Now’s the time. All those hours of you obsessive over cars, staring at them, taking pictures of them, dreaming about them — now’s the time to put that to use, because I just got off the phone with Detective Currier of the Capitola Police Department in California, and: He needs our help. Let’s put our heads together and identify this car involved in a hit-and-run.
“[Helping us determine] the make and model is huge,” he said. “You let the auto body shops know, you let the public know…Knowing the make and model is huge for us.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of great photos of the suspect’s vehicle. “There is no debris left there…The still shots that you had seen is in fact our best view of the vehicle right now,” he said, referring to these two:
“I’m not sure. I can’t tell based on the Angle,” Currier told me over the phone. One witness said they think it’s an Expedition or 4Runner, while another said it’s a Mazda SUV, per Currier.
So dear Autopian readers: Let us know: What car is this in these screenshots? Let’s help Detective Currier solve this case.
Here are a few things to note:
- It appears to be an SUV of sorts.
- The antenna is a sharkfin-style, and it’s on the rear part of the roof.
- The headlights appear slim in this picture and wrap around the corner of the car.
- The taillights have two distinct horizontal lighting signatures, with the top longer than the bottom.
- The wheels are five-spokes with fairly wide looking spokes that don’t appear to be perfectly smooth.
- The vehicle is likely longer than it appears above in the stitched image
UPDATE: From Deputy Currier: “Attached is a Ring camera video showing the vehicle driving from right to left. Should be at the 18 second mark. It has bright LED Lights”:
And here’s a screengrab of the headlight behind a dumpster:
It’s a third generation Ford Escape, probably in Tuxedo Black.
The shark-fin antenna is to far back for that. The antenna on an Escape is directly above the center of the rear wheels. https://www.cars.com/i/large/in/v2/stock_photos/93d726be-1316-4c4d-a145-21332c67a8d6/3cb3721a-ecc9-4197-83c8-360f8485db2b.png
Originally I was thinking a Ford Product but upon digging further I am fairly confident it is a previous generation Hyundai Tuscon.
1.) Lower reflectors on the rear bumper seen in the ring camera
2.) Lights at the top of the front end and on the corners where they show themselves being illuminated behind the dumpster
3.) The post-refresh had a shark fin radio antena
4.) Though they dont have solid 5 spoke wheels the SE models had broken five spokes which with the pixelation in the camera could look like a single spoke
The only item I can’t account for is the double lines on the brake lights as I cant find a photo of that generation with its brake lights on.
2020 Hyundai Tuscon SE Example:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/7af6b977-fa53-41b1-96be-0b869b2c6fb5/?store=5378363&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign_id=20361248372&utm_trusted=TRUE&network=x&aff=acqgeosem51&KNC=acqgeosem51&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6vaqBhCbARIsACF9M6nRqJohfMDSuQKPg0DmkHrK-7MW1OOrF42lW2R3klu6pZ03skbjy00aAv-qEALw_wcB
The lower reflectors appear too high on the Tucson but I think you’re closer than I’ve been so far. I’ve been looking at Jeep cherokees because of the oddball reflectors myself.
There isn’t enough rear overhang on the Tucson for that to be it, and the rear hatch isn’t vertical enough. If you look at the picture in the article, the rear wheel sits directly below the rear door cutline, unlike the Tucson which has the rear axle 3/4’s of the way behind the rear door cutline (if my explanation makes sense…) https://www.bucketlistpublications.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_4453.jpg
The pre-refresh has reflectors that are lower than the post-refresh but I cant find one that has a shark antenna. I also cannot account for the grooves on the Tuscon roof when there is no sunroof. That being said, there is a chance the vehicle actually does have a panoramic sunroof as there is a vague reference to a roof cut line above the rear door.
I am not great at this, but the first impression I got when looking at it was Ford Escape. The scale seems right, I don’t think it is a large SUV based on how much of the lane it was using. I think the lights are going to be hard. The way digital photography handles bright light is unpredictable without extensive knowledge of the camera used because of the imaging processing. The shape and angle of the rear window seems right for an Escape and those wheels scream Ford to me.
https://www.cars.com/research/ford-escape-2019/
The motto on the product page for the GV80 is “LET NOTHING STAND IN YOUR WAY.” I think we have our prime suspect here. Plus I agree with the other commenters that the LED headlights and the taillight configuration matches. How are we splitting the reward?
Edit: In the advanced trim, the 20” wheels are machined 5 spoke with wide gaps. It also comes in a dark green that matches the picture almost perfectly.
Edit again: Actually, Prestige trim with 21” wheels. https://vehicle-images.dealerinspire.com/177d-110006312/KMUHCESC5RU152339/b755d10a62c172e2d1b562187b21bd4e.jpg
I don’t think this SUV is that big. Look at how much of the lane it is taking in the Ring video. Also, I don’t see the chrome accents on below the A Pillar in any of the photos. The wheels do not reflect like I would expect chrome wheels either, but that could be just due to the lighting.
I think you’re right, GV70 might be a better candidate. A bit smaller, no chrome accents, but same wheels and colors. https://content.homenetiol.com/2000292/2192700/0x0/stock_images/8/cc_2024GSS02_01_640/cc_2024GSS020049_01_640_HT7.jpg
Everyone here is saying luxury but I keep getting Ford Escape vibes. Like, circa 2017 era.
I think you may be right. Those wheels look like a common Ford design, and you could get them on the 3rd generation Escape. They switched from a stick antenna to a shark fin at some point in the model cycle. The Ring camera footage makes the taillights easier to see, and they look like a sideways oval design with a clear light in the middle. They made me think 2014-2018 Cherokee at first but the license plate is too high on the suspect’s vehicle.
Looking at the ring footage, to me it looks like it has either lights or reflectors down low and near the corners on the rear bumper.
Definitely GV 80, everything matches, the color, the rims, the d-pilar, the cut of the roof and antenna.
Front lights are blended on the photo due to speed, rear light difference is due to angle.
Yeah, looks like a Prestige trim in Cardiff green. https://vehicle-images.dealerinspire.com/177d-110006312/KMUHCESC5RU152339/b755d10a62c172e2d1b562187b21bd4e.jpg
As commenter Andreas mentioned, it isn’t a RWD-based SUV – the front wheel is too close to the base of the windshield for that. I got Genesis straight away due to the way the taillights look in that photo, but once you look at the cowl-to-front axle relationship, the GV80 isn’t a match.
Chevy Equinox cca 2012 maybe?
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lPrmzzTBLCw/maxresdefault.jpg
If it weren’t for the fact it had a satellite sharkfin, 6 spoke wheels, I’d have said Toyota Sequoia 2002.
It can’t be a Land Rover, nor a Genesis, reason being the proportion of the front axle to the windshield. It’s too short, indicating sth with a transverse engine, or a boxer engine, such as a ca. 2020 Subaru Ascent. Note the plastic wheel arches, and the large fender above the front wheels. Roofline fits, as well as antenna placement and taillight signature (roughly at least).
https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2058057/2023-subaru-ascent.jpg?w=1600&h=1600&q=88&f=733964770e0a9d068a1449de473e914f
I only get pictures of Subaru’s with roofrails, are there any without roofrails?
Just checked that… you’re right they all have them. :/
So what’s close to a Subaru Ascent? Toyota Highlander maybe? I’m 100 percent sure about the proportion thing around the front wheel arches.
For people saying Land Rover, remember the image shows no sunroof, which was commonly standard on this luxury brand.
Maybe a 2017-ish Subaru Forester? It has a lot of the characteristics of the subject car:
https://images.hgmsites.net/hug/2017-subaru-forester_100552218_h.jpg
I’m wondering if it’s gotta be a new 2023 Honda Pilot EX-L with no roof rack. The five spoke wheels, the taillights, and the headlights are an extremely close match, and the shark fin is pretty small. It’s a three-row vehicle that the spliced together image sort of hides. The close-up image of the headlight pushed that option up to the top of my list. The taillights also were a huge cue for that thought.
This immediately came to my mind when I saw the first picture, before I saw your comments, and for the same reasons as you. The only thing that makes me not think that is the ring camera video, it looks more like a Q7 in that. The cars look almost completely different in the two videos, IMO.
They don’t make it in green though.
Very good choice – the reflections tie with body panels and surfaces. Windscreen leading edge looks right. A panoramic roof is standard on those, not seeing that in the photo.
Ding, ding ding! 🙂 I am 100% with you.
And the $10,000 reward goes to… Alex!
My vote is the 2020 LR Discovery
What about a 2019 – 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander? The radio antenna is a shark fin, the tail lights are split horizontally, and the headlights wrap around the car. The wheels look similar to those used one some Outlander models as well.
2014 M-Class?
Taillights
Antenna
Vertical tailgate
Wheels
https://3c9899dd4acfd6585c62-efed37fcac8e48e278351fad45c34883.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/4JGDA2EB2EA404449/c1c159d9192f2734980271ad199b9ca8.jpg
I agree that it could be a Mercedes, that the first thing I thought of.
The tailights of the M-class have a shorter lighting element on top and longer on the bottom though.
The tailights of the R-class are closer I think, with longer lighting elements on the top and shorter on the bottom, like in the picture.
https://images.app.goo.gl/RMWzW5uVFmUbjB5F8
Range Rover Evoque?
Im sure Torch took one glance at those taillights and called it.
It’s hard to know where the halves should join,given there’s lens distortion happening.
My opinion FWIW: both the LR discovery and Chevy Traverse match well.Both were available with wheels with those hole shapes.The lights fit both as well.
The one exception i see is the video car (if it’s actually the same car) has very wide lower rear reflectors.
I have big doubts it’s a Genesis as the wheels dont match.They could have aftermarket wheels of course but it’s unlikely they’d go for a cheaper look?
I’m not sure the shark fin antenna is a good clue as there are masses of aftermarket ones out there
2020 land rover discovery sport
Google “2020 land rover discovery sport side view” and youll see one with the taillights on in that pattern.
Not quite…the vehicle in the video and images has a taillight signature with a larger light above a shorter one, and has the license plate just below the taillights, not between. Also, the lights in the lower fascia are lit, not reflectors.
It reminds me of an older Audi Q7, 2005-2015, with the thin fairy lights in front, roof looks to have the same slope at the back
I made what I think is a better stitched-together image, better representing the length of the vehicle and curve of the roofline.
I was originally thinking 2014-2019 Highlander, but am now with VermonsterDad on it being a Genesis GV80.
better stitch:
https://ibb.co/dfhWjSB
GV80:
https://www.kbb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2023-genesis-gv80-profile-16×9-1.jpg
I haven’t read every single comment in this thread, but if you’re not 100% correct D-dub, I’d be surprised. It does look like that GV80, alloys and all. Well spotted! 😀
Edit: Automotiveflux called it hours ago.
Between this and a 2017 Discovery, I think these are the most likely based on tail lights. The headlights on the GV80 are throwing me off, but the photos are blurry. I wonder if the camera for the headlight photo scans like phones where you get the weird looking plane propellers, so maybe it compresses the GV80 headlights together since it’s moving and scans upward as it takes the photo.
I think the badly stitched original image makes the Disco look like a better match than it is. The maker of the original stitched image put the two halves too close together, and (bizarrely) rotated the back image at a different angle than the front image, even though they were taken from the same stationary camera. This made the roofline look straight like a Disco when it actually slopes down at the back like most other SUVs.
The headlights are the one thing that aren’t a perfect match for the GV80. I’m wondering if the LEDs were just so bright that the light from the two horizontal bars just bled together in the captured video frames.
Probably no, the front lights dont call GV80 on me
“The headlights are the one thing that aren’t a perfect match for the GV80. I’m wondering if the LEDs were just so bright that the light from the two horizontal bars just bled together in the captured video frames.”
I think the front end damage has made the passenger side headlight look wrong for the GV80. The bumper is pushed out on that side and the wing mirror behind it is gone, so the victim must have been hit on that side. Besides the headlight, everything else fits perfectly.
Look at the D-pillar and look at the beauty line in the video. It’s not a Rover of any sort. My money is on GV80.
I’m very doubtful for one reason.The wheels in the pic,even though blurry, show obvious diamond shaped holes
Thanks for the stitch. I still think it may be a MB.
https://www.cars.com/research/mercedes_benz-m_class-2014/
https://3c9899dd4acfd6585c62-efed37fcac8e48e278351fad45c34883.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/4JGDA2EB2EA404449/c1c159d9192f2734980271ad199b9ca8.jpg
Those taillights are backwards – longer on the bottom than the top.
Good point.
No. Unfortunately, the rear plate is in the wrong place for it to be a GV80. See Ring video at 19 seconds. GV80 plate is much lower. Also the roof top shape looks wrong to me.
The video is showing a completely different vehicle than the still photos. It’s not even the same color.
I also initially thought of the GV80. However the position of the front wheels in relation to the A-pillar seems different. The GV80 has the wheels much to the front, if you extend the A-pillar line it goes somewhere through the center of the front wheel. The sought SUV has the frontwheels more to the back, the extended A-pillar line goes over the front wheel. I would look for a SUV with transversely mounted engine with possible FWD only option.
I see what you mean. The front wheel of the GV80 is further out front of the A pillar than this car.
A Chevy Traverse could fit the bill, except that it has a very flat roofline and this car has the standard pooping-dog SUV roofline. Also it doesn’t come in quite the right shade of green.
You’ve got my vote
I just can’t get past the 2018-2023 LRD Discovery Sport in Green. Dual stripe tail lights that wrap around, rather flat roofline with a shark fin antenna, available solid five spoke wheels, and even a silver detail below the front side mirror. This photo is just one example but the rims are smaller spokes on OEM rims.
http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/119054494.jpg
https://www.originalwheels.com/landrover-wheels/rangeroversport2022rims.php
This is made more difficult by the fact that LED lights often take on a wholly different shape, when lit up than the lens covers would imply.
I’m getting strong MDX vibes here.
One thing is for sure.
I will be obsessively on the lookout for “clues” to this case while driving at night until we get a definitive answer here.
Here is a link to a generic pic of a 2017 Land Rover Discovery from a similar angle.
I feel like the segmented taillights are a good match in both the side pic and vehicle at 0:18 in video. Also has lower reflectors visible in video. Also has shark fin and roof profile is good match. Headlight narrow wrap around also looks similar. Can’t tell in video if license plate is offset, but that would be a great clue.
https://carbuzz.com/cars/land-rover/discovery/2017/photos-exterior#37
To my eye, the Land Rover’s front axle is farther forward than the front end photo suggests. Looks like this has more front overhang. Hard to say, of course. The lines otherwise look pretty close.
This is the closest tail light I’ve seen so far. Not perfect, but possible. The large wing(?) over the rear window also seems to fit.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMjh9DX1Atuh8d2Bijy7f0UPBrqwCADXwDPg&usqp=CAU
I guess we can literally say now that generic looking CUVs are letting killers get away with killing.
Seriously, the gist of all of these answers is that it could be virtually any large crossover/SUV made in the past 15-20 years…