Monday, March 31, 2014

Let's crowdsource this one

This vehicle was involved in a series of four Molotov cocktail "bombings" (fortunately with limited damage), three-out-of-four of which were in my neighborhood. One witness thought the vehicle was a Plymouth Neon. Although I see the resemblance, I'm not so certain. Note the two black strips on the roofline. I can't seen to find this detail on any Neons I've spotted, or in online photos of Neons.

So, readers, let's crowdsource this one, and see if anyone has more luck than I did tonight in narrowing down the make and model. Aside from the roof detail, here's a few other clues: headlight shape, tail light shape, size and location of the stop light in the rear deck, location of front side marker lights, a and c-pillar shapes, lack of a passenger side outside rearview mirror. The driver's side outside rearview mirror housing looks like it's black, and the door handles are not body color--two factors that would indicate to me that this is a basic economy model.

I put this out on Twitter, too. We shall see if anyone comes up with the probable make and model.



20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with Neon, but older--mid to late 1990s. I think you'll find those black strips on the roof. Headlights, taillights, stop light, pillars, all look right.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/photos/plymouth_neon_1997

Anonymous said...

Chief,

Might even be stock wheel covers. Look at the "V" where the c-pillar meets the rear quarter on this 1997 Neon, and compare that angle to the crimestoppers photo.

Anonymous said...

Could even buy a car without dual outside rearview mirrors by the 1990s? I wonder if this one is actually missing, or just blends into the darkness of the passenger window in this photo. Or maybe it was "lost" in a collision with a mailbox or something. Same sort of dip#@$%& that commit stupid vandalism.

Anonymous said...

Is Mr. Allen still on the streets? That's the sort who might graduate from slashing tires to throwing incendiaries.

Anonymous said...

Ford Focus?

Tim Hegarty said...

Mitsubishi Lancer? It's roof has the black stripes.

Anonymous said...

I'd get someone to do some image enhancements and look at the license plates. If in fact they belong to the car in question.

Just my opinion

Anonymous said...

If this was CSI (the tv show) they could zoom in on the license plate and it would pixilate for a few seconds then the owner's photo, address and current GPS location would all pop up on the screen.

Steve said...

I don't focus much on differences in makes and models of cars like I did when I was a kid. There are just too many of them now, for one thing. Still, I think this blog and posting on Facebook and Twitter is a great idea. I'd be surprised if you don't get some valuable information from someone soon.

Steve said...

I don't focus much on differences in makes and models of cars like I did when I was a kid. There are just too many of them now, for one thing. Still, I think this blog and posting on Facebook and Twitter is a great idea. I'd be surprised if you don't get some valuable information from someone soon.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 10:02-

You don't think LPD have the capability to enhance the image of the license plate?

The 1970's called and want you back.

jhoodshow said...

Volvo's had those ugly roof stripes, but the light system doesn't match the brand. Some of the sporty/drivey Neon models did include roof stripes, but in absense of a rear spoiler one would venture it's the wide, deep(ish) gap prevalant on those models where the roof meets the base. There's a strong argument that we're looking at a mid to late '90s Neon, but with the lack of passenger side gas tank one can't be sure enough to poke around the DMV just yet..


http://images.copart.com/website/data/pix/20091221/22171909_4X.JPG
http://images.copart.com/website/data/pix/20091221/22171909_2X.JPG

http://www.allpar.com/photos/dodge/neon/1997.jpg

ARRRRG!!!! said...

I think you have a 1990s Neon. This is a 1999 Neon with the same wheels, dark stripes on top and dark handles.

Here is a view from behind. I think the passenger side mirror has been knocked off of the suspect car.

It is not nearly as easy to identify as my car is.

Tom Casady said...

All,

In addition to the responses on this blog post, I also received several emails, and some tweets. The consensus is that this vehicle is a first generation Plymouth/Dodge Neon sedan, 1995 through 1999.

Now, let's find it. It has a couple of noteworthy features: the side and bumper trim is the same white body color (many of these have black rub strips and side trim.) The door handles, however, are black (many are color-keyed to the body color, as is the side rear view mirror on the driver's side. It appears that the passenger side exterior rear view mirror is missing.

There are scores of white 1995-1999 Neons registered in Lancaster County, but these features may narrow the field.

Steve said...

I'll be keeping an eye out. I just hope I don't crash while looking for this vehicle. My driving students would never let me hear the end of it.

Anonymous said...

I saw a Mitsubishi Tuesday PM at Old Cheney/Hwy2. It was silver with RPV606 plate on it. You could get the year/model of it to compare. It was close to the photos you displayed.

Anonymous said...

AAAARG, You're such a NUT!

Anonymous said...

Just out of college I bought myself a Brand new car! It was a 98 Neon. It was a different color, but looked exactly like this, including the water drain channels above the doors. It is definitely a late 90's neon.

Anonymous said...

Definately a 1995 to 1999 neon. Like this.http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allpar.com%2Fimages%2Fneon-1995%2Fback-of-neon.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allpar.com%2Fneon%2Fneon.html&h=353&w=448&tbnid=d_9XOu0We0q3mM%3A&zoom=1&q=plymouth%20neon&docid=HBRSd9pETmfbQM&ei=GWY9U9m8Borq2wWMqICwBQ&tbm=isch&ved=0CFwQhBwwDg&iact=rc&page=1&start=0&ndsp=15

Lincoln Crimestoppers said...

http://www.lincolncrimestoppers.com/2014/03/molotov-cocktails.html