Well, the last Clue was a bit too much for you eagle-eyed readers, but the enlarged version was positively identified by williamjeffreykoch. Our next Curbside Classic could be a bit of a higher-end automobile than the Datsun; just look at all that chrome trim. What do you think it is?
MB W123 wagon…but the roof rack doesn’t look right.
Hmmmmmmmm how bout the rare G/A body wagons. Early 80s RWD Malibu Wagon or Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser or G body Bonneville Safari Wagon (did that even exist after the B-body Bonne got cancelled?)
Indeed it did.
We had one of these (’81 Cutlass Cruiser)…they weren’t all that rare where we lived. It was reasonably reliable but quality control (especially the interior) was perhaps the worst of any car my parents owned. Ours had the much-maligned 260 V8.
When was the last time you saw a G-body Cutlass Sedan or Coupe? (Waits…)
When was the last time you saw a Cutlass Cruiser?
Production and survival rates were lower for the wagons.
(Which when you go looking for B-bodys {instead of G-bodys} on eBay and AutoTrader it seems like the wagons had a higher survival rate. Some days on eBay I would swear there were twice as many Roadmaster wagons built as sedans.)
Dan, I thought about you a week or so ago when I saw a white ’80-’87 Cutlass Supreme sedan. I think it was even a Brougham, and it was in nice shape. Unfortunately it was on the move, so no photos. Hopefully I’ll run across it again.
Oh, if you mean rare *now*, then yes, you’re correct. Haven’t seen one actually running in quite a while. (See lousy quality control and lousy 260 V8, for that matter.)
Yes I’m sorry I meant now compared to the other available body styles. Sort of like how W-body Cutlasses seem to have the highest survival rate among the convertible models although they represent a fraction of production.
Someone on TTAC (I want to say Jack Baruth, but I may be wrong) wrote a piece on how what survives from previous generations of cars tends to be the rare models (performance, higher-end, or oddball stuff) that didn’t sell well originally, because no one will lavish any attention on something that was seen as ordinary, and so it ends up in the crusher in most cases. Thus the high number of W-body Cutlass convertibles, and low number of wagons like my parents’, still surviving.
My first thought was VW Dasher (B1 Passat) with chrome trim, and I’ll stand by that despite the very Detroit looking roof rack.
Early 80’s Pontiac Safari.
Looks the same (even the color) as my 77 impala wagon.
No I idea what it is, but I’m pretty sure I know where it is, given the color of that house.
Looks the a Volvo 200 series wagon before they started blacking out the door frames (mid- to late-70s).