Yup, it's a 1959 Mercury Monterey hardtop sedan like the one I learned to drive on. Like most Detroit iron of that era it was A hideous pig on the road but IMHO it was one of the better (non-Exner) designs of the awful '58-'60 era. I particularly liked the huge wraparound glass front and rear.
My Dad surprised me by going for the hardtop. I thought sure he'd go for the four-poster which wasn't nearly as pretty>
@kyfdx said:
The sedan started with '92. Not sure what year the wagon started.
Unpopular opinion: The previous generation was peak Camry.
That is an unpopular opinion. The 92-96 Camry pretty much solidified Toyota as king of the family sedan for a good while. I still see 92-96 Camrys quite often… more so than just about any other vanilla sedan from the 90s.
Noting the comments on cars you all learned to drive on I can't imagine anyone here being able to take a driving test on a large US car from the 50's as our driving tests back when I started driving (1973 when I turned 17) involved manoeuvres like three point turns, reversing round corners etc - but almost always on town streets.
The town in Wales where I did my learning was filled with narrow and hilly streets so I doubt you would easily get a 59 Mercury round in one!
If you took a test on a manual (shift )car (which most do) then if successful you were licensed to drive manual or automatic but if you took a test on an automatic you couldn't then drive manual without passing a further test
I actually took my first test in a Vauxhall Viva HC (and failed) and my second attempt was in a Triumph Toledo which I had only driven for the first time an hour earlier as the car belonged to the driving school and the previous pupil that morning had damaged the Viva so it was out of action.
I think the fact I hadn't driven the Toledo before was a help as it made me more careful - so I passed
The reason I couldn't take my test on my parents cars was they both had automatics so I didn't want to be limited just to Auto's
When I turned 15 I took the test and passed in mom's 72 Cutlass Supreme. Less than a month later we moved to England. No driving for me! Cruel and unusual punishment for a car lover like me!
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I took my test in a nearly new 91 Sunbird that belonged to a family friend - I think my parents' cars were unavailable or the Sunbird seemed smaller (and I wasn't going to take it in the Galaxie or Country Sedan). I took driver's ed in a new Plymouth Acclaim - I think at the time it had 2K miles on it - I got lucky, as the school's other driver's ed car was a Fairmont with typical malaise drivability quirks.
77ish Caprice. early "downsized" model. Gigantic to me since the other cars I drove were a Volvo 144, VW Beetle, and the death trap (my Grandmother's VW 412 wagon. what an awful car).
and coming from a manual everything (including brakes, steering and transmission) a barge domestic cush mobile was a complete culture shock.
my fail on that first test was because the outskirts of my home town - Bridgend, Glamorganshire - had a really busy road junction with the town by-pass meeting what was the busiest road in Wales at a four way roundabout.
I approached the junction and as the traffic on the main road was relatively quick but there was a space I did what everyone did and accelerated to match the speed of the approaching traffic and merge with it.
Unfortunately as I did this a guy on the roundabout basically stopped to let someone out - which you are not supposed to do - and I had brake firmly.
I should've stopped but what the examiner said was I hadn't read the traffic conditions correctly which was fair enough really
Main problem I had was that there was a delay of four months before I could take a re-test, which seemed ages then, though it was mostly school anyway.
We don't get Driving Ed classes at school in the UK - you have to learn with someone who's passed ie parents or whoever or you pay an instructor at a Driving school.
As a result most people in the UK in my generation passed on Ford Escorts / Vivas or perhaps a Hillman Avenger
Nowadays everyone probably passes in Ford Fiestas or Nissan Micras
(And they also say that for the 1960's or 70's half of them were conceived in a Cortina but that wasn't in the Driving Test....)
my fail on that first test was because the outskirts of my home town - Bridgend, Glamorganshire - had a really busy road junction with the town by-pass meeting what was the busiest road in Wales at a four way roundabout.
I approached the junction and as the traffic on the main road was relatively quick but there was a space I did what everyone did and accelerated to match the speed of the approaching traffic and merge with it.
Unfortunately as I did this a guy on the roundabout basically stopped to let someone out - which you are not supposed to do - and I had brake firmly.
I should've stopped but what the examiner said was I hadn't read the traffic conditions correctly which was fair enough really
Main problem I had was that there was a delay of four months before I could take a re-test, which seemed ages then, though it was mostly school anyway.
We don't get Driving Ed classes at school in the UK - you have to learn with someone who's passed ie parents or whoever or you pay an instructor at a Driving school.
As a result most people in the UK in my generation passed on Ford Escorts / Vivas or perhaps a Hillman Avenger
Nowadays everyone probably passes in Ford Fiestas or Nissan Micras
(And they also say that for the 1960's or 70's half of them were conceived in a Cortina but that wasn't in the Driving Test....)
For a new driver, does the UK still require an L placard be posted on the back which alerts others of a new driver and restricts the speed and roads that they can travel?
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Including roundabouts on a licensing test are cruel and unusual punishment. It's everyone for themselves in them around here since nobody seems to follow the same set of rules.
I did my driver's ed in a 1972 LeSabre, what a boat, provided to the high school by the local Buick dealer (Marge Schott Buick, I think, in Cincinnati). The teacher complimented me on keeping it between the lines and off the shoulder, he must have had some bad experiences. Learned parallel parking in that, it was a snap with my '65 Mustang at the test.
Magnette didn't mention parallel parking as a part of his driving test. It was by fr the hardest part of mine.
It's lots easier now w back-up cameras, parking sensors and a much smaller car (M240i)
Not to mention power steering.
They wouldn't have sold a single one of those oversize 50s tanks if they didn't have power steering....wait... the 1960 Chevy I drove in driver's ed didn't have PS,
I think of my first 8 cars (7 used, 1 new, and I might be forgetting a couple) the only one that actually had power steering was my 75ish Gremlin. I recall that being easy to steer!
@sda - Yes Learners have display a white square plate with a Red Letter L on the front and the rear of the car Not in my time but nowadays the devolved Welsh government now allow the Letter "D" in red as an alternative - but only in Wales itself
Yes we did parallel parking too It's very necessary particularly here in London as many residents have no off road parking (We don't -either but we do park the Magnette in garage across the street which we bought some years ago.
It is becoming a major concern here in areas like London that there are very few electric charging points in the street...
This street has two way traffic with bus stops on both sides and our front gardens are not more that eight feet back from the road kerb and we are also up some steps so the car is below us a few feet anyway.
There are about forty houses on this road - nearly all of us have terraced houses so no side access and in addition there are a couple of blocks of flats on the other side.
None of us can park off road and our road frontage is about twenty feet wide with a garden wall and railings too. There is only one charging point in this street and there are none in the other roads here for about three blocks.
What is going to happen when the number of electric vehicles increases is a really pressing problem but to charge the number of cars which park here each night they would have to demolish one side of the street to make space and given we are all owner occupiers that ain't happening !
There's a white 63 Galaxie fastback behind a white cigar 'Bird kind of center middle. Galaxie looks like it might have a teardrop style hood, I wonder if it could be a 427/lightweight car.
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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Like most Detroit iron of that era it was A hideous pig on the road but IMHO it was one of the better
(non-Exner) designs of the awful '58-'60 era. I particularly liked the huge wraparound glass front and rear.
My Dad surprised me by going for the hardtop. I thought sure he'd go for the four-poster which wasn't
nearly as pretty>
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Those two cars have completely different tops!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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Unpopular opinion: The previous generation was peak Camry.
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My folks had a '91 Camry for a number of years, before buying the Sonata.
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That is an unpopular opinion. The 92-96 Camry pretty much solidified Toyota as king of the family sedan for a good while. I still see 92-96 Camrys quite often… more so than just about any other vanilla sedan from the 90s.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The town in Wales where I did my learning was filled with narrow and hilly streets so I doubt you would easily get a 59 Mercury round in one!
If you took a test on a manual (shift )car (which most do) then if successful you were licensed to drive manual or automatic but if you took a test on an automatic you couldn't then drive manual without passing a further test
I actually took my first test in a Vauxhall Viva HC (and failed) and my second attempt was in a Triumph Toledo which I had only driven for the first time an hour earlier as the car belonged to the driving school and the previous pupil that morning had damaged the Viva so it was out of action.
I think the fact I hadn't driven the Toledo before was a help as it made me more careful - so I passed
The reason I couldn't take my test on my parents cars was they both had automatics so I didn't want to be limited just to Auto's
My test was in a 54 Ford when I was 14. Passed the first time.
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and coming from a manual everything (including brakes, steering and transmission) a barge domestic cush mobile was a complete culture shock.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I took my test in a first year Neon. White with white hubcaps… embarrassing to this day.
I should have used the 92 Caravan or my 89 Grand Marquis
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
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I approached the junction and as the traffic on the main road was relatively quick but there was a space I did what everyone did and accelerated to match the speed of the approaching traffic and merge with it.
Unfortunately as I did this a guy on the roundabout basically stopped to let someone out - which you are not supposed to do - and I had brake firmly.
I should've stopped but what the examiner said was I hadn't read the traffic conditions correctly which was fair enough really
Main problem I had was that there was a delay of four months before I could take a re-test, which seemed ages then, though it was mostly school anyway.
We don't get Driving Ed classes at school in the UK - you have to learn with someone who's passed ie parents or whoever or you pay an instructor at a Driving school.
As a result most people in the UK in my generation passed on Ford Escorts / Vivas or perhaps a Hillman Avenger
Nowadays everyone probably passes in Ford Fiestas or Nissan Micras
(And they also say that for the 1960's or 70's half of them were conceived in a Cortina but that wasn't in the Driving Test....)
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
It's lots easier now w back-up cameras, parking sensors and a much smaller car (M240i)
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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I'll call the row on the right: 1955 Chevy, 1964 Plymouth, '58-'62 Corvette, '63 Ford.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Not to mention power steering.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
And most of them would get smoked by a new Camry.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Not to mention power steering.
They wouldn't have sold a single one of those oversize 50s tanks if they didn't have power steering....wait...
the 1960 Chevy I drove in driver's ed didn't have PS,
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I had a bunch of domestics without it. Duster and Camaro. My sister had a 65 chevelle
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Not in my time but nowadays the devolved Welsh government now allow the Letter "D" in red as an alternative - but only in Wales itself
D stands for Dysgwr which means Learner in Welsh
@stickguy
Yes we did parallel parking too It's very necessary particularly here in London as many residents have no off road parking (We don't -either but we do park the Magnette in garage across the street which we bought some years ago.
It is becoming a major concern here in areas like London that there are very few electric charging points in the street...
This street has two way traffic with bus stops on both sides and our front gardens are not more that eight feet back from the road kerb and we are also up some steps so the car is below us a few feet anyway.
There are about forty houses on this road - nearly all of us have terraced houses so no side access and in addition there are a couple of blocks of flats on the other side.
None of us can park off road and our road frontage is about twenty feet wide with a garden wall and railings too.
There is only one charging point in this street and there are none in the other roads here for about three blocks.
What is going to happen when the number of electric vehicles increases is a really pressing problem but to charge the number of cars which park here each night they would have to demolish one side of the street to make space and given we are all owner occupiers that ain't happening !
I’m > @andys120 said:
57 Chevy
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2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Also, 3 Corvettes; blue with white top C2, behind it a white C1 and to the right, a black C1.