did you ever play the taillight id'ing game ?

[PONTIAC1953]

hi, i turned 55 last month, and i was just remembering some of the games my sister, stepbrothers, stepsister, and i used play while being in the car, one was played at night was you had to identify a car up ahead by it's taillights. we started doing this in the mid-1960's. some were easy, like the stacked taillights on a 54 buicks, skylarks weren't seen very much, just as easy was the 59 cadillacs, i would often look over at the oncoming cars to see if i could spot a pontiac indian hood ornament that was lit up. big semi's would pass us with something on the hood, like those swans with the wings lit up. did you ever play a bame like this ?, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[61polara]

Played that game many times. We also would try to guess the car behind from the glimpses of light from passing cars. Did this from the back seat of a '56 Buick Specal 2 door sedan and then from a '61 Dodge Polara 2HT, which I still have.

[Bill Harmatuk]

Someone found me on Facebook and asked if I ever owned this car.

He needed help with the title. It had been through 5 owners and was rescued from the crusher / salvage yard.

The Biscayne came from Alaska, (was a military staff car), spent time in Washington state, and made it to New Bern, N.C. I bought it with a blown 6 cylinder in 1992.

My favorite tail light.

Bill H

[Dave@Moon]

My friends and I used to try and see who could first identify oncoming cars at night just by the placement/shape of parking lights and headlights. That was a lot tougher (but I always won anyway:)).

I.d.ing using taillights was easier, but you could get fooled. Every 1963 Mercury I saw was an Impala until we caught up with it at a streetlight.:mad:

[mike brady]

Blue-dot's made the game tough at times !

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I used to play this game too !

Of course this was in the early 1970's, back when the average car on the road was between a 1960 and 1975 model, and they usually had distinctive taillights.

:cool:

[rocketraider]

You could do it back then. I can barely tell one new car from another now by seeing the whole thing, much less by just the taillights.

I remember the parking light ID game too. Vajenya State Police were using Plymouth Furys in the early 70s and I could always tell one of those coming at me and "adjust" accordingly.

Trouble was 1969-70 big Oldsmobiles looked very similar by parklights at night. Kept me out of tickets though.

[Sweepspear]

You could do it back then. I can barely tell one new car from another now by seeing the whole thing, much less by just the taillights.

I remember the parking light ID game too. Vajenya State Police were using Plymouth Furys in the early 70s and I could always tell one of those coming at me and "adjust" accordingly.

Trouble was 1969-70 big Oldsmobiles looked very similar by parklights at night. Kept me out of tickets though.

The mid 70's Plymouth Furys police departments used were easy to spot. Plus, the brakes squealed which was always a dead give away.

36 years later, I don't consciously try to learn to recognize them, but even now I can spot a police Crown Vic at night just by the look of the headlights or tailights.

:cool:

[John_Maine]

Alll the time! I probably can still identify everything from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Of course, none of my friends or family could do the same, so they didn't know if I was right or wrong! I could do headlights and parking lights as well.

[keiser31]

Alll the time! I probably can still identify everything from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Of course, none of my friends or family could do the same, so they didn't know if I was right or wrong! I could do headlights and parking lights as well.

Once when I was about 15 years old our family was driving along at night and I saw a car coming. It had headlamps that were very close together and I yelled out "Dad....a Model A!!!". It turned out to be an old Jeep and my dad got made because I scared him.

[rocketraider]

Heh- years ago when the Toronado was still in daily use, I was driving in to work one morning and a co-worker pulled out of his side road in front of me and I had to get on the brakes pretty hard. Scared him good. He said "I thought that was some little slow econobox coming down the road!":eek:

68-70 Toronado headlights are mounted inboard and close together, so I can see why he'd have thought that.

[MrEarl]

Blue-dot's made the game tough at times !

Tell me more about the blue dots you knew of. Around my part of Georgia they symbolized a car that was ready for a race and actually sort of an invitation. Was that just a local thing or did it mean the same elsewhere?

I had just gotten my 57 Chevy for my 16th birthday back in '66. I'll never forget the sight during a 1 mile race one night, of a set of rocket shaped tail lights on a friends PARENTS 4 door 54 Buick Century pulling away from me and that stock '57 Chevy. I had beat him in the 1/4 but he knew that 322 Dynaflow could take me after a 1/2 mile. And he was right. Thus I guess subconsciously, my love and appreciation of the '54 Buick was born. :cool:

good thread Charles. and uh, 55 eh? I didn't realize you were such a young man.

[seyman]

Used to enjoy learning the differences between grilll/turnsignals set ups on very similar cars like 1952, 1953, 1954 Ford etc.

[Guest dokks6t9]

What was nice in 1968 they came out with the side-marker lights and front marker lights. All the cops had the newer cars, and it was easy to id a cop if he was behind you.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

My parents had bought a 61 Ford station wagon when I was a squirt and I could always tell those low wide headlights at night from far away.