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

fintail

The Reatta nameplate font bugged me when it was new, odd. I have a strange sensitivity to that. I remember my high school principal had a Reatta, red of course, as most seem to be.

Didn't see many oldies out on the road today - did get a wave from a guy in a 64-65 Pontiac I see now and then, a very clean white car, I think a LeMans rather than GTO - maybe isell has seen it. I also saw an immaculate W126 380SE in Medina, I have seen the car before, probably an original owner judging by the area and driver. And speaking of the Alfa frankencar on the other thread, this thing is languishing in the garage where my fintail lives, been there awhile:

andre1969

Yeah, I like the Dodge Custom 880. They were sort of a last-minute, stop-gap model, but I always thought they had a clean, handsome look to them that could be described as non-descript, but I still found them appealing. They've occasionally been referred to as "1962 DeSotos", because they sort of filled in at the price point of the old DeSoto.

Dodge, in general, took a big step downscale in 1960, when the Dart lineup came out. The Dart replaced the Coronet, but was more than just a model, but rather a whole series, consisting of Seneca, Pioneer, and Phoenix sub-series, which pretty much matched the price point of Plymouth, Ford, and Chevy. The '60 Dart was very popular, with about 330,000 units sold. It actually outsold the full-sized Plymouths that year. So in theory, Dodge actually outsold Plymouth, as they tried to market the Valiant as standalone, and "Nobody's Kid Brother". However, the '60 Valiant was registered as a Plymouth, and all the old car books group its production together with the rest of Plymouth, so Plymouth, as a whole, still outsold Dodge that year.

Anyway, the two other Dodges offered in 1960 were the larger Matador and Polara, which replaced the old Royal and Custom Royal. They weren't strong sellers, and for 1961, Dodge went down to just the Polara, on the longer 122" wb. 1962 was the year that Chrysler hastily downsized the big Dodges and Plymouths, and that year the Polara went to the same stubby 116" wb as the Plymouths and Dart lineup. For '62, the Dart gave up the Seneca/Pioneer/Phoenix hierarchy for a Dart/330/440 lineup. By this time, the Polara was basically just a Dart with a big engine...a standard 361. And it wasn't cheap. It was offered only as a 2/4-door hardtop or convertible, but priced slightly higher than a Pontiac Catalina. Needless to say, they only sold about 12,000 Polaras that year.

Management decided that shrinking these cars was a bad move, and needed to come up with something fast. So, they took, essentially, a 1962 Newport and grafted a 1961 Dodge front-end onto it, and came up with the Custom 880. It came standard with a 265 hp 361-2bbl, and prices started at $2964 for the 4-door sedan.

It's hard to say which one was really the flagship that year. The Polara's 361 was actually more powerful, with 305 hp (a 4-bbl I'm guessing). But the Custom 880 had a full lineup, offering the 4-door sedan, 2- and 4-door hardtops, convertible, and wagons. If you compare like models (2- and 4-door hardtops and convertible), they were very close in price. Convertibles base priced around $3250, for Polara or Custom 880. I guess you could sort of equate it to what Buick did in the early 1990's, when they had the Park Avenue and the Roadmaster. And, now that I think about it, that confused some buyers, as well, as they didn't know which one was really supposed to be Buick's flagship. Actually, the Buicks were probably more confusing, because the Park Ave was more expensive, but the Roadmaster was bigger, and came standard with a V-8.

Anyway, starting in 1963, the 880 lineup was expanded to where they had a cheaper model called just 880, and an upper model called Custom 880. The regular 880, I'm guessing was a bit of a stripper series, as it offered just a 4-door sedan and wagons, while the Custom 880 was a full range. I've seen a few Custom 880's from time to time, both at car shows and in junkyards. They pretty much matched the Chrysler Newport in price, starting around $2964 for the 4-door sedan...yet the Custom 880 had nicer interior details. One thing I remember was the Custom 880 had carpeting on the lower door panels, while the Newport was just vinyl.

The 880/Custom 880 never was a strong seller. They sold about 17.5K in 1962, 28K in 1963, and 32K for 1964. And in 1963, with an expanded lineup, the Polara started outselling it, although by that time the Dart became a compact, and what had been the Dart/Dart 330/Dart 440 now became the 330/440/Polara.

For 1965, Dodge got serious about full-sized cars again. All the midsized cars fell under the Coronet name, while the full-sizers became Polara for the cheaper series, Custom 880 for the upscale series, and a limited edition hardtop coupe called Monaco, which was Dodge's first attempt at a Grand Prix-type car.

For 1966, the full sized lineup became Polara/Monaco, with the personal luxury coupe becoming Monaco 500. So essentially, the Custom 880 morphed into what became the Monaco. A '65 Custom 880 4-door started at $3010, while a '66 Monaco 4-door sedan was $3,033. So they were definitely in the same price range. For comparison, a '65 Catalina 4-door sedan started at $2,805. The cheapest big Olds was the JetStar 88, at $2,938 for a 4-door sedan. The LeSabre 4-door sedan was $2,948. Mercury's Monterrey 4-door was $2,904 (but gave you the Breezeway rear window at that price).

For comparison, a V-8 Impala 4-door started at $2779. My book doesn't break out 6/V-8 prices for the Fury III and Galaxie, but 6-cyl prices are comparable, so I'd presume the V-8 models were close to the Impala's.

texases

Those early 880s are oddballs to me, don't seem much related to any other Mopars, styling-wise.

berri

I thought the 880 turned out relatively well when you consider it was a last minute "crisis" action after the public turned thumbs down on the downsized Polara and Fury. Basically, they put a new front clip on a Chrysler Newport, but it didn't look just like a Newport to me. I liked Andre's analogy that is was a de facto Desoto. The planned Desoto clay's were perhaps the most controversial of all the downsized Exner designs, which in fact were supposed to be full sized until a last minute executive suite panic that thought the upcoming Malibu and Fairlane's were going to replace the Impala and Galaxie. I kind of felt those new 62 designs would have come out a little better with a full size frame to absorb the new design lines. But then, the flubbed downsized 62's became the basis for the very successful Mopar intermediates like the Coronet starting in '65.

texases

The front end looked more Ford to me.

berri

Like Andre said, it came off the prior year big Dodge. But I kind of see what you mean when you consider the '60 Ford. The British invasion rockers practiced lifting ideas just like Detroit

andre1969

I never really thought about it before, but I can see a bit of Ford in the 61 Dodges, and the '62 880. The inset headlights, and peaked front fenders to bear a resemblance to the '60 Ford. For 1963 they squared up the front end a bit, and I thought it looked a bit more Dodge-ish...or at least a hint of the direction that Dodge styling would go in later years.

fintail

I saw 3, yes 3, 80s Toyota vans today. Also a restored ~67 Mustang fastback on I5.

berri

I saw 3, yes 3, 80s Toyota vans today

Fin, just what kind of neighborhoods are you driving in?

berri

I was watching an episode of the old Highway Patrol TV series with Broderick Crawford. It dealt with the hijacking of an auto transport truck that was hauling 3 early version '57 Mopars. What was interesting is that the positioning on the truck and a lot of the camera shots primarily focused on the Desoto. I wonder if Chrysler was already concerned about it's sales volume? They also paid some attention to the Imperial, but very little to the Dodge. These shows are great for viewing mid 50's cars if you don't mind B&W TV. Actually, they may be some of the better written cop shows I've watched on television.

andre1969

In early 1957, Chrysler was a bit concerned about DeSoto's sales volume, but not for the reasons you might think. They were actually concerned that DeSoto was selling a bit *too* well, in comparison to the Chrysler division.

In calendar year 1956 sales, which include part of the 1957 model year, DeSoto actually surpassed Chrysler, by a small margin. However, Chrysler outsold DeSoto in both of those model years. For 1956, I think Chrysler sold about 128,000 units and DeSoto sold 110,000, while in '57 it was around 124K for Chrysler and 117K for DeSoto.

That would imply to me that initially at least, the '57 DeSoto was in very high demand, even moreso than Chrysler, if it was enough to inflate the calendar year sales the way it did. But then as the '57 model year played out, demand tapered off.

For the '58 model year, sales crashed for both brands, but DeSoto fell further. Chrysler moved about 63K units, compared to 49K for DeSoto.

Going back a bit further in history, to 1955, Chrysler sold about 153,000 units, compared to 115,000 for DeSoto. So Chrysler took a noticeable slide for 1956, while DeSoto barely blipped. And then for 1957, DeSoto rose slightly, while Chrysler slide again, albeit slightly. That probably had management for the Chrysler division a bit worried.

At first I was thinking that they were focusing on the DeSoto on Highway patrol, because of DeSoto's momentary success, perhaps trying to fuel it even more. But then, '57 was a good year for Dodge as well, and a great year for Imperial. IIRC, Imperial zoomed from around 11,000 units in 1956 to around 37,000 in '57, and almost outsold Lincoln.

You have me kind of curious to see that episode now. I did a little searching, and it looks like it was season 2, episode 28. I found this frame grab...


It looks like they're showing off the DeSoto there, but maybe they just loaded the cars in alphabetical order? DeSoto, Dodge, Imperial?

Oh, incidentally, on the DeSoto versus Chrysler rivalry that was starting to blossom...in 1956, Chrysler management did make a decision to try and let Imperial fly more on its own...a decision that would involve moving Chrysler downscale, into DeSoto territory, and would in turn mean DeSoto got pushed down to overlap Dodge more...or in its case, ultimately get squeezed out. I wonder if the act of moving Chrysler downscale, and the repositioning that occurred, is also what pushed Dodge downscale, with products like the full-sized Dart, which was more of a parallel to Plymouth, rather than a step up as the Coronet had been?

andre1969

On the subject of "Highway Patrol", I've caught an episode every once in a blue moon, when I wake up too early. I remember one episode that had a '59 DeSoto hardtop coupe in it...can't remember the series though. I remember at one point some criminals put a man in the trunk and threatened to shoot him. Anyway, there was a chase scene involving that DeSoto, and one thing that was interesting was how well it handled...cornering flatly and stable, slamming on the brakes without pitching about, etc. The cars trying to chase it were wallowing about in comparison. I forget what they were though...I know that Buick was popular with that show, but by '59 I think they might have been using Mercurys as police cars.

Wow...I just looked up "Highway Patrol" on Wikipedia, and they made 156 episodes in just four seasons. The good old days, when a standard season was 39 episodes, and they made those actors work for their money! Just imagine the nightmare it would be trying to get Charlie Sheen to show up for 39 episodes...

ab348

What make is the tractor in that screen grab? Don't recognize that grille.

texases

ab348 said:

What make is the tractor in that screen grab? Don't recognize that grille.

Pretty sure it's a 1950-ish REO, looks like this one:

ab348

Love it!

uplanderguy

I would've expected a Dodge truck!

I know this was TV, but I wonder if Mopar transport carriers were typically Dodges? I remember GM big trucks delivering new cars back in the '70's when I used to hang out at the local Chevy dealer, and photos I've seen of new Studebakers on transport carriers, even into the sixties, were usually being hauled by Studebaker big trucks.

sda

fintail said:

I actually kind of "had" a 510 wagon for a short time right before I found the fintail. A old guy my dad knew was retiring to Florida, had the Datsun sitting around, didn't want to bother moving it or spend time selling it. It was far from a mint car, but ran and drove, and wasn't rusty. He literally gave it to me. My dad and I replaced the windshield ourselves. It was orange-red with a black vinyl top, I think it was a 1971. I was going to clean it up, but it had constant carb issues that I couldn't solve and my dad didn't have the patience for - so we sold it. For like $600, which kind of hurts, even though this was in 1994. Oh, and it was automatic, so it was pretty slow.

Funny you mention a Datsun 510 wagon. Dad bought a used 71 510 wagon in 1977. My parents had a 70 mile commute each way from Buckingham to Richmond, Va. Miles were piling on the first new car dad had purchased, a 76 Cutlass Supreme wagon. He paid $700 for the 510. It was white with a blue interior and was a 4 speed. Had 98000 miles, was already rusting in the rockers, burned oil, interior well worn. I had to rig the dual stage carb with a spring as the vacuum no longer opened the second barrel, head gasket failed around 110k. Both of my sisters learned to drive in it, kept it for several years and had close to 200k when it was sold. Amazingly I saw it cruise down the street for a couple more years. It was a tired ride by then.

andre1969

IMCDB lists the truck as a REO Gold Comet, but doesn't specify the year. Here are a few frame grabs...

andre1969

uplanderguy said:

I would've expected a Dodge truck!

I know this was TV, but I wonder if Mopar transport carriers were typically Dodges? I remember GM big trucks delivering new cars back in the '70's when I used to hang out at the local Chevy dealer, and photos I've seen of new Studebakers on transport carriers, even into the sixties, were usually being hauled by Studebaker big trucks.

Yeah, back in the day, Dodge had this thing that was sort of a cross between a Cabover and a conventional rig, looked like this...


Dodge had a variety of medium-duty trucks at least up through the 1970's...the style that used pickup truck cabs, but were on much bigger platforms, similar to Ford and Chevy/GM. That market went away for Dodge after 1978 though, just like it did with motorhomes.

Dodge also dabbled in true heavy duty trucks for awhile too, building something called the "Big Horn". I don't know much about it, but it looks like it uses the cab from a mid/late 50's Dodge pickup and was used, wraparound windshield and all, up through around 1975 or so.

stickguy

here you go.

uplanderguy

Thanks for the pics--I recognize those as '59 Dodges on the truck.

I saw a beautiful-condition Big Horn at Hershey one year...I had never seen one. I'm pretty certain it was green. This was probably fifteen or so years ago. You can definitely see the '50's pickup cab in it. Very, very neat. That same year, there was an Omaha Orange '64 Studebaker Diesel truck, two-ton I think. Both unusual, but the Big Horn maybe even more so. There was a lady standing in front of the Big Horn and the owner blew the air horn, which made her jump. He got a good chuckle out of it and she did too.

I believe, but am not sure, that it was owned by the late Asa Hall of Connecticut, who also had Studebaker trucks (although didn't own the orange one I mentioned on display the same year). The fellow who owned that truck was named Carl something, and I had heard he has since passed. He was the spitting image of Carroll O'Connor and when I went to tell him that, he cut me off mid-sentence..."Yes, Archie Bunker, I know!". LOL

berri

Yep Andre, that's the show. They show them later being offloaded into a barn, made to look used and then dumped in fields. The Desoto gets more camera coverage. Then again, I think the Desoto was the nicest looking vehicle on the truck, followed by the Imperial.

Uplander, I think you're right about auto manufacturers preferring their own trucks on transport carriers, but this is TV.

lemko

isellhondas said:

oldbearcat said:

andre1969 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Just read about this strange auto accident up here in Northern Cal. A 1948 Dodge Coronet flies off a curve at 3 am in the morning (???), ejecting both passengers, who weren't belted in. One dead, one injured. What the hell?

That's why I'm making the mechanic put seatbelts in my '57 DeSoto before he's finished with it. I might still get stuck on the steering wheel, but at least I won't get ejected!

I own a stock 48 Chevy, and, anybody that thinks a car of this vintage can handle a curve at speed is nuts. They handle like an oxcart. I've been debating whether or not to put seatbelts in too. My considerations:
1. Even with seatbelts, not sure what the seat mounts themselves are up to handling much of a hit.
2. Some recommend anchoring the belts to steel attached to the chassis in these old cars. However, in a serious hit, cars of this vintage have a nasty habit of the body coming loose from the chassis - so I'm told.
3. If I anchor the belts to bolts and big heavy washers through the Chevy's floor pans, would things be sturdy enough to offer much protection. This seems to be the most recommended installation for a 40's car.
Would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

I think using several large washers would be the way to go with those seat belts. Unless your floors have rust that would be a lot better than nothing.

Back in those days it didn't take a very severe accident to kill people.

I wonder if a shoulder harness could be installed somehow?

I recall seeing a book of photographs of auto accidents from the 1940s. The pictures were absolutely gruesome.

fintail

Forgot to mention I saw a very nice 62 Coupe DeVille yesterday, I know it was a 62 as the front plate read "1962".

andre1969

What do you guys think would be a fair price for this '76 Olds Ninety-Eight 4-door hardtop?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141577074572

It's one of those battle-cruisers that's right up my alley, but I'm thinking $7-8K is about all I'd be willing to pay, if I was interested. And I'm thinking even that might be a bit too generous.

texases

Saw a real oddball during the morning commute - a 1980-ish Peugeot 205 two door, driving the other way on a regular city street. Didn't see anything that told me it was a GTi. Did Peugeot still sell cars in the US at that time? Did they ever sell the 205 here?

Michaell

texases said:

Saw a real oddball during the morning commute - a 1980-ish Peugeot 205 two door, driving the other way on a regular city street. Didn't see anything that told me it was a GTi. Did Peugeot still sell cars in the US at that time? Did they ever sell the 205 here?

Peugeot only brought over their mid-sized sedans to the US .. no hatchbacks.

If it's over 25 years old, it could have been imported.

stever

I remember hitching a ride to a ski hill one time in a Peugeot wagon, back in the day. Another friend's wife got a Peugeot (sedan iirc) and it was the worst car.

ab348

andre1969 said:

What do you guys think would be a fair price for this '76 Olds Ninety-Eight 4-door hardtop?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141577074572

It's one of those battle-cruisers that's right up my alley, but I'm thinking $7-8K is about all I'd be willing to pay, if I was interested. And I'm thinking even that might be a bit too generous.

It's too much money for one of those. It has been detailed to the max and is certainly nice, just overpriced IMO. I have heard stories about that Lakeland, Fl seller that are not all that complimentary in some other forums.

uplanderguy

That's a nice car, but I think the market is somewhat limited, maybe not. I'm not looking at any price guide, but I'd offer him maybe $7K--$7,200 if he'd get the moldings installed around the sail-panel windows.

That just slaps me in the face on an otherwise-nice car. I think those are an issue on '70's GM cars...also the quarter-windows on Colonnade coupes.

Funny, just yesterday a friend forwarded me an ad for a '75 Eighty Eight Royale convertible in that bright aqua-blue, white interior, 60K miles, beautiful and authentically-original, even the small stuff, in and out, and it was priced at $13K 'firm'. I thought that seemed reasonable, not too high, not too low.

isellhondas

uplanderguy said:

As a GM new-car guy, I wanted to like the Reatta, but I simply couldn't equate that car with the sticker price. That, and it seemed to me that they only came in red with saddle interior, or that pale blue that looked like a brush job. I did like the Riviera-like interior. I can't tell you when I've last seen one.

The Reatta that I owned (recently) was gunmetal with a grey leather interior.

isellhondas

I agree with the others on that Olds. It's nice but not a desirable car at all. I'm thinking 5000.00 IF the seller can find the right person to buy it.

stickguy

Man, what a barge. Might be the nicest one around, but probably very few people interested in one. And they are likely to be quite "frugal"

boomchek

I agree on the Olds. Probably $5-$6k car. My old lot I worked at had a nice vintage 60's Cadillac Deville Park Avenue sedan. We had trouble moving it at $8k and it took forever to find a buyer. Car was in great condition.

As for the Peugeot 205 that Texases saw, no they never sold them in US, but there's been a few imported to Canada, and I believe they might have been some imported to Mexico? Maybe it was a visitor from North or South.

explorerx4

Like ab348 said, it's that Florida guy. At first, I thought it was a Cadillac, looks very similar. There are some bubbles under vinyl roof and the engine has been painted(not necessarily a bad thing), and for some reason I thought it would have an Olds 'Jet' badge between the grilles. I wonder what they thought would be put in those zipper bags attached to the back of the front seats?

andre1969

I thought the front of that Olds looked a little off, as well, without the Rocket logo in the center between the grille sections. But I looked at a '76 Olds brochure online. Looks like none of the Ninety-Eights had a badge in the center...just the stand-up hood ornament. However, the Custom Cruiser, which used the Ninety-Eight grille, was showing the center badge but no stand-up hood ornament.

Delta 88's look like they all had the center badge, with the nicer models adding a hood ornament, for a bit of overkill.

Mr_Shiftright

Olds 98 is a very limited market indeed. Huge, gas hog floaty-boat. To be fair, it might pull the $8500 opening bid at some drunken orgy of an auction like Barrett-Jackson, because you may find the few dozen buyers who want one, all in one place. And when you have two bidders hot for the same thing, well there you go. I wonder why such a pristine well-loved car needed new paint? And I'm not so sure that top is a factory original. And we don't really know the quality of the repaint. Given that a really good trim-off/glass out paint job with quality materials would probably cost $8500 itself--why would someone do that?

texases

Along with that paint job, how much work was needed to paint the block, and clean the engine bay? Lots of time sunk in a car that MIGHT get $8,500 back. So, yes, why go to all that work?

texases

Maybe this was the 'before' picture:

ab348

I am highly suspicious of any car posted by that particular vendor.

andre1969

It's interesting, the spots that "before" Olds 98 is showing the wear on. I wonder if it was stored under a tarp and moisture accumulated, or something. Other than the trunk, and those little spots in the bumper, it doesn't loko too bad, although I have a feeling it's a mess under that vinyl roof.

My favorite among the GM trio of battlecruisers from this era is the Buick Electra. Not quite as pimpy as the DeVille, but not as conservative as the Ninety-Eight, I thought it struck a happy medium. And oddly, due to styling differences, somehow the Electra came off as slightly longer than the other two. But I guess if you're talking ~233" vs ~232", an extra inch or two is irrelevant.

omarman

Spotted (but mostly "heard") on youtube... Somebody with an actual starting/running '86 Chrysler Laser XE turbo posted a video sample of all the EVA talking car messages. Has it really been +30 years since this was cutting edge hi-tech? After the 30-second mark it all sounds like Agador Spartacus, "I never wear shoes because they make me fall down."

Despite all that I do miss some things about the 80's gen cars - domestic and import. Pocket rockets like the CRX were hot sellers even as Detroit still found buyers for full-sized V8 sedans. By the end of the 80s the best S class Mercedes sedans ever built were eclipsed by the first gen V8 luxury sedans from Japan.

To me that's a really interesting bit of history from that era. Japan inc was rolling but the economic beat down was soon to follow in the 90s.

fintail

I'll admit I think talking 80s cars are cool - nostalgia thing I guess. Here's the halting British woman talking digital dash option on the famous Audi UR-Quattro

And a rare male voice in a Renault

Digital dashes are cool too. Something MB never got into.

The 80s also had German hubris - when the Lexus LS hit the streets, the W126 was 10 years old, and MB knew they could string it along for a few more years.

boomchek

In high school in the early 90s a friend had one of those mid 80s Chrysler Daytonas. It had the full talking interior that reminded you to put on seatbelts, and close the doors, etc.... It was kinda cool at first but I bet it gets annoying over time.

uplanderguy

Yes, at over nine minutes, this is a long video, but I love it. Vivid color from the 1957 Soap Box Derby, sponsored by Chevrolet, in Akron, Ohio. Dinah Shore, Jimmy Stewart, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and others are in it. Was life more colorful then, or what? I'd like to walk right into this video. Funny to see Main St. Akron so full of businesses then. Near the end is a fleet of '57 Bel Air convertibles and a Corvette or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpcVBNcM0iE

imidazol97

Nice. Thanks for posting. Celebrities certainly weren't standoffish. Just nice people.

uplanderguy

Yes, for sure, imidazol. These folks seemed fine with eating on folding chairs and at a wooden table.

I get a little misty watching this, I don't know why, except maybe that these are all places no more than 15 miles from where I live as an adult, and the good fun all seem to be having. In my little hometown in PA, we had Soap Box Derby qualifications. I was too young, but you'd get your car kit at the Chevy dealer's. I think Chevy should sponsor the Derby again, as an 'All-American' thing. Their last year was 1970 if I remember correctly.

I was born in 1958, but I often think I should've been born maybe ten or twelve years earlier.

omarman

Great video! Chevrolet was really making a statement with its small block V8 power. Watched the footage of boating at Portage Lakes Park several times. That gleaming fleet of runabout and utility Chris Craft boats looked otherworldly to me. Akron Ohio and the rest of the world really was a different place then and I hadn't been born yet anyway! To re-orient myself to today's time, place and person I searched youtube for "scapegoat rick" and watched it a few times. Then I looked at the comments and discovered that scapegoat rick is "racist." So I laughed harder and watched it again. Ah, 2015...everything is racist, sexist and politically incorrect.

"Have you ever been to Akron?" - Dr. Chumley

uplanderguy said:

Yes, at over nine minutes, this is a long video, but I love it. Vivid color from the 1957 Soap Box Derby, sponsored by Chevrolet, in Akron, Ohio. Dinah Shore, Jimmy Stewart, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and others are in it. Was life more colorful then, or what? I'd like to walk right into this video. Funny to see Main St. Akron so full of businesses then. Near the end is a fleet of '57 Bel Air convertibles and a Corvette or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpcVBNcM0iE

kyfdx

I was in the Soap Box Derby in 1970. It was still a huge deal in Akron, then. 260 entrants. Chevrolet was the national sponsor

Celebrities:
Lorne Greene
James Drury (smelled of alcohol, hit on my 19 yr old sister)
Lloyd Hanes (Room 222)
many more that I don't remember

We arrived in town on Monday.. One at a time.. Downtown, where we "signed in".
Spent the week at a Boy Scout camp, while our families were put up at the U. of Akron. On Friday evening, a parade downtown, with each entrant in their own Corvette (67 convertible for me)
Saturday, a big banquet after the races.

First class, all the way.

fintail

I remember hearing some of the Chrysler reminders - "the door is ajar", "the key is in the ignition" - that kind of stuff would get annoying.

I bet the various system fault messages in an 80s Audi went off with alarming frequency.

boomchek said:

In high school in the early 90s a friend had one of those mid 80s Chrysler Daytonas.