Curbside Classic -

Vintage R&T Road Test: 1976 Renault 5 GTL – “The Kind of Comfort Detroit Claims is Impossible” (In a Small Car)

– Posted on May 14, 2024

(first posted 5/14/2018) Renault had high hopes for its R5 in the US. After struggling to get back its footing after the rise and fall of the Dauphine in the 50s and early 60s, Renault soldiered on through the 60s with its rear-engine R8 and R10, and then the very advanced R16, which was anything but a hit in the states. But the timing of the R5 was propitious, coming on the heels of the first energy crisis, which really spurred interest in small FWD hatchbacks.

The main competition were the new VW Rabbit and the Honda Civic. Tough competition. But the R5 had one area of unique superiority: the supple French ride, which would seem to be a perfect fit with Americans, who were known to appreciate that commodity, although without the F-word as a prefix.

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Cohort Pic(k)s Of The Day: 1970 Chrysler & Other ’70s Mopars At A Yard

Rich Baron

– Posted on May 14, 2024

Here’s a bunch of photos with a good deal of Mopar iron uploaded by Hyperpack at the Cohort. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in these images, but the cars (or what’s left of them) seem to lay in a yard belonging to GO CAR Sales at West Mifflin, PA. In any case, many of these have collision damage, and all have, let’s say rust issues. But that won’t keep us from taking a look around, right?

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Auto-Biography: Lost Vintage Snapshots of Niedermeyer-Mobiles Found (1965-1982)

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on May 14, 2024

taking my brothers for a drive, age 12

I visited my youngest brother Franz in Seattle a couple of weeks ago and asked him about old family photos. He dug out a box of prints from the Towson era (starting in 1965) which I had never seen before. Jackpot! It gives me a chance to provide some visual proof that my stories weren’t (all) fiction.

First up is me behind the wheel of the ’65 Dodge Coronet wagon from 1965 or so, making me 12 or 13. Yes, I did start driving the Coronet illicitly at a young age, but not quite this young, at least not on public roads, although this appears to be a cemetery. And not with my two younger brothers in the back seat. But the fact that this photo exists supports the reality that I was obsessed with driving and that my parents were aware of that. So why did they get so upset when I got caught driving at age 15?

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Curbside Classic: 1956 OSCA 750S Barchetta by Morelli – Masterly Miniature Maserati

Tatra87

– Posted on May 14, 2024

I wasn’t kidding when I called this “Thoroughbred Week,” was I? It’s just that they come in all shapes and sizes. Shape-wise, this one is pretty extreme – the Morelli bodywork on this saucer-like OSCA is almost extraterrestrial. In terms of size, we’re talking knee-high and just 750ccs. The very definition of short and sweet, but pretty potent along with it.

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Curbside Musings: c. 1989 Cadillac Seville – Head In The Clouds

Joseph Dennis

– Posted on May 14, 2024

I’ve been thinking a lot this year about mindfulness, intentionality, and being present. In a recent essay I had written about a ’59 Ford Galaxie, I had touched on the idea of age being relative and the importance of recognizing and enjoying things the way they are right now. I’m a work in progress, and this kind of thinking takes practice. I’ve been known to fall into the trap of rumination, though I’m much better about not doing so now that I’m more aware of that tendency. I am content, but the occasional “what ifs” can trip me up if I allow myself to dwell on wondering what could have been if I had gotten better grades in school, if I had never gotten into that relationship, if I had been born into a different family, etc.

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Roadside Classic: 1984 Dodge Shelby Charger – Let’s Take an Econobox and Turn it into a Muscular Car!

Jason Shafer

– Posted on May 13, 2024

(first posted 8/31/2013) Few car names are any better and carry more punch than “Charger”. You know its intended purpose and capabilities in one succinct word. Mustang? You know what horses leave for you. Camaro? That creates no mental image. No, Charger is one of the ultimate names for a car, something that won’t poke your eye out (Javelin), is not a blatant derivation of the maker (Chevelle), and isn’t some acronym (G.T.O.).

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CC Outtake: 1979-86 Mitsubishi L200/D-50 – The Pickup Of Many Names

William Stopford

– Posted on May 13, 2024

(first posted 5/1/2018) Even the hardiest of cars and trucks have to expire eventually and it’s pretty hard to think of something hardier than a simple, old, Japanese pickup. It’s a rare sight to see these old Mitsubishi utes – pardon me, force of habit, we call all pickups here “utes” – as even they have to pack it in eventually. How refreshing to see this one still in use: a simple old pickup towing a simple old boat. How even more refreshing to see a similar pickup just a few doors down.
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Vintage Dealers: De Soto Dealers In The 1950s

Rich Baron

– Posted on May 13, 2024

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Vintage Ads: Shopping for Cars in the Yellow(ed) Pages

Dead Swede

– Posted on May 13, 2024

1971-72

One of my favorite movie moments is from The Jerk, where Steve Martin is jumping up and down yelling, “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!” And as hard as it is to believe, there was a time (1980) when getting the new phone book was a pretty big deal. Everyone had a land-line with a rat’s nest for a cord. Almost everyone had a stamped metal, Zephyr Autodesk “Vanguard Model” phone number directory, with the alphabetized sliding stylus and flip-up lid. And if you didn’t have the Zephyr, you just wrote down numbers in the first few pages of the new, free, phone book. Twenty something years after The Jerk, I felt a little silly paying five bucks a pop for some old phone books at the Antique Mall. But boy am I glad I did. My wife and I have gotten so much pleasure from our 1971-72 and 1976-77 Bellingham Telephone Directories, that I wouldn’t trade them for anything. So, sit back and enjoy some random car dealership ads from the seventies, and also a few from mid-century. Read the rest of this entry »

Where No Ford Has Gone Before: The Taurus Galileo

Jeff Sun

– Posted on May 13, 2024

Sometimes when happening upon a CC, you really want to talk to the owner. Other times, it is just as well to let the mystery be and come up with your own story about the car. Most times, you just don’t have a choice as there’s no one to talk to and the car is obligated to tell its own story.

This is one of those cases.

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In-Motion Classic: 1951 Ferrari 212 by Ghia-Aigle – Just Sit Still, Will Ya?

Tatra87

– Posted on May 13, 2024

We’re back to the Peninsular section of the T87 picture collection for some choice Italian stallions, in what I’d like to call “Thoroughbred Week.” Let’s kick this off in style with a prancing horse – an older beast, but a unique one. I’m not using that word in jest, either: this is a one-off body. But then, back in those days, the notion of a “production Ferrari” had yet to take shape.

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Cohort Outtake: 1965 Mercury M-100 Pickup – I Should Rebadge My F-100 Into a Mercury

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on May 12, 2024

(first posted 5/11/2018) CC reader Peter N. sent me these shots of a Canadian Mercury pickup, which would be a ’65 if its grille is consistent with the US Ford version. I need to convert my ’66 into one of these, to really confuse folks down here.

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Curbside Classic: 1966 Dodge Monaco 500 – A First Love Song In C Major

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on May 12, 2024

(first posted 8/1/2013) Eighteen years ago, when John Gallo was all of fifteen and only had a learner’s permit, he saw this ’66 Monaco 500 hardtop with a For Sale sign sitting on the street near San Jose. It was love at first sight, and he just had to have it. Can you blame him? And after being in storage in California for the last fifteen years or so since John moved to Eugene, he and his first love are finally reunited again. We should all hide away our first teenage loves–cars or otherwise– for our later years, especially if they’ve been chosen as well as this one. Read the rest of this entry »

Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: 1964 Ford Custom – A Dark Menacing Machine

Rich Baron

– Posted on May 12, 2024

Photos from the Cohort by Hyperpack.

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Vintage Snapshots: A Gallery Of Female Drivers – 1950s to 1960s

Rich Baron

– Posted on May 12, 2024

Let’s revisit the theme of female drivers in the past. As I told in the first installment of this series, it’s a topic of particular interest to me since at my home Mom was the sole driver in the family. A curious, but probably far from unique situation.

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