Shape of Water: Water tank concept art by Guillermo Del Toro references the cover for Pink Panther comic book #21 (September 1974) ?

leading from

 The Pink Panther Comic Book Trail

and

Shape of Water: Water tank concept art by Guillermo Del Toro

a) The Inspector with coat and the man in the seat

I selected the Pink Panther comic book cover because I had the idea that HR Giger referenced it in his painting Necronom III back in 1976

The yellow collar becomes the back of the chair while the inspector;s eye becomes the space between the man's lowered arm and leg

b) Car engine grill and rounded box with horizontal lines

c) However with the Pink Panther character reversed , the shape of the side of the window might as well reflect the the curve of the Pink Panther's back and the rim around the driving and passenger seats.

Perhaps the cushions of the seat here become the pipes in the background