Vintage Dealer Snapshots: Studebaker Dealers In The ’40s, ’50s & ’60s
– Posted on April 25, 2024
Recent Posts
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COAL: Hooptie Fleet Update — Subaru Marge Gives Her Life For Shane!!
– Posted on April 25, 2024
On the very damp and rainy evening of March 8th, we were enjoying a quiet dinner at home with my eldest son and his girlfriend. In my job, I already respond to my phone and texts like a Pavlovian dog and in order to have some normalcy, especially off hours, I have alerts turned off and chuck it in a corner. I noticed the phone flashed and ignored it. A few seconds later the phone rang, it was my youngest, Shane, 19, who calls me approximately never. “Dad, I’ve been in an accident”. These are the words no parents of a teenager want to hear. You always think something like this cannot happen to you, but it can.
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Curbside Classic: 1973 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible – Lipstick On A Barge
– Posted on April 25, 2024
Could we have a ‘70s Detroiter Week without a Cadillac? I think not. I had another one in mind when I planned this, but this recently-encountered Eldorado seemed even more appropriate. After all, it’s a transitional model, with the dreaded 5mph bumpers (in front only) and it has the biggest production V8 of the marque’s history. And it’s the very definition of a land yacht.
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Kurbside Classic: 1983 Grumman KubVan – Tiny, FWD, VW Diesel Powered, And Very Rare
– Posted on April 24, 2024
(first posted 5/4/2013. One of my better finds) The early eighties was the most revolutionary and unique time in the American automobile industry ever. Thanks to exploding oil and fuel prices, and with the expectation that the increases would continue indefinitely, for the only time ever Americans embraced radical downsizing with a fervor. It was as if the US was finally joining the rest of the world. Of course, it didn’t last; as soon as oil prices started dropping, everyone quickly forgot the whole episode, and the truck/SUV boom soon exploded. But for a few short years, it was out with the big, in with the small. The little relics from that era are becoming hard to find: K-Car limousines, Chevy Sprints, Diesel Rabbits. (of course, we’ve found all of those). But there are others that I’d forgotten ever existed, like this tiny FWD diesel KubVan. Read the rest of this entry »
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Automotive History: Since The 1975 Granada Was The Worst Malaise-Mobile, What Was The Best (Or Maybe Just Better)?
– Posted on April 24, 2024
(first posted 4/24/2018) A while back, Paul wrote a very enlightening article about the 250 six powered 1975 Ford Granada winning the dunce cap award for having Ford Model A levels of power per cubic inch as well as a few other dubious distinctions. Cars with such attributes simply don’t come about every day.
But the premise of Paul’s article prompted me to be curious about the opposite; what was the best of this era? Nothing is as clear-cut for good as the Granada was for ridiculous, and this question could be likened to asking who had the least bothersome case of small pox. Any determination of what is “best” is a dicey proposition.
Let’s break this down by make for better enlightenment, of which there is a considerable amount.
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Curbside Classic: 1985 Renault Alliance Convertible – Ton Camembert à la Open Air
– Posted on April 24, 2024
(first posted 4/24/2018) Believe it or not, there was a time when the French automobile industry was the most technologically advanced in the world, the largest producer of automobiles in the world, and the largest exporter of cars to the United States. That of course, was circa-1900, and my, did things change in the ensuing years.
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CC Outtakes: Alfa Romeo Giulia – For The Love Of Alfa!
– Posted on April 24, 2024
I don’t need to come across an old Alfa Romeo to remind me how much I miss the days when Alfas were a common sight in San Salvador. It’s a feeling that lurks in the back of my brain, dormant, but occasionally pouncing to and pounding my front lobes: Gosh, Alfas! Alfas!… How… I miss them!
And my heart sighs, hoping for that rare encounter. For they are rare.
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Vintage Snapshots: It’s A Corvair Thing! — Corvair People In The ’60s
– Posted on April 24, 2024
This gallery has a curious mix of people; on some, one can sense the excitement around the unique Corvair. In others, one can feel serious folk, taken with the car’s novel engineering. And in a few, one can notice a sense of whimsy.
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Curbside Classic: 1970 & 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda – Woulda And Shoulda
– Posted on April 24, 2024
In the pony car wars of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Ford won the first round. Then GM got a bite at the apple a couple of years later with the Camaro and the Firebird. Chrysler fumbled and dithered for a while, but they finally got it right, first with the (rather large) Dodge Charger in 1968, then with the right-sized 1970 Barracuda and the Challenger, just as the pony car fad was waning. Better late than never.
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COAL: Cycles Of A Lifetime — ’77 Harley-Davidson XLCR Part 2 — More Apologies to Willie G.
– Posted on April 24, 2024
In the previous installment, I had done all these modifications on my ’77 XLCR to make the bike perfect for my third epic ride. A month long trip around the country. Now the bike was comfortable and the gas tank gave it a respectable range of approx. 130 miles.
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Curbside Classic: 1972 Toyota Crown (S60) Deluxe – Sleepy Time Up North
– Posted on April 23, 2024
(first posted 4/23/2018) I recently had to go to Laos for a couple of days, which is always a pleasure. It was one of the first countries I really explored when I came to Asia, and a trip there never fails to perk up the sprit. Lao people are very laid back. The town of Vientiane, on the north bank of the Mekong, is about as peaceful as South-East Asia gets. Alas, as I recalled from my last stay there, the pickings would be slim, CC-wise. Read the rest of this entry »
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CC Capsule: 2007-15 Škoda Roomster – Let’s Look Through The Weird Window
– Posted on April 23, 2024
(first posted 4/10/2018) “What the hell is that?!” Brendan Saur exclaimed after I shared with him my latest find. What the hell, indeed. Even in the context of the European market, full of tall-boy wagons like the Renault Scenic and converted vans like the Citroen Berlingo, the Škoda Roomster was a curious creature. Read the rest of this entry »
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Vintage Reviews and Commentary: 1981 Cadillac – The Year Caddy Stopped Firing On All Cylinders – GM’s Deadly Sin #29
– Posted on April 23, 2024
(first posted 4/23/2018) If I were to pinpoint a specific year when the flagship Cadillac Division of General Motors lost its mojo (yet to be recovered), it would have to be 1981. Bad product planning choices and a catastrophic powertrain strategy conspired to deliver the unthinkable: Cadillacs were suddenly underpowered, much less reliable and increasingly out-of-style. The brand that had been a “no-brainer” choice for American status seekers no longer looked as compelling, with rivals closing in from all sides to lure away Cadillac’s customer base. Let’s go back to 1981 with some period reviews of Cadillac and key competitors to dissect how this disaster unfolded.
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Curbside Outtake: Ford Festiva – The Festival Is Still Going
– Posted on April 23, 2024
I’ve been shooting and posting Festivas since the earliest days of CC, when they had clearly established themselves as the shitbox of choice hereabouts. They were all over the place, like little baby roaches that wouldn’t and couldn’t be killed. The party has slowly wound down these past few years, to the point where seeing this one actually got me to stop. Are there any others still around?
The bright red paint and the owner-added decorations made it even more compelling. This festival will end, one of these days.
