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

Mr_Shiftright

That seems a stretch. No modern cars are really "hand-built", but perhaps he meant that certain components were hand-fitted, or hand-trimmed while on the assembly line.

And being "hand built" isn't necessarily a good thing. It's all very romantic-sounding, but in reality a robot is way more precise and reliable than a human.

But if you like things like the left door being 1 inch longer than the right one, then maybe a true hand-built car is for you!

fintail

In terms of interiors, there was probably a lot of hand work in a 111 coupe, and a lot of hand assembly compared to a 21st century car (remember that fintail production video) but I am pretty sure they rolled off an assembly line just like a 111 fintail.

The period wasn't as bad in Europe - I think US cars really had issues with emissions and park bench bumpers. The era itself will never be remembered for timeless style though, unless you like the idea of your new MB coupe being orange with a brown interior etc

xwesx

PF_Flyer said:

Off on another internet tangent

Um... NO



The pic came from an article I ran across titled, WHY THE PONTIAC AZTEC WAS THE BIGGEST FAILURE IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY

Hey, if you're gonna own one of those things, it makes a lot of sense to wear the 'ugly' badge with pride!

stickguy

I like the Aztec. Just not the wheels. Those need to go.

kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not Mercedes best period by a long shot.

Other than BMW, who would pick the '70s as the best period for any make?

fintail

I think the Aztek receives too much "worst car" credit just due to the awkward styling.

For MB, I think high points were the 60s and 80s. Present day, aside from endless niche-filling, also isn't a bad time.

xwesx

It certainly had awkward styling - particularly for the time. Since then, some vehicles (and some very successful ones) have had at least as awkward of styling (ex., Juke, RAV4), and many brands have even embraced it (ex., Honda/Acura, Scion/Toyota, Subaru).

I think that one thing that it did was to make Pontiac somewhat relevant again; people talked about it. This was really its only offering that wasn't a photocopy of another GM product, and it was a great car. Ugly as all get out, mind you, but the space, functionality, and driving dynamics were all quite solid.

I had two separate friends who owned one of these, and they both praised them, and responded to my visual criticisms by saying things like "you don't have to look at it from the inside," and "it's good enough that it grows on you." Both kept theirs for a fairly long time, which somewhat speaks for itself.

Michaell

xwesx said:

It certainly had awkward styling - particularly for the time. Since then, some vehicles (and some very successful ones) have had at least as awkward of styling (ex., Juke, RAV4), and many brands have even embraced it (ex., Honda/Acura, Scion/Toyota, Subaru).

I think that one thing that it did was to make Pontiac somewhat relevant again; people talked about it. This was really its only offering that wasn't a photocopy of another GM product, and it was a great car. Ugly as all get out, mind you, but the space, functionality, and driving dynamics were all quite solid.

I had two separate friends who owned one of these, and they both praised them, and responded to my visual criticisms by saying things like "you don't have to look at it from the inside," and "it's good enough that it grows on you." Both kept theirs for a fairly long time, which somewhat speaks for itself.

Not to mention every "Breaking Bad" fan in North America wanted to get their hands on one....

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

In terms of interiors, there was probably a lot of hand work in a 111 coupe, and a lot of hand assembly compared to a 21st century car (remember that fintail production video) but I am pretty sure they rolled off an assembly line just like a 111 fintail.

The period wasn't as bad in Europe - I think US cars really had issues with emissions and park bench bumpers. The era itself will never be remembered for timeless style though, unless you like the idea of your new MB coupe being orange with a brown interior etc

I think they were mechanically pretty bad in the mid 70s. Not a proud moment for Benz.

tjc78

xwesx said:

It certainly had awkward styling - particularly for the time. Since then, some vehicles (and some very successful ones) have had at least as awkward of styling (ex., Juke, RAV4), and many brands have even embraced it (ex., Honda/Acura, Scion/Toyota, Subaru). I think that one thing that it did was to make Pontiac somewhat relevant again; people talked about it. This was really its only offering that wasn't a photocopy of another GM product, and it was a great car. Ugly as all get out, mind you, but the space, functionality, and driving dynamics were all quite solid. I had two separate friends who owned one of these, and they both praised them, and responded to my visual criticisms by saying things like "you don't have to look at it from the inside," and "it's good enough that it grows on you." Both kept theirs for a fairly long time, which somewhat speaks for itself.

If you couldn’t stand the Aztec’s looks st least you could get a Buick Rendevous.  They weren’t nearly as ugly

uplanderguy

I remember when I first saw an Aztek. I was driving home from work not far from the Lordstown plant and saw one on a side road with manufacturer's plates. I've always thought it was someone from GM at Lordstown as I hadn't seen or heard of one yet. They were not built at Lordstown though. It was screaming yellow. I was taken aback (not in a good way).

That said, I find the Cube and Juke every bit as egregious.

uplanderguy

That creamy white late sixties Benz coupe above is a good-looking car....and this from a guy who typically doesn't get excited about anything foreign other than an XK-E.

Speaking of Jag, I watched "Vertigo" for the first time two nights ago. What a strange flick, even for Hitchcock! Kim Novak drove one of those roundish Jag four-door sedans in that 1958 movie. The Jag was dark green.

PF_Flyer

uplanderguy said:

I remember when I first saw an Aztek. I was driving home from work not far from the Lordstown plant and saw one on a side road with manufacturer's plates. I've always thought it was someone from GM at Lordstown as I hadn't seen or heard of one yet. They were not built at Lordstown though. It was screaming yellow. I was taken aback (not in a good way).

That said, I find the Cube and Juke every bit as egregious.

The Cube for sure. In white, it looks like a refrigerator fell over. Sometimes the Juke doesn't look too bad to my eye, depending on the color, but then I move to where I can see those lights on top of the front fenders and... no

ab348

uplanderguy said:

Speaking of Jag, I watched "Vertigo" for the first time two nights ago. What a strange flick, even for Hitchcock! Kim Novak drove one of those roundish Jag four-door sedans in that 1958 movie. The Jag was dark green.

Apparently a Jag Mk VIII:

uplanderguy

That's it!

kyfdx

Kim Novak.. mmmmmmm

uplanderguy

She's now 84.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

She's now 84.

I saw her interviewed on TCM a couple of years ago. She seems happily retired and living comfortably, but has had some very unfortunate plastic surgery done on her face over the years.

kyfdx

uplanderguy said:

She's now 84.

I loved Connie Stevens when I was a kid, too... What is she now, about 150?

kyfdx

On another Vertigo related note..

I love the Hitchcock movies with Jimmy Stewart. Vertigo and Rear Window..
Miss Ellie from Dallas was in Rear Window, IIRC.

uplanderguy

LOL.

You know, as an artist (she's not ever been my physical type, really!) I always loved Carly Simon. Not a publicity hound and at the time, far-less seen and heard than, say, Linda Ronstadt or Carole King.

But..

She has had what appears to me to be some unfortunate plastic surgery too. I might be wrong, but don't think so.

ab348

kyfdx said:

On another Vertigo related note..

I love the Hitchcock movies with Jimmy Stewart. Vertigo and Rear Window..
Miss Ellie from Dallas was in Rear Window, IIRC.

Barbara Bel Geddes. I never remembered seeing her in her early movies until the first time I watched Vertigo a few years ago. She was really quite attractive in that role, quite different from the matronly role she played on Dallas.

roadburner

I felt ancient when I found out Debbie Harry had turned 70; in the 80's I was in love with her, Tracy Tracy(The Primitives), Wendy James(Transvision Vamp), and Laura Brannigan.

uplanderguy

Barbara Bel Geddes was "Midge" in "Vertigo", too.

fintail

Seen today: 300SL coupe, roadster, and 300SLR all together. Estimated value, one hundred gazillion dollars:

Michaell

roadburner said:

I felt ancient when I found out Debbie Harry had turned 70; in the 80's I was in love with her, Tracy Tracy(The Primitives), Wendy James(Transvision Vamp), and Laura Brannigan.

I happened upon a TV show a week or two ago about the making of the Fleetwood Mac album "Rumours". The show was filmed in 2006, when Christine McVie was 63 and Stevie Nicks was 58.

Wow, have they aged well. No unfortunate plastic surgery necessary for either of them.

Debby Harry can't be 70 - all I can remember is the cardboard cutout of her in "Fast Times and Ridgemont High"

texases

You're right. She's 72...

ab348

roadburner said:

I felt ancient when I found out Debbie Harry had turned 70; in the 80's I was in love with her, Tracy Tracy(The Primitives), Wendy James(Transvision Vamp), and Laura Brannigan.

I was the same way with Debby. She was the best thing I ever saw around 1980.

ab348

Michaell said:

I happened upon a TV show a week or two ago about the making of the Fleetwood Mac album "Rumours". The show was filmed in 2006, when Christine McVie was 63 and Stevie Nicks was 58.

Wow, have they aged well. No unfortunate plastic surgery necessary for either of them.

It's remarkable with those two because they were both heavy smokers in their prime plus of course Stevie had a coke habit back then that would bankrupt most people. Stevie never did much for me but I was always rather fond of Christine - must be that Brit accent.

Michaell

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

I happened upon a TV show a week or two ago about the making of the Fleetwood Mac album "Rumours". The show was filmed in 2006, when Christine McVie was 63 and Stevie Nicks was 58.

Wow, have they aged well. No unfortunate plastic surgery necessary for either of them.

It's remarkable with those two because they were both heavy smokers in their prime plus of course Stevie had a coke habit back then that would bankrupt most people. Stevie never did much for me but I was always rather fond of Christine - must be that Brit accent.

They talked about the drugs they used during the show. And, the interpersonal relationships that were coming apart during the songwriting and recording. Took them a full year to record the album.

fintail

On a secondary road today, I spotted a rare Porsche, like this:



I am pretty sure it had a DP kit like this, and was a 930 with whale tail. These must have some good value now.

Also saw a couple of MB W116, a couple W123, 80s Firebird, late 70s F-series, late model CTS (has to be rare here), Hummer H1, and I am amazed at the amount of nice looking W124s still on the road, they must be a cherished item. I also notice old MBs are vastly more common than old BMWs, maybe because of the more mature ownership demographic. Even E30s are uncommon here, and I have yet to see any older on the road. No pre ~1990 Audi, either.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

On a secondary road today, I spotted a rare Porsche, like this:



I am pretty sure it had a DP kit like this, and was a 930 with whale tail. These must have some good value now.

Also saw a couple of MB W116, a couple W123, 80s Firebird, late 70s F-series, late model CTS (has to be rare here), Hummer H1, and I am amazed at the amount of nice looking W124s still on the road, they must be a cherished item. I also notice old MBs are vastly more common than old BMWs, maybe because of the more mature ownership demographic. Even E30s are uncommon here, and I have yet to see any older on the road. No pre ~1990 Audi, either.

RE: 930 DP 935: Probably about $150K if the car has good provenance.

fintail

Not bad, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was more in Europe, too. Older looking guy driving it, although these cars are now old enough where he might not have been too old 35 years ago when it was new.

Mr_Shiftright said:

RE: 930 DP 935: Probably about $150K if the car has good provenance.

Mr_Shiftright

It's tricky pricing them in the U.S because the car needs all the right papers.

fintail

Rotary-engined motorcycle, didn't catch on somehow:



And a livery not often seen on an Adenauer:

Mr_Shiftright

The Presidential Tomato! I kinda like it. The old guy after a few martinis.

fintail

Apparently it was actually used by a fire official, in Bavaria I think.

I saw this somewhat famous MB today:



Estimated value: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Mr_Shiftright

Is that a 540K "Special Roadster"? If so, that's at least $8 million.

fintail

500K, Erdmann and Rossi body. Weird story, if I understand it right: originally owned by the king of Iraq, eventually ended up in Saddam Hussein's collection, sold to the king of Jordan, Saddam wanted it back, so it was sold back - but not until the Jordanian king made a line by line copy and put it on a real 500K chassis. I believe this is the re-creation. The existence of the original is unconfirmed, as during "liberation", many cars were wantonly destroyed.

Mr_Shiftright

Well a real 500K special roadster would be worth perhaps $3.5 million. A re-creation? Who knows. It would have to go to auction to find out. Certainly less than a real one.

fintail

Whatever two rich drunks will pay, I suppose.

Speaking of 540K Special Roadster, 5 years ago at the local annual MBCA gathering, this came out of the woodwork:

Mr_Shiftright

Work of Art really.

ab348

fintail said:

Apparently it was actually used by a fire official, in Bavaria I think.

I saw this somewhat famous MB today:



Estimated value: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

I'd have to ask how it steers with those front skirts.

explorerx4

It makes me wonder, did the original get returned or the copy?
Is that airplane landing gear in the background?

fintail

Not just landing gear, landing gear to the Buran space shuttle:

fintail

With the turning radius of the QEII

ab348 said:

I'd have to ask how it steers with those front skirts.

ab348

Someone here on the forums (I can't recall exactly who) mentioned that they had lost a 380SL in the Santa Rosa wildfires recently.

Here would be a nice replacement to spend the (hopeful) insurance money on: 1985 M-B 380SL

bhill2

ab348 said:

Someone here on the forums (I can't recall exactly who) mentioned that they had lost a 380SL in the Santa Rosa wildfires recently. Here would be a nice replacement to spend the (hopeful) insurance money on: 1985 M-B 380SL

Ab348,

You may be thinking of me. I lost a 380SE in one of those fires. It was a sedan, but was an old friend and I talked about being buried in it. Simply a great old car. 

ab348

Ah, yes, my mistake on the vehicle. Sorry to hear about the loss.

ab348

I'm not a Porsche aficionado but I honestly never heard of a 968 before this:

1995 Porsche 968 on BaT


Looks sort of odd to my eye.