Sometimes I wish I could stop time – like when I see an interesting car, but only have time to snap a picture or two. This happens rather often, and in looking back through my photo archives, it seems a shame not to give these cars the attention they deserve. So let’s look back over some random finds from the past year or so.
Interesting cars tend to sneak up unexpectedly, such as when I saw this 1973 Plymouth Valiant darting around Newark, Delaware.
Judging by its condition, this is likely a daily driver, and judging by how it porpoised over bumps, it is in need of suspension work. But the fact that it’s still on the road speaks volumes to the nearly indestructible nature of its mechanicals. Interestingly, this wasn’t the only Mopar product its era I’ve seen driving around recently.
This 1975 Dart appeared to be in similar well-driven-yet-solid condition. While parked in this picture, this Dodge does move around quite a bit. Six months after I saw it parked curbside…
…I found it again, but 11 miles away and in a parking lot.
Unlike the Valiant and Dart above, this 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring – looked virtually showroom new. The picture quality isn’t the best, but given the likelihood of seeing other example of this car on the road, it’s worth posting here.
Now onto some Fords, such as this 1969 Falcon.
And this 1982 Granada. If there were was prize for the most easily forgotten Ford of the 1980s, the 1981-82 Fox-based Granada would be a top contender. I’d love to catch up with this car again and do a full write-up on it.
Then we have an LTD II. When this appeared driving through a construction zone on a blustery November day, I was immediately transported back to another decade – since it’s probably been a decade or more since I’ve seen an LTD II roaming the earth.
Tempos are still relatively common, but most are living out their final days as beaters. This 1991 GL sedan, however, looks like it forgot to age over the last two-and-a-half decades. This must be one of the nicest examples left.
Let’s move onto Cadillacs, such as this 1966 Coupe deVille. If I were to pick Cadillac’s design pinnacle, it would be this particular car – a grand enough design that it even looks spectacular in white.
Fast forwarding six years, we have this 1972 Coupe deVIlle. Not quite as splendorous looking, but I wouldn’t exactly kick it out of my garage.
Here’s a view of the rear. The red paint with contrasting white roof and interior was likely a common Cadillac choice…
…and it was still popular eight years later. This 1980 Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance completes our tour of three decades of Cadillac Coupes.
But not our tour of Cadillacs. Despite widespread criticism of their styling, I’m still a fan of bustleback Sevilles, and this is the only one I’ve seen recently. It was joined in this picture by a 1977-78 Pontiac Firebird Formula. I promise this picture was not taken 30 years ago and was not at a car show – just an everyday scene from small-town Missouri.
Chevrolet Celebrities seem to be a feast-or-famine sighting for me. It seems like years go by without seeing one, and then I have seasons like this past spring, when I saw this well-kempt 1986 Celebrity…
…followed a few weeks later by this well-used 1989 model. Maybe in this coming year, I’ll have similar luck with Pontiac 6000s, which have eluded me for years.
Speaking of GM sedans of the ‘80s and ‘90s, this 1991 Buick Skylark was cruising down a soggy highway, showing off the fact that all of its numerous tail lights were in working order.
Not all of my random sightings this past year were of domestic cars. This 1982 Toyota Tercel looks like it just drove off a college campus in about 1995. This car is even replete with a fake Mercedes-Benz hood ornament.
In slightly different condition was this 1970 Volkswagen Squareback – carrying a full load and driving down an Interstate on a June morning.
At the opposite extreme of the VW spectrum was this 2006 Phaeton. As I drove by this car, it occurred to me that I never remembered seeing one before. Or, maybe I have, but might have assumed it was a Passat.
And finally, what is probably the rarest of all of these random sightings – an Opel Manta. This car was parked at a service station at the time, though few months later I did see it driving around. Or maybe it was another orange-red Manta… oh, probably not.
All in all, it’s been a good year for car sightings. Maybe in 2018 I’ll come across some of these cars again, or perhaps even something rarer than a ’71 Sebring or an Opel Manta. And if I figure out a way to stop time, I’ll be sure to let you know.
That beige Valiant looks remarkably like the tattered but still-running beige ’68 Dart 4 door I saw cruising the streets of Akron, OH this past Saturday. Seeing A Bodies still out on the road always makes me smile 🙂 .
Oh, about that Manta… that car brings back some good memories of my late friend Tim, way, way back in ’80 he bought a ’72 Manta to replace the ’74 Mustang II he blew up (Tim wasn’t too good at maintaining cars…). His was in that kind of pukey metallic pea that it seems was the most popular Opel color here in Cleveland 😀 . That metallic pea Manta served Tim well for about 5 years when rust finally got the best of it.
The Seville picture looks a lot like Hannibal to these eyes. If it is, or in a nearby town, here’s the story on it….it belonged to my neighbor when I lived there. I continually saw this car turning onto my street and he would stick his foot in the throttle every time. He bought it new.
Plus, he also had a brown Firebird of the same vintage, similar to the one parked behind the Seville (if not the same car). He had also purchased it new and it had like 400,000 miles on it. His third car was an Allante, which incidentally is the one I wrote up several years back. Being a happy bachelor he could afford to buy and keep the cars he liked.
That Celebrity is sitting in Jefferson City in front of El Jamador (also known as El Hemmeroid). I can almost see the parking lot from my office window. Good captures of Missouri cars for someone who lives in Virginia. 🙂
The Seville is in Monroe City — undoubtedly it’s the same car. And probably the same Firebird too. Amazing that you know these two cars! Last year, there was an Allante for sale at a small used car dealer in nearby Paris. It seemed incredibly out of place there, so I wonder if that was the 3rd vehicle in your former neighbor’s collection.
And for the record, I wasn’t actually eating at El Hemmeroid the day I found the Celebrity… I was eating at Hunan Chinese in the same shopping center. Mmmm.
Wow are these a blast into my past. The Valiant and Dart look like ones that littered parking lots during my schooling years. The owner of the Valiant is getting a hard lesson on what happens when you mix these with road salt.
Good grief, that Falcon is almost the exact clone of one I used to spend time around. It was an “early 1970” model that a high school buddy’s parents owned. It was a complete stripper (but with an AM radio) in this exact color. The shift linkage bound up so often that it got converted to a 3 on the floor.
I was always surprised that the 80-82 Granada never sold better than it did. I preferred its looks to the 83-86 Fox LTD/Marquis that followed. Only the station wagons remained constant, and those were the best looking of the breed anyhow.
I never liked the “halo” vinyl roof treatment on those early 70s Coupe DeVilles, but they were otherwise very handsome cars. I’ll stop and let others chat about the others.
When I saw the Falcon, I stopped my car and went over to check the VIN — I was curious whether it was one of the few Early ’70 Falcons. I figured that would make an interesting write-up. Alas, it was “only” a ’69.
I don’t think there is any way but the VIN to tell the difference, unless there were some paint color changes after the 70 models started production.
That Falcon must take the prize for weirdest ever badge placement – right in the middle of the rear fender. What were they thinking?
My retired patents backin the 1970 bought a four door Dodge Dart
Previously owned a string of Toyotas. Nice looking car on a forest green looking color with a darker green vinyl top. Typical 70’s bells and whistles..and the biggest lemon in the neighborhood! Had major electronics problems that would leave you stranded at inapropriate times, like the middle of intersections..yikes!.. or just as likely as the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night. Believe it was the begining of electronic ignition for mopar and a relatively inexpensive resistor of some sort was the culprit. Anyway. The ditched the car by trade in as soon as they could.
The electronic ignition did not get introduced until the 1973 models. Your family’s experience is proof that even one of Chrysler’s best products of the era was built with maddening quality inconsistencies. My 71 Plymouth Scamp (that I did not get until it had 9 years and 90+K miles under its belt) was a fabulously reliable car. The 73 Duster of a friend with the V8 and electronic ignition would regularly refuse to start when it was warmed up. This from a car with half the miles mine had.
Believe the parental “limo”, was a 1974. I myself had a 1964 Valiant 2 door in 1971. 225 slant six and three on the tree. As plain-jane a car as you could get. Ran like a top, and best in-the-snow car I ever had. Later transplanted a 340 drive train in it from a friends wrecked Dart. He had the car a matter of, no kidding, one day, and “jumped on it” turning the corner onto his street. with really bad results. Car destroyed, but drive train survived. We ( friends) put electronic ignition on it, with no bad side effects.
That LTD II coupe has an incredible amount of front overhang. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much in proportion to the rest of the car, not even on longitudinal front drive cars. At 215.5″ length on a 114″ wheelbase there’s over 100″ of overhang! Why?
Because it shares much of its body with the Mark VI? Not really a good explanation. We did a deep dive on this subject here: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/design-analysis-did-the-lincoln-mark-vi-have-the-biggest-overhang-ratio-ever/
That article said, “The Mark VI has a 114.4″ WB (Wheelbase), and 216″ TL (Total Length). By subtracting the WB from OL, we have 101.6″ of OH (Overhang). Dividing that by the TL gives us a 47% OHR (OH Ratio), or in other words almost half of the Mark VI is hanging past its wheels. Is there another car with as much?”
The LTD II coupe’s OHR is 101.5/215.5 = 0.47099, 47.1%. (Dimensions from Wikipedia.) While the Mark VI OHR is 0.47037, 47.0%. Looking at the article’s comments, I see the LTD II was called out. While not the overall winner after all was said, it’s certainly very near the top. Ugh.
I almost bought a Satellite Sebring in. 79, the car in question was in pretty good condition. Didn’t buy it because the power steering barely felt connected to the front wheels.
A few days ago I saw an article in a car collector’s magazine that showed a possible Eldorado proposal that featured the “bustleback” styling that would appear on Sevilles. As ugly as I have always thought these cars were….the pictures of this proposal were from about 25 feet up and actually looked pretty good. When viewed from the rear 3/4s, but 25 feet in the air, these cars look great. Otherwise, ugly as sin.
“Interesting cars tend to sneak up unexpectedly, such as when I saw this 1973 Plymouth Valiant darting around Newark, Delaware”
It was interesting indeed, but far from what I’d expect from a 1973 Dodge Dart valianting around…OK, you can block my comments..
I like your Valiant, Dart & Falcon pics. That ‘66 Cadillac really has a srong presence.
The VW Phaeton was sold from 2004-2006 in North America, total sales were less than 3,400. Phaetons are very rare in Canada with less than 130 sold. I’ve spotted about a dozen VW Phaetons in Chicago. The Windy City must be a strong market for Volkswagen, just as Subarus are very common in places like Madison, WI or Portland, OR.
A good (as opposed to the at least even chance of bad) Chevy Celebrity was always something of an underrated car. In 1986, while on assignment at a jobsite, I drove a rented black ’86 Celebrity Eurosport wagon for several months. While a four/auto, the car had a cloth wine-red interior and was very well-optioned. Fairly handsome in its own way. It wasn’t quick off the mark, but it handled surprisingly well and was a quite decent and trouble-free cruiser. Having come from my own Honda, I was still pretty impressed with the usefulness and competence of the Chevy overall.
And double bonus points if you find a Pontiac 6000 with the 4.3L V6 diesel!
I see what you did there!
…is actually a ’74, assuming the frontal parts are original.
“…is actually a ’74, assuming the frontal parts are original.”
OK Daniel, what’s the tell – I have never known. (and this from a former A body owner). (I can tell the 75 from the 73-74, but have never been able to tell the darts from the front.)
There seems to be a difference in the two front rubber inserts from 73 to 74
1973-74 both have the grill seen on the blue car above. ’73 is the last year with the taillights in the bumper. ’74-’76 all have the 5 mph rear bumper with the taillights above it.
1975-76 have a slightly different grill. The parking lights are bigger, and the part of the grill that surrounds them is recessed a little from the headlights and the center pointed section.
I believe that ’75 has clear parking light lenses, while ’76 has Amber lenses.
A+, Dan Cluley; you’re exactly right on all counts.
I got somewhat complacent in ID’ing the Dart’s precise year because it has YOM (Year of Manufacture) license plates, which are from 1975. I see now that the grille is different for ’75 — is there any other way to tell the difference between a ’74 and ’75?
Given the car’s well-used condition, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a grille transplant at one time. Here in Va., the YOM plate is a good indicator of a car’s model year, but I’m sure there are always outliers.
I’m pretty sure the grills are an easy swap, and given that the header panel is the wrong color, this seems likely. Other than that, there aren’t any obvious visual differences.
’74 was the only year with the infamous seatbelt interlock system.
’75 was the first year with a catalytic converter, so there might be a decal warning to use unleaded fuel, and the filler neck will be the smaller diameter. I don’t believe the gas cap looks any different though.
Many ’75-’77 US-market Chrysler Corp cars (and even more ’75-’83 Canadian-market ones) came without catalytic converters and were configured to take leaded gasoline.
You found an Opel Manta? Nicely done.
I know the ’60s is often regarded as Cadillac’s glory days of styling but, while Cadillacs of that era have presence in spades, I’m not a huge fan. The ’62 and ’63 were a little my speed, visually lighter than the later models of the 60s but not as overwrought as the late 50s models. While we’re at it, I don’t like the ’80-91 full-size RWD Cadillacs that much. I thought the ’80 redesign made them look blockier and less attractive.
The ’71 and ’72 Caddys had very attractive front ends but that was, of course, quickly ruined by bumper regulations.
We never got Phaetons here. They would have gone over like a lead balloon. Nice cars, though. Just a misguided product.
’71-72 Satellite Sebrings are such handsome, handsome cars. ’81-82 Granadas truly are forgotten, forgotten cars. And I love the blade-edged, “mid-sized” (hah!) Fords and Mercuries of 1977-79. Not really great cars, mind you, but they sure are interesting to look at!
Excellent finds! I hope you find that Granada again… That was one good thing about the era of boxy, rectilinear cars: they could rock a mean two-tone.
Love the Manta and Squareback and if they were sticks I’d want both in my driveway.
Thank you for the selection. After much deliberation I’ve decided I’d really like the ’66 Cadillac – nice shot.
Eric, this is truly a fantastic assortment. That’s the first thing. Secondly, why does that brown LTD II tug at my heartstrings, so? Outclassed in every way by its fraternal Thunderbird sibling, you just can’t help but hope that driver shows this car some real TLC year-round. With that said, I have seen pictures of some reasonably attractive LTD II coupes posted in the comments in CC – but none of them were this unappealing shade of brown.
I know what you mean about the LTD II. Something about the combination of the car, the fact that it’s actually on the road, and the somewhat grubby setting makes it seem very evocative.
In fact, at the time, I thought that if I’d been able to get more than one shot of that car, then I could try writing a Joe Dennis type of writeup on it.
Thank you Eric. As much as I enjoy car shows, sometimes it’s fun to just see an old car just being a car.?
Great selection of cars; thanks. As it happens I stumbled across a Phaeton just this morning. At Trader Joe’s, of all places. Stunning looking car, and a classy way to pick up one’s artisinal groceries.
Quite the collection of finds. Is that black tape covering up rust on the rear quarters of the Valiant?
Haven’t seen a bustleback Seville in too long. Or a Phaeton. There’s been a Manta in a carport nearby since forever, collecting dust. If it weren’t an automatic, I’d have knocked on their door.
Nice catches – the fuselage Mopar is especially interesting, as you snapped it at an uncommonly seen angle. Really not its best. It looks like it’s about to lift a rear tyre and pee on something.
I think the Squareback is the pick of the litter for me, having spent many a high school evening in a (same) red ’71 that my friend owned at the time. And the Manta is a close second, being something I was very interested in at around the same time…But the Dart/Valiants are wonderful too. This post is a great collection of ingredients, sort of like cooking a stew using whatever happens to be in the fridge…
Eric,
Our living not far from each other in Northern Virginia is evident in two of the cars that you featured appearing in posts of mine in 2013-14, my peak period of productivity here. Here is a lengthy full CC of the 1975 Dart, clearly the same car with the same license plate, which is somewhat the worse for wear:
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/cc-outtake-local-objets-dart/
And here is an Outtake of the 1972 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and two other Caddies, all in a row:
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/cc-outtake-ducks-in-a-row/
Ha! That’s amazing! Somehow I missed those posts here. Given that Dart’s propensity to roam around, I bet one of us will see it again sometime soon.
And I drive past that underpass where you found the ’64 Valiant fairly regularly — I’ve never seen that car there.
The shape of the 72 Cadillac rear fender is interesting, it has echoes of the 1958 Eldorado coupe.
I wouldn’t have been caught dead a 70’s era Cadillac. I would have even insisted that my hearse was a Lincoln, or something else! But no firmly in my “golden years” (I seriously thought getting old would take much much longer!) Having said that. I like that ’72 Deville. Wonder why I’ve never seen a resto-mod of that era? I don’t mean a “slammed” low-rider” I’ve seen those. I mean a hot motor, a 6 speed Transmission, and the “filigree” removed like the padded landau roof and opera lights. Throw in nice period custom wheels (NO 22’s PLEASE) remove and replace the interior that looks like the inside of Elvis’s coffin..and Don’t Lower The Damn Thing!!! Be the only one at the car show!
I never see Celebritys anymore and I haven’t seen a 6000 in years around Georgia and I’m actually on the look out for one. Ever since I read a post here at CC some years ago pointing out how they have become a rare sight. Ever since reading that, I have been trying to find one but can’t.
Not at all surprised you don’t see them as they where about as sturdy as a beer can. My mother had a Celebrity and my cousin had a Pontiac 6000. Drove both. Build quality was questionable, The paint peeled off of them in sheets, and the cars just seemed cheap and tinny. A lot like the 60’s and early 70’s Japanese imports
FWD A bodies are nearly extinct in Chicagoland, where 10 years ago, they were still common as ‘work cars’. Newest Cieras/Century’s were last built in ’96. Celebrity Eurosports were popular HS kid beaters in 90’s.
Rust, age and desire for ‘newer iron’, pushed them to scrappers.