# One of the Niftiest Automotive Pics I've Ever Seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970 "2005-06-05T03:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/21 "2005-06-15T04:00:14Z")
Darn. Second try. Well, Tuckerfan, this is a Lost Automobile. It’s very hard to prove it exists. Even the Mercedes engineers didn’t remember it. But I can try. I THINK I have a cite for the existance of the car in this $400 history of Porsche my father owns, but it’s not available right now. Very nice book. So… let’s see what the web says. Key elements: A: Split front bumper. B: Split front windshield. C: Traditional hood. D: Suicide Doors. Porsche’s website: [http://www3.us.porsche.com/english/usa/company/history/milestones/years.htm](http://www3.us.porsche.com/english/usa/company/history/milestones/years.htm) > [@](#): > > 1928: As Daimler Technical Director and Board member, among other things, F. Porsche developed the now legendary Mercedes SS and SSK supercharged sports car. > 1931: Ferdinand Porsche founded the Porsche Engineering Office in Stuttgart. He thus laid the foundations for Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG today. This is the period in which this car had to be built. [http://student.foi.hr/~molama/History.htm](http://student.foi.hr/~molama/History.htm) > [@](#): > > At the same time, Dr. Porsche proposed a mass-produced Mercedes-Benz that drivers of modest means could afford – a radical idea that the Daimler-Benz Board of Directors turned down. > > Frustrated by the conservative nature of his employer, Porsche quit. As Ferry Porsche, Ferdinand’s son and successor, noted years later: “My father found that when he signed a contract with a firm, they could live another ten years on his designs, but he couldn’t.” This is that car. The one-off proof of concept. This is the reason Dr. Porsche quit. [http://www.ltv-vwc.org.uk/wheelspin/Ws\_dec\_2002/Beetle-early-history.htm](http://www.ltv-vwc.org.uk/wheelspin/Ws_dec_2002/Beetle-early-history.htm) Here are some Volkswagen prototypes. Notice the Type 32. Full hood. Shorter, probably rear-engined. Notice the full front bumper, and the lack of a split windshield, showing better glassmaking techniques. Mind you, it does have suicide doors. Notice the VW3. Same hoodline as our mysterious friend, but rounder, and again, full glass windshield. It also has a more integrated fender line, and the horn is internal. (See the horn on the original?) Also… what’s that thing in the center? Radiator gauge? On the original. I can’t find anything on the web that cites the prototype being constructed. But there it is. You can see the family resemblance. You can see the more primitive features. You can see the point in time when it had to be made. Neat, huh? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/22 "2005-06-15T04:23:37Z")
Additional notes: The eyebrow effect is a florescent bulb above it and a weird bend in the roof. Yes, ‘before 1928’. Probably '27, no earlier. Sory, few years off of '23. That’s not a found photo, either, it’s one my father took. We’ve got TONS of museum photos. I’ll throw a few more up on photobucket sometime later. [http://www.stgt.com/extern/mercedmue.htm](http://www.stgt.com/extern/mercedmue.htm) This is the Museum’s webpage. Notice the cars in it. Notice the dirt on the tires and in the fenders of the ProtoVolks, and the sad sag in the front fenders. This is, for the obsessive germans, a neglected vehicle. American webpage! [http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/heritage/museum.jsp&menu=3](http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/heritage/museum.jsp&menu=3) Okay, looking through the CD I burnt some photos on. Some really nice classic steam traction engines… Hm. Here’s the museum. Six racing Bugattis… An early Maybach… 300SLR… I really have to toss all these on Photobucket. A friend sitting IN a steamer. THE Silver Ghost. The Silver Arrows. Weird. I know we have a photo of that swoopy transporter somewhere. You know, the one for the 300s? Well, enjoy! [http://photobucket.com/albums/v449/LaPucelle/](http://photobucket.com/albums/v449/LaPucelle/) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/23 "2005-06-15T15:34:53Z")
No picture of it online but I recently saw an episode of “My Classic Car” that featured a restored Model A woodie sedan delivery with a matching woodie teardrop trailer. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/24 "2005-06-16T02:39:34Z")
Still searching for hard evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/25 "2005-06-16T03:53:53Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > that featured a… **woodie** … > [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Still searching for **hard evidence**. Nice one! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/26 "2005-06-16T05:20:04Z")
And the musical instrument equivalent of the Airstream Trailer, from Epiphone Guitars, - the “Airscreamer” [http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=208&CollectionID=3](http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=208&CollectionID=3) The first time somebody linked to a picture of one, I thought I was being whooshed. Nope, that is the real thing. I wonder how any musician can maintain any musical integrity after appearing on stage with one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/27 "2005-06-16T05:57:06Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > And the musical instrument equivalent of the Airstream Trailer, from Epiphone Guitars, - the “Airscreamer” > [http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=208&CollectionID=3](http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=208&CollectionID=3) > > The first time somebody linked to a picture of one, I thought I was being whooshed. Nope, that is the real thing. > > I wonder how any musician can maintain any musical integrity after appearing on stage with one of those. One word: Drugs. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/28 "2005-06-16T09:21:36Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > [It’s a Nash Metropolitan towing a teardrop camper trailer.](http://tincantourists.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=16&size=big&ppuser=7) A tiny little car, with a tiny little trailer! 😃 I learned to drive in a Met just like that! Thanks for the little trip “home” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970/29 "2005-06-16T14:11:33Z")
Hee! I like the fact that right under the photo, you’re given the option to > [@](#): > > View Smaller Image [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-niftiest-automotive-pics-ive-ever-seen/306970.md?page=1)