Mystery car pix

texases

How'd you find a picture of my driver's ed car? Except for the wheels...

magnette

You learn to drive on different cars from us - my driving school cars in the early 70's were a Ford Escort 1100 (Mk1) and then a Vauxhall Viva - but I took my test on a Triumph Toledo as the driving school had a problem with the Viva so I had a car substituted an hour before the test...
Difference is of course those were all manual transmission - presumably if you are learning to drive on Buick LeSabres etc everybody must only drive auto. Here, if you pass your test on an auto you can only drive autos unless you retake and pass on a manual - obviously if you pass on manual you can drive auto as well...

texases

My high school got these from the local Buick dealer. I guess the thought was 'if you can handle something this big, you can handle anything'!

My car at the time was a '65 Mustang with a weak 170 cid 6, but a 4 speed manual. I learned the fine art of replacing synchronizers on that transmission, since I tried to convince myself it was 'fast' by driving it hard.

fintail

I bet 90+% of the NA fleet is automatic.

My driver's ed car was a 1992 Plymouth Acclaim - the updated K-car. A harmless thing, anyway.

I did a bit of my practicing (with my dad) in a 60 Ford Country Sedan - he thought like others "if you can handle this thing, you can drive anything". Fun car to park.

andys120

Yup, it's a 1972 Buick LeSabre wearing Magnum 500 wheels, a popular option on Buicks, Mustangs, Pontiacsand other cars of that era.

Note to BMW, Audi and Mercedes designers: if you want your four doors to look like "coupes" build them that way, without the B-pillars.

fintail

Would 4 door hardtops work with modern crash standards? I have to imagine the lack of a B-pillar along with the rear door creates structural concerns.

Hmm...MB does make 2 door hardtops, if anyone could do it...

lemko

Oh, but 4-door hardtops look awesome! I had a 1975 Cadillac Sedan DeVille four-door hardtop. Visibility in that car was awesome and it looked really sleek with all the windows down!

fintail

They look awesome, but modern rules might prevent their rebirth.

That being said, MB has had a 2 door HT in continuous production since 1961 - they should do it. CLS would worth with it.

Mr_Shiftright

4D hardtops were never good sellers, and with modern AC in practically every car, it seems rather pointless.

fintail

It's all about style, just like with a 2 door HT.

But maybe the low rooflines of cars like the CLS and Gran Coupe are enough.

Mr_Shiftright

I think aside from possible structural issues, a 4D HT tends to rattle a lot.

andys120

4D hardtops were never good sellers, and with modern AC in practically every car, it seems rather pointless.

I disagree, pillarless 4doors were quite popular from the mid 50s thru the mid 70s. Hell, even my Dad who is really conservative when it comes to cars, bought two!

Truth be told they were seldom seen with all windows down and were thus impractical but a lot of people bought into the styling. The whole faux coupe thing the Germans are pushing irks me, none of them look like coupes to me. You'd think they'd at least hide the rear door handles.

I don't much care for the chopped roof thing either. What's the point of having four doors if there's no headroom?

tmart

Amen!

texases

"I don't much care for the chopped roof thing either. What's the point of having four doors if there's no headroom?"

I agree 100%. While I don't mind it when they're specialty models sold alongside 'regular' sedans, like with the MB CLS vs. E, BMW's 6 'grand coupe' vs. 5er, the look has now 'infected' regular sedans, witness the new Fusion, where they've sacrificed rear seat room for 'the look'. Bad idea, IMHO...

Mr_Shiftright

I meant not such good sellers compared to other 4 doors. Did Chevy even MAKE a 4D HT after 1957?

andys120

Did Chevy even MAKE a 4D HT after 1957?

Your memory is failing you Shifty









Near as I can figure '74 was the cutoff for big pillarless Chevy 4 doors, anyone know otherwise?

uplanderguy

The '76 Caprice Classic Sport Sedan was the last four-door hardtop Chevy. It was a true hardtop, with a small window in the rear sail panel portion of the roof as well.

uplanderguy

BTW, that blue '66 Impala Sport Sedan pictured above is sure pretty. I don't think Chevy ever bested the '65, and '66, styling, before or after. The car pictured has a 396, which means it most likely has Turbo Hydramatic too (instead of the two-speed Powerglide)--a real alternative to the Pontiac/Olds/Buick full-sizes then. That year Impala had a very nice interior--I like the styling in and out better than Caprice; less 'pimpy' IMHO--and the interior probably actually is equivalent, or maybe a little nicer, in the trim level than a Pontiac Ventura or Star Chief Executive of the same year IMO.

lemko

I think 1970 was the pinnacle of full-size Chevrolet styling! This 1970 Chevrolet Caprice two-door hardtop is drop dead gorgeous! If Chevrolets were still this beautiful, I wouldn't need a Cadillac!

uplanderguy

I remember as plain as day, seeing the first '70 big Chevy--a light blue Caprice 4-door hardtop with black vinyl top--our local dealer got in. I was pedaling my bike down there at age 11 regularly in the late summer, wanting to spy a new '70. It was in the 'detail' building (although wasn't called that then) getting cleaned up for the showroom and introduction night. It had the body-colored wheelcovers like the car above. Old Virgil, who had sold cars there since the late '30's, said, "Jesus, $5 grand for a Chevy--you could buy a Buick or Olds for that." Don't know if he was trying to get me to pester the Buick and Olds dealer, or not! LOL

I also remember the first Monte Carlo I ever saw--same light blue color; same body-colored wheelcovers. My Dad and I were looking around the dealer at cars on a Sunday morning, and the Monte was parked outside the Service Dept. with a small sheet covering the very front, and very rear, of the car. While we were looking at it, someone came out of the Service Dept. (on a Sunday!), got in, and drove it inside.

fintail

The CLS knockoff Sonata probably fits in that, too.

These things rarely carry passengers though, I can't say I've ever seen more than 2 people in a CLS or Gran Coupe. They exist for style, and for the manufacturers, profit margin, as they seem to cost 50%+ more than the basic platform cars.

uplanderguy

There was also an Impala Sport Sedan for '76 too.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh I see...they list it as a "sport sedan" in the books. I never see any of these at shows, etc.

andys120

uplanderguy

1971 or '72 Mercury Marquis Brougham. I could never tell the difference between those two model years. I believe this is the car they used in commercials showing a guy cutting a diamond in the back seat (not the same car, but same model).

kyfdx

Reminds me of the car I learned to drive on... My mother's '72 Lincoln Coupe. same color, but with white leather and white vinyl roof..

Hey, Brown is back!

andys120

Yup, it's a '72 Mercury Marquis Brougham. I posted it to show how cleverly they disguised the B-post to make it look like a 4dr h/t. Our Pontiac 4door h/t looked much like that with the windows up, the chromed window trim seemingly forming a thin upright.

andys120

Better shot

fintail

The Brazilian Puma? (with VW guts)

andys120

Yes, that's the "Brazilian Porsche", AKA Volkswagen Puma. The Puma was originally based on the D KW Malzoni, a Brazilian made sports car using the DKW three-stroke. After Volkswagen do Brasil bought out the Brazilian branch of DKW they redesigned the Puma around the mechanicals of the Karman-Ghia 1500. After production of the K-G ceased the Puma was again redesigned around the chassis and hardware of the VW Brasilia in 1973.

Pumas were exported throughout South America, to South Africa and as kit cars to North America. The photograph is of a 1979 Puma residing in the Volkswagen Museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. Small-scale manufacturing continues to this day in South Africa.

andys120

robr2

87 or so Caprice NYPD cruiser.

andys120

87 or so Caprice NYPD cruiser.

You know your cruisers.

andys120

lemko

1963 Ford Galaxie.

explorerx4

at Goodwood, I think.

andys120

Yup, that is this year's Goodwood Festival where they recreated the British Touring Car Series of the mid -1960s. The '63 Galaxie represents a pair of 7-litre Galaxies sent over by Ford USA to compete with the regulars in Rovers, Jags, Minis and the likes. The big American Iron was driven back then by a big American Dan Gurney and a wee Scott, Jim Clark.

It turned out IIRC that there is a substitute for cubic litres. In a couple of seasons, the big Fords scored only one overall win (by Clark).

Now who wants to ID the little cars hounding the Galaxie?

stickguy

red one is an Alfa. GTV?

the box behind that, no clue

andys120

The red Alfa is probably not a GTV, more likely to be seen racing were the lighter 1600 Giulia Sprint Veloce or the GTA.

The box behind it is another Alfa-Romeo, a 1600 Giulia TI , a terrific little car much favored by the Italian Carabinieri of that era and a standout in sedan racing.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

The boxy one might be an Alfa Berlina. The one behind the Nimitz looks like a GTA maybe? but I'll need to blow up the photo to know for sure and I"m too lazy...:)

andys120

The boxy one might be an Alfa Berlina.

Alfa nomenclature is molto confusing. The boxy car is most definitely an Alfa four-door but which Alfa Berlina is it?

I'm guessing a Giulia Super or TI, like this one>

Mr_Shiftright

questo è corretto! (I think). I'd bet on a TI

grahampeters

G'day

Graceful, isn't it?

Wolseley 6/90 from late 1950's. Whilst traditionalists claim it is the last of the true Wolseleys, it was a badge engineered derivative of a Morris, like other later Wolseleys. This period of BMC history has a folklore/mythology as complex as the Fall of Byzantium. It can be summarised as "Leonard Lord was a ...... (insert derogatory term for a ruthless businessman's actions)"

Cheers

Graham

andys120

Thanks for the explanation Graham, like most of us I know little about Wolesleys, in fact I've never seen one but I must say that 6/90 has a certain elegance that sets it apart from the dumpy British saloons (love that word) of the era.

andys120

[Deleted User]

King Kong in a Trabant convertible? Lol.

Seriously though, is in a Nash?

grahampeters

G'day

This is bugging me. I know the convertible is rear engined but cannot recall what.

Looks like a standout prank

Cheers

Graham

andys120

Nope,not a Trabant or a Nash. don't think it's King Kong either.

texases

Don't know the car, but isn't that from The Pink Panther? The original movie (the good one), is it Robert Wagner under the ape suit?