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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
https://youtu.be/1ZGwGFpjFxI
The Silver Duster was a ‘76 option package with tape stripes and a special seat covering.
If that doesn’t scream 80s, nothing does.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
At the time, I thought the Dart/Valiant was long-in-the-tooth (vent windows in front doors of sedans, etc.), but when I think back, the cars seemed like a quality piece at that size and price class. No other compact did two-door hardtops for a bunch of years before them.
Similarly, the Aspen/Volare did a nice-looking wagon when no other compacts wagons were made domestically.
I thought the Aspen/Volare coupes, when introduced, were sharp. I liked the smoother lines and sort-of triangular big quarter windows. Later years, when they added various shapes and thiings to the taillights, and/or made them BIG, I didn't like the rear styling as well as the original.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_7UsSZup_w
Sales-wise, Plymouth moved about 84,000 Valiant/Dusters in '76, and about 291,000 Volares.
In 1975 they sold about 265,000 Valiant/Dusters. So on the surface, it looks like the Volare was a hit. However, the economy was improving by '76. And Volare wagon was pretty much unrivaled at that time, and was good for about 95,000 units all by itself. There was the AMC Hornet, but it was notably smaller inside, in in the rear was more like a hatchback than a "real" wagon, where the opening extended all the way down to the floor of the cargo area.
The Volare won Motortrend's Car of the Year award for 1976, and is shown on the February 1976 magazine cover. I don't know long it takes Motortrend to actually do their COTY testing, but figure that magazine probably hit the shelves in January. So, either MT got ahold of a pre-production example, or the Aspen/Volare were actually out for the majority of the model year.
Towards the end, I think they were pushing the Dart/Valiant as low-end transportation. At least, I remember one advertisement that said "Dart: The Car for the Thrifty Family Man" or something like that.
The Aspen/Volare did sell well in '76-77, but fell off for '78. Ironically, quality was greatly improved by then, but the bad reputation had gotten out. By '78 they were also getting a bit outmoded, and new competition from the Fairmont/Zephyr, and even GM's downsized intermediates started crowding this market.
I also remember it was a Volare, but said "Aspen" on the decklid, which the folks had corrected by the dealer.
A friend of a friend of mine worked at a Mopar dealer in Sharon, about 15 miles away. Supposedly they'd get in Omnis and Horizons with wrong nameplates too. He joked that they called them "Plodge Homnis".
I know, they mean the engine.
I am a sucker for an original/authentic, low-mileage car, almost no matter the brand.
I can still remember the first '70 Caprice I saw, prior to introduction day, getting dolled up for intro day. Light blue four-door hardtop with body-color on the full wheelcovers. Grumpy old salesman Virgil said to me, age 11 on my bike, "A Chevy for $5,000. Geez. You can buy an Olds or Buick for that".
I think he may have wanted me to stop hanging around so often and quit asking questions and maybe pester the Olds/Buick dealer across town, LOL.
That interior appears to be the nylon/knit interior, one of two cloth choices (the other, a brocade). That nylon/knit interior always wore like iron.
Those tiny bumper guards always cracked me up....like they'd do anything. Plus, the bumper is peaked in the center and the guards are off the center.
I'll say this--I'd say up until 1970, Chevy was great for putting their money where you could see it...interiors, standard exterior trim, etc. You maybe still had slightly smaller wheelbases in the big cars, comparatively small standard V8's and Powerglide as the entry-level automatic, but the interiors were impressive at the price point.
The '70 Caprice said 'Caprice' on the steering wheel, above the glovebox, and on the door panels, in case anyone would miss it.
That first-style Rally Wheels option (five-slot) were the best-looking Rallys Chevy ever made. They were no longer available on a big Chevy after '70 but were available on Monte Carlos through '77 and Chevelles from '74 to '77. The Nova, Chevelle ('71 and '72), and Camaro offered the cheaper-looking Rally Wheels in '71 and later.
Speaking of Aspenlare or Volaspen, spotted this at a park and ride lot in Schaffhausen Switzerland years ago, was out of place enough for me to have to take a pic, my Swiss friend thought I was nuts:
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
That Caprice is no older than an '86 and (of course) no newer than a '90. I do think that styling has largely stood the test of time.
I never liked the Brougham LS vinyl roof that partly covered over the little vent-style window in the rear doors. It was done first by Mopar on the Fifth Avenue and Chevy really just cribbed the idea. Luckily the car in the pic is a Brougham but not a Brougham LS.
That vinyl covering rear door window option also makes me think of the late run Fleetwood.
If I were looking for a later Brougham, I'd pick whatever year got you the 5.7, but where they didn't have that trim stuff we are talking about.
1990 was the last year for the 307, but they did offer the 350 as part of a trailering package. And then for 1991-92, the 305 became the base engine and the 350 was optional.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
A mystery car entrant reminded me, I saw an Austin America on the road on Saturday, driving! In pristine condition, which I guess is how they are, either loved or abandoned.
I was never crazy about that '77-92 RWD Cadillac instrument panel, with the very big 'snout' in the center. That said, although I goof on tons of fake woodgrain in the 'lesser' GM brands, for some reason my mind always expects that, and lots of bright metal-looking interior trim, in a Cadillac.
My father-in-law had a 2004 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series which I drove. Cadillac by that time had blanded-down the interiors as well, but I remember the door panel, especially area around the pull handle inside, almost was Taurus-like. And I'm not making a compliment. I also remember the door panel flexing when the window went up and down.
I do like bright work around pull straps on a door panel, above the lower carpeted panel, around a trim insert, stuff like that. I know, I'm about thirty years too late. What became to pass as 'good taste' in expensive car interior materials, I saw as bland.
I do like bright work around pull straps on a door panel, above the lower carpeted panel, around a trim insert, stuff like that.
04 Town Car would have had all that.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
That is a more 'modern' Cadillac that I could like owning. Nice size, good use of space, Cadillac heritage styling, two doors, really unlike anything else being made at the time.
Found a pic online that looks EXACTLY like the car. I didn't like them at the time, but I could like one as a distinctive '90's domestic luxury car today. Boxy, but looks like roomy coupe interior which was largely passe by then. And I like no padded top. V8, FWD.
Of course, in a hobby car, I like different/under-the-radar. Not saying everything I'd like as a 'fun' car today is something I would've bought new.
I only mentioned the '04 Town Car as I was somewhat familiar with that car. But look at the shift lever and turn signal lever in that pic of the Town Car. Looks like they could have come from my Cruze (if I could've gotten a column shift, LOL). Total flat black plastic.
I just remember thinking in my father-in-law's car, how far (in my mind) 'domestic luxury' had dropped.
Again, MHO only.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I never cared for fake woodgrain made to look like rifle stocks, LOL. Cadillac did that in the early '70's, and so did Pontiac in my memory in some Grand Villes.
One obvious cheapening-out thing in '75-76 big Fleetwoods was--I always loved how for most of the sixties and through '72, you got individual 'FLEETWOOD' lettering low on the front fenders. In '73 it became a script, just like any other Caddy model, and in '75-76 they returned to the look of individual block letters on the front fenders for Fleetwoods, but they were a one-piece thing--the nameplate was mounted on, for lack of a better word, a body-colored 'bar' and applied to the car. Definite cheapening out.
I will say, talk about excess, but I like it, is the '74 Fleetwood Talisman leather interior. I've never seen one in person. I like the unusual or not-often-seen. There was one guy in my small hometown who had a new '74 Talisman with the blue velour seating, but the leather here takes it to a whole 'nother level, LOL.
My grandmother's cousin had an '89 Coupe DeVille. I think she had it until 2014 or 2015. I drove it a few times. One thing that bugged me about it is that it felt like a bigger car than it was, almost to the point that I was thinking, if it's going to handle like that, what was the point in downsizing them?! However, it was comfortable. And, considering neither Grandmom's cousin nor her idiot son exactly pampered that car, it stood the test of time. I think she gave up driving when she hit 90, and one of her friends sold the car for her and got her $800, but I'm not sure. At least, 2014-2015 would be around the time she hit 90, and I never saw her drive after that. And that $800 is sticking in my mind.
I do remember that car spoiling her, too. Her prior car had been a 1979 Volare wagon. As she got up in years, I remember some people telling her she should get something newer, cheap, economical, and reliable, like a Corolla, but she did not want to give up that Cadillac!
I see your point. The ends of the door strap were actually meant to look like satin gold as was much of the trim work in the 03-11 LTCs.
Much different than that shiny chrome work on the 70s/80s cars.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh8-FMwMado
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
After 1989 there really wasn’t much distinction between a Lincoln and the Ford/Mercury versions of the Panther.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
'67 Custom 500 cruiser parked on Main St., and probably '64-66 F-100 with "Emmett's Fix-It Shop" on the doors.
The F-100 had painted on the tailgate, "Sponsor of the Mayberry Rollers".
I've mentioned this here before, but I've seen virtually the entire eight seasons on TV in the past year or so. It's on a couple cable channels every night, but only the black-and-white episodes (seasons 1-5). In my opinion the color episodes get an unfair bad rap. (They are available free to watch when you have Amazon Prime). Other than Barney is only in five episodes, as a guest, in the last three seasons, I think that generally, the writing is better in the color episodes. Each is like a small play. The humor is more restrained/gentle, but the little moral at the end is often better IMHO.
There are a couple 'jump the shark' episodes in seasons 6-8 however. When they go to Hollywood as a movie is being made about Andy--and also the episode where Aunt Bee learns to fly--are the biggest offenders.
While there I drove the 1 1/2 hrs. to Siler City, the small town mentioned in the show where Frances Bavier, "Aunt Bee", actually moved to from 1972 to her death in 1989. Here is the house she lived in (her '66 Studebaker Daytona featured prominently in an episode of 'Mayberry RFD' stayed in the garage here until her death), and also here is her headstone in the local cemetery there (people leave pickles in homage to the 'kerosene cucumbers' classic episode):
On the way home passed a caravan including five camouflaged C8 Corvettes. I'm thinking they might have been the Z06 which is soon-to-be-introduced. Best pic I could get of one while driving.
The z06 has now been unveiled.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Anyone who wastes time on TikTok… check out @underappreciatedclassics
They post all kinds of dealer training videos and content that would interest many of you here.
Just watched one on tue early 80s Mark VI. I now after all these years realized the 4 version of that was to compete against the Seville, while obviously the two door was the Eldorado.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-ford-f-100-9/
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
So the Maverick isn’t really a new idea!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Before I knew they were unibody, I remember trying to describe this series truck to a longtime Ford friend of mine, who is a decade older than me. I'd say, "They're like the ones up to '66, but the rear wheel wells resembled the front", to which I'd get an odd stare!
Funny, the ones that they introduced in '62 with the old '57-60 wide bed, and even the ones with the '64-66 wide bed, did nothing for me, but those unibodies, did. I grew up Chevy but the '60-66 Chevy trucks do absolutely zero for me.
The "Emmett's Fix It Shop" truck I pictured above was a stepside, so it had the old rear fenders and bed Ford started using in '53.