I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

ab348

texases said:

Yep, not much to like here, IMO:

It is no beauty for sure. But I was watching North by Northwest on the weekend and Eva Marie Saint was driving one of those in one scene. In that context it seemed to almost be stylish for the times.

uplanderguy

Yes, for sure! In the '60s and '70's there was something magical in that Fleetwood name to me, though--I always liked those better. I guess in the late fifties the Sixty Special didn't have the name 'Fleetwood' in front of it as it did later.

I put my finger over those five chrome hash marks on the rear door, and I like the styling even better.

uplanderguy

It is no beauty for sure. But I was watching North by Northwest on the weekend and Eva Marie Saint was driving one of those in one scene. In that context it seemed to almost be stylish for the times.

One of my very favorite movies. At some point I hope to see Mt. Rushmore, but when I do I will be picturing Eva Marie Saint climbing down it in heels.

andre1969

I had a bit of a "North By Northwest" Moment a few years ago. I was on the Baltimore Light Rail with some friends, heading into Baltimore. At one of the stops, there were a few police cars parked really close to the tracks. Police got on, searched the train car by car. They didn't pull anyone out of our car, but I did see them taking someone in handcuffs to one of the police cars.

Not nearly as exotic or romantic, but the whole scene did give me a bit of North By Northwest vibe! The guy they pulled off the train didn't dress quite as fashionably as Cary Grant, though!

When I was a kid, we went on a camping trip out to Yellowstone. Mount Rushmore was one of the places we stopped along the way. I remember not being overly thrilled about it at the time, but I was only 8. And I was probably disappointed that you couldn't climb it. That was in 1978. I'd probably appreciated it much more as an adult. I've heard that in more recent years, because of security and such, you can't get as close to it as you could back in the day.

imidazol97

There's that 1958 Chevy Impala comb in front of the rear wheels.

imidazol97

Here's the Futura that was a concept car for Lincoln.

http://1966batmobile.com/history/futura/

uplanderguy

The Batmobile!

andre1969

I guess that Futura did somewhat predict the 1956 and, to a lesser degree, the '57 Lincolns. And, in a roundabout sort of a way, I think it inspired my appreciation of the full-sized '67 Pontiacs. One reason the '67 Pontiac always fascinated me is that it made me think of the Batmobile, even as a kid. And, the Batmobile was a modified Futura.

explorerx4

George Barris probably viewed that as a gift.

lemko1968

andre1969 said:

Thinking back, I can't remember if the '58 Impala model I had was Revell or AMT. I just remember you could build it one of two ways, stock or custom. I don't remember much about the custom look, except that if you went that way, the grille had strong horizontal bars, sort of like those custom grilles that they offered on 70's GM pickups. My Dad and I built it...well, mostly my Dad! I can't remember if it was molded in that silver-blue, or if we painted it that color. But I do seem to remember the picture on the box was of a silvery blue one.

You might be thinking of this AMT kit.

ab348

Found some cool vintage TV ads on the weekend while killing time on YouTube looking at old TV broadcasts from the '80s, so I thought I'd extract a few and upload them to my own channel. The first is especially for @uplanderguy and might make him a bit nostalgic:

https://youtu.be/Em00v_21Xno

ab348

Here's another, for the 1986 Chevy Cavalier convertible. You can tell GM was spending some real money on advertising back then:

https://youtu.be/fCCWRA58k-c

ab348

Number 3 is only here because I had totally forgotten about this car (for good reason). GM still spent some dollars making this ad for the Chevy Spectrum:

https://youtu.be/hbVriIYUrmM

ab348

Final one is doubly interesting, from a 1981 CBS "The NFL Today" halftime report, featuring the 1982 AMC Spirit getting an unusual car wash, along with an AT&T ad for what must have been one of the first 1-900 lines:

https://youtu.be/TrKr1UafGJg

uplanderguy

The '85 Eurosport I ordered had those aluminum wheels. I remember the salesman saying when I ordered the car, "Those are on backorder". I told him "If it comes in without them, I'm not buying the car because I hate those steel wheels".

He couldn't get me out of there fast enough when he finally did deliver the car to me, three months to the week after I ordered it.

uplanderguy

That red Cavalier convertible...a young guy who worked in my department had one he bought new that looked just like that--had those 'star of David' wheels, red, and his was a 4-speed, somewhat unusual then.

Thanks for reminding me why I can barely stand '80's anything, LOL! Those commercials are awful.

Even into the '70's the variations on "See the USA....", with clean-scrubbed families at some historic location, were appealing to me.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Thanks for reminding me why I can barely stand '80's anything, LOL! Those commercials are awful.

The Cavalier commercial had right after it one for DP exercise equipment which I edited out. It was like an '80s movie with lots of big hair, lycra outfits, and hard bodies.

tjc78

I remember the Chevy ads as a kid.

ab348

I wonder what Mr. @fintail might think about the suggestion of a LS engine swap in this article?

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/01/13/find-of-the-day-dont-hate-me-but-i-think-i-want-to-rat-rod-this-1965-mercedes-heckflosse

uplanderguy

Here's a '72 commercial of the type I largely-positively remember:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfiNro9vcK4

sda

I guess the oil embargo/crunch of 73 put an end to the 'See the USA' commercials. I remember the summer of 73 when we went on vacation to Disneyworld the speed limit had been reduced to 50. Later it was increased to 55. It made for a long trip from New Orleans to Orlando.

explorerx4

Was that Casey Kasem doing the voice over in that Malibu commercial?

stickguy

That would be a cool ride if done right.

uplanderguy

Yep, that was Casey, and I like that Malibu bone-stock as-is.

ab348

That lovely 1971 M-B 280 coupe I posted last week sold on BaT for $195,000.

https://twitter.com/bringatrailer/status/1349434688448839680?s=21

xwesx

Holy heck!

fintail

I'd rather see it be a MB engine swap, but no hard feelings either way. That car is pretty far gone, better to save it modified than let it continue to rot or have it end up as scrap.

One thing, not "factory AC", no fintails have "factory" AC, all dealer/owner installed.

ab348 said:

I wonder what Mr. @fintail might think about the suggestion of a LS engine swap in this article?

fintail

Nutty. So far I have only seen coupes peak at about 100K. Not sure if it is a real market force, or BaT hype/tax - seems a lot of wealthy people who for various reasons have money burning a hole in their pocket like to hang out there.

ab348 said:

That lovely 1971 M-B 280 coupe I posted last week sold on BaT for $195,000.

fintail

I recall the "Today's Chevy" slogan too. I don't remember the songs being so annoying though.

tjc78 said:

I remember the Chevy ads as a kid.

uplanderguy

Seems like BaT is sort-of like the new eBay....often prices above expectations.

uplanderguy

RE.: That '58 Impala kit--I realize I'm older than some of the posters here, but the one I had was an earlier release. They used to have a series of kits called "Trophy Series", which would be the current year's popular cars and others considered sort-of 'modern classics' like the '58 Impala.

AMT's kits' proportions were usually the best of all of the companies I think, but companies like Monogram and Aurora did some less-mainstream kits. As a kid I loved Aurora's Avanti kit, with a ranch setting on the box, but I've seen completed kits of it now and I think it looks terrible compared to AMT's subsequent kit.

uplanderguy

The '72 Malibu in the commercial above--like a lot of people, my Dad really liked the '71 and '72 Chevelles. He waited and when the '73 came out, he hated it, no matter the 'sell' job I tried to do. He bought a new Nova instead.

Really, the '72 Chevelles were, interior-and-trunk-space-wise, inferior to the Nova--coupes, anyway. The Nova coupe wheelbase was only one inch shorter than the Chevelle coupe, but rear seat legroom and trunk room were superior in the Nova. Of course, with the Chevelle you got body-on-frame construction, full-coil suspension, and hardtop styling.

uplanderguy

That '58-60 Lincoln discussion earlier reminds me of something.

I've long-thought that I couldn't think of a car changed more from one model year to the next than the '64 to '65 full-size Chevys, and '52 to '53 Studebakers.

I would have to add '60 to '61 Lincolns.

The '61 is as good as everyone says it is, IMHO. Really timeless proportions.

I bet it was a hard sell for some people back then, being smaller.

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

Seems like BaT is sort-of like the new eBay....often prices above expectations.

WAY above expectations...

uplanderguy

I think this may be the last Chevy commercial I actually liked....I can only imagine the stress at GM about whether the public would accept this car or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zMWKHDw9Uw

texases

kyfdx said:

uplanderguy said:

Seems like BaT is sort-of like the new eBay....often prices above expectations.

WAY above expectations...

Well, asking prices on Ebay can be nuts, but the actual sales prices, or maximum bids if no sale, tend to be pretty reasonable. Actual selling prices on BAT can be nuts, so I'd say BAT is more like one of the televised auctions.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I think this may be the last Chevy commercial I actually liked....I can only imagine the stress at GM about whether the public would accept this car or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zMWKHDw9Uw

That's a likable commercial, with a likable car, a likable spokesperson, and excellent use of music that punctuates the points being made.

This is the one I remember from introduction day, with the original jingle they used. I still recall that somewhat perky '70s girl used at the end.

https://youtu.be/I-bSB4xSNCg

fintail

I've long joked that those who bought a new Chevy in the summer of 54 might have been a little let down by fall of that year, suddenly that new car aged a few years. Maybe the same for a 48 vs 49 Ford. 64 vs 65 Ford might be similar to the Chevy, and similar for Mercury and similar midrange GMs.

No doubt smaller was a hard sell, especially in the 50s. There was probably a small core who didn't want a land yacht - people who bought Studes and MBs, perhaps, then maybe seen again by those who chose a Seville over a Fleetwood in the 70s.

uplanderguy said:

That '58-60 Lincoln discussion earlier reminds me of something.

I've long-thought that I couldn't think of a car changed more from one model year to the next than the '64 to '65 full-size Chevys, and '52 to '53 Studebakers.

I would have to add '60 to '61 Lincolns.

The '61 is as good as everyone says it is, IMHO. Really timeless proportions.

I bet it was a hard sell for some people back then, being smaller.

fintail

I've always liked those "sport coupes" with the unique rear window. Not sure about that slogan though, makes it sound like the prior cars weren't more like it.

Funny how everything had a song or a jingle for awhile.

ab348 said:

That's a likable commercial, with a likable car, a likable spokesperson, and excellent use of music that punctuates the points being made.

This is the one I remember from introduction day, with the original jingle they used. I still recall that somewhat perky '70s girl used at the end.

https://youtu.be/I-bSB4xSNCg

uplanderguy

True, all.

ab348, someone posted that they thought that perky girl was Rita Wilson, but I'm thinking I'm not seeing it. I still like the coupe in profile, especially.

RE.: Seville vs. Fleetwood in the seventies--my friend's parents were working-class folks who opened a bar and lunch spot near downtown Cleveland after the war and did well. Starting in '56 they bought new Cadillacs every few years down the street at Central Cadillac. My friend said his Mom wanted a last-of-the-big-ones in '76, but his Dad said to his Mom, "This one is the wave of the future", and bought his first of two first-gen Sevilles. This guy was born in the 19-teens but even he had come to that conclusion.

It strikes me that Cadillac pricing the Seville at a premium price helped it gain acceptance, instead of being seen as a lesser Cadillac at a lower price.

fintail

By 1981, that Seville would have still looked modern even if not the latest style (I suspect the bustleback turned some off to the point where they just kept their older cars), while the last big Fleetwood was already something of a mastodon. Sounds like that guy had foresight. I think your observation on pricing is 100% correct, too.

I think the fintail's original owner was in his 60s or 70s when he bought the car (I found some old data once, but have lost it). Maybe unusual for what was a high tech car of the era, but he was a doctor, and apparently analytical, judging by the notes in the owner's manual.

uplanderguy

I can clearly remember the first two '77 Caprices I saw, out behind Bob Mayberry Chevy in Sharon, PA, a larger town about 15 miles south of where I grew up. One was a coupe in two-tone silver and gray, and red velour Custom Interior option. I was wowed, particularly with that interior in a Chevy. The other was an Estate wagon; I can't recall the color. But both cars, even stuck out back, had a crowd of probably ten or twelve people (combined) around them. That was fun.

Fin, we talked about this previously, but the purchaser of one of the two supercharged '64 Studebaker Cruisers (both black) delivered by my friend and small hometown dealer, was a 75-year old guy! He traded in a '59 M-B per the paperwork the museum has; no model noted though. It blows my mind that that dealer sold two of the eight (!) supercharged '64 Cruisers built. Their zone guy was probably happy about that.

andre1969

I don't think you'd be allowed to make commercials that sell sexy

uplanderguy said:

That '58-60 Lincoln discussion earlier reminds me of something.

I've long-thought that I couldn't think of a car changed more from one model year to the next than the '64 to '65 full-size Chevys, and '52 to '53 Studebakers.

I would have to add '60 to '61 Lincolns.

The '61 is as good as everyone says it is, IMHO. Really timeless proportions.

I bet it was a hard sell for some people back then, being smaller.

Lincoln sold 24,821 units in 1960, and 25,164 in 1961. At a quick glance, it sounds like they weren't that much more popular. However, the lineup was greatly reduced. For '61, my old car book lists the 4-door (which they call a "hardtop" even though it had a thin B-pillar), and the 4-door convertible. There was also a "Hardtop sedan, special model" listed that they only produced 4 of, but no weight or price listed, so I'm guessing it was some kind of test car?

Also in '61, there was just one series. They were all called "Continental". In 1960, they had a 3-tier lineup, base, Premiere, and "Continental Mark V". In '60 they also offered a 4-door pillared sedan, 4-door hardtop, hardtop coupe, and 2-door convertible.

I don't think the smaller size hurt its sales any, because it still had an expensive, upscale look about it. There was a brief downsizing trend in the early 60's, although it would prove to be short-lived. It was nowhere in the league of what we got in the late 70's, but for a short time, there seemed to be a return to slightly more sensible, less flashy designs.

ab348

Over on the Mystery Cars board we've had a long run of posting pics with '60 Fords in them, but these pics are no mystery so I'll post them here since they have options I have never seen before.

First is a pair of nice convertibles. The one on the left is sporting something new to me:



Second, a pair of different ones, and once again the one on the left has something I have never seen:



ETA: I believe the same blue car is in both pics.

uplanderguy

I remember seeing the extra lens in the bumper on '60 Fords, but I can't say I remember the bumper guards--not that I necessarily would.

texases

The bumper guards?

uplanderguy

I always thought that in the age of 'expensive' gasoline, the '77 slogan was all about admitting that size had gotten way outta hand, and they could downsize for economy, driving enjoyment, and still increase some important interior dimensions.

Some car mag overlaid a '77 Caprice with a '64 Studebaker Cruiser, and while the Chevy was still longer, the space utilization reminded one of the other.

fintail

I've seen that front bumper thing before too, but not the rear one. I also notice the car on the right is RHD (cars have Aussie plates). I also notice the car at left is badged 'Galaxie', the car at right 'Sunliner'.

uplanderguy

RE.: The '61 Lincolns being smaller; apparently Cadillac took note by introducing its short-deck models from '61 to '63. I only vaguely remember a '62 "Park Avenue" one in my hometown. But, I can't recall when I've last-seen one, anywhere. They do look stubby when you're accustomed to typical Cadillac proportions.

fintail

I've always thought the older guys into sporty or exotic/unconventional cars at that time were the guys driving speedster type cars in the 1910 era, they were old time enthusiasts, or engineer types.

uplanderguy said:

Fin, we talked about this previously, but the purchaser of one of the two supercharged '64 Studebaker Cruisers (both black) delivered by my friend and small hometown dealer, was a 75-year old guy! He traded in a '59 M-B per the paperwork the museum has; no model noted though. It blows my mind that that dealer sold two of the eight (!) supercharged '64 Cruisers built. Their zone guy was probably happy about that.