If you recall, last year I managed to capture an early-to-work 1962 Mercury Comet in my trusty dash-cam. Last week I stumbled upon another, yet earlier specimen.
This was after mid-day, as the dash-cam’s clock testify, and rightly so; In Israel, classic cars registered as “Collectible Vehicles” are not allowed on public roads during weekdays, between 6:30 to 9:30. In return owners pay reduced MOT taxes and insurance rates.
So it’s no wonder the owner of this 1961 Comet chose to drive it after the designated forbidden time-window:
And as with many of these classics, I am familiar with this car also, as I’ve seen and photographed it before, in a classic cars’ meeting:
The license plate tells me this Comet is a recent import to Israel. It looks much better than that other Comet. Now let me see about capturing a third Comet on the move…
The first half of the 60s was heaven for those of us who drool over turquoise cars. A very nice sighting.
I love the detail on the grille of the 60-61 Comet. Those double concave rows are fascinating to look at.
Interesting—is that 6:30am to 9:30am? How do you take your car to the shop during those hours? Or occasionally drive them to work?
Yes, that’s AM.
It doesn’t matter where you want to go, either shop or work- you can’t drive your “collectible vehicle” during this time-window.
Of course, some do, and very stupidly so, because not only are they braking the law, they are also in danger that if they’ll be involved in an accident, the insurance company will wash its hands off of them (because they were using their cars unlawfully).
I love these Comets, and the history is waaaay cool. Originally supposed to be the lowline Edsel, they came out in 1960 as a separate brand, or at least with no brand, and sold at L/M dealers. The canted tail lights are a design cue from the 1960 Edsel, only single rather than double and at an angle rather than vertical.
Those Edsel tails are my favorite part of the car. I wonder if it would have had a different “family” grille if the brand hadn’t died or if the only difference would be the lettering?
Another turquoise car from the sixties. I like what I see.
I’m a big fan of the first generation Comet as my father bought a plain, sky blue, 1962
Comet 4-door sedan with six and 3 on the tree. He was probably attracted to the model as my mother’s cousin had a red 61 Comet 4-door sedan. 1961 was the first year for the Comet up here as Mercury sold the one year Frontenac (Falcon based) sedan in 1960.
When did the requirement (which you’ve mentioned before) for those yellow/red strips on the rear of the bumper start and end in Israel? I notice this Comet you show today doesn’t have them, but the VW thing ahead of you does, and so (IIRC) did last year’s Comet-in-traffic.
It started very early in Israel’s life, in the early 1950s, and was mandatory on all cars (back then it was whitered). This has been going on until 1995, during which the law was appended and new private vehicles were no longer required to use these (unless produced before 1995- which answers your question regarding the previous Comet).
Commercial vehicles (such as the VW) are still required to display those strips, (which from 1995 turned to yellowred, clearly visible). They also have specific size, according to vehicle type; big trucks have bigger strips, etc. See this video of two very new Volvo HDVs I captured in June:
As for why this turquoise Comet isn’t “sporting” strips- not sure, but I have two guesses:
1. Perhaps being this is a new import and not a car originally imported to Israel when new, gives it other regulations I’m not aware of.
2. Many classic car owners loath these strips (and rightly so). So what they do is stick them on magnet strips and only attach them to the car during MOTs or when the 5-0 are near. So the strips could well be present- just inside the boot, not outside…
My favorite aunt bought this exact car, when introduced, in 1960, including color combo. It was her first brand new car. And this is a 1960, not a 1961. The only real difference is that “Comet” is in cursive script on the front fender in front of the wheel opening, whereas the 1961 has 3 hash marks in the same location. My aunt’s had a black and white interior and I remember the steering wheel being white, as well. These were decent cars, but like most of them from the era, they rusted out quickly in the “salt” states. She did have hers nearly 10 years, though.