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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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When checking on the old car today, there was a 300SEL 6.3 alongside it in the garage. Also an uncommon light blue ~91 W124 300D 2.5 outside.
Saw an Acura Crosstour, err, ZDX, tonight on the way home from work. I was polite & didn't point and laugh.
This morning saw an orange rubber baby buggy bumper MGB with a period correct accessory hardtop.
I remember my ex-BIL's MGB having three little windshield wipers. Dumb stuff one remembers over the years.
A few British cars did that = only way to overcome the short windshield. One that sticks in my mind is the E-Type Jag:
Oh yeah, I like these with wide whites:
I think the Toyota FJ Cruiser also has 3 wipers.
I had a bit of a bad flashback last night. I caught an episode of an old sci-fi show called "One Step Beyond", that showed a guy driving at night, in the rain, in a 1955 Mercury. Just seeing those little wipers move choppily across the windshield, barely clearing the water off, made me think of the few times I got caught in the rain in my '57 DeSoto. Or even with my newer, but still old cars, and it made me think of how even minor things like windshield wipers have improved greatly in cars.
FWIW, the guy gets into a wreck when a mudslide sends his car down into ravine. And oddly, the 1955 Mercury hardtop turns into a 1957 Ford 2-door sedan for the wrecked scenes.
Apparently Mopar must have been a sponsor for this show, as the pilot episode featured, quite prominently, a 1958 DeSoto Fireflite convertible, as well as a '58 Dodge police car, and this episode had a '59 Plymouth police car in it.
I bet the police cars weren't a Coronet (Dodge) and/or a Plaza (Plymouth). I think that the sponsoring companies didn't want to 'feature' a base level car with no chrome and blackwalls, despite the fact that those are the ones actually bought by the police. I saw a '57 Ford police car on a show recently that was a Fairlaine 500.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Those Jag's remind me that those days where it is nice enough to put the top down will be coming back.
A few years ago, I saw a show that was about a meeting of the design teams for the current iteration of the Camaro.
)
One guy(American?) was trying to make a case to raise the roof at least half an inch, but he got shot down by a higher up in the project guy(Australian?).
This brings me to the current Jeep Cherokee(Cherocci?
The design meetings could be something like 'Duck Dynasty' trying to work with 'Gucci'.
Not sure if it's a great analogy, but it would have been a great Reality Show.
Andre, IIRC the car companies didn't necessarily have to actually sponsor a show in order to have their cars featured in it. Usually an arrangement was made that they supply vehicles gratis. They'd do it simply to showcase their cars, important in an era of yearly re-styles. Some examples I can recall: Perry Mason/ _FoMoCo, _Naked City /Pontiac Division, Leave it to Beaver /MoPar.
OTOH car makers were sometimes main sponsors of variety or quiz shows in which they didn't get to show the cars except in the ads, e.g. Ed Sullivan/ Lincoln-Mercury, You Bet Your Life (w Groucho Marx)/DeSoto-Plymouth.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Yup, whether sponsors or merely vehicle suppliers they made sure that nicely trimmed vehicles were used as police units. One show even used Buicks >
I''l be damned if I've ever seen an actual marked Police unit that was a Buick.
Another show featured detectives running around in Hardtops with whitewall tires>.
Let me know if you can remember the shows these cars were seen in.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Highway Patrol for the Buicks?
My dad had a '53 Special and he did sort of resemble Broderick Crawford, in a grainy, black and white sort of way. Well, maybe in Crawford's younger, thinner days, and wearing a hat. Or maybe it was just the car and the ubiquitous cigarette.
Still odd to see a full-size '61 Pontiac with dog-dish hubcaps, in my memory.
_ "OKAY YOU PUNKS, OUTTA THE CAR!'**_
Who knows what show the Poncho is from? Here's one from a later episode w full covers and blackwalls... a rare sight in those days>
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
At one time, the CHP had a standard that their police cars had to be on a wheelbase of at least 120", or something like that. As a result, Chevies, Fords, and Plymouths were usually disqualified immediately, and they used larger cars. I think they actually did use Buicks in some years in the 1950's, although I think Dodge tended to be the car of choice most years. 1959 Chryslers were used for police cars for some jurisdiction, but I can't remember which one now. I have a book packed away that shows a pic of one. Apparently, even DeSoto offered a police package at one time! http://www.allpar.com/photos/desoto/1957-police.jpg
What's with all those mirrors way out on the front fenders? Ugh!
I always liked '63 big Pontiacs (like the Catalina Vista in the second photo). I can remember a relative of our neighbor had a maroon '63 Bonneville convertible. I used to always look at and inside of it when they stopped over. It seemed so elegant.
I only see one fender mirror, that's exactly where it was on my Dad's '64 Catalina. It had exactly the same mirror and wheel covers as that '63.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
It does look odd at first glance. But, I just checked my old car encyclopedia, which has a factory photo of a 1963 Grand Prix and a 1964 Catalina 2+2. Both of them have the mirror in that same spot.
The Buick was used in the Broderick Crawford show "Highway Patrol." The California Highway Patrol actually used Buick Centuries in 1955. The NYPD used Pontiacs in 1962. The Philadelphia Police experimented with using Ford Falcons in the early 1960s.
I believe the New Jersey State Police used Chrysler Windsors in 1959.
Falcons??? I hope they at least got the big 170 cubic inch six in them. (In all fairness, if they were '63s they could have a V-8.)
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Speaking of Ford Falcon's, I was out in the Seattle area visiting this past week and drove by a place with an early 60's Falcon Futura, It had that odd two tone white color spear across the side. Also saw a house with a 59 Biscayne 2dr sedan and around a 58 Apache pick up that appeared to be daily drivers. Strangely enough, all of them were blue vehicles. When you get out of the city proper there seem to be a lot of old daily driver vehicles there. Kind of like northern California. Well, San Francisco proper is a great place to spot old daily drivers too. Not as much in LA these days though.
Saw a red (of course) Christie Brinkley Ferrari 308GTS/i in evening traffic today, cold day so maybe less fire risk.
By "mirrors", I meant that the photos of both the '61 and '63 Pontiacs had them. Maybe that was the factory location. I'm pretty sure that outside mirrors at that time were still optional, so maybe the dealer or a bodyshop installed them there. I always cringe when I see Avantis with mirrors out there...to me defeats the otherwise-clean looks.
Pontiac's prestige brochure then still used artwork, but the only "photo" of a car with a mirror was this Grand Prix, and you guys are right...the mirror's out on the fender:
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Pontiac/1963-Pontiac/1963-Pontiac-Full-Size-Prestige-Brochure/1963-Pontiac-Full-Size-Prestige-15
About '63 Falcon V8's...I think (accent on 'think') that only the Sprint hardtop and convertible could be had with a V8, not sedans.
Not all police cars were high performance. Often, police departments would spec out models with lesser engines to do more routine duties..patrolling neighborhoods, delivering court summonses, donut runs, etc. For a few years, Chrysler actually offered a slant six in their M-body (Diplomat/Gran Fury) police cars. The M-body went to standard V-8 power for 1984, a good choice as the slant six was way too underpowered by that time for a car that heavy, and in real-life driving, the 318 would often get better economy, thanks to taller gearing and not having to work as hard. Civilian cars got a 318-2bbl, and police cars came with either a 318-2 or a 318-4.
Believe it or not, Chrysler even offered a K-car police package for a couple of years!
A few other weaklings...Ford offered the tiny 255 V-8 in the full-sized Panthers for a few years. GM offered the 4.3 V-6 in the Impala/Caprice. And even in the coveted 1994-96 Caprice, they offered the 4.3 V-8. I'm not sure how common these lesser-engine models were, though. I know for a few years, my county was running the '94-96 Caprices with the 4.3 V-8. They were apparently pretty easy to get away from, although, as the old saying goes, you can't outrun the radio!
As for Pontiac police cars, the Michigan State Police tested a 1978 Catalina with a 400. 1978 was the last year, until 1989, that large-ish police car would do 0-60 in under 10 seconds in their testing. IIRC, the Catalina did it in 9.9 seconds. However, that year Mopar was still offering the Fury and Monaco with a 440, and the MSP got 9.2 out of them, so the Pontiac was overshadowed.
For 1979, the quickest car in their test was a Dodge St. Regis with a 360-4bbl, with 0-60 in around 10.1 seconds. Their identical Chrysler Newport was a bit slower. From there police car performance went downhill, although it started improving in the 1980's, and in 1989 a Caprice police cruiser with the TBI 350 managed 9.9 seconds.
I think 1978 was the last year Pontiac offered a police package. And that would probably make sense, as the 400 was dropped for 1979, and the biggest engine you could get in a full-sized Pontiac was a Buick 350 in the 49 states, Olds 350 in California. They might have offered a 403 in wagons, but I can't remember for sure.
Philadelphia Police Falcon:
They might catch someone on a bicycle with that thing.
Any cop driving that around would've been laughed out of my town.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I can remember a '68 Chevy Biscayne police car in our small town, that was a 427. The emblem in front of the front-fender side market light had a red background only for 427's, and man did that number stand out!
Super cool 1968 Baltimore Police Biscayne:
I can remember my Dad coming home from work and saying "I saw a truckload of new Chevys today. They have the taillights in the bumper. What a dumb idea!" I like the '68 Chevys though. I like the '67's a bit better though. Thanks for posting those pics!
Here's a red-background "427" I remember on that police car:
http://www.bangshift.com/assets/images/news/2010/Jan/24-30/427.jpg
Heck, I loved the 1968 thru 1970 Chevrolet taillights! I'd have been like, "I saw a truckload of new Chevys today. They have the taillights in the bumper! What a COOL idea!"
I know you're younger than me, but I can remember the teaser ads on "Bewitched", just before the new Chevys would come out. I specifically remember the '69, showing the headlight cleaner and just little parts of the full-size cars. New-car time was fun then, whether it was prohibitively expensive or not.
NYC used 6-cylinder patrol cars for years. The rationale was that you seldom needed high-speed pursuit in NYC I suppose.
A lot of jurisdictions used 6-cylinder cars for detectives, since they were usually just using them for travel, not pursuit. I remember one of my favorite TV shows from a while ago, "Homicide", had their Baltimore detectives using those K-cars that were mentioned. I think they even had them driving around in Chevy Cavaliers.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I remember in the early 90s, the smallish town I lived in had Luminas and Taurus in the police fleet for regular cruisers...but soon went back to CV and Caprice - FWD wear and tear issues I bet. I think they use Chargers now.
Actually, you could get the V-8 with any model. It was standard on the Sprints. In fact, one of the things that I thought at the time would be fun would be to get a cute little Futura 4-door sedan with the V-8 (and maybe a 4-speed) and take the emblems off. I always liked sleepers.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
I looked at the '63 Falcon brochure on the "Old Car Manual Project" and neither the hardtop nor the V8 are mentioned at all. Both must have been a mid-year thing and I do think I remember that they were. The biggest engine...and this was optional!...when the '63 Falcon came out, was a 101-hp six. I guess I'm used to hanging around Studebakers--you could get 289 hp in a '63 Lark. I know the Falcon sold like crazy in comparison to it though, though that's not a thing that would draw me to a Falcon today; quite the opposite.
It probably was used for undercover work--I don't see any lights on top! :grin
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My old car encyclopedia lists a V-8 as being standard in the Falcon Sprint and simply "Optional on others", but doesn't go into any more detail than that. But, this book is error prone, so take it with a grain of salt.
Just out of curiosity, when did the Chevy II get a V-8 option? I think the Valiant/Dart got it for 1964, and they actually had to modify the structure of the car a bit to make it fit.
The first Chevy II's with a V8 (283) was the '64 model year. I'm not sure if it started the model year with that, or if it was a mid-year thing. I know the hardtop ("Sport Coupe") had been discontinued, but returned mid-year '64. Someone must have felt a little too much competition with the new Chevelle.
I just looked at the '64 Chevy II brochure, 'copyright 1963' which would probably indicate beginning of the model year, and it shows a Sport Coupe so maybe what I'd always heard was wrong--although wikipedia confirms my memory, who knows? The Chevy II convertible was discontinued for the '64 model year.
The 283 was available in 195 and 220 hp versions in the '64 Chevy II.
I'd heard that the 273 V-8 in the '64 Dart/Valiant was a mid-year thing, but just checked Wikipedia, and it says that it was available at the start of the model year, and that the 273 was designed specifically for the compact engine bay. So, I wonder if what I heard about the engine bay needing to be redesigned was wrong? For some reason, I'm thinking it may have had something to do with modifying the firewall to accommodate for the rear-mounted distributor on the 273?
I remember my '89 Gran Fury's firewall was sort of like that, as the engine sat so far back that there wasn't much clearance to get to the distributor. It was easier to get to on my '68 Dart, even though the Dart was a smaller car.
According to Long Island folklore back in the 60s the local police in Old Westbury were running Dodge Hemis. Old Westbury being a wealthy Village, this was easy to believe but it was probably just a (sub)urban legend. There would have been little justification for running powerful HemiChargers on the winding lanes of that bucolic little town. I did see them running '62 Dodges though.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Our town had under 9,000 people in 1968; I wonder why they felt the need for a 427! The town proper (borough limits) is down to 5,900 people now, although the rural areas have grown in that time (not all that much though). The town uses Chargers now.
One of those 426 Hemis would also be a pain to deal with on a day-to-day basis. They ran hot, needed to rev and run flat-out to really get the power, and fell out of tune very easily. Also, I'm not sure, but I think if you got the 426 Hemi, you had to forego such luxuries as power steering.
Once they got past the bragging rights and mystique of the Hemi, I'm sure any cop stuck driving one would lose his fascination with it pretty quickly.
V8 Falcon
It was offered in 1963. I was thinking Flacon had the same "powerful" 260 V8 that my Fairlane 500 had in it.
"Halfway through the model year (February 1963), the Fairlane's 164 hp "Challenger" 260 CID (4.3 L) V8 engine was offered for the first time."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm not a Ford buff, but I remember in '62, Fairlanes could be had with a 221 V8!