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I was pleased with how the car looked in these and it attracted some attention from the folks passing by.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
also got behind a nice '69 Camaro convertible RS. I knew it was there before I even saw it, thanks to that classic unburned hydrocarbon smell!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I had a Cobra II.. there.. I said it.. not embarrassed...
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Mine didn't have that originally but it was an option even on a regular Cutlass like mine so I wanted to add it. In 1998 I found one in Boston. I drove down from Nova Scotia to pick it up and had it rechromed up here.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
:P
Actually, it was a just a delivery driver for Domino's. Wonder how much he's really making, using that beast for deliveries? Back in the day when I delivered, I drove worse guzzlers than that. But in those days, we whined when gas got over $1.30 or so per gallon!
Hopefully the driver has some highway runs to help the mileage, or that the Dominos has a small radius. I see a few oddball delivery cars in my area, most memorable a Peugeot 505 and a MB W116 300SD.
Back when I delivered, I think about the furthest I had to drive was about 5 1/2 miles. But, if traffic, lights, etc didn't cooperate, that could take a good 20 minutes. And most of it was residential neighborhoods, so you couldn't go *too* fast.
Initially, I was excited about the fuel savings I'd see with the Intrepid, but almost as soon as I bought it, fuel prices started shooting up. I still remember its first fill-up in November of 1999 was around $1.399 per gallon, and that seemed high at the time. I think it topped out around $1.95 per gallon in the spring of 2000 and then settled down slightly.
Because of that rise in prices, I didn't see the fuel bill go down much, if any. But, when you compare how much any of those older cars would have cost, at the higher fuel prices, I'm sure I saved quite a bit.
As for that Town Car, the driver was a young Indian guy, very clean-cut and professional. I'm guessing he was a college student. The car was very well kept up, so maybe he did do some livery service as well. It didn't look like your typical Daddy's hand-me-down college kid used car.
The bad thing about lower fuel costs is that they are often offset by a car payment. Oh well, you have to pay to play.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Most surprising was an R63, a very rare car, I've only seen one other before. The 180 Ponton and W115 220D were also special cars, very nice survivors. The bright blue 6.3 parked next to me won 1st in the old car class (SLs won the rest).
The new tires were a hit, too, I was amazed at the compliments. The car isn't as perfect as some there, but it remains a good 10 footer, and like at every other local gathering/show, it's the only fintail.
Heckflosse, been studying? : )
This was a real no-frills, unrestored car,wearing a not very shiny coat of orange paint with red-painted wheels. Aside from the paint the only other non-original touch was a vinyl Bimini top.
Maybe I'll get a ride in it soon.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Also saw another VW Thing/Kubelwagen, this one being towed. Unlike the obvious Thing fake I saw before, this one looked really convincing.
A 50-something Buick Skylark convertible. White, with wide whitewall tires and wire wheels. Very good condition.
No one is perfect..... (Tongue sticking out icon)!
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I'd have thought the old iron rusted out long ago. It rains a lot in OR.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
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Oh yeah, while in OR saw a ~1920 Model T parked in the driveway of a house, like it was being used as a normal car.
Saw an early Mercury Topaz this morning.
Of course, since I like Studebakers, I'd pick a '64 Gran Turismo Hawk, '63 Avanti, '64 Daytona convertible, and a '64 Champ long-bed 1/2 ton pickup.
But let's throw those out. My top five non-Stude faves (fintail, give your list with and without Benzes too please):
1) '62 Corvette with hardtop
2) '69 Corvair Monza hardtop with 140 hp engine
3) '65 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe with the optional buckets and console (Grand Prix-like interior but with the fastback styling of the Bonneville.)
4) '62 Pontiac Tempest LeMans coupe with the Buick aluminum V8.
5) This is tough, but probably a black/red two-tone '56 Ford Victoria or Crown Victoria, or a '61 Ford Galaxie 500 Starliner (any color but Ford tomato red).
One American car I'd like to have would be a Ford tomato red and white 60 Ford Country Sedan, like the one my dad had in the 90s. I have yet to see another in that color combo. Not the best handling car, but it has fond memories, it was a cool attention getting car, and I did some driving practice in it.
I actually have two of the top five, I guess, with my '57 DeSoto and '67 Catalina, two cars that I've always liked. If I had it to do over again, I'd prefer better-trimmed examples of each. Say, a fully loaded Bonneville compared to my basic Catalina, or a decked-out Fireflite compared to the Firedome. With the DeSoto, I could even waver on going for '58.
But, to fill the other three slots, I have no idea. However, two cars that I do like, and would consider owning in the future at some point are a '62 Caddy, and a '75 LeSabre convertible. With the Caddy I'm not too picky about the body style, as I like even the 4- and 6-window hardtop sedans, and as long as it's in a color I find attractive.
With the LeSabre though, I have the exact one I want in mind. Baby blue non-metallic, white vinyl interior, 455 V-8, Buick's mag rally wheels, power windows/locks/seat.
There are plenty of other cars that I like, but for some reason, those two just popped into my mind.
For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about '62 'Vettes lately. I've been thinking a white one. I never saw one 'til I was probably 18; I remember thinking, "Wait, what is that? It's an old 'Vette with a Sting Ray rear!". I like that the '62 was de-trimmed a good bit and had narrow whitewalls.
I know what people say about Corvette clubs and also certain Corvette people, but I still want one.
They're low-tech--still have kingpins in the front that are the same part no. as the 1949 Chevrolet I'm told--but that's OK. I like that it's a fifties carryover, as '60's Studebakers are. I think also some of it is I have very vague memories of 1962, being four that year. Plus, for all I remember about the TV show "Route 66", I only ever remember them in a '62, although they probably had a current model each year the show was on.
Ah, so many cars, so little $$!
I grew up on Chevys, but didn't like the 'clipped corners' of the '75 Caprice front end...that, and that the interior was really the all-vinyl Impala interior. I don't know why they did that, other than to steer folks to the higher-priced divisions, as they offered Caprice vinyl in the coupe and sedan, just not the wagon and convertible.
Convertibles usually had either vinyl or leather interiors back then, so maybe it was just easier to use the Impala vinyls, rather than come up with something new for the Caprice, if it wasn't offering it just yet?
I always thought it was interesting that the other divisions would usually give you more choice in convertibles than Chevy. For instance, Buick usually offered a LeSabre, Wildcat, and Electra convertible. Olds usually had two different 88's, plus the Ninety-Eight. Pontiac had the Catalina and Bonneville, and for one year the Grand Prix, even. But Chevy just had the Impala.
I guess it wouldn't have made sense to offer a Bel Air or Biscayne convertible, since those were more budget-conscious cars by that time. But you'd think a Caprice convertible would have come along a bit more quickly. But then, Ford didn't offer an LTD convertible until 1971, I believe, and I think they dropped the Galaxie convertible at the same time. And I don't think the Fury VIP ever got a convertible.
Maybe in those days, in the Ford/Chevy/Plymouth camp at least, cars like the Caprice/LTD/VIP were considered more luxurious, and catering to an older crowd that wanted more isolation from the outside world?
I also thought it was a bit curious that Olds never seemed to offer a Rally wheel for their big cars like Buick and Pontiac did. I have seen an occasional downsized '77-85 Delta with the Rally wheel, but they always had a big center cap that covered the lug nuts, and looked a bit awkward to me. I wonder why they didn't just go for the smaller center cap, like what was on the Cutlass?
Oh, on the subject of possibly too many convertibles, DeSoto offered four of them in 1958-59...Firesweep, Firedome, Fireflite, and Adventurer. One for each lineup. In 1958, Chrysler only offered a convertible in the New Yorker or 300D series, although they did build two Windsor prototypes, and for 1959 a Windsor convertible was available to the public. Dodge offered a Coronet and Custom Royal convertible. Plymouth only offered a Belvedere convertible for 1958, but in '59 also fielded a Sport Fury convertible.
In '58 Buick also had a wide convertible range...Special, Century, Roadmaster, and Limited convertibles. The only line that didn't offer one was the Super.
1. 58 DeSoto Adventurer (close call between this and 57 Chrysler 300)
2. 66 Olds Toronado
3. 63 spilt window Corvette Stingray (but Uplander's 62 is sharp)
4. 61 Pontiac Catalina
5. 58 Pontiac Bonneville
You want to talk about big choices in convertibles? Look at your own '67 full-size Pontiac line!
1) Catalina
2) Catalina with Ventura Custom option (removes all 'Catalina' nameplates from inside and out)
3) 2+2
4) Grand Prix (one year only)
5) Bonneville
Five distinct levels of full-size Pontiac convertibles! (And I'm not even counting that you could get buckets and console in a Ventura and Bonneville convert to boot!). In '66, and '68-69 you could also get a Bonneville Brougham convertible! (Must've been deleted in '67 to add the Grand Prix.)
My dad's car was red on white on red and white - it was eye-catching. I always feared it was going to be parted out to aid a Starliner or Sunliner, as it was in good enough condition, and old wagons weren't nearly as hot in the 90s as they are now. I imagine a nice front clip from a 60 Ford has some value.
Speaking of old cars, I'd maybe even need to break it down by decade. And speaking of Caddys - I'll take an Eldorado Brougham.
If DeSoto had stuck around and they hadn't downsized the 62's, that might have been an interesting model from the prototype pictures and drawings I've see. It looked like it had the clean sides and proportions of the Polara without the front end mug, but was topped similar to the 63/64 Chrysler. Since it was less boxy, it really looked much better though. Another interesting prototype that never made it was the Studebaker. Not sure if was going to be a 66 or 67, but I saw several of them years back while in the Milwaukee area at the Brooks Stevens museum. I think they might have made a lot of the Big 3 offerings at that time suddenly look dated.