In the (tiny) world of ‘70s kei vans, Honda tried to usher in a revolutionary design in the inimitable shape of the Life Step Van. What was so revolutionary about it? Well, for starters, it had Honda’s trademark high-revving OHC twin. But that’s what all Honda keis had back then. The other trick was to make it FWD. But after shining brightly for two years, the little van went away. It only took forty years for it to effectively become contemporary.
Dodge B100 image from the ’74 brochure.
Text submitted by Harry Case.
The 1971 Dodge B200 van I bought on impulse after my failed Pinto experience was solid. I carpeted and paneled the interior, and added a homemade bench seat that doubled as a storage locker. I had the brakes done once and painted an accent stripe along the character line so my friends would stop calling it Moby Dick.
(first posted 7/22/2013) 1951 was the year Kaiser-Frazer should have “made it.” A thoroughly restyled–and beautiful–Kaiser, a facelifted swan-song Frazer, and the all-new compact Henry J meant that Kaiser had spent ample time and money in rejuvenating their lineup. Never again would K-F have such a modern and diverse lineup. Unfortunately, Henry Kaiser’s ego (“The Kaisers NEVER retrench!”), the lack of a V8 option and numerous other factors made 1951 the beginning of the end for K-F in the U.S.
Bleu, blanc, beige – just plain 4midable
With well over 8 million made from 1961 to 1994, the Renault 4 still holds the highest production number for a French car. It’s only fair to have three to look at, given how many were built. So which is it going to be? The humble Renault 4, the legendary Renault 4 or the atrocious Renault 4? Let’s mix’n’match them and see what happens.
Images submitted by Andrew Tewes.
How about this golden beauty found by the curbside? A 1937 Buick, in a lustrous finish from the Classic Era, found in Ipswich, Queensland. And if you wonder why this Buick is sporting an RHD setup, the car was originally assembled in Australia, as told by its owner.
Today’s images all date from the 1970s and cover a favorite topic of mine: places to eat and cars by their side. One warning, should you hope to see any of the major franchises of that era, none are on these shots. Indeed, none seem fancy or trendy, even then.
Instead, they feature local affairs, with names that belong to the period (Would anyone use Jolly now?), or before them. Some are clearly in their waning days; vintage locations then, captured in these now vintage images. So, from the average to the humble and the slightly tragic, here they go…
This is going to be a van week, CCompadres. We’re going cubic, we’re going blue collar, we’re going slow. Issues of prime import will include load capacity, twinned rear tyres and how over the engine the cab is, which in this case, is not quite totally. I’m not really into these G-Vans, but it had to come back at some point. I keep running into these, and for once, this one was a pure mid-‘70s model.
Exactly three weeks before I had spotted our featured car, I had made my first-ever appearance at the annual tailgate party held in the main parking lot of my former, long-closed high school. This was the weekend before the annual Back To The Bricks car festival in downtown Flint, which I also attended in celebration of its twentieth anniversary this year. The buildings on the campus of Flint Central High School are in a sad state, with broken windows, graffiti, unkempt grounds, and most tellingly from an ensuing damage perspective, broken and missing roof tiles. Ask any seasoned insurance underwriter, and we’ll tell you that a leaky roof and the resulting water damage is pretty much the death knell for many structures.
(first posted 10/7/2018) When I first heard the Lincoln MKZ was getting a twin-turbocharged 3.0 V6 for its mid-cycle refresh in 2017, I was intrigued. Naturally, I assumed it would be offered exclusively with all-wheel-drive but, as I read on through the press material, I was gobsmacked to find it was also being offered with front-wheel-drive. Sure, Lincoln detuned the 3.0 by 50 horses. Nevertheless, can we talk about how batshit insane it is that there’s a front-wheel-drive, mid-size sedan with 350 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque? Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 10/6/2018) That the VW Pickup was designed specifically for the US, despite it being a tiny FWD unibody thing, may seem rather odd from today’s perspective, given how big trucks have become, and trying to sell anything less than a full-framed truck seems to be the kiss of death. And it’s not like this pickup was designed in a rush after the second energy crisis, when everyone was rushing to micro-size their cars. No, the VW pickup arrived in 1979, by which time the first energy crisis was becoming a distant memory. No wonder it never sold very well.
But it did develop a cult following, most of all in diesel form. After the second energy crisis, diesel anythings were in huge demand. And here was a pickup that could get 40+mpg. And in subsequent decades, there were certain folks who were steadfast in their loyalty to them. If they had a second car, it was most likely a Prius. I’ve seen this one around for years, but it’s finally getting sold.
There’s something rather menacing about these garage images shared by roshake at the Cohort. In the case of the 1960 Buick, the threatening feel is certainly aided by its visage. In the case of the Mark V, a sensation that I assume it’s related to location and the cars around it. Neither vehicle in this image feels ready to make friends, with the S-Class Mercedes’s ominous silhouette in the back closing an unfriendly trio.
Could be worse though; if we had a ’59 Buick and a ’61 Plymouth facing us in this shot, that would be truly terrifying.
Let’s revisit Cadillac during its heyday in the ’50s and ’60s through this collection of images showcasing the marque’s products on the roads. The images cover a period that goes from the demure fins of the early ’50s to the flamboyant rocket age, and then the tasteful elegant ’60s.
A series of shots that should please fans of the “Standard of the World.”
CC has seen the Festival of the Unexceptional before, back in 2018 and 2019. The show itself is a very simple idea, and is billed as “A celebration of long-forgotten everyday family cars from 1969-1999, now fondly known as the ‘Unexceptional Era'”. Maybe you prefer to call that period (or parts of it) the Malaise Era, but you get the brief. Because of the COVID outbreak and the way diaries work, 2024 was my first time back since 2019, now with an Alfa Romeo Spider as an entrant. This will be a photo centric account, in an order that vaguely groups the cars, focusing in this first part on UK brands and build cars. Read the rest of this entry »
Many people collect mementos from their favorite celebrities. But how many choose to drive around with a celebrity’s signature on the side of their truck? It’s a phenomenon that’s rarely seen anymore, and this F-150 is one of the best examples of its kind – a special edition marketed by a local dealer coalition in coordination with a celebrity. In this case, these trucks were sold by Washington, D.C. area Ford dealers, painted in Washington Redskins burgundy and gold, and with fullback John Riggins’ signature prominently on the side.
Redskins fans know that the team’s fight song, “Hail to the Redskins” ended with the lyrics “Fight for Old D.C.” This F-150 is itself a tribute to old times; one could say it’s a Truck for Old D.C.
(first posted 7/22/2013) Finding any Kaiser-Frazer automobile is not easy these days, but the rarest of all is likely the Kaiser-Darrin sports car, a fiberglass two-seater meant to draw folks into K-F showrooms to ooh and aah over, and maybe drive out in a Manhattan or Special sedan. But it was too little, too late.
