Mystery car pix

fintail

As you know, sellers often know less than browsers. Having looked at MB ads for eons, I see some wacky stuff, not just "250S" fintails and "bulletproof" W140s...sometimes a typo on a licensing document can start an avalanche of misinformation.

I think any cabriolet a-b-c cars would all be 2-door, the 170 shown was a 4 door. I read something about those years ago, all went to police or border guard use, I think.

ateixeira

I remember seeing a Miata for sale that a seller tagged as an SE, but the color alone proved him wrong. He got endless flames from the interwebs.

stever

Then there was the ad for the Chrysler minivan that said it was a 6 cylinder. Called and the private seller confirmed the engine. Drove over, popped the hood and it was a 4 banger. Don't think she really believed me though.

texases

"Drove over, popped the hood and it was a 4 banger."

Must have had the 'Stow 'n Go' cylinders...

stever

lol, well, there is one plug on my Quest that I've never laid eyes on.

stickguy

back in the early 80s, my friends family downsized from a '73 Caprice to a Fairmont. Told me that it was a 6 (since that is what the dealer told them). Soon as I heard it I knew that had to be wrong, so I checked under the hood, and sure enough, it was the 4 banger.

Not sure if they ever did anything about it, but I doubt it. Still worked perfectly fine, and might have saved some money on gas!

ateixeira

Good one...

I guy I worked with once told me his Rocky had a V6.

Ummm, 16 valve 4 banger, yes, but not a V6.

stickguy

well, for years, in the ads most BMWs had a V6 too.

I assume it was because of the options in the drop down menu. That many sellers can't be that dumb, could they?

ateixeira

I'd better not answer that!

andys120

Bigger, more cars!

Mr_Shiftright

I remember this one as the Police car Benz made. It's a 170S model, called a 170 S Polizei-Streifenwagen

explorerx4

My guess is they didn't put too many prisoners in that car.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd imagine that the crime rate was pretty low in 50s Germany since women must have outnumbered men by a considerable margin.

fintail

In a certain age group anyway...and crime rates there don't exactly compare to US at any time lol.

All of the postwar open 4 door 170s were for public service of some kind.

andys120

The bottom one should be easy, so should the white car in the top one.

fintail

Top pic - car at left is some kind of Alfa, I guess a Giulietta Berlina, I don't know if it is a numbered model. Little wagon behind it looks like a Ford Anglia 105E based thing.

Bottom pic is virtually all French, I will just take the easy Citroen 11 or 15 familiale in the middle and the DS or ID 19 behind it, now there's some evolution.

Mr_Shiftright

Also see a Peugeot 403 and a Renault 4CV on the right.

Why do women in movies who are fleeing from great danger always wear high heels? Is that so they can slip and fall and almost get eaten/mangled/strangled before the hero rushes back to scoop her up? :P

robr2

Why do women in movies who are fleeing from great danger always wear high heels? Is that so they can slip and fall and almost get eaten/mangled/strangled before the hero rushes back to scoop her up?

For the same reason they walk around in their underwear at the lonely lake cabin even though that eerie music is playing. Don't they get it??

andys120

Top pic - car at left is some kind of Alfa, I guess a Giulietta Berlina, I don't know if it is a numbered model. Little wagon behind it looks like a Ford Anglia 105E based thing.

Yep, the sedan is an Alfa Giulietta Berline 1300(1955-64) featuring the beautiful little DOHC which made these the second generation of Alfa sport sedans (the first modern sport sedan by anyone was the Alfa 1900 Berlina of 1950 also equipped with DOHC).

Nice going on the Anglia. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen the caption.

It's odd that there isn't a single Simca in the Paris shot. IIRC Simca was the most popular make in France during the 50s.
The wagons were called Estates inthe UK, Giardinettas in Italy (still is from Gidget Goes To Rome).

ateixeira

What I want to know is why do they not lock the door to the bathroom when they shower! LOL

Mr_Shiftright

And why do they ALWAYS park in a sand pit so that the giant Martian spider can get his jaws into their CJ5 while their wheels spin?

And why do their batteries never go dead when they are at the dance or the high school parking lot during the whole beginning part of the movie but ALWAYS at night when the chubby guy with the bushy eyebrows wielding a hatchet gets even with them for making fun of him?

andys120

Yeah, we know this is a BMW 2002 but this particular iteration has a specific name, what is it?>

grahampeters

G'day

BMW 2002 Baur Cabriolet, probably 1975 vintage. Cannot tell you the paint colour.

Bit wacky, but pretty special for its time!

Cheers

Graham

andys120

BMW 2002 Baur Cabriolet, probably 1975 vintage.

G-day to you too Graham, you're exactly right, it is a '75 Baur, the color is mint green. Those wheels aren't stock, they're from an E30 (1980s-90s BMW 3 series).

andys120

kyfdx

I've got the same wheels on my '87 325is.. (and, another set with snow tires)

lemko

Oh oh! There's that eerie music again! Better get dressed, lock the cabin door, and make sure the cell phone is charged!

magnette

I think the two taxis in the French street scene - the black cars with the red roofs - are Simcas - either Vedettes or more likely the cheap version - Ariane - which was a popular taxi.

andys120

Good eye Mag, I believe you are right. I'm still surprised there are no Arondes in that photo, I thought they were best sellers and they were made until 1963 or 64.

1960 Simca Aronde 6>

magnette

Actually I've got lousy eyesight - just a good computer screen I suppose... I always liked these Arondes and the earlier one - it was a bit more rounded. Don't think they were very durable though.

magnette

Well, thats a Delahaye - probably a 135, but no idea of the coachwork - most of them were prewar though, they didn't make many after that. Unless it's a 148 - some of those were with seperate wings too.
Behind is a Jag XK120. We were in west London on Sunday and saw a really nice 120 dhc in the traffic - green, wire wheels, looked really great.

explorerx4

Looks like a Traction Avant just inside the storage building.

andys120

Yes, that's a Delahaye 135M. The photo was taken in Watkins Glen, NY during a race weekend, the caption does not give the year of the car but the photo was taken in 1949. Not many Delahayes made it to this side, I have never seen one.

andys120

tmart

’64 Mercury Comet Caliente. Good clue with the "hot"!

andys120

’64 Mercury Comet Calientei>

Si Si.

andys120

au1994

Maserati Ghilbi. Unsure of year. Got to ba a heck of a story associated with this.

Mr_Shiftright

And you probably won't make a dime restoring it either. $60,000--$70,000 is about the sky's limit and you can't get there from here.

texases

Those old Maseratis can be real rust heaps, and that one looks like it could be at the top of the 'heap'...my father pulled pounds of rust out of his '72 Indy's rocker panel.

andys120

Yep, it's a '67 Maserati Ghibli, the ad doesn't give the story except to stay it was once owned by Henry Ford III.

Mr_Shiftright

People drag these cars out of barns and think they've hit a gold mine, but really it's more of a Ferrous Oxide strike. :P

andys120

fintail

Those Dauphines sure were small

ateixeira

To quote Spike Lee's film, Do The Right Thing:

About 30 cents away from having a quarter

andys120

Those Dauphines sure were small

That and those full sized Detroiters were enormous. To this day I don't know how I managed to drive (or park!) my Dad's '64 Catalina on those mean streets.

wgrafer

Yeah, that Dauphine is kind of small - but at least it's not on fire like lots of them! Looks like a '61 Pontiac in front of it and a '58 Plymouth behind it.

The black one on the right with the punks nearby is a '60 Chrysler with a '55 Ford behind it and a '59 Ford Taxi cruising past.

andys120

You're a bit off on the Poncho, it's a a1962, the '61s had a sort of hooded look to the grille and a more pronounced divider>

'61 Catalina>

I'm not good on MoPars of the period but '58 sounds about right for the Plymouth band IMCDB sez the Chysler is a 1960 Windsor.

'59 Fords were everywhere in NYC back then as taxi and police units.

The still is from Naked City"> which always had NYPD detectives riding around in Pontiac hardtops which wouldn't have happened but I'm sure someone at Pontiac's PR department figured out that the h/ts were a lot more telegenic than the frumpy four-posters.

'62 Catalina>

berri

I always liked the 61 Pontiac - maybe the best of the Bill Mitchell 61's. I thought the 62 went backwards - too squarish. Kind of the opposite of Chevy. The 61 was a nice car, but a bit too squared off, while the 62 Chevy seemed more clean to me.

andys120