSoto. But what's that parked next to it?

Looks like a late 40s GM Slopeback, let's call it a Pontiac or Oldsmobile.

mac24

Extra points for location..........where would such an assorted mix of cars from various European countries and the USA be likely to congregate?

Mr_Shiftright

I see a Peugeot 403, an Austin Mini and I think an Opel Rekord.

tmart

Also an Olds and a Bug.

andys120

Just beyond the '60 Olds you can see the windshield of a "Spridget"
(MG Midget or Austin-Healey Sprite Mk.II). I can also see a '61 Pontiac.
I think there's a Simca Aronde in front of the '60 Olds and a '60-'64 Corvair 4dr in front of the Simca. No one's mentioned the VW Bus.

Was the picture taken in Mexico or Panam a?

mac24

Was the picture taken in Mexico or Panam a?

Neither, it's a well known spot in Europe.

mac24

Still a few more.............who can spot the Triumph Herald and the Commer Van?

magnette

Great selection of cars in these three pictures - in the first picture the two cars immediately beyond the Peugeot 403 are a Renault Dauphine and a Ford Taunus - one of the early 50's 12Ms, and there is a later Ford Taunus - one of the bigger ones - beyond the Sprite. I think the Sprite is a Mk I rather than the later one but its hard to tell - just a vague feeling something is different. And the darker Mini behind the Olds is a Morris - the grille is different from the Austin version.
And in picture three there's a Triumph Herald.

magnette

Sorry - you had already said the Herald. I don't think that is a Commer van, although it looks like one, but instead one of the French ones - Renault Estafette, or a Peugeot J7, perhaps ?

EDIT - now I think it's a Commer again. (In some markets they were also sold as Dodge, for a time, too).

magnette

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I can't see this site when at work - and I'm off to the office now - so won't be able to reply until later on.

andys120

That's a 1950s Pegaso Z102 w what looks like a Ghia body to me.

mac24

Sorry - you had already said the Herald.

No problem, I was hoping someone else could see it too.

The location, with a gathering of vehicles from all over Europe, including some from US airbases is...........................Le Mans!

Thought someone might have taken a WAG at that.

lemko

fintail

Just postwar MB 170 with utility/van body, basically a prewar vehicle.

lemko

Here's a question. Was there a 170 that actually ran on charcoal? I heard a story there was such a vehicle following the fall of Germany after WWII.

colin_l

Charcoal -- meaning, steam powered? I've never heard of any steam-powered anything in post-war Germany..

fintail

That was a wartime thing (wood gas, "holzgas"), aftermarket conversions as far as I know, but yes, thousands of cars were converted. Usually via a large tank and a moonshine still-looking contraption mounted on the front or back.

Here's a mid 30s German Ford with such a conversion: