Mystery car pix

qbrozen

wish i could, but we are going on vacay up to New Hampshire. While we COULD stop on the way home, there's just no way I'm dragging 2 tired and cranky kids through the expo.

lostwrench1

stever said:

If you do go to the NY show, you should be able to see that Alfa on display (unless it was only up for press days).

The rest of it is - 1965 Alfa Romeo CZ2.

lostwrench1

Oh, I'll be there. The last year I missed going to it was 1990.
I'll watch for the Alfa.

stever

I specifically wanted to see the Porsche with the "extra" electric drive wheels at the Detroit show a few years back and it was only on exhibit for press days. Pretty irritating, since it indeed got a lot of press coverage.

texases

lostwrench1 said:

stever said:

If you do go to the NY show, you should be able to see that Alfa on display (unless it was only up for press days).

The rest of it is - 1965 Alfa Romeo CZ2.

Nope, it's a TZ2. Look at the plate on the car:

stever

Ha, excuse me a minute while I go correct the Twitterverse.

andys120

lostwrench1

1965 Cadillac De Ville.

andys120

That's right Wrench. Those '65 Caddy's were lookers, weren't they?

andys120

robr2

MK1 Jetta?? Perhaps a Quantum.

berri

Not real sure, but could that VW have been called a Polo over here?

kyfdx

That's definitely not a Jetta..

With 2 doors, I'm going to guess VW Fox, or some other low-line model.

Mr_Shiftright

SZ-1 or TZ-1....those are the only two options...no "C".

stever said:

Ha, excuse me a minute while I go correct the Twitterverse.

stickguy

could be a Jetta. They did make 2 doors in the early days. But that looks like a Fox to me.

stever

Someone was probably dictating their tweet.

andys120

kyfdx said:

That's definitely not a Jetta..

With 2 doors, I'm going to guess VW Fox, or some other low-line model.

Yup, that is the late, unlamented Volkswagen Fox, a rebadged Volkswagen Gol from VW do Brasil.

Not to be confused with the Audi Fox either (U.S. msarket rebadge of the original Audi 80).

P.S. That's not a typo, the Brazilian version was a Gol, not a Golf.

stickguy

I remember test driving one of these when they first came out. Brand new car, that drove like an old ragged out one. It was down there with the mid-80s Hyundai Excel my grandmother bought as crappiest feeling new car I ever experienced.

Mr_Shiftright

I think they just read the sign wrong--it's in a fancy typeface that makes a T look like a C.

stever said:

Someone was probably dictating their tweet.

Mr_Shiftright

grahampeters

G'day

Alfa Matta. Roughly translates as Maddy!

Cheers

Graham

andys120

stickguy

Buick version of the Olds vista cruiser

Mr_Shiftright

What was it called?

stickguy said:

Buick version of the Olds vista cruiser

Mr_Shiftright

That's right. The Italian army Jeep. Technical name is Alfa 1900M 4WD. Not too expensive if you want one.

grahampeters said:

G'day

Alfa Matta. Roughly translates as Maddy!

Cheers

Graham

lostwrench1

1967 Buick Sportwagon.

andys120

lostwrench1 said:

1967 Buick Sportwagon.

Well that's right but the complete name was 1967 Buick Skylark Sport Wagon

grahampeters

stickguy said:

I remember test driving one of these when they first came out. Brand new car, that drove like an old ragged out one. It was down there with the mid-80s Hyundai Excel my grandmother bought as crappiest feeling new car I ever experienced.

G'day

I reckon it was pretty much the same as the 1978 VW Derby, the booted version of the early Polo that I bought for GBP500 in London in 1990. Judy still claims the reason she never got her drivers test was the uncertainty over the gearshift which tended to come out of its socket. I fixed it with a roofing nail, trimmed with a file. Not a favouritev car.

Cheers

Graham

andys120

Over time VW has used the "Fox" name for models in many different markets. Some of them have been Polo variants but most have been lower end, more basic cars, including the US version from the 80s and 90s based on the Brazilian Gol..

andys120

kyfdx

andys120 said:

Mazda 626?

Not sure of the model designation, though.. appears to be from the early-mid '80s

texases

1980ish Mazda 626? Good looker for an '80s import.

berri

Looks maybe a bit larger than a 626. RWD 929?

stickguy

late 70s/early 80s Mazda 626. Wheels not stock. I liked these. Still in the old RWD platform.

Michaell

stickguy said:

late 70s/early 80s Mazda 626. Wheels not stock. I liked these. Still in the old RWD platform.

I always liked the coupe version...

stickguy

I test drove a used white 2 door, somewhere around 1988. Sharp. Except it ran like a thresher, and I think it smoked (or maybe just ran like crap, enough that I walked). hey, it was a long time ago!

Around the same time I test drove a Scirroco, 1st gen, that had no seatbelts because the owners dog had chewed through them. Passed on that one too!

andys120

grahampeters

andys120 said:

G'day

Post war Pininfarina designed Alfa 6c cabrio. One of the prettiest cars

Cheers


Graham

andys120

Yup, it's a 1947 Alfa-Romeo 6C2500 SS, perhaps one of the prettiest cars of the postwar era.

andys120

stickguy

Taurus SHO. '91?

andre1969

Wow...it's mind-blowing just how much automotive styling has NOT advanced, in recent years. Think about it. That Taurus came out in 1986 (not the SHO, but that style). 29 years ago, yet it still looks modern today. Heck, considering the retro craze of late, and the way cars have gotten taller, blockier, and with higher belt lines, it looks MORE modern than many brand-new cars.

Now, go back another 29 years, from 1986. And you end up with my '57 DeSoto.

I guess there's only so much you can do with modern cars, though. There are only so many aerodynamic shapes out there that can still hold passengers and their luggage, meet modern crash test standards, fuel economy standards, etc.

grahampeters

G'day

I thought it looked familiar. I am hopeless with most US cars after about 1960, but hired a Taurus in 1990 to drive LA to SF up the coast. The trip was memorable but the only memory (i think it was in this car biut might have been another hire on thst trip) of the Taurus was the weird seatbelts which whipped around the door frame in some way, threatening to chop you off at the neck. Happily they never made them out of the USA. Do you still use them or are you allowed to put your own seat belts on ?

At this distance in time, I am mystified by my stupidity, picking up a hire car for my first experience of driving on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car, in peak hour from LAX to Hollywood, where we were staying. Things got better as we drove up the coast; I will go back to Morro Bay at a moment's notice and we chased every Steinbeck reference around Monterey. Your sea otters are pretty much the coolest animals ever.

Cheers

Graham

andre1969

grahampeters said:

G'day

The trip was memorable but the only memory (i think it was in this car biut might have been another hire on thst trip) of the Taurus was the weird seatbelts which whipped around the door frame in some way, threatening to chop you off at the neck. Happily they never made them out of the USA. Do you still use them or are you allowed to put your own seat belts on ?

Those types of seatbelts, thankfully, are now a distant memory. Back in the late 80's, the US government pretty much gave the auto makers an ultimatum...put air bags in the cars or else. There was some protesting, so as a stopgap, the auto makers had the choice of putting in an airbag (driver's side only), or putting in some kind of "passive restraint" seatbelt.

Fords tended to use that system you described, with the motorized shoulder strap, and a separate lap belt that you had to put on yourself. Chrysler made the move to airbags pretty quickly...by mid 1988 I think they had them in all of the cars. However, I did own an '88 LeBaron coupe that had a crude form of passive restraint. It had a shoulder belt that anchored in upper part of the door frame, which in theory swung out of the way when you opened the door, but it was still a hassle. And then there was a separate lap belt that you still had to fasten yourself. GM came up with the bright idea of just using one belt, but anchoring the whole thing in the door, so when you opened the door again, in theory, it was out of the way, but in reality it was usually a different story. And worse, if the door swung open in an accident, you'd find yourself suddenly unbelted.

At some point, the government required that all cars sold in the US have a driver and passenger side airbag, and I think the auto makers all met that requirement ahead of time, so thankfully, those awkward "passive restraints" faded into memory.

stickguy

Those belts were pretty much the main reason I sold my 626. Still miss that car.

stever

My mom had those in her Protege. Back in those days she was a chain smoker, and when I'd drive her around, the belt was always knocking her lit cig out of her mouth.

boomchek

stever said:

My mom had those in her Protege. Back in those days she was a chain smoker, and when I'd drive her around, the belt was always knocking her lit cig out of her mouth.

Lol, it was the stop smoking feature.

stever

Must have worked - she quit about 15 years ago (being in rehab for 6 weeks due to a stroke with no access to cigs may have had something to do with it). She's 93 now....

I thought about buying her Protege when she quit driving around 7 or 8 years ago, but I knew I'd never get the smoke smell out. It was a great runner though. And in her car you could unclip the shoulder harness and hook it on manually, bypassing the motorized gizmo.

boomchek

Yeah smoker cars are the worst. Especially when they're smoked in with the windows closed. A rookie sales person once told a customer who bought an accord that we'll get the smoke smell out. Customer picked up the car and brought it back for redetail but it just didn't happen. This Accord was so bad that the headliner by the driver's window was black from smoke. I smoke too but I don't do it in the car, or if have to I'll have all the windows open and my hand is out the window with the cigarette.

Michaell

stever said:

Must have worked - she quit about 15 years ago (being in rehab for 6 weeks due to a stroke with no access to cigs may have had something to do with it). She's 93 now....

I thought about buying her Protege when she quit driving around 7 or 8 years ago, but I knew I'd never get the smoke smell out. It was a great runner though. And in her car you could unclip the shoulder harness and hook it on manually, bypassing the motorized gizmo.

Steve, we owned a '91 Protege LX with the motorized belts. I really liked it.