’70 VW Karmann Ghia coupe / Union Jack Vintage Cars
I sold my Datsun 1200 when I went to England for a year in pursuit of my bachelor’s degree. I knew I had no need for a car there, as I could walk the two miles to the university or hitch a ride. However, I missed having some kind of motorized transport, so I bought an old Puch moped for 60 pounds sterling. The Puch (pronounced “pook”) had a 2-stroke engine; therefore I had to squirt a little oil into the fuel tank every time I added petrol.
So Cal Metro found and posted this tired Checker Aerobus. I can well imagine it led a long and hard life. Not all of these were used strictly as airport shuttles, but its name does rather suggest that as its primary market. This was of course in the day before van-based shuttle buses were invented, or at least popularized.
I found one in a more scenic setting a few years back:
On September 25, 1973, Chrysler Corporation introduced a new generation of full-size car, sold by Dodge as the Monaco. Also referred to as the C-body, the exterior was new as were many structural components. This new Monaco was the Dodge successor to the “fuselage” cars that were introduced in 1969.
In early October 1973 the first oil crisis hit. This crisis affected not only the United States but also Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and later South Africa. By some reports the global price of oil quadrupled between October 1973 and April 1974.
The new Monaco weighed 300 to 400 pounds more than the outgoing model, despite a half-inch reduction in wheelbase, and now had a larger 360 cubic inch (5.9 liter) V8 as standard equipment. This, combined with the timing of their introduction, helped make these new Monacos a challenging sell.
Here’s a time warp traveling object, a 1987 Ford Taurus wagon in what seems almost showroom condition. Oh, fame, fickle fame… The once ubiquitous Taurus, among the best-selling models in the ’80s and ’90s, now seems like a faint memory. But for those who lived those times, this find is certain to take us back to the days of going to the nearby mall and dropping the kids off to go to Sam Goody (or whatever it was they did) while you went to JCPenney and Radio Shack (You have one of those programmable VCRs?). Then drive back home in modern Aero comfort to watch a new episode of Alf, Who’s The Boss?, or Wiseguy (or Star Trek TNG in my case).
It turns out I’ve written over fifty pieces for Curbside Classic now. That pales alongside the efforts of many of you, I know, but I felt it was worth a special something. I had a brainstorming session with my daughter, and I’d thought I’d set aside what I had planned in favour of a post centring on 1950. ‘50s for #50.
If you want to see pictures of perfectly restored classic cars, there are plenty of places on the Web for you to find them. But there’s something truly authentic–even haunting–about seeing a weathered artifact like this ’54 Olds parked at the curb. It brings me back to the days of my early childhood when I would occasionally see cars of this vintage in this condition–battered survivors from a lost world that existed before my time–evoking in me a sense of awe and mystery…
1982 Chrysler LeBaron Mark Cross Edition / Mecum Auctions
In January 1982, Chrysler introduced one of its most important cars of the ’80s: the Chrysler LeBaron convertible, the first factory-authorized U.S. ragtop since the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. The drop-top LeBaron was greeted with interest and excitement, but it raised some questions: Why had domestic convertibles disappeared, and how is it that they were able to come back?
kevin_xyxl found and posted this survivor Courier at the Cohort. There used to be so many of these in town, but now I can think of only a couple that I know of. And they’re not the early version, like this one. I’m not sure why Kevin is so sure it’s actually a ’72, perhaps he ran the plate or VIN. But if it really is one, it’s from only the second year these Mazdas were sold here, and as a Ford at that.
(first posted 5/14/2018) While North America keeps getting more and more SUVs/CUVs to fit every perceived niche of the market, Europe has always received some truly interesting small cars that are both fuel efficient and fun-to-drive, and anything but glorified family trucksters.
It’s officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and I guess it’s only natural the old classics start showing up on a regular basis by the curbside. Either that, or we curbside classic hunters are more inclined to take strolls that catch glimpses of them in higher numbers. Whatever the case may be, this ’54 Advance Design era Chevy pickup found in Vancouver was recently posted by Robadr at the Cohort, looking rather lovely in its shaded spot. A very summery sight.
Text by Patrick Bell.
Fast food restaurants certainly hold a big part of American history in the second half of the twentieth century. Today we have a good selection to view along with their parking lots, so let us begin.
Dial the clock back to the mid-1920s and one-off cars were pretty much the norm. A century on, they’ve become an extreme oddity. Definitely CC-worthy, even if the only classic side to this two-year-old car would be its nod to the ‘60s Birdcage.
1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe in Fontaine Blue / Mecum Auctions
In the mid-1960s, Pontiac was riding high on its sporty image. The full-size Pontiac Catalina was a big hit, and the muscular midsize Pontiac GTO was a great success, so a sporty Catalina along the lines of the GTO seemed like a natural step. Yet, the Catalina 2+2 was a flop, selling far worse than the smaller, lighter, faster GTO. Despite its lack of commercial success, the 2+2 still had much to recommend it — Car Life tested a four-speed 2+2 with the Tri-Power 421 H.O. engine in April 1965 and called it “one of the most satisfying cars we’ve ever driven.” Here’s that test, along with some comments from the magazine’s 2+2 new model introduction in December 1964.
(first posted 5/20/2013. In 2018, this generation Century was finally replaced by the third generation)
Brougham Love is not exactly a common sentiment, and of that which remains today, a fair bit of it seems to be concentrated in one corner of the Internet: this site. Some here actually like the idea of owning one. Others appreciate them from a distance as a sort of cultural relic, rolling reminders of a long-gone era. But that era isn’t as gone as I thought, at least not everywhere. It lives on in an affluent, high-tech island chain in the Far East. Allow me to present the Toyota Century, the Ultimate Brougham Time Machine. Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 4/14/2018) Cavaliers of this vintage aren’t exactly getting any more common, and that applies to the Trooper II. I suppose it’s a stretch to say these are about as disparate of GM cars as any, as GM didn’t actually have much to do with the Trooper, which was a 100% Isuzu project, unlike some of its other cars, like the Opel Kadett-based Isuzu Gemini (sold as an Opel in the US). Read the rest of this entry »
