Monday, April 5, 2010

An Extinct Breed . . .

.
In the post just below this one, I offered what I had thought were going to be some tantalizing yet insoluable clues as to the identity of an automobile which is older than I am, that we had encountered while out walking in our village, Sunday a week ago. But to my great astonishment, Arnaud of Random Shots came back just hours later with the correct answer; he was absolutely right, it was a Panhard. I was literally dumbfounded. I usually prefer my dream cars (see "dream cars" in the labels list in sidebar) to have a little more rust on them, this one had almost none. One can't always have everything, I guess . . .
.
One interesting detail of these cars is the front doors which are hinged at the back edge and thus open in the opposite way from most cars we are familiar with. Just goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat . . . (not that I want any cats skinned ! Certainly not ours !) Panhard cars ceased to be built in the 1960's after a buyout . . . so gems like this one are the last remnants of what will become an extinct breed, as they are no longer reproducing.
.
.






















.
.






















.
.






















.
.






















.
.






















.
.

12 comments:

Lynn said...

It's adorable! I want one for my front porch...hehe. Seriously, though, very cool I must say.

The Sagittarian said...

Can you get them in red tho, I want one to match my eyes....

James said...

That is so cool! I've never heard of this type of car. I'm so sick of the modern cars I like gems like this.

Marguerite said...

Very cool and cute car, cher Owen! It has a nice, curvy shape, and the front is a hoot! Cheers, mon ami!

Amy said...

She is quite a beauty!

Lynne with an e said...

A classy chassis.

babbler said...

Owen,
That is a most wonderful Belly sliding plate! They sure knew how to make them attractive back then.
Mrs. Slug

Steve said...

What an interesting looking car - it looks like it is sticking out it's tongue in that third shot!

Deborah said...

I'm a bit of a car nut and love old ones, especially, but had never heard of a Panhard! What a find this was, and even if Google is his friend, it's still remarkable that Arnaud was able to come up with the make.

Batteson.Ind said...

Time for another vicky mantra... I WANT ONE OF THEM TOO!... and how cool is that zebra post!.. love it! if you painted it brown and black our mule would look just like it (or if we painted the mule black and white!)..
things of beauty, all of it!

Owen said...

Thanks for all these lovely comments... I'm a little buried at work right now, having trouble getting back to answer... but am certainly reading, and vastly enjoying every scrap...

:-)

You all are shining stars in the late nights of blogging...

AB said...

Oh great, an old Panhard. My father had one.