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

ab348 · September 2022

After living with the base 2021 RAV4 rental for a week, I am a total fan of pushbutton start now (which it does not have).

explorerx4 · September 2022

When I went to get the MKC emissions test/inspected saw these in the parking area.
Black car had a 7 Liter badge on the front fender.

xwesx · September 2022

andre1969 said:
As for pushbutton starts, I thought they were designed to automatically shut off if you took the fob too far away from the car? If you had an attached garage, and got out and went in the house with the fob in your pocket, is it possible you'd still be close enough that the car wouldn't turn off?

Pushbutton starting is kinda wonky. Manufacturers are likely a bit different or, perhaps, the feature has just evolved over the years, but on both of the cars I have had with it (2011 Fiesta and 2014 Q7), once I have the car started, neither I, nor my fob, need to be anywhere near the car for it to run and drive as normal. However, once it is turned off, it's not going to start again without the fob.

Not a great security feature, that's for sure! Mind you, both would have a prevalent warning light that says "no key detected," but, if you're using the car without permission, you might already be aware of that fact....

xwesx · September 2022

ab348 said:
After living with the base 2021 RAV4 rental for a week, I am a total fan of pushbutton start now (which it does not have).

I must admit that I HATED keyless starting when I was first exposed to it (2011 Fiesta). It seemed so strange and gimmicky. However, once I was used to it, I now hate the hassle of using a key. And, being duly retrained, I only remember that I need the key after I'm already in the car and seated. So, of course, I have to either contort my body to fish the key out of my pocket or get out of the car again, remove the key, then settle in once more.

So frustrating!

xwesx · September 2022

explorerx4 said:
When I went to get the MKC emissions test/inspected saw these in the parking area.
Black car had a 7 Liter badge on the front fender.

Mmm... That's a nice looking Gen2 Forester! Thanks for sharing!

Edit: Look at that! We hit 1,200 pages on this thread. Nice work, folks!

uplanderguy · September 2022

Chlorine for the gene pool, methinks...

No matter what you or I think, in most cases those people who died would not have with keys sticking out of the ignition.

My boss' parents almost had this effect on people who lived above them. Luckily, it was figured out before it became fatal.

explorerx4 · September 2022

@uplanderguy,
So what brand was that vehicle that didn't alert them that the vehicle was still running?

fintail · September 2022

The Galaxie is pretty obscure - the 7 Litre (428) was a submodel in 66 only.

explorerx4 said:
When I went to get the MKC emissions test/inspected saw these in the parking area.
Black car had a 7 Liter badge on the front fender.

explorerx4 · September 2022

There are lots of Ford based vehicles around here.
I also saw 4 Mercury Milan's today.

roadburner · September 2022

xwesx said:

ab348 said:
After living with the base 2021 RAV4 rental for a week, I am a total fan of pushbutton start now (which it does not have).
I must admit that I HATED keyless starting when I was first exposed to it (2011 Fiesta). It seemed so strange and gimmicky. However, once I was used to it, I now hate the hassle of using a key. And, being duly retrained, I only remember that I need the key after I'm already in the car and seated. So, of course, I have to either contort my body to fish the key out of my pocket or get out of the car again, remove the key, then settle in once more.

So frustrating!

The Club Sport and the Wrangler use keys; about half the time I-like you-sit down in the car without taking the key out of my pocket.

ab348 · September 2022

fintail said:
The Galaxie is pretty obscure - the 7 Litre (428) was a submodel in 66 only.

I love the ‘66 7 Litre Galaxie. There is one locally I got to look at closely a few years back. My favorite ’60s Ford.

uplanderguy · September 2022

@uplanderguy,
So what brand was that vehicle that didn't alert them that the vehicle was still running?

You can Google the problem. I have no idea what makes of cars are associated with this having happened.

Our Equinox gives a short horn toot a couple times--the same sound you hear all around you in a parking lot and also with a key fob when you lock the doors. I can tell you when I left it running, early on, I didn't notice it and didn't notice the car running, mind set full-speed-ahead on my shopping list and/or what else I had to do after that store run. It hasn't happened again to me in probably three years.

I had to chuckle at whomever posted earlier about sometimes having to get out of the car to get keys out of your pocket. You must wear skinny jeans! I'm a fat guy and never have to do that.

andre1969 · September 2022

I remember reading, years ago, that modern cars were too clean-running to kill you with carbon monoxide poisoning anymore. But, in a closed space, I imagine they could still burn off all the oxygen and replace it with carbon dioxide, so you still get oxygen-starved; it just takes longer?

I tried to google it, and the first thing to pop up, in a huge font, was "Help Is Available" and "988" and a bunch of suicide prevention links. I couldn't find anything about modern cars being too clean-running. In fact, one site even said that running a car in the garage is unsafe, even if you have the door open!

You'd think turning off a car would be a no-brainer, but I could see someone getting distracted, and forgetting to do it.

uplanderguy · September 2022

You'd think turning off a car would be a no-brainer, but I could see someone getting distracted, and forgetting to do it.

Especially older folks, who've been driving over fifty years with keys pointing at them.

stickguy · September 2022

If you can forget to push the button and not notice why wouldn’t you forget to turn the key and not notice?

You also need to T least put it in park or it will drive off into the back wall of the garage!

andre1969 · September 2022

I've forgotten and left my keys in the ignition every once in awhile. I mean, I'd turn the car off, but I've still left the keys in the ignition. Basically, for whatever reason, you get distracted by something else, and it just doesn't register with your brain.

Actually, now that I think about it, I do remember starting the car once, and for whatever reason, moving it to another part of the yard, around on the other side of the garage. I was intending to move it again in just a moment or two, but then I went and got distracted, did something else, totally forgot about the car.

About a half hour later, I was thinking, CRAP, did I leave that Regal running?! I ran out, and thankfully, it was turned off. BUT, I had left the keys in the ignition. It was outside, at least, so even if I had left it running, it wouldn't have hurt anything, other than wasting fuel.

I also remember one time, when I went to park, forgetting to actually PUT the car in park. So when I went to turn it off, it shut off, but naturally I couldn't pull the key out. However, sometimes when a car gets older, the ignition will wear, and you can pull the key out at any time. My '67 Catalina is like this, and so is one of my New Yorkers. I also had an '82 Cutlass Supreme that could do that. I remember one of my friends swore up and down that on the Cutlass, that was a convenience feature, but I can't imagine any auto maker doing that.

The brain can be a weird thing sometimes...at least, mine can. Unless I'm getting early-onset old-timer's disease!

sda · September 2022

For several years Chevy had an ignition switch that had a lock and off position. You could remove the key in the off position and then start the car without the key. My neighbor never locked his car and never used the ignition key as he never put the ignition switch to lock.

explorerx4 · September 2022

The horn honking if you exit the vehicle with it running leaves no doubt that it is my vehicle doing it.
It also does sound the horn at intervals, maybe 15 or 30 seconds.
The engine shuts off after 1/2 an hour.

uplanderguy · September 2022

sda, I remember those Chevys. I want to say that ended in '64 but couldn't swear to it. You gotta wonder why engineers ever thought that was a good idea.

ab348 · September 2022

It wasn't just Chevys. I think all GM cars back then allowed you to remove the key in the off position. My '64 Skylark had such an ignition switch.

andre1969 · September 2022

uplanderguy said:
sda, I remember those Chevys. I want to say that ended in '64 but couldn't swear to it. You gotta wonder why engineers ever thought that was a good idea.

There's been one or two times that I'd pull the key out of the Catalina while it was running, to get something out of the trunk. I don't like turning a car off and then back on real quick, especially one with a hot-spot on the starter.

Or, in the old days, when people let their cars warm up longer, you could pull the key out, lock the door, go back in the house, and let it keep warming up? People tend to think of GM cars as "square head ignition only, round key trunk and doors", but at least up through '69, the square key handled both the doors and the ignition, while the round key was for the trunk and glovebox, if it was equipped with a lock.

Actually, I never understood why GM switched from that method to using a separate key for the doors and ignition. I grew up being used to separate keys, so it seemed "normal" to me. But, my first exposure to a Chrysler product, where the Pentastar-shaped key handled both the doors and ignition, seemed SOOO much easier. Does anybody know what year GM switched up on their keys? All I know is that it was after 1969, as my Bonneville had the old method, but 1976 or earlier, because my Grand LeMans has the "new" method.

Also, I don't know if all cars were like this, but once upon a time, they made trunks so that you could close it, without locking it. My '57 DeSoto is like that. The lock is actually a pushbutton with a lock cylinder in it. Just push the button and it pops open. If you want to lock it, you have to close it, and then turn the key. I wonder what prompted the auto makers to move away from that? Probably the auspices of increased security, but I imagine it was a simpler mechanism that saved them a few cents per car.

uplanderguy · September 2022

Don't know the answer to your question, andre, but here is a Mopar I would take over the same year Cadillac or Lincoln. You heard it here!

https://barnfinds.com/gold-standard-1966-imperial-crown-coupe/?fbclid=IwAR016a71EJ3_a_-avLY0BqwTDLTZuoIzmWKFUHFMPUl48NJfOe7wQ2ReCac

I almost never saw coupes in that version. I do admit to be awestruck by the LeBaron (four-door) models as in my hometown I NEVER, and I mean NEVER, saw an Imperial in this '64-66 era that wasn't a Crown.

The wraparound windshield on these cars doesn't faze me a bit.

uplanderguy · September 2022

GM separate keys--we always accepted that as a way if someone found one of your keys, they wouldn't have access to everything in the car. That didn't bother me.

ab348 · September 2022

Until GM switched to the steering column lock ignition switch in 1969, the ignition key had a fairly small octagonal head while the trunk key was round-headed. In '69 the ignition key head became rectangular and the trunk key head became oval.

andre1969 · September 2022

All things considered, I think Chrysler did a great job updating the Imperial in those later years. I think the only thing that really betrays that '66 as an older design is the wraparound windshield. But, I think Chrysler could get away with that to some degree, because it never had that severe "dogleg" like GM and Ford did.

If I had to pick a luxury car from 1966, it would actually be a hard choice for me. I like all three, but there are other years of each one I like better. For instance, if you said 1960, I'd go Imperial without even thinking. 1961-62 it would be Cadillac. With Lincolns, I tend to like the big 70's battlecruisers although, oddly, I find the 1960 appealing. But, for '66, I'd probably get swayed towards the Imperial, if someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick one.

Oh, as for GM keys, the ones on my Catalina look like the "normal" square head/round head style. But, they also say "Curtis" on them, so they're not original. There's an older set of keys to that car around here, somewhere, but I can't remember what the ignition/door key looks like. However, I seem to recall those keys were gold/bronze, and not silver.

The keys for the DeSoto are aluminum. I'm sure they were easily bent and a delight to replace. And if I ever lose them, it'd probably be easier to re-learn how to hotwire the car, than to get a replacement set!

ab348 · September 2022

andre1969 said:

Oh, as for GM keys, the ones on my Catalina look like the "normal" square head/round head style. But, they also say "Curtis" on them, so they're not original. There's an older set of keys to that car around here, somewhere, but I can't remember what the ignition/door key looks like. However, I seem to recall those keys were gold/bronze, and not silver.

No, they were plated with some sort of silvery metal. But with use that would wear off and they were coppery under the plating. Original GM keys back then were made by Briggs and Stratton of lawnmower engine fame.

andre1969 · September 2022

I just dug through the glovebox of my Catalina, on the off chance I did something dumb like leaving the spare keys in there. Didn't find them, but I did find another set of keys I didn't recognize that said "Hudson" on them. They almost look like something that would go to a locking gas cap. I seem to recall my extra set of Catalina keys looking about this color...

I also found that doorjamb badge in the glovebox. I had forgotten about that. I still remember the day it fell off. I closed the door, but heard the slightest little tinkle, as it came off and fell down in the doorjamb. There's something ironic, about the "GM Mark Of Excellence" badge falling off of your car!

andre1969 · September 2022

Oh, the other day when I had to go into the office, I spotted a couple of obscurities. First, stuck in gridlock near the county line, this '78-79 Magnum...

On the way home, this old Ford Econoline ice cream truck. Seemed weird, seeing something that old still in service!

At least, I think it's still in service...that's not a kidnapped woman trying to get attention, in the upper window, is it?!

I had also spotted a beat-up, primer gray 80's El Camino SS on the way into work, but wasn't able to get a good picture of it. And, at some point in the last couple days, I saw one of those chunky '71-73 Cougar convertibles, top down and being enjoyed, as Mother Nature intended.

uplanderguy · September 2022

There's something about an old ice-cream truck that makes me think of a weirdo driver/operator, LOL!

I haven't spotted anything cool out on the road lately, but am just back from a day out at the Studebaker National Museum. I posted a few pics on the 'Postwar Studebaker' page here. I also had some time at the Archives there. A lady friend I've known for almost 40 years, told me back then that they had a Studebaker until into the early '70's and she was derided at school for it, LOL. I remember the stigma of an orphan car then, especially with a funny name like 'Studebaker'. Anyway, from an old B&W pic I could tell it was a '64 or '65, which are virtually identical. She remembered her Dad saying it was a leftover the dealer had a long time....not unusual after South Bend closed down. I knew what town she said they bought it new in, and the Historian Emeritus of the national club told me that dealer's dealer number. At the Archives I started in the file cabinet of Retail Sale Cards filled out by dealers, by month, then dealer number. The cards are some sort of primitive computer feed. They must've come to the dealership with the car as the year, model number, and serial number, and dealer number and zone are pre-printed on the card. Rest of the info is typed and/or handwritten. It took me about twenty minutes to find the card with her parents' names on it, his occupation, salesman's name, serial number, and trade-in (they had none). I made a copy and she thought it was cool her parents' name was on something in a museum, LOL. A couple months' later in the files (since I was working backwards, I actually found this first), I found the same last name of a person who bought a '65 Stude new and traded in a '64 Stude and occupation was "Service Manager". Here, that was her uncle.

My friends' car was a 1964 Commander V8 4-door sedan, built in Hamilton, ON since serial started with a "C", and her parents didn't buy it until March 1965. The archivist who was helping from the other end found that that small-town dealer in NW OH sold a new Avanti in Feb. '65. Avantis hadn't been built since Dec. '63.

I don't remember any of my previous Studes having factory keys by the time I got them, but my current low-mileage one does. Both the ignition and trunk keys look the same but the trunk key is shorter. EDIT: Until I looked at this pic, I don't think I ever realized the key heads are different shapes. I just always saw the 'circle S' part of it.

The spare set that came with the car look brand-new. (These aren't them)

andre1969 · September 2022

Yeah, if the ice cream truck is old enough, there's a sense of nostalgia about it, but those 70's/80's van-based ones, just seem skeevy. I REALLY hate those newer ones though, with the automatic recording that starts off with a condescending "Hell-OOOOO!!!" and then starts up with some phoney sounding synthesized kidz-bop music that makes me want to pretend I'm Elvis Presley, that truck is the tv set, and Robert Goulet just came on! 🤣

stickguy · September 2022

I’m always kinda shocked by how low older (70s/80s) cars are, even a barge like that Magnum or the downsized Chevy Impala. Stuff like a Fit or Sentra seem to tower over them.

uplanderguy · September 2022

Low and wide was the idiom then. When the '77 GM big cars came out, narrow and tall(er) became the style again.

andre1969 · September 2022

I couldn't remember the exact specs of the Magnum, but looking it up it shows:
height: 53.1"
width: 77.1"
length: 215.8"

They still look big, when you see one off by itself in a picture, or at a car show where it's surrounded by similar cars. But out in the wild, with the proliferation of trucks, crossovers, and SUVs, they don't seem so big. And even the few actual cars that are left, have definitely gotten taller. Even my 2003 Regal is 56.6", and I'm sure newer cars have grown a bit since then.

Even the Charger, which still manages to look fairly low-slung to me, is 57.6" to 58.5" tall, depending on the trim level.

sda · September 2022

@ab348 off topic, is hurricane Fiona going to be a threat to your area? Hope not or at least very minimally.

ab348 · September 2022

sda said:
@ab348 off topic, is hurricane Fiona going to be a threat to your area? Hope not or at least very minimally.

The drums of doom were almost intolerable early in the week as the doomsayers were showing maps that had it coming right over Halifax, which got half the population of the whole province all whipped into a frenzy, understandably, since that many live here. This morning they adjusted the track maps and now they show it crossing Nova Scotia about 200 miles east of here in an area known as the Canso Strait. There is a causeway there that connects Cape Breton Island to the mainland and that could get interesting if the track is accurate. I'm not sure what the effects will be here from 200 miles away but I'm sure there will be some wind and rain, maybe a lot of rain. But who knows, really...

uplanderguy · September 2022

I've heard 'Fiona' on the news without listening very closely, and haven't been paying attention. But good luck Greg if it gets up your way.

imidazol97 · September 2022

Fiona is hard for me to take as a hurricane name. Fiona is a hippo. And always will be. Hmmm.

Born prematurely at Cincinnati Zoo, she's been a name often mentioned.
https://cincinnatizoo.org/fiona-the-world-famous-hippo/
https://cincinnatizoo.org/the-fiona-show/

uplanderguy · September 2022

andre, do you follow the 'Old Dealership Photos' FB page? This was on there today, posted by a fellow whose mother recently passed at age 103 and he found this in a drawer:
No photo description available.

texases · September 2022

$4151 is over $41,000 in 2022 $. Not cheap! And $1060 trade in on a 7 year old car at that time seems pretty generous.

andre1969 · September 2022

That sounds like an awful lot of money for something with a $2912 base MSRP. DeSoto really cheaped out on the Firesweep, making backup lights optional. I'm surprised it lists windshield "wippers" as an option...I'd think wipers would have at least been standard equipment by then?! I heard that the Firesweep only had one-speed wipers standard though, and I think the windshield washer was an option. I also notice no mention of a radio. I don't think a radio was standard, but I could be wrong. That's a 4-door hardtop, at least, so it's a step above the $2777 base 4-door sedan.

If that thing had a sticker price of $4060 as equipped, it makes me second-quess what my DeSoto probably stickered for. My Firedome 2-door hardtop had a base MSRP of $3,085, but its transmission is a 3-speed Torqueflite, rather than a 2-speed Powerflite. Mine also has a radio, and both driver and passenger-side mirrors. I don't know what "molding pkg #2" got you as far as trim goes. Mine has a few extra trim pieces on it that, judging from other Firedomes I've seen, were optional. But then I've seen some with extra trim around the base of the C-pillar and along the drip edge of the roof molding. I used to think mine was around $3800 as equipped, but using that Firesweep as a reference, I'm guessing it should easily have been in excess of $4,000.

You could get a Dodge Royal for less than a Firesweep, and a Custom Royal for not much more, and they were a bit better equipped. So in a lot of ways, to me the Firesweep just never made sense. I recall reading somewhere on the internet (so take it with a grain of salt) that the Firesweep didn't really steal sales away from Mercury, Olds, or Buick, so much as it took them from Dodge, and the DeSoto Firedome. But, on the plus side, '57 was a great year for Chrysler corporation as a whole, sales-wise, in a year that was down for the industry, as a whole. IIRC, it was DeSoto's third best year ever, behind 1950 and 1953, respectively. I think Chrysler division was down, slightly, compared to 1956, but some of their sales might have been stolen at the upper end, by the new Imperial, which had its best year ever, and almost outsold Lincoln.

kyfdx · September 2022

@imidazol97 I've been thinking it was hippo news, all week.

uplanderguy · September 2022

RE.: The DeSoto invoice--I thought the $1K trade-in value for a 1950 car was generous, too.

I'm curious why under the dealer name, they had "Starting Lighting Ignition".

andre1969 · September 2022

I was thinking that $1K trade-in for a 1950 was also pretty generous. However, I wonder if in those days, it was how they did accounting? For instance, say you haggled $500 off of that car and they gave you a $500 trade-in, the mark it down as paying MSRP, and then roll that $500 you negotiated down, into the price of the trade?

Years ago, I knew someone who had a 1950 DeSoto Custom 4-door sedan. It was black with a gray interior. Stuffy, conservative car, but it was nice, and in great shape. He was a local guy, in the local DeSoto club. When I bought my '57, he decided he wanted something more exciting, so he bought '55 Fireflite Coronado, a "spring special" that was triple-tone...aqua colored body, white roof, black spear. Kind of an interesting parallel, that here someone got rid of a '50 for a '57, and years later, me getting a '57, made someone get rid of their '50!

uplanderguy · September 2022

I think you're exactly right on the 'accounting'. Our local Chevy dealer, Dart Chevrolet-Cadillac, where my Dad bought one used and seven new cars, and where i bought two new, seemed generous on the trade-in values but started at MSRP of the new car. I can remember my sister and her husband wanted to buy my Dad's '80 Monte Carlo at the time of his purchasing his new '84 Monte Carlo, and my Dad said they could have it if they gave him the same $$ as the dealer. I remember they gave him $5,300 for the trade-in. My sister's husband wouldn't go that high and I don't blame him.

uplanderguy · September 2022

RE.: Radio as standard equipment--only guessing, but I'd rather doubt it. So help me, our dealer got, in and out rather quickly, a new '72 Cadillac Calais sedan, blackwalls, no A/C, and it had no radio. I saw it with my own eyes. There was a filler block there. The window sticker showed zero options, only a destination charge. The car was $6,480 at the bottom of the sticker. By then power windows were standard though on a Cadillac.

I guess what I'm saying is, as late as 1972 a radio was still optional even on a Cadillac.

imidazol97 · September 2022

kyfdx said:
@imidazol97 I've been thinking it was hippo news, all week.

Too bad the hurricane folks only choose one name from each letter of the alphabet. They could have
had a double header by naming the next storm "Fritz" after Fiona's little brother born last month.
Fiona followed by Fritz.

andre1969 · September 2022

I also kind of remember my Granddad, when he bought his '89 Taurus LX, which had an MSRP of something like $16,800, saying that he gave the dealer $10K plus his '85 LTD. So I wonder if that was a common way of doing things, once? I also remember him saying that when he bought his '63 Monterey, he gave the dealer $1200 plus his '61 Galaxie. But, I'm beginning to question Granddad's memory on such things. I think he tended to round numbers off, and was pretty loose in his rounding.

I actually have the old paperwork for that Monterey. It's showing a cash price of $3760. All the other add-ons, like tags, tax and so on, came out to $81.20, for a total of $3841.20. He got $1,908.15 in trade for that '61 Galaxie, and put $100 down. The "due on delivery" part was $1833.05.

As for options, the paperwork shows: 2-tone paint, Merc-O-Matic transmission, power steering, push button radio, tinted windshield, padded dash/visors, remote control side view mirror, full disc wheel covers, and whitewall tires, 7.50 14s. It doesn't mention power brakes, but with those old drum brake cars, power assist wasn't as essential as it is with disc brake cars. Also no mention of a heater, but I'd guess that was standard by then? I can't see someone in Maryland ordering a car without a heater.

According to my old car book, a 1963 Mercury Monterey Custom 4-door hardtop started at $3148. I remember back when Granddad said the Mercury was $3500, and he gave them the '61 Galaxie plus $1200, it seemed like a good deal. But looking at this paperwork, I'm wondering if, perhaps not?

andre1969 · September 2022

Just found the paperwork for Granddad's '89 Taurus LX. Looks like that car had retail price of $14,500. Tax was $725. Transfer fee of $15. He got a $500 Ford Motor Company rebate, and $4,000 trade in on that LTD. So, it looks like he basically got the Taurus for $10,740 plus trade.

Found the paperwork for the '61 Galaxie, as well. Looks like it was $3509.94. They got a trade in of $1450 for their '57 Fairlane 500. Wish I could find the paperwork for that '57 Ford. I'd always been curious about that one.

andre1969 · September 2022

Looking back on some of those old prices, I think it's interesting how the auto makers held the line on prices in the first half of the 1960's. Sure, you had some price creep on the low end as Ford, Chevy, and Plymouth moved upscale a bit. But, I'm thinking in terms of that '57 DeSoto Firesweep, versus my Granddad's '63 Monterey. Usually, DeSotos were upscale from Mercury, as Mercury tended to compete more with Dodge and Pontiac. But in '57 they started moving Mercury upscale, to clear some room for the upcoming Edsel, and it was definitely into DeSoto/Chrysler and Olds/Buick territory by then.

Mercury moved back downscale for 1961, but by '63 it seemed like they were getting nicer and more upscale again. In terms of hierarchy/prestige, I would think of the '57 Firesweep and '63 Monterey Custom more or less on equal footing. Oddly, the horsepower isn't much different. I don't see any mention of an optional engine for either of those cars in the paperwork, so the '57 Firesweep should have a 325 Dodge Poly 2-bbl with 245 hp. The '63 Monterey, should have a 390, but with only 250 hp, so I'd imagine a mild 2-bbl? I'm presuming that Merc-O-Matic was a 3-speed automatic. So, 6 years into the future, it looks to me like the buyer's actually getting a nicer car, for about $300 less.

I think it was 1967, that prices started creeping back up again. At least, I remember doing a quick look, and a 57 New Yorker and a '67 New Yorker both started around $4200. It is interesting though, how much of that "better car", "more prestigious car", etc, was really just marketing sleight-of-hand.

uplanderguy · September 2022

Probably because we are/were simple folks, advertising prestige in as many words was a turnoff to my Dad, my grandfather, and to me, LOL. I still dislike visible labels even on clothing.

I started hanging around our local Chevy dealer in earnest, around 1970 or 71. Where I really noticed prices going up significantly was in the late seventies. Our '77 Impala coupe didn't have as many options as our '74 did, but was $5,503 on the sticker versus $4,408 of the '74. I never saw a full-size Chevy hit ten grand until I saw a '79 Caprice Classic sedan that was full-tilt.

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

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles