Mystery car pix

andys120

wgrafer

Green '49 or '50 Chevrolet, red & white '56 Pontiac. Can't tell the purple one, but it might be an Olds.....

lemko

andys120

Good job, I think that's a '53 or '54 Oldsmobile (purple car).

Last call for the small bluish car next to the Pontiac...

andys120

You have me stumped, I'm fairly sure it's a 160s Mazda but I can't find one that matches up. :confuse:

lemko

No, not a Mazda nor is it even Japanese.

andys120

Ay,yi,yi... I see the steering is on the left but there are ideographs on the plate so it must be Chinese or Korean. :sick:

explorerx4

It's a Fiat. Strada?
The purple car could be a Dodge.

andys120

It is a Fiat but not a Strada/Ritmo. It's a Fiat 126, slots on the side are to cool the rear engine. It's probably Polish made (Polski Fiat or FSM), basically they were Fiat 600s with moire modern bodies and were made in Poland until 2000;

I don't think the purple car is a Dodge, anyone else?

andys120

jwilliams2

Looks like a '57 or so Mercury Monterey with some Bondo surgery to the headlights....

andys120

Yep, Bondo on the fenders (and hood), a weird hood emblem from God knows what and added on turn signal lamps. There's probably a Russian truck or tractor motor under the hood.

This is how they've kept 'em going for over 60 years.

lemko

Hint: It's the first of a very popular make nowadays.

As for the '57 Merc hood ornament, it looks like the "bird" portion of the Packard cormorant minus its wings on top of a rocket from another make.

andys120

Uh oh!

kyfdx

'77 Datsun 280Z 2+2

lemko

andys120

'77 Datsun 280Z 2+2

Close enough, IMCDB sez it's a '76.

andys120

Enough already...what the %&^(* is it?

lemko

It's a 1974 Kia Brisa sedan - the first Kia automobile.

fintail

And a nice W116 with park bench bumpers in the background

ateixeira

That Datsun would have looked better if they had wrecked the back instead of the front. The 2+2 really loses something.

lemmer

The 2+2 is just awful in pretty much every Z car. The 1990-1996 2+2s weren't quite as bad as the others.

ateixeira

Oddly enough I find the modern G35/37 coupes far more attractive than the Z.

fintail

Same here. The new Z is just a mismash of weird angles and designs.

ateixeira

It got a little better with the recent redesign, but who else thinks the 2 seater should be the super model of the pair?

qbrozen

I didn't like the 370z at first, but it has grown on me. I still think the 350z is slightly prettier, but I'd put up with the 370 for the powertrain advances it provides.

fintail

Apparently not Nissan execs who can't seem to grasp that every product doesn't need a dose of weird or awkward just for the sake of it.

lemmer

I am equally concerned with Nissan's crappy interiors, both design and materials.

And I hate CVTs. So that pretty much takes Nissan off the list for our next family car.

ateixeira

My issue with recent Nissans is that they all seem smaller inside than they should be. Check out the EX35, for example. And the FX, and the Rogue, and the Juke, and...

fintail

I remember the 03+ G35 sedan had plastics that weren't to the price point. Turned me off strongly when I looked at one.

kyfdx

I think the 370Z is an improvement over the 350Z in looks... Less of the droopy butt...

But, I agree, the G-coupe has better lines than, either...

Totally agree about every single Z 2+2... everyone of them makes me sad..

explorerx4

Is that the Mercedes from Ronin in the background?

andys120

No, the shot is not from Ronin.

andys120

ateixeira

Back then I felt like Infiniti interiors were about where Nissans should have been, and Nissans were just sub-par. Blame "le cost cutter" Ghosn, but he did turn them around.

Plus, interiors have improved since.

elias

fiat ... apparently a '127' . 1971...

(i really like the look of the new one, the tiny a500 !)

fintail

But even with the upgraded interior, you get the exhaust note, especially in the coupe. That drone gives me a headache,

andys120

Nope, that's not a Fiat of any kind. It was one of the pioneers of today's European small, efficient hatchbacks when it was introduced in 1974. The hardware and basic designs that went into that little green hatch became the basis on which not one, but two, of today's successful car brands were built.

fintail

I think it's an early VW Polo

andys120

I think it's an early VW Polo

Not exactly but 6 months after the introduction of the Audi 50 it was rebadged as the Volkswagen Polo which went on to dominate the important Supermini category and helped make VW-Audi the dominant automaker in Europe.

The other basic models it influenced were the larger VW Golf and Audi 80 which used some of the same engines and other pieces found on the smaller cars, not to mention the basic styling themes.

VW Polo mk.1>


Audi 50>

stickguy

the shot is from Bruce almighty.

grahampeters

G'day

Thanks for that. I'd got so far as identifying it as a Korean version of the second generation Mazda 1000 sedan, but was stumped thereafter.

Some of these transplantedf throw-offs work well. The Kia Brisa does not look too bad and the donor car, Mazda 1000, was pretty clever for its time.

Cheers

Graham

grahampeters

G'day

Someone else has already spotted that it is the Audi 50 /VW Polo from mid '70's. I had a very battered Polo sedan when we first went to England and I liked it a lot. However, Judy did not take kindly to driving lessons in it; there was something she did not like about the tendency for the gear-stick to pop out with no warning. I was okay with this, shoving it back in and poking around until it found the right connections.

On the mention of progenitors, there is an interesting article in Drive in the Melbourne Age today which talks about families of cars derived from the VW Golf. I think that they get to 13 different models that it has spawned

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/separated-at-birth-20111110-1n8s8.html-

Cheers

Graham

andys120

ateixeira

Cadillac Eldorado. Mid 80s because I remember them when I was in high school.

I think those were FWD, weren't they?

Not a good era for GM, they didn't know their own identity.

andys120

Yup, it's an '86 Cadillac ElDorado, FWD as every Eldo has been since 1967.

andys120

robr2

83-89 Mitsubishi Starion. ESI model??

I lusted after one of those.

grahampeters

G'day

Saw one only yesterday; looked tired and one headlamp poking up slightly. Oddly, I could not remember what it was when I saw it, debadged, so cannot confirm identity.

Cheers

Graham

andys120

83-89 Mitsubishi Starion. ESI model

Yup, those with the hogged out fenders are known as "wide-bodies".