[ First Published on 31 August 2016; revised, chopped up, re-upholstered and much augmented in May 2019. ]
In the UK and France, many cars were produced as Talbots throughout the 20th century. (And yes, it really follows from yesterday’s Simca episode, so read that one first, if you haven’t already.) So, what image does the name “Talbot” conjure up for you? Stylish British drop-top? Swoopy French streamliner? Blue grand prix car? Unloved ‘80s econobox? All of the above?
(first posted 2/9/2016) It seems our family keeps vehicles until they are about 15 years old. Our 88 Ranger and our 96 Windstar both departed at 15, the 80 Concord and the 89 Topaz a bit sooner. Now that it’s 2016 our Focus is 15 years old, now what? Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 5/8/2019) The car above has special significance for me, and non-CCer types would probably respond with, “Why would you care about that ugly wreck?” What things individual people are drawn to is one of the great mysteries of life; and as my father once observed, “No matter how crazy or stupid something is, somebody is going to love it.” Well, the lines on this Mercury are a little bit crazy by modern standards; and it’s not stupid, but rare and fascinating. This car is also something of an enigma which perhaps CC readers can help unravel.
Peterbilt made its name with its long line of “needle nose” conventional West Coast-style trucks, commonly accepted as the most beautiful and iconic of the type. But Peter also bilt COE (Cab Over Engine) trucks and they too had a presence and prestige value that put them at the top of the big truck pecking order. That red oval above the radiator was a mark of distinction. Fortunately, there’s still some at work today; I saw one just the other day hauling a load of hay.
Here’s a gallery of vintage photos that show these legendary Petes hard at work.
Standing out from the classic car crowd in November last year, and not only because of its size. Imported into the Netherlands at the end of 2020 and there has been no change of ownership since.
I’m sure we’ve all done it at some time or other: Gone to the back row of the used car lot to see what sorts of oddities need a new home. We may not have any intention of buying, but it can be interesting to see what’s out there.
Seeing an operable Granada in the wild should have been a cause for celebration. It’s not a frequent event. Instead, my opinions about things associated with the Granada overruled all else that moment.
I am old enough to remember these when new yet young enough to have been highly impressionable during their time on the market. It has taken a bit to articulate my thoughts about this less than ideal colored example of Ford’s North American Granada. These things happen.
Chrysler Imperial. Doesn’t it just roll off the tongue? A little too well, for fans of the newer models. As the former owner of a 1964 Crown Coupe, I learned that the curse of an Imperial owner is the constant need to correct people: “It is not a Chrysler Imperial–just an Imperial.” Sort of the Mopar equivalent to the Cadillac owner’s curse of “Don’t slam the trunk lid.” Thinking back on it, is there any high-end car that ever had so much trouble deciding what it wanted to be?
(first posted 2/16/2019) There’s a sturdy argument to be made that GM’s HEI (High-Energy Ignition) is so damn good because GM were so damn fixated on being so damn cheap. Wait…what? How does that reckon? Simple: Read the rest of this entry »
Text by Patrick Bell.
Packard was a fine luxury car line that was marketed for over 50 years. I have had very little experience with them, as due to the harsh weather and roads where I grew up, they were pretty well gone by the time I gained my independence. But today we have some good images from their last years.
The first shot of the day is an established couple with a sharp ’52 250 convertible from Chase County, Nebraska, where the seat is the town of Imperial. It is located in the south west corner of the state, along the Colorado border. This was the only convertible model offered that year, had a 327 cubic inch L-head straight eight, and its base list price was $3476. Across the street was a ’47 Oldsmobile Series 66 or 68 Special Club Coupe with a visor.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks chez T87, so my time and energy could only be focussed on a single post, but it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been mulling over it since I moved to Tokyo in 2020, in fact, when I found the place absolutely overrun with a form of car that is something of a JDM specialty – but is the very opposite of kei cars: large luxury minivans. Three particular ones immediately stood out as the ugliest of the bunch. A perfect counterpoint to the cramped and gorgeous ‘60s Italian coupés I’ve been foisting upon CC lately…
GMC Sierra image from bidcars.com.
As I told in an earlier chapter, I had replaced my Lemon Law ’98 Chevy Cheyenne with a ’99 GMC Sierra. Staying within GM was a questionable idea after the Cheyenne experience. Yet, within 30 days of the Sierra ownership, we were very impressed. At the time, we had no idea how hard it would get used, or how quickly the miles would rack up, which was 61,000 in the first 3 years.
In 1966, Chrysler-Plymouth tried to join the lucrative budget luxury segment established by the Ford LTD with a well-trimmed new full-size model called the Plymouth VIP. The VIP was a spectacular flop, selling only 67,252 cars in four model years, and its greatest rival turned out to be neither the LTD nor the Chevrolet Caprice, but its own cousin, the Chrysler Newport. Let’s take a look at the 1968 VIP and a 1968 Newport to see how they compare.
(first posted 5/7/2019) Well, it cannot be put off any longer: we’re finally coming to the Simca saga. This edition of French Deadly Sins will attempt to untangle one of the most complex automotive clusterfucks ever devised by modern man. Tomorrow, we will (re-)visit the ancient Talbot marque, which was famously resurrected to replace Simca, only to fade away again. And then, we’ll look into the whole Matra side of things – another genealogical headache. But let’s kick off with the meat-and-potatoes: What happened to Simca?
In 1967 I was fourteen and perhaps one of the earlier exponents of the eighties’ teenage tradition of having a Lamborghini pinup on my bedroom wall. And here it is again thanks to Google Images. You’re so familiar; every detail, line and curve of your body is etched in my memory, how often I rode you off into my dreams…
