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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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One year a Citroen SM (IIRC, I remember it having some kind of kinky acronym...do they make a BD ;-) won car of the year, back in the 70's. I never understood the rationale for that one though, as back then COTY was supposed to be domestic-only.
Maybe everything else sucked so badly that year they decided to open it up to imports for just that year?
The kinky designation came from the fact that it had a Maserati V6 (Citroen owned Maserati at the time), thus SM=Sport Maserati.
It was one of the most radical and unusual GTs ever built. Burt Reynolds wrecks one in the opening scene of The Longest Yard.
It was also fairly odd-looking....
http://www.citroensm.net/Models/Gallery/HansVanDerHaring.html
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Definitely a car for only the very very brave to own.
It focuses on the 1960 Corvair, but does have a list of all the Motortrend winners from 2000 on back.
I don't think that 1972 was really a crappy year for domestics, as they'd prove once emissions controls really got their foothold that things could get much worse.
But there really wasn't much all-new in 1972. GM had nothing that I can remember, as the Vega (1971's winner) and the full-sized cars were redone the year before, and the intermediates would be redone for '73. The ponycars were redone for "1970 1/2". The compacts were redone back in '68, and would only get a heavy facelift for '73 and '75.
Chrysler didn't have anything new in '72, either. The intermediates were redone for '71 and the big cars would be redone for '74. The compacts would get replaced in '76, when the Aspen/Volare became another fateful COTY. The Charger/Barracuda were new for '70, and were just dropped in '74, with no replacement.
I think Ford did have a new Torino out in 1972...the bigger, bulkier Starsky and Hutch style with the frameless windows, even on 4-doors and wagons. I think the big cars would get redesigned for '73, and the compact Maverick had come out as a 1970 model. The Mustang was redone for '71.
So I guess in 1972, there just wasn't much out there that was "all new", so they threw in the Citroen just to make it interesting.
And to be fair, Detroit has always had a bad habit of trying to recycle as much as they can with an "all new" model. The '75 Granada is essentially a heavily revised Maverick 4-door, and I've heard that the Maverick itself can be traced back to the old Falcon/Fairlane. And even the 4-cyl in the Ford Tempo (and I think the one in the current Ranger) dates back to the old Falcon 6-cyl, minus two.
I've also heard the Aspen/Volare referred to as a slightly larger, heavier, roomier, more luxurious, and much less reliable Dart.
Another good reason to forget the cars of the 70s (at least those after '73).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I can't place that model you describe.. I know in '77 or '78, the T-bird came out in a special edition that had a brushed aluminum "basket handle" across the top, but I can't remember the Mustang II having it. Triple orange.... real nice...lol.
regards,
kyfdx
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http://homepage.mac.com/kaholton/topsdown/dj_ad.jpg
For the Diamond Jubilee, Ford put a vinyl top on the T-bird, but left a bare, body-color basket handle section that went across the top. The vinyl top in the rear blocked out the larger side quarter windows, and must have been fun for visibility.
I think in 1979, the same basic Diamond Jubilee package was offered as the "Heritage", and available in a few different colors, but the same roof treatment. Maybe there was some kind of optional trim that put aluminum trim on the basket handle part or the roof?
Funny thing is, he ditched the car six months later for a 280Z. It was the special edition Zap model... Bright yellow with a black center stripe.. A very good choice, IMO.
regards,
kyfdx
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Turns out that T-bird model was called the Town Landau. If you scroll about half-way down this page: http://www.regent.edu/acad/schbus/ags/T-Bird/1977_thunderbird.htm it gives a detailed description of the model.
Didn't hold a candle to that Datsun 280Z, though.
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The Elite was actually a test done by Ford to see if the public would respond well to a Monte Carlo-sized T-bird. It did sell fairly well, and I think in '76 probably outsold all the Torino body styles combined, but the '77-79 T-birds that followed, for better or worse, went down as the most successful T-bird in history.
The LTD-II was a half-baked try by Ford to convince customers that only Ford still offered buyers the choice between traditional full-sized cars and downsized full-sized cars. It was a shot taken at GM, who took a big gamble in '77 in downsizing their big cars, just as the public was starting to return to behemoths in the wake of the first oil crisis.
Few people were fooled, though, although I think part of the reason for the LTD-II's failure was that the T-bird was just such a smash hit, and much less expensive than its larger forebears. Instead of having to make do with an LTD-II, for just a few bucks more, people could move up to the magical T-bird name.
As for the sedans and wagons, well even though the LTD-II was smaller than the real, full-sized LTD, it wasn't that much smaller. The '72-76 Torino and Montego/Cougar, were bigger and heavier than GM's '73-77 intermediates, and by the time they squared them off for '77 to make them look more modern, they actually put on a few inches! I believe an LTD-II wagon is actually an inch or two LONGER than a full-sized LTD wagon! Those intermediates had really long hoods, which used up a lot of length but didn't translate into much overall interior room.
Chrysler tried a similar thing in trying to make people think it had downsized, by changing its intermediate Satellite and Coronet lineup to Fury and Monaco, leaving the truly big cars as Gran Fury and Royal Monaco. I think Plymouth was actually pretty early in this little ploy, doing it in 1976, but Dodge didn't do it until '77, same year as the LTD-II nonsense.
I think the ploy worked better for Chrysler than it did for Ford, as those intermediate Monacos and Furys seemed to sell better than the LTD-II's and Cougar sedans and wagons. The Cougar XR-7 was a hot seller in '77-79 though.
"Small Fury! The car a lot of people have been waiting for!"
Cordoba-I remember reading an interview with Ricardo Mantoban (spelling?) of "rich corinthian leather" fame. At one time his street ride was a Ghia bodied Jag C-type, IIRC.
"De Cordoba eez as good a car as I am an ACK-TOR"
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Except, it was a false breast plate Montalban wore for the movie.
Spotted yesterday ... Alfa Romeo Spider, looked like early 80's vintage, driven by a guy in his 50's. White with black top, looked to be in good condition.
Thank God we don't use salt on the roads here in Colorado.
Not that GM or Chrysler, for that matter, were much better at the time. Today, for example, I saw a '73 or '74 (I think the only years they were made) Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus (say THAT five times fast), nicely restored in blue with requisite rumbling V8 and period mag wheels. Pretty popular when new, at least in my neighborhood, there were three within a block of me back then. How many times was the name 'Satellite' used?
Also saw a BMW 745i and both a stretch limo (!) and regular Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows, the former a pre-1973 with small bumpers.
As for the name "Satellite", I think Plymouth was actually pretty consistent with it. As long as I can remember, it always denoted an intermediate car. In the earlier years, it was an upper level model, as the Belvedere was the base model, and there were sporty versions of the Satellite as well. I think Belevedere was finally dropped after 1970, and all the intermediate Plymouths became Satellites. I think 2-door models were either Satellite Sebrings or Satellite Road Runners, or something like that.
Also: an original Mini, dark green, white top and minilite wheels, very cool. I assume it was a Cooper but didn't get close enough to see badging.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I'm sure I'll have a snowball's chance in hell of winning it, but ya never know.
Gotta love the writeup that goes with it, though...
"1964 Dodge 440
Your next chance to win is at the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, July 9-11, 2004. This giveaway is something really special: a 1964 Dodge 440 with only 10,103 original miles, all documented.
Our Dodge giveaway car is a real find. With only 10,103 original miles on the odometer, this muscle car from the dawn of the 1960s steps right out of history into the present. In 1964 you could still hear Jan & Dean's car classic, "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," the song depicting a certain "brand new, shiny red super stock Dodge," which the little old lady raced against all comers.
The song said it all: anyone with about $3,373 could go to the Dodge showroom and buy a solid, simple, two- or four-door car and option it up with a massive 440-cubic-inch engine, seat belts (yes, still optional!), tinted glass, whitewall tires, wheel covers and remote mirror. Four-speed floor shifts were available as well as Turboflite automatics, but either way the cars were fast and reliable - at least in a straight line!
Back in 1964, the tracks and strips were dominated by Chevy and Ford, but those loyal to the Mopar brand could easily be competitive by purchasing a big-block Dodge or Chrysler product and then go racing. You wouldn't want to do it with our giveaway car, of course, because it's too nice to risk damage. Its white finish is showroom stock and it's as new as a 40-year-old car could possibly be.
Vendors, show field participants and Sunday's general admission visitors each receive a ticket for the drawing. The drawing is held at the Grandstand on Sunday afternoon following the awards presentation at approximately 3 p.m.
The ticket holder must be present to win. No purchase is necessary."
Okay, how many factual errors can we find in that one? I can spot two, without looking too hard. BTW, I think the giveway car just has a 318 wideblock which, admittedly, has fooled many an unsuspecting person into thinking it's a big block.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
One thing that always throws people off, is Dodge had a habit of using numbers for trim designations, such as 170 and 270 for Darts, 330/440/500 for Coronets (I think in the early years there was a 770, as well) and the Custom 880.
Well, Dodge also had a 170 slant six, and the 440 V-8, so put that together, and some people mistake the trim level for the engine size, if it's something that sounds rational, like a 440.
FWIW, I think the 440's first year was '65 or 66. And oddly enough, the year it first came out, it was standard on the New Yorker, while the Imperial, a more prestigious car that weighed nearly a half-ton more, was still stuck with the 413!
Their giveaway car at the GM Nats was a nicely preserved '78 or so Caprice coupe. You should've seen the writeup on that one! Somehow they got mixed up, and most of the description sounded more like an '87 Caprice!
They had the Dodge sitting next to the Caprice, and there was also a '65 or so Mustang hardtop there, the giveway car for the Ford Nationals. All three were in excellent shape, but it was interesting to compare the workmanship of the three. It was pretty evident that by the mid 60's, Mopar was actually starting to put some effort into their build quality. They had to, because the late 50's cars really sunk their image. The Mustang looked like it was slapped together by chimpanzees. And the Caprice, probably one of the better built cars of 1978, had horrible workmanship. Not only by today's standards, but also by mid-60's standards!
I think that's one reason why a lot of people might still come down on today's cars and cry "they don't build 'em like they used to", because throughout the 70's and a good chunk of the 80's, and even some 90's cars, people just got used to cars being worse than what came before. And when cars finally DID start getting better, these people just weren't noticing.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I had a momentary brain lapse with regards to the Coronet name. It was retired after 1959, replaced for '60 by a full-sized Dart lineup, and then came back for '65 as an intermediate.
Actually, the Polara was the top-of-the-line intermediate trim for '63 and '64, with the 440 and 330 being lower trim levels.
Then, my fiance showed up with a 1972 Dodge Polara sedan. It was fine although it had been rescued from a junkyard and cleaned up. It almost killed me as the Transmission would not LOCK into park. I got out of the car but the car was rolling and I was knocked out cold.
Your picture brought back some good memories ...
As advertised on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. Lincolns of that era had an elegance they've never recaptured since.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I don't remember Buick having a 425 though...I know they had a 401 and a 430, and then finally the 455. But was there a 425 in there, at some point? I know Olds had a 425, though. And also, would a Turbo 350 be enough tranny for something like that? That's all my truck has, and it's only a 305!
Anyway, the car's driveable, but needs interior and body work. Body doesn't look *too* bad, except for some pretty bad rear quarters. It's kind of a light gold color. Black top, glass rear window.
I'm tempted, but should know better....
401 ci (aka 'nailhead'), overhead valve, cast iron block, 325hp, 10.25:1 compression, four-barrel carb (doesn't specify mfr, but earlier versions had either the Carter model 2840 or Rochester model 7015040).
Transmissions on GM cars of this era can be very confusing. 'Super turbine' transmission is listed as standard (same as previous years), but I was under the impression that certain Cadillacs got the TH for '64, all got it for '65, as well as some other high end models. It looks like Buick called the TH 'Super turbine' all the way up to at least '67. So basically, I don't know. That car may have a glorified DynaSlush or it may have a bonafide Turbo Hydramatic. I do remember my uncle destroying the trans on my grandpa's '66 Wildcat, but since I was like six or seven at the time, I don't remember any details.
It seems strange that you could technically buy a cheap Chevy Biscayne with a 396 and get a TH but a $4500-6000 Buick convertible would have an archaic old unit. Of course, Buick at the time wasn't exactly GM's technology showboat, so who knows?
Didn't the THM 350 actually come a few years later than the 400, though, and mainly as an intermediate and smaller V-8 tranny? I have heard some people say though, that a THM 350 is sometimes better than a 400, because it's lighter but still strong enough, and will "wind up" quicker than a 400.
I also looked in my old car book, and it looks like a 425 was optional, with 340 or 360 hp. The 430 I was thinking of didn't come along until a few years later. 1968 or something like that.
The only thing that kept me from buying it was the fact that I recently moved, and am still trying to finish getting my old place fixed up and on the market. Owning two places at the same time can be a real pain!
Oh yeah, I did buy something at the GM Nationals a few weeks ago. Finally got around to taking some pics of it this morning with my roommate's digital camera, but I don't know how to upload it to the computer. I'll try to get 'em posted tonite.
I'm still not gonna say what it is, but I'll say this much...it's a brand I've never owned before! ;-)
So it's not a Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, or Buick!