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Curbside Classics Archives
1963 Archive
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![In the early 1960s, GM’s Oldsmobile and Pontiac divisions responded to the burgeoning personal luxury market with re-trimmed B-body hardtops, the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix. Both were restyled […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1963-Pontiac-Grand-Prix-vs-1963-Oldsmobile-Starfire-front-composite-1.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1963 Pontiac Grand Prix Vs. 1963 Oldsmobile Starfire Coupe – How Did These Sporty Luxury Hardtops Compare?")
1963 Pontiac Grand Prix Vs. 1963 Oldsmobile Starfire Coupe – How Did These Sporty Luxury Hardtops Compare?
Posted on May 4, 2025 | 33 CommentsIn the early 1960s, GM’s Oldsmobile and Pontiac divisions responded to the burgeoning personal luxury market with re-trimmed B-body hardtops, the Oldsmobile Starfire and Pontiac Grand Prix. Both were restyled […] -
![The 1963 Buick Riviera has won worldwide acclaim for its crisp styling, but how did its performance and road manners measure up to European standards? In November 1963, the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1963-Buick-Riviera-Ricketts-Motors-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage AMS Review: 1963 Buick Riviera – “It Can Be Driven Faster Than Its Wheelcovers Can Handle”")
Vintage AMS Review: 1963 Buick Riviera – “It Can Be Driven Faster Than Its Wheelcovers Can Handle”
Posted on March 10, 2025 | 24 CommentsThe 1963 Buick Riviera has won worldwide acclaim for its crisp styling, but how did its performance and road manners measure up to European standards? In November 1963, the […] -
![Back in the spring of 1963, GM’s now-defunct Oldsmobile division introduced a new version of its F-85 compact sedan called Jetfire, which added a turbocharger to its lightweight aluminum V-8 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1962-Oldsmobile-Jetfire-featured-MT-1962-09.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1962–1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire – How Powerful (And How Fast) Was This Early Turbocharged Car?")
1962–1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire – How Powerful (And How Fast) Was This Early Turbocharged Car?
Posted on March 5, 2025 | 9 CommentsBack in the spring of 1963, GM’s now-defunct Oldsmobile division introduced a new version of its F-85 compact sedan called Jetfire, which added a turbocharger to its lightweight aluminum V-8 […] -
![Most fans of the Pontiac GTO have heard of the legendary Royal Bobcat tuning kit for Pontiac 389 and 421 engines. In the June 1963 Car Life, automotive writer […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1964-Pontiac-Tempest-GTO-coupe-Royal-Bobcat-decal-Mecum.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Tech: Pontiac Royal Bobcat Kit – “The Screwdriver Tune-Up” For Hot 389s And 421s")
CC Tech: Pontiac Royal Bobcat Kit – “The Screwdriver Tune-Up” For Hot 389s And 421s
Posted on January 22, 2025 | 21 CommentsMost fans of the Pontiac GTO have heard of the legendary Royal Bobcat tuning kit for Pontiac 389 and 421 engines. In the June 1963 Car Life, automotive writer […] -
![A bob-tailed Cadillac? Strange but true: Between 1961 and 1963, Cadillac briefly offered short-deck versions of its four-door hardtop, aimed at owners who’d complained that the big cars were getting […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1963-Cadillac-Sedan-de-Ville-composite.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1961–1963 Cadillac Town Sedan And Park Avenue Sedan De Ville – Cadillac’s Bob-Tailed Nags")
1961–1963 Cadillac Town Sedan And Park Avenue Sedan De Ville – Cadillac’s Bob-Tailed Nags
Posted on January 8, 2025 | 26 CommentsA bob-tailed Cadillac? Strange but true: Between 1961 and 1963, Cadillac briefly offered short-deck versions of its four-door hardtop, aimed at owners who’d complained that the big cars were getting […] -
![(Originally published 1/14/2014)This is it. The pinnacle of American Motors Corporation. Between 1958 and 1963, the Rambler automobile, in its frugal American, mid-price Classic and deluxe Ambassador lineup, hit a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/aa-4-07-2013-005.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Classic: 1963 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country – The Last Great AMC Car?")
Curbside Classic: 1963 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country – The Last Great AMC Car?
Posted on October 18, 2024 | 86 Comments(Originally published 1/14/2014)This is it. The pinnacle of American Motors Corporation. Between 1958 and 1963, the Rambler automobile, in its frugal American, mid-price Classic and deluxe Ambassador lineup, hit a […] -
Curbside Classic: 1963 Mercury Marauder – Peppered with Plundering Promise
Posted on June 21, 2024 | 81 Comments(first posted 3/5/2013) Pete Estes was a very annoying man. Pete, a short, rotund individual my Grandpa Albert’s age, had skipped school the day basic etiquette was taught. -
![Spring is upon us and summer is knocking on the door. That means warm days, outside activities, and great weather for road trips. For this particular trip, it was a […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1389.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Road Trip & Car Show Report: A Middle Aged Man & His Elderly Van Cross Paths With Churchill, Grant, and Twain")
CC Road Trip & Car Show Report: A Middle Aged Man & His Elderly Van Cross Paths With Churchill, Grant, and Twain
Posted on May 20, 2024 | 39 CommentsSpring is upon us and summer is knocking on the door. That means warm days, outside activities, and great weather for road trips. For this particular trip, it was a […] -
![(first posted 12/8/2017) The sudden disappearance of the pushbutton transmission on Chrysler Corporation vehicles at the end of the 1964 model year has resulted in a lot of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/MoparButtons02-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Chrysler Pushbutton Automatic – A Government Conspiracy?")
Automotive History: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Chrysler Pushbutton Automatic – A Government Conspiracy?
Posted on December 8, 2023 | 204 Comments(first posted 12/8/2017) The sudden disappearance of the pushbutton transmission on Chrysler Corporation vehicles at the end of the 1964 model year has resulted in a lot of […] -
![(first posted 11/20/2017) Despite the teaser in the title, many elements of Mercury never made much sense. Throughout its entire tortured existence Mercury was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_0782.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Classic: 1963 Mercury Marauder S-55 Convertible – Making Sense Of It All")
Curbside Classic: 1963 Mercury Marauder S-55 Convertible – Making Sense Of It All
Posted on November 20, 2023 | 70 Comments(first posted 11/20/2017) Despite the teaser in the title, many elements of Mercury never made much sense. Throughout its entire tortured existence Mercury was […] -
![(first posted 6/8/2012) This might not be the prettiest 1963 standard-size car. But to the loyal Plymouth buyer at the end of 1962, these crisply-styled new cars were a cool […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAG0275.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Classic: 1963 Plymouth Belvedere – Exner Could Do Normal, Mostly")
Curbside Classic: 1963 Plymouth Belvedere – Exner Could Do Normal, Mostly
Posted on October 23, 2023 | 45 Comments(first posted 6/8/2012) This might not be the prettiest 1963 standard-size car. But to the loyal Plymouth buyer at the end of 1962, these crisply-styled new cars were a cool […] -
![(first posted 9/4/2017) When Virgil Exner’s Forward Look burst onto the scene at dowdy, conservative old Chrysler Corporation in 1955, it marked a new era for the company […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/1964Dodge880-01-crop.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Car Show Classic: 1964 Dodge Custom 880 – The Forward Look Goes Out With A Whimper")
Car Show Classic: 1964 Dodge Custom 880 – The Forward Look Goes Out With A Whimper
Posted on September 4, 2023 | 115 Comments(first posted 9/4/2017) When Virgil Exner’s Forward Look burst onto the scene at dowdy, conservative old Chrysler Corporation in 1955, it marked a new era for the company […] -
![(first posted 10/16/2013, Revised and updated 8/19/2023) We keep coming back to this topic, first with yesterday’s Comet and then today’s Falcon Sprint. That era was indeed the beginning […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/books_004.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History: 1963 Days – Popular Science Tests the Hot Compacts")
Automotive History: 1963 Days – Popular Science Tests the Hot Compacts
Posted on August 19, 2023 | 88 Comments(first posted 10/16/2013, Revised and updated 8/19/2023) We keep coming back to this topic, first with yesterday’s Comet and then today’s Falcon Sprint. That era was indeed the beginning […] -
![(first posted 10/16/2013) The 1963 Chrysler has always been an odd vehicle, one that seems to have fallen from the sky bearing little stylistic relationship to its predecessors. It disappeared […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1963ChryNewYorker051.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Classic: 1963 Chrysler New Yorker – Virgil Exner Comes Full Circle (with some help?)")
Curbside Classic: 1963 Chrysler New Yorker – Virgil Exner Comes Full Circle (with some help?)
Posted on August 17, 2023 | 118 Comments(first posted 10/16/2013) The 1963 Chrysler has always been an odd vehicle, one that seems to have fallen from the sky bearing little stylistic relationship to its predecessors. It disappeared […] -
![(first posted 7/21/2017) This is such a familiar face. During my time at CC I have plowed the 1963 full-sized Ford field quite often. In my defense it’s always […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_2878.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Classic: 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 XL – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Nothing Blue")
Curbside Classic: 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 XL – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Nothing Blue
Posted on July 21, 2023 | 45 Comments(first posted 7/21/2017) This is such a familiar face. During my time at CC I have plowed the 1963 full-sized Ford field quite often. In my defense it’s always […]
