It’s always dangerous to take on economics as a writer. You run the risk that everybody’s eyes will glaze over in the esoterica that is economic theory. But economics is at the heart of today’s tale. I’ve often been asked why the first movers in the compact car field failed so miserably in their earliest iterations. Of the new offerings in the early 1950’s from the independent automakers, only one survived to field a second generation. The rest vanished almost without a trace.
(first posted 6/4/2019) Extensively covered before, GM’s N-body needs no formal introduction. First introduced as 1985 models, the original GM N-body Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac trio debuted to lukewarm reception. Critics panned their sleep-inducing styling, stubby proportions, elderly powertrains, uninspiring performance, cramped interiors, and cheap finishes. In light of this, Pontiac’s Grand Am quickly proved quite popular, becoming Pontiac’s best selling model with over 225,000 examples sold in 1986. Although Pontiac did make meaningful improvements here and there over the course of its run, by the end of the first this first generation N-body Grand Am’s run in 1991, it was still a rather dull and uninspiring car that lacked the refinement of rivals.
The fabulous ‘50s are finally upon us! In today’s post, we can look forward to weird and wonderful designs, with fins, chrome and furry dice. Nah, just kidding about that last one. But you can also expect the number of Japanese exhibits to be on a steep increase compared to the prewar days. Read the rest of this entry »
Howdy, it’s been a while since I last wrote something for CC. I did a COAL series back in 2018 but never did installments on our daily drivers at that time: a 2006 CR-V and a 2009 Accord. The Accord was a dependable, functional car but I never loved it enough to write about it. The CR-V, however, has been one of the best cars I’ve ever owned.
1969 Ford Cobra SportsRoof / Mecum Auctions
Ford’s first stab at a mass-market intermediate muscle car, the 1966 Fairlane GT/GTA, hadn’t been any too convincing, but things had perked up with the arrival of the hot 428 Cobra Jet engine in 1968. For 1969, Ford installed the 428 CJ in a stripped-down Fairlane/Torino called the Cobra, intended to take the fight to the budget-priced Plymouth Road Runner. Car Life drove the Fairlane Cobra in January 1969 and called it “one of Ford’s best Supercar tries—budget or not.”
(first posted 4/30/2019) CC has looked at the history of the gently eccentric and very British Bristol before, but this example and the photographs taken by Nathan Williams and posted to the CC Cohort deserve an airing.
From the introduction of the 1969 Continental Mark III through the last 1979 Mark V, Lincoln absolutely owned the personal luxury market. Then came the 1980 Continental Mark VI. It was at that point that things went horribly wrong, and stayed that way for the next four years.
I accidentally stumbled into a trove of old photos of downtown Iowa City, most of them from the years 1970-1976, which perfectly match the years I lived there a second time as a very carefree young guy. Most are from a collection at the Iowa City Public Library and were made to document the rather extensive urban renewal project that was then just getting under way, and which involved tearing down many blocks of old buildings and houses. I watched all of this happen in real time, and a number of favorite haunts of mine went the way of the wrecking ball.
This is a block of Dubuque Street in the heart of downtown, and this block was one of a few that was spared and still exists. As to the cars, I rather doubt it, although a lot of Mustangs did survive. A ’69 Impala convertible? Maybe. An AMC Matador wagon? Not so likely.
OK, now we’re really getting this tour of the Toyota Museum into high gear! The spindly horseless carriages and baroque brass era cars are nice, but a bit too alien and lacking in styling. This is when the automotive world reached peak creativity. It’s also when the Japanese started manufacturing cars, so we’re going to see a few of those from now on, too.
A couple of recent Australian Valiant finds by John Cockerell at the CC Cohort, a ’66 and ’69 respectively, reminded me that these models deserve a short revisit. Firstly, because they’re survivors. Secondly, and more importantly, they encapsulate the “up” side of Chrysler’s Australian (mis)adventure; which like all things Chrysler, was a boom and bust kind of thing.
A short 30 years, of which the Valiant was an essential part, helping the maker go from about 7K units sold in ’61, to over 46K by ’65. Numbers that would improve with today’s subjects, the VC and VF Valiants, models that, for a short while, made Chrysler Australia a contender against Holden and Ford.
U.S.-market 1971 Toyota Celica ST / Bring a Trailer
Depending on your age, it may be hard to get your head around the idea that the once-ubiquitous first-generation Toyota Celica is now over 50 years old. As Paul found recently, there are still a few first-gen Celicas out there, but if you see one on the street, there’s a good chance it’ll be somewhat rough around the edges, in need of a bath and some cosmetic TLC. Let’s take a look at some well-scrubbed, mostly original examples of the initial 1971 Toyota Celica, which will make it clearer why these cars were so popular when they were new — and how the U.S. Celica differed from the cars sold in Japan and elsewhere.
Here’s another find from our excursions yesterday. Pinpointing the exact vintage of this Olds Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser S would have been quite difficult had I not spoken with the owner at the graduation party we were attending.
I’ve always had a weird relationship with the 1958 Oldsmobiles. Given that Oldsmobile had some of the least offensive styling of the 1950s, this Chrome slathered non sequitur was one of the greatest styling fumbles ever to come out of any manufacturer. But underneath, wasn’t it the same good Oldsmobile as everything that preceded (and followed)?
Text by Patrick Bell.
The wonderful world of wagons is our feature today with a good selection from the fifties and one from the sixties for good measure. They were popular for practical reasons, but to some degree carried an “uncool” flavor like today’s minivans. It’s funny how time changes things; the “work” vehicles of the past are now “cool”, while the traditional car is fading away.
