That's a nice car!

[slaytonf]

nice!

[Dargo]

The rare(only 351 examples ever produced from 1967-1970) Toyota 2000GT in the 1967 James Bond movie YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE...

 

 

(...and one of the few Japanese automobiles to become highly sought after in the collector car market, and with a few examples recently fetching a cool million bucks and more in classic car auctions)

[slaytonf]

O, how they have fallen.

[slaytonf]

Oh, golly!  1951 Jaguar Mark VII in tonite's movie Magnificent Obsession (1954):

 

 

This pic doesn't do the luscious paint job credit.

[Dargo]

In honor of Mike Connors' passing today, here's the (customized and converted to a drop-top by famous car customizer George Barris) 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado that the series star would be seen driving in the early seasons of Mannix...

 

[slaytonf]

In honor of Mike Connors passing today, here's the (customized and converted to a drop-top by famous car customizer George Barris) 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado that the series star would be seen driving in the first seasons of Mannix...

 

 

 

Space age!

[Sepiatone]

I dug this up 'cause I just saw the old "Twighlight Zone" episode "A Thing About Machines"  and always dug that '39 Lagonda coupe that chased actor Richard Haydn into the swimming pool.

 

If I were able, I'd post a pic of it. 

 

 

Sepiatone

[LawrenceA]

I dug this up 'cause I just saw the old "Twighlight Zone" episode "A Thing About Machines"  and always dug that '39 Lagonda coupe that chased actor Richard Haydn into the swimming pool.

 

If I were able, I'd post a pic of it.  

 

Is this it?

 

[slaytonf]

Is that the one where there's no love lost between him and machines, and he ends up being done in by them?  And yes, that's a nice car!

[FletcherChristian]

I've always had a crush on the 1960 Sunbeam Alpine that Elizabeth Taylor drove in Butterfield 8.  Sporty red beautiful old car.  From what i've heard, red was a rare color for this car, but the car seemed to really fit her character.  

 

 

[Sepiatone]

To both LAWRENCE and SLAYTON:

 

Yes, that's the one! 

 

 

Sepiatone

[slaytonf]

Don't usually go for the old stodgies, but this isn't so bad:

 

 

 A 1955 Bentley S1 Continental Drop Head Coupé in Deadlier Than the Male (1967).

[thomasterryjr]

I apologize.  I do not have any documentation of the automobile I believe is worth a second look.  The car which I love to see and wish were in my possession was featured in "The Graduate".  A 1966 Alfa Romeo Spider 1600.  Dustin Hoffman's character abandoned the vehicle after it ran out of gas just blocks from the church where Katherine Ross' character was getting married.  If I ever meet Dustin Hoffman I will ask him if he left the keys in the Alfa Romeo after he abandoned the car, whatever happened to that beautiful automobile and what were the last line(s) of dialogue which were written for  Ben and Elaine after they had fled the church and were sitting on the back of the bus wondering what they were going to do next.

[TheCid]

I apologize.  I do not have any documentation of the automobile I believe is worth a second look.  The car which I love to see and wish were in my possession was featured in "The Graduate".  A 1966 Alfa Romeo Spider 1600.  Dustin Hoffman's character abandoned the vehicle after it ran out of gas just blocks from the church where Katherine Ross' character was getting married.  If I ever meet Dustin Hoffman I will ask him if he left the keys in the Alfa Romeo after he abandoned the car, whatever happened to that beautiful automobile and what were the last line(s) of dialogue which were written for  Ben and Elaine after they had fled the church and were sitting on the back of the bus wondering what they were going to do next.

In 1978 I used to drive by an M-B, Fiat, MG, Mazda dealership and noticed a late model Alfa Spyder on the lot.  Finally went in to look at it and was impressed with the very low mileage.   Then I looked in the glove box which was totally filled with work orders.  Car spent more time in dealership garage than on the road!

My secretary's sister had a brand new Alfa Spyder.  Twice it died trying to cross the Smokey Mountains because one of the fuel pumps failed.  Then it just spontaneously burst into flames one night parked in front of her home.  

Needless to say I didn't purchase an Alfa, but the bug had bit and I ended up with a '78 Fiat 124 Sport Spyder.  Very nice car and was very reliable for about three years.

[Dargo]

In 1978 I used to drive by an M-B, Fiat, MG, Mazda dealership and noticed a late model Alfa Spyder on the lot.  Finally went in to look at it and was impressed with the very low mileage.   Then I looked in the glove box which was totally filled with work orders.  Car spent more time in dealership garage than on the road!

My secretary's sister had a brand new Alfa Spyder.  Twice it died trying to cross the Smokey Mountains because one of the fuel pumps failed.  Then it just spontaneously burst into flames one night parked in front of her home.  

Needless to say I didn't purchase an Alfa, but the bug had bit and I ended up with a '78 Fiat 124 Sport Spyder.  Very nice car and was very reliable for about three years.

 

In 1984, I purchased a nice used 1977 Fiat 124 Spider(Black on Red...and btw, Fiat spells their sports cars series with an 'i" not a ''y") and had that car for about 12 years, Cid. A couple of years into my ownership of the vehicle, I removed those ugly post-1972 U.S. federally mandated bumpers and replaced then with the smaller and more beautiful bumpers of the original series. Had to fab up some custom made metal brackets in order to make 'em fit, though. Also replaced the original 13in stamped steel wheels with 14in Panasport alloys. 

 

(...and yeah, like you, I had pretty good luck with its reliability too...yep, that little baby never became an example of the ol' "Fix-It-Again-Tony" syndrome while I owned it, anyway)

[Sepiatone]

Saw an "American Pickers" episode today where they were scoping out a few '51-'54 Nash-Healey roadsters and coupes.  Cool looking cars for the times, and STILL kinda cool looking.

 

 

Sepiatone

[TheCid]

In 1984, I purchased a nice used 1977 Fiat 124 Spider(Black on Red...and btw, Fiat spells their sports cars series with an 'i" not a ''y") and had that car for about 12 years, Cid. A couple of years into my ownership of the vehicle, I removed those ugly post-1972 U.S. federally mandated bumpers and replaced then with the smaller and more beautiful bumpers of the original series. Had to fab up some custom made metal brackets in order to make 'em fit, though. Also replaced the original 13in stamped steel wheels with 14in Panasport alloys. 

 

(...and yeah, like you, I had pretty good luck with its reliability too...yep, that little baby never became an example of the ol' "Fix-It-Again-Tony" syndrome while I owned it, anyway)

I actually learned of the Spyder spelling because that is what was on the cover of the owner's manual.  Although, Fiat may have gone both ways with the spelling.

Found a reference where Tom Tjaarda writes of being part of Pinanfarina's design process for the Fiat 124 Spyder (his spelling). Deep in the recesses, but I was a member of the Fiat Club of America at the time and recall they spelled it with a y also.

Will agree that most often it was spelled with an i though.

Anyway, interesting and fun car and the top never leaked.

[Dargo]

I actually learned of the Spyder spelling because that is what was on the cover of the owner's manual.  Although, Fiat may have gone both ways with the spelling.

Found a reference where Tom Tjaarda writes of being part of Pinanfarina's design process for the Fiat 124 Spyder (his spelling). Deep in the recesses, but I was a member of the Fiat Club of America at the time and recall they spelled it with a y also.

Will agree that most often it was spelled with an i though.

Anyway, interesting and fun car and the top never leaked.

 

Well, NOT to belabor the point here Cid, but do you mean THIS owner's manual HERE?...

 

LOL 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist, fellow Fiat aficionado.

 

And yeah, the convertible top on the these cars was another excellent design which was simple to operate and fairly weather-tight.

 

(...overall, a lot of car for the money at the time...I mean, how many fairly low cost little roadsters back then featured disc brakes all around, a double-overhead cam engine and a 5 speed all synchromesh transmission?...not too many, huh)

[slaytonf]

Ah, but what about movies the Fiat Spider was in?  How 'bout Lady in the Car With Glasses and a Gun (1970)?:

 

 

Just a cameo here, not a starring role.  That's why the pic is not so good, as it had to be enlarged so much.

[Dargo]

Glad you brought this up here, slayton...and in doing so have gotten your thread back on track, of course.

 

For the last 10 minutes or so, I've been both wracking my brain AND searching the internet to find the Italian movie made sometime around the late-'60s that prominently featured a Fiat 124 Spider and which I remember watching on TCM a few years back.

 

The storyline consisted of a somewhat wild and carefree ladies man who almost kidnaps a less experienced and introverted young man early on and gets him to ride along with him in his Fiat 124 Spider to various points along the Italian countryside, and eventually the younger guy learns to break out of his shell and to woo women.

 

(...so, what movie is this?...I gotta know and wish I could remember the title...anybody out there know?...I recall it being a pretty good film overall)

[slaytonf]

You are thinking of Il Sorpaso (1963), with an impressive cast:  Jean Louis Trintignant, Catherine Spaak, and Vittorio Gassman.  And here's the car in question:

 

 

But I believe, as IMCDB has it, it's a 1947 Alfa Romeo 450.  Also a nice car!

[Dargo]

You are thinking of Il Sorpaso (1963), with an impressive cast:  Jean Louis Trintignant, Catherine Spaak, and Vittorio Gassman.  And here's the car in question:

 

 

But I believe, as IMCDB has it, it's a 1947 Alfa Romeo 450.  Also a nice car!

 

Aaah! You're right, and yeah it was an older Alfa, it seems. Thanks slayton. And yeah, that's also a nice car.

 

And so in that case, I must have been confusing Il Sopasso with another film, because I KNOW I've seen a Fiat Spider prominently used in another European road picture made approximately a few years later.

 

Was there perhaps a French film featuring the Fiat Spider that you may recall, and with perhaps the storyline consisting of the two leads, a man and a woman in this case and as I now vaguely remember it, traveling around the European continent in one?  And no, I'm not thinking of the film A MAN AND A WOMAN in which a Ford Mustang was used for this purpose.

 

(...'cause I know I'm not dreaming this, although the IMCDb website shows nothing in regard to this on its Fiat 124 Spider webpage...the Spider was either yellow or orange in color as I recall) 

[Dargo]

I think I found the movie I was thinking of stayton, and it was found on another of the IMCDb webpages under "Fiat 124 SPORT Spider".

 

I believe the movie I was thinking of was Vittorio De Sica's A PLACE FOR LOVERS (1968, and original title: AMANTI) and which starred Faye Dunaway and Marcello Mastroianni.

 

Here's Faye driving around Italy in that car...

 

And here's a shot of her and Marcello in the Fiat in another scene...

 

(...yep, I'm pretty sure this was the film I was thinking of...but not 100% sure)

[slaytonf]

Lucky you thought of it, Dargo, as I was going in different directions.  A Place for Lovers (1968) was shown as part of Faye Dunaway's SUTS day on Friday, 24 August, 2014.  It's not a great movie, but Miss Dunaway and Marcello Mastroianni make it watchable.  It's a departure for her, as she doesn't play a self-destructive role.  This time it's something outside that's destroying her.

 

I like to read digressions on cars, even if I can't identify from personal experience with rebellious electrical systems or the like.  The Spider looks sporty.  I wonder if it drives like it looks.  Does it zip around corners, and make drives along the Amalfi Coast long curvy reveries?

[Dargo]

Lucky you thought of it, Dargo, as I was going in different directions.  A Place for Lovers (1968) was shown as part of Faye Dunaway's SUTS day on Friday, 24 August, 2014.  It's not a great movie, but Miss Dunaway and Marcello Mastroianni make it watchable.  It's a departure for her, as she doesn't play a self-destructive role.  This time it's something outside that's destroying her.

 

I like to read digressions on cars, even if I can't identify from personal experience with rebellious electrical systems or the like.  The Spider looks sporty.  I wonder if it drives like it looks.  Does it zip around corners, and make drives along the Amalfi Coast long curvy reveries?

 

They actually handle pretty well in the twisty stuff and considering the rear end suspension isn't independent(it's a live(solid) axle design), but nowhere nearly as well as my next and present little "fun car"...that beautiful little mid-engine Porsche 550 Spyder Beck replica sitting in my garage.

 

(...btw Cid, there ya go...there's a "y" in THAT car's name)