Last Call- Left Turn Back The Clock Edition
Just a street scene from sixties Los Angeles, it’s no big deal. Still, all the automotive awesome contained in this simple black & white snapshot is worth contemplation. But quick, before that, name all the cars you can see!
Image: [The Car Lounge]
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Wow. I could take any three of the cars in this pic and not buy another vehicle for the rest of my life.
I used to believe that about myself, too.
left to right:Luigi (fiat 500), Henry (the one behind the pole, might be a kaiser, but I can't tell), Fiona (Studebaker Commander), Smitty (the T-bucket) , Estelle (bullet bird), Gustave (55 chevy sedan delivery) , Joe (54 country squire,crossing intersection), Marla (51 mercury), Betsy (sixty two Galaxie or maybe Fairlane), and Joann (corvair). I forgot the cement mixer, let's call him Tex. and there's a few more I can't make out.
Luigi appears to be a Fiat 600, rather than a 500.
I stand corrected
I believe the 51 merc is actually a hudson, and the galaxie is a 60-63 Falcon.
you're right on the falcon but I stand by the merc.
Yeah youre right, i didn't recognize the factory tail lights, not sure i've ever seen one that was stock (seen a million customs though)
Nope, it's a '51 Merc all right.
Good work and great eye for cars! Those were the days….
Tex is an Autocar, and right at that time they were often pulled in for Mixer duty.
It's interesting seeing a point-of-view street shot like this and remembering that the camera phones of the 60's did not take color pictures.
They more than made up for it in style, though.
<img src="http://1000wattconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/PicturePhone.jpeg" width="250">
What's depressing is what the cost of the jewerly probably was. Still you didn't make much back then either.. Oh and doesn't the Corvair look like it's going the wrong way
Henry appears to be a 1953 Chrysler Imperial and Gustave, if he's the one in the middle, is a 1956 Pontiac station wagon.
Once I downloaded and looked at it bigger, it was obvious those weren't Chevy taillights and it had side windows but I think it's a Buick.
BUT WHY IS THERE A VEHICLE GOING THE WRONG WAY ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THE PICTURE?!?!?!?!?!?
Oh, just a Corvair in B&W with its brake lights on.
Never mind.
/sarcasm
Is that a '59 Ford Galaxie just behind the Fiat but in front of the pole? I suppose it's too much to expect it to be a Skyliner retractable – they were pretty rare for '59. And what's with the misshapen guy on the billboard at right?
As also confirmed below by 2sexxycute, that indeed appears to be a '59 Galaxie, but the proportions aren't quite right for it to be a Skyliner. Your guess is as good as mine on the billboard.
Looking more closely, those wagon tail lights don't resemble any GM cars. They look more Buick, but the bottom half should be chrome for the '55 and chrome with a big backup light in the middle for 56. Another mystery car?
That is a '59 Galaxy on the left with another bullet bird in front. Looks like a '60 Pontiac entering the intersection behind the Country Squire and '55 Olds. Looks like a '51 Dodge next to the '61 Pontiac in front of the cement truck.
I have no clue what the cars going into the distance are.
The body on the billboard appears to be a photo of a man standing in a cemetery!
ok, the 59 Galaxie is Earl, the other bullet bird is Andrea, the Pontiac is Briana, the Olds shall be Tabitha.
from left to right on "our" street: Fiat 600, T-bucket, '62 bird '55 Chev sedan delivery
( I thought it might be a Pontiac S/W but the brake light that works is at top of fender – thus Chev), early '50's Merc, Falcon, Corvair
left to right on "cross" street: Dodge sedan (53?), '%% Stude, '62 Buick, 54 Ford S/W , and what look to be '56 Olds tail lights…
The Fiat is not "Luigi" the 500, it's the older brother Mario, the Fiat 600!
This is a 1953 Chrysler Imperial
<img src="http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1953/Yellow/13.jpg" width="600">
And a 1953 Dodge
<img src="http://www.allpar.com/photos/chrysler/1950s/dodge.jpg" width="600">
The juxtaposition of the compact competitors (Falcon and Corvair) is interesting. The Vair is so much lower and sexier looking than the Falcon. But McNamara's stodgemobile won the sales race.
Back in the day, the falcon was considered a dramatically fresh styling exercise, much like the first Taurus. My grandfather, a dealer, had the first one I ever saw and it seemed like something from another planet. It was a modern and sensible car. Corvairs were thought to be sporty and experimental. People who bought them were daring and exciting.