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Curbside Classics Archives
Car Life Archive
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![Chrysler-Plymouth Division had spent five and a half years trying without much luck to sell a sporty fastback version of its compact Valiant, the Plymouth Barracuda. Although the aggressively […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1970-Plymouth-Duster-340-In-Violet-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q-left.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1970 Plymouth Duster 340 – “Re-Roofed Budget-Racer Valiant”")
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1970 Plymouth Duster 340 – “Re-Roofed Budget-Racer Valiant”
Posted on April 20, 2025 | 45 CommentsChrysler-Plymouth Division had spent five and a half years trying without much luck to sell a sporty fastback version of its compact Valiant, the Plymouth Barracuda. Although the aggressively […] -
![Since April 1964, Chrysler-Plymouth Division had been trying and mostly failing to compete with the popular Ford Mustang with two generations of the Plymouth Barracuda, a solidly engineered sporty […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1970-Plymouth-Cuda-340-green-Mecum-Auctions-side-lft.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1970 Plymouth Barracuda ‘Cuda 340 – “At Least The Stylists Did A Good Job Of It”")
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1970 Plymouth Barracuda ‘Cuda 340 – “At Least The Stylists Did A Good Job Of It”
Posted on April 19, 2025 | 39 CommentsSince April 1964, Chrysler-Plymouth Division had been trying and mostly failing to compete with the popular Ford Mustang with two generations of the Plymouth Barracuda, a solidly engineered sporty […] -
![Even before their test of a 1967 Ram Air GTO appeared in print, the editors of Car Life had gotten their hands on the redesigned 1968 Pontiac GTO. Their […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1968-Pontiac-GTO-Ram-Air-AutoHunter-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “It’s The Wildest”")
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “It’s The Wildest”
Posted on April 14, 2025 | 24 CommentsEven before their test of a 1967 Ram Air GTO appeared in print, the editors of Car Life had gotten their hands on the redesigned 1968 Pontiac GTO. Their […] -
![The Buick Riviera got a facelift for 1968, arguably a step in the wrong direction for one of GM’s most handsome cars. Car Life tested the new model in […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1968-Buick-Riviera-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1968 Buick Riviera – “Lots Of Sound, Well-Styled Automobile”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1968 Buick Riviera – “Lots Of Sound, Well-Styled Automobile”
Posted on April 12, 2025 | 18 CommentsThe Buick Riviera got a facelift for 1968, arguably a step in the wrong direction for one of GM’s most handsome cars. Car Life tested the new model in […] -
![In another CC post a while back, I charted the decline of the stripped-down full-size Chevrolet throughout the 1960s, as more and more buyers ordered V-8 engines and convenience […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1967-Chevrolet-Impala-SS427-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q-left.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 – “A Family Car For A Swinging Family”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 – “A Family Car For A Swinging Family”
Posted on April 4, 2025 | 41 CommentsIn another CC post a while back, I charted the decline of the stripped-down full-size Chevrolet throughout the 1960s, as more and more buyers ordered V-8 engines and convenience […] -
![By the mid-1960s, performance-minded buyers’ interest was rapidly shifting away from big cars, but that didn’t stop Ford from giving the full-size sporty car theme one more shot with the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1966-01_CL_1966_Ford_Galaxie_7L_43.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1966 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre – “Tends To Confuse Bigger With Better”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1966 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre – “Tends To Confuse Bigger With Better”
Posted on April 2, 2025 | 34 CommentsBy the mid-1960s, performance-minded buyers’ interest was rapidly shifting away from big cars, but that didn’t stop Ford from giving the full-size sporty car theme one more shot with the […] -
![Is this the grandest Grand Prix? If you could poll every living Pontiac fan, the 1969 GP would stand a good change of coming out on top for its […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1969_pontiac_bonneville_1969_pontiac_bonneville_575046f4-a70f-4d9f-b583-c884ce46a983-OrDfXV-27936-27937-scaled-1.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model SJ – “Tiger In Tuxedo”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model SJ – “Tiger In Tuxedo”
Posted on March 31, 2025 | 35 CommentsIs this the grandest Grand Prix? If you could poll every living Pontiac fan, the 1969 GP would stand a good change of coming out on top for its […] -
![It’s no secret that by the mid-1960s, most car magazines had long since decided that the Ford Thunderbird wasn’t their kind of car. In February 1969, however, Car Life […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1969-Ford-Thunderbird-2dr-Landau-Mecum-Auctions-front.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Ford Thunderbird Landau – “It’s Better Than My Living Room”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1969 Ford Thunderbird Landau – “It’s Better Than My Living Room”
Posted on March 29, 2025 | 20 CommentsIt’s no secret that by the mid-1960s, most car magazines had long since decided that the Ford Thunderbird wasn’t their kind of car. In February 1969, however, Car Life […] -
![The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 offered a complete performance package with image, name recognition, and the power of the vast Chevrolet dealer network. There was only one problem: As Car […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1970-01-CL-30-a.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 – Bruiser With A Glass Jaw")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 – Bruiser With A Glass Jaw
Posted on March 28, 2025 | 31 CommentsThe 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 offered a complete performance package with image, name recognition, and the power of the vast Chevrolet dealer network. There was only one problem: As Car […] -
![The Pontiac GTO arguably started the big-engined intermediate Supercar craze in 1964, and it was the one to beat in this hotly contested segment. Its performance didn’t always live […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1967-Pontiac-GTO-turquoise-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q-right.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “King Of The Supercars”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Pontiac GTO Ram Air – “King Of The Supercars”
Posted on March 26, 2025 | 34 CommentsThe Pontiac GTO arguably started the big-engined intermediate Supercar craze in 1964, and it was the one to beat in this hotly contested segment. Its performance didn’t always live […] -
![The first of Chevrolet’s big-engined intermediates, the rare, limited-production 1965 Malibu SS396 Z16 was a complete performance package, featuring only the hot 396/375 engine, but also an upgraded chassis, wheels, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1965-Chevrolet-Malibu-SS396-red-Mecum-Auctions-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS396 Z16 – “First Of The Red-Hot Malibus”")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS396 Z16 – “First Of The Red-Hot Malibus”
Posted on March 19, 2025 | 22 CommentsThe first of Chevrolet’s big-engined intermediates, the rare, limited-production 1965 Malibu SS396 Z16 was a complete performance package, featuring only the hot 396/375 engine, but also an upgraded chassis, wheels, […] -
![Contrary to popular belief, what originally made the Ford Mustang such a staggering success was not the rare 271-hp K-code engine, the hot Shelby GT-350, or the racier-looking fastback that […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1965-Ford-Mustang-HT-six-Collecting-Cars-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Ford Mustang Six – The True Heart Of The Mustang’s Success")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Ford Mustang Six – The True Heart Of The Mustang’s Success
Posted on March 16, 2025 | 22 CommentsContrary to popular belief, what originally made the Ford Mustang such a staggering success was not the rare 271-hp K-code engine, the hot Shelby GT-350, or the racier-looking fastback that […] -
![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 […] -
![Imagine you could travel back in time and order the ultimate ’60s muscle car, with all the most desirable performance options and minimal unnecessary frills. It might look something like […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Car-Life-May-1965-page-42-top.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO – The Special-Order Supercar")
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO – The Special-Order Supercar
Posted on February 12, 2025 | 16 CommentsImagine you could travel back in time and order the ultimate ’60s muscle car, with all the most desirable performance options and minimal unnecessary frills. It might look something like […] -
![When the second-generation Plymouth Barracuda debuted for 1967, it offered an awkward choice between too much engine (the bulky, heavy 383) and not quite enough (the smaller 273 V-8 or […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Car-Life-1967-12-Barracuda-340-S-featured.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Vintage CL Road Test: 1968 Plymouth Barracuda 340-S – “Best Yet Of The Barracuda Brigade”")
Vintage CL Road Test: 1968 Plymouth Barracuda 340-S – “Best Yet Of The Barracuda Brigade”
Posted on February 2, 2025 | 35 CommentsWhen the second-generation Plymouth Barracuda debuted for 1967, it offered an awkward choice between too much engine (the bulky, heavy 383) and not quite enough (the smaller 273 V-8 or […]
