# What car was this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065 "2022-02-07T18:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/1 "2022-02-07T18:21:47Z")
I bought my first new car in 1981. From a local new car dealership, same as you’d find in cities in many (most?) parts of the United States. Oh, and it had 3 “eyes\*.” What model car did I own? (I know the answer) \*A third headlight ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/2 "2022-02-07T18:26:25Z")
A Suburu of some sort? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/3 "2022-02-07T18:46:21Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > I know the answer I would hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/4 "2022-02-07T18:52:02Z")
Obviously the Tucker. OK. maybe not in 1981… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/5 "2022-02-07T18:52:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A Suburu of some sort? I recently read a post on Jalopnik about that feature on old Subarus, so that is my guess as well. > **[Subaru Once Offered The Best Factory Lighting Option Known To Humankind](https://jalopnik.com/subaru-once-offered-the-best-factory-lighting-option-kn-1848387143)** > > If you've never seen this, clear the rest of your day for quiet reflection ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/6 "2022-02-07T18:56:38Z")
That didn’t take long. Perhaps this can turn into a thread about cars that had (or have) particularly novel features. At any rate, at the press of a button on the dash of my 4WD GL hatchback the logo in the front grill would flip up and expose a third headlight (meant to aid in off-roading). ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/7 "2022-02-07T18:57:59Z")
The GIF above is a little creepy. Alien almost… ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/8 "2022-02-07T23:18:36Z")
We just got rid of a dead 1984-ish 4WD GL Coupe. It was just too used up and I couldn’t justify restoring it. But that was the best damned snow car I’ve ever driven. I don’t think it had the third eye though. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/9 "2022-02-08T00:24:47Z")
Our first Subaru was an '81 Legacy wagon and it did not have that feature. I do remember some Dodge vehicles having a passing lamp. Don’t remember the year though. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/10 "2022-02-08T01:16:35Z")
I don’t recall the third center light being called or marketed as a “passing light.” (What does that even mean?) My memory could be faulty but my understanding has always been that its purpose was for extra visibility when you were off road. I thought it was only a feature with their 4WD cars. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/11 "2022-02-08T01:43:03Z")
I was a toddler when that car came out, so I have no memory at all of them, but I did a little research and found a scanned copy of the 1981 Subaru brochure. On pages 10-11 there’s a diagram of the dashboard, with a reference to the “passing lamp switch”. > **[ImportArchive 1958-2018 / Japanese Car Brochures, Commercials and Paint Codes](http://importarchive.com/brochure/subarulineup1981_02)** > > Celebrating America's sixty-year romance with Japanese cars. Features thousands of vintage sales brochures, commercials, paint codes, touchup paint, art and more for Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Nissan, Datsun, Infiniti, Honda, Acura, Isuzu, Mazda,... As to what it means, I think in Europe it’s customary to flash your lights to indicate you want to overtake someone, so I assume it has something to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/12 "2022-02-08T02:17:17Z")
Interesting. I can say with certainty that there was no way to flash it. As I remember it didn’t open/ turn on very quickly. I hope someone else comments on this. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/13 "2022-02-08T03:46:17Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > That didn’t take long. Perhaps this can turn into a thread about cars that had (or have) particularly novel features. I mean, I can think of three off the top of my head that were interesting, if not truly novel. 1. We had a 1968 Cougar whose headlights were hidden until you clicked the button, and then like a James Bond vehicle the covers flipped up. 2. I had a 1974 Cutlass whose bucket seats swiveled, so you could rotate 90° to get out. Of course, my vague memory is that the door wouldn’t close until you returned it to position, so that was less cool. 3. My friend had a Subaru Brat. Most of you know the one. It had seats in the back, so that when he went four wheeling across the empty, muddy fields that eventually became the University of Texas at Dallas, we would have to strap in and hang on for dear life. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/14 "2022-02-08T03:52:57Z")
Early Mercury Cougar with sequential turn signals: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/15AHea9lqVs/hqdefault.jpg "The sequential turn signal on my 1970 Mercury Cougar.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15AHea9lqVs) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/15 "2022-02-08T03:55:38Z")
After you buy a Rolls-Royce, you’ll never accept a car without a door umbrella: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9KJh0y54O1w/maxresdefault.jpg "Rolls Royce Dawn Umbrella") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KJh0y54O1w) ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/16 "2022-02-08T04:42:28Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > We had a 1968 Cougar whose headlights were hidden until you clicked the button, and then like a James Bond vehicle the covers flipped up My wife ad a '69 Chevy Caprice with the hidden headlights. The doors swung open to the left/right to uncover the lights. Also had a nozzle to “wash” the headlights if you held the windshield washer button down. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/17 "2022-02-08T11:31:58Z")
They ditched the rear seats the final year they were sold in the U.S. when I bought mine. It did have a removable T-top. Kinda uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/18 "2022-02-08T14:07:52Z")
A Tucker? ---
**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:** [February 8, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/19 "2022-02-08T19:44:24Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > We had a 1968 Cougar whose headlights were hidden until you clicked the button, and then like a James Bond vehicle the covers flipped up. One of my sisters owned an Opel GT when I was in kindergarten. Most cars with hidden headlights either lift the headlights or the headlight covers; the GT’s headlights rotate. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ARFoKb6dWWE/hqdefault.jpg "Opel GT Motorized Headlights") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARFoKb6dWWE) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065/20 "2022-02-08T21:31:17Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > That didn’t take long. Perhaps this can turn into a thread about cars that had (or have) particularly novel features. Challenge accepted! I used to have a 1980 Dodge Colt RS (made by Mitsubishi) with the 4-speed split gearbox, with a High and Low range. I mastered some pretty fast moves that made for some good acceleration for a little econobox. And it was always fun grabbing a second reverse gear for the J turns. I’d love to have that car (well, one that wasn’t trashed) again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-was-this/959065.md?page=2)