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

stickguy

OK, an older dude in his Rambler.

Later 60's model, the more compact size, American convertible. Nice red, looked like new paint. Black insides. Sounded like a 6 (IIRC, it was a few days ago) but did have three on the tree, something I have not seen in person, on the road, in quite a while!

Not really a bad looking car though.

fintail

I am not sure which model that MG was, but it was a very neat little car. It wasn't identified by model in the souvenir program or on the car. I don't think I had really ever seen a prewar one up close - not so many on this side of the pond. I was surprised so many of the cars were local...these aren't taken out on weekends like the average 50s-60s car.

grbeck

The last Rambler American convertible was built in 1967, and it was a rare beast, even when new. If I recall correctly, less than 2,000 were built.

It's a handsome car, but every road test of AMC cars from that time seems to mention parts falling off the cars...

fiatlux1969

I'm willing to concede the point since I can't find any current source that makes such a distinction. I was told that my '55 300c was not an Adenauer and that only the later cars were given that appellation, but can't recall by whom. Not certain I would have enjoyed the car more had I had that luxury, but I became persuaded that the car was plotting in its Teutonic heart to grenade in the most expensive way possible, and I was not able to rest easy until I unloaded it.

fintail

I think some of those cars were still enacting WW2 revenge :P

I think they are pretty attractive, but I would never buy one unless it was cheap with very few needs. It won't happen either way for me, caring for the fintail is enough work - and it is actually very reliable.

fintail

The people about a half a block from me who had an 80s kick going with a W126, 80s Civic sport model, Nissan/Datsun Pulsar, and an early Integra, have changed their lineup. Now they have the W126 and the Civic, along with a Murano and of all things, a decent looking ca. 1967 Chrysler (I guess Newport) 2-door HT, in a kind of creme yellow with a dark vinyl top.

lemko

...a gold Chevette Scooter! This was a later model as it had the rectangular headlights. Funny seeing one still alive. Most were used up and thrown away.

kyfdx

White... Looked so good, it could have been 1989...

It's been a long, long time since I spotted one of these..

magnette

Saw a Thunderbird this morning - one of the mid sixties ones with the pointy front and a side profile like a teardrop. It had a landau type roof with those fake irons on the side, but it was parked on a busy road and I didn't have time to cross and look at it in more detail. We never had the Thunderbird here as a new car, of course, so it is quite rare - particularly as this one looked like it was in daily use...

fiatlux1969

I recall a contemporary road test of that car in which its side aspect was described as looking like a "petulant sea bass." That one phrase made an obvious impression on me, and caused me to seriously consider a career in automotive journalism. Years later, I took my girlfriend out in her father's '63 'Bird, which promptly stalled and caught fire, unlike my journalistic career, which stalled and never did catch fire.

Mr_Shiftright

Ah, you should have written about THAT event! That was a good story handed to you on a plate.

fiatlux1969

I couldn't have put it all together at the time ('68 or '69), since I still had hopes of catching on with R&T or C and D. Only a long look back provided the needed perspective.

Mr_Shiftright

I think there's more opportunity these days in writing about collector cars or obscurities-- I mean if you want to do really meaningful auto journalism that doesn't border on ad copy or industry news reporting. If you look at the few remaining really outstanding auto journalists, what are they writing about? Peter Egan? Obscurities or racing.

fiatlux1969

I agree. I couldn't imagine a current road test in which an advertiser's product was compared unfavorably to seafood. At that time, I admired Henry Manney, LJK Setright, and Ken Purdy. They were writers.

Mr_Shiftright

I have always yearned to use W.C. Field's line about Mae West in a modern automotive review:

"She is a plumber's idea of Cleopatra".

Someday...someday.....

texases

Here's a game I play - I estimate the fraction of a road test that could have been written just with the press kit and no seat time. Sometimes seems more than 90%.

fiatlux1969

Perhaps the line would have a place in a piece about a '58 Buick Special...It, like Mae West, is attractive, but overdone.

kyfdx

If the review is in your Sunday paper, the percentage is probably closer to 99%...

andys120

no, not a Dauphine or a Caravelle. I saw a Renault 16 (ca. mid-late 1960s) tooling along a downtown street last night.

It looked more or less like this one>

kyfdx

1st generation..

'85-'86? Just a little rust around the rockers and rear wheel well openings... and faded paint..

Amazingly well-preserved for being in the Midwest.

british_rover

I have read reviews on some of the Land Rovers where I know they never drove the car EVER. They just repeat the same complaints that people had about Land Rovers from 5 to 7 years ago.

texases

They just repeat the same complaints that people had about Land Rovers from 5 to 7 years ago.

That's one reason I pay little attention to single-car reviews. Only when they're driving several competing cars at the same time can they get past some of those old ideas. Just like when it's time to buy a car, right?

andre1969

1st generation..

'85-'86? Just a little rust around the rockers and rear wheel well openings... and faded paint..

Amazingly well-preserved for being in the Midwest.

I actually saw TWO of those at almost same time about a month ago. One of 'em was a blue sedan and the other was a hatchback, burgundy I think. One was going with my flow of traffic, and the other coming the other way.

Those things were all over the place here in the DC area back when they were newer, but I'd imagine that they never were that common in the Midwest? I still see the '87-91 style occasionally, but the older ones are a rare sight. But then I guess you gotta figure, they ARE 20+ years old now!

kyfdx

They were very popular here, but they rusted away like crazy, just like all of the early-mid '80s Japanese makes..

The '87-'91 model was the best Camry ever.. I'd love to have one with a stick and without motorized belts..

michaellno

My folks had a '91 for many years. Automatic, of course, but still a nice car.

Bought used - can't remember how many miles it had. They drove it to about 90K, then sold it privately a few years ago ($1600?) when they bought their '03 Sonata.

In a previous wife-time, we looked at an '88 or '89 Camry with a stick. Fun car, but we ended up getting an Isuzu Trooper for the room and the 4WD capability.

andre1969

out of all the Camrys, that '87-91 style was my favorite, too. There's just something about that style, somewhat formal but still rounded, with that gently sloping hood and slightly raised deck, and generous glass area all about, that I found eye-pleasing. The Mazda 626 adopted that style around that timeframe too...maybe 1988? It also carried over to a few Mitsubishi models, the Corolla, and even my Mom & stepdad's 1991 Stanza seemed somewhat inspired by that style.

I remember back in college, for some marketing class, I compared 5 family sedans. Mainly just going to the dealer, getting brochures, sitting in the cars, and getting my own feel for them...but NOT driving them, as I didn't want to waste anybody's time or put needless miles on a car. This was 1991. I looked at an Accord, Camry, Lumina, Taurus, and Dodge Spirit. I was really impressed with the legroom in the Camry. It felt the most generous of them all. For my report though, I rated the Accord best. I think partly because it still felt a bit roomier overall and had slightly better interior materials.

I guess the Camry back then was a bit ahead of its time in this class for the Japanese, offering a V-6. Albeit a smallish 2.5L unit, IIRC. I don't think the accord got a V-6 until they shoehorned one in around 1996 and had to give the car a bigger nose to make it fit. And the Altima wouldn't get one until the 2002 redesign.

Now that I think back on it, when did Mitsubishi start offering a V-6 in the Galant? Or Mazda, a V-6 in the 626?

kyfdx

Mazda had the V-6 back at least as far as 1993 (With the redesigned MX-6) They used turbos before that..

Not sure when Honda started, but it was the '94-'97 body style...

Camry with V-6 and a stick.... very nice set-up!!

lemko

A guy I know still has a 1990 Toyota Camry in sort of a silver-blue color. It looks every bit its age and is rusted around the rear wheel wells. Funny thing is, despite its age and appearance, it was recently stolen. He did recover the car and had to replace the steering wheel and column.

Mr_Shiftright

I had one of those R16s. Actually a pretty neat car. One interesting feature: You could detach the rear seat and hook it to the headliner! Gave you a lot of room to load the hatch, but it's kinda weird. (what can I zay? zee French, you know yes?). Very comfy car, but a column-shifter! Ugh!

oregonboy

I also once owned a Renault 16, and yes, the folding UP rear seat was typical. The (French) designers of the car seemed to take great pleasure in doing things in strange ways, purely for the sake of being different.

Yes, it had a 4-spd column shifter AND the freeking horn was operated by pushing-in on a column stalk... try finding that in an emergency situation.

james

texases

My dad had a Maserati Indy - two horns, one normal place, other you pushed in the stalk, ony was for in town, one was for out in the country, can't remember which was which.

toomanyfumes

My Dad's Renault/AMC Alliance had the horn on the turn signal stalk,too. Of course, you always smack the wheel in a panic situation.

oregonboy

My Dad's Renault/AMC Alliance had the horn on the turn signal stalk,too. Of course, you always smack the wheel in a panic situation.

Of course, you would eventually adapt and train yourself to react to a panic situation by pushing the stalk. Naturally when driving a different car, when you intended to honk, you would wash the windshield. :sick:

At least you would have a clear view of whoever you were crashing into. :shades:

james

toomanyfumes

I drove it as little as possible anyway. :P It was usually in the shop or he was taking it from dealer to dealer trying to find someone to take it in trade.

He finally traded it on a '84 Plymouth Turismo which seemed like an awesome car in comparison.

fiatlux1969

Yes, it had a 4-spd column shifter AND the freeking horn was operated by pushing-in on a column stalk... try finding that in an emergency situation.

Our '69 Rover 2000TC also had a horn operated by a column stalk, which one pulled back. It also had "park lamps," which were lit only on the left-hand side of the car. Don't know what was expected if one parked on the left side of a one-way street...

bumpy

A mid-70s Grand Lemans sedan, maroon with a ratty tan vinyl roof, crinkled doors, busted trunk lock, wobbling down the road... with a new 60-day temporary tag on it. :confuse:

"Craptacular" sums it up pretty well.

andre1969

Did you get a look at the front of it? If so, did it have rectangular quad headlights ('76-77) or single round headlights? ('75)?

If it's the '76-77, I'd almost be tempted to try tracking it down and saving it! Almost. :P

lemko

...maroon 1965 Pontiac Bonneville convertible in average condition with top down.

bumpy

Nope, only saw the back, and it's not worth saving. :sick: :sick: :sick:

fintail

Not a highline car, but cool that it has history no less

What a great use of resources

Can't be many left like this

From a field of Merkurs sprouts some something much worse

Scarce model, good bids considering what it needs

What a beast

Maybe an Andre-mobile

This is pretty decent

andre1969

I like that 1980 Delta, except for one minor detail...those Rally wheels. I just don't like that extra fat center cap they use on the Delta's Rallys? I wonder why they did that? My '82 Cutlass had Rallys and used a smaller center cap the left the lug nuts exposed. I wonder if the wheel itself is the same, and you can just swap the center cap if you want?

Now, my Cutlass had 14" rims and this Delta is going to have 15" rims, but I've seen those smaller center cap Rallys in the 15" size. They were common on the '73-77 Cutlass. Now that I think about it though, I don't remember those big '71-76 Deltas or Ninety Eights as having the Rally wheels. Seems like they either had wire hubcaps or just regular hubcaps. Odd, since the LeSabre/Electra were pretty common with that Buick "Magnum" Rally, and the big Pontiacs often had the Rally wheel.

I think it's also interesting how pick-and-choose they were with features back then. That Delta has optional gauges for amps, coolant, and oil pressure, which I'm sure had to be rare back then. And it's a Royale Brougham model, which is top of the line. But it has crank windows and no armrest in the back.

That '57 Dodge Coronet D-500 is cool, too. I wonder which Hemi it has? That year they offered a 325 Dodge Hemi that put out 310 hp with the dual quad, but there was also a 354 Chrysler Hemi dual quad that put out 340. I see they swapped out the generator for an alternator. I think that continental spare tire kit is one of the less horrifying examples I've seen, but I'd still ditch it in a heartbeat!

Maybe its my inner redneck trying to break out, but for some twisted reason I kinda like that 4x4 Cutlass!

jrosasmc

I highly doubt you could use an old Renault Gordini on today's modern highways, let alone a LeCar.

fezo

Wouldn't mind the 57 Dodge either. I would think that would be the one to get Andre salivating....

andre1969

Wouldn't mind the 57 Dodge either. I would think that would be the one to get Andre salivating....

Ooh, it's definitely a sweet car. I think the only thing that bugs me about a lot of those 50's supercars is that they tended to offer them in a limited range of colors, like that gold and black. Or the Fury, which could only be had in that beige color. The D500 was actually an engine option though, and not a specific model like an Adventurer, Fury, or 300 Letter Series, so it may have been offered in a wider range of colors.

There's a guy local to me that has a '59 Dodge with the D500 package. I think it's a Custom Royal 2-tone pink/lavender. By that time though, I think the D500 consisted of a 383 with a 4-bbl (320 hp) or dual quads (345). And while that's still pretty impressive, to me there's just something more raw and magical about the older Hemi models that were hopped up to get into that hp range, versus just doing it simply by vast displacement.

It's funny, but when I was maybe 20 or 25, and a $30K car like that would've been out of my reach, I would've aspired to own something like that. But nowadays, heck I could just tack it onto my HELOC for $200 per month (for the rest of my life :sick: ) and wouldn't hardly notice the payment. Maybe I'm becoming either financially prudent or just downright cheap, but I think nowadays I'd rather just admire something like that as a spectator at a car show (or find a friend with one and get him/her to drive me around in it), than tie up $30K or more in it. I guess our priorities just change as we get older.

Mr_Shiftright

That Maxwell is just about Maxwelled-out at $15K on bids...what's the seller holding out for? Sell it, you might never see 15 big ones again!

1980 Cutlass: Who says the American Empire might not be in decline?

Renault Gordini: Neat little car--the "Abarth" of France. Could be a fun ride until zee beeg boom, eh?

Les Renaults Cing: Never thought I look at a $750 bid for two cars and think that they were overbid.

1932 Buick: Neat car, top 'o the line, good history and all that, but really, at $13,000 bid so far you are already buried for life, and the next life after that. Well maybe the bidder's grandpa had one, or maybe the bidder's grandpa is still in the trunk. Go figure. Bid makes little sense to me on a 4-door from the 30s, even if it IS a Buick. I figured $6,000 all day long. This car will need everything done to it. Great time capsule though. You could have a Model A roadster for this money, already done.

fiatlux1969

"And it's a Royale Brougham model, which is top of the line."

There was an iconic sportscaster in the Seattle market whose name was Royal Brougham (there is a street named after him in the SoDo area where the pro stadiums are), and I always chuckle when what seems to be an eponymous Olds drives by. It is even funnier when pronounced "Bro Ham," as I often heard while misspending time at an Olds dealer in the '80s...

andre1969

about Olds is how they'd keep playing around with the names, sometimes making it hard to compare the cars from year to year. For instance, in 1977, the base models were simply Delta 88, while the nicer ones were Delta 88 Royales. If there was a Brougham, it may have just been an option package and not a separate trim level. I know that's sort of splitting hairs, but that's how they'd often do it back then. I guess they were still doing that by 1980, because my old car book doesn't list a Delta 88 Royale Brougham. However, it does for 1981.

For 1984 they got cute and called the base model Delta 88 Royale. Next step up was the Delta 88 Royale Brougham. Then, at the very top was the Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS! Oddly, it was only offered as a sedan. No coupe available.

To its credit though, the LS was very well appointed. Whereas the Brougham just gave you a nicer interior, I think the LS actually gave you stuff like a standard V-8 and a whole host of power accessories in addition to that nicer interior.

Now that I think back on it, it seems Buick tended to avoid those Brougham designations. They tended to like "Limited", though. Pontiac sort of overdid it in the 70's, offering a Catalina, Catalina Brougham, Bonneville, Bonneville Brougham, and Grand Ville. Seems to me that a Catalina Brougham would overlap too much into Bonneville territory. And a Grand Ville seems to be a beast that never should have been born.

Even Chevy jumped on that Brougham bandwagon for a bit in the 80's. The Caprice, for a few years, was offered as Caprice, Caprice Classic, Caprice Classic Brougham, and Caprice Classic Brougham LS.

I think Ford laid off the Brougham labeling for the most part, but Chrysler offered the New Yorker Brougham for a few years. It was essentially the 1974-75 Imperial, in all its opulent glory, rebadged as a Chrysler. And Dodge/Plymouth had Gran Fury and Royal Monaco Broughams.

I think you should be allowed to use either "Royal" OR "Brougham" in your car's name, but never both!

jescue

My parents had an 84 Royale Brougham and my grandparents had the Royale Brogham LS. The LS had "tempmatic" air conditioning, plush velour, thicker vinyl top. Even the wire wheels were nicer. They also had the slender opera lamps between the front doors and lamp moniters. I remember when they bought them new thinking they had really arrived!

fintail

I think our old Ciera was a brougham...it had the soft velour upholstery. I remember when I was a kid I thought it was pronounced 'Brog-ham'.

I am sure 'ol Royal Brougham was flattered to see his name on cars

Here's a Valiant Brougham

And a Parisienne Brougham

Mr_Shiftright

Those names are so pretentious....I mean, a REAL brougham is something completely unlike these cars, and a "limited" must mean limited to a few hundred thousand copies...it's such "jive" and really tended to destroy GMs credibility in the luxury market.