Vintage shots from days gone by!

As the Batmobile.....

From the movie "Fury of the Dragon" (The Green Hornet)





From the TV show CHiPs 1977





Batman -The Movie 1966








From the movie Galaxina, 1980





Batman, TV series 1966-68






Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, Movie made for TV, 2003





From the movie Rockstar









The Simpsons, 1993 (note the muffler)





From TV show Robot Chicken (animation)

 

I love the p.b.r. gang!

 

Futura

Regarded as a clue to the "shape of tomorrow in American automotive styling," the Futura dream car measured only 52.8 inches from the top of its double-domed plexiglas canopy to the ground.

Designed by the company's stylists and engineers to serve as a laboratory on wheels, the car had many innovations adaptable for production vehicles.

A special Lincoln experimental chassis added to the ground-hugging appearance. Ground clearance was six inches at the center of the frame and 7.2 inches at the side rails. Both the cowl and the rear deck were less than 35 inches from the ground at their highest point.

An inch short of 19 feet in overall length, the Futura was 84.6 inches wide and had a wheelbase of 126 inches.

In order to preserve the clean, uncluttered lines of the instrument panel, controls were contained in separate compartments in the lower half of the panel, and each compartment had its own flexible roll-down door. Toggle switches were set into the chrome interior of these compartments.

Reading from the driver's left were the heater, lighting, accessories, radio and glove compartment. Each light control switch had a label which was illuminated when the light was on.



The steering column binnacle contained warning lights for fuel, battery and temperature and high-beam light indicators. The fuel tank light was green when the tank is full, amber when the gas supply dropped to half a tank, and red when the supply was low. The lower half of the binnacle contains the speedometer, while a tachometer and odometer were centered in the steering column.

Pushbutton control of the Turbo-Drive automatic transmission eliminated the gear lever. Chrome pushbuttons, square for reverse and park, and round for neutral and the forward gears, were located in the functional pedestal dividing the two front seats.

As a safety measure, it was necessary to go through two operations to move from reverse to a forward gear or from forward to reverse. As an additional safety factor, the parking gear control was linked with the roof controls so that the car could not be operated if the roof section were raised.

On the cowl in front of the driver were five different-colored lights which indicated what gear the car was in.

The sweeping shark-fin rear quarter panels of the all-steel body housed functional twin air scoops. The lower half of each scoop directed cooling air for the rear brakes. The upper half was ducted to provide fresh air for the air conditioning system.

The front end of the Futura was set off by a concave grille with unbroken vertical members and parking lights at each end. Headlights were housed in the skillfully contoured front fenders which swept into the center portion of the hood.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=3359












It Started With A Kiss, (Movie) 1959 filmed in Italy

 

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From the Original TV Series, 1966-68

 

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Legends of the SuperHeros 1979

 

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Prototypes, misc....


65 comet super cyclone



56 xm turnpike cruizer




56 turnpike cruiser concept







54 monterey XM-800

 

i love this stuff

 

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misc prototypes

 

bad luck!!!!!

 

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Some Packard prototypes




Packard Predicta









Packard Predicta 3





Packard Predicta 4











Packard Design 8





Packard Design 9




Packard OHV V8



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Kaizer Frazer V8's

 

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58 Lincoln




Another 58 Lincoln






58 Galaxie

 

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misc prototypes continued


















BMW:

 

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Ford Nucleon concept







Nucleon

The Nucleon, a 3/8-scale model, provided a glimpse into the atomic-powered future.
Designed on the assumption that the present bulkiness and weight of nuclear reactors
and attendant shielding would some day be reduced, the Nucleon was intended to probe
possible design influence of atomic power in automobiles.

The model featured a power capsule suspended between twin booms at the rear.
The capsule, which would contain a radioactive core for motive power, would be
easily interchangeable at the driver's option, according to performance needs and
the distance to be traveled.

The drive train would be part of the power package, and electronic torque converters
might take the place of the drive-train used at the time. Cars like the Nucleon might be able
to travel 5,000 miles or more, depending on the size of the core, without recharging.
At that time, they would be taken to a charging station, which research designers envisioned
as largely replacing gas stations.

The passenger compartment of the Nucleon featured a one-piece, pillar-less windshield and
compound rear window, and was topped by a cantilever roof. There were air intakes at the
leading edge of the roof and at the base of its supports.

Cars such as the Nucleon illustrate the extent to which research into the future was
conducted at Ford, and demonstrate the designer's unwillingness to admit that a thing
cannot be done simply because it has not been done.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=3359

 

Movie Time!


<iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q9v3lIN9EOY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


<iframe width="640" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lPmruel5AM8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RHMLqe5y7Ag" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Some pics sent to me by a good friend. I am assuming they were taken in the early to mid 60's. Those were the days.....

 

I'm working on the Futura model now.Making it gasser style with a big block,

 

I just spent Tues - Sunday at the VA and it took me 3 nights of about 2 hours a night to catch up with all the posts. I just want to thank you all for being so fresh. I sure did miss this thread. Seems I hang with the good ones, this one and the 60s/70s Modifieds. Not that the rest of the HAMB ain't bad!

GB

 

That 56 Sunliner is not production, look at the rear fender tips, they are super pointy!

 

That rear end on the Ranchero never made it to '58 production either.

 

We have a very old and very prominant theater here in CT thathas been sitting vacant for years. Its very large and it was absolutely stunning inside. Not quite as extravegant as the photos posted here; but it is as detailed and as beautifully designed as these. Multiple groups have tried to save the poor place but it's so large; no volunteer groups can afford it. the City refuses to step up to the plate and assist and theyre just going to let it fall into disrepair. It's still in pretty decent shape although the roof is starting to leak. The carpets are the original velvet. It's quite the place. If you get the chance; look up the Loews Poli Theater, Bridgeport, CT

 

Here are soe photos of the Loews Poli Theater here in CT in it's current state of disrepair. Pretty sad sight indeed. It was built in the 20's and closed in 1977. Its still a very solid building but the roof is beginning to fail it, unfortunately. these pictures make me boil inside

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a little history on the Loews Poli: it was built by well-known impresario Sylvester Poli. It opened for business on Sept 4, 1922. It was designed by Thomas Lamb and included vaulted ceilings, hand carved moldings, seating for 3,600, and a giant hall theater organ. at the time of completion this was the largest theater in CT and featured many big names including Mae West in 1927. it was eventually renamed to the Loews Palace Theater. It shut its doors in 1975-1977 after a breif stint as an adult movie house. It's been offically closed for nearly 40years. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 along with its counter-part The Majestic theater.

The Majestic and the Loews Poli Theaters are divided by a hotel called the Savoy Hotel. It too, was very posh in the good ol' days. It offered 109 rooms on 5 floors and had 10 foot ceilings, plaster walls, moldings, clawfoot tubs, and sinks. Rooms were advertised at $1.50 and the original signage still hangs out front. The Savoy Hotel is best known for possibly harboring gangster activity during prohibition when hangster Dutch Schultz ran some of his bootlegging business out of the hotel. During that era there was also a double murder in the second-floor lobby; possibly a run-in between the mob bosses (?)

The Majestic Theater which borders the other side of the hotel sat 2,200 people, was slightly smaller, and a bit less "ornate" as the Loews Poli Theater. Its still very impressive, done-up in the 1920's style with lots of gold and reds, crystal chandeliers, gilded moldings, high arch ceilings, and extremely detailed craftsmanship. It also opened in 1922 and served as a movie theater until 1971 when it offically closed and never re-opened.

These buildings have been sitting vacant since the 70's and have been left boarded up and untouched. Its truly a wonder that both theaters are in as decent shape as they are. The roofs are now in serious need of help, they are leaking. Its extremely unfortunate that no one has been able to step-up and help these places. the Hotel Savoy is in much worse shape.

 

here it was backin the day

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and the final 2 of what it once was:

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and i couldnt help but share a few more of how it stands today..vacant for 40 years. touching photos

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What a waste! It's a real shame that so many people don't understand the value of preserving our past. They can't see more than a foot in front of their faces!
Look at Europe! There are sites hundreds of years old still in use!
The almighty dollar rules, if it can be torn down , exploited, turned into another ugly ass strip mall it's gone! A REAL failing of American culture!