I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

fintail · October 2020

My dad's 68 Fairlane - a very sparsely optioned car, lacked a clock. Those cars had a "4 hole" gauge design, with the clock at far right. The gauge had the minute markings, but otherwise blank - kind of bugged me too. The design was like this:

sda said:

I always disliked the blank spot in my grandmother’s 68 Cutlass S where the clock would’ve been. The clock really completes and dresses up the look of the three instrument pods.

omarman · October 2020

That design is the same as my old '68 Torino GT with some slight trim differences and there was a tach to the right of the Torino speedo. The pic looks like a '69 Ford dash with a spinner knob on the steering wheel. It wouldn't have been much fun parking my Torino GT 390 without power steering!

I liked the inset gauges with conical lens covers which don't give bad reflections like some other cars do with a flat IP.

fintail · October 2020

Yeah, the pic I posted is a 69, similar gauge layout, but different details from a 68.

My dad's car was a 4 door, white on white, 289/3 on the tree, manual steering, manual brakes, dog dish hubcaps, no other options come to mind other than the Philco AM radio, which was maybe the fanciest option aside from the V8.

tjc78 · October 2020

fintail said:
I remember when I was a little kid, an old guy I think my parents knew had a new car, and we rode in it. It was an early K car, and it had a "Chronometer" LED style digital clock that I am pretty sure was its own component, not part of the radio/

andre1969 said:
Wasn't the Granada/Monarch one of the first cars to have a digital clock as an option? My one friend, who's a Panther lover and has gone through four of them, had a '77 Cordoba as his first car, and it had the "window shade" type clock, sort of like those alarm clocks where the numbers would flip over. The '79 Newport I had was the oldest car I ever had with a digital clock, but I'd imagine it wasn't the first. One thing that was cool about it though, was that it had shiny blackout trim rather than woodgrain, so the numbers sort of blended in and seemed to float in the dash.

Other than that Newport and the two '79 New Yorkers, ever other digital-clock car I've owned has had the clock built into the radio.

My Stepdad’s 83 Chrysler EClass had that same clock.

ab348 · October 2020

The blanked-out spaces for the clock wouldn't have been so bad if they had been illuminated. Unfortunately if they were like my Cutlass all they had was a thin molded plastic piece with some lines radiating from the center, either a decal or plastichromed, I forget. No provision for lighting.

Those Torino pics are interesting as I had forgotten or never knew that Ford changed the instruments from white-on-black to black-on-silver. Our '78 Grand LeMans growing up and then my '79 Park Avenue both had black on silver instruments. They looked great cosmetically, but at night they were more difficult to read for some reason, especially in the LeMans.

uplanderguy · October 2020

I remember Letterman, on his show, probably the '90's, showed a '72 Pontiac LeMans where the clock still worked and he made a gag about that.

My parents' '80 Monte Carlo, and my '81, both bought new, had large analog clocks as big as the speedometer, in the same cluster. I don't remember issues with either. My parents' '84 Monte Carlo, which I really liked, did not come standard with a clock so had a blank space as big as the speedometer--out of only two large circular pods. I hated that aspect. My Dad bought a cheap digital clock and somehow stuck it in a blank place on the concave right 1/3 of that panel.

My '82 Monte Carlo, bought as a demo in Nov. '82 after my '81 was stolen, said "Quartz" on the clock, but I actually remember that clock losing time by the time I traded it in summer '85 for the Celebrity Eurosport I ordered.

Drew zero discussion here (versus about 200 comments on the Facebook page where the owner posted, LOL), but page back up and look at how large the circular instrument pods were on the '67 big Chevys, to me the best full-size Chevy panel, ever, and I liked how they were behind a clear cover. But with no clock that would've looked ridiculous. The gas gauge was as big as the speedometer. Any smaller gauges, optional, were in the small circles outside the three huge ones.

All four of the Studebakers I owned ('63, '64, and two '66's) had generally the same instrument cluster, with three large circular instruments. All my cars had factory clocks, but when they didn't come with one, the pod said "Studebaker Corporation"--'Studebaker around the top, and 'Corporation' around the bottom. I thought it was goofy they'd have used the word 'Corporation' there. If you got a tach, you couldn't get a clock, and vice-versa.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, my '63 had a tach, no clock.

uplanderguy · October 2020

RE.: The '68-69 Fairlane/Torino instrument panel--I remember those pretty well, but I didn't remember the radio being inboard of the ignition key! Shades of Ford putting the radio to the left of the speedometer in the '69-70 full-sizes.

Did '69 Fords have the locking column with ignition switch on the side of the steering column? I can't recall.

fintail · October 2020

Come to think of it, the same relative who had the Granada with the funky clock also had maybe an 80-81 Cordoba, and it might have had the "Chronometer" too. Another odd beater with a heater in the early 90s, I remember it was maroon and white outside, cabrio top, maroon corinthian leather - was probably a pretty car when new, but it had been neglected.

tjc78 said:

My Stepdad’s 83 Chrysler EClass had that same clock.

mrwhipple311 · October 2020

uplanderguy said:
RE.: The '68-69 Fairlane/Torino instrument panel--I remember those pretty well, but I didn't remember the radio being inboard of the ignition key! Shades of Ford putting the radio to the left of the speedometer in the '69-70 full-sizes.

Did '69 Fords have the locking column with ignition switch on the side of the steering column? I can't recall.

This may have started late 1969 but early 1969s are at the bottom of the dashboard and 1970s are on the column

uplanderguy · October 2020

Back then I was looking at GM's and they all had head restraints, and the ignition interlock feature except for the Corvair, at the beginning of the '69 model year. I wasn't sure about Ford, or Chrysler for that matter.

sda · October 2020

IIRC Ford had some issues initially with the column lock and not being able to start the car unless also pushing the shift lever up a little bit above the Park position. It was an awkward two handed affair. I remeber dad having to do that in several of the company cars he drove when his company car an older 66 Galaxie was in the shop. Later he got a new 70 Custom 500 in medium blue. A plain jane car, 302, a/c, dog dish hub caps, blackwalls. No issues with that one.

roadburner · October 2020

The old clocks used a spring with an electric motor to wind it. As the spring unwound it would eventually close a set of contacts that would then power the motor. On old BMWs like my Bavaria you could often fix the clock by cleaning the contacts along with some judicious lubrication.

andre1969 · October 2020

sda said:
IIRC Ford had some issues initially with the column lock and not being able to start the car unless also pushing the shift lever up a little bit above the Park position. It was an awkward two handed affair. I remeber dad having to do that in several of the company cars he drove when his company car an older 66 Galaxie was in the shop. Later he got a new 70 Custom 500 in medium blue. A plain jane car, 302, a/c, dog dish hub caps, blackwalls. No issues with that one.

Even though it doesn't have a locking column, my '67 Catalina is a bit like that The shifter is a a little loose, so even though it's in "Park", and the car will stay put, it's just loose enough that I guess sometimes something makes contact, and it "thinks" it's in reverse. So, when you try to start it, if you don't know what's going on, it gives the illusion that it's dead.

As for locking steering columns and gearshifts, I want to say that the feds were going to require it for 1970, but in a rare move for a domestic, instead of fighting it, GM was proactive and made them standard in all of their '69's (except for the Corvair).

Did the Corvair run a full model year for '69, or was it cut short? Often in those days, when the feds would enact a new regulation, it would take effect on January 1 of a given year, rather than the start of the model year. That's why we ended up with anomalies like the "1970.5" Falcon. The proper 1966-70 Falcon would not pass the side impact regs that kicked in on January 1, 1970, and a 4-door Maverick wasn't ready yet, so they just used a stripped down version of the Fairlane as a stopgap.

Headrests were similar, with the requirement kicking in on 1/1/1969, so theoretically there would be some '69 model year cars that didn't have them. I don't think I've ever seen one though, so I'd imagine most of them were just made standard at the beginning of the model year.

The requirement for shoulder belts was 1/1/1968, with the exception of convertibles. And, I wouldn't be surprised if pickups didn't get a pass, as well. One thing I'm curious about though, did the shoulder belt requirement ever get rolled back? At the Ford show in Carlisle PA this past summer, there was one or two Pintos that didn't have shoulder belts. I asked about it, wondering if the belts had simply been removed, but one of the owners said his car just wasn't ordered with them.

uplanderguy · October 2020

The Corvair was built until early May 1969, and had a total run of 6,000 units. Them's Studebaker numbers! I would love a '69 Corvair Monza hardtop with the four-carb option, but I bet I'd have a harder time finding someone to work on it than my Studebaker!

I liked the '66-69 Falcons sooooo much better than the Maverick that replaced it! I think the coupes are even a bit 'jaunty'--long-hood, short deck, stylish quarter windows.

Head restraints, on GM cars, even the Corvair, were standard at the beginning of the '69 model year.

I'm doubtful that a Pinto could be ordered without shoulder belts, as if they were an option, but I'm not certain. I can't ever recall a safety feature being optional equipment, at least once seat belts became standard equipment in everything in the mid-sixties. Funny, the build sheet for my '66 Studebaker does say "Omit Rear Belts", now that I think about it. But Studebaker never seemed to do stuff like the big guys, LOL.

I'm thinking if GM had shoulder belts, it would've been required by the government at some point in that model year. Pretty sure if one sees a car in the '70's without them, they'd have been removed. Or...maybe that Pinto was sold in the Canadian market? Who knows?

Since my reference point in those days is GM, I always remember seeing shoulder belts folded neatly above the front side windows on cars, never being used, even when looking at several-year-old cars.

Were you at Carlisle these past few days?

uplanderguy · October 2020

"Omit Seat Belts--Rear" on my car's build sheet. Car was assembled Nov. 12, 1965.

It has the 1966-only style Studebaker radio, which I believe the dealer installed some time between when the car was built in Nov. and when it was sold in April, which was a month after production ended completely. The folks who bought it new traded in a '53 Studebaker on it.

uplanderguy · October 2020

RE.: The 307 versus the 305 in mid-eighties full-size GM's--on the "All Original Cars" Facebook page (which I absolutely love), there recently was an '87 Caprice Classic wagon. Someone posted under it that they had owned one with the 305, and a newer one with the 307, and they felt the 305 was definitely peppier. Since in my memory, anyway, the wagons were built in a different plant than the sedans, and all the wagons were built in the same plant, eventually they all got the 307 I think--as well as that brushed piece of metal trim behind the rear doors which I never understood.

tjc78 · October 2020

I recall reading that too about the wagons. The 307 was totally gutless in anything I drove with it.

tjc78 · October 2020

I needed a little down time last night, so while the wife took the kids to the grocery store I decided to take a 10 minute drive to this place. @stickguy knows it I’m sure.

http://blacktieclassics.com/

Most of the inventory must be aging as they sit outside.

For example this Monte has the interior literally crumbling and dropping onto the seats.
http://blacktieclassics.com/inventory/?VID=638909

This Catalina must have water getting in as the top edge of the windshield disintegrated right onto the front seats.
http://blacktieclassics.com/inventory/?VID=10870458

This was open, very clean inside. Exterior could be saved, shiny but some bubbles.
http://blacktieclassics.com/inventory/?VID=281770

I kinda liked this one, but was sagging really bad. It also has an 88 rear light panel, but that could be a thing as I’ve seen other 87s that way which can’t be a coincidence.
http://blacktieclassics.com/inventory/?VID=44022849

uplanderguy · October 2020

tjc, seeing you have an Enclave reminds me--when I was gasing up last Sunday, a super-clean recent Enclave was gasing up next to me. I do believe the styling is smoother and more 'American' than other big SUV's which is a plus for me. Anyway, I saw an 'Avenir' nameplate on the driver's door, which was something I'd never seen or heard of. I asked the driver if that was a trim level and he said 'yes' and that this was his third Enclave. I got home and saw it was a trim level.

We talked about this before, but I rented an Enclave in CA last winter and liked it a lot, although that's more than I'd pay for a new vehicle. Long-been somewhat of a cheapskate. Some things are hard to change.

stickguy · October 2020

I can walk to that place. never quite understood how they stayed in business. There were cars there on the lot for years and years. They must sell something (might do repair work too) to stay in business. Big facility (it is the former L-M dealer) with lots of parking lots.

explorerx4 · October 2020

At least you get a spare frame for the Catalina.
There is an Avanti parked next to the black Town Car.

fintail · October 2020

Speaking of seatbelts, I am pretty sure I recall folded up shoulder belts in my dad's 68 Fairlane. I also remember them in a big 70s Chrysler my grandpa had when I was a little kid (I recall pulling them down and unfolding them). I have no memory of them in my mom's 70s T-Bird, though. I recall my dad's 60 Ford didn't have seatbelts at all when he bought it - he installed them. Fintail still has the original I suspect dealer installed airplane-style "Roberk" lap belts in front, none in back. Fintails actually have mounting points for shoulder belts, hidden under the B-pillar vinyl trim - so you have to put a hole in the trim to install the belts. I don't think I've seen a non-rally car with them,

kyfdx · October 2020

We had them in our ‘67 Bonneville. Wanna tick Mom off? Pull down those shoulder belts.

tjc78 · October 2020

uplanderguy said:
tjc, seeing you have an Enclave reminds me--when I was gasing up last Sunday, a super-clean recent Enclave was gasing up next to me. I do believe the styling is smoother and more 'American' than other big SUV's which is a plus for me. Anyway, I saw an 'Avenir' nameplate on the driver's door, which was something I'd never seen or heard of. I asked the driver if that was a trim level and he said 'yes' and that this was his third Enclave. I got home and saw it was a trim level.

We talked about this before, but I rented an Enclave in CA last winter and liked it a lot, although that's more than I'd pay for a new vehicle. Long-been somewhat of a cheapskate. Some things are hard to change.

Yes the Avenir is a fully loaded trim level. We had two Enclaves (virtually identical) back to back. Wife really doesn’t want a third but they are nice.

We have to make a decision by Dec 7th but this pesky home purchase has my car shopping on hold at the moment!

tjc78 · October 2020

stickguy said:
I can walk to that place. never quite understood how they stayed in business. There were cars there on the lot for years and years. They must sell something (might do repair work too) to stay in business. Big facility (it is the former L-M dealer) with lots of parking lots.

I’m thinking their business model is to find someone who wants their car then fixes up the needs as part of the deal. Maybe the inventory inside is much nicer?

I remember them being a L-M dealer. Back when I had spare time I used to walk their lot and the Ford dealer next door.

uplanderguy · October 2020

There is an Avanti parked next to the black Town Car.

You had my interest piqued until I saw it was the '87 LSC, the 'stretch' one with all the 'stretch' in the back seat. Yuck! Proportions totally thrown off!

uplanderguy · October 2020

RE.: Avenir--first time in a long time I can remember a domestic model trim level that wasn't simply letters! And the name actually appeared on the vehicle. I like that.

ab348 · October 2020

andre1969 said:

The requirement for shoulder belts was 1/1/1968, with the exception of convertibles. And, I wouldn't be surprised if pickups didn't get a pass, as well. One thing I'm curious about though, did the shoulder belt requirement ever get rolled back? At the Ford show in Carlisle PA this past summer, there was one or two Pintos that didn't have shoulder belts. I asked about it, wondering if the belts had simply been removed, but one of the owners said his car just wasn't ordered with them.

My '68 Cutlass is an early production run car, built in Oshawa in September of '67. It does not have shoulder belts.

uplanderguy · October 2020

My college friend Candyce's '68 4-4-2 was built in Oshawa. A couple years back, at a celebration of her late husband's life, I checked the tag under the hood ("General Motors of Canada") and scribbled several things down. Hers is a very dark maroon with black vinyl top and red buckets. She is slowly, surely, having it painted, and the engine and trans refreshed.

It has factory A/C, not at all common in GM mid-sizes at the time in our general small-town, northwestern Pennsylvania rural and working-class areas.

In the '70's, at our local Chevy-Cadillac dealer in Greenville, PA, I remember seeing new Monte Carlos and the occasional Chevelle from Oshawa, although most came from Baltimore.

sda · October 2020

My grandmother's 68 Cutlass S had shoulder belts. She special ordered her car and it took a while for it to be delivered. She lived in St Petersburg, FL, (my home town) so I would imagine it came from a factory closer to FL. I know I've share this story before but I get tickled when I think about it. My grandmother was a widow at 41. When she ordered the Cutlass she was still in her 40s. She ordered the car in a light metallic blue, almost silver in color, and oyster ( white) interior. When she showed it to her mom, her mom said why didn't you get red. Men like a woman with a red car.

lemko1968 · October 2020

I had a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe. It had shoulder belts but no headrests. The shoulder belts were just mounted to the roof and stowed with chrome clips. They were very uncomfortable as there were no retraction reels and I rarely used them. They stowed much better than the shoulder belts on my Dad’s 1970 Ford Torino that we’re held in place by an elastic band that attached to the garment hooks. They were loose, sloppily hung, and obstructed the front side windows. Dad simply stuffed them in the headliner trim and rarely used them as a result.

uplanderguy · October 2020

Speaking of Cutlasses, I plainly remember being a kid and going to our hometown Buick-Olds dealer. He was a tad gruffer than the Chevy dealer (but then the Chevy dealer may have been aware of my Dad and Grandpa being customers, LOL). He was OK, though. They had every single new car they had, inside. I can remember seeing a "Cutlass SX" convertible, new, inside. Even then I thought, "Hmmm...SX...sex!", LOL. I later read, I think, that it was essentially the Supreme with the engine and other performance features of the 4-4-2. I'm sure ab348 could add details.

Was '72 the last year they used the F-85 nameplate? Boy, it was surely largely-eclipsed by "Cutlass" for several years before that. I guess really not much different than 'Chevelle' or '300 Deluxe' being eclipsed by 'Malibu'.

andre1969 · October 2020

My old car book is showing '72 as the last year for the F-85. It was only offered as a 4-door sedan, priced at $2958. They built 3792 units. It shows a somewhat chunky 3420 lb base weight, but for '72 the 350 V8 was made standard...no more 6-cyl.

For comparison, in '71 they sold 769 F-85s with the Chevy 250-6, and 3,650 with the Olds 350. In addition, they sold 1345 Cutlass Holiday hardtop coupes, 618 Cutlass Town Sedans, and 47 Cutlass wagons wit the 6-cyl. So, it's easy to see why Olds made the decision to go standard V8 all the way.

In '72, the Cutlass lineup was base (coupe/sedan/wagon), S, (coupe/hardtop coupe), and Supreme (hardtop coupe/hardtop sedan/convertible). Oh, and Vista Cruiser, which was its own series. For '73, the lineup was base (sedan/coupe), S (coupe), and Supreme (sedan/coupe). Vista Cruiser was still listed as its own separate series.

So, it looks like the F-85 just went away on its own as demand withered, rather than being absorbed into the rest of the Cutlass lineup as an extra-cheap loss leader.

I've heard that the main reason that Olds got the Omega for '73 was that dealers wanted a 6-cyl, low-end car to fill in the gap left by the F-85. Olds sold about 50,000 Omegas that first year (21K hatchbacks, 26K coupes, 13K sedans). So while it wasn't really a smash hit, I guess it wasn't a failure, either. Unfortunately, my old car book doesn't break out 6-cyl versus V8 stats for the Omega. But, using Nova production as a rough template, I'd imagine the bulk of Omegas were the V8.

sda · October 2020

I think more 6 cylinder Omegas, perhaps more Omegas in general would have sold if Olds made a/c available with the 6. The 350 was required.

omarman · October 2020

My '68 Torino GT had shoulder belts and bucket seats with headrests. But thinking about all the options back then, I don't recall seeing a Torino with headrests on a standard interior with bench seat. Wonder if there was some exception to the headrest depending on seat options?

I do recall that when my Dad bought a new Mercury in '73 the bench seat had 3 across seating but only 2 headrests. And the lovely game show buzzer/light for seat belts.

uplanderguy · October 2020

When the gas crunch hit in '73, I think, copies (other than color) of the '73 Nova six coupe we had with 3-speed on the floor (delivered to us 10/6/72) suddenly became seen a lot more in inventory at our hometown dealer. Same into '74, and I plainly remember the very first '75 Nova they got in, yellow base coupe with striped cloth interior (ugh!) was also a six with 3-speed on the floor.

I never saw many '73 or '74 Omegas or Apollos around town, although I remember thinking how pretty the Apollo coupe in the brochure, with the chrome Buick road wheels and the optional interior that was a bit of a tuck-and-roll, looked. All were saddled with that ho-hum Nova instrument panel though.

andre1969 · October 2020

sda said:
I think more 6 cylinder Omegas, perhaps more Omegas in general would have sold if Olds made a/c available with the 6. The 350 was required.

Interesting. I wonder if Buick did the same thing with the Apollo when it came out for '73?

It looks like Buick got rid of the Special nameplate quicker than Olds dropped the F-85. By '69 they were calling it "Special Deluxe", and it was offered as a coupe, sedan, wagon, and "luxury" wagon. Meanwhile the Skylark was divided into base and Custom. For '70, the Special Deluxe went away, while the Sklyark line expanded slightly to base, 350 (you had to pay extra if you wanted a 350 engine though), and Custom. Then in '72, like at Olds, the midsize went with a standard V8. Unfortunately my old car book doesn't break out Special/Skylark production into 6/V8 numbers like it did with the F-85/Cutlass, in the years I posted above.

uplanderguy · October 2020

We went from a '67 Chevelle to a '73 Nova. The '67 had no shoulder belts; the '73 did although they were never used once.

RE.: '68 Cutlass--I think the prettiest of the GM mid-sizes that year. Although, I am intrigued by the Chevelle Concours coupe, which isn't in any piece of literature or showroom album I've ever seen, and I've looked. Product of a strike in a GM upholstery supplier, leaving only black vinyl available in most Chevy lines. The Concours was added apparently as a way to add a little variety to black vinyl only, even though the Concours coupe could only have black vinyl inside--same seating as Cutlass Supreme or Skylark Custom, depending where the Chevelle was built.

uplanderguy · October 2020

ab348 · October 2020

That switch to black-only seems strange in that I don't recall other GM nameplates having similar restrictions. You would have thought that they could source colors from somewhere.

ab348 · October 2020

uplanderguy said:
Speaking of Cutlasses, I plainly remember being a kid and going to our hometown Buick-Olds dealer. He was a tad gruffer than the Chevy dealer (but then the Chevy dealer may have been aware of my Dad and Grandpa being customers, LOL). He was OK, though. They had every single new car they had, inside. I can remember seeing a "Cutlass SX" convertible, new, inside. Even then I thought, "Hmmm...SX...sex!", LOL. I later read, I think, that it was essentially the Supreme with the engine and other performance features of the 4-4-2. I'm sure ab348 could add details.

Your description of the SX is pretty much on the money. 4-4-2 chassis with the Supreme body and trim. My buddy up country has 2 of them, both '71s, a hardtop and a convertible. My other Olds friend had a '70 SX hardtop, which I liked the best of the three. The only restrictions IIRC were that you could not order the W-30 version with the OAI hood and hotter engine, not could you order the optional rear wing, as it was not designed to fit the Supreme/convertible trunklid. Unfortunately in the last couple of years aftermarket ones have become an epidemic and people are bolting them to those as well, which to my eye looks awful.

I can't recall ever seeing an explanation of why they chose the SX moniker, but your idea sounds as plausible as any.

uplanderguy · October 2020

That switch to black-only seems strange in that I don't recall other GM nameplates having similar restrictions. You would have thought that they could source colors from somewhere.

I don't get the black either, but on the Concours, they would've been using Olds and Buick interiors so probably kept those to black to keep from shortages in other colors in those lines.

I can remember one '68 Concours coupe in my hometown--that light-to-medium metallic green so many '68 Chevys seemed to be. It had the Cutlass Supreme black vinyl seating, I recall that (didn't have the buttons on the seat backs the Skylark Custom had). I don't believe I've ever seen another in person. I have seen the Concours Sport Sedan in '68 an '69, rare but not almost non-existant like the coupes. The Sport Sedan is in the brochure with a panty-cloth interior. I believe the Concours coupe was added to keep sales from drifting away from the Malibu Sport Coupe being available with only one interior choice during this strike. I'm guessing the Malibu Sport Coupe may have been the best-selling Chevy after the Impala Sport Coupe.

I wonder how many people ordered, say, Malibus with some other interior than black vinyl, then they came in black vinyl.

Incidentally, I had posed the Concours interior situation to a Studebaker friend who sent me a copy of that letter--someone he had met at a show had a '68 Chevelle SS396 with the Buick Skylark Custom bucket seats in black and the guy mentioned the strike and showed him the letter. My friend asked him for a copy of the letter which he subsequently sent to me, which explains the thing I think.

uplanderguy · October 2020

BTW, the second page of the letter shows the Concours option on the Malibu Sport Coupe to be $105.35 MSRP. I recall it also included different door panels, longer door armrests, some woodgrain on the right 1/3 of the instrument panel, and a different wheel emblem inside ('fleur de lis'). Outside wheel opening moldings were included and "Concours" nameplates on the front fenders where "Malibu" nameplates would have been.

uplanderguy · October 2020

BTW, this is the kind of stuff my not-interested-in-sports, no girlfriends brain at the time held onto, LOL.

uplanderguy · October 2020

RE.: Spoilers, ab348--my eyes usually dislike them too. Whenever they could've been deleted for credit (early FWD Monte Carlo SS; early 2000's Impala LT), I'd have definitely done that.

uplanderguy · October 2020

Back to the Apollo--here's a page from the '73 brochure that shows one with those wheels and that extra-nice Custom Interior option:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Buick/1973_Buick/1973_Buick_Apollo_Folder/1973 Buick Apollo Folder-03.html

explorerx4 · October 2020

@uplanderguy,
There are plenty of domestic brands that have the trim level with a name.
Dodge Durango, Citadel and Crew and Ford Fusion Sport and Titanium come to without much effort

tjc78 · October 2020

Yeah the entire Lincoln lineup for a long time.

Executive
Signature Series
Cartier

90’s Cadillac Deville Concours

tjc78 · October 2020

Even older Buick’s were Custom and Limited

uplanderguy · October 2020

"Sport"--a name, but the most overused model name! Almost as bad as "Custom" was forty years ago, LOL.

Are there current Lincolns or Cadillacs with a trim-level name that is identified with a stylized nameplate on the side of the car? None I can think of, other than Buick's 'Avenir'. It wasn't "Enclave" with a small "Avenir" underneath; it was a script "Avenir" on the door. Old-skool cool IMHO.

Chevy's "Premier" on the Malibu has a little block with that in it, on the decklid.

I know that decades ago, series names were everywhere, but now they are not.

I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!

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