# What is an Atique Automobile? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mercury\ **Created:** [April 8, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161 "2010-04-08T18:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isaac\_Cashman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9a28c/32.png) [@Isaac\_Cashman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Isaac_Cashman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/1 "2010-04-08T18:02:55Z")
I have a December 2009 – December 2010, Politely requested, Free Calendar which has pictures of thirteen different Quote Antique Unquote Automobiles. At leat two were 1948 or 1949 Models. THAT Makes Me An Antique! Also, for some reason there is no identifi8cation of the December 2010 Automobile. Can any identify a Mercury whith the word E I G H T in the middle of the grille which has four panels on each side of the Eight? ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/2 "2010-04-08T18:06:33Z")
“What is an Atique Automobile?” An antique automobile is an old pile of junk someone is trying to get serious money for… ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/3 "2010-04-08T18:11:05Z")
To qualify as an antique car for insurance and DMV registration and titling the car must be 25 years old or more. That makes all the cars of my youth antique; therefore I am an antique too. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/4 "2010-04-08T18:29:41Z")
State laws vary, but in NH it must be at least 25 years old and not driven beyond a specific number of miles annually to qualify for “antique” license plates. Does the grill resemble one of these? [http://antiqueautocentral.com/store/index.php?cPath=24\_25](http://antiqueautocentral.com/store/index.php?cPath=24_25) ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/5 "2010-04-08T18:52:50Z")
In my state any vehicle 25 years old or older can be registered as an antique. Usage restrictions apply if licensed as such. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/6 "2010-04-08T18:58:26Z")
Twenty-five years is typical. Some cars look more “antique” than others, however. I was at a recent car show and the 1953 Studebaker Hardtop looked very current with its steamlined nose and relatively little chrome. Chrome and fin monsters from the 50s like the 1959 Cadillac and various 50s Oldsmobile and Lincoln models look antique to the point of tacky! ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/7 "2010-04-08T19:15:38Z")
I would bet that the car you are asking about is a 1949 Mercury. If you think you are antique, I remember well when the 1949 models were introduced. For most manufacturers, this was the first redesign after WW II. I made a scrap book with advertisements clipped from magazines of all the cars manufactured in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/8 "2010-04-08T19:42:31Z")
Do you recall Studebaker’s slogan for the 1947 model year? First By Far With a Post-War Car! They beat everyone to the punch with new body styles, hence the slogan. ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/9 "2010-04-08T20:16:48Z")
I remember going down to the dealer with my Dad in the summer of 1946 to see the newly introduced 1947 Studebakers. They didn’t look like real cars to a 5 year old. I still think of a new car as a car made after WW II. My all-time favorite of the new designs that came out after WW II was the 1949 Nash. I learned much later that these cars were designed in a wind tunnel and had about half the wind resistance of other cars that were made at the time. ---
**Author:** ![ignoramus9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@ignoramus9](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ignoramus9)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/10 "2010-04-08T22:23:35Z")
usually an antique is not just old, regardless of what laws apply. I should also be beautyful in some way. Most of the old car buffs will classify them as original, restored, or modified. Original guys will want every nut, bolt, fabric and even the paint to meet the standards for that car when it was made. restored will use aftermarket, oem, and new old stock, but will often upgrade upholstery, paint, and some of the sweet gew gaws that car fanciers love. Modified will add cool new stuff, like polished aluminum overflow tanks, disk brakes, fog lights, sway braces, and chevy 350 engines. ---
**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/11 "2010-04-09T00:11:05Z")
I thought “classic” was the term applied to 25 years or more, then “antique” was applied to those 50 years or older ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/12 "2010-04-09T00:40:41Z")
I didn’t know that you were a car! Well, maybe ther’s different rules for people. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/13 "2010-04-09T02:50:38Z")
According to the Antique Automobile Club of America, ‘Antique’ cars are 45 or more years old, and a ‘Classic’ is 20-45 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/14 "2010-04-10T16:43:52Z")
I need to correct my answer above. The four panels on each side of the center of the grille make it a 1946, 1947, or 1948 model. If the trim surrounding the grille is painted, it is a 1946. If the trim is chrome, it is a 1947 or 1948. The 1947 and 1948 were indistinguishable. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-an-atique-automobile/47161/15 "2010-04-10T16:44:54Z")
I like tacky.