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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
After owning a couple of extended-cab pickups, I have become addicted to the enhanced utility they offer.
I'm guessing the standard configuration you have is becoming less popular (other than those purchased for business/work use) due to ever-tightening seat-belt enforcement and no "bed riding allowed" in many states (its still legal here in SC). The extended back area may be cramped, but the jump seats do have seat belts, and it does provide the capability for more than just the front seat.
If this Ram was going to be my only transportation, I probably would have gone with an extended cab/shorter bed configuration but I figured that since it doesn't have to be a jack of all trades, I'd rather have the long bed than the extra passenger capacity. And, it has a bench seat, so I figure I could at least get 3 people in it if I had to.
Unfortunately, the first time I had to put three across in it, I realized how horrible it was. The floor is raised considerably in the center spot, and the dash juts out, so the center passenger has to sit in a bit of a fetal position with their shins almost in the HVAC controls. My old '85 Silverado, which has a bit less shoulder room, is actually better at 3 across seating. The center position is better padded, the floor doesn't rise up as much, and the dash doesn't jut out as badly.
My uncle's last two trucks were extended cab models. First a '94 GMC 3/4 ton, and then a '97 Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton that we traded on the Ram. He didn't have the '94 long enough for me to try out the back, as he bought it used and it kept breaking down, so he traded after about 6-7 months for the '97. I sat in the back of it a few times. Not too horrible, for what it was, and considering my height, 6'3". I think the extended cabs of today are better in the back.
Unfortunately, the back seat of those extended cabs mainly served as a spot for my uncle to start throwing stuff, and it would pile up.
Black was the first exterior color, joined by a dark cherry color and the dark (but not real dark) green.
IMHO, the '96 was the one to get as, besides being the last, it had analog gauges and a floor shift.
The Marauder was nice, except that it was such an obvious copy of the SS, IMO--but nearly a decade later.
Starting at about .33, and again at 1:20, one can see their Mercedes-Benz display, with a couple of fintails and all the other models too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6LpuZEPzx4
I wonder if any of those big trucks in the background are Unimogs.
Despite their bleak financials, Studebaker could still put on a good show back then, and a brave face.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I wonder if the average person has any idea how MB got started in the US - it's an unusual story.
About 20 years ago, I was at a meet in South Bend set up for the 20th anniversary of the Avanti. I overheard a stylish older woman say "My husband brought Mercedes-Benz to the U.S." (or something quite like that).
While some M-B's were imported previously, Studebaker got them sold out in the hinterlands. The woman's name was Martha Fleenor and her husband was Lon Fleener. I later learned that her story was accurate. Amazingly, she had also been Sherwood Egbert's secretary and didn't marry Lon Fleener 'til 1965 or so. She was very friendly and I saw her at one or two other South Bend meets over the years, later, even though she lived in southern California. There's a 1962 video on YouTube of Egbert where a woman walks in and hands him something, and Egbert says, "Thank you Martha". Pretty cool; it was her!
"I'm sure at least one of the trucks is a Unimog 406, and it makes sense that it's standing in the Benz section."
Reminded by your whitewall comment, I'm surprised to see a blackwall Hawk with real wire wheels at :07 in the clip, which weren't offered as an option in '63. I've seen GT Hawks shod that way at car shows in the not-too-distant past.
I didn't realize the '96 Impala didn't offer black interior---perhaps I saw someone's custom upholstery then. The rest of the car had custom features, so that would explain it.
I bought a '93 Caprice Classic new, and while I liked the wide-open rear wheel well better than the '91 and '92, Chevy really did it on the cheap. If you looked close at it, the molding was much 'thicker' or 'longer' than that on the front wheel opening--IMHO to cover up a cheesy, cheap cutout in the rear!
Don't think they'll get that price in $22K territory, but miles are extremely low and that's what people like in these 94-96 Impalas.
The minute the miles go up to "normal" (80,000 on up), the price drops to half, or less.
Same thing happens with modern exotics like Ferrari---once the car hits 60,000, nobody wants it.
Agreed, that and the open wheel wells made it look sooo much better.
Should never lose value, even likely to gain at this point, if the owner takes care of it.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I have heard/read that cops preferred the Caprice to the Crown Vic; hence, one reason the 'new' Chevy cop car is called a Caprice. I also read a story once online someplace, by a taxi owner who said if the Caprices were 350's, he got better service out of them than Crown Vics.
Stylewise, I always just loved the '77-79 Caprice, inside and out. Loved the way they drove too. Too bad the dash pads always cracked, unlike the B-O-P versions that had a deeper (back to the windshield) dash pad.
Two things the '91 Caprice offered that were never offered before on a Caprice, was a driver's airbag (still fairly novel when the Caprice was introduced in early calendar '90 IIRC), and standard ABS. They were also advertised as the roomiest and quietest Caprices to-date.
I don't know, I've been in Panther taxi cabs that the odometer read into 400Ks. I would love to see better service than that. Most people will say that the Caprice was the more powerful of the two, but the Vic was the better over all car for taxi/police duty.
In looking at the link that Shifty posted, I didn't realize the SS was so modestly equipped. No auto temp, high end stereo, moonroof, steering wheel controls, etc. The interior aside from a decent set of seats is pretty dismal.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
The Stude dealer in my town was located about 5 blocks from where I live now. I jog by it 5 times a week, the building is completely intact.
Yeah, Ford never made a full size wagon after 91. The 92+ CV/GM probably would have looked very similar to a whale Caprice/Roadmaster wagon. Ford didn't need a full size wagon as they were about to begin selling a bazillion Explorers!
I just Googled 92 CV wagon and this conversion came up. Interesting, looks like they just attached a Taurus wagon rear section with CV taillamps.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I remember the big blue neon vertical "Studebaker" sign that hung out at the street for several years after they closed, but I can't say I actually remember seeing any cars at the place. I'm good friends with the old dealer now.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Speaking of old signs, my mom lives in a small town that used to have an MG (and numerous other oddballs) dealer. The place closed decades ago of course, but the building and owner remained - and so did signs for MG and Triumph. I kind of wanted those signs, even though they are huge (the MG one might have been 5 feet tall). Last year, the building burned, but the signs had been removed first.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
1980's Caddy Sedan DeVille or Fleetwood...maroon with a sunroof. Paint was faded, vinyl top was splitting. It had big, blingy wheels on it, so at least the owner had his priorities straight! :P
early 80's Delta 88, in sort of a caramel color that seemed common back then. Paint was faded, but it looked solid, not rusty, good daily driver material.
Then, not a five minutes later, an '85-86 Parisienne drove past me, the other way. It was white, in good shape for the most part, but missing a piece of plastic filler in back, in front of the bumper.
Finally, about two miles from home, I drove past one of the local wrecker yards. The owner has a Delta 88, dark blue, in really good shape. I think it's an '85, as it has the bolder eggcrate grille that I believe they started using after the RWD Ninety-Eight was retired.
No frameless door glass, and a visible horizontal seam at the top of the "B" pillar that was filled in with a piece of fiberglass or plastic!!
Yeah, I guess imagination and thinking for yourself is a long lost art when it comes to auto style. But, IMO at least, they all had their take on that bustleback. The Seville seemed to have a little more attitude about it, and seemed a bit more youthful and stylish, whereas the Continental seemed much more conservative and "mature". The Imperial seemed kinda futuristic and bad-[non-permissible content removed]. And in black, it seemed like the car Darth Vader would own, long before Chevy tried to summon him with the '94 Impala SS.
There was a Continental that showed up this past year at the local show I attend in Rockville, MD. IIRC it was sort of a light cream/ecru color, and looked pristine. I had never seen it before at that show. Even though the Continental is my least favorite of those bustlebacks, I still kinda like 'em.
They seem pretty rare, too. I always see plenty of Imperials, it seems, at the Mopar show in Carlisle, and an occasional swap meet. And the wanna-be pimps have been sporting their Sevilles for years, although most of them have probably died out by now since the majority were either 4.1 or Diesel. But the Continental just seemed to come and go, pretty quickly, with little fanfare.
I have an aunt who had one of those. There's one or two still around in my area.
Guess I should have put a 'for illustrative purposes only' note on the pic. The one I saw had this paint job, but the pic is from wiki...
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
I had a chance to buy an '83 Olds 98 coupe with a 307 back in early 1994, for $800. It belonged to a co-worker, who got it from his father when he gave up driving. It was champagne with (I think) a burgundy interior, and was in great shape, except the head didn't work and it had a broken taillight.
Looking back, I wish I had bought it. But at the time, I had an '82 Cutlass Supreme that I had just put a new transmission in, and I thought I'd be keeping that car forever. Plus, that was the coldest winter I can ever remember, and the last thing I wanted was to be driving around in a car with no heat!
As for that Cutlass Supreme, well a few months later, it lost its oil pressure, and the engine was pretty much shot. It was still running, barely, when I sold it a few months after that.
In contrast, who knows how long that Ninety Eight would have lasted? Probably a good long time, but I imagine that by the time I started delivering pizzas in the later part of the 90's, that would have taken its toll. And, GM's 4-speed automatic was still a little weak, I've heard, in '83. So I doubt if I'd still have it today. But, you never know!