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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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This is a 1952.. Can't remember exactly, but the one I saw had those big bars on the top...
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The 2 door models of similar design, like this, also had landau bars:
A 300Sc like this would be worth a few hundred grand I bet. A 300S cabrio, virtually identical, a bit less but more than the 4 door.
I should pay more attention...
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No, the 280SE 3.5 convertibles have not been hurt by the recession---most rare and highly usable collector cars haven't been. They only made 1232 of these convertibles. You can use them everyday, in comfort, and the trend is definitely towards collector cars you can drive and enjoy with stress or hassle.
This is probably even affecting the bump in value for 4-door sedans---you can take the whole family.
Most 4 doors were worth little to begin with, so not much to fall. Not a bad thing. Speculation ruins everything, from housing to artwork to cars.
Regards;
Oldbearcat
The "GT" nameplates were apparently stuck on by an owner somewhere along the line.
I'm probably in the minority here, but I actually prefer the later Torino/Gran Torino, with the bulky bumpers and more pretentious front-end. But, if possible, without the opera windows in the C-pillar.
The rear windows in these cars retracted into the C-pillar, rather than roll down, so if you got the more expensive models with that opera window, you were stuck with stationary windows. I know, in that era of "who cares if they roll down...it has AIR CONDITIONING!!", it really didn't matter. But, I prefer a car with a roll-down window in back.
In later years, I think even without the opera window, they made the rear windows stationary. Maybe roll-down was an extra cost option?
I always thought that dashboard was pretty nice, too. Only problem is, it persisted on EVERY Ford intermediate, right up through the 1979 LTD-II/T-Bird/Cougar. I guess Ford didn't have the deep pockets like GM, to give all their midsized cars a different dash.
A longtime friend of mine had a 76 Elite in his family, bought new the year before he was born and kept til 1987 when it was replaced with a Celebrity. The Elite was brown, and my friend was scarred for life by it - it didn't age well and became embarrassing, but his dad was attached to it.
I remember another neighbor had a Gran Torino, maybe a '75 or so. Had the quad headlights, the wide grille with the turn signals built into it, and the formal roof with the opera windows. Even though the Elite was supposed to be a step above the Gran Torino, essentially a test to see if a Monte Carlo sized T-bird would sell, I thought the Gran Torino was the nicer car, because it had four headlights instead of two!
I remember the neighbors replaced that Gran Torino with, of all things, a '71 or so Coupe DeVille! Seems like an odd move to make with the way the economy and gas prices were heading, but at the same time, I imagine those conditions made those big mastodons a real bargain on the used car market. I think the Gran Torino was white and the Caddy was a light champagne color. I also remember the neighbor's attitude seemed to change when she got the Caddy. Suddenly, she seemed to get nasty and uppity.
As per car spotting, saw a blue and white 1960 Oldsmobile two-door sedan near Glenside, PA.
Yecch! Sounds like my Dad and his awful 1981 Thunderbird!
An '80 Malibu is around 193" long on a 108.1" wheelbase, which is in range with most midsized cars today. But just about every modern equivalent is probably about 4-5" taller, with a much higher decklid, and probably a bit wider as well.
My friend has a good story about the Elite getting rusty (this was in western WA, not a rust area) at the wheelarches, and his dad covering the holes with duct tape, and then spraying it brown to hide it. I think that was the last straw for his mother, and the "luxury car" he was so proud of in the disco days had to go. From what my friend remembers, the Elite was more reliable than the Celebrity though.
I remember when I was in 7th grade or so (maybe 1989), the neighbors behind us had a Torino with no opera windows, but no vinyl top - kind of a Starsky and Hutch car, same color. Their son was into building hot rods and drag racers, and took the powertrain out of the Torino. They wanted $75 for the rest of it, it was in nice condition and for some reason I kind of wanted to buy it.
The Grand Prix of that era had the best instrument panel of the GM luxury coupes, though, IMHO. It recalled the wonderful Pontiac panels of the mid'60's.
I thought the '73-77 Grand Prix in general, was a class act. The only thing I really didn't care for was the '77 style, where they stuck the turn signal between the headlights. That's just a look I don't care for, regardless of who did it.
Maybe the same orange 914-6 I saw last weekend, although 70 miles away.
Also, an all red Corvair convertible. It was a manual trans and in pretty good shape, but puffed a bit of blue smoke when letting of the gas.
iswas a whole lot of rhythm going down.My driver's ed car was a medium blue Plymouth Acclaim, I guess a 1992 or 93, it was pretty new.
They eventually "upgraded" to Chevy Corsica's.
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
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Plymouth Horizon. It had to be one of the last ones ever, since I remember it having an airbag.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Anyway, finally a neighbor who had a 1941 oldsmobile he rarely drove anymore, strored in a large parking garage, offered to teach me. I had already been driving illegally, and had all kinds of bad habits. He was a great old guy. I remember him saying "now you be careful when you press on the gas--this baby will take off like a rocket!" LOL! And here I had been laying down blocks of rubber in my friend's Impala.
I mean --how could you NOT pass the driver's test when you show up with an 80 year old man and a 1941 Oldsmobile? Even more remarkable, the car was an automatic!
Years later I wanted to buy that car and rod it (it was in fantastic shape) but his weasel son got it.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was a gray market car.... as I think we only got the 380... and, it appeared to have euro bumpers.... and on the right side of the trunk, it just said "turbo".
Plus, it seemed to be very quick off the line, going through town, this AM...
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We did get a 380SEL in 1981-83 (I think), 380SE in 84-85 (I think).
That is such a common theme, to take a small car to the test. My first car was an 89 Grand Marquis, so I took the test in my Stepdad's 95 Neon instead.
I remember my cousin taking the test in that too. His choices were either his Dad's F150 or his Mom's Lumina (you know the Dustbuster type) minivan.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
From those 2 to a 66 Mustang with a 289 as my 1st car. BIG difference in acceleration (to the good) and braking (to the bad). Handling was about a tie with the Caddy. But the top came down on the Mustang!
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
Practiced on our 1970 Chevy Kingwood Wagon and my sister's 1976 Ford Mustang II and took the test in my Mom's 1978 Olds Cutlass.
I know some folks were mortified by the "family" cars they were allowed to drive, but I was happy to have anything to drive at that point. Especially when the alternative was walking...LOL
I remember my paternal grandfather had a Lumina van...he was about 80 then (early 90s) and he liked it a lot, saw it as very futuristic.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic