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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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This car was a 109-inch wheelbase, definitely in the compact class, but I always thought the 15-inch wheels, and four headlights, made it seem a bit more mid-sized. I like the large wheel openings, front and rear. I could never stand a whole bunch of sheetmetal above a wheel opening.
PS Do we get to start on 1966 next, or should we go back in time to the 50s first?
I think this has been a fun exercise. Fin's idea; if he's not worn out on it yet, he can pick the next model year.
Mom and dad were that kind of couple. They bought 2 red cars. When mom gave the Corvair to my sister my dad got a new company car but it wasn't red. It was another station wagon.
I was a laker boy back then and a kid who went to the Methodist summer bible school with me in Hebron came over to my house for the first time. He saw the garage door open with our 2 station wagons sitting in there and got a puzzled look on his face. "So are you guys Catholic?"
I think it's pretty amazing, how Studebaker was able to still have the Hawk looking pretty modern and up to date by '64, considering the body harked back to 1953! I don't think there were too many other body styles from 1953 that could have been updated to still look good, by '64.
I know the '59 Lark was also just a quick update of the '53-58 body, as well, with some wasted wheelbase and overhang trimmed off. Did the Lark ever get an all-new design, or was it just revisions of the old body, through the end in '66? They did a pretty good job of keeping them looking up to date with the times, although I guess they were a bit taller overall than competing compacts.
For USDM cars, I think the W126 300SD was probably the best car on the market then, economy and adequate performance with huge quality and modern design. Early cars could be ordered in "China Blue", similar to the fintail:
As it was the era of grey market cars, I might also order a Euro 500SEL, load it up with ABS and airbag, the most advanced production sedan of the era:
The 300TD is a cult classic now, and most are probably still on the road 39 years later:
And the 300CD, how many real hardtops existed in 81 (no SEC until MY 1982)? Yes, this is a $30K car with an optional passenger mirror:
Porsches could be amazing then:
For more more reasonably priced cars, I like the first Supra:
Can't go wrong with T-Tops and TRX?
Act out "Fast Times" scenes:
Fullsize big 3 cars of the era were probably OK for the era, so I will skip those. Guilty pleasure, and 8-6-4 fun (this or an Eldo needs wheels not wire caps):
For economical cars, that was around the year my dad switched from a 70 Mustang to one of these:
And on to more expensive guilty pleasures:
And so on. I know a few here will have very strong distinct choices for 1981.
Delorean (first year)
Mark VI Givenchy
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
And it would cruise at 100 mph for at least two hours; don't ask me how I know.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
That was the Hawk and Thunderbird, not the Daytona. I think both those cars would have been considered full-size then.
The DMC posted above certainly rates.
Small pickups which never came back after the looming SUV trend.
Getting there first and then dying off before picking up the trophy.
And this. I liked it even though it was never loved.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The Hawk, however, definitely had a full-sized wheelbase, at 120.5". I always thought of these as one of the first 4-seat personal luxury coupes, as they had that long hood, close-coupled passenger cabin, and relatively short rear deck, basically what the T-bird would adopt for '58, and the pattern pretty much laid for ALL personal luxury coupes thereafter. They were probably considered compact when it came to interior room though, and interior volume is how the EPA ranks car sizes. So in the 70's, you could have some Rolls Royces being rated as subcompacts! Actually, I think in terms of interior volume, my '76 LeMans coupe might be considered a compact. The front seat area is huge, but legroom is tight in back, and there's not an abundance of headroom. And with the way the rear slopes off, I think it only has like 14-15 cubic feet of trunk volume.
The T-bird, being on a 113" wheelbase, was sort of a middle ground between "compact" and "midsize". Most intermediates were 115-119" 119" would be the Dodge Polara, where they just took the 116" platform from '62 and stretched it 3" in '63-64 to try and make it look bigger. They just did the same trick that Pontiac did with a Bonneville/Star Chief versus a Catalina...move the rear axle back a few inches, but keep the same passenger cabin. So you ended up with a longer trunk, but no more passenger cabin room. On 4-door models, you can really see where the extra length was added, as the bit of metal between the rear door and the wheel opening is larger. Most compacts were around 106" (Valiant) to 111" (Dart) although with Studebaker going to 113", they were definitely pretty big for a "compact". I wonder if they were actually closer to midsized, with regards to interior room?
Some "compact" cars actually did get to around 205" in the 1970's. I want to say the Dart and Valiant (once it went to the 111" wheelbase) got to about that, although part of the problem was those jutting 5 mph bumpers. Also, that year or so that Mopar put the big black rubber blocks on the front and back of the cars to pass off as 5 mph bumpers really inflated the overall length, even though that something that's really just a bumper guard doesn't really make a car look bigger.
Next, Eldorado with no vinyl top and aluminum wheels.
Now once musclecars and classic cars in general started really becoming a thing, then the hatred for the Sapporo-based Challenger probably emerged.
Sold new at the same dealer fin's M-B was sold at, and most-probably within less than a year.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0514-183958/1964-studebaker-hawk-gt/
Mustang 5.0 LX Coupe
Z28(again)
633CSi(again)
911
Esprit Turbo(yes, I'm a masochist)
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
With GM's intermediates, I like them all for the most part. I'd just have to resign myself to the fact that none of them are going to be barn burners unless I got a turbo model. I'd tolerate a Malibu or Monte Carlo with the 229 or 267, but with the B-O-P cars, would avoid anything with a 231 or 252. The 231 was a mess in those days, and I had the personal experience of the one in my '82 Cutlass Supreme going south. And with the 252 being bored out even further, I'm sure it was even worse. But those undersized V8s were fairly durable, if slow. Even the Pontiac 265, while based on the 301, supposedly didn't have enough horsepower to really hurt itself, much!
With the Ford Fox-based cars, I'll admit a fondness for the Granada, Cougar, and the XR-7...but not the Thunderbird. I think part of that is nostalgia though. My grandparents had an '81 Granada 2-door, in a two-tone that was sort of a mocha over creme as I recall, and it looked really nice, for the time. But, I was also only 11 years old, so looking at it through modern eyes, I probably wouldn't be as impressed by the small tires and wheels, the overly boxy proportions, and, thanks to Uplanderguy pointing it out, the unfinished look to the C-pillar that, once seen, just can't be unseen!
I could also be happy with a Mopar Diplomat/LeBaron, or Cordoba/Mirada...as long as they had the 318. By that time the slant six was cut to 90 hp, and just not enough engine for this size of car. Although, from the 0-60 times I've seen, they actually don't suck as bad as you might think, compared to a lot of other cars out there at the time.
Oh, and with high-end cars, I'd LOVE an Imperial. And I think I'd be happy with any Cadillac with the V-8-6-4. Just do the little snip-snip, or whatever is required, to deactivate the cylinder deactivation mechanism, when it starts to fail. The Lincolns that year don't really excite me, but don't turn me off, either. As long as my Mark VI doesn't have that pimpy "SuperFly" looking front-end with the low-intensity running lights tacked onto the headlight covers.
100% agree with the Mark VI, those driving lights are just awful. No way!!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I have a feeling a VW bug would be a lot less. Years ago, I thought someone told me that by 1969, a Bug probably started around $1600. I seem to remember it being that year, because I was trying to get a rough reference point. One of my old car books shows a picture of a stripper '69 Valiant 2-door sedan with $2094 written on the windshield. And my old '69 Dart GT, as it was equipped, MSRPed for around $3600.
My Mom bought a '66 Catalina convertible, brand-new, and she told me it was around $3200. I wonder if it was the end of the model year though, or they were offering a serious deal on them, because according to my old car book, a '66 Catalina convertible started at $3256. And you still had to add stuff like automatic, power steering, power brakes, AM radio, etc. I think a heater was at least standard by then. Now she did trade a '59 Rambler wagon in on it, so that might have been factored into the price. But I can't imagine she got much for it. She only paid $200 for it, and wanted to get rid of it after a wheel came off!
The 1981 E21 320i wasn't a big hit with the BMW faithful. It was one of the first BMWs to deviate from the engine designation number- it had a 1.8 liter motor. Not a bad car, but not a great BMW. But as for the gray market 323i- now that was a fun car.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Around that time, an aunt had a red Fox hatchback like the one I posted above. They were the "cool" family to me, as they also had an in-ground pool and a pool table. I can't recall what my uncle drove, maybe a Ford truck. I think they also had a Jeep. She later had a Fox bustleback Continental. Nowadays she's in her mid 80s, doesn't drive anymore, and my uncle has an early 00s 300M he bought new and has kept pristine.
1986. The thought plickens.
Ford considers killing off the 3rd gen fox body Mustang and replacing it with a front drive Mazda variant.
Meanwhile, the 1986 Mustang GT gets port fuel injection 5.0 liter...
...which is also shared with the Lincoln Mark VII LSC which made C&D 10 Best Cars of 1986 list.
Another thing happened in the 1986 model year...
And also made C&D 10 Best Cars of 1986 list
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Of course, it was nerdy and didn't have the counter-culture 'cool' of a Beetle, but that stuff means less to me the older I am, LOL. I've become my Dad.
What were the other economy cars of 1959? The Falcon didn't come out until the 1960 model year, but probably a stripper Ford or Chevy was pretty low priced.
Purely subjective, but I detest most every Rambler, until the '63's.
I am pretty sure I remember a nearby dealer advertising Americans in the mid or late '60's at $1,799. The MSRP might've been more, but I would wager a guess (only that) that you could deal off sticker of an AMC car, versus a VW.
That '59 (used through '60) is the old '50, with wheel openings.
And, adjusting for inflation, that $1994 1970 Hornet would be around $13,293 in 2020 dollars. What's the cheapest new car you can get today, I wonder? I found a Chevy Spark with a "net price" of $13,095. It had a base price of $13,220, plus $895 freight, and a $1,000 discount.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I wonder if the original Ford Falcon is smaller than today's Civic.
The car my family had when I was very little was a white 1960 Ford Falcon station wagon, which was surprisingly roomy, and actually ok for reliability if my childhood memory serves. We had it until 1970, when my parents got a slightly used 1969 VW Bus.