Zam – what do you wonder?
After all, on the Fincher extra video good old Mike said something like "…..it could have been a Cadillac" (or similar) when they had him go back over his recollections of BRS that night…
Even if we accept what he said at the time (Mustang? Corvair?) – the chances that the car on that occasion would be a twin for Darlene’s….?
Well it’s never seemed that strong, has it? Other cars in the case? Well there are lots – notionally – but none of ’em ain’t a Corvair. Nope.

Now – if you’d said "Every time I see a brown car from the mid to late sixties, I wonder…" I would have been wondering right with you.
But we’d still probably have been wrong.

That’s a nice Monza though.

Zam – what do you wonder?
After all, on the Fincher extra video good old Mike said something like "…..it could have been a Cadillac" (or similar) when they had him go back over his recollections of BRS that night…
Even if we accept what he said at the time (Mustang? Corvair?) – the chances that the car on that occasion would be a twin for Darlene’s….?
Well it’s never seemed that strong, has it? Other cars in the case? Well there are lots – notionally – but none of ’em ain’t a Corvair. Nope.

Now – if you’d said "Every time I see a brown car from the mid to late sixties, I wonder…" I would have been wondering right with you.
But we’d still probably have been wrong.

That’s a nice Monza though.

Smithy, Mike M. first told the police that the car the killer drove was very much like Darlene’s brown Covair, only it was slightly larger than Darlene’s car. He also said it could have been a Falcon. The car that followed me in 1968 Vallejo was very much like Darlene’s car as well. But I think it was closer to a Mercury Comet which is just like a Falcon and looks very much like Darlene’s Corvair. The Comet had the center console , bucket seats like the car K John’s said she saw . So that is why when Zamantha saw that car like Darlene’s she had to stop and take pictures.

Absolutely agree that it probably was a Falcon or Mercury Comet. One of those even had the exact wheel distance as measured at (was it?) LHR. The color was lighter than dark brown, as far as I know.

QT

Absolutely agree that it probably was a Falcon or Mercury Comet. One of those even had the exact wheel distance as measured at (was it?) LHR. The color was lighter than dark brown, as far as I know.

QT

Thanks QT, I had asked about the wheel distance, but never heard back from anyone that it was a match , so thank you for finding that out !

It was the wheel measument of Zodiac’s car taken at Lake Berryessa on Knoxville road .

LE didn’t get any tire impressions at Lake Herman rd .

Sandy – bless him – but for Mike, it might as well have been a space ship.
Nope – nothing definitive was decided or inferred from Lake Berryessa. Just the facts, Ma’am!

That’s just it…

So many cars looked similar back then. I would give Mike credit in that the car was probably a lighter brown than the one Darlene was driving, but even Mike himself basically admits he wasn’t sure. It was "similar"….but so were many.

At LB? There is know way of knowing if that car was even their attackers. Good if you find a suspect and his car matches up to those tire tracks, but to say they were Zodiac’s is premature, imo.

We have brown, blue, and white cars associated with this case. Although I must admit…when I see a brown Corvair, I think of Darlene–not Zodiac.

Absolutely agree that it probably was a Falcon or Mercury Comet. One of those even had the exact wheel distance as measured at (was it?) LHR. The color was lighter than dark brown, as far as I know.

QT

Thanks QT, I had asked about the wheel distance, but never heard back from anyone that it was a match , so thank you for finding that out !

It was the wheel measument of Zodiac’s car taken at Lake Berryessa on Knoxville road .

LE didn’t get any tire impressions at Lake Herman rd .

Thanks for that hint. Had found the tire distance somewhere in technical information about those car models..which may lead to the conclusion that it was a light tan to brown Ford Falcon / Mercury Comet.

Some links regarding the tire tracks:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=688&p=7102&hilit=comet+distance#p7102
http://zodiackiller.fr.yuku.com/topic/1 … ssa?page=6
http://zodiackiller.com/TireTracks.html
http://zodiackillertruth.forumchitchat. … 93-6929247
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automoti … ariations/

QT

That’s just it…

So many cars looked similar back then. I would give Mike credit in that the car was probably a lighter brown than the one Darlene was driving, but even Mike himself basically admits he wasn’t sure. It was "similar"….but so were many.

At LB? There is know way of knowing if that car was even their attackers. Good if you find a suspect and his car matches up to those tire tracks, but to say they were Zodiac’s is premature, imo.

We have brown, blue, and white cars associated with this case. Although I must admit…when I see a brown Corvair, I think of Darlene–not Zodiac.

I have to disagree that there were many cars that looked like a corvair, the Falcon and the Mercury comet looked like the Corvair. I have my own reasons for wanting to know what cars fit that wheel base. When I read that measurment, I knew It sure as heck could not be a Chevy.
So either the 3 girls were wrong about the car they saw, or that guy watching them was not Zodiac.( Unless he drove two very different cars that day)

The reason that the car’s wheel base at Lake B is important, is because the "Zodiac’s foot prints" lead to the area where that car was parked. That is why LE were sure that was where Zodiac parked his car.

One big hmmm still remains…

The three girs actually saw the man watching them sitting in a silver Chevrolet (Impala?). So it isn’t the same car as seen at LHR or BRS, which rather was a brown or light tan one (BRS) or dark blue one (LHR). Z also confessed to the brown one. So IF the girls were correct in what they saw and the guy being Z, he was there with another car. Also, as far as I know, they stated the headlights to be long rather than round, which is also contrary to any Falcon/Mercury.

Then again, the Chevrolet Impala has a broader wheel distance (79in) implying that it was not the assailant’s car – or – Z having walked up there by foot, as seen by the man and his son, which again is rather unlikely due to the distance, fleeing method, carrying mask and gun etc…or the girls being wrong…or the Chevrolet not being an Impala…or…

QT

One big hmmm still remains…

The three girs actually saw the man watching them sitting in a silver Chevrolet (Impala?). So it isn’t the same car as seen at LHR or BRS, which rather was a brown or light tan one (BRS) or dark blue one (LHR). Z also confessed to the brown one. So IF the girls were correct in what they saw and the guy being Z, he was there with another car. Also, as far as I know, they stated the headlights to be long rather than round, which is also contrary to any Falcon/Mercury.

Then again, the Chevrolet Impala has a broader wheel distance (79in) implying that it was not the assailant’s car – or – Z having walked up there by foot, as seen by the man and his son, which again is rather unlikely due to the distance, fleeing method, carrying mask and gun etc…or the girls being wrong…or the Chevrolet not being an Impala…or…

QT

The Mercury Comet also fits the tan car K John’s was in with the center console and bucket seats, I haven’t checked out the Falcon, but was told they are pretty much the same car. My suspect told me he did own an Impala , but I never saw him in it, only a light golden brown/ tan Mercury Comet or Falcon. Do you know if the Falcon also had the bucket seats and center console ? I plan on going to more car shows this yr in hopes of seeing both . Thanks again for your help QT.

That’s just it…

So many cars looked similar back then. I would give Mike credit in that the car was probably a lighter brown than the one Darlene was driving, but even Mike himself basically admits he wasn’t sure. It was "similar"….but so were many.

At LB? There is know way of knowing if that car was even their attackers. Good if you find a suspect and his car matches up to those tire tracks, but to say they were Zodiac’s is premature, imo.

We have brown, blue, and white cars associated with this case. Although I must admit…when I see a brown Corvair, I think of Darlene–not Zodiac.

I have to disagree that there were many cars that looked like a corvair, the Falcon and the Mercury comet looked like the Corvair. I have my own reasons for wanting to know what cars fit that wheel base. When I read that measurment, I knew It sure as heck could not be a Chevy.
So either the 3 girls were wrong about the car they saw, or that guy watching them was not Zodiac.( Unless he drove two very different cars that day)

The reason that the car’s wheel base at Lake B is important, is because the "Zodiac’s foot prints" lead to the area where that car was parked. That is why LE were sure that was where Zodiac parked his car.

The footprints led to Bryan’s car. There were no prints mentioned leading to or from the car parked 20′ behind Bryan’s.

I’ve seen this one quite a few times. The same one, in different places around northern CA:

Great shot Zebra. Please don’t tell me you took that with a cell phone. If you did…I want one.

I’ve seen this one quite a few times. The same one, in different places around northern CA:

Nice find, but mine had the 707 license plate!
Thanks for sharing!