With Christmas eve almost upon us, Santa and his elves are getting ready to deliver his toys to children all around the world. Santa has relied on his old trusty sled pulled by his eight reindeer, but this year his sled repairs didn’t get done in time and the reindeer are feeling under the weather. He needs some help to him find a new vehicle for the gift delivery. Santa decided that with his classic sled down for the count, a classic car is the only appropriate replacement. Accordingly, he reached out to the Curbside Classic community in hopes that our expertise can find him the appropriate classic for him to pilot on Christmas Eve.
To help Santa find his classic, let’s have some fun and make this into a QOTD game. To participate, find a vehicle that fits into our definition of a Curbside Classic. The contributors, commenters and readers here are some of the most knowledgeable when it comes to classics, so I am sure we can come up with some great choices. You can select from our CC archives or the CC cohort photos. Bonus points for anyone who uses a Curbside Classic that they found in the wild. Finding a CC for sale is okay too, as long as the price isn’t outrageous – Santa can’t afford six figure cars. Once you make your selection, provide an argument on why you think your car is the best choice for Santa. Arguments can be practical based, such as the vehicle having good cargo capacity, speed, or prowess in snow. Your argument can also be completely impractical for things such as timeless styling or the best Christmas colors. The main rule is to be creative and have fun!
So, what vehicle do you nominate for Santa’s new ride?
I would see Mr. Claus in a 1959 Buick. Convertible, to minimize the efforts of gift-flinging.
Red of course. As red as possible. 🙂
Pretty good choice.
Well, two that come to mind come via other CC posts…
One is from Paul’s post of Santa’s Rocket Ship: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-ads-and-brochures/vintage-pr-shot-santas-rocket-ship-the-reindeer-have-been-retired/
The other is from a picture that JPC posted (so it’s his find from the wild) the other day in a comment to my post about holiday-decorated cars: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/comment-image/1638032.jpg I think that all that Rampside needs is to be painted in red & white, and to have Santa in the back. Perfect sleigh.
A 1930 Pierce Arrow touring car. Just because.
I think Santa could do worse than this ’65 Mercury. Fuel mileage wouldn’t be great with the 390, but Fords of this era all seem to have great heaters, and there’s plenty of room in the back for car parts. Hey Santa, do you have a printed circuit for a ’63 Riviera in there? 🙂
DMC EV FC (Flux Capacitor) Edition
The only way to fly.
The Flux Delorean would answer my very [very] young childhood constant doubts about the veracity of the whole Santa story of how he could deliver all those toys to all children all over the world (and especially Long Island) in one night.
Just dial himself back 12 hours every 12 hours or so and keep on working until the job was done.
I worried a lot about things like that way back then.
While the DMC may not be the most Christmas themed car here, I agree with RL that it does solve the timing issue of how all those presents get delivered in one night. Great choice!
Great choice Aaron. This might be my personal favourite. I have long been a wagon guy and a ’65 CP is very cool.
I would say Duesnburg SJ but that is a 6 figure car.
I saw this in a local small town shopping district last month, ready to be filled up. Not the biggest delivery vehicle, but room for a lot of small electronics and gift cards, which may be sufficient. The 4wd will be useful and the color goes well with Santa’s attire. If he gets behind, he can jump in the Corvette and catch up.
The 1932 Ford pickup looks to be the best bet :
It has narrow tires, always better in snow plus a V8 engine with “flashing acceleration” and power to better handle the overload Santa’s sure to put upon it .
I love the MB Jeep ! .
I always wanted one and they’re all gone or wildly expen$ive these days, I have pleasant memories of teeth chattering rides in our 1952 M38A1 Willys Jeep on the farm in New Hampshire in the 1960’s .
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL HERE ! .
You may be spending them alone but you’re not truly alone, we her are thinking of you .
-Nate
I would see Santa in this practical 1954 Plymouth. Since he drives it so little, (One day a year) it still runs smoothly, and it is the right colour. It also has a current-or-so registration tag from 2015, and at least one windshield wiper works. That won’t matter with Rudolph along for the ride.
Mrs. Claus’ minivan is there for emergency electronics deliveries, and their Neon sits by for summer cruising.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!
Photo try-again
and the front view
I vote for one of these. Everything should fit in there, safe from this week’s storm.
Room for the elves too.
Borrowing a little holiday optimism from Linus regarding Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree: “I never thought it was such a bad little car. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”
Accordingly, I nominate the 1962 & 1/2 Dodge, recently revised with all dispatch to do duty for Santa’s deliveries.
The dutiful Elves at Dodge had a well packaged deliverer, it was just a bit over the top. Taking a look at that face only Ma Mopar and Santa could love, the Elves designed it some fashionable dual headlights, and took the chip off the shoulder on the rear door.
With great handling, a practical size for global streets of any size, and fast powertrains for frantic deliveries, this frosty blue Dodge will do just dandy!
Happy Holidays!
H’mmm. Your repair to the rear door beltline is an instant Yes from me, but I’m going to need to sit with that front end revision awhile and see whether it’s an aye or a nay. Offhand I think a completely clean grille flanked by single 7″ round headlamps as on the ’62 Turbo Dart* might be a tidier adjustment.
* The single 7″ headlamps, I mean; the Turbo Dart has a busy atomic-age grille.
Very much agree. My photo shop skills are limited. A single large lamp would look good, but on a big car was a bit inconstant with the times.
The dual lights would look a lot like the ’63 New Yorker if the grill were shrunk between them – which is mostly what I was trying to suggest.
My result kind of grew on me, maybe expanding the grill just enough to get the inboard lamps in the grill on the same plane as the outboard lamps?
Lots of combos that I think would look better. While what was approved has sort of grown on me, no denying it was a jolt to the eyes in 1962.
That beltline rear door shoulder is just bizarre.
Frankly, the update for ’63 wiped too much character off the car, Dullsville. Just taking a few rough edges off this car makes it much more handsome to me.
The more I look, the more I appreciate your headlamp rework, and—durnit—the bigger gets the problem wrought by deleting the beltline upkick: the backglass looks too high and too small, with no room to enlarge or lower it. It looks isolated, pasted on at random without the raised beltline to meet it. Maybe if there were a much shorter upkick at the trailing edge of the rear door, akin to the elbow/kink in the trailing edge of the ’63 Dodge 2-door quarter glass (no, I will not call it by that BMW guy’s name, thank you very much).
As to the ’63 Dodge: I donno, I think the front end was a coherent evolution from the ’62, still with enough of the design theme left to sharply differentiate from a Chev or a Ford or a generic car. And the roofline and other changes are fine with me—different to the ’62, but certainly handsome, though the tail styling is way over the line into generic Dullsville.
On of those “Woody” wagons from the late “40’s”,or the “60’s” Studebaker wagon with the slide open top , over the cargo area.If it’s a car for his “personal” use, a red “Camaro convertible”.
I remembered a company called Legacy would personalize and custom build original power wagons. This was from 2015. It definitely was 6 figures new but we’ll say 7 years later it’s just under the 6 figure limit.
The idea was classic style but modern tech. Just like Santa! You could get a stroked hemi if Santa wanted to keep time on his around the world in one night or a Cummins turbo diesel if he needed the pulling power for all those toys.
Given that Santa lives at the North Pole, I assume he’s rather concerned about the polar ice cap melting away due to global warming. The way things are going, he’s going to be out of a place to live eventually, at least in the summer months. So perhaps he might well want to use an electric van to deliver. Of course, how to charge it up is another matter; solar panels during the summer?
My money’s on ANTARCTICA 1,
the Polar Bug.
…….. oops, wrong Pole ……
We need a double brandy eggnog here, stat!
Think about the spec Santa needs – bright red; Nordic roots; comfy seats; big boot.
Surely Santa drives a SAAB?
Nordic, fully correct two-tone color scheme, flat-/dump bed plus crane for hauling and delivering small and big packages.
A classic, red-nosed Scania of course.
Actually, Saint Nicholas was from Turkey. So how about a Fargo?
Quite right, yet Sint-Nicolaas (aka Sinterklaas) prefers something else.
I picture Santa driving a red 63 T-Bird Roadster with the Tonneau Cover removed,filled with Christmas goodies for all. And a hot Mrs.Clause (the sales girl “Mary”) from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation in the passenger seat !
Mele Kaliki Maka from warm sunny Maui…
And he’ll have fun, fun, fun ……
Santa needs payload. Lots and lots of payload. And he needs something that will last. Here is my suggestion:
If only his reindeer were feeling better – he was all set up for a sleigh down for repairs.
I’m not santa, and I don’t play him on TV; I don’t know what kind of car he’d like, and I wouldn’t presume to force my choices on him.
So here’s a pic from the –
North American International Everybody in the Whole Wide World Wants an American Car so They’ll All Flock Here in the Middle of Winter– Detroit Auto Show ’18. The car was off limits to showgoers, but Dodge booth staff beckoned me in for this pic on account of my beard (which has since then gone completely white).This must surely be the winner – a current CCer in a future CC with a magnificent BBeard…I vote AA++!!
It wasn’t my intention to pick a winner, but Daniel’s choice certainly would be the winner if we did select one! Daniel’s choice has it all – Christmas themed, lots of speed from the hellcat engine, ability to handle well in snow, and it’s a CC he spotted so he gets the bonus points. Additional bonus points for Daniel’s beard.
Dodge did a nice job on this “sleigh.” Here is another pic:
Go big, or stay at the North Pole!
How about a customized Pacific P16? Lots of room for all those great Curbside Classics he has to deliver. Found at White River yard (near Sayward) and later at Woss, both on Vancouver Island.
Best of the season to all.
Well, to the point made above that Mrs. Claus needs a vehicle too, I present what I found just an hour ago. Mrs. Claus’s Sienna. AWD of course (helps at the North Pole). I’m not sure what’s up with the murdered-out tints, but I guess she is kind of a VIP.
And that’s really quite the reindeer ornament. It lights up! And seems pretty thoroughly lashed down for high speed travel. 🙂
When I was a kid, my parents lived near St. Laurent Shopping Centre, in Ottawa. Sears delivery step vans were a popular sight in our neighbourhood at CFB Rockcliffe, and all over the city, before Christmas. I always associated their step vans with Santa delivering toys, with the aid of the Sears Wish Book, of course.
1950 GMC advanced design in red
Maybe something like this?
Perfect and if Santa doesn’t want it I’ll take it
Now THIS should be Santa’s sleigh:
That’s myself & the wife btw.
Dressed for the occasion:
Even the factory thinks so…
You have an upvote for your De Soto from me and my lovely 🥰 Mrs.
Me because I love ❤️ the Forward Look Mopars with their big fins.
The Lovely 🥰 Mrs. because she loves everyone in their Christmas 🎄 jammies and Santa 🎅🏻 hats in your car.
Scrolling through my folder of Kiwi Kurbside Klassics, I nominate this magnificent 1939 Plymouth Pick-up (PT-81 model), factory right-hand-drive and one of three exported new to South Africa, then later exported here to New Zealand. The photos, outside an old dairy factory in Cambridge, NZ, are from the vendor’s listing a few years ago.
So why would it be the the ideal Santa Sleigh? It’s red of course! But more than that it’s super-rare, stylish, powered by the smooth and reliable flathead-6, has a practical front bumper ideal for tethering reindeer to, and the stakeside box would hold all the pressies nicely!
Santa’s ride?
A ’54 convertible, light blue.
To be left under the appropriate tree on the night’s last delivery.
Happy holidays to all from snowy Vancouver Island.
I had to cheat and use google images for a suitable example, but how about a Dodge A100 pick up, plenty of load capacity, good reliable powertrains, ease of automatic transmission. probably not too good in the snow, but they just look so cute.
Awesome!! The “Corvair p/u” that looked like this would work too. It had a side opening, (tailgate like )door.
Santa’s new ride should be the latest descendant of the truck in the lead photo.
2023 Ford F-150 XL regular cab short bed with a V8, in “Race Red”
Santa can borrow my ride anytime to get the presents delivered. Merry Christmas everyone.
When my sister/brother in law married, in Sept “67”, my brother in laws, brother had one of these. It was a cool “copper” color!
Very nice Plymouth! I’d dress up in a Santa suit if your offer to lend it out still stands. 😉
I`m seeing the the Jolly One in a red 59`Cadillac convertible with a white interior. Happy Holidays to all!
The CC community did not disappoint Santa. You all came up with some great choices. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all in the CC community!
I’ve got to go with a red VW Bus. Just seems very Santa like, built for comfort, not speed. And with a big sunroof? Of course, the better for tossing presents out of.
I’ve read several articles explaining the sudden downsizing of the early 60s Chrysler products actually came about from rumors overhead at a party the Chrysler executives attended and only heard half the story. It seems some GM styling managers were thought to be heard discussions related to GM downsizing their full-size models across the whole GM brands for the 62 model year. The information was wrong, misunderstood or missing key points. The Chrysler execs then ran back to their styling teams, and ordered all 62 model year Chryslers, Plymouths, and Dodge products be downsized to keep with what the competition was doing. Well the information was wrong and Chrysler made a huge mistake. From the on, there were plenty of shifts in the styling hiarchey, and from 1963 all Chryslers began to grow back to larger cars again. By 1965 the they were bigger and more and more stylish. That was a damaging move that took years to recover from. Some wonder if they ever did. I was pretty young in those days, but I remember the 62 Plymouths. They were fast and they were strong. The 361 and larger engines connected to the Torqueflite transmission had a loud powerful high-pitched howel while up shifting from first to second, and then again while downshifting. Oh man I loved that sound, couple that with famous Chrysler starter of time made those Plymouths sound like what a car should should like. If you paid attention you could hear it in all V8/TF drive train. Too cool.
Here’s the real reason that happened:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/automotive-design-history-1962-plymouth-dodge-brilliant-blunder-or-suddenly-its-1977/