(first posted 12/4/2018) Thanks to compounding traffic problems causing me to take some really odd detours to get home the other night, I stumbled across something I hadn’t seen in years: One of the last of the Chrysler LeBarons. Not only one of the last LeBarons, but of the AA variety-not exactly a common bird even back in the time…
This looks to be from 1967 or 1968. What do you think?
I spotted this Citroën Ami 8 while I was on a bike ride this weekend. It may very well be the only Ami, 6 or 8, sedan or Break (wagon) that I’ve ever seen in the US.
Sometimes, the most familiar objects can seem strange and even exotic when transplanted to an unfamiliar environment. In this 1962 review from das Auto, Motor und Sport (AMS) — which we offer here on CC in English translation — the editors of West Germany’s biggest car magazine examined what seemed to them like an exotic foreign dream car: the 1962 Ford Thunderbird, popularly known on our side of the Atlantic as the “Bullet Bird.”
In 1994 the LeBaron was at the end of the warranty period and I decided to trade it for the pickup I really wanted. Still needing room for three children, we looked at mid-size pickups with the extended cab. The Japanese mini trucks were absolutely too small and the Dodge Dakota had the largest extended cab of the mid-sized domestic brands.
I bought an outgoing ’93 model with the aero front end, 3.9 L V6 and the automatic. The 7/70 powertrain warranty was a big consideration in light of my previously bad experiences with domestic new cars. However, the thing quickly turned out to be a nightmare of unreliability and Chrysler had numerous service bulletins out within a few months after I bought it. But that was just the beginning of the end.
Can you tell where this is going?
(first posted 12/5/2018) When I was a child, I used to read Noddy books. For those who aren’t familiar with the Enid Blyton character, Noddy was a little wooden boy who lived in Toyland with a friendly gnome named Big Ears. Noddy drove around Toyland in a little convertible with a big key sticking out the back. When I see the Daihatsu Copen, I can’t help but think of Noddy and his little convertible. All that’s missing is the key. Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 12/3/2018) For those who love anachronisms, this is a dream car. Not only does it feature a bustleback trunklid, but as a 1987 model, it is the last example of this brief and curious styling fad. Even aside from the trunk design, the Continental was somewhat out of place when it was new… the notion of compact, rear-drive traditional luxury had passed out of fashion by the time the car reached production. This Continental was the last of its breed; in fact it was a mix of several rare breeds – a bustleback, a RWD compact luxury car, a premium car developed with a fuel crisis/recession in mind. There was never a car quite like this Continental, and never will be again.
He seeks adventure and invites us along.
Peter Egan has been a contributing editor to Road and Track and Cycle World magazine for so many years. His column “Side Glances” has enriched my life as an enthusiast, and I would bet that many others have had the same experience.
I have never met the man but through reading his columns and articles over the years, I believe that we are kindred spirits. He treats his reader like an old friend, sharing stories of his youthful experiences and automotive aspirations.
Let’s revisit the topic of colors, with colors on top. Should you feel there’s not enough in the modern automotive world, then this gallery is for you. A collection of American iron in bright two-tone treatments.
While the illustration above might look a lot like Chevrolet’s ubiquitous aluminum Powerglide, it’s actually a completely different transmission: the Buick-built two-speed Super Turbine 300 automatic transmission, which went into millions of Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac A-body intermediates (and not a few Firebirds) from 1964 through about 1972. A Powerglide by another name? Not exactly — the Super Turbine 300 had some important differences as well as its obvious similarities.
I realize that I’ve made reference to my sweet tooth countless times as interwoven into my essays here at Curbside Classic, but you’ll have to indulge me (pun intended) once again. At this writing, it was only the second Friday after Halloween and as if the drugstore displays of discounted, spooky-themed candy had morphed literally overnight into those for the December holidays. Many of those candies also seemed exactly the same as before, but with different plastic baggies and foil wrappings in green and red instead of orange and black. Oh, candy. Sweets. After many, many childhood cavities and a few root canals in adulthood, one might think I’ve had enough of you, but no. To be clear, I eat very healthily during the week and exercise daily, but until my primary physician tells me I can no longer do so, I’m going to allow myself some sugar on weekends.
(first posted 12/4/2018) William Stopford entertained us with the VW1500 in a recent chapter of his epic “Obscure Rebadges From Around the World“. It was of course a rebadged Dodge 1500, which was of course a rebadged Hillman Avenger. Which was also rebadged as a Plymouth Cricket in the US. Rivera Notario, who keeps posting some superlative finds at the Cohort, found this Dodge 1500 still hard at work on the street in Buenos Aires.
(first posted 12/2/2018) I am talking about an aircraft elevator circa 1943 on an Essex Class carrier that is still functional.
(first posted 12/3/2018) A late-evening stroll through Salzburg, Austria was not exactly where I expected seeing an interesting Toyota Corolla (if that’s such a thing), but indeed the hills were alive with the sights of lesser-seen Corollas that night.
