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

fintail

That 126 looks pretty excellent, especially for the money. Could be a bargain.

andre1969

if that Supreme sedan really was a Brougham model? Most of the Broughams I remember had a really plush, ritzy striped cloth pattern on the seats that carried over into the door panels. Unless that was just an option for the Brougham?

imidazol97

That was my thought when i saw the pictures. I had a Cutlass Supreme 2-dr and the brougham was an option. It had a beautiful multicolor cloth with separate "cushions" sitting on top of the regular seat. That 'thing' with the ugly wheels didn't have that kind of seat. I didn't keep any of the sales brochures--moved too many times since then or I'd look in them.

I do have an AMC Pacer sales brochure I've kept--it's somewhere here. That was going to revolutionize automobiles at the time.

ghulet

...but an interesting vehicle for the 'if you must have a cheap convertible' file:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/car/188897883.html

How awful are these, anyway? I figure they can't be as bad as, say, a Geo Metro convertible, probably at a similar price, if you can find one that hasn't been crushed by a semi truck (I rode in one once, top down, in PM rush hour traffic with a super-drunk female driver--not fun).

imidazol97

91 Mercury Capri

Description says, "Air not cold." You can sure say that again for us in the Midwest again today!!!

nolid5

B200? What is that? Looked like a shrunken R series. Any input Fin?

fintail

New small Mercedes sold just about everywhere but the US, as we always have to be dumbed down a notch. Cool in its own way, but quite pricey...completely loaded costs about as much as a base E class.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_B-Class

nolid5

Thanks for the quick reply & pic. I knew you'd have an answer. I have to admit the pic looks better than the actually car did as I passed it on the highway.

fintail

No problem. Yeah, I kinda liked the look of it when I first saw one online...but it's not something I would want, I don't think. Esp not for the dough.

andys120

It was '70s time.

-Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40, a topless example obviously restored (the bright orange paint looked better than new).

-Buick Skylark ca. 1978, very unusual in that it appeared to be unrestored but perfectly clean straight and rust-free and bone-stock right down to the correct hubcaps--a real time machine complete down to the not very glossy paint and big shutlines common to the domestic cars of that era.

fintail

Saw a white 55 T-Bird and a red and white 56 Chevy sedan this morning

fintail

Nice one for Shifty's demo derby

This great product of the Floridian auto industry could enter too

"There were only 5 made"...I hope so

For the Japanese pimp

Better than the other wannabes I guess

The differently placed headlights kill it IMO...kind of an old looking body too even for the time

Exponentially cooler interpretation of the same style...somehow I like this a lot

Who would do all that work on one of these?

Early air

Looks to be a nice example

Quite cool, and you'll never see your twin at a show

"Vintage Woody!!"

I could see Andre in this

Few of these have been so well cared for

"One of a kind" - I hope that's a promise

MMhmmm

Very early fintail, nice console cabinetry

I must be old and stuck in a generation gap or something...I just don't get it

Take a picture from an old National Geographic car ad, use it as your car

Quite cool old wagon

Early muscle

imidazol97

I like the ad to give a picture since the car is in parts on the 195X Pontiac. The ad says _most_ of the original glass is accounted for in the parts.

The Early Muscle is about 35 miles from me! I'll have to stop at their locations and look at their cars some day.

fintail

Last night I spotted a 57 (I think - single headlights...is this right?) Imperial coupe at a gas station. The hood was up.

I also spotted this 56 Packard at a grocery store. I love the badging...it's not just a Patrician, it's "The Patrician". Looked to be an absolutely original car, it was running quite well too.







I even ended up behind it later on



The guy driving it was a virtual clone of the nerdy 1985 George McFly in Back to the Future.

Mr_Shiftright

that "vintage woody" auction is pretty darn funny--I think a person really needs to take a short drive in an AMC Eagle to fully appreciate how bad a car it really is.

'42 Packard -- very spiff car, very interesting....and yet, we can see how very few people will pay serious money for the limousine body style. That same car as a coupe would bring double the money.

Zimmer--nice battering ram front end. God save us, who designs these abortions?

explorerx4

re: the chieftain, if you think dropping the shift lever down all the way was going to get you low gear, you are in for a :surprise:. then,

andre1969

Yeah, I heard about that...supposedly a popular misconception was that "R" way down low there was for "Race" :surprise:

explorerx4

promulgated by the local transmission shop?
funny how somestimes you have seen a car so often it just doesn't register anymore.
i see an early 60's corvair, with royal blue metalic repaint that has been sitting in the same spot for at least 10 years, more(?).
i never think of it.

andre1969

the Zimmer doesn't offend me as much as it probably should. I still can't figure out what, exactly, it's trying to mimic. Instead of going for those classic 30's style cars, like the Tiffany and that Johnson thing did, the Zimmer just seems a blend of 60's Riviera and Toronado, but doesn't try that hard to ape either one. Maybe that's why it doesn't bother me so much...because instead of insulting some classic from days gone by, it just kind of does its own thing.

That Duesenberg II actuall ain't bad looking. Looks like they tried to go more authentic looking than these things that start with a Fiero, Camaro, Cougar, or Town Car as their basis.

Mr_Shiftright

They're just so clunky and badly done. The proportions are all wrong. Everything looks like it's on the wrong car, like someone collected parts from a wrecking yard from 10 different cars and super-glued them on.

kyfdx

'73 Dodge Charger... A dent here or there, but very nice paint... in really good shape..

'56 Chevy Belair convertible.. looked completely restored... in black..

fintail

There must have been an old Ford meet in my area...I saw a great number of old cars within about a 10 minute span...a few brass Ts, maybe 15 normal Ts, a handful of As, and a few 30s cars. All were moving right along in 30mph traffic...love the noises those Ts make, so primitive and mechanical.

fintail

Today I went to the shop where the fintail is taking a little holiday, and this was parked in the driveway. Apparently it's a daily driver and is in pretty good original condition - the wood was very nice compared to most pontons.

jlawrence01

What is the vehicle in the photo?

fintail

Mercedes 220S 'ponton', 1957

fintail

I saw a Checker Marathon wagon today. It looked to be in excellent condition, and it sounded pretty good. I'll guess it was a 60s model due to the bumpers. But what is really odd is that it had Hawaii plates! So now I've seen two Hawaiian cars in the past couple days, both of them not the makes I would expect.

Mr_Shiftright

It's amazing it isn't rusted into oblivion, coming from Hawaii.

imidazol97

I saw a DTS today. Odd color. THen I saw the "Mary Kay" on the left side of the trunk. Then I realized it was a slighty pink pearlescent GM paint--maybe lavender tones in it. Didn't appeal to me. But I guess it is better than the hot pink they used to use for Mary Kay cars.

I didn't know they still earned Mary Kay cars.

magnette

I liked the Citroen GS - they are quite rare here too, now, as rust and perceived complexity killed them off once they became too cheap to be worth servicing properly. There is a mint example near my office, and it only dawned on me the other week that I haven't seen another like it for ages.

magnette

What is a DTS? (I didn't get the "Mary Kay" reference either ??)

magnette

snakes and lizards I don't have to worry about, but my pet hate is spiders and we have one roaming round here somewhere - my other half saw it yesterday and I've been trying to find it or avoid it ever since. We dont get Tarantulas or anything but this thing is apparently big - if that got in my toy cars I'd let it take one and drive away, I think...

magnette

One of my colleagues is getting one of these B class M-B's as his next company car, I think, but they are not yet common over here, as RHD examples weren't offered until it had been on sale in mainland Europe for a while. It is expensive though.

imidazol97

DTS=Cadillac. Used to be a Sedan Deville. Now it's DTS.

Mary Kay is a cosmetic company that rewarded it's better sellers with prizes. One of those was a Pink Cadillac in years past. The Mary Kay company sells with house parties and door-to-door selling? Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

kyfdx

DTS is the new designation for what used to be the Sedan DeVille...

Mary Kay is a cosmetics company... Their products are sold by individuals in an M-L-M enterprise... Top producers get pink cars (as that is the corporate color scheme). Cadillacs for the very top sellers..

EDIT... what he said..lol

chuck1959

I'd ever be talking about Mary Kay cosmetics! But according to the web site (Mary Kay) the top sellers still earn cars. Starting with a Pontiac Vibe....Pontiac Grand Prix....and of course the "grand" prize a DTS, or cash equvilent!

FYI Mary Kay passed away awhile back (don't know when though).

explorerx4

chuck... you are on a roll. find out when Mary Kay passed throught pastel gates.

british_rover

the car below the pink caddy used to be the platnium Pontiac Bonneville I wonder what they use now since the bonne is dead.

I saw a late 80s chrysler LeBaron turbo convertiable today.

andre1969

I see a Mary Kay Grand Prix and a Mary Kay DeVille/DTS locally. They're both of the newer, more tasteful pearly pink color that just doesn't scream out at you like the old hot pink did. I still wouldn't drive one, though. :surprise: I think the only way I'd drive a pink car would be if it were something from the 50's or maybe the early 60's.

bhill2

Yeah! Yeah!! Like the white over pink '56 Chrysler wagon driven by one of my schoolmates in high school. Pushbutton auto. I would have killed for that car.

imidazol97

What was your opinion of that iridescent color? Did it change from violet to lavendar to pink? It looked like an adaptation of the gold flash color for leSabres.

lemmer

The new Mary Kay (around here, at least) is Arbonne. They give you a white Mercedes.

Actually neither one really gives you any car; they just pay your lease when you make certain sales goals.

andre1969

Well I don't think it was a horrible color, and definitely NOT something a guy should be driving around in! But it wasn't loud and in-your-face. I think about the best way to describe it would be a pearly white with just a slight touch of pink added.

Here's a pic of one I found online. I don't think it would be a bad looking color on a 50's car with a lot of chrome. Or even a pimpy 70's car, as long as you had enough chrome and a dark, contrasting vinyl top to set it off.

chuck1959

She died on November 23, 2001....83 in Dallas, Texas. I beleive her 2 sons took over.

I just remembered they gave away pink Pontiac Grand Ams at one time.

magnette

Thanks for all this - I never knew so much about door to door cosmetics ! I just mentioned this exchange to my girlfriend and she said she had read a reference to a similar deal in a novel she is currently reading, and hadn't understood the significance of the pink car...

magnette

Yesterday, in central London, I came across two identical Murcielagos, both bright orange and on Arabic plates (Bahrain I think). Rather upstaged the Porsche and Ferrari parked behind them...

chuck1959

Thanks for all this

Your welcome.

- I never knew so much about door to door cosmetics!

I didn't either....until now! LOL

Mr_Shiftright

And I want it NOW!

http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/

kyfdx

The guy is hilarous!!

Would anyone else be nervous with that jet engine sitting right behind your head?

british_rover

That is beyond cool. I bet you need to wear some serious ear protection when driving that though. The inlet noise alone must be almost enough to make you deaf at 100% rpm.

bumpy

I'd rather have that jet-engined MR2 that came up on Ebay a while back.