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

Mr_Shiftright

That's a '55. I had that exact same car in the same color. Brought back memories. Mine was called a "president" which I guess was the 8-cylinder model. It had 3 on the tree and overdrive. It was a pretty fast car for its day.

explorerx4

a crusher

boomchek

Ouch, that looks totalled with a bent frame and all. :sick:

explorerx4

what was the first year for the rabbit convertible in the usa?
i saw one for sale red/black top.
also, an original usa GTI, white with 80's style louvers on the back window.

Mr_Shiftright

That'll bump right out.

whoosierdaddy

Apparently not too bad, a lot of cars sold then. Everything in context.

whoosierdaddy

The Detroit-3 have always been such whoremongers - anything for a buck.

Mr_Shiftright

Not that I could name any automaker that is a registered charitable institution! :P

That's one thing I LIKE about obscure cars---they are a tangible proof of the general public saying "er....no thanks!"

fintail

I think cars sold in the late 80s because most late 70s-early 80s cars were dead by then :shades:

As has been said for awhile now, a 3 year old car today is better than a new car from 10-20 years ago.

tjc78

3 year old car today is better than a new car from 10-20 years ago.


Its funny you say that, my Grandfather is replacing his 04 Grand Marquis with about 54K on the clock. I drove it the other day and thought, wow, this thing really drives like new. Also, I think I waxed it one time for him in five years and after a quick run through the car wash it still looks great and very shiny. Cars have certainly come a long way.

His 89 G Marq that I bought (a huge discount :shades: ) as my first car was completely faded by the time it was five years old.

lemko

Wow, I had a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis LS too! Mine was white with a dark blue half roof, dark blue leather interior, and the aluminum "turbine" wheels. I used to refer to it as "the poor man's Town Car."

fintail

I think paint quality is something that has improved amazingly in the past 30 years or so. I don't think interior plastics crack like they used to, either.

fintail

Spotted a DeLorean and a MB W114 today.

tjc78

Mine was an LS, Maroon with the grey velour and of course the turbine wheels, even had the rare rear air suspension. My 89 Town Car would have looked neat next to your Mercury though, almost twins. The only difference between my two 89s was the TC had a touch more power because it had the dual exhaust option. Otherwise they performed exactly the same.

See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

tjc78

I think paint quality is something that has improved amazingly in the past 30 years or so

No doubt. I find it amazing that my 99 S10 still can shine up like new with little effort. Since I knew the previous owner, I don't think it was ever waxed or even washed that often.

andre1969

No doubt. I find it amazing that my 99 S10 still can shine up like new with little effort. Since I knew the previous owner, I don't think it was ever waxed or even washed that often.

I can't even remember the last time my 2000 Intrepid was waxed. Even washed, it had been awhile. Yet the paint on that car still looked really good. I was also impressed at how strong it was. I had rear-ended someone in the rain with that car about two months after I bought it. Damage was very minor, but it did put a very gentle crease in the hood, and the paint on the front fascia got some spider-web cracking. I was afraid that it wouldn't take long for that cracked paint to start spreading and peeling and flaking off, but it never did.

The tow truck is supposed to come today and take the Intrepid off to its new resting place. I'm going to miss that thing. It was a good car. And I have no idea what I'm going to replace it with.

tjc78

And I have no idea what I'm going to replace it with.

Yeah, but that can be the fun part! It can be hard to see a car go especially one that you weren't planning on replacing. I would look at some nice used Lucernes (V8s only IMO) or G8s on the domestic end. Also, although its looks aren't that great I just negotiated a deal on a used 08 Sable Premier for my Grandfather. I was very suprised at how nice a ride it is. Tons of interior and trunk room too. With 260 HP it moves along pretty good and FE shouldn't be too bad.

fintail

When my E55 got bumped in a parking scuffle a couple months ago, the paint didn't crack either - and the car is 8 years old now. It still shines up like a brand new car.

andre1969

Also, although its looks aren't that great I just negotiated a deal on a used 08 Sable Premier for my Grandfather. I was very suprised at how nice a ride it is. Tons of interior and trunk room too. With 260 HP it moves along pretty good and FE shouldn't be too bad.

Actually, I don't mind those cars. While the 500/Montego/Taurus/Sable never really excited me, they still seemed like decent enough cars. There's a light blue I see them in on occasion that really catches my eye. I remember when they first came out, people were griping about the 3.0 being underpowered, but then I started seeing 0-60 times in about 8.5 seconds, which doesn't sound too bad to me. It's still faster than my Intrepid was. And I'm sure with the 3.5, the newer ones kick pretty good!

I really want to go a bit more economical this time around. The Intrepid was pretty easy on gas, and I wanted to move forward from that. But I gotta admit that I've also been looking at Crown Vics and Grand Marquises!

andys120

But I gotta admit that I've also been looking at Crown Vics and Grand Marquises!

Just what you've always wanted, a brand new 1970's car.

andre1969

Just what you've always wanted, a brand new 1970's car.

Yeah, that would be kinda predictable, wouldn't it? :P At this point, also high on my list is an Altima. I've found a couple of new '09 leftovers for about $19K. Nothing too fancy, but they at least have alloys, sunroof, power seat, etc.

A Crown Vic or Grand Marquis seems almost impossible to find with a sunroof. Do they even offer it as an option, I wonder?

tjc78

i>But I gotta admit that I've also been looking at Crown Vics and Grand Marquises!

I know where you can get a sweet deal on an 04 GM LS Ultimate!. Complete with Black coach roof and 80s style digital dash!

All joking aside, they really are good cars. Bulletproof, quiet enough and comfortable. However, like Andy said its like driving the 70s (with air bags and traction control ) With the way the depreciate also great values.

And I'm sure with the 3.5, the newer ones kick pretty good!

On the test drive I opened it up a bit and it was more than enough. Much better than the 3.0 in the 500/Montego.

tjc78

Do they even offer it as an option, I wonder?

I am pretty sure it was never offered, I certainly have never seen one. Kinda wierd since the Town Car always had it available.

lemko

...silver 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible with a black top on a rolltop truck going west on Rhawn Street near Dungan in NE Philly. Looks like its a restoration project about 1/2 way done.

fintail

Just spotted an 79-85 Eldo convertible - a real convertible. White with a white top, looking a little neglected.

saabgirl

In central Connecticut at the local life style center I saw an ancient Citroen sedan, the kind with aerodynamic styling and suspension that could lower or raise the car. A body panel or two was a different color than the rest of the car which had sort of a greenish patina to it. There were four people aboard. The care was clearly a driver, coming down the shopping center's main street and making no pretense to restoration. It looked pretty good, compared to the overwrought SUVs and Mercs that tend to roam the place.

The following morning, the missus sent me down to K-Mart for more C'mas lights. I generally prefer the dentist to K-Mart, but in this case, I happily pulled into the parking lot behind a 1947 Studebaker coupe, the kind with a greenhouse that makes it hard to tell if the car is going forward or backing up. The owner had painted it red and added chrome wheels which looked misplaced on this old girl. The body had some rough spots, the chrome looked decent. From the tires, I'm guessing it wasn't stock under the hood. But in general, the basic style of the car was still attractive imho.

Maybe the Chinese should manufacture retro cars. I liked these two as local runabouts better than, oh, a Corolla or something similar.

ghulet

no nitpicking, but the only year convertible for the Grand Prix was '67. Could it have been that, or maybe a '66 Bonneville (or Catalina)? All Pontiacs of that era are beautifully designed IMO.

lemko

Maybe the car had the wrong grille, but it had "GP" on the left "nostril" like the car pictured below which is a 1966 hardtop.

ghulet

could be, either way. WOW, the one in the picture is puurrrddyy!!! In high school, I used to walk specifically in the wrong direction so I could look at the same '65 Grand Prix coupe every single day. I should have known something was terribly wrong way back then.....

ghulet

I saw some pretty much 'blah', but older and obscure, cars:

'88-ish Toyota Cressida sedan (my mom had an '86--fun car, in its own way)
early '70s Toyota Crown II sedan (red, very nice condition physically)
gray-market LWB W126 Mercedes sedan (saw from the side, driving, so don't know which variant)
'79-ish Ford Fairmont coupe (not Futura), in requisite light-blue; driver insisted on honking, and finger gesturing at me (repeatedly) because of traffic jam, not caused by me (I'm holding my hands up in the WTF-do-you-want-me-to-do pose). Wanted to beat him.
Nasty second-generation (or third?) '82-ish Celica GTS coupe (not hatchback). Kinda cool looking car, really.

kyfdx

That squared off Celica coupe with a trunk? Ewwwwww..

RWD, though.... and pretty quick, for its day..

boomchek

Was browsing our local paper and saw this 1997 CL600 for sale. Then I saw the price tag $29000, and it has 80k miles!!!

I found the car online. I think the guy is asking about double of what he should be:

CL600 for sale

fintail

At least double...that is not low mileage for one of those, and the maintenance will be very dear. Those V12s really don't offer much over the V8s, just more expensive running costs. The right C140 could be an interesting car...but the price also has to be right, and you can get very nice C215s for that money.

boomchek

Yeah for that price I would be looking at the newer ones for sure. You can probably score an AMG version too for $30k.

fintail

You can find an 01-02 CL55 for even less than that. You can get a supercharged 03 for not much more...and I am talking a nice example.

Mr_Shiftright

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, or to advertise a vehicle for well over book value."

fintail

Freedom of speech also lets us ridicule or even send sarcastic inquiries to the seller :shades:

texases

...especially when the same web page lists newer/cheaper/better alternatives!

Mr_Shiftright

True, but we are not allowed under the Constitution to slap him with a rubber chicken!

boomchek

He's in Canada though, so I can slap him with a rubber chicken, or a Canada goose for that matter. :P

fintail

Here's a good example...newer, 5K less, probably no more problematic

boomchek

Has less miles too. Very stylish car.

fintail

If you walked in with 22K + tax, you'd probably be able to walk out with a new set of keys, too. Lots of flash for the cash.

If I was going to seek a C215 I would want a 2003+ or even 2005+ model as many early bugs were addressed, but failure is not guaranteed on older models. The ultimate would be a CL65, very rare.

explorerx4

shifty,
fellow host looking for advice

explorerx4

80's mercury cop car with sunroof

andre1969

I kinda like that Marauder. Although I don't know if I want to go all the way to Michigan just for the pleasure of buying a sinister looking car that would get walked by a V-6 Accord or Altima. But then, I did go all the way to Cincinatti for a '76 Grand LeMans that could probably get walked by the 4-cyl versions! :P

Actually, I might have found a car I like, although I haven't seen any pics yet. 2000 Bonneville SE. White, leather seats, sunroof, alloys. 65000 miles. $4734, and Maryland inspected. I'm thinking about going to look at it Thursday after work.

explorerx4

geez, i had to look for a long time to find one with a sunroof.
what else are you looking at? i have 25 year old twin nephews.
one drives an '99 gran prix with over 250k on it.
the other has an '00 lesabre. he told me when he bought it, it only has 100k on it.
before that he had a supercharged regal that he bought with 100+k on it.

andre1969

geez, i had to look for a long time to find one with a sunroof.
what else are you looking at?

Well, I had initially decided to hold off on looking until after Christmas, but today was slow at work, so I went surfing around and just happened to stumble across the Bonneville. I haven't actually gone to look at anything yet...just browsed about online. If I had gone with a new car, I think a 2010 or leftover '09 Altima would have been my first shot. I found a few 2009 2.5S models with alloys, power seat, sunroof, etc, for around $19K. My Mom had gotten a 2008 2.5SL, with all that stuff and a sunroof, for about $24K out the door, brand-new, so if I went with a 2010, I was shooting for that figure. Or maybe around $22.5-$23K OTD without leather.

But considering I don't drive all that much, a brand-new car really doesn't make much sense. This Bonneville would probably cost me about $5000-5100 total, and could have plenty of life left in it, while I could throw $6k down on a 2010 Altima and still be on the hook for $300-350 per month for the next 5 years.

That 2004 Marauder would be kinda neat, just for the obscurity factor.

kyfdx

You could look for a Lincoln LS... maybe with the V-8 and Sport Pack!..

No idea what they go for.... but they should be hitting down around the $10K mark, by now...

explorerx4

christmas is only a few weeks away, so you are not jumping the gun by too much.
if i were you, i would look for something like the Bonne, and start saving your money to put a second story on your garage.