Mystery car pix

robr2

That Volare is a long way from home. Poor thing must be so frightend.

Red Prius in the background? Audi A4 top right and a Volvo V70 bottom right.

Other two are a Seat and Renault - models I don't know.

au1994

must have been Andre on his European tour. :P

fintail

I think the car was completely debadged too. I didn't know if it was that or an Aspen. Strangely enough, many 20-40 year old Mopar and GM products in Switzerland, an open minded car market there as they have nothing domestic (other than the old Monteverdi - also Mopar based). I remember seeing a few 80s-90s Caddys, some old Chevys, and a Dart/Swinger. Andre could have got along there - if the cars exist, there must be some support for them.

My local friend thought I was nuts for taking that pic, shook his head.

tjc78

if the cars exist, there must be some support for them.

Yes Ebay! I frequent a few car forums where the owners are from other countries and most of the parts they get are from Ebay or other American sellers.

andys120

TR8s are pretty rare, the red car in front of the pack is more likely a TR7.
The E-type is a Series II or III judging by the bumper height.

The MGB GT is an early version w the small taillights ('65-67 IIRC)
TheMGB roadster following it is a small bumper model w big taillights ('68-'73)

The Triumph in the rear is a TR-3, TR-2s did not have the little red dot lights in back and were almost unheard of the USA.

fintail

That's probably right. Although I have to imagine some of those cars have been there for awhile. Ebay makes it easier for sure.

And on the odd parked cars subject, you can see the oddest things while walking down German streets:

magnette

I love it when I see odd cars like that, although I can't remember the last time I saw a Moskvitch 408 on the street...
In Western Europe it couldbe a Scaldia because they assembled various Moskvitchs and Volgas in Belgium in the late 60's, but being german it probably lived in the East and became Western when the wall came down. We had lots of Moskvitchs in Britain in the late 60's and early 70's, but they died out in favour of the far better Lada.

andys120

jwilliams2

Got to be a '68 Ferrari 365GT 2+2......beautiful car....

fintail

That's right, it's a Moskvitch. I was just sauntering down a street, and I came upon it, had to get a pic. It was in Goerlitz, which is right on the Polish border, which explains its presence. Lots of Ossi metal still on the road in the old east, and even a Lada here and there, but nothing else like the Moskvitch.

Here's the back...I actually think this isn't a bad looking car from this angle, for what it is. Clean 60s modernism. Don't think I'd want to tow with that thing, though.

andys120

'68 Ferrari 365GT 2+2......beautiful car....

Right on both counts!

Mr_Shiftright

Looks a bit like the MG Magnette of that era, or Austin Cambridge, with a dash of Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan thrown in.

andys120

ateixeira

Jag E-type on the right.

I wouldn't even notice the other cars.

lemko

Well, the other cars are a 1977 Chevrolet Impala coupe, a 1975-76 Buick Regal, and Jim Rockford's Pontiac Firebird Esprit.

ateixeira

Wasn't the Impala the best selling car in the US around that time?

Dad had a '78 Camaro Z28, same body style as that.

andys120

Not sure on the year of the Impala but '77 sounds good to me.

robr2

Wasn't the Impala the best selling car in the US around that time?

I think it may have been the Cutlass next to it that held the sales title at that time. The Impala may have toppled it though not long after that.

lemko

fintail

Opel Senator based, Korean plates so it's a Daewoo with their GM connection, but I don't know the model.

I bet that's a Hyundai Ford Cortina in the background, too.

lemko

Yes it's a Daewoo BROUGHAM!!! This one is from the mid-80s.

ateixeira

Opel Senator based

I think, don't quote me, that Brazil got those as the Chevy Monza.

Thought it looked familiar...

fintail

That's just the same as a Fleetwood Brog-ham, right?

fintail

Now that I look into it, per wikipedia, it is Opel Rekord based, but that sure looks like a Senator front end. Anyway, here's a period Rekord:



and a Senator:

ateixeira

Brazil's Monza had a similar front end, but was based on the Ascona per this link:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/01/not-so-brief-history-of-the-brazilian-c- ar-parte-tres/

Scroll down until you see Emmo, he's leaning on a Monza sedan. Mom had one way back when.

Check out the tiny "utes", i.e. car-based pickups.

fintail

Ah the utes...just another place with cooler/more fun offerings than NA.

I like the big Brazilian Fords with 60s style bodies that remained in production until the 80s.

grahampeters

G'day

A bit of refinement to other comments. Originally a Saehan Royale from about 1978 but later sold as a Daewoo Royale. The body was essentially a Holden Commodore VB with the body panels being pressed at GMH in Melbourne. From 1984, Daewoo pressed their own panels.

Cheers

Graham

andys120

BIGGER! More cars.

b

ateixeira

I truly think there is a conspiracy by the D3 to keep any sort of small pickup from establishing a foot hold here. Note how all the advertising is about how manly they are.

They've convinced Americans that they *NEED* 5000 lb behemoths for even small payloads.

Even the little utes in Brazil have a 500kg payload, that's 1100 lbs!

fintail

All about the profit margins, I suspect.

robr2

as noted, it is all about profit - IIRC that's kind of the goal of publicly traded companies - isn't it?

The new Ford Ranger being sold in ROW is about a 9/10's F150. Selling it here would not be as profitable as the current offering. Further, they'd have to have a NA plant to avoid the chicken tax.

We enthusiasts feel that all these quirky models would be great here but we all forget that the auto makers aren't going to offer a product they can't make money on.

fintail

But when the unending desire for perpetual growth (sounds like the definition of cancer) causes problems (like truck consumers forced into guzzlers, and/or vehicles larger than they can handle), then the issues begin. I think the ROW Ranger is more like a 7/10ths F150.

ateixeira

the goal of publicly traded companies

Indeed, but they disguise it as "building shareholder value".

Pickups are indeed the D3's cash cow so they will spend whatever resources are required to kill the idea of a lighter-duty alternative.

Funny thing is light duty vans are indeed sneaking in. The Ford Transit and the Nissans that will be used as NYC Taxis are 2 examples.

D3 pickups get 20mpg highway on a good day, imagine a diesel Ranger or Colorado that got 30.

robr2

Indeed, but they disguise it as "building shareholder value".

Well as a F shareholder, I like that!!

The Ford Transit and the Nissans that will be used as NYC Taxis are 2 examples.

The transit IMHO was planned as a replacement for many of the fleet buyers of the Ranger. As for the Nissan, AFAIK those aren't going to be sold outside of the NYC contract.

D3 pickups get 20mpg highway on a good day, imagine a diesel Ranger or Colorado that got 30.

It's not some big conspiracy to keep vehicles out of the hands of consumers. If it made economic sense to offer a small diesel pickup, they'd be here. But nobody offers one. There's your answer.

BTW, the ecoboost F150 gets 23 on the highway and is getting IIRC a 60% take rate.

andys120

Ahem can we get back on topic and ID the cars in #31388?

Here they are again>



BIGGER! More cars.

grahampeters

G'day

In no particular order, there are some E types in the distance, a Jag Mk 2 middle and acouple of the indistinguishable British small sedans of the late fifties off shot to right. I am hopeless on the convertibles

Cheers

Graham

jwilliams2

Looks like a AC Ace, an Austin-Healey 100, and a MGA in front of the Jag.....

andys120

Yup, you've got the low-hanging fruit, it's a blue AC Ace (AKA Ace Bristol), a Healey 100 and an MGA in front on the Jag which is not a Mk.2, sorry Gpeters, but it has the thicker door frames of a Jag 2.4 or 3.4 (AKA Mk.1).

There are several more MGAs on the front row (including a white FHC) and off to the right an XK-150 FHC like the one a buddy of mine had.

Sorry again Graham but there are no E-types in this photo from an Albuquerque NM import store ca. 1960. TRhere are two 4dr. sedans only visible if you click the BIGGER button.

Hint: one of those boxy four-doors was owned by Stirling Moss.

Going---going...

berri

Man, that's one sorry sad looking dealership isn't it?

andys120

Man, that's one sorry sad looking dealership isn't it?

For ca. 1960 it's pretty good for an import store. Most of them looked like this one from Westport CT in the same era>



Bigger, way more cars!

You guys ought to know these or we're going to have to have remedial classes in IDing 60s imports.

explorerx4

OK, I'll start. A Texaco gas pump and a phone booth.

berri

What did that CT dealer do, steal a wall from Wrigley Field? I recall back in that era that in the Midwest some imports were literally sold in conjunction with a gas station.

A couple of Healeys and maybe the one that looks like a Renault is actually a Fiat?

Mr_Shiftright

That's a Renault Dauphine, an MGA coupe (for midgets only) and probaby the Austin Healey is a 100-6. BN6

berri

Heck, I thought given the Renault sign in the window you were throwing me a curve ball. (I know - you think too much!) I expanded the pic and saw the Isetta, that's a car I saw at shows but never actually on the road.

dougb10

The picture of the Renault Dauphine brought back memories. It was 1958...had the same color "puce" green...or maybe it should be "puke".
Got married very shortly and drove that puppy around for several years.
Three on the floor, 32 hp, no seat belts, wind up windows, no air of course and a plastic steering wheel. And the Dunlop tires were absolute crap. But when you are only making $4200 a year, it was a lifesaver.

Thanks for bringing back memories from so many tears ago.

Doug

andys120

Renault Dauphine, an MGA coupe (for midgets only) and probaby the Austin Healey is a 100-6. BN6

My college roomie was about 6 feet and he fit fine into his '58 MGA FHC. The Red car in the window looks like another 100-6.

There are five more cars visible if you click the BIGGER button.

Going...going...

Mr_Shiftright

6 feet tall in an MGA coupe? Hell on earth in my book. The problem is the large steering wheel digging into your thighs, and the very low roofline requiring you to fold yourself in half to get into it. I guess once you have been surgically implanted into the car it's not too bad if you squiggle around. Also depends if you are tall in the legs or tall in the torso, and whether you have a middle-age "thickness problem". :P

Probably an MG TC is worse for the tall person. I cannot physically drive a TC safely.

Mercedes had a great idea with the Gullwing---the steering wheel folded, allowing you easy entry and exit.

andys120

There are advantages to being short; at 5'6" I've never had trouble getting into any car.

Mr_Shiftright

Oddly enough, exterior size is not always related to interior room. A MINI is spacious for me, a 3-series BMW sedan incredibly tight.

jlindh

Let's not forget the black Morris Minor 1000.