Odd thing about that photo, where're all the imports?
I mean this is a major Northeastern city and a big college/university center in the mid 1960s (the height of Euro car sales) . Only one VW, and a Hillman? No Volvos, no Saabs, no MGs or Triumphs? Weird.
Not so common in the early 1960s. The imports really didn't come on strong until the game changer---the Honda CVCC. Even Renault outsold VW in the early 60s. (briefly).
Well that pic only shows one row of cars in a big parking lot. Might be harder to spot an MG or Triumph parked in between all the Detroit iron.
edit to add: I think the Galaxie 500 XL grill star was a '62 thing. One of my brothers had a Galaxie 500 XL which had a hood release Ford emblem in the grill and I'm pretty sure it was a '63. He didn't have it long before trading up to a '69 Impala Custom coupe.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
I suspect the dechromed car is a custom - I have never seen one with a lack of upper side chrome, and the wire wheels are a red alert that things might be modified.
The more I look at it, the more I seen that you're right. The chrome thingie at center of the grille is the tell. It wasn't on the '61s, in fact it wasn't on all '62s.
Some had it>
Some didn't> Dn't know why, perhaps this distinguished a 500XL from a mere XL.
I think the key in the blue car is the side trim. I think all convertibles would have the chrome trim on the side, at least when new. I think all 61 convertibles had rear quarter aluminum trim similar to a 60.
I think the key in the blue car is the side trim. I think all convertibles would have the chrome trim on the side, at least when new. I think all 61 convertibles had rear quarter aluminum trim similar to a 60.
Another funny thing about 1961 Ford Galaxie/Starliner/Sunliner models is that they all seem to share the same bifurcated (?) grill.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
Oh yes the white car w wires was a mild custom but it is not hard to find '62s missing the centerpiece. This one for example looks dead-stock>
Yes, but check out that side badge. 405 HP Thunderbird engine. I'll take it. Where do I sign? As to the grille centerpiece, the 1962 Galaxie 500 and 500 XL had it.
Yep, that's a Town Victoria, quite uncommon. A 60 Town Victoria is one of those oddball cars I sometimes think I'd like to find. They must be extremely rare today, hard to find a modern day pic of one:
1960 Ford Galaxie. (Hmmm, but that trunk script looks too small.)
It's more or less normal size and it does say "Galaxie"
This car is advertised as a "Galaxie Town Car" although I don't see that wording anywhere. >
The styling of the 1960 Ford is interesting to me because it apes (somewhat) the bat wing styling of the '59 Chevy. I wonder how Ford was able to do this so quickly given the lead times required for styling in the analog age. They must've had a spy in the GM Design studios.
The seller should have listed it as "Town Sedan". We had one in the fleet at Fort Lewis. It was the oldest car in the motor pool. The 3 on the tree linkage would lock up in first gear causing many "strong comments".
The "Town Sedan" and "Town Victoria" names were used in promo literature, but didn't appear on the car. The two door post Galaxie was called a "Club Sedan", also not appearing on the car. Fairlanes had the same naming in sales material.
I suspect the fins might have had some concurrent evolution - as was said, they entered production at roughly the same time, a short lead for copying. I notice that white sedan (white seems to have been very popular on 60 Fords) has optional reverse lights.
We had the 560SEC for model years 86-91, with no real exterior changes. The later ones were passing 70K in those dollars. The C140s kick the pricing up a notch, I think a 600SEC was 120-130K or so in 1992.
We had the 560SEC for model years 86-91, with no real exterior changes. The later ones were passing 70K in those dollars. The C140s kick the pricing up a notch, I think a 600SEC was 120-130K or so in 1992.
Methinks the 600SEC may have been the last true hardtop sold in the USA, anyone know for sure?
The styling of the 1960 Ford is interesting to me because it apes (somewhat) the bat wing styling of the '59 Chevy. I recall in its day that some Chevy fans referred to it as an aborted 59 Chevy
This was called the Aurora I think and was supposed to be completely safe. It was designed by a clergyman in the US but having seen pictures of it before I always imagined if it went at all it was likely to have been dangerous to drive due to the distorted view through the weird windscreen.
EDIT - sorry - I didn't appreciate you had already provided a link to the details
I notice that MB has had numerous hardtop coupes, but never a hardtop sedan. I suspect it is easier to have a stronger structure with only two doors - the area behind the door on one of those coupes is pretty rugged. I suspect they are as safe as possible, and safer than many if not most mainstream cars.
This was called the Aurora I think and was supposed to be completely safe. It was designed by a clergyman in the US but having seen pictures of it before I always imagined if it went at all it was likely to have been dangerous to drive due to the distorted view through the weird windscreen.
There's a lot of strange things about that car, but the windscreen really "pops!" And no wipers. Safety first.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
"Production lasted from 1951 to 1962. All in all four versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer have been produced: While the first three models differed mostly in technical and a few optical aspects, the last version 300d was not only larger and offered a more powerful fuel injected engine, it was also somewhat similar to American luxury cars of that time. It was the first Mercedes-Benz sedan with a hardtop roof. All four side windows could be lowered with their chromed frames, there was no B-pillar and even the rear quarter lights could be removed and stored in small pockets in the trunk. When a Webasto sunroof had been ordered, the car could almost pass as a cabriolet. Although four-door cabriolets were available for all versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer, they were very expensive and only a few have been produced. The last cabriolet, based on the 300d, was even more expensive than the 300SL."
The hardtop model was the second gen car, here for model years 1958-63. The later year cars are pretty rare, as the design was quite old looking by then, and quite expensive, probably around 10K at the time. I wonder if any were even driven hard enough to roll.
"Production lasted from 1951 to 1962. All in all four versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer have been produced: While the first three models differed mostly in technical and a few optical aspects, the last version 300d was not only larger and offered a more powerful fuel injected engine, it was also somewhat similar to American luxury cars of that time. It was the first Mercedes-Benz sedan with a hardtop roof. All four side windows could be lowered with their chromed frames, there was no B-pillar and even the rear quarter lights could be removed and stored in small pockets in the trunk. When a Webasto sunroof had been ordered, the car could almost pass as a cabriolet. Although four-door cabriolets were available for all versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer, they were very expensive and only a few have been produced. The last cabriolet, based on the 300d, was even more expensive than the 300SL."
More than a 300SL? Wow I thought it looked expensive but the pic I found wasn't even the cabriolet version.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
The hardtop model was the second gen car, here for model years 1958-63. The later year cars are pretty rare, as the design was quite old looking by then, and quite expensive, probably around 10K at the time. I wonder if any were even driven hard enough to roll.
Some cars get rolled over before they make it to the dealership. This can't only happen in China, but...
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
Comments
I mean this is a major Northeastern city and a big college/university center in the mid 1960s (the height of Euro car sales) . Only one VW, and a Hillman? No Volvos, no Saabs, no MGs or Triumphs? Weird.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
edit to add: I think the Galaxie 500 XL grill star was a '62 thing. One of my brothers had a Galaxie 500 XL which had a hood release Ford emblem in the grill and I'm pretty sure it was a '63. He didn't have it long before trading up to a '69 Impala Custom coupe.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
As to the grille centerpiece, the 1962 Galaxie 500 and 500 XL had it.
IIRC the big block Ford V8 for '62 was 406 CID.
I find the 1961 and '62 big Fords look very much alike. From the front if they have the two-part grill they're '61s otherwise they're '62s.
From behind, they're a bit different>
(Note the emblem on the C-post, it got moved to the center of the grille for '62)
1962s had squared off rears.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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Can't say I've ever heard of a Galxie Crown Vic.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
This car is advertised as a "Galaxie Town Car" although I don't see that wording anywhere.
>
The styling of the 1960 Ford is interesting to me because it apes (somewhat) the bat wing styling of the '59 Chevy. I wonder how Ford was able to do this so quickly given the lead times required for styling in the analog age. They must've had a spy in the GM Design studios.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
We had one in the fleet at Fort Lewis. It was the oldest car in the motor pool. The 3 on the tree linkage would lock up in first gear causing many "strong comments".
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I'll say early '90s
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I suspect the fins might have had some concurrent evolution - as was said, they entered production at roughly the same time, a short lead for copying. I notice that white sedan (white seems to have been very popular on 60 Fords) has optional reverse lights.
When Boomer Esiason was QB for the Bengals, he drove the previous generation coupe. Seems like it had a bigger grill emblem, though.
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His would have been ‘87-‘89, I think
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
C215:
C216:
C217:
E/CLK coupes since MY 2004 are also hardtops. MB has continuously had at least one true hardtop in the range since the 1961 model year.
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I recall in its day that some Chevy fans referred to it as an aborted 59 Chevy
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
EDIT - sorry - I didn't appreciate you had already provided a link to the details
Safety first.
"Production lasted from 1951 to 1962. All in all four versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer have been produced: While the first three models differed mostly in technical and a few optical aspects, the last version 300d was not only larger and offered a more powerful fuel injected engine, it was also somewhat similar to American luxury cars of that time. It was the first Mercedes-Benz sedan with a hardtop roof. All four side windows could be lowered with their chromed frames, there was no B-pillar and even the rear quarter lights could be removed and stored in small pockets in the trunk. When a Webasto sunroof had been ordered, the car could almost pass as a cabriolet. Although four-door cabriolets were available for all versions of the Mercedes 300 Adenauer, they were very expensive and only a few have been produced. The last cabriolet, based on the 300d, was even more expensive than the 300SL."
Definitely bir klasik.
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