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

boomchek

and then again in 1993-95 when roundedness was the law of the land.

Jellybean styling took over really fast in the 90s, although I still credit the Ford Taurus, the 86 Probe, and maybe even the euro Ford Sierra with starting that trend 10 years earlier.

Another very well styled car at the time was the 300ZX when it came out in the 1990. There was nothing that compared to it look wise. And the 92-95 Civics, especially the coupes, brought that styling into the mainstream market. The 92 Civic coupe is still in my eyes one of the nicest most fluid looking mainstream coupes out there.

After Ford redesigned the Taurus again in 96, they went over the top and spoiled the whole jellybean look in my opinion.

fintail

Spotted yesterday, another 2 door G-Wagen. This was a removeable hardtop model, in an orangey-red with dopey period accent stripes. This must have been an early 80s model - basic steel wheels, older style trim, and I suspect it was a 280GE - it had the faint clatter of those old 6s, either that or it was a pristinely maintained diesel.

I also saw a china blue early C123 non-turbo, probably 1978-79...probably had 300K miles on it by the looks of it, but still moving right along.

texases

At least the Polara looked better by '63:

fintail

The Sierra, in 1982, is the pioneer. The 83 T-Bird and 84 Tempo helped warm people up to it, and the 86 Taurus made it the trend, and made the competition look ancient overnight, much like what happened in 1955. An 86 Celebrity compared to an 86 Taurus is like looking at cars that are 20 years apart today. The Probe came around in 89...I remember in Back to the Future Part II, there are disguised Probes as 2015 cars, as it was futuristic for the time.

I think the ovoid Taurus killed the jellybean look - it was almost a parody, especially with the interior themes. It seems some angularity was coming around, at least subtly, in some cars by 1997-98.

That 300ZX still looks decent today, not extremely dated. Those Civics with their narrow lights have aged well too, yeah. I also think the MB W210 (4 round/oval lights) aged pretty well, even with its faults.

andre1969

Jellybean styling took over really fast in the 90s, although I still credit the Ford Taurus, the 86 Probe, and maybe even the euro Ford Sierra with starting that trend 10 years earlier.

Every once in awhile I'll see an '83 T-bird, usually at classic car shows. I think it's amazing how modern that car looks, nearly 27 model years later. I think the only thing that makes it look dated is the old-style quad headlights. But nowadays, many cars go for that look of having headlights behind covers, sorta like a 1965 New Yorker or Imperial, or a Dodge Magnum or St. Regis. So I guess the old cliche about what goes around comes around holds true once again.

I thought Ford kinda laid an egg with the 1984 Tempo/Topaz, although they were popular for a few years. I just didn't find them pleasant to look at...they looked like porky little things. They cleaned up the sedan a bit around 1988, giving it a more GM-ish profile, which I think helped, although it became more generic at the same time.

Ford really got it right with the 1986 Tempo/Sable, though. Well, they got the styling right, at least, and they were popular cars. Unfortunately, they didn't always get the reliability right. :sick:

boomchek

Another odd looking jellybean styled car was the early 90s Chevy Lumina. Although it was roundish, and modern, it's proportions were very akward. I never liked them in or out, and never really warmed up to them.

andre1969

I think GM's problem in those days was that instead of going completely rounded, they tried to combine the jellybean with the wedge...and it didn't always work out. I thought the Lumina coupe was a good looking car. The sedan looked modern, with those large side windows, but I agree it was oddly proportioned.

I don't think GM really got it right on their mainstream cars until the 1997 Century/Regal and Grand Prix, and the 1998 Intrigue. The 1995 Lumina wasn't too bad, but just seemed kinda plain. And unfortunately, by 1997, Ford had been making sleek cars for awhile, and even Chrysler had gotten some experience in it, so these 1997/98 W-bodies just didn't seem cutting-edge enough.

fintail

The Lumina sedan was an awkward nightmare of themes that simply don't get along with each other. Typical GM.

My brother had one of those, in "Euro" guise and all, white with red and black trim. The kind of car that would make all the neighborhood dogs bark when it drove up the street...just hard on the eyes.

I see more than a shade of it in the Volt too...looks like the same incompetent designers have lifetime job security.

fintail

Ferrari Mondial cabrio just drove by my window...made me think of 'Weird Science'. It didn't sound like it was running right.

andys120

I'm trying to figure out what the hell that thing is?!

It must be one of those Canadian Plodge hybrids, It has a Plymouth front>



Sorry Andre, that's just a bad-looking car from any angle. A buddy of mine found a good use for those tail lights by inserting them into the rear fenders of his '47 Ford street rod, The fit in there very nicely and looked way better than they did on the Dodge.

berri

You know, I actually kind of liked the 62 Dodge Polara and Plymouth Fury. Their dimensions and shape ended up on popular mid sized intermediates later on. The 62's were supposed to be larger, but were suddenly shrunk because of an incorrect rumor about Chevy. The pictures of clays of the larger 62's looked decent, who knows? The 63's were another rush job to make them bigger again. In any event, Virgil Exner took the hit for another Chrysler management screw up and then they brought over Elwood Engel from Ford and everything got squarish and angular.

Those 60/61 Dodges, I don't know? I think the Chrsyler's looked better those years.

berri

That 61 Plymouth hurts the eyes on the inside too!

andys120

On further reading it turns out not to be a Canadian market Plodge but a Mexican
market Plodgista!

It's a Hemi, too!

boomchek

"Euro"

I wonder if they thought they'd draw some Audi, BMW, VW or MB buyers with that badge. :lemon:

fintail

I remember once it was parked in front of my mom's house...I remarked something like "Euro...I almost thought it was a BMW"...her response..."Oh, be nice" :shades:

boomchek

lol

explorerx4

kind of makes you wonder if that is a legit car.
good story, though.

andre1969

Those 60/61 Dodges, I don't know? I think the Chrsyler's looked better those years.

I think the '60 DeSotos and Chryslers are almost perfectly styled, from any angle. And while fins were starting to become out of fashion, I think they still wore them very well, and the cars still managed to look more modern than their 1957-59 forebears.

There's still something about the '60 Dodge though, that I find appealing. While not as cleanly styled as a DeSoto or Chrysler, I still like 'em. One design detail I always liked was the how the front fenders were similar to the bigger '57-58 Chryslers and DeSotos, with the line that extends from the top of the wheel opening to the front of the car, which I think gives the car sort a sleek look of being in motion, even when standing still.

I used to hate the slanted headlights of the '61 DeSoto and '61-62 Chryslers, but, with age, I've gotten used to them. Still, something about the style seemed throwback. While the '60 versions looked sleek and modern, the '61's just seemed a bit retrograde. In fact, from the side, they don't look all that different from the '57's, with the exception of the fins looking less integrated and more tortured.

Even if you discount the rumors of downsized GM cars, I guess given the timeframe, a downsized '62 Plymouth and Dodge probably made sense at the time. Small imported cars saw sales go from literally nowhere a decade before (I read that VW sold a grand total of two Bugs in the US for 1949), to suddenly a force to be reckoned with. Rambler was suddenly the #3 brand in 1960, and cars like the Falcon, Corvair, and Valiant seemed to be winners. And Studebaker even got a stay of execution, thanks to the Lark.

And even with standard-sized cars, things were changing. Even at the top, cars like the 1961 Lincoln and Cadillac were a bit smaller than the year before. The '61 Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks were also a bit smaller than their 1960 counterparts. In fact, 1961 was the only year the Catalina was downgraded to the Chevy wheelbase. That wouldn't happen again until 1977, when downsizing pretty much standardized everything. The 1961 Mercury was also notably smaller and downscale in price, as it became more of a gussied up Ford, whereas the 1957-60 Mercury had been on its own unique, bulky, heavy body that saw a wheelbase span of 122 to 128 inches.

I think if the economy had stayed bad, those downsized Plymouths and Dodges would have done well, but by 1962, buyers were beginning to go back to larger cars. I don't have any real experience with them, but supposedly those small '62 Mopars gave up very little in interior space compared to the full-sized Fords and Chevies. But they just had a diminutive look in comparison, and the 1962 styling was pretty oddball...although I have to admit that I like the '62 Darts and Polaras, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

Mr_Shiftright

it costs for an oil change, two front tires, and a wheel alignment on a 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB?

Beautiful car, but those three items, out the door, will cost you $1836.

andys120

You know the old saying: "If you have to ask what it costs, you can't afford it."

My cousin dumped his 275GTB when he got a service bill for $10,000 in the late 1960s. :surprise:

andre1969

Actually that's the 413 Big-Block wedge, although it's fitted with the cross-ram intake. With 400 hp, that was the optional engine for the Chrysler 300G. Standard was "only" 375 hp. Car Life tested a 300G with the 375 hp setup, 3-speed automatic, and somewhat tame 3.31 axle, and got 0-60 in 8.4 seconds, 1/4 mile in 16.2 seconds @ 87 mph. Pretty impressive for a big bruiser back then that was probably close to 4500 lb! So considering that Plodgista is a lot lighter, I imagine it moves out pretty well.

I also notice that '61 Plodgista has air conditioning. I'm guessing that has to be VERY rare for a high-performance engine back then. Either that, or it was just added on later.

lemko

The front end suggests that of a 1961 Plymouth as does the roofline. The Canadian "Plodges" were a Plymouth with a Dodge front end clip. This appears to be a hodge-podge of both Plymouth and Dodge all over.

lemko

...red Fiat X-1/9 being towed on a trailer on the PA Turnpike. Looked to be in pretty decent shape.

explorerx4

1960 cadillac

saw the article while i was getting the 18 year old tires on my mustang replaced today.

Mr_Shiftright

interesting article. Seems like most people were as repulsed as I was by '59 Caddy and much more relieved to see the '60 model.

berri

I believe those downsized 62's got recycled several years later as the very popular and solidly built mid size Coronet and Belvidere.

british_rover

That almost seems reasonable compared to a F430 service. I thought I remember one of my customers saying the second service on his F430 was $3,000-$4,000.

This was a couple of years ago so I am struggling to remember.

Mr_Shiftright

Some Ferraris are $6,000 to $8000 for a major service. Drive belts are easily $100+ apiece, just for the part. Somebody cracks your bumper in a parking lot, figure $4K for that.

explorerx4

you saw one of these?

boomchek

Wow that's an old Cavlier. First generation before any facelifts. This is before the Cavalier got a facelift to look like a Cimarron.

andre1969

I rear-ended a Cavalier like that, back in 1989. I think it was even that color, although I can't remember if it was a 2- or 4-door. My 1980 Malibu took the worst of it, because I nosedived under their rear bumper, which caught my car right across the grille and headlights. I imagine if we hit, bumper-to-bumper, it would've been a different story.

However, considering I was at fault, probably best it came out the way it did! They never even reported the damage, which was fairly minor. Bumper was misaligned a bit, and the plastic covers on either side were popped off. And I think I broke one of their taillights. But with my car, the grille, header panel, headlights, everything, was smashed. Hood was crinkled a bit, and the fender buckled just a bit over the top of the wheel opening, and pushed back just far enough into the door that it rubbed when I opened it. The hood never opened right after that, either. had to pull the release lever, and then get out and slam the door, and that would make it pop open!

I also got off pretty lucky, as my Granddad and I found a 1981 Malibu in the junkyard, same color even, and got the header panel, grille, headlights, etc, for $210. It was a perfect fit, although the grille bars were now horizontal rather than vertical. Oh well, I was happy that I didn't have to go get another car! Although 3-4 months later was when I bought my second car and first antique,a 1969 Dart GT.

fintail

Yep, that was the 1982-83 style...IIRC in 84 the updated front end was received.

When I was a little kid, one of my best friend's mothers drove a Cavalier fastback - it must have been an 82 or an 83 as I am pretty sure we moved to that area in 83, and I know they had it then. It was a "Type 10" I think the badging read, and it had wheels and a sunroof, etc. It seemed like a sporty car to my young eyes.

boomchek

You have a good memory Andre to remember the price paid for junkyard parts 20 years ago.

Maybe that's why you remember all that automotive history trivia!

boomchek

My good friend's parents had a Pontiac Sunbird wagon they bought new in 88 or so. They also bought a new Ford Aerostar too a year later. That was such a somewhat futuristic looking van back then!

toomanyfumes

Man I used to see a gazillion Aerostar's running around. Both my BIL's had one. If you see one now it's on it's last legs.

fintail

I remember a friend of the family also had a Sunbird, around 1991 or so, and way back when another friend had an early first series Cadavalier, which I remember would give her problems even when it wasn't too old, ca. 1986-87. She probably drives a Camcord now. My uncle also had an Olds Firenza, which are now pretty uncommon.

I never liked the Aerostar, very odd in my eyes, always reminded me of an elephant somehow. Another friend of the family had a deluxe one around 1987 or so...I remember it had seperate headphone jacks in the back or something like that, which seemed cool to me.

Lately a now-uncommon car has turned up in the parking garage of my building too - an 86 or 87 Corolla sedan. It actually looks to be in very nice condition, the odd angular 80s style before they rounded off a little in 88. Something once common is now rare in its own way...still mundane as ever though.

michaellno

Lately a now-uncommon car has turned up in the parking garage of my building too - an 86 or 87 Corolla sedan.

When I graduated from college in 1985, I moved back to California and needed to buy a car. My dad knew the GM at the local Toyota dealership, so he took me there to pick something out.

There were a number of '85 Corolla sedans available, but they all had automatic transmissions, which I didn't particularly care for. Dad was pushing them hard, however, as he and mom were a Toyota family.

They also had an '85 Accord LX hatchback with 16K on the clock - it was a stick shift, so it was the car I picked. Kept it for about 3 years and 40K miles, and took me and a buddy from CA to Michigan and back on vacation. Averaged about 30-35 MPG, IIRC.

andre1969

I still remember the old commercials for when the Aerostar first came out, set to the tune of "Age of Aquarius".

This is the dawning of the age of the Aerostar, age of the AEROSTARRRRR!!!
The AAAERRRRROOOOW-STARR!

Please, please get it out of my head now.

Mr_Shiftright

I would imagine an old Aerostar today looks about the same as an old hippie.

fintail

You probably made the more enjoyable choice, although both cars seem to have been very durable...in the right climate, anyway. I think these cars were the kind that rusted decently in some regions.

I looked at that old Corolla on the way to my car this morning. I suspect it is an old granny car that has been put back into service, it's unnaturally clean for something that is usually neglected. The only big flaw I could see was fading on the black rear panel beside the license plate.

andre1969

I remember the Chevy Astro commercial was just as bad in those days...sort of a tortured union of techno and sci-fi, with some of the last throes of disco thrown in. And here it is, for your viewing pleasure....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x8igEt-HBg Either it was such a big event that it was worth repeating for dramatic effect, of the singer had a speech impediment.

Here's an Aerostall commercial, but with more talking than singing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gnIML5-GM&feature=related I think it's kinda cute how they tried to tie it in to the Space Shuttle. I bet all that stopped real fast with the Challenger tragedy. Also, I guess I should know this since I work for NASA, but I think the Space Shuttle only orbits, at most, 400 miles above the earth. The little toy in that commercial looks like it's a bit further out there than that! :P

Mr_Shiftright

Gee people sure dressed funny back then.

andre1969

Didn't they, though? And the strange thing is, I remember back then, we thought the 1970's looked bad! But now the 1970's styles actually look kinda cool, in a wild sort of way...call it "delightfully tacky", but that 80's stuff just looks bad!

boomchek

I never liked the Aerostar, very odd in my eyes, always reminded me of an elephant somehow.

Maybe caiuse the body was so chunky and the 14" or 15" wheels looked puny in relation to the rest of the car.

My friend's parents' Aerostar had those rear headphone jacks. We went on a long trip once and it was a fun ride with our own stereo controls.

texases

I think the Astro made the Aerostar look odd - two competing vehicles, but the Astro was much cleaner look, to me. Apparently to the Japanese, too - I understand the 1st gen xB styling was inspired (to some degree) by the Astro:

andre1969

I think the Aerostar was just odd looking, anyway. The Astro is actually kinda sleek and modern, with low, sloping front-end and rakish (for a van) windshield. I'd say the Astro actually looks more modern than that xB, which is a bit of a throwback with its upright, boxy lines. In later years though, the Astro went through a facelift that gave it a more blunt front-end, similar to the big vans.

But with the Aerostar, I think it looks odd how the front, where the grille and the headlights are, is bolt-upright, but then you go back to the sloping hood and big slab of a windshield that's almost on the same plane as the hood. The B-pillar give it an odd, disjointed look as well, the way it's upright at the front, but sloping towards the rear...makes it look like two different vehicles were joined at the B-pillar. And I've always hated that look where they have to put the little spacer windows ahead of the front doors. It's like the stylists goofed up with where they make the A-pillar fall, and threw those windows in as an afterthought.

michaellno

Wouldn't you all agree, though, that the Aerostar looked better than this?



fintail - I don't remember how many HP the Corolla had, but the Accord moved smartly along with its (wait for it!) 85 HP. Though we had some issues getting over the mountains in Arizona and New Mexico, we had it up to 90 or so on I-10 west of Phoenix on the way home.

michaellno

I really thought I found a photo that fits ... try this:

boomchek

The dustbuster vans looked like they came straight from the future when they appeared in 89 or 90.

I agree that the Astro had better proprotions than the Aerostar. My parents had the last facelifted Safari. It had decent amounts of space but I hated driving it. It always felt liek it was going to tip over on turns.

andre1969

This 1976 LeSabre on eBay has me kinda tempted. For some reason, I've always liked that odd hardtop roofline, that tried to go for the "colonade" look of the midsized cars, but still gave you a roll-down rear window. A bit weird though, in having power locks, but crank windows. I think I'd rather have it the other way around.

I also like the dashboard on these...has sort of a 70's-futuristic look to it, like something that might be a movie prop for a spaceship control panel in Star Wars or Battlestart Galactica or something.