Team CC:
A particularly heinus crime was perpetrated two days ago in northeastern Denver.
Three people in dark hoods and masks apparently set fire to a home killing three adults and two very young children. The reason for the arson is unknown, but a hate-crime is not ruled out.
Two very blurry/grainy photographs of a getaway vehicle complement the request for information from the Crimestoppers division of the Metro-area Denver police.
Let’s help identify this car. I’ve always been impressed by the hive-mind on CC in identifying vehicles from very little information. In this unusual case, contrary to typical CC Clues, I would suggest that we DO post imagery below, to help us all confirm our impressions. Big bonus points if we can determine that the wheels are aftermarket and we can identify them too – or any other unusual aftermarket items or a guess at the original paint color.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/us/denver-fire-arson.html?searchResultPosition=1
I’m not much good at this stuff, but please someone do somethong! It is sad to see what the world is coming to.
The general proportions, the position of the car’s lighting, and the relatively clear C-pillar in the lower photo are making me think it could be a 2001-2006 Dodge Stratus or Chrysler Sebring.
I think a case can be made for the Third generation Sebring 2007-2010. Some did come with side markers, and the roof forms seem to line up, as well as a character line toward the bottom of the car.
The front overhang is screaming front-wheel-drive, too.
Bingo! The little plastic piece at the back of the rear door window is the key.
Did they have chrome door handles?
Obviously, this is horrific, and I’m not much good at these but will try my best. One thing that I noticed, although I’m not sure of, is that the car has xenon headlights, based on the very blue light coming from around them. (This could also be a function of the image, I am not sure.) It also may have fog lights?
My bet is on an aftermarket “HID kit” or “LED bulbs” in what are supposed to be halogen headlamps.
The wheels match
Small side light high on front fender by A pillar
The bright streaks are the parking lights, which match.
The bright streaks in the rear are the marking lights that match.
The C pillar matches.
I think right now, it is a Saturn Aura 2007
Did these come with chrome door handles at all? I just noticed that there appears to be very shiny door handles. I do think this is a good guess, though!
YES!
They do have chrome handles. I own one. But the picture looks like wrap around taillights which the Saturn doesn’t have.
https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22965241/20200818/102419/styles/patch_image/public/image-via-crime-stoppers___18215836574.jpg?width=695
That is a larger photo I used.
This is the photo I worked from.
You can see how the wheels seem to match the Aura’s
Take a look at the light street on the front fender behind the wheel opening.
I think that is the Aura’s side marker.
I’m still thinking that this is a Saturn Aura.
I means light streak – not street.
other side show a light in the same place
Also the fog lights match up with that option on the Aura.
I do not think what you’re seeing is a side turn signal repeater, which is much smaller and less conspicuous than that reflection appears. At the resolution of these photos, the side turn signal repeater would be nothing more than a barely-if-at-all-visible smudge.
The slant of the trailing edge of the front combination light’s wraparound/sidemarker portion, the wraparound portion of the taillight, what we can see of the wheels, and the rear-door beltline upkick put it in 2007-2010 Dodge Avenger territory for me. With aftermarket “HID kit” or “LED bulbs” in the headlamps.
I studied the photos before scrolling into the the comments, and the photos said Saturn to me as well. The photos VanillaDude posted match up the grill gap on the Aura.
Very sad indeed.
Some Auras did come with chrome door handles, and I agree with the comments above that the door handles seem to reflect a lot of light – as if they were chrome.
I just noticed the front fender side marker VanillaDude noted, and I agree with him that the fender badge (light) behind the front wheel seems to be reflecting some light.
While I’m tending to agree with VanillaDude regarding the Aura, let me throw something I’ve been thinking into the ring, so to speak. (And if it gets shot down, all the better, just a thought!) What about a 2006-2008 Acura TSX? 2006-2008 because of the fog lights being standard, and they were mounted inwards, with a grille beside them. Secondly, the colour seems like Carbon Grey Pearl (Gray for the US). Thirdly, the wheels seem to match, to me at least. Fourth, chrome door handles were standard, as far as I can tell. Further, I’ve seen a few of them converted so that the inner (halogen) light becomes xenon. The issues I have with it are the fact it has no side marker lights, apart from the mirror, and while the headlights remind me of the TSX in the first photo, the tail lights kind of do not. Again, just a thought.
And as you can see here, the front fog seems to line up with the possibility of a fog set inwards in the first (upper) image.
The wraparound portions of the front and rear lights aren’t a match. Look how slim the front lamp’s wraparound is on the TSX versus the getaway car.
You are very correct! I think at some point in my head I had some sort of frankencar, and picked up on one detail of the TSX and ignored others.
My first thought was Stratus, but the trunk seemed too high and short, and the wheels not quite right. The Aura seems to have the most matching points of the picture.
Help rule out the 2015 Hyundai Elantra…
https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/hyundai/elantra/2015/oem/2015_hyundai_elantra_sedan_limited_fq_oem_9_1600.jpg
Back window mullion seems to appear in back door which does not exist on the Hyundai – very Aura like I would agree.
There is also a color called “Berry red” that Auras came in – the color appears to have some red, but it seems dark in the highway light shown…
What may also rule out the Hyundai Elantra is the pictured car is missing that Hofsteader Kink or what ever you guys call that kick up on the C-Pillar shown on the car you have linked there, BEO.
Also – The lighting on the top of the vehicle is a little strange… Is it simply a sunroof, or is there something else going on?
I was getting a strong 08-12 Chevy Malibu vibe from the C pillar and window shape. But that’s a platform-mate to the Aura of that time.
Like you, I was thinking Chevy, but the previous generation Impala based on the strip of chrome on the wrap around taillights. That would fit with the time frame everyone is suggesting (the early to mid aughts).
But that Saturn was a similar GM car, and the color seems right.
It is my sense from a highlight in the driver’s side photo, that the rear of the car has a spoiler on it, which does not rule out the Aura, but helps limit the possibilities if it is:
https://www.google.com/search?q=saturn+aura+spoiler&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiWwsys8arrAhUFZ98KHc8GC-sQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=saturn+aura+spoiler&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzICCAA6BAgAEA06BggAEAcQHjoHCAAQsQMQQzoECAAQQzoFCAAQsQM6CAgAEAgQDRAeULQVWOo7YN5BaABwAHgAgAGyAYgBlRKSAQQ1LjE2mAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=gwA_X9b0EIXO_QbPjazYDg
My first thought was a Dodge Stratus but I can’t be sure. The real reason that I’m commenting is to ask why these surveillance photos are alway so shitty? We got better pictures from the moon 50 years ago and from the Titanic on the ocean floor. Best wishes to law enforcement working on this case.
It almost appears to me that the car has a duckbill spoiler on the trunk…
Acura ILX, the newest with LED headlamps. I hate these posts when they are so lo-res nobody’s guess would ever be taken seriously in court.
Me too, the quality is so bad they don’t even look like the same car in the two pictures to me. My first glancing opinion was the top looks like a Stratus, the bottom looks like an 07 Accord, the deeper I look it looks like neither and I’m just throwing darts to no conclusive end.
It amazes me how utterly terrible street security cameras still are in 2020, the night vision shot of the thugs themselves are way clearer, If I knew anything about clothing I could pick out the sweater brands easier than the car!
It looks too big to be an Acura ILX.
The passenger side photo somehow screams 2007-2010 Chrysler Sebring!
Alright, not anymore. The rear side windows don’t match.
Saturn Aura it is, then
I was firmly in the Saturn Aura camp, but I can’t be sure because it doesn’t look like the brightwork around the side windows shows up in the crime scene photos.
It does seem like the fender mounted repeaters might show up against a dark colored Aura. They’re small, but the white lenses might throw off enough reflection to make them pop even in those shitty photos.
Clearly the car has chrome door handles, which the Chryslers and Dodges did not come with (as far as I’ve been able to tell).
But if the door handles and side repeaters are reflective enough to show up in the grainy pics it seems to me that we’d also be able to see a fair amount of reflection from the chrome window surrounds, which all Auras came with. This is where I’m stuck.
I think it’s an older Dodge Intrepid R/T. Note the wing, A and C pillar angles, and the wide windshield. The body proportions look right.
Looks like a Pontiac G6 to me.
Wraparound portion of taillights isn’t a match.
While I still think the Aura is the best bet, a part of me is bothered by the hood appearing longer and the trunk shorter. I keep attributing that to the camera distorting the image slightly. But it does keep bugging me because I want to be more certain than I am. But all we can give is our best guess, and that’s mine. I would like to think our brainstorming could have a tiny part in helping solve this crime. VanillaDude has a sharp eye to come up with the Aura right off the bat.
I think the rear deck is too short for it to be a Saturn, and I think the front hood is too long for it to be a Acura. I am inclined to go with the Dodge Intrepid.