Mystery car pix

stever

This discussion is starting to sound like a bunch of trainspotting geeks. :shades:

lemko

Looks like west Market Street in Philly in the 50s. That whole street is completely different today and almost all of those buildings have been demolished.

robr2

I'm pretty sure my friend's '92 Civic (owned since new) has airbags.... at least it doesn't have motorized belts...

By 1990, all cars were required to have passive restraints - an airbag, motorized seatbelts or seatbelts connected to the door. By 1994, all cars were to have airbags. So the 92 Civic had a passive restraint. Was 92 the first year of that Civic generation? If so, I could see it having airbags - it was designed to the standard the model cycle would overlap.

I remember my 1987 Daytona Shelby had shoulder belts connected to the door. My 1991 Accord and 1994 Escort had motorized shoulder belts and my 1998 Accord had a driver airbag.

Mr_Shiftright

I grew up in NYC and it just doesn't look like it. The buildings are too low. And I can't remember those little trolley traffic islands.

However, it does have that charming spiritually and culturally dead quality of outlying boroughs of NYC or another east coast city.

andys120

Trolleys in 1956 NYC? I remember them in Brooklyn ca. 1950-51 (I rode on one) but not much after that.

It could be lower Lexington Ave in Murray Hill but I think the buildings would be bigger and as for the boros, I think by that time the Automats were only in Manhattan.

kyfdx

Yes.... 1992 was the first year for that generation Civic... I haven't sat in it, in a couple years now.. but, I'm positive it doesn't have any other form of passive restraint, which leads me to believe it has an airbag..

When I met my wife, she had a '90 240SX.. Nice car, but those seatbelts drove me nuts!!

Mr_Shiftright

The last trolleys in NYC were in Brooklyn in 1956. (Church Avenue).

tjc78

Here is a 92 Civic w/ driver's airbag. 92 Civic

Look at the price... :surprise:

ateixeira

1987 Daytona Shelby had shoulder belts connected to the door. My 1991 Accord and 1994 Escort had motorized shoulder belts

My Buddy had a Daytona (base model) and used to swing the door wide open then use the belts to pull the door shut.

My 91 Escort had motorized mice belts. People would stick their head out the window, then open the door, and it would basically attempt to cut their heads off.

What a horrible, horrible "safety" restraint.

ateixeira

$6800 for an 11 year old economy car?

fintail

A good friend of mine had a 92 Accord given to him when he went to school...it had a drivers airbag. I think that might have been the first year, that or 91. He loved that car.

fintail

2012 - 1992 = 11? :P

Probably the last unmolested Si left, sole survivor of a car with a cult following, a bidding war is believable.

ateixeira

2013 models are out now, though. At least some are.

Funny how non-modified is worth so much more...

fintail

That's true with most cars, I think. When I see an old MB that has been messed with, I pretty much don't even look.

robr2

A good friend of mine had a 92 Accord given to him when he went to school...it had a drivers airbag. I think that might have been the first year, that or 91. He loved that car.

I had a 91 and no airbag - other than the driver.

robr2

$6800 for an 11 year old economy car?

As noted it's an original SI. If he is asking that type of money, he needs to advertise "mad tite VTEC".

stever

it would basically attempt to cut their heads off.

My mom had a Mazda Protege with those automatic belts. She used to smoke and when I'd go visit and drive her somewhere, about the time she'd light up I'd turn her car on and knock her cigarette to the floor.

tjc78

The funny thing is, whoever buys it will probably paint it neon green, lower it, put on a fart can and no less than a dozen goofy stickers.

stever

ateixeira

Honestly don't know, but looks like it could be a Fiat...older Punto? Maybe early 90s?

stever

Punto you say?

Yeah, but not quite that old. Try 1999.

Want to try seeing through the body kit stuff and guess the model?

robr2

The funny thing is, whoever buys it will probably paint it neon green, lower it, put on a fart can and no less than a dozen goofy stickers.

All which are good for another 15 HP!!

tjc78

No doubt :P

grahampeters

G'day

One more to add to the list of arcane knowledge from the other side of the world...

Somewhere I saw that image as being identified as Philadelphia (not on these pages). The building in the background has some significance to Philadelphia but I cannot recall what.

I recently read a small book describing the development of trams around the world. This is of some interest as my home is 100m from a tram line and we use trams daily (me less so than the rest of the family). Although 20km from the city centre, we have trams about every ten minutes. I can leap on a tram around the corner and be delivered smoothly to my office 75 minutes later.

A lot of development was done in Philadelphia by J.G. Brill & Co which operated from about 1869 to at least the 1930's.

I think the tram is a Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company 8000 model (possibly 5200) built by Brill & Co of Philadelphia. If you can find it in a local library, there is Harold E. Cox’s guide “Surface Cars of Philadelphia, 1911-1965 which might provide more detail.

Cheers

Graham

lemmer

ateixeira

Was that from Robocop? LOL

Kinds looks like an 80s Ford Fairmont underneath all the junk.

tjc78

Wiki, says its a 77 Cutlass. I don't see it, maybe you guys do.

ateixeira

Check out the long rear door and C-pillar, looks like an 81 Fairmont to me:

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/1981-Ford-Fairmont-Pictures-c17349

tjc78

Maybe, but the spacing from the wheelwell to the front door doesn't look large enough.

ateixeira

Hard to tell with so much body work changed up. Though, I doubt they changed the wheelbase and hard points.

fintail

It's definitely one of the Buick-Olds-Pontiac cars with this greenhouse:

ateixeira

Yup, here's a much better angle of the film car:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/4013154660_00ed8ae6ef.jpg



There you see the curved roofline, the image above sort of hides that. You also see the C-pillar more clearly.

Front side is more hacked up, so it's hard to tell from this angle:

http://i44.tinypic.com/208jh4y.jpg

tjc78

Based on these pictures, I guess Wiki was right. 77 Cutlass.

ateixeira

Funny - they made a rounded car look very square in the process.

The headlight covers remind me of 80s Chryslers.

fintail

I was thinking the same, ~85 LeBaron GTS.

I like the whitewalls and disc wheel covers, a parody of what many saw as very undesirable traits of American cars. A similar good parody car is the K-car woody convertible "Gran Detroit" in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

robr2

A similar good parody car is the K-car woody convertible "Gran Detroit" in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

I love Steve Martin's rant at the rental counter in that movie.

fintail

John Hughes was pretty gifted at casting cars

tjc78

IMHO this takes it all.

wgrafer

Why that looks like a typical Pea-Green Queen Family Truckster!

But maybe there's a Ford or Mercury wagon hiding under all that extra trim....

stever

Reminds me of the Johnny Cash song, but all the headlights match. Is that the one where they stuck the dog grandmother up on the roof?

Here's one:

au1994

ah yes...the Wagon Queen family Truckster. You think you hate it now, wait till you drive it!!

lemko

But I wanted the SportWagon in Antarctic Blue!

fintail

You mean you didn't order the Metallic Pea?

If you think you hate it now, wait til you drive it.

andys120

texases

'63ish Avanti? That dash pad is distinctive.

ateixeira

That was a Porsche Cayenne, a while ago anyway.

Now it looks just like that Civic is going to look after it's bought from that auction.

andys120

Yup>

lemmer

texases

Almost had me thinking it's a Ural, but I think it's a BMW R75/7, made up to look ollllld.

fintail

Yeah, I think the WW2 style didn't have that type of tank. Very cool though, would look good with a sidecar in matching Afrika Korps colors.