Mystery car pix

andys120 · November 2017

Let's not forget the hideous clothing styles. I wince whenever I see a picture of myself from that awful era.

When I see pix of family members from the 30s and 40s I think "now,those people had style,what were we thinking?"

Remember too that cars made after '73 or so were mostly as bad as they looked.

Michaell · November 2017

andys120 said:
Let's not forget the hideous clothing styles. I wince whenever I see a picture of myself from that awful era.

When I see pix of family members from the 30s and 40s I think "now,those people had style,what were we thinking?"

Remember too that cars made after '73 or so were mostly as bad as they looked.

Hard to believe I'm saying this, but if you look at how folks dressed in the 70's, and compare it to what is being shown at the fashion shows today, the 70's look pretty good.

This gives me the willies ...

berri · November 2017

Some of the 70's Top 40 music was a little, well just call it disappointing. Andys - that Maverick may have looked a bit expensive with the chrome and vinyl top - until you opened the door

berri · November 2017

Michael;, in the 70's cars started wearing vinyl, while humans flocked to polyester

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

What I liked about 70s cars was how stepping from an American car to a foreign one was like entering another universe. The culture of the creator hit you smack in the face. Now, not so much.

omarman · November 2017

In the early 70's my dad had a business partner who owned a Lincoln Mark IV and a Mercedes 280 (SE I think) sedan. At work he'd usually show up in the Mark IV. But when he came to visit dad at home he usually drove the Mercedes.

fintail · November 2017

Easy one today, saw this parked on the street.

Being different can be awkward and tiresome (Toyota et al), sometimes being different can end up being kind of cool:

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

That in itself would take some getting used to, hopping from one to the other!

omarman said:
In the early 70's my dad had a business partner who owned a Lincoln Mark IV and a Mercedes 280 (SE I think) sedan. At work he'd usually show up in the Mark IV. But when he came to visit dad at home he usually drove the Mercedes.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2017

Is that grey van a Toyota, fin?

qbrozen · November 2017

Its a Renault badge.

Ugly darned thing. I don't know much about Renault. Espace is their van, I think. That's a 2-door hatch that somehow winds up looking like a weird van. Megane of some sort?

iluvmysephia1 · November 2017

Ahh. Renault.

stickguy · November 2017

Renault, right?

qbrozen · November 2017

I amended my post above. I'm taking a stab at Megane, but really have no idea.

andys120 · November 2017

fintail said:
Easy one today, saw this parked on the street.

Being different can be awkward and tiresome (Toyota et al), sometimes being different can end up being kind of cool:

Isn't that a Renault Avantime?

fintail · November 2017

There we go, Avantime. Top Gear destroyed one several years back, which they will probably regret, as they are already becoming somewhat of a special interest car.

Not pretty by any means, but daring, more of the old "The French copy nobody, and nobody copies the French" school.

Michaell · November 2017

qbrozen said:
Its a Renault badge.

Ugly darned thing. I don't know much about Renault. Espace is their van, I think. That's a 2-door hatch that somehow winds up looking like a weird van. Megane of some sort?

It's got some god awful name, like Vel Satis, or something.

This is their interpretation of a personal luxury coupe.

Oops, didn't scroll to the next page; I see it's been answered.

I thought the Top Gear deal was on a 4-door Espace.

Ah, here we go ....

fintail · November 2017

Here's a pic of the Top Gear Avantime - I think blue is the most sought after color, too:

Michaell · November 2017

That's right, the Avantime was the one they modded to within an inch of its life to achieve a specific lap time. I don't think the Stig was able to meet the goal, IIRC.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

andys120 · November 2017

That's obviously a new Roller and not a very pretty one either but then there whasn't been a good looking RR since the BMW takeover. What's up w that, it's not as if BMW doesn't know how to make atractive cars.

Michaell · November 2017

Yeah, the 78 foot long (or so it seems) RR Coupe of some sort.

For some reason, the desired clientele for RR doesn't seem to mind the styling.

andys120 · November 2017

Michaell said:

For some reason, the desired clientele for RR doesn't seem to mind the styling.

If you say so but I've seen maybe 10 Bentleys for every RR.

kyfdx · November 2017

andys120 said:

Michaell said:

For some reason, the desired clientele for RR doesn't seem to mind the styling.
If you say so but I've seen maybe 10 Bentleys for every RR.

Ditto.. how is it that VW can get it right, but BMW can't? Or, maybe BMW feels they need to differentiate their models from Bentley? Either way, I say they've missed the mark.

texases · November 2017

Bentleys are 1/3 the price of RRs. Much bigger market.

edit - but I agree, I look at a Bentley and say 'neat', I look at a RR and I say 'ugh'. My wife LOVES the Bentley...

imidazol97 · November 2017

kyfdx said:
But, in the ‘70s, it was a sign of luxury.
The landau half roof was highly desirable in the latter half of the decade.

I must confess. I had a half-roof in 1970. The front half of the roof was covered; rear, naked.
I don't recall those wheel covers. Did not come with the girl.

And it had these seats in black and white. Neat.

texases · November 2017

Holy moly - 'she had her BA, MA, and PhD, but really wanted her Mrs.'!!! Think Ford will re-run that today???

kyfdx · November 2017

I have absolutely no memory of that roof treatment on a Mustang. (Which is weird)

iluvmysephia1 · November 2017

I remember that roof treatment because my first car was an oxidized metallic purple 4-speed 200 c.i. 6 cyl. '65 Ford Mustang. The car couldn't keep a taillight bulb intact for nothin.'

I faintly remember those vinyl roofs on the '70 Stang's.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

Mr_Shiftright said:

This is a custom-built car that Rolls made for an unidentified buyer. It's called a Sweptail (that's not a typo) and it costs $13 million dollars.

HERE'S THE STORY

iluvmysephia1 · November 2017

shifty, I'm not interested.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

I'll tell them, but they'll be disappointed in you.

fintail · November 2017

There's often an inverse relationship between money and taste, especially once past a certain point. That point is usually reached a bit cheaper than with a Bentley.

Really, it doesn't matter how a Rolls-Royce looks though, in this new Belle Epoque where the hardworking reincarnations of Horatio Alger who are the top few can flaunt with impunity, a little brashness is only a good thing. The days of subtle dignity are over.

andys120 · November 2017

Mystery dash>

stickguy · November 2017

Morgan?

andys120 · November 2017

Yup, it's a 1965 Morgan Plus4. The tach and speedo were the same Jaeger gauges fitted to my '66 TR-4A but that shifter is really delicate-looking compared to the beefy unit in my TR,

fintail · November 2017

Also sold in Canuckistan, Limeyland, and more:

Mr_Shiftright · November 2017

andys120 said:
Yup, it's a 1965 Morgan Plus4. The tach and speedo were the same Jaeger gauges fitted to my '66 TR-4A but that shifter is really delicate-looking compared to the beefy unit in my TR,

I had a Morgan. Really fun but it was built about as well as a soapbox derby car. That one in the picture looks to have been all poshed-out. Back then anyway, they were very bare-bones.

thebean · November 2017

Lada?

andys120 · November 2017

Brrrr! Notice snows at rear only contrary to current practice.

lostwrench1 · November 2017

Ah, the not often seen "Spring Accent" paint scheme on a '59 Buick LeSabre.
Interesting that not all LeSabres that year came off the line with a nose badge.

andys120 · November 2017

lostwrench1 said:
Ah, the not often seen "Spring Accent" paint scheme on a '59 Buick LeSabre.
Interesting that not all LeSabres that year came off the line with a nose badge.

"Spring Accent", how ironic. I can't quite make out the small letters on the plate...Illinois?

berri · November 2017

Funny how the often conservative Buick brand may have been the most extreme 59 model GM put out that year. Personally, I don't recall seeing the spring accent model, nor many 59 GM two tones for that matter, so it was fun to see this picture. Mostly, if a 59 GM was a two tone, I remember seeing it as a white roof on a 4 dr HT flat top model.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2017

Look at this tasty old American large convertible I spotted in downtown Chelan, WA, minutes ago.

berri · November 2017

That's a big old Mercury, but I have trouble fixing the exact year on those, Maybe very late 60's or early 70's. The body on that one looks in decent shape.

omarman · November 2017

Long time ago somebody posted a response to a pic of one of those and asked if it was the rarely seen "Marquis de Sade model?"

Shifty?

stickguy · November 2017

what a barge. I have driven Freightliner Ryder trucks that were shorter than that beast!

berri · November 2017

Now you're not going to resurrect the old SNL circumcision in the backseat skit are you

andys120 · November 2017

berri said:
Funny how the often conservative Buick brand may have been the most extreme 59 model GM put out that year. Personally, I don't recall seeing the spring accent model, nor many 59 GM two tones for that matter, so it was fun to see this picture. Mostly, if a 59 GM was a two tone, I remember seeing it as a white roof on a 4 dr HT flat top model.

It may have been extreme for a Buick but it was conservative compared to a '59 Cadillac, Chevrolet or even an Olds.

fintail · November 2017

My mystery car was a Skoda 120, these were exported to the great white north in the mid 80s. I don't hate them.

berri · November 2017

All the GM 59's were kind of out there I suppose. Might have been a Sputnik thing

Buick had that front and rear slanting effect, Cadillac the rather high fins, Olds the headlights. Ironically, Pontiac despite bringing out their "wide track" and more sporty image may have been the most conservative of them all. Chevy certainly was a shocker for low price 3 customer. And all the pieces of glass made the station wagons a little out there. But I kind of liked the unique looks of them all back then. Certainly a radical styling change from their 58's. The latter 50's had a lot of styling changes really, but like them or not, they sure made car design interesting.

Mystery car pix

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