Mystery car pix

Mr_Shiftright

Good tip! I'll write that down.....

lemko

andys120

She's standing in front of a 1959 Pontiac, possibly a Bonneville, The Thunderbird is a '64 (fourth generation--the one w the big sequential taillights in back). AFAIK 1964 was the only year they spelled out Thunderbird on the hood (yes, I had to look that up).

She's operating a 1960s style PDA.

texases

What's a "PDA"? :P

imidazol97

Corvair, Chrysler 300,

and a GM high line--Buick?

Early 50s, 52? 53?

It has wide chrome around the doors.
It has a 3-piece rear window because I can see the divider brace on the rear window.

ateixeira

Had the Palm come out back then?

andys120

Corvair, Chrysler 300,

and a GM high line--Buick?

Early 50s, 52? 53?

That "Chrysler" was perplexing me. I recognized that front end but couldn't match the year with photos of late 50s Chryslers. Then it hit me! It's a '60 Desoto>


The GM behind the woman looks like a '52-53 Cadillac to me but I guess it could well be a Buick or Olds.

imidazol97

>'52-53 Cadillac to me but I guess it could well be a Buick or Olds.

Don't have time right now to try to find pictures to narrow it down.

>Chrysler

I think you're right about the crosshairs.

Mr_Shiftright

Bad wig, too. :P

lemko

Actually, the Pontiac is a 1960 model.

andys120

[Doh!]

I knew that but typed in 1959 instead! :sick:

andys120

explorerx4

Those 'Parking Wars' girls were glamorous back then.

berri

I liked the 59 Pontiac better. I know GM sought to tone down the 59's in 1960, but I thought they generaly came out worse. But then, I think 1960 was kind of a year for uglies. Curious how the GM fans see the GM 1960 clean up designs versus the 59's?

berri

I'd almost forgot about those early Chevy van responses to the Ford Econoline (although I appreciate that Corvair really got it all going). I think that's a Renault Dauphine next to it.

uplanderguy

That's a '65 or '66 Chevy Sportvan next to a Renault Dauphine. Just last week at Hershey I bought a pair of red 1966 Ohio license plates like in this picture, to use on my '66 Studebaker.

jwilliams2

Curious how the GM fans see the GM 1960 clean up designs versus the 59's?

I guess it's a matter of individual preferance. While I wasn't a GM fan back then, I definately liked the 60's better than the 59's for the Chev, Pontiac, Buick, and Olds. A more subdued, and not quite as tacky.

fintail

I wonder how long either of those survived in Ohio...

berri

definately liked the 60's better than the 59's for the Chev, Pontiac, Buick, and Olds. A more subdued, and not quite as tacky.

I suspect that may be the more common response. I readily admit that I'm drawn more to the 59's because I recall as a little kid seeing them introduced at a local mall and thinking wow they are kind of space age (those were the days of Sputnik and the like so that is meant in a more positive light). Even though I was younger yet, the 57 Mopars were probably the most dramatic new unveilings, but the 59 GM were probably the most visually unique ones. Today I'll admit that Bill Mitchell improved styling when he unveiled his 61's though.

andys120

This episode has yet to air>

wgrafer

Looks like a '65 Cadillac and a '65 or '66 Barracuda. Is this from MadMen??

wgrafer

Hey Berri - was the local mall the Bergen Mall in Paramus NJ? I used to live nearby and ride my bike up daily to ogle the new GM models. I thought the '61s were awesome, but a year later the '62s blew them away. I still remember drooling over that ice blue Buick Invicta convertible.....

andys120

Yup it's from Mad Men, I'm sure you're right about the '65 Cadillac but that 'Cuda could easily be a '64, they had the same body '64-'66.

andys120

imidazol97

Looks like the designer liked the 1960 Chevrolet :surprise:

fintail

First British Ford (Consul) Capri ca. 1961 - many cues from the 60 American Ford in it.

Mr_Shiftright

Of all the cars to imitate....Ford designers seem to have gone into a coma for a few years starting in 1958.

berri

was the local mall the Bergen Mall in Paramus NJ?

Ah, Paramus, NJ - interesting place!

No, I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. I saw them at the old Hillside Mall which was one of the first and now long gone. Chicago was always one of GM's biggest markets. Not just volume, but also market penetration. I remeber back then even seeing an occasional Opel or Vauxhall. In fact, while Ford sold well back then, you rarely saw a Mercury or Lincoln. You were more likely to see a Dodge or Chrysler. I think Ford products were probably more popular back then in your neck of the woods.

I think the seond half of the 50's and the 60's was a great time to grow up. Just like music, the auto industry was constantly changing. Shopping was still transitioning from downtown mainstreets to malls. From my house, you could look to the south and see propliners taking off from Midway and then look north and see a jet from O'Hare. It was also the heydey for mid priced car lines. More people seemed to be moving up from Chevy's and Ford's. I remember Chrysler Newports and Buick LeSabre ads showing prices close to an Impala. But then, Caprice and LTD came out to attack the mid priced models. Later Roger Smith look alikes seemed to finish them off; kind of sad, but probably inevitable.

I always thought Bill Mitchell was one of the best designers and the early and mid 60's were his best. Very clean and still look modern today. I also liked Virgil Exner. Definitely more controversial, but he packed a lot of changing style and motiffs into his relatively few years. Harley Earl should get a lot of credit for his role in expanding the influence of design in auto's, but I think this often short changes many of those talented guys in the era we're talking about.

berri

Ford designers seem to have gone into a coma for a few years starting in 1958.

Pretty much true, but for a company with a conservative, follow GM mentality they put out the somewhat oddball 59 and 60 Ford's. I always thought the 59 sales were only good because of the Squarebird copied Galaxie rooflines, the rather flambouyant 59 Chevy and the by now getting tired looking Plymouth. Of course, in 61 they started a run of some of the most conservatively styled cars out there.

Mr_Shiftright

Even today most collectors ignore Fords from this time period, and for good reason. They seem chaotic and confused to say the least. GM kicked butt. I think with some cherry-picking out of the good ones, that one could have the opinion that some of the most hideous cars ever made in America can be found 1958-1962.

andys120

Firrst British Ford (Consul) Capri ca. 1961 - many cues from the 60 American Ford in it.

Yep whatever was good about the '60 Ford(US) did not translate well to Euro-scale.

fintail

Having looked at many a 58-62 Ford as my dad actually liked them, I can say that they also liked to rust. When was the last time you saw a 60 Ford on the road?

berri

I remember those era Ford's being rather quick rust buckets too, especially in the rocker panels and around the wheel fenders and trunk.

andys120

I doubt the microphone is OEM>

berri

I seem to recall that back in those days, at least in the Chicago area, Ford was more of a promotional brand than Chevy. They seemed to move more a lot morelower priced Fairlane and Fairlane 500's than Galaxies. You also seemed to see more strippers like 3 on the tree and no radio. Same went for Plymouth and Dodge. Maybe Chevy was on to something by distinguishing their Impala with an extra set of tail lights? Another good promotional mover back then was actually Ramblers. A lot of people seemed to have one as their second car - OK, in politically incorrect language of that time "the old lady's car"!

robr2

Some sort of Daimler (UK) police vehicle.

Sorry I cheated - saw it on the vortex.

berri

I seem to recall that back in those days, at least in the Chicago area, Ford was more of a promotional brand than Chevy. They seemed to move a lot more of the lower priced Fairlane and Fairlane 500's than Galaxies. You also seemed to see more strippers like 3 on the tree and no radio. Same went for Plymouth and Dodge. Impala seemed to constitute a larger portion of the sales over at GM. Maybe Chevy was on to something by distinguishing their Impala with an extra set of tail lights? Another good promotional mover back then was actually Ramblers. A lot of people seemed to have one as their second car - OK, in politically incorrect language of that time it was "the old lady's car" and maybe that's why so many of them seemed to be a station wagon.

andys120

Some sort of Daimler (UK) police vehicle.

Even for Europe, these would have been odd police vehicles, even more remarkably they were used by the London Metropolitan Police>



They were supposed acquired for the purpose of pursuing car thieves who'd pinched a Jag or Bentley or something else fast. Must have been a hell of a salesman that peddled that deal!

Mr_Shiftright

I guess the idea was to scare the criminals into surrendering? That one goes on my HIGH UGLY list.

lemko

If a shark inspired Bill Mitchell to design the C-3 Corvette, the channel catfish must've inspired the designer of that Daimler "sports car."

stewardrobbins

For some reason that Daimler reminds me of a warthog!

Mr_Shiftright

You can get pretty good money for that car now. It always surprises me how sometimes very unattractive cars can still be very valuable. Must be some kind of perverse fetish thing at work in the marketplace.

andys120

How good? I always thought that Daimler made a huge mistake in putting out such an ugly car. Almost everyone who drove a British roadster back in the day pined for a nice little V8 under the hood and that's exactly what the SP250 Dart had but none of us could get past that awful body.

IIRC it was pretty expensive new, closer in price to a Porsche than a TR or a big Healey. When Jaguar took over Daimler they shut down production of the SP250 when they found out it cost more to make than an E-Type!

andys120

This shot's a little fuzzy but you should be able to recognize of the cars.

Mr_Shiftright

hard as it may be for the human mind to grasp, you can get upwards of $40,000 for a nicely restored SP250.

lostwrench1

I'll grab the easy one. First on the left, a 51 Olds.

andys120

you can get upwards of $40,000 for a nicely restored SP250.

Oh I thought you were talking big bucks. If you were looking at big Healeys I think $40K might get you one that had some real "needs".

Mr_Shiftright

Oh you could find a decent Healey for $40K--it might not be one of the rare ones, or a tidy BJ8, but certainly a decent-looking running car. The days of $80K for Healeys was years ago....unless perhaps they are $100K restorations done by known experts.

berri

This pix is kind of fuzzy on my screen, but I'll take a few guesses. Besides the 51 Olds already indentified I believe there is around a 50 Buick behind it. Across the street there's a 50's Volvo (don't ask me the year!), a 57 Ford, a 49-51 Mercury and an early 50's Pontiac. On the street is one of those enormous, squared off 58-60 Lincoln's. That's all I can make out.

andys120

It's fuzzy on everyone's monitor but I can make out a '53-54-ish Dodge or Plymouth just to the right and a little ahead of the geenormous Lincoln.

The Volvo of course is a PV. PV444s were made from 1943-58 and, based on the Lincoln I'd date this photo, no older than fall 1957 so it could also be a PV544 (1958-66).