OK, it’s not really a brownstone, but that’s what first came to mind when I saw this shot posted at the Cohort by William Oliver. And although New York’s brownstones, graystones and brick row houses are probably going to outlast this elderly Skylark, I’m always impressed by the old cars still to be found on the streets of the city.
And of course it reminds me of New York City in the 1970s, when I spent six memorable weeks there. If only I’d had and used a camera. But we’ve dug up a couple of collections of vintage snapshots here and here. I wish I could find more of them; I don’t tire of them easily.
It’s not exactly unblemished, but after forty years in the city, who isn’t? Of course it may well have lived a sheltered life in an outer borough for much of that time. Who knows what its story is. For what it’s worth, the dog dish hubcaps suggest someone who might have been more concerned about losing a full wheel cover to a pot hole or theft than just to pinch pennies. Cars in new York somehow seemed to have a more utilitarian cast to them back then, but that’s probably just a projection based on their location and the relatively less pampered life they lived.
Cars like this Skylark, and its GM stablemates, especially the Nova, were something like the functional equivalent of a Corolla today. You bought them to haul four folks in semi-reasonable comfort with the hope that it would be more reliable than average, and not dent your wallet too badly at the pump. By 1978, the economy was strong and gas prices had long stabilized at a reasonable but higher level than before the first energy crisis, so folks were past the Pinto-Vega penalty-box phase for basic transportation. This would have been a logical choice.
And with its (likely) 231 V6 teamed up to a THM 350, it more than likely fulfilled the expectations. So well, thta it got kept around, for the long haul. Most likely old folks buying their last car and then someone picking up a relatively clean car, maybe 5-8 years ago. And its now showing those years. Or maybe I better stop making wild-ass assumptions.
But here it is, still on the streets of the city.
That’s my old block! I remember this car as a regular curbside presence from when I lived there, circa 2005-10. Even back then it had a slight beater vibe, so I always imagined it was owned by some eccentric character who’d lived there since the ‘70s.
It certainly stood out amongst the other cars street-parked in the area. I always saw it as a signifier of the neighborhood’s gritty past, trying to resist the gentrifying forces that have run through Manhattan.
Good to see it still has all hubcaps accounted for, though it looks like it’s had a recent encounter with an immovable object.
From a time when GM was worthy of my loyalty…………..not anymore in todays day and age. But cars like this will always remind me of the better days of GM!!
I’m watching ‘Husbands And Wives’, a Woody Allen movie set in New York in 1992, starring himself, Mia Farrow and Liam Neeson, in bite size chunks on TV. These images could have been stills from the movie, autumn colours, a wrinkled car and wrinkled relationships somewhere off to the side. Love your photo’s William Oliver!
Great photo. Very evocative.
Almost perfect urban camouflage! I always got a little kick out of seeing any Buick with dog dish hubcaps because they were such a rarity. Buick buyers were normally people with a reasonable amount of social acceptance and opted for whitewalls and basic wheelcovers. Black tires and poverty caps were for Dodge buyers. 🙂
And Kojak.
Here’s another head-scratcher for you Jim!
I am going to just come out and admit it: I like the dog dish/whitewall combo and always have. Don’t ask me why.
On first glance, I thought it was a Nova. However, the “holes in the side” should have told me otherwise. Based on the back bumper, you would imagine the car should be a rust bucket. But the rest of the car looks OK considering its age.
Just think if you had bought the brownstone behind the car in 1978. Today its a very tony neighborhood. Your investment would have appreciated by a factor of 3x to 5x by now.
With that kind of money, you could afford 2 Buick Enclaves out front.
These great pictures are really classic CC stuff.
These Novas were considered “compacts” compared to a 1975 Impala but they are plenty big. Easy to see where the first Seville came from. My buddy’s dad bought him a new Chevy Nova Concours. It had the small V8, bright red cloth interior, wire hub caps, and glossy black paint. And of course, a stand up hood ornament. Now that was class! It looked almost identical to a Seville and the rear seat was just as cramped. Since it shared it’s chassis with the Camaro it was a good driving car, fuel economy was good only compared to a big block Caprice. Today, these make a good hobby car especially if you upgrade the suspension to cop car specs.
My second car was a ’76 Nova Concours. 350 V8 with a four barrel carb, black velour bucket seats, and an automatic transmission floor shifter with a center console. Classy indeed. My 16 year old self did wish that it was a 2 door however.
Fantastic shots, especially the lead-off photo.
Referencing Dot-Dash’s comment above, that’s really cool when you can recognize an exact spot from a photo featured on CC. I’m glad to know this Skylark has weathered the past 15 years in better shape (relatively speaking) than what could be expected from a car of this era.
One of my siblings had lived in a rent-controlled apartments in The Village in the early Aughts, and I can imagine this Skylark being owned by the lady who used to live across the hall.
>>> concerned about losing a full wheel cover to a pot hole or theft
Which tells me that this car is not a “native New Yorker”, but probably moved in from the suburbs fairly late in its life. Back in the 1980s, I remember cars like this never having any wheelcovers at all. Full or dog dish, they always got lost regardless. And once lost, nobody ever bothered to replace them. It was a New York thing, nobody cared if their bumpers got scratched up, either – and if they did, ha-ha-ha.
But other than that, that’s exactly how I remember them, dented fender and all. There was one just like it on every block. Great find, thanks for the nostalgia!
I think you’re right about that. I’ve lived here since ’91, and started coming into the city regularly when I came east to college in the fall of ’83. One other tell for me is the lack of the metal plate around the trunk lock. Those were near-universal back then, especially for street-parked cars.
This stripper vibe fits, too. One of my freshman roommates lived on Central Park West. His parents were prosperous, but not rich. Their “weekend car” was a red ’72 Malibu sedan, no vinyl roof, and yes, dog dish hubcaps. And even though it was garaged, it had a trunk lock plate.
I also know this car from my time in the east village!! It was still there when I was in New York last week!!
Yes, yes! That’s straight out of my youth! My NYC experiences, admittedly too few given that I lived 40 miles away, were more about Queens, and an annual pilgrimage to ‘the city’ (Manhattan). Still, rough looking NOVAs (Nova-Omega-Ventura-Apollo/Skylark) were part of the landscape of the early 80s. As well as nice ones. Ditto the Dart/Valiant.
In fact, this car reminds me of Paul Newman’s Nova in “Fort Apache, the Bronx”. His was pale tan, a popular color for these cars.
For those of you old enough to have seen “Fort Apache, the Bronx”, an early 80s movie with Paul Newman as a “get it done” cop, think Dirty Harry with a soft spot for the people who had to live in the city (the Bronx, but it could have been Brooklyn) and Ed Asner as the square precinct Captain, Newman drove a base Nova 4-door, with dog-dish hub caps, and some scars, though not as rough looking as this Skylark.
The movie did make the Bronx look like a horrible place. And from the mid 70s to the early 90s, a lot of it was(but not ALL–even during peak NYC malaise, there were nice neighborhoods)
Probably assembled at what was then known as North Tarrytown, NY. Now called Sleepy Hollow. 25 miles north of Grand Central Terminal. My sister had one new. First car her husband bought for her.
Same car in better days?
That *IS* the same car… check out the sticker in the window. Cool.
Great pics.
Even got the Manhattan area code in there.