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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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1922 Detroit Electric -- the funny thing about that car is that is has about the same range as most of the electric cars being marketed today. Not too much progress in 85 years.
58 Edsel -- nasty-looking thing.
International Woodie --- OH YEAH! Sign me up! Somebody did a beautiful job. You could CRUSH a modern SUV with that thing.
65 Benz 220 -- looks pretty good, and even has the "chiropracter" automatic transmission. HUMMMMM.....SNAP! I had a 63. Drove that car for years without any trouble. It was a stickshift with AC and a sunroof. I'd run it flat out on the NY Thruway.
Saab 99 Turbo -- now there's a car you want to AVOID at any cost! Bad, bad car. Really bad car. Maserati- Bi-Turbo bad car. TR7 bad car. Show Dracula the Cross before it's too late bad car. Who would bid on this thing? unbelievable. There's an A__ for every seat.
The Sedambulance is an odd one. I've never seen one of those.
The blue Fintail looks like your kind of car, Finfail. It would make a good addition to your fleet!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I could see some nut wanting that Saab. People collect Yugos.
That poor poor Saab buyer. Just shoot him now.
Why would anyone commission the carving of a dashboard out of wood, in the shape of a dashboard of a totally different period car for that matter. If it really is out of solid wood, it's gotta ad some hefty weight to that car. :sick:
It's one of the most silliest things I have ever seen. And he wants $20k for his troubles too.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
When I was a kid, I didn't like fintails - I thought they were awkward with contrived styling, especially the W110 models with their big alien headlights and lack of brightwork. I also thought the W110s were the older models, and the W111s the newer cars, because the stacked lights were used on the W108/109 cars which I knew were a generation newer. But the finnies became less harsh to my eyes as I grew up, and I couldn't resist my car when I saw it for sale...I didn't learn about the technical details of the cars until then. When I talk to fans of period Detroit iron about my car, they are amazed something so old has FI, disc brakes, 4 speed auto, crumple zones, dual zone hvac, etc.
In obscure car news today, I saw a Rolls SCII driving in the rain on I90, easily keeping pace with traffic.
When I was a little kid, I used to think they were Ramblers! :surprise: And from the side and rear, I do see a vague, passing resemblance to something like a '58 vintage Rambler
And I could see the single-headlight models appearing older than the stacked quad models, since the 1958 switch to quad headlights was one styling cue that ingrained in our minds that 4 headlights was newer than 2.
I started liking the style better as I got older, though. And in retrospect the fintail is SOOOO much more tasteful than a '58 Rambler! :P I just wish they would have put the fins on the hardtop and convertible style, too. I think that would look cool, whereas they look a bit plain without them.
The fintail sedans hit the road in '59, when fins were still acceptable. The coupes and convertibles didn't come around until '61, when fins were quickly becoming passe, and everyone knew it. I think that's why those cars didn't get fins. Those coupes and converts became one of the most timeless designs of the period, and remained in production with almost no outward changes for a full decade. I suppose grafting fins on to one of those wouldn't be too difficult. I have seen photos of a protoype for a highline fintail replacement around 1963 which lacked fins, and had a greenhouse that wasn't so angular - but it never made it past one or two examples.
Here's a bigger pic which doesn't work right here thanks to hilariously out of date Edmunds page formatting...come on guys, it's 2008!
Two Morgans, one on a flatbed, the other under it's own power, both were early 50s
Plus 4 models with the flat radiator, like this, and both were a medium/dark blue.
I also spotted a dark blue '64 Stingray, parked with a it's top down, just the thing for a nice ride on a late summer Friday afternoon.
All three of these sports cars we in fabulous shape.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
There was a white '61 Imperial 4-door hardtop, and an early 60's Rambler American convertible there too, but they left before I was able to take pics of them.
we took in the planes first, they were all single props. there were some older planes, like wasp engine biplanes and new turboprops. we enjoyed watching them take off.
plenty of american classic cars, plus a few austin-healeys and an unusual land rover. it was kind of a big orange flatebd. maybe a support truck. it had roll bars over the top of the whole truck plus jacks attached to each corner, temporary bridging in the bed, etc...
Good mpg, too.
I think one feature that might attract me to them is the roofline. It looks a bit like a more squared-off version of a '57-59 DeSoto or Chrysler roof.
I also saw a BMW Z8.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Has to be worth this just for parts...this is unobtanium
Some early tin cans are getting respectable bids
Decent Supra
Rare and probably ruined
Somewhat cute little thing
Early traction
This is the provenance some like
Not for the queasy
Fuelie
Almost new kind of
I could see lemko in this
Aeroback
The Buicks were better looking
This nutjob is back, I knew he would be
by my boss to only undercoat the areas the customer could see. I considered
that to be an unbelievable ripoff and ignored the order and undercoated everything I could and rubbed it in with a rag in difficult to get at areas. Our
customers got the best rustproofing I could give them in spite of the penny pinching boss..
Simca Aronde Wagon --- well I guess, if you have to have one. Ugly little mutt.
Traction Avant is nice but price is whacko. Go read a price guide and re-list it.
69 Corolla -- sure they get good bids. This is a car that will probably outlast your new car. Use it every day with confidence. Great little cars if a tad tinny.
The Fiat Ritmo looks beat up.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2 - Pontiac
K57 - Grand Prix (I think...my LeMans is G37)
K - Olds 403
7 - 1977 model year
P - the assembly plant (not sure which one, but my LeMans came from the same plant...YUCK, they're cousins!)
390199 - sequence number
I don't think I'll ever be able to look at my LeMans in the same light again, knowing that it has this thing for a cousin! :sick:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I also saw a guy dropping off his kid at our elementary school in a Ferrari 308.
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2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
This cheapy Model A roadster is offered for sale on local CL....even if it is a little ratty it would have brought that much 25-30 years ago.
Actually my favorite A is the 4-door town sedan. It's comfy and you can take your friends around in it no problem. AND there's more room for the driver in that version.
A town sedan can be relatively handsome with sidemounts, and the formal sedan or whatever the one is without rear quarter windows can have some presence too.
If Americans keep growing in height and width, I bet you'll actually see old car values adjust according to whether collectors can squeeze into them anymore.
I'm always amused when I watch "The Waltons", and see them slide three people across in John-Boy's old Model A coupe, or the truck, which I'm guessing was based on Model A architecture, too. They just look snug when they do it on tv, but I'm sure it would be cramped in real life!
I was kinda shocked one day when I sat behind the wheel of a 1949 or so Buick sedan. That sucker was really cramped. No legroom, plus the steering wheel right in your gut. Maybe you could wear a hat while driving it, but if you have long legs or are chunky, forget about being comfy!
Maybe by the late 50s it changed...I don't remember feeling bad behind the wheel of my dad's 60 full sized Ford, nor my 66 Galaxie, and the fintail is comfortable with plenty of room too...and I am not short nor skinny.
It definitely improved in the late 50's. I remember sitting in a '56 Chrysler or DeSoto at one of the Carlisle swap meets, and the difference between it and my '57 was like night and day. The '57's seat is much lower, and I think they actually got a lot of complaints about that, but it also goes back much further than the '56 did, so legroom feels better to me. And the steering wheel is at a better angle, with the column being more vertical, so in a head on collision I guess it impales your chest instead of your face! The '56 felt more like an old pickup truck seating position.
They made further strides in the late 60's. I remember the steering wheel of my '69 Bonneville being about as big as that of a modern car, rather than those bus/truck sized steering wheels older cars had. And it seemed to be positioned a bit further away from my chest than, say, my '67 Catalina. Or my '68 and '69 Darts.
The most recent car I could think of that had a badly placed steering wheel was my '89 Gran Fury. Legroom in that car was excellent, but the steering wheel just seemed a little too close. Scary thought too, considering it had an airbag in it! I imagine it would've been pretty dangerous for some little old lady who had to sit right up against the steering wheel!
I've always heard that the '76 Volare/Aspen still had a little Dart/Valiant DNA in them, as opposed to being a truly new from the ground up car. Maybe there's a bit of truth to that, as the seating position felt almost the same, with regards to legroom and the steering column position. Shoulder room was about the same, too. The engine sat further back in the Aspen/Volare and all their offshoots though, so that in turn pushed the transmission further back, making for a bigger hump.
I remember reading an old Popular Mechanics review of a 1972 Impala, and one of the testers was complaining about the steering wheel location. So maybe with some cars by that time, it was still an issue. It's been so long since I've been in that era of GM big car though, that I can't remember if it was for me.
"Free Spirit"...never heard of it
This Titanic survived pretty well
Andre-mobile
Lemko-mobile
X-car ragtop
Nice old Poncho
And a Poncho that's uncommon anymore
I like that '78 Catalina, too. Normally those wouldn't be my two favorite colors, but I think they go well on that car.