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

uplanderguy

That accident--that's one of those pics that makes me wonder how the hell that happened, despite the suds. My first guess would be brake failure on the part of the Cutlass. I know, "Duh!".

"Get Go" is Giant Eagle supermarket's brand of gas station. Those are all over where I live. Looked online and see they are in PA, OH, WV, IN, and MD.

andre1969

And then there's this. Welcome to Baltimore, Hon!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/38-cars-on-wilkens-avenue-severely-damaged-by-a-work-truck/vi-AAUjX2f?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

Around the 1:08 mark, there's a nice looking '55 Bel Air sedan that got wrecked. I gotta say, whomever owns that car has some guts, keeping it out on the curb, in Baltimore!

uplanderguy

Yeesh. I have a good friend in Lutherville/Timonium; I sent this to him.

andre1969

People are getting crazy out there. I went out to the old house today, to cut up a chunk of tree that had come down in a snow storm, and see if I could round up enough stuff to warrant a trip to the landfill. When I got there, I saw someone had taken a chunk out of the telephone pole in front of the house, and hit my mailbox. There was a shattered plastic hubcap, so it was a relatively cheap car, I'm guessing. Also some pieces from a mirror, and other assorted plastic bits, scattered over the course of about 100 feet.

I also noticed the neighbors across the street, and down a bit, had their mailbox taken out, too! And, once I got a load, and headed out toward the landfill, about a mile from the house, at an intersection, the traffic light was out, and there was a work crew off to the side. And there was a lot of debris from an accident there, as well. Has everyone forgotten how to drive, or something?!

uplanderguy

Has everyone forgotten how to drive, or something?!

Really, I worry all the time about my younger daughter who's at Yale with her old Cruze. She is frequently driving to NYC to visit a friend, going to Hartford Airport to pick up a friend who's visiting, drove to Montreal just to check it out a week ago. I read this morning there were two wrong-way interstate accidents yesterday morning in CT, one resulting in four deaths. The other was just up the road from New Haven. Ugh. Beyond accidents, when we were helping her move in last August, we drove through Sandy Hook, which is lovely, but what happened there, awful, and also not far from where a Greenville, PA classmate of mine was killed with her daughters in a home invasion in 2007. Lots to soak in. I think just in general, there's a lot of population there in a pretty compact area. Daughter likes it there and has met a lot of friends, but is already complaining about needing some beach time in a warmer climate.

Someone posted on FB that they spotted this car yesterday. I gotta say, I like it better now than then. Nice size, simple styling in the American vein. Someone else posted, "Dammit, I don't hate it", LOL.
Original poster said "It looked so small; a Civic now seems bigger", LOL.

uplanderguy

Driving Mon. a.m. over to my hometown to look at this old body shop that's been there longer than I have. Long-closed. Cryptic ad on FB about "'30's to '60's body parts and miscellaneous, stored in the rafters for decades. Come take a look, Mon-Sat 7-10 a.m.". I don't need a thing but something to do. My hometown is small and old, and for good or bad, not much gets torn down. My friend's old Studebaker dealer building is only a short block down the same street as this place. The former Chevy dealer's service department is the two-story brick building in the left of the pic. There's a small manufacturing concern in that building now.


Second pic is a pretty new-looking second-series '55 Chevy pickup in front of the building back then.

andre1969

I'll admit, I don't hate that '86-91 style of Seville, either, and I like them a lot more now, than I did when they were newer. It has nice lines and an upscale look. The problem though, is that it looks too much like a 4-door Grand Am, Calais, or Skylark.

I don't know if GM ever fully got the issues worked out of the 4.1 V8, but the later models, with the 4.5, might be a decent car.

As for that accident with the Cutlass 4-door, apparently it jumped an embankment. Here's a couple more pics...



Still seems to defy physics though, if it was able to come over that embankment, and then make an almost right-angle turn and hit that Mazda. As for all the suds and water, that was from the fire department hosing it down to make sure nothing blew up, I'm thinking.

sda

I had an 89 Seville for about a year. It was a one owner that was traded for a Lexus, who knew. I was getting tired of car payments and traded my 95 Jetta GLX VR 6. Yes, quite the radical change of car types. The Seville was not heavily opted though it had leather and most of the expected accessories except ABS, sunroof. Glad it didn’t have ABS as it was problematic. I drove it to Pittsburgh and it got 27 mpg on regular gas. The 4.5 was a smooth runner with a nice hushed V8 sound, decent power but no way as quick as the VR-6. Having no car payments didn’t last long as the transmission started shifting funny at times and I feared the worst and leased a Mazda Millenia L. I still have a soft spot for that Seville. My friends just shook their head in disbelief when I bought it. I was 34 and recently divorced, lol. I will post some pics later as I am on my iPad and are not accessible.

ab348

andre1969 said:

I'll admit, I don't hate that '86-91 style of Seville, either, and I like them a lot more now, than I did when they were newer. It has nice lines and an upscale look. The problem though, is that it looks too much like a 4-door Grand Am, Calais, or Skylark.

I don't know if GM ever fully got the issues worked out of the 4.1 V8, but the later models, with the 4.5, might be a decent car.

The HT4100 never got sorted out. The later 4500 versions had improvements and the even later 4900 version had even more improvements, so by the end it was an OK engine. Then they introduced the Northstar to begin the cycle all over again.

The problem with that generation of Seville was IMO that they downsized it too much from the outgoing bustleback version, so that it looked too much like the downsized Buick Somerset/Skylark and Olds Calais N-body cars even though it wasn't on that platform.

Last night I read the latest Collectible Automobile and the article there about the '82-'88 Lincoln Continental, based on the Fox platform with its own bustleback styling. I didn't like those when they were introduced because Ford decided to emphasize the bodyside swoop that drooped down starting around the C-pillar, first with a bright trim strip and later on with a paint stripe. That just emphasized a very weak styling feature too much. Later on they got away from that and those versions looked much better. I think they did a poor job of disguising the Fox platform though, giving it two generations of the corporate steering wheel design and then apparently taking the basic dash design from the Continental and putting it in the Fox-based '84 LTD. They even tried selling it with the Essex V6 for a year, though at least it never got saddled with the awful 255 V8. It's amazing how often cost-cutting pressures result in compromised development decisions.

uplanderguy

The problem though, is that it looks too much like a 4-door Grand Am, Calais, or Skylark.

You're right. That hadn't occurred to me, and ruins in my mind that Seville, LOL.

At the time, the biggest shock for me in those Sevilles and Eldorados was how thin the seats were. The interiors generally though were luxurious in the American style.

Big shock, but I can't think of a Lexus product of that era that I could say "That's a nice-looking car". My friend's parents had a SC380 (I think; the six-cylinder) coupe and I was underwhelmed, particularly when he told me what it cost.

Seems like I always heard good things about the Caddy 4.5L engine. Or was that the 4.9? Not sure. I don't know anybody who owned the cars during that period.

RE.: Transmission--maybe I've walked between the raindrops, but I'm in the habit of at about 60K, draining and refilling both trans fluid and coolant, at the dealer. I'm against 'flushing' transmissions, as I've read repeatedly that that causes problems often. I realize a drain-and-fill, transmission-wise, doesn't get all the fluid or maybe not even half, but better than nothing. I've been lucky I guess.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

RE.: Transmission--maybe I've walked between the raindrops, but I'm in the habit of at about 60K, draining and refilling both trans fluid and coolant, at the dealer. I'm against 'flushing' transmissions, as I've read repeatedly that that causes problems often. I realize a drain-and-fill, transmission-wise, doesn't get all the fluid or maybe not even half, but better than nothing. I've been lucky I guess.

I'm doing the same thing right now with the transmission in the ATS. It is the 8-speed automatic that Adam of Rare Classic Cars recently commented on in his "worst transmissions" porch chat video. Even though it has very low miles it developed a shudder at certain speeds. The GM solution was to do a fluid change using a new and very expensive synthetic fluid, which involved a very detailed procedure using various fluid pumps and processes. It is still a somewhat jerky transmission at certain times but at least the shudder has gone away, knock on wood.

uplanderguy

Greg, I thumbed through that CA magazine yesterday while at Barnes and Noble. I never cared for those Continentals as the interiors didn't do much for me, and I seem to remember a seam on the C-pillar filled in with a piece of trim instead of them just filling it in so you can't see it.

Speaking of that magazine, there was an article about Pontiac Star Chiefs, and I gotta say, there was a '66 Star Chief Executive in that article that just wowed me. Black hardtop coupe with 421 and black vinyl top; red vinyl interior, and the gorgeous '66-only upmarket wheel covers. I like those '66's as they're the last Pontiac Star Chief model, and they are rare compared to Catalina, Bonneville, and even probably Grand Prix models that year. For some reason the very-nice, muted-luxury cloth interiors available in the Star Chief Executive (and Ventura) sedans weren't available on two-doors, oddly.

I bought issue no. 3 of "Crankshaft" magazine when I was there. A good friend of mine wrote an article about the most-perfectly-and-authentically-restored monotone '57 Golden Hawk 400 model, one of 51 built, I've ever seen, and the photography was gorgeous. The car had gorgeous leather interior and the current owner had owned the car since 1960. At $12.95 I think the magazine will have a hard time competing with CA though.

andre1969

Now that you mention it Uplander, I remember thinking the same thing, about the Seville's seatbacks seeming kind of thin.

With those earlier Lexuses, I'll admit I do like the LS400. It has a luxurious, expensive look to me, but more in the fashion of the Benz S-class they were going after, than the domestic idea of luxury. I do kind of like the ES250, and when the ES300 first came out I liked it alot. But now when I look at these earlier ES's, my first thought is "Camry pillared hardtop". Nothing wrong with that, but they just don't throw off a luxury car vibe to me.

stickguy

I got curious so looked up the 1989 Seville. It was relatively compact (at least for a Caddy!) 191" long and 71" wide. So smaller in both dimensions than a midsized car today like a Camry. Longer than a Civic still but probably no wider. And low.

uplanderguy

In hindsight, I could also like a '91 Eldorado. I'll go so far to say I like it better than the '92 and newer Eldos, which to me looked like they should be a Monte Carlo or something.

I do like the '92 Seville.

andre1969

There was always something that seemed a bit off, to the '92+ Eldorado's styling. One thing I just noticed, in looking up the specs...while the wheelbase of the '92 Seville increased a bit, to 111", the Eldorado stayed the same at 108". So in addition to the awkward C-pillar area, maybe that slightly shorter wheelbase was also just enough to make it look awkward?

Another thing about that '86-91 era of Eldorado/Seville...in those days, the bumpers were still jutting out from the body, so that would inflate the length of the car, without really making it look bigger to the eye. And if those bumper guards were standard, they were included in the length measurement.

Just seeing it in a picture by itself, I don't think that Seville looks all that small. But if you saw it in real life, surrounded by other cars and things to reference its size against, it would look fairly petite. Even if a new Civic is only around 180" long, that length is pretty much all body, since cars don't have those protruding bumpers any more. If you knocked the bumpers off of that Seville, the body itself might only be about 180".

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I bought issue no. 3 of "Crankshaft" magazine when I was there. A good friend of mine wrote an article about the most-perfectly-and-authentically-restored monotone '57 Golden Hawk 400 model, one of 51 built, I've ever seen, and the photography was gorgeous. The car had gorgeous leather interior and the current owner had owned the car since 1960. At $12.95 I think the magazine will have a hard time competing with CA though.

I still have not seen that magazine up here in Canada. I presume it is competing with CA. Tough row to hoe.

uplanderguy

I think the '92 Eldorado was bland. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't.

I think in '92, those models ushered in Cadillac's new-think of trying to look more like imported cars inside, meaning less brightwork and more monotone materials. I don't like that but I know it was more in keeping with contemporary tastes at the time.

andre1969

In contrast to the Eldorado, I thought the '92 Seville was gorgeous. Even up front, there was just something bolder and more chiseled, and it definitely had a Cadillac look to it. In contrast, the Eldorado's front just seemed kind of generic. Actually, squint your eyes a bit and it looks a bit like the '86-88 Monte Carlo LS, so maybe that's why it picks up sort of a Monte vibe to you, Uplander!

And, the overall profile is somewhat similar to the W-body Monte Carlo. Basically, take the '95-99, or even the 2000+ Monte, and square if off some, and it's not that different from the Eldorado.

uplanderguy

I'd take an '86-88 Monte Carlo LS over a '92+ Eldo anytime, LOL.

It's the C-pillar of the Eldo, the interior, the bland wheels and grille--at that upper price point-- that just make me go 'meh'.

The '92 Seville I think is handsome outside, from all directions. I particularly liked the rear-end styling and individual "SEVILLE" lettering there, and the way they did the decklid-wide CHMSL.

texases

That Seville was used by the Wall Street Journal in an article at the time about how GM had lost its direction. They ran a picture of it parked rear bumper to rear bumper with a Calais. Very similar.

tjc78

I always loved the 92-97 Seville. I think they still look great today. I suspect many of them didn’t fare too well and couldn’t tell you the last time I saw one

sda

I think the early STS, Seville with the 4 .9, at least engine wise were good. I like the 92-97 as well.

sda

Took a while to find these, my 89 Seville 4.5 V8. I don't know why they posted sideways. The pics were saved in my phone, my apologies. It was a very clean car and looked every bit as good when I traded it.

tjc78

Right wheels, and no vinyl top. Good looking car.

uplanderguy

Boy, that does look nice. I could drive something like that today.

andre1969

That is a classy looking ride, sda!

ab348

Great looking car inside and out.

fintail

Thinking of those Sevilles in non-ostentatious trim, I spotted this in my prior workplace parking garage several times maybe 5 years ago. Someone was obviously taking care of it:



(bonus 2nd gen Prelude in the background)

sda

fintail said:

Thinking of those Sevilles in non-ostentatious trim, I spotted this in my prior workplace parking garage several times maybe 5 years ago. Someone was obviously taking care of it:



(bonus 2nd gen Prelude in the background)

1990 or 91 model. They got the larger 4.9, 200hp that required PUG vs the 4.5 155hp RUG in the 89. The 90 also added a driver’s airbag and I think ABS as standard.

uplanderguy

Funny how that is so much-more appealing to me now than it was then. Sedans of the past however-many-years just do so very little for me I guess. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm thinking I like that better now than a '92 Seville. I just like the tidy size and big round wheel openings.

Went to my hometown to look through that body shop that was sold, yesterday. Lots of NOS wheel-opening trim still in GM bags but not identified. NOS rear quarter for a '49-52 Chevy, and one for a '49-51 Ford. Most interesting things to me were an Austin Healey door, NOS, and a '59 Fury 'toilet seat' (decklid fake spare tire cover). I ran into some people I've known which is fun for me being from such a small town. I bump into more people there than I do where I live now and venture out, and I've lived here now in Kent, 31 years.

Three big, very nice Ditzler advertising calendars, 1941, 1942, and 1943. Owner is 79 and took a 'make me an offer' approach on everything, which could be a little frustrating, especially when he'd say "(Someone) told me they saw one on eBay for (fill in the blank)". But he was a friendly guy.

sda

Did you buy anything while there? Sounds like a neat experience and treasure hunt.

uplanderguy

Nah, my friend bought some cheap tools. I talked to a guy in town later yesterday who said he bought some lead from the guy, LOL.

laurasdada

Vacationing in SF, just before crossing the Bay Bridge, two Lexus IS300 sedans (Toyota Altezza, if memory serves). One black with a "for sale" sign in the window; across the street a gray one, seemingly in much better shape.
Walking in Pacifica today, a Suzuki Esteem and a Cadillac XLR.
(Also a Lotus Evora GT, not sure if that counts here)

uplanderguy

Went to the Cleveland Auto Show yesterday. Not much that excited me, but I did like this base C8 even thought I don't love the color. Sticker was $65.9K. Had $3K in options. Unusual to see a base car. I still like the 'Caffeine' (dark metallic brown) color best, but none to look at in person.




My friend and his brother are both in Bowling Green right now to retrieve their new C8's. The brother's is on the museum's webcam right now, no. 7--orange convertible.

https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/web-cams/

uplanderguy

My longtime friend's new C8 is on the webcam now as Delivery No. 2. Yellow with black and red interior; convertible.

They are driving it home to PA tomorrow.

Yeah, that combo isn't cop bait, yeesh!

https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/web-cams/

ab348

That seems to be a good shade of yellow, not over-saturated like many others.

I'll be the first to say it - IMO the stripes are unfortunate.

andre1969

ab348 said:

That seems to be a good shade of yellow, not over-saturated like many others.

I'll be the first to say it - IMO the stripes are unfortunate.

I like that shade of yellow, as well. As for the black striping, I actually don't mind the little slashes on the front fender, or the one over the fresh air intake on the side. But that double stripe down the center, I'm not a huge fan of. I know they're paying homage to how Chevy did it in the past with their musclecars, but I don't think they ever did that double stripe across the roof, as well. Wasn't it just the hood and trunk lid?

It seems out of place for something like this, though.

uplanderguy

I'm not a stripe guy either; fan of simple styling which is one reason I like a dark color on a C8; those black vents are more subdued. But I think museum delivery is very cool and I'm excited for them.

He texted me "We're in front of the car now" and I looked on and said "Wave, like a dweeb" and he and his wife did, LOL.

They take delivery in the morning.

The car has black and red seating. And the yellow is somewhat washed out in what's probably fluorescent lighting on the webcam. They sent me a couple of their own pics, and It's very in-your-face yellow.

The Chevelle SS and Vega GT (LOL) striping was always just the hood and decklid. I honestly can't recall if the Nova SS had stripes.

Someone here used to comment, not that long ago, that decades-old shtick about Corvette owners having greased-back hair and gold jewelry. I look around on the webcam and I see a lot of older guys and wives, with baseball hats on the guys, which mirrors my experience where I live.

stickguy

out driving today was a Ranchero I have seen in the past. Early 70s vintage. Painted electric blue with giant orange arrow stripes on the sides. Very hard to miss.

sda

As a rule I'm not a fan of yellow though my 71 Vega GT, bought very used, was Sunflower yellow with a black stripe on the hood and hatch/trunk lid. I am happy for your friend. How exciting to pick it up at the museum.

uplanderguy

I gotta say, even in its first year, the Vega GT looked nice in that class of car!

People like to chuckle that winning "Car of the Year" is the kiss of death (LOL), but you figure, with long-term durability unknown, the car that wins was picked over other new cars that year for a combination of features/styling/value, usually.

stickguy

I had 2 yellow cars. My duster and my gremlin. Gremlin had about 4 different shades though.

xwesx

uplanderguy said:

My longtime friend's new C8 is on the webcam now as Delivery No. 2. Yellow with black and red interior; convertible.

They are driving it home to PA tomorrow.

Yeah, that combo isn't cop bait, yeesh!

https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/web-cams/

Oh, man it is.... but, it is also quite the machine to behold! I can see why he went with that combo.

xwesx

andre1969 said:

ab348 said:

That seems to be a good shade of yellow, not over-saturated like many others.

I'll be the first to say it - IMO the stripes are unfortunate.

I like that shade of yellow, as well. As for the black striping, I actually don't mind the little slashes on the front fender, or the one over the fresh air intake on the side. But that double stripe down the center, I'm not a huge fan of. I know they're paying homage to how Chevy did it in the past with their musclecars, but I don't think they ever did that double stripe across the roof, as well. Wasn't it just the hood and trunk lid?

It seems out of place for something like this, though.

From the angle, it is difficult to tell just how wide it is, but it appears to taper toward the trunk lid area. I dunno... I like it; it works with this shade of yellow.

Michaell

uplanderguy said:

My longtime friend's new C8 is on the webcam now as Delivery No. 2. Yellow with black and red interior; convertible.

They are driving it home to PA tomorrow.

Yeah, that combo isn't cop bait, yeesh!

https://www.corvettemuseum.org/explore/web-cams/

Is that a convertible or a targa?

uplanderguy

Convertible, as is his brother's orange one in delivery 7.

Honestly (as I don't think he checks in here!), I prefer the coupe roofline/rear window.

Michaell

uplanderguy said:

Convertible, as is his brother's orange one in delivery 7.

Honestly (as I don't think he checks in here!), I prefer the coupe roofline/rear window.

I get that the top is removable.

I think of a convertible as having a fabric roof, and a targa with a hard material, which is what the camera seems to show.

stickguy

I like the coupe design better. A lot less complicated too! And you get the neat glass engine cover

imidazol97

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyPbMCEIgGY&t=26s