Let’s pay a moment of attention to imports on US roads back in the ’50s-’60s. The images feature at least one import on each, either prominently or somewhat discreetly. The makes are varied, as they were at the time; most are from Europe but at least one Japanese brand makes an appearance.
Most of the cars featured, I would think, are easily identifiable. Dates and locations are not known in these, but some can easily be inferred. We start with the lede shot, taken in Portland in 1959, with the famous M-B radiator easily seen next to the bus on the right of the frame.
Crazy small cars. Now it hard to fund an American made sedan. And even trucks, some are made in Mexico and Canada
Buy a Japanese car. They have more domestic content than a lot of actual domestic brands.
Love that pink and white Ford convert. 55-56?
1955 Ford
That San Francisco shot has four Beetles in it, an Austin Healy 3000, and in the middle looks like a Toyota Corona. Date wise I believe I see a 1968 Fairlane fastback on the left. Possibly a 69 Marquis on the left ahead and a 68-69 Charger just past Broadway.
I know this place well having traveled down it many times. We are on Franklin, between Pacific and Broadway, heading northbound. Franklin is one block west of Van Ness.
As a Californian of a certain vintage, the one that would have caught my eye at the time, both for its style and relative rarity, is the Citroën wagon.
I’m pretty sure there’s also a Peugeot 403 wagon way up in the upper far left parking lot in shot #2. The resolution is not good, but the shape and grille strongly suggest that.
Given that the Fiat 600 was seemingly the most popular new car in Innsbruck in the late ’50s, one can see the reverse situation: how oddly huge American cars looked to me back then.
Good eye Paul… I’m convinced it is a Peugeot.
There is a black MG A in the first row also, next to the 58 Chevy wagon.
and it seems to be a 403 station wagon, higher roof and I think there are 3 windows visible on the side …
LOVE THE RAINY-DAY PICTURE WITH THE SILVER ?AUSTIN-HEALEY?, TWO VW’S, AND A RED TOYOTA IN THE SHOT.
What is that little wagon on the second last picture?
Citroen DS?
Yes.
The first photo with the Fiat is an Air Force base because one of the signs reads “Squadron Headquarters”. That Fiat looks real small next to the big station wagons. But our Group Commander at Grand Forks in 1978 drove a Fiat sedan and he was 6’3″. Col Charles (Paul) Mathis.
There were always a smattering of foreign cars on bases. In the 1980s a lot of military bought the Mercedes 123 series 240D sedans through a special buy program. Volvo had such a program as well.
Lt Col (Ret) Phil Henning, USAF
I’m thinking that’s Whiteman Air Force Base. The sign appears to say 340th Combat Support Group, which was headquartered at Whiteman at the time.
HELP! I cannot identify the car outside of Alban Cleaners albeit that the emblem on the decklid should give it away. Fun photos. I agree that I would snap up that ’55 Ford convertible in a heartbeat.
I had to look that one up – didn’t recognize it. Turns out it’s a late 1950s Renault 4CV:
I like that photo, too – something’s just interesting about a through-the-windshield shot of a random location on a cold, soggy day. Not the kind of picture that’s seen too often.
The photo was taken at a Long Island shopping center, and there’s still a Cleaners in that space. Then-and-now comparison below:
lololol Talk about easy to find in a “crowded lot”.
Santa Claus, in Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara on US 101. Looks to be 1963 from the cars. Here is what is left. Oh, the import, Volvo PV544.
Dear Eric,
Thanks for the answer to the mystery car – The Renault 4CV. Tom
You’re welcome!
I owned a tan Opel Kadett just like the one in the last photo. Paid $100 for it, used it for a parts car for my other Opel Kadett. Too rusty to drive.
Pictures #10 and #12 were taken a few blocks from each other in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC.
Here’s the location of Picture #10 – it’s the 3400 block of P St., NW.
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/34PbQzuKmrjeP2576
Here’s the location of Picture #12 – it’s the 1500 block of 33rd St. NW.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JxZJTxV4jbUb1Rpc8
Great sleuthing! I thought both photos had a DC vibe.
Parked in this block, one of the last times I wnt to the “Georgetown “MVS” office.
Lord! Was “cold”, that day!
You’ve answered a long-standing question for me: what Europe’s ‘pretend’ US cars, like the Ford Anglia (picture 8) would look like in an American setting. The answer is surprisingly okay.
Nice ;
I remembered all these imports and was pleased I knew at least the make of every one .
The S.F. hill picture has a ’64 convertible and ’66 VW’s in it .
I didn’t remember how tiny those Toyotas were .
The DC image shows why foreign cars didn’t last in the big Eastern cities : parking was mostly by braille and they didn’t fare well .
Thank you for another mostly happy trip down memory lane =8-) .
-Nate
(who still remembers when imported vehicle parts co$t MORE at the junkyards)
You should enjoy this video of San Francisco in the 60’s and all the car spotting among the cable cars.
Anyone know which “Air Force”, base is pictured with the “Citroen” Wagon, and “VW”?
The “Opel”, in the final pic is cool! Durable? Not so much.
Love the Austin Healey Bugeye going away down the side street in pic 7. Funny how in the 70s and 80s in the Hudson Valley of NY Healeys, Alfas, Jags, MGs, Sunbeams, Triumphs etc were al over when I was a kid. I thought they were way more prevalent around the rest of the country. Now, having lived all over the country, it’s wild to see and then see even in period how rare they really are.
The Ford Anglia beside the ’62 Chevy wagon at the LA stoplight…had no the Anglia was sold in the US.
The sixth photo grabbed me; what appears to be a fairly new Opel Rekord coupe at a motel somewhere takes center stage. What I really was staring at was the gray/white `58 Chrysler Windsor 4dr. hardtop on the right–it’s an ULTRA-rare “Spring” edition based on the extra trim on the rear deck! As we all know, the `58 recession was in full swing then, and MoPar offered spring packages on all their lines (except Imperial) that year! With sales in the toilet, there likely wasn’t too many of these sold that year anywhere. I myself have only seen one other–a turquoise coupe some years ago at a car show in MI.
Looks like Harry Potter has taken a wrong turn..
Love the import pix! Have owned: 58 Fiat 1100; 58 Ford Taunus 17M; 59 Opel Caravan. I lived near Newark, NJ; in the mid 60s their Weequahic Park police patrolled the lake there in an Amphicar (German, w/Triumph drivetrain). Btw, that San Francisco video was awesome; the film quality was superb (digitally enhanced?). The Jimmy Stewart movie “Vertigo” is also a great place for old car views esp imports. One shot shows a beautiful Karmen Ghia, parked next to an ultra-rare DKW Junior passenger minivan. Guess Germany beat Lee Iacocca by 20+ years!
Looks like a flat tire on the red and white Olds on the air base.
Very good picture of a58 to 59 Opal Record like I had back in the day. Fond memories of road trips and my long commute to ORD.It did have some issues like quitting if a puddle was hit due to a flaw in the iqnition (later cars had a Delco distributed cap) and it was a bit under powered.
I worked in the import car parts and service industry for over 40 years. Born in 1954 these are the cars I grew up with, I know them well.
Most of these cars were in everyday use in the 1960s, at least in larger cities.
The only exception might be the Citroen wagon, Citroen rarely sold more than 2000 cars per year in the US.
I was amused by the Renault 4cv parked between a couple of domestic elephants…
That’s a beautiful white 911 parked on the street by the townhouses. However, I am such a nerd – the Country Squire kept catching my eye and distracting me.
My buddies and I would come in from the Maryland suburbs to listen to music, drink, and try to pick up girls at the clubs along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue in the 60s and 70s. We’d park on Georgetown streets like those pictured here. Parking was often so tight that we would “parallel park” by lifting my my 64 sunroof Beetle into the space.