Fake stuff

[Greg Myers]

Was watching The auction on tv yesterday when a classic '55-'57 Thunderbird came across the podium. I got to thinking about all the fake stuff car manufactures put on cars. 

Here's just a sample of some of the Fake stuff.

Oh yeah, the Thunderbirds, real functioning hood scoops actually mated to the air cleaner.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

Oooops, what's this ? 

[Jon Haigwood]

Sorta like this ? 

[Jantrix]

Non-functional hood scoops have always been a pet peeve of mine. 

[Greg Myers]

and the absurd add on stuff is certainly fake, what i'd like to focus on here is the factory stuff.

Like the fake grills on the back of this Honda.

[Richard Bartrop]

Fake headlights that retract to reveal the real headlights.

[Greg Myers]

I guess it really comes down to what Jantrix said, fake scoops.

The factories have been been doing this for years.

Along with that the aftermarket has done their share of faux performance add ons.

The one that really bugs me is the Shelby quarter window he added on the first GT350, great look, taking out the factory vents. Now everyone wants to put them back, only fake.

[Greg Myers]

Hood vents ?

[Greg Myers]

Never could figure this one out. Does it want to be a scoop or a cold air induction?

The scoop part isn't functional, looks good.

[Rodent]

46 minutes ago, Greg Myers said:

Hood vents ?

The ones on the Road Runner are red, they are probably hooked up to an Air Grabber.

 

[Jon Haigwood]

10 minutes ago, Rodent said:

The ones on the Road Runner are red, they are probably hooked up to an Air Grabber.

 

[Snake45]

My alltime favorite was a double-page spread in the '69 Camaro showroom brochure. The headline screamed "Not a Piece of Tacky Gingerbread Anywhere." The car was an SS that had those hideous FAKE hood vents, chrome trim on the FAKE brake cooling vents on the rear quarters, ugly "hockey stick" stripes, and I don't remember what all else. That particular Camaro could have been called "Tacky Gingerbread."  

[Can-Con]

My car has a few vents on it and most people probably think they're just for looks.

They are actually all functional and let heat out of the engine bay. 

The '82 I had didn't have any vents and was prone to overheating after the engine transplant, this one runs much cooler.

[Bucky]

1969 Dodge Coronet:

[Mike999]

Fake Cadillac. The '57 Chevy El Morocco. 

According to legend, Chevy General Manager Ed Cole was not amused when he heard about it.  The El Morocco contained all kinds of creative fakery.  e.g., its "Dagmar" front bumper protrusions were '37 Dodge headlights, reversed and stuffed with fiberglass.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/12q2-1956-1957-chevrolet-el-morocco/

 

[Russell C]

Call me an idiot, but from the '70s on up to somewhere in the late '80s, it never dawned on me that vinyl roofs with the little circles around the back lower edges were fake convertible tops.

[The Junkman]

Pretty much everything on the outside of a Pontiac Aztek.

[Richard Bartrop]

10 hours ago, Russell C said:

Call me an idiot, but from the '70s on up to somewhere in the late '80s, it never dawned on me that vinyl roofs with the little circles around the back lower edges were fake convertible tops.

 

No worries.  Fake convertibles have long been a part of the automotive scene.  That's basically what a hardtop is,

[Snake45]

11 hours ago, Russell C said:

Call me an idiot, but from the '70s on up to somewhere in the late '80s, it never dawned on me that vinyl roofs with the little circles around the back lower edges were fake convertible tops.

Didn't vinyl tops start with the fullsize '63-'64 GM cars, which had those "convertible ribs" in the roof? 

[espo]

47 minutes ago, The Junkman said:

Pretty much everything on the outside of a Pontiac Aztek.

A little known fact about the Aztek , or maybe everyone knows by now. I worked in a Pontiac dealership when this monstrosity was unleashed on the general public. I had asked the Zone Rep. from Pontiac "what were they thinking". His story line was that it was a committee design. Pontiac Division had work shops with non GM employees asking what they were looking for in a new car. AS it turned out a majority of the people in the work shops were very early twenties since that was their target buyers. The problem is by the time they put it all together and brought it to market it cost to much for the target buyers and it was during the plastic cladding era at GM and so it looked the way it looked because no one had a clear vision of what it should be. I was quoted as saying "that if he had a dog that looked like that he would shave his bottom and teach him to walk backwards". The Zone Drone was not impressed. 

[Mike999]

39 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

No worries.  Fake convertibles have long been a part of the automotive scene.  That's basically what a hardtop is,

Then from 1957-59, you could have your cake and eat it too, with the Ford Retractable hardtops.  If you ever see the book "Skyliner" by Ben J. Smith, grab it.  Smith was a Ford engineer on the original retractables, and the book is full of rare photos, mechanical drawings etc.

Smith also designed a Mustang with a retractable hardtop.  Here's a local newspaper story about him and his cars.

https://www.providencejournal.com/cars/content/20140928-auto-biography-retractable-hardtop-roof-makes-ben-smith-s-cars-stand-out.ece

 

[Snake45]

20 hours ago, Snake45 said:

My alltime favorite was a double-page spread in the '69 Camaro showroom brochure. The headline screamed "Not a Piece of Tacky Gingerbread Anywhere." The car was an SS that had those hideous FAKE hood vents, chrome trim on the FAKE brake cooling vents on the rear quarters, ugly "hockey stick" stripes, and I don't remember what all else. That particular Camaro could have been called "Tacky Gingerbread."  

And here it is: 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Snake45

[Richard Bartrop]

34 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Didn't vinyl tops start with the fullsize '63-'64 GM cars, which had those "convertible ribs" in the roof? 

Starting in 1951, you could order a Kaiser with a vinyl top in a pattern they called "dinosaur"

It might not actually be vinyl, but in 1928, ford would sell you this Model A Special Coupe, which was certainly the same idea.

If you wanted something fancier, there's this Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet.  Because everything is classier in French, even "fake convertibles"

And speaking of retractable hardtops, in 1934, you could get this snazzy Peugeot 601 Eclipse.

[Snake45]

39 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

And speaking of retractable hardtops, in 1934, you could get this snazzy Peugeot 601 Eclipse.

Oh my, I would LOVE to have a model of that to lay some Good Old American Rod-Fu on! 

[Jon Cole]

14 hours ago, Russell C said:

Call me an idiot, but from the '70s on up to somewhere in the late '80s, it never dawned on me that vinyl roofs with the little circles around the back lower edges were fake convertible tops.

You spared me from hunting for a similar photo. These fake ragtops are the bane of post war rolling living rooms, and my #1 automotive peeve.