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

explorerx4 · December 2025

Yesterday, I saw a last Generation Saab 9-3 Wagon.
Kind if a guunmetal blue in great condition.

gsemike · December 2025

Hadn't seen a Hyundai Equis in quite a while

gsemike · December 2025

@gsemike said:
Hadn't seen a Hyundai Equis in quite a while

Hadn't really seen a Mercury Mariner in some time either

andre1969 · December 2025

Merry Christmas everyone, live from Park Avenue!

imidazol97 · December 2025

Merry Christmas

roadburner · December 2025

Merry Christmas!

fintail · December 2025

Out on the road here spotted a facelift Bronco II, Lincoln Mark LT, and a Subaru Outback SUS - the uncommon trunkback sedan variant from the early 00s.

fintail · December 2025

Merry Christmas!

uplanderguy · December 2025

Got an oil change this morning. We were just talking about S-10’s here recently. This one was a stick and I’d say is at least 40 years old. Original bright metal hub caps. This still has the ‘normal’ dash before they went to that goofy graph/graph paper dash.

Michaell · December 2025

Nice survivor!

Those small pickups, from all brands, were ubiquitous in Southern California, where I grew up. Lots of them were customized with fancy paint jobs and wheels.

I learned to drive stick in my friend's early 70's Chevy Luv, which he had painted bright yellow (his dad worked at the body shop of the local Chevrolet dealer).

And my BIL had a late 80's Toyota pickup that he dressed up and loved, until it got stolen from his apartment complex and found, stripped, in a vacant lot in downtown San Diego. He used the insurance proceeds to buy an Acura Integra.

uplanderguy · December 2025

In rusty, crusty NE OH, it’s a pleasure to see one like this.

gsemike · December 2025

uplanderguy said:
In rusty, crusty NE OH, it’s a pleasure to see one like this.

They are mostly all gone here in lower NY too

uplanderguy · December 2025

Merry Dec. 26 from Phillips Motors, South Amboy, NJ. A showroom of ‘65 Studebakers was probably a pretty lonely place. I’d gladly take that red Daytona and disc brakes and transistorized ignition!

andre1969 · December 2025

That blue S-10 is giving me a bad flashback. My stepdad used to work for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the local water/sewer authority that's quasi-government, and is as corrupt as the best of 'em! They used to drive trucks like that, similar color if not the same, back in the day.

FWIW my stepdad, despite anything bad I've said about him over the years, has one virtue...being honest almost to a fault. Because of that, he was forced into early retirement. He refused to pass shoddy plumbing and other infractions that his superiors tried to coerce him into doing, so they could get their kickbacks.

Oh, on the old car front, today I saw a '73 Coupe DeVille, in sort of a burnt-orange color. Very nice condition. Also a black '70-72 Monte Carlo. Kind of odd seeing them out on a day like today, because it's kind of dreary, and even sleeted a bit.

sda · December 2025

Paging @andre1969

https://youtu.be/6cLBzlsSI1E?si=LfQpC8X3Y5ucr5ND

explorerx4 · December 2025

Gateway Classic Cars locaton in Indiana is closing next month.
They are primarily a consignment dealer and are accepting offers on their inventory.
About 24 minutes in, a nice Mark V for tjc78.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff3y6eRzLnI

sda · December 2025

No emblem on the front bumper, is the upholstery correct?

andre1969 · December 2025

That Catalina's interior looks like mine, right down to the yellowing of the trim on the armrest! So, it's probably correct (just in better shape overall than mine).

stickguy · December 2025

saw a Mark V continental (pretty sure I got the right generation). In a very gaudy 3 tone (2 tone body and different padded top). Some browns involved. Looked decent shape, parked outside a mechanics shop of some kind.

ab348 · December 2025

When I was 11 years old my father bought a '67 Pontiac Parisienne 4-door HT, white with red cloth interior. You would think it would be the same trim level as this, just on the GM of Canada Chevy chassis, but it is interesting to see the variances. Ours did not have the woodgrain dash, using black textured vinyl there instead. But it did have bright pedal trim which was not standard on Catalinas. It had a different style of steering wheel also. It also had a textured chrome trim piece running the width between the tallights below the trunk lid, similar to but not the same as a US Bonneville, odd. He also had the front end arrow-shaped emblem on the front of the bumper broken and I think it eventually went missing like this one. It came with the Canada-standard 283 Chevy engine. It was a good car for a Cheviac.

The convertible being sold is nice enough, but the black interior would kill it for me. Whyyyyyyyyyyyy???

andre1969 · December 2025

My Catalina has a black vinyl interior, and I managed to endure it over the years. However, it just hit me...I can't remember the last time I had to sit in it on a brutally hot day. Nowadays, when I drive it locally, I only do it on nice, but not overly hot days. And when I go to car shows, I'm usually driving it in the morning, and then in the evening, but during the hottest part of the day we're either walking around on the show field, or sitting in lawn chairs behind the car, drinking! Also, I was only 24 when I bought it, and my body would endure extreme temperature ranges better back then. Now, at 55, not so much!

Older cars did seem to "breathe" a bit better, though. I don't think I'd be able to tolerate something like my '76 LeMans with a black vinyl interior. And the dark blue on my '79 New Yorker, even though its mostly cloth, has some vinyl accents that will still scorch you. And on hot days, you can burn your fingers trying to start it!

Part of it, I'm sure, is that cars were sealed tighter in the '70's. Probably why you can throw your back out trying to slam the door on a Colonade with the windows all the way up! But I think other issue, is that cars in the 70's had more side curvature, or "Tumblehome" or whatever they called it. As a result, I don't think the roof gives you quite as much shelter from the sun during the middle of the day. The LeMans also has that big, rakish back window that probably lets in a lot of the sun's rays.

As for the Canadian Parisienne, I was under the impression it was decked out more at a Bonneville, or Caprice-league trim level? The Catalina is a bit on the cheap side. The dash is nice, but when it comes to the door panels and seats, it's what I'd think of as slightly sub-Impala.

Where did the Pontiac Laurentian fit in? Was that more of a Bel Air level of trim, perhaps?

sda · December 2025

I found it interesting according to Adam of Rare Classic Cars, on his 65 Catalina it has the optional foam padded front seat. How thinly padded was the standard seat? Dad’s 71 and 73 Catalina had comfortable front seats. The lower portion of the door panels on the 71,73, were made of hard plastic minus the carpeted kick panel looked cheap.

ab348 · December 2025

andre1969 said:

As for the Canadian Parisienne, I was under the impression it was decked out more at a Bonneville, or Caprice-league trim level? The Catalina is a bit on the cheap side. The dash is nice, but when it comes to the door panels and seats, it's what I'd think of as slightly sub-Impala.

Where did the Pontiac Laurentian fit in? Was that more of a Bel Air level of trim, perhaps?

I would say it was similar to a BelAir level of trim. The lowest level Strato Chief was the rough equivalent to the Biscayne.

It's not easy to find good pics of '67 Parisienne interiors these days, but it differed from the Catalina. It seems most of the survivors seen online now are either convertibles or 2-door coupes called "2+2" which I believe were a step up from the regular Parisienne. But whereas the Catalina and Executive had seat stitching that ended below the top of the backrest, the Canadian Parisienne continued all the way over the top like this. It also had chrome ornaments attached:

This is what I remember:

thebean · December 2025

On the way back from coffee this morning, a scarlet first gen NSX. Couldn’t get a real good view as it was weaving through traffic. But it sure sounded good. A bit of a medium rumble that made me smile.

fintail · December 2025

Spokane was Spokane today, at the supermarket today within 50 yards spotted a Lumina, 90s Tercel, and an early 90s Grand Caravan in kind of a cranberry color, very 90s.

uplanderguy · January 2

I’m attracted to oddball equipment on cars, even if such equipment would have made the car miserable to drive. Here’s such an example in Lisbon, Ohio, probably 45 mins east of me.

Asking price is $19k, which is beyond ridiculous.

This was America’s best-selling model in 1968.

When I saw the pic, I was like “Hmmm, no engine displacement callout on the front fenders…is it really a six?”. Yep, with 3-speed and no radio! That level of equipment was usually reserved for the strippo Biscayne model.

I’m not crazy about ‘68 big Chevys, but it is a fastback instead of the hideous ‘68 formal top. 92k miles. I’m surprised that original interior is still that nice.

I like the ‘67 interior better, and also the ‘67 exterior side trim better.

I can remember going with my Dad to look at the ‘68’s on introduction night. Dad’s take? “Taillights in the bumper, how stupid!”.

Again though, what an oddball car.

ab348 · January 2

GM seemed to find the '68 model year and the v.2 round of federal safety standards difficult. It's almost like they didn't know what was OK or not so they did more than what was absolutely necessary on things like dashboards, padding and controls. Most of those things made them look awkward or cheap compared to the '67 models.

uplanderguy · January 3

I did like the Cadillac and full-size Buicks a little better in ‘68, but the full-size Chevys, Pontiacs, and Oldses, less than the ‘67’s.

The Chevy’s rear seat pic reminds me that the ‘67 was the last year the coupes got the bright-metal rear seat center radio speaker. I liked those.

That ‘68 is a reminder to me of how nice it was then to have such a wide choice of power teams, not to mention models and body styles. Sigh.

andre1969 · January 3

When it comes to the 2-door rooflines in '67-68, I'm not a fan of the fastback or the formal-roof that the Impala Custom/Caprice used. Oddly, I think the convertible roofline looks the best! Which is odd, because convertibles usually don't look that good with the top up. But for '67-68, I think the shape struck a nice balance between the extremes of the other two.

Actually, the 2-door sedan isn't bad looking in my opinion, either. Except for the fact that it has a B-pillar. But I think the overall shape of the roof itself isn't bad...

With '67 vs '68 Chevies, I think I like the '68 slightly better. I might be biased though, as we had one when I was young. I think the '67 definitely has a cooler dashboard. And I like the rear of the '67 better. But I prefer the '68's front end. With Buick I prefer the '67, but Olds I like '68. I just don't like the front end of the '67 Olds. And with Pontiac, I probably don't have to say anything, since that's not a '68 in my garage!

With regards to taillights in the bumper, I believe 5 mph bumper regs were what prompted them to be dropped after '73. So maybe your Dad could see into the future on that one, Uplander! It almost seems to me that the lights should be better protected, being worked into the design of a beefy bumper. But, apparently that wasn't the case. I think the only cars that kept the taillights in the bumper after '73 were the midsized Mopars. And I think they might have gotten around it by making those chunky bumper guards standard. For awhile there was also a loophole that if the car was a coupe on a 115" wheelbase or less, and lacked a B-pillar, they didn't have to adhere to those bumper standards. That might have been only for 1974 though, as when the intermediate Mopars restyled for '75, the coupes all got heavy revisions, with taillights out of the bumpers. But the sedans kept the taillights in the bumper, just with those big rubber guards.

fintail · January 3

Would that 68 Chevy have been a special order or some kind of loss leader stripper that let a dealer print a "new full sized car for $2995!" type of ad where one was sent to every outlet?

ab348 · January 3

andre1969 said:

With regards to taillights in the bumper, I believe 5 mph bumper regs were what prompted them to be dropped after '73. So maybe your Dad could see into the future on that one, Uplander! It almost seems to me that the lights should be better protected, being worked into the design of a beefy bumper. But, apparently that wasn't the case. I think the only cars that kept the taillights in the bumper after '73 were the midsized Mopars. And I think they might have gotten around it by making those chunky bumper guards standard. For awhile there was also a loophole that if the car was a coupe on a 115" wheelbase or less, and lacked a B-pillar, they didn't have to adhere to those bumper standards. That might have been only for 1974 though, as when the intermediate Mopars restyled for '75, the coupes all got heavy revisions, with taillights out of the bumpers. But the sedans kept the taillights in the bumper, just with those big rubber guards.

All the GM intermediate wagons had taillights in the bumper all the way to the end of production in the mid-80s, both for the big ‘73-‘77 models and for the downsized ‘78-up versions. I don’t remember ever reading about that loophole you described.

uplanderguy · January 3

My guess, only that, is that ‘68 was ordered by a customer. It could have been a loss-leader, but I’ve never seen another one (that I can remember anyway).

I never thought I’d say this, but after looking at some pics, I like the ‘69 Impala styling better than the ‘68. My late friend Bob Palma, who wrote for HCC, worked for a Chevy/Olds dealer in Indy in the summer of ‘69 while he was on break from his auto shop teacher job. He was a big fan of the ‘69 and said when the first ‘70 came in he thought although it was a minor facelift, he felt they botched it.

That two-door sedan roofline is nice. Last year a Catalina had a two-door sedan. Biscayne and Bel Air offered them in ‘69. I’d have definitely ordered the optional side-window reveal moldings, standard on that Catalina I’m pretty sure. Really dressed the low-line Chevys up. Both Biscayne and Bel Air had low-line interiors but outside I prefer the cheaper Biscayne. Back then, the Bel Air always had a bright molding smack down the middle of the body side. I prefer the plain body sides.

I do see some ‘69 big Chevy two-door sedans online, but they’re invariably 427 4-speed cars.

andre1969 · January 3

ab348 said:
All the GM intermediate wagons had taillights in the bumper all the way to the end of production in the mid-80s, both for the big ‘73-‘77 models and for the downsized ‘78-up versions. I don’t remember ever reading about that loophole you described.

D'oh! Major Ronald Reagan moment on my part! How my memory glossed over those is beyond me, especially considering my grandparents' '82 Malibu wagon!

As for that loophole on coupes, the only place I ever read about it was an issue of Consumer Reports where they tested midsized coupes, either in '73 or '74. One of them was a Satellite Sebring hardtop coupe, and they mentioned that its bumpers did not conform to the bumper standards, because of that loophole. That loophole was supposed to be there to help the imports, but Chrysler took advantage of it.

uplanderguy · January 3

Just looked at the ‘68 Chevrolet full-size, brochure. Six engines available—six, 307, two 327’s, 396, and 427. Four transmission choices—3 speed, 4 speed, Powerglide, and Turbo-Hydramatic. Funny to realize that number, today.

fintail · January 4

Two different automatic choices is most interesting, been a long time since that has existed for any brand in the USDM.

uplanderguy · January 4

Looking at the pic of the decklid, I’m reminded that it went all the way to the rear window—no separate panel there, and one less visible seam. I rather like that.

uplanderguy · January 4

Going to contradict myself here, but I think it’s arguable that this could be the last great Cadillac model. Fleetwood Sixty-Special Brougham, only marketed as that in ‘71 and ‘72. Enormous? Yes. I actually like the space outside between the front and rear doors; sort of a thirties throwback. That went away in ‘73–as did the individual “FLEETWOOD” lettering on the fenders and decklid.

fintail · January 4

Sixty Special name also being a prewar throwback. As close to king of the road for a domestic as one would find.

Speaking of spaces, makes me think of the non-parallel space between the windows that existed for a few years - not sure if this has ever been explained:

uplanderguy · January 4

The ‘77 would be easier to live with daily I think.

While I used to dislike the tapered B-pillar, I like it now. I’m thinking it was a nod to a ‘30’s Auburn, Cord, or Duesenberg, but now I’ll check.

fintail · January 4

The downsized car is handsome, maybe not as baroque as the earlier car, but that's not always a bad thing.

Maybe influenced by the Duesenberg "Twenty Grand"?

uplanderguy · January 4

I do believe that’s it. Thanks for saving me the work!

kyfdx · January 4

Not a Fleetwood, but did my driver test in a '72 Sedan DeVille.

sda · January 4

A very nice Accord V6 coupe. I didn’t get a picture, at CarMax a dark metallic green Infiniti I 30 in good condition that was sold to them. There was a form on the dash showing a CarMax associate bought it just like they did with our TL.
The Accord gives me Prelude vibes.

thebean · January 4

I love both of the Caddies, but even the ‘77 would barely fit in my garage today. No chance the ‘72 would fit. Did people leave cars from that timeframe outside? When I was a kid in the ‘60’s, our one car garage was filled with my father’s junk, so all cars were outside.

uplanderguy · January 4

I miss the old blue tint bands at the top of the windshield.

kyfdx · January 4

uplanderguy said:
I miss the old blue tint bands at the top of the windshield.

I can remember my '77 Ford didn't have a tinted windshield. That was a factory option.

stickguy · January 4

I love the blurb in that ad about more maneuverability for easier parking.

ab348 · January 4

I remember when I was buying this house, after my offer was accepted but before closing, I swung past one day and saw the owner outside doing some things so I stopped to chat. I remember he was doing something to the outside of the garage and I wondered out loud how big a car would fit. He said he owned a ‘72 Olds 98 at one point that just fit and still allowed the door to close. It must have touched the back wall.

andre1969 · January 5

One thing I learned really fast, when house-hunting, was that I could tell a garage was going to be cramped, just by looking at how close the bay doors were to the edge of the house. For example, here's one I looked at back in 2016, when I started getting somewhat serious about researching my eventual move...

For the most part, length wasn't the issue; it was width. Just imagine getting a large 2-door car in there, like my DeSoto, Catalina, or even my '76 LeMans, and then trying to swing a door open. The Ram would be bad, too. With the regular cab pickups, Dodge made the doors a bit longer, which gives you better entry/exit, and a larger window for better visibility. The extended- and crew-cab trucks had shorter front doors. So in a way, the regular-cab Ram is a bit like a large coupe.

Another house I looked at, earlier that year, had the added "bonus" of stairs going from the garage to the kitchen. So that effectively shrunk one of the spaces to about 15-16 feet. I think they had a Lexus SC parked in that spot, and that was about the biggest vehicle that would fit. Here's the exterior view of that one...

Now that I think about it, that first house, with the 3 car garage, also has the garage floor a few feet below the main level of the house. I can't remember how they handled entry to the house, though. They may have compromised one of the spaces as well, or had the stairs going up actually in the house.

I think it's sad though, when even "luxury houses" like this, compromise the garage like that. And these houses were not on lots where space was at a premium. The 3-car garage house was on 1.84 acres, and the 2-car was on an acre.

Those side-entry garages can also be a pain maneuvering large vehicles in and out of, unless you have a lot of driveway space in front of them.

uplanderguy · January 5

I get the design approach, but I always thought I wouldn’t like a garage thst I had to make a big turn into from the driveway.

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

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