• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

What is that little car?

Share this page

Focal plane shutters can distort dramatically. Consider all those early shots of tall racing cars (e.g. Fiats around 1910-1920) where the car looks like it's leaning forward. That's from the shutters with the slit traveling vertically and the car moving laterally. The car's roof is photographed at a different instant than the lower parts. That's not exactly what happened in this photo but I'd bet it's an Olds combined with a shutter aberration.
 
But what would cause the wheel base to be so short? A very slow shutter speed would not cause the wheel base to appear shorter (if anything I'd think it would cause the wheelbase to appear longer) I agree there is some shutter distortion going on, but I don't think it's a car as large as an olds.
 
Do you think it's distortion from a wide angle lens? Some of the wide angles of that era were primitive compared with today - e.g. the tiny Leica Hektor 28mm f6.3 was about 3/8" diameter. I doubt we'll find a definitive answer to this one.
 
Bad distorted picture of an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker combined with Sasquatch, Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster.
Cameras lie. Bigly. It has to be a Metropolitan. Look at the roofline and the wheel arches. No other car that looked anything like that was around then.
 
Three things in favor of the metro:
The cut of the door seems correct.
the spare tire may simple be in use, therefore off the trunk.
the top may be a convertable. ( I noticed at least 3 different styles, granted they were on cars today.)

image.jpg
image.jpg

(Suddenly.....I really want a metro???)
 
Still not convinced it's a Metropolitan. Look at the two-tone paint and where it "drops" below the rear window.

Also, the height compared to the standard sedans all along the road.

Just sayin ...
 
NutmegCT said:
Still not convinced it's a Metropolitan. Look at the two-tone paint and where it "drops" below the rear window.

Also, the height compared to the standard sedans all along the road.

Just sayin ...
Click to expand...

The bullet shaped extrusion along the side near the rear tail lights reminds me of a 50 Ford tail light.

DSC00132.jpg
 
Ok next guess: Delorean
 
oh c'mon - it's a rat-rod Pobeda.

(and somebody stole the spare tire ...)
 
A customized Henry J. Or a customized Trabant. C'mon guys - it's a GD Metro...Maybe some owner futzed with it like I did with my 1952 Ford with a Pontiac grille.
 
Yes it is!

Of course ... I *could* be arguing in my spare time.
 
pdplot said:
A customized Henry J. Or a customized Trabant. C'mon guys - it's a GD Metro...Maybe some owner futzed with it like I did with my 1952 Ford with a Pontiac grille.
Click to expand...

There was a "production" concept Metropolitan called a NXI. it did not have a trunk mounted spare.

I'm not sure how to embed the youtube video, but I think this is the link to a marketing promo spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBVz8RXKWlU&t=29s
 
Back
Top