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

fintail · March 5

Spots while out and about today: X90, first gen Sportage, OG 900 Turbo cabrio

uplanderguy · March 6

Wife and daughter are in Port Gamble today, fin.

fintail · March 6

uplanderguy said:
Wife and daughter are in Port Gamble today, fin.

I hope they don't mind the rain

sda · March 8

Mom had a 98 Aurora in a similar color that was bought at a Lexus dealer in 2000 with less than 25k miles. It had the autobahn suspension upgrade and sunroof. She loved it. Sadly it succumbed to the common head gasket issue around 105k. It was 15 years old by then.

https://youtu.be/tuPwkXbsroU?si=ufZnD37Q5YuJDWdS

stickguy · March 8

on the highway, a Suzuki SX4. But the much rarer (I think) 4 door version.

laurasdada · March 8

Quite the coinkydinky; I saw an SX4 today at my local Subway.
I kinda wanted one back in the day.

uplanderguy · March 9

I know this isn't the right page, but I don't post on any of those other pages.

Eating breakfast in my small hometown before going to my historical society volunteer gig, I saw this ad in the local paper today.

Broncos are popular where I live now, but I was stunned to see the dealer in my old hometown still has a two-year old new Bronco.

Mostly retirees in that old rust-belt town now--although there is a college there--but man.

The Ford dealer is the only new-car dealer in town, although there's a CDJ dealer on the outskirts.

uplanderguy · March 9

I liked those first Auroras, although I remember reading they were somewhat skimpy on interior room.

They had a light green metallic, often paired with a dark teal green leather interior, that looked nice I thought.

I didn't like them from square-on in the back though.

I'd have been proud of one in my driveway.

xwesx · March 9

2024 is getting to be a while ago for a brand new vehicle! Seems like a decent price, as advertised, though. A lovely color, too. I look on Autotrader, and there are many, MANY 2024s (of all colors). Most are with a discount of $0 to $4,000 off MSRP.

EDIT: Oh! I see why it is still sitting there.... two things really working against it: 1., 2.3L four-cylinder engine. 2., Soft top.

roadburner · March 9

Spotted a Ferrari 308 today.

laurasdada · March 9

roadburner said:
Spotted a Ferrari 308 today.

Tall guy in a Hawaiian shirt driving?

ab348 · March 9

Ford apparently have big numbers of unsold 2024 Mach-E EVs stacked up like cordwood.

stickguy · March 9

I should stop in and see if they will lease me one for $150/month sign and drive.

explorerx4 · March 9

@xwesx,
I couldn't pull up the window sticker. Usually that means it's been sold.

fintail · March 9

Saw a G11 BMW 7er with the "edrive" badge on the C-pillar, unusual spot around here anyway.

tjc78 · March 10

They had a light green metallic, often paired with a dark teal green leather interior, that looked nice I thought.

They sure did.... my Uncle bought a first year model in that color combo. Fully loaded. He kept it over 20 years until he passed. It had less than 20K miles.

My cousin took it and drove it awhile but the years of sitting were not kind to it. It still looked brand new but had a ton of problems (HVAC, leaks). He gave it to his friend who was a GM mechanic. He got it back to perfection and kept it at his property in Key West. It was great for a couple of years then the head gasket went. He sold it to a young kid who cut his DYI teeth on the head gasket and last we know he is still driving it in Key West.

I think I may told this story before.

andre1969 · March 10

uplanderguy said:
I liked those first Auroras, although I remember reading they were somewhat skimpy on interior room.

They had a light green metallic, often paired with a dark teal green leather interior, that looked nice I thought.

I didn't like them from square-on in the back though.

I'd have been proud of one in my driveway.

One of my coworkers had a first-gen, in what was most likely that same color. To me it looked like a really pale silvery blue, with just a hint of green to it. Sort of like GM's old light Jadestone from the early 80's, but with a bit more blue. She let me drive it once. It did seem a bit tight on interior room for something that size, although it was still comfortable for me. By that time, I had my 2000 Intrepid, so compared to that it felt a bit narrow inside. I seem to recall it had a bit of a high beltline as well, which might have contributed to making it feel smaller inside than it really was.

As for its handling it, well, wasn't what I expected. It had what I could best describe as "that comfortable feeling of GM familiarity." Which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. To me, it felt about how my Grandmom's '85 LeSabre might have felt, if I had put 70-series tires on it. Back then, GM also had a habit of making its cars feel bigger than they really were. And I guess that could be good or bad, again depending on your perspective. On the good side, it could make it feel more substantial, but on the bad side, needlessly bulky.

By that time though, I think I had grown more accustomed to the feel of a Chrysler product. They would often give you better handling (or the illusion of it at least) but at the sacrifice of ride comfort and isolation. My Intrepid was like this, and the '89 Gran Fury I had before that was an ex-police car. And the Mopar R-bodies are sorta like a copcar in drag to begin with, plus my old '79 Newport had a handling package that firmed it up some. I still liked it overall but for something that's supposed to be "Not your Father's Oldsmobile" I found it odd that its handling would make me think of my grandmother's '85 LeSabre. Or her cousin's '89 Coupe DeVille. I'm sure it did a lot better when pushed to its limits though...something I'm obviously not going to do with a coworker's car!

I sort of likened the Aurora to being a 4-door Toronado. Or a "personal luxury sedan," if you will. I thought it was kinda cool looking from the back...that's actually the angle that really made me think a bit of a '66-67 Toronado. Not a dead ringer, but more of a vague similarity.

tjc78 · March 10

No surprise it felt familiar. It was on the same platform as the Riviera and essentially the Park Avenue, Seville, Deville and later Lucerne. There were differences but they were all derivatives of the G-Platform (which were all derived from the 80s FWD Caddys)

Note - G-Platform is of course different than G-Body (what was GM thinking calling them both G)

Here is the color:

uplanderguy · March 10

I've mentioned here before my appreciation of '65-69 Corvairs for a number of reasons, mostly styling and handling. I'm done with old cars, but that's the one I'd buy if I had to (LOL).

Joined a Corvair FB page this morning and saw this '66 Corsa instrument panel.

I think a '66 Corsa is the Corvair to get. I'd want a coupe with the turbo.

I am loving this instrument panel. All the gauges in the panel in front of you, where they're supposed to be. Even the optional gauges in the Impala SS and Caprice that year were down in the upper part of the console--dumb, dumb.

This Corvair has the optional telescoping steering wheel, nice touch.

stickguy · March 10

I like the 2nd gen design Corvair too. A stinger would be nice!

ab348 · March 10

Interesting to see how the Corvair IP probably could have used a slight cant towards the center for the speedo and tach to let the driver see them more easily.

My older brother had a '65 Corsa (non-turbo) that he rebuilt/restored. Oddly enough, after completing it he sold it not all that long thereafter because according to him he never drove it. I never really drilled down with him why that was.

andre1969 · March 11

This morning, on "The Partridge Family"...

"What did you hit, Mom?"
"I think it was a Studebaker!"

andre1969 · March 11

From this morning's episode of Hazel: Little Harold "WOW, we get to ride in the new car and EVERYTHING!!"

Mr. B. Must have known some people in high places, as this episode was originally aired on April 16, 1964. One day before the Mustang became officially available to the public!

uplanderguy · March 11

Harry Morgan was driving the Green Mist metallic '63 Lark Custom! '63 Stude sedans with that formal roofline are my favorite four-door Studes. I'll guess Harry's wasn't supercharged! I'm impressed, as it has the correct 1963 full wheel covers with the white band.

I saw a Partridge Family episode a year or two ago, while I was waiting at the dealer for an oil change. I thought Susan Dey was lovely, but boy was she a bad actor, LOL.

"Hazel", I liked as a kid, and I've liked when I've seen it more recently. She and Mr. B had very good comic chemistry IMHO. The openings of the various seasons of the show usually showed a new red Ford, mostly Galaxie 500XL convertibles. I remember seeing Hazel herself driving a Mustang in a season opener, I'm pretty sure.

As a kid I resented that spoiled 'Harold' having a motorized mini '64 Thunderbird! LOL

ab348 · March 11

Are those AI pics? Everything looks longer/lower/wider than the actual cars.

andre1969 · March 11

Nah, I just took the pics off of Antenna tv this morning. They distort it so that it fills up the whole screen, taking it from the traditional 4:3 ratio to 16:9 or whatever modern tvs tend to use.

Often in the stretching process, it seems like they distort things towards the edges more than the center. On the Partridge Family pic, the rear tire on the Studebaker and front tire of the bus look more round, compared to the Stude's front tire. I had actually cropped some of the right side of that picture, to zoom in on the Studebaker, so the rear of it was actually towards the center of the screen.

With the Hazel shot, that's actually most of the screen. I had cropped the top and bottom though, to take out the tv stand and wall.

I don't know what's worse these days though...stretching the picture to fill the screen, or cropping the top/bottom, so sometimes they'll scalp the on-screen characters. They used to crop the edges of movies to get them to fit a 4:3 tv back in the day, but now they're having to crop old tv shows (and real old movies, I guess) the other way, to get them to fit modern tvs!

uplanderguy · March 12

Just saw this old end-of-model-year (1966) Chevy dealer ad. The Impala Sport Coupe seems hard to beat, but it's a six with 3-speed and no mention of a radio. Probably black walls and dog dish caps. I'd write a check for that Corsa yesterday, but the no-brainer here is the Chevelle SS396.

uplanderguy · March 12

I like this "Hazel" opening. '64 Galaxie 500XL convertible in living color.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqiJt_cdt10

uplanderguy · March 12

Upon a second watch, Hazel is already seated in the driver's seat, but Mr. B gets into the back seat on the same side of the car afterwards, LOL.

andre1969 · March 12

On this morning's episode of Hazel, they're showing the Mustang in the opening credits. Mr. B. is letting her drive it, and Harold is playing "Border Patrol Agent"

Amusingly, Mr. B. is doing yardwork, yet dressed better than I ever did when I went into the office! It was a different era, I guess!

This episode aired April 23, 1964 originally, a week after the one that first showcased the Mustang. It was the last episode of the season. The previous week's episode used the opening sequence with the red '64 Galaxie. So it's kinda interesting that they'd shoot a whole new opening credit sequence, for the final episode of the season.

**Edit: The first episode of the next (4th) season just came on, and it's using the same Border Patrol/Mustang opening credit sequence. So I guess they used this for a few episodes at least, before switching over to the one where the Baxters got a new blue '65 LTD (and Harold got that little T-bird)

uplanderguy · March 12

How non-PC!

texases · March 12

uplanderguy said:
Just saw this old end-of-model-year (1966) Chevy dealer ad. The Impala Sport Coupe seems hard to beat, but it's a six with 3-speed and no mention of a radio. Probably black walls and dog dish caps. I'd write a check for that Corsa yesterday, but the no-brainer here is the Chevelle SS396.

Makes folks' reluctance to buy a Corvair pretty easy to understand.

uplanderguy · March 12

The Corsa is the one I’d want the most, lol.

fintail · March 12

I have only vague memories of Hazel on reruns when I was a kid. It seems like product placement was enormous on that show, almost being like a Ford commercial (and there are many others):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbhDfdep8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrbx9GQoVP0

The one Andre posted, apparently the first example of a Mustang in a TV show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x8PJY6v5T0

uplanderguy · March 12

I remember this one, season two, '63 Galaxie 500XL:

https://www.tiktok.com/@classictelevisionguy/video/7506361647582219550

fintail · March 12

A red on red 63 XL convertible would be quite a looker.

I remember when I was getting close to driving age, there was a sound original burgundy 63 XL convertible in town that I liked to imagine having as a first car. Owner wouldn't sell, and I doubt my dad would have added that to the fleet anyway as it likely would have been beyond his bargain hunting price point. Years later I saw the same car with a questionable flame paint job and I think incorrect wheels.

uplanderguy · March 12

Shirley Booth was born in 1898!

fintail · March 12

uplanderguy said:
Shirley Booth was born in 1898!

Funny to think the difference between 1898 and 1963 is only 2 years more than the difference between 1963 and today

kyfdx · March 13

Not funny...

andre1969 · March 13

kyfdx said:
Not funny...

Yeah, tell me about it! I had a somewhat similar "how fast time flies" revelation yesterday. I was over at my Grandom's old house, walking through it with my real estate agent. The carpeting in the family room is this awful yellow and white shag, that dates back to around 1976 or 1977. When I was a kid, at our old townhouse, I can remember us getting that carpeting put in downstairs. Well, Mom and Dad divorced in 1977. Dad ultimately moved to Florida, and Mom and I moved in with my grandparents. We took that carpeting with us, and Granddad put some of it down in the family room. Funny, but I can't remember what carpeting was there before Granddad put the shag down...in my mind, that carpeting has "always" been there, even though I know it wasn't!

This came up in conversation, because as we were going through the house, I was telling her what year this was done, that was done, etc, and when it came to that shag carpeting, I felt the need to apologize for it, and justify its existence. But at the same time it hit me...that carpeting is almost 50 years old now!

In college, I moved in with my grandparents, and they let me pick out new carpeting for my bedroom. That was 1989 or 90...I don't think we carpeted it immediately upon my moving i. I picked this stuff that was sort of an aqua hue, that would have gone great with that aqua color GM used in '71. It's funny how, these days it seems like most styles don't change as rapidly as they used to, whether it's home decor, fashion, music, cars, architecture, or whatever. That yellow shag was dated by the early 80's. Yet honestly, the aqua color, that I picked out at least 35 years ago now, is a color I'd actually go with today! Now, not if I was going to sell a house, but for something I was going to live in for awhile, I'd definitely rock it! FWIW, I moved back in with Grandmom again, in 1996, after my divorce. By this time, my uncle was living there, and he had taken over my room (it was actually HIS room, when he was a kid!). So I got relegated to the smaller bedroom upstairs. But, Grandmom let me get new carpeting, as the old stuff was this awful mustard yellow textured stuff that I think dated to the late 60s. This time, I picked out a dark blue. And wow, to think that carpeting is now pushing 30 years old! It's weird to think that carpet is now older than that yellow stuff was that we replaced back in 1996!

Oh, on the car-related front, here's today's Aldi find...

These Panthers run a long time, but with each passing year seem to get more scarce. I also saw that Eagle Summit again, and its owner, an older lady, getting out of it. So I guess she might be on the same shopping routine as me. I got there a bit earlier than usual this time, a minute or two before they opened, because I had also wanted to hit BJs for gas, before the lines got too long.

texases · March 13

Saw this "Oldsmobile" on one of those "Five brands that boomers miss" articles. Not like any Olds I've ever seen! Why go to the trouble of AI? Problem with copyrights?

benjaminh · March 13

30-second ad for the 1995 Ford Contour. I remember watching this ad and being impressed at the idea of a 100k tune-up and cabin air filter. The price with some options was around $15k with destination, which would be about $32k today. I kinda wanted one of these back then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL2sZkbqI9c

Motor Week's review of the 1995 Contour. Base engine 0-60 was 11 seconds with the automatic, but 9 seconds with the 5-speed manual. V-6 was 7.5 seconds with the manual, making it almost like Ford's attempt at a BMW 3-series competitor. The video says development costs for this world car were $6 billion, but sales worldwide were projected to be around 700k a year in 70 countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO-ELbiqk7g

fintail · March 13

texases said:
Saw this "Oldsmobile" on one of those "Five brands that boomers miss" articles. Not like any Olds I've ever seen! Why go to the trouble of AI? Problem with copyrights?

I am happy that even better quality AI hasn't perfected cars yet, and sometimes is way off - I hope that continues as a way to root out fraud.

uplanderguy · March 13

That AI car....I only see an Oldsmobile in the quarter window, and the front fender looks like full-size '63 Ford.

fintail · March 13

benjaminh said:
30-second ad for the 1995 Ford Contour. I remember watching this ad and being impressed at the idea of a 100k tune-up and cabin air filter. The price with some options was around $15k with destination, which would be about $32k today. I kinda wanted one of these back then.

Motor Week's review of the 1995 Contour. Base engine 0-60 was 11 seconds with the automatic, but 9 seconds with the 5-speed manual. V-6 was 7.5 seconds with the manual, making it almost like Ford's attempt at a BMW 3-series competitor. The video says development costs for this world car were $6 billion, but sales worldwide were projected to be around 700k a year in 70 countries.

I recall when those debuted, I was also impressed by the then-modern styling and Euro theme, although they have significant differences from the similarly styled Mondeo. In 1998 or 99 my sister bought a 96 Contour, I am pretty sure a lease return, it was a normal mid spec model in a very period darkish purple I believe. It seemed super nice when she got it, but maybe due to being owned by a young driver who lived in the city, it aged fast, and had a lot of issues when she replaced it with a new Focus ZX5 in 2004 (that car had very few issues in 8 years and ~180K miles). I think she got $500 in trade for it, and that seemed reasonable. I also knew a guy when I was in college who had a loaded V6 5-speed Mystique, which seemed super nice then and is pretty rare now.

fintail · March 13

andre1969 said:

kyfdx said:
Not funny...
Yeah, tell me about it! I had a somewhat similar "how fast time flies" revelation yesterday. I was over at my Grandom's old house, walking through it with my real estate agent. The carpeting in the family room is this awful yellow and white shag, that dates back to around 1976 or 1977. When I was a kid, at our old townhouse, I can remember us getting that carpeting put in downstairs. Well, Mom and Dad divorced in 1977. Dad ultimately moved to Florida, and Mom and I moved in with my grandparents. We took that carpeting with us, and Granddad put some of it down in the family room. Funny, but I can't remember what carpeting was there before Granddad put the shag down...in my mind, that carpeting has "always" been there, even though I know it wasn't!

This came up in conversation, because as we were going through the house, I was telling her what year this was done, that was done, etc, and when it came to that shag carpeting, I felt the need to apologize for it, and justify its existence. But at the same time it hit me...that carpeting is almost 50 years old now!

In college, I moved in with my grandparents, and they let me pick out new carpeting for my bedroom. That was 1989 or 90...I don't think we carpeted it immediately upon my moving i. I picked this stuff that was sort of an aqua hue, that would have gone great with that aqua color GM used in '71. It's funny how, these days it seems like most styles don't change as rapidly as they used to, whether it's home decor, fashion, music, cars, architecture, or whatever. That yellow shag was dated by the early 80's. Yet honestly, the aqua color, that I picked out at least 35 years ago now, is a color I'd actually go with today! Now, not if I was going to sell a house, but for something I was going to live in for awhile, I'd definitely rock it! FWIW, I moved back in with Grandmom again, in 1996, after my divorce. By this time, my uncle was living there, and he had taken over my room (it was actually HIS room, when he was a kid!). So I got relegated to the smaller bedroom upstairs. But, Grandmom let me get new carpeting, as the old stuff was this awful mustard yellow textured stuff that I think dated to the late 60s. This time, I picked out a dark blue. And wow, to think that carpeting is now pushing 30 years old! It's weird to think that carpet is now older than that yellow stuff was that we replaced back in 1996!

Oh, on the car-related front, here's today's Aldi find... These Panthers run a long time, but with each passing year seem to get more scarce. I also saw that Eagle Summit again, and its owner, an older lady, getting out of it. So I guess she might be on the same shopping routine as me. I got there a bit earlier than usual this time, a minute or two before they opened, because I had also wanted to hit BJs for gas, before the lines got too long.

I think Panthers come to the PNW to retire - still a daily sight around here, even Town Cars are not too hard to find. My cousin and her husband still have the white one (I think a 2000 or 01) I posted here a few years ago, and I drove it again when I visited last summer, something oddly enjoyable about that car.

On the carpet note, when we sold my late grandma's house in 2021, it still had the original non-wall to wall berber style carpet in the living room (over hardwood, which was exposed in other rooms). My grandma was meticulous, and the carpet showed very little wear 55+ years.

texases · March 13

An old(er) gent parks his black Panther Town Car at the park near my house several times a week, looks in nice shape. His walks often coincide with ours.

tjc78 · March 13

These Panthers run a long time, but with each passing year seem to get more scarce.

A cloth/vinyl top on an 03-11 is wrong in so many ways.

You are correct, they are not as ubiquitous as they once were. We do have police forces here that still run a few.

sda · March 13

Those that I typically see are hoopties. The rare cars that are in good condition are generally driven by retirees.

xwesx · March 13

uplanderguy said:
That AI car....I only see an Oldsmobile in the quarter window, and the front fender looks like full-size '63 Ford.

I'm pretty sure that is the somewhat-obscure Oldsmobile Eighty-Three. It is named as such because it was cobbled together from the parts bins of 83 other automotive models!

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

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