Mystery car pix

andys120

Right click "view image" for third car on right.

uplanderguy

'64 Imperial left, and '64 Buick LeSabre or Wildcat, right.

uplanderguy

I like the proportions...not fat and over-chromed like most '58 barges...but the fin on a fin is way too much for sure. I just plain dislike the '58 Eldorado shown recently on another Edmunds thread.

I like the low beltline. That's where the '55 and '56 Packards couldn't hide the '51 heritage...put your arm out of the window and it's almost higher than your head! Not really that high!

A friend of mine who was the son of an S-P dealer in the midwest, recently asked my hometown S-P-Benz dealer if he had any trouble getting '55 Packards when introduced. My dealer friend said, "Not really, but we had trouble keeping them running". I had a good chuckle at that.

wgrafer

The Cadillac is definitely a '57 (in '58 Caddys had quad headlights). And I don't think anyone has yet mentioned the '55 Dodge convertible next to the Caddy.

wgrafer

Also, a '65 Chevy on extreme right and a '65 Oldsmobile on extreme left (no political puns intended).

andys120

fintail

I wonder how many of those wore wide whites when new...

lostwrench1

The 1957 and 1958 Cadillac El Dorado Broughams both had quad headlights.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, '55 Packards were very troublesome, not that a Studebaker or Rambler or Hudson dealer had anything to brag about. But for the $$$, Packards sure didn't deliver.

uplanderguy

Of all those brands (Rambler actually being Nash), only Studebaker hung around 'til the mid-sixties. I guess really, Nash is what became AMC, not Hudson. But that said, in the early '60's, other than what I think is the handsome '63 model Classic, I can't think of a single AMC I'd rather have than the same year Studebaker. But that's me. And not a soul in my family ever owned a Studebaker until me.

uplanderguy

'54 or first-series '55 Chevy Suburban Carryall.

andys120

Yup, a '55.

andys120

wgrafer

"The 1957 and 1958 Cadillac El Dorado Broughams both had quad headlights."

No argument, but the one in the pic is not a an 'Eldorado brougham'. The headlights are not quad which all 'Eldorado Boughams' had. The Eldorado seville had duals, but the one in the pic does not have the required trim strip blow the headlights.

So, it's a plain old '57 Cadillac.

grahampeters

G'day

It is a bit hard to tell the Ford, Vauxhall and Morris offerings from early 1980's apart. However I think this is the rebodied Morris Marina (worst car ever made!) which was sold as something like the Morris Italia, claiming some connection to an Italian design house (although actually designed in house in Britain)

Cheers

Graham

Mr_Shiftright

I love those old 'Burbs' I really do. Dodge made a similar Power Wagon carryall like that.

andys120

You've got the right idea, it's a 1985 Morris Ital Estate. Despite the name neither Ital Design or it's founder Giorgetto Guigiaro were involved (and it shows) .

grahampeters

G'day

I knew the story, but had forgotten the stylist who got tied up with it. Austin Morris lost the plot after Alec Issignosis producing a series of increasingly unpleasant cars. The Marina (and its near relative the Austin Allegro) was truly appalling, essentially a 1948 Morris complete with live rear axle.

The Marina and subsequent Ital were supposed to look familiarly like the Ford Escort or Cortina, Vauxhall Viva and Hillman HUnter; heaven knows why.

The Marina achieved some sort of fame as the most scrapped car in Britain with less than one in a thousand surviving today. I think the Ital might beat that. Even ten years after their release, it was rare to see one on the road; on bricks in a Council Estate more likely!

Cheers

Graham

andys120

uplanderguy

That's a Datsun...is it a B-210? Early '70's. Funny, I generally dislike imported cars, but when I do like foreign styling, it's generally been Nissan's. That is a sharp car.

Looks like that's where Chrysler stole the taillight design for the later Volares!

andys120

It's a Datsun but not a FWD B210, it's a RWD 1971 Datsun 1200 (JDM Sunny B10)

andys120

jwilliams2

Pretty easy, a 1970 Pontiac GTO...

berri

Back in the 60's the one you seemed to see a lot of, at least in the Chicago area, were the Rambler wagons. I swear it was like they sold more wagons then sedans (although I don't really know). Even though they were made in South Bend, I really don't recall seeing a lot of 60's Studebaker's on the road in those days. Funny thing is, I think I appreciate their sedan looks more today than I did back then. In a way, the efficient packaging of both Studebaker and Rambler ended up being precursors to what happened with modern cars today.

omarman

I think the Datsun 1200 was the Sunny B110 platform and the B10 was the earlier gen. I don't think there was a "FWD B210" but I do remember the strange front drive F10 from that same era.

omarman

stickguy

84 ish Celica GT convertible.

I wanted a Celica (fastback) of that vintage bad back in the day. End up with a Colt instead. What a dope.

omarman

1984 it was. I don't remember the fastback version of the Celica but found this CL ad for a notchback Celica GTS in Tacoma. Probably one of the few places where something like that can still be found and maybe drivable.

michaellno

I don't remember the fastback version of the Celica

Try this:



My folks owned one quite similar to this for a number of years.

omarman

Nice looking, sort of a mini-Mustang hatchback from the same year.

uplanderguy

From the taillights, I thought it was a '65 Dodge Polara!

texases

This was the 90% Mustang:

texases

Odd coincidence - I just followed one of these '84 Celica convertibles home tonight. :surprise:

grahampeters

G'day

Celicas are referred to as "Hairdresser's Cars" here in Australia, implying a certain lack of machismo.

Actually, most of them aer perfectly okay but more show than action.

Cheers

Graham

texases

Here they were called 'secretary's cars'. Not the higher-performance ones, but 90% were pretty basic. I get a laugh when some folks call them 'sports cars' and the 'ancestors of the BR-Z/FR-S. Nonsense.

andys120

Right click "view image" for larger version.

wgrafer

Looks like the oldest car in the pic is the '59 Plymouth Belvedere nosing up to the '73 Chevy quad cab pickup in the foreground. Wonder if the Chevy backed out to let the Plymouth get some gas???

stickguy

only a couple of compacts. my how things have changed.

a Rambler (I think, or a very early Valient?) in the middle, and a Dart swinger in the very front, in front of a Chevelle wagon. I actually liked the styling on that vintage. I guess a 2 door version would have been the Laguna S-3. with the swivel seats.

andys120

Top row (r-to-l): 1968/69 Pontiac LeMans or GTO, 62 Pontiac Bonneville "Bubbletop" coupe, '64 Chrysler.

Interesting to note perhaps half of those cars seen to have fuel inlet on left side, nowadays most have it on the right.

andys120

a Rambler (I think, or a very early Valient?) in the middle

I can't tell what that one is. I thought it might be a Corvair but it's a little too big. :confuse:

pmsull1

The Lines were much longer in '74....like waiting overnight in Long Island in my 67 Goat...

berri

Is the car being speculated as a Rambler or early Valiant the two-tone 2dr HT between the Chevy pickup and the around a 72 Olds? If so, I'm going to guess a long shot, an early, maybe 62 Ford Fairlane or Mercury Meteor coupe? Then there is the dark 4dr in the next lane, the other side of the Olds, which I think is an early 60's compact Buick Special or Olds F-85?

imidazol97

I think you're close with the '62 Ford Fairlane.

I believes it's a 63 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe. They had an emblem on the C pillar that was about 8 inches long and I can see it on that car. I had a 62, so that profile looked familiar.

I'm not even sure there was a 2-door hardtop in 1962: it may have been just a chromed over door post to give the hardtop appearance. And then in 63, the true hardtop appeared. That was a long time ago to remember.

andys120

Then there is the dark 4dr in the next lane, the other side of the Olds, which I think is an early 60's compact Buick Special or Olds F-85?

Might be but it looks more like an early Tempest to me.

berri

I don't have great resolution on my monitor and side views can be tough. I always had trouble distinguishing the Meteor from the Fairlane in side profiles. I can definitely see maybe a 63 in the front, but I was thinking I saw those tiny fins on the rear. I thought the 63 had round tail light openings like the full size that year? You'd know more than me since you owned one. Speaking of which, I always liked the 63 Galaxie, particularly the XL. I was one of the few guys I knew that preferred it over the Impala that year, although they both looked good to me in 63.

berri

Sure can't argue. I can only really tell when I see their front ends. I thought that all three of them were kind of neat and new looking when they came out. I also kind of liked the wagon versions.

imidazol97

The Fairlane did have the round taillights and the little fins. The Meteor had the bullet taillight lenses that extended back from under the small fins. I think the car in the picture does not have the bullet taillights.

Your comparisons of the Meteor had me checking back to see if there were any differences. I don't think there were any visible from this angle of the picture. They both had the medallion on the C pillar. They both have the chrome slab on the bottom of the C pillar at the bottom of the window line. Both had the raised hood faux scoop. Ahhh, those were the days.

The Meteors were rare in the Midwest. Many Ford stores were Mercury stores as well. The Fairlane was cheaper and the Meteor didn't offer much in advantages as transportation.

uplanderguy

That's definitely a '63 Fairlane 500 hardtop, and the Corvair/Tempest lookalike is an Olds F-85, '61 or '62. I can tell by the location of the crease down the side, even above the front wheel opening. The Tempest didn't have that.

That '73 Chevelle wagon is a Laguna, not often seen in wagon form around my parts back then. I liked the '73 Chevelle restyle, although a lot of people disagreed with me back then.

lostwrench1

Overnight! I thought I had it bad when I had to get into the gas line at 5:30am.

berri

Yeah, seems like around 61 Mercury just became a Ford. Sadly, in the past decade or two Lincoln did as well.