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

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I know I remember seeing some cars with a small "Delco" script in the corner of the dial.

Oddly enough, I remember that Delco script on the dial too but I cannot find a pic of a radio with it.

In the '70s, GM went to having the corporate logo on radio dials.

texases

Ooo-8 track with front/rear fader!

uplanderguy

I liked when those radios started having the chromed-plastic pushbuttons like above. I can't say I recall the symbols on those chromed knobs, but I remember the chromed knobs on Chevys with a little woodgrained round center.

Chevy, a few years earlier in the '70's, made a thing about the knobs on controls being soft and squishy, but they were black with little-kid designs on them. And radio pushbuttons were black. I'm thinking that changed in the mid'70's or so, to better effect IMHO.

ab348

I did find the Delco script on a few Pontiac radios from the mid-60s on eBay, but there is no consistency. Some even have “Delco All Transistor” in script.

jwm40517

The Vista Cruiser wagon reminded me of a trip in a very similar one in 1975. A trip from East KY to Oklahoma City for a bowling tournament. Non stop except for gas and snacks. I remember sleeping in rear on top of suitcases and bowling bags. 5 of us.

fintail

Cruise the vistas

roadburner

uplanderguy said:

RE.: Hideaway headlights, discussed here fairly often--I think I wouldn't mind them so much if they were truly hideaway! You end up having a big visible seam around them! LOL

And to my eyes, they usually look like hell when open. Worst offender in this regard is the C2 Corvette IMHO.

My 1967 Riviera had a secondary grill behind the headlight doors, so the car still looked finished when the doors were opened.

stickguy

out driving on I87 today, a late 70s Firebird. Red Formula. looked to be in fair shape but not a like new restoration. odd to see out like that in traffic.

andre1969

I think hidden headlights tend to look best when they're worked completely into the grille, or completely separate from it. However, sometimes when they're partly in, and partly out of the grille, that's when they can get messy. For instance, I'm not a huge fan of the way they did it with the '68 Impala... I think the look they were going for looks good in theory. And from a distance. But the pattern of the grille that's carried over into the headlight covers doesn't quite match up in texture, color, etc. While the grille has actual openings, and the black openings is simply a result of darkness, plus the black radiator and bulkhead metal back there most likely, the simulated part on the covers is painted, so it's hard to get it to truly match. And it's worse when the sun hits it and that black paint shines. Also, when these types of covers get the least bit out of alignment, it looks horrible. And in addition to being perfectly in alignment, I think the gap around the cover has to be perfectly even as well, for it to work.

It also doesn't help with this Impala that the fenders come all the way to the front of the car, but the hood doesn't. So you have the additional seams where the fenders meet that piece of metal at the front, just above the headlight covers. If Chevy had gone with shorter fenders, and a header panel that went all the way across the front of the car, like what Pontiac did in '67, it would have helped alot, I think. Of course, then you run into other problems, when that piece doesn't match perfectly with the fenders!

With those half-in/half-out covers, I think FoMoCo tended to do a pretty good job with alignment and such. At least, with the '69 Marquis, it looks better blended to me than the '68 Impala. The Marquis, however, was designed with hidden headlights in mind though, whereas on the Chevy they were an option to an existing front-end, so perhaps as a result, Chevy had to cut corners a bit.

uplanderguy

I always thought in '68 the hideaway headlights were only optional on the Caprice, so I learned something today. Either way, I hate the looks, LOL. Who'd pay extra for something that looks worse?! LOL They line up very nicely on that Marquis though. I also never could stand when a car would have hideaways, but then they'd put an emblem or shield or the like on the covers.

I'm so used to seeing the trim line up poorly after years, or seeing one side open and one closed, I'll never be a fan, LOL.

I don't like seams. On the corners of the '73 and '74 Nova, and '82-83 Malibus, and even '68 Cadillacs around the grille, I hate that. And those cars didn't even have hideaways! LOL

I never noticed before, but that Marquis has to win an award for longest parking lights! Also, a bit of a double-decker thing going on.

sda

The front end of the 68 Impala with the hidden lamps looks considerably more aggressive and a bit sporty comparted to the Lincolnesque front end of the Marquis. I really like the color blue on both.

fintail

Weirdly, hidden headlights make me think of the family car in "Close Encounters" - a nice 70 Squire (not insanely old at the time of filming) would probably get some wacky bids today, and a pretty rare car anymore:

texases

Covered headlights at least should improve the looks when they’re closed. That Chevy fails, IMO.

explorerx4

Feeling lucky for 2023?
https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/SCAZS42A6FCX13708?partner=CTO_D&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=Auto Commerce Web Prospecting

fintail

I love the color combo there, very reminiscent of the Silver Spur in Cannonball Run II (a virtually new car at the time, and something that caught my fancy even as a kid):



But 20K+ is a hard sell for a money pit like that.

fintail

I know the colonnade Grand Am has been a topic, here's an oddball (never mind the price)

explorerx4

I can't believe they actually went through the effort of making and posting a YT video for this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SSAoQRugOE

tjc78

Rusted out base model… what everyone wants

andre1969

I've probably told this story before, but a few years back, my uncle wanted to get a used car for a second vehicle. His main vehicle is a 2016 Colorado extended cab, that's essentially a 2-seater. One day, he took two of our relatives to see a third who was in the hospital, and it was quite a squeeze getting the one in back. She was 94 years old, and very petite, but it was still a tight squeeze.

Anyway, after that, my uncle said he wanted to get another vehicle to, in his words, "drive the family around", if needed. I was like, what family? Ours is dying off, or moving away! I remember one of the vehicles we looked at was a 2006 Lincoln Town Car that had around 100,000 miles on it, maybe a bit more. The body looked solid, and it was a nice grayish-green color I liked. But the interior seemed trashed. It was also pretty buried back on this car lot, and I didn't get a good vibe about it at all, so he passed on it.

He ended up getting a 2006 Sienna minivan, of all things. And, sure enough, our family member who was in the hospital died, in late 2019. She was like 96 though. The 94 year old made it to 95, and then died just before the end of 2019. And the other family member moved to Florida in late 2019.

My uncle and I went down to see my Mom and stepdad the weekend after Christmas in 2019. They invited my housemate, and he came along, too. I think that was the only time my uncle had three people in that minivan!

It was a shame that Town Car was so beat, though. I bet it was a nice car, when it was newer. Every once in awhile I toy with the idea of getting a Panther, to replace my '03 Regal but dunno if I'll ever get serious about it. It's weird to think that the newest ones are 12 model years old, now!

Here's a pic I took of it...it didn't look nearly this good in person, though. I also seem to recall the driver's door wouldn't open, and I had to squeeze in the passenger side to get in. It actually looks greener and more silvery in this pic than what I remember. On my monitor, it almost looks like GM's Light Jadestone!

texases

"it was quite a squeeze getting the one in back. She was 94 years old, and very petite, but it was still a tight squeeze."

...wiping coffee off monitor...

uplanderguy

My in-laws (from FL of course) had an '07 (I think) Signature Series. I drove it and was not very impressed, but it's not like I had a Cadillac to compare it to or anything. I remember the driver's interior door panel flexed when the window went up and down, and the interior seemed like a lot of color-keyed vinyl/plastic. I thought that a Crown Victoria was probably as nice inside, and I may have preferred the exterior styling of one of those to the Town Car.

Eventually they sold it as it was starting to need some stuff, including that the driver's seat was stuck in the forward position where my M-I-L, very short, drove it.

andre1969

texases said:

"it was quite a squeeze getting the one in back. She was 94 years old, and very petite, but it was still a tight squeeze."

...wiping coffee off monitor...

D'oh! I just realized how that sounded. Sorry, didn't mean to make this sound like the forum section of DirtyGranniesOnTheProwl dot com

sda

I saw a white, somewhat ivory cream color MB S 580 on the drive home. It looked really nice.

fintail

Don't tell me this color is coming back:

texases

"Cashmere White Mango (matte)"?

fintail

texases said:

"Cashmere White Mango (matte)"?

Magno - yep that's matte

sda

texases said:

"Cashmere White Mango (matte)"?

That’s it. It was an overcast day so the color took on a different hue yet my description was lacking.

tjc78

I guess I’m officially old because I don’t get the matte paint even a little bit.

texases

Yep, same here, and more brands are offering it.

uplanderguy

Factory matte finish? I didn’t know that. Wow.

texases

BMW and MB, now I think Hyundai/Kia/Genesis may have it on some models.

andre1969

In the old days I think they called that "Primer"

texases

I'm more concerned with why MB call that color 'Mango':

kyfdx

texases said:

I'm more concerned with why MB call that color 'Mango':

Magno..

texases

Ooops...but I like Mangos!
Magno? Usually see that kind of a name with metallic grey colors.
Guess that means 'matte' auf Deutsch, here's the Magno silver:

roadburner

Looks aside; matte finishes are a pain to take care of. When I worked at BMW we had an information sheet we gave to people who bought cars with Frozen(matte) finishes. You can screw it up in a myriad of different ways.

sda

I’m not a fan of matte in the least. I like a deep glossy finish. I understand you can’t wax or run it thru a car wash or it ruins the finish.

xwesx

I like my cars like I like my monitors: Glossy!

fintail

roadburner said:

Looks aside; matte finishes are a pain to take care of. When I worked at BMW we had an information sheet we gave to people who bought cars with Frozen(matte) finishes. You can screw it up in a myriad of different ways.

Exactly, they require special care, and I bet many buyers don't abide by it.

Not a big fan of it, myself - a little too much tough/edgy false pretense.

tjc78

Personally I think people like it just to be different….

uplanderguy

That '70 Country Squire several posts up--now that's a good-looking set of hideaway headlights!

'Curbside Classics' has been having posts about early '70's 3-speed full-size domestics, split into GM, Ford, and Chrysler. They posted a triple-black '70 LTD four-door post sedan, and it's a nice-looking car.

The author had a few errors of small facts in each and I usually feel compelled to post corrections to avoid errors becoming fact "because I saw it online!", but I don't have the energy, LOL.

uplanderguy

This blows my mind. In PA, car flips onto side in car wash:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-64193839?at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=9BFB96D4-8E6B-11ED-A858-C2ED2052A482&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link&at_link_origin=BBC_News&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&fbclid=IwAR1USBKyCzbF9HS8KkaQKpA7cg1-My7zuhVJ-uDLtgmipDuXbsRBKwv9unE

I was behind a lady in an '80-ish Sedan deVille in a car wash once, and she drove off the tracks, and I remember the car getting hung up through the wash, and employees freaking out.

Why do I think this fellow will be hearing from lawyers wanting to represent him for "unintended acceleration", LOL?

andre1969

I guess it's true what I've heard, that Toyota has sort of become the Buick of the 21st Century, in more ways than one! At least stories about old people doing this kind of stuff in their LeSabres and Centurys aren't so common anymore

uplanderguy

Came across this this morning. I always wished they'd have done a Fleetwood coupe after '60 and these cars intrigued me. Really, the last of its kind. I like that this one isn't a 'd'Elegance' so it doesn't have the overdone-by-everyone multiple-button-tufted seat cushions.

Too bad the 4.1 was such a dog.

https://www.imsa.com/news/2021/06/21/1985-cadillac-fleetwood-brougham-coupe-see-you-on-deck-senator/





I always liked how the side moldings were body-colored with no chrome beading....although not noticeable here, in person one almost got the clean look of no side moldings that way.

fintail

The end of the big Caddy coupe era - for better or worse. Must have seemed a little archaic even then. There are a few of the Coupe deVille style in my area. I suppose this full vinyl top looks fancier in that period way that fancy = wire wheels (or covers) and body side moldings. I assume the coupes were the cheapest large Caddy. I recall seeing a coupe (maybe a CdV) with hubcaps on an old TPiR.

I also got the reference in the article - I could see Judge Smails in one of these (although he drove a chrome bumper Silver Shadow):

kyfdx

It's hard to tell an '85 from a '78..

fintail

andre1969 said:

I guess it's true what I've heard, that Toyota has sort of become the Buick of the 21st Century, in more ways than one! At least stories about old people doing this kind of stuff in their LeSabres and Centurys aren't so common anymore

I think the Camrolla and RAV4 are the new age LeSabre and Century. Maybe throw in a Venza to be edgy.

Funny, my Camry-driving mom, who is usually pretty with-it, refuses to use the little automated car wash in her town, driving on to the tracks and taking the car out of gear weirds her out.

uplanderguy

There was no Fleetwood coupe in ‘78, and the differences are pretty distinct between a Coupe deVille for ‘78 and this car. Now the ‘80 is virtually the same car.

The ‘80 doesn’t have the plain side moldings I like, but to get the 368 over the 4.1 is probably a smart trade-off.

I like the interior, before flat colored vinyl or plastic became acceptable throughout the interior, even on things like turn signal and shift levers.

tjc78

That Caddy is gorgeous. Awesome color combo. One thing I find funny/odd with those is that the driver’s side power seat has the controls on the door panel but the passenger side has it on the side of the seat. I’d love to know the reasoning there. Every other car I’ve seen it’s usually the same on both sides.

andre1969

I've tried to swear off any more white vehicles, but that '85 Caddy is enough to make me swear off swearing off things! It's too bad Cadillac didn't let the Brougham coupe stay in production a few more years, but that probably wasn't feasible. In 1985, they only sold something like 3,000 coupes, compared to around 55,000 sedans.