(first posted 7/10/2013) There’s an adage in the car industry – if a car is good enough, it’ll sell. It’s not the only way to successfully sell a car, of course, or even critically necessary sometimes, but it’s a good start. Nothing shows this more simply or better than the Vauxhall Cavalier.
The role of the traditional large, rear-wheel-drive American car had changed by the mid-1980s. We’d been through the gas crisis, which led to the Japanese successfully wooing us with fuel-sipping, fun-to-drive , well-screwed-together little cars. The big American automakers responded with littler cars of their own. But it still felt sudden and strange when the Chevrolet Impala, once America’s bread-and-butter big family sedan, took its final bow in 1985.
(This is one of my favorite car photos ever. It’s very much professional caliber. PN)
See that young woman joyfully dancing down the steps outside the International House in Berkeley, California in 1972? She has a good reason to be happy: That’s her Miura sitting at the curb, and she’s about to take it for a brisk spin and hear the sound of its wailing V12 inches behind her back. Wouldn’t you have been overjoyed if your dad gave you a Miura to use at college?
I took this picture when I was a car-crazy fifteen year-old kid. I was blown away to see this Miura and peeled off a shot, which I later developed at home. Little did I know then that the woman in the photo was the owner and that this shot would become a little piece of history, if not quite as much as this Miura. Unfortunately, the story did not end well for her or the Miura, thanks to a nasty crash. But after being stored some 45 years at a body shop, it was rebuilt and recently sold for a cool two million.
Here’s the whole story, one that I could never have imagined back in 1972.
For some, “front-engined Porsche” is one of those terms that borders on oxymoronic, like “generous billionaire,” “vegan burger” or “beautiful SUV.” You can picture it in your mind’s eye, but somehow there is something very wrong about the whole notion. At least, as far as the Porsche is concerned, that was the case in the early ‘70s. But by the time the 944 rolled into view, things had evolved.
If there was one cardinal rule for Dodge Division in the 1960s, it was, “Whatever Plymouth had, Dodge dealers wanted.” Not long after Plymouth introduced the Road Runner, a budget-priced muscle car with a cartoon mascot, Dodge rolled out its own imitation: the Coronet Super Bee, with the same warmed-up 383 engine. Car Life tested a 383/automatic Super Bee in February 1969 and conceded — with tongue firmly in cheek — that it was “a honey of a low-budget Supercar.”
(first posted 5/11/2019) Flxible is mostly remembered for its classic Clipper models of the 1950’s, but it also built some other well-regarded intercity coaches. Starting in 1954 through 1969, Flx manufactured and marketed three intercity coaches – all fairly similar except for the style of their roofs… Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 8/8/2012) The story of the star-crossed MGC is sad indeed, about as sad as seeing this one sit here immobile for the last eighteen years. At least it merits a new tarp every couple of years. But maybe the long rest is strategic: MGCs are now very much in demand again, and fixes for most of its intrinsic shortcomings were developed long ago. Well, that goes for just about every British car that arrived not so well-conceived and sorted out. So it just needs a little love. Can we find any for it? Read the rest of this entry »
“That leather really did come from the town of Corinth, Italy…”
That comment left by CC reader Rando may seem innocuous—it’s actually quite funny, given the facts about “Corinthian Leather” and the ancient Greek city of Corinth—but it’s also a problem, especially when a prolific commenter like Rando repeatedly leaves comments that are verifiably incorrect yet presented as statements of facts. It goes against our commenting policy and standards, and pollutes our comment sections with misinformation. We pride ourselves on presenting accuracy in our content and are happy to correct our own mistakes. Comments are a place where readers can add to the contents with additional facts and information, as well as opinions, personal experiences and such but not false “facts”, as it essentially forces us or other commenters to respond to them with corrections.
I wouldn’t be posting this at CC if commenter Rando read the responses left to his comments or had left a working email address, so I’ll have to resort to hoping he reads this warning here.
(first posted 5/10/2019) The GM N-body cars of the ’80’s have been covered several times over the years here at Curbside Classic, usually when a tired, can’t-believe-this-is-still-on-the-road example pops up. Those have been occasions to reflect on GM’s troubled years and questionable choices. The Calais was even made #26 on the GM Deadly Sin list.
I believe all the sins have been forgiven for this remarkable example that I ran into recently. It seems to confirm the CC motto that every car has a story and goes one step further in proving that every car can be loved. So, click through for a positive take on this happy survivor. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s all too obvious that Mr. John van Limpt and his latest 26-wheeler prefer to travel heavy. The whole combination -from front to back- exudes sturdiness, it’s unyielding without being unwieldy.
Text by Patrick Bell.
In honor of all mothers on this Mother’s Day, we have a gallery mostly focused on ladies who were traveling, and their means of travel. Some may be arriving, others departing, or midway. Either way, ladies and cars feature prominently in these shots.
I was looking to make an easy drive to relax the nerves. In southern California it can be tough to find an area with minimal traffic. My go to is Palm Desert/Springs as the large retirement communities make for a slower way of life. It was on my way out that I realized I had never made a voyage out to the Salton Sea. With my new landmark in place, I inched my way through the Anza-Borrego.I approached from the western side of the lake.
There’s not much out there apart from the main road, Highway 86, and some smaller areas. I took a pit stop in Salton City, the only populous area of which has some stores, houses, and restaurants. While run down, it still shows signs of life with people and light traffic. And then…the cars of the Salton Sea.
With 1,288,557 cars sold in just two and a half model years, the original Ford Mustang was the definition of a mass-market success. Car Life magazine compared it to a hamburger: cheap, popular, and almost infinitely customizable. In this test of the latest Mustang fastback with the new 390 engine, however, the editors wondered if Ford had gotten a little carried away with the toppings.
(first posted 5/9/2019) Sometimes, the issue with these histories is knowing when to begin (usually, the end kind of writes itself). In the case of Matra, we’re not just talking about highly specialized cars that were almost always made in conjunction with another automaker, but also about a company that wandered into the automotive sector by purchasing an existing firm. It’s complicated – just like this edition’s other two posts. So let’s really wind the clock all the way back to 1938.
