(Update 11/15/2025) I’m almost ashamed to say it: I had no idea the Nissan Stagea existed. My knowledge of cars becomes pretty scattered around the 1990 mark, especially for non-European models. I know the cars I grew up with and I’ve kept a few tabs on the American stuff, but a lot of the Korean, Australian, South American and JDM cars can still baffle me, especially the more recent ones.
Like a meteor crashing through the sky, diagonally canted quad headlights were a styling trend that shone brightly and then burned out quickly. Let’s take a look at this short-lived fad, beginning with the 1961 DeSoto pictured above.
Robadr uploaded to the CC Cohort these lovely shots of a 1967 Dodge Coronet sedan found in British Columbia. The type of average hard-working, working-class model that’s become a rarity by neglect; the once common 4-door sedan in 6-cyl. form, that a family (or fleet owner) would have chosen over any of the then-hyped muscle car offerings. Hype that all said, worked –the afterglow of that muscle era has been a mighty one, and as such, the survival ratio of these working-class tamer variants has been low. So, let’s give these now-rare survivors a couple of minutes of attention.
The late 1970s: gas prices increasing, Iranian hostages, inflation, variable rate home loans, stagflation, GM raising prices every quarter, Chrysler going to Congress begging for a bailout. I decided it was time for something smaller and more economical than my Mercury Zephyr ES: a 1980 Plymouth Champ.
The 1958 Buick Limited was one of the biggest, gaudiest, grandest cars of a notoriously grand and gaudy era for Detroit. It was an expensive flop that lasted only a single year, but beneath its glittering chrome, the Limited offered some ambitious technology, including excellent finned aluminum brakes, a disastrous self-leveling air suspension, and the most complex of Buick’s torque converter automatic transmissions: the triple-turbine Flight Pitch Dynaflow, an early type of CVT similar in some respects to the planetary e-CVT transmission in a modern Toyota Prius.
(Updated 11/14/2025) While we’ve featured a few big Benzes that have fallen on hard times here on CC, this one perhaps takes the Kuchen. Walking past an underground garage in the middle of Tokyo this morning to pick up Tatra87 from his domicile, I spotted what I at first thought were just two large black Mercedes sedans, then I realized that while the left one is an older W140 S-class, the one on the right is a Maybach, Mercedes’ separately branded attempt to build an ultra-luxury sedan even larger and significantly more luxurious than an S-Class to compete with Rolls Royce etc. I’m making two big assumptions here, the first being that this is the oldest version, a 2003, and the second that this is the smaller (shorter) and cheaper version with a base price in the U.S. of $311,700 (in 2003 per Car&Driver magazine). And now it’s covered in filth and finger dust graffiti. Read the rest of this entry »
The GM B-body has been one of the perennial favorites here at CC. There have been full Curbside Classic profiles and shorter articles on lots of them, especially the 77-96’s in much of their variety. Surprisingly, though, we have only had one full CC on the final generation of wagons (a.k.a. whales). That was a 96 Buick, which represented the end of the line. We’ve not ever paid much due to the start of that generation or to Oldsmobile’s short-lived version. When I saw this well-preserved example at a used car lot, I realized this would be a good opportunity to have a closer look at a rarely seen gem. Click through to take a deep dive into this last chapter in the long story of Oldsmobile station wagons. Read the rest of this entry »
The Bentley Mark VI, when it was launched in 1946, was a small revolution for Rolls-Bentley. Not the chassis itself, which was almost identical to the stillborn Mark V of late 1939, but the fact that most Mark VI chassis were clad with the “standard steel sports saloon” body designed by Blatchley, devised by Rolls-Royce and made by Pressed Steel. This was the first time a Rolls-Bentley car came with a standard body.
Here is a car to relive the 1980s, or more precisely, an alternative side of that era. A 1980s Chevy, carrying the bowtie’s PLC mantle into that decade, but powered by Buick’s turbocharged V6; and with only 3,027 such Monte Carlos equipped in 1981, a rare and different take on the model.
What? You can’t recall a turbo-powered Monte? If so, don’t beat yourself too hard about it. The model was offered solely in the midst of the challenging malaise era, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it effort sold only from 1980 to 1981. That makes this survivor a true rarity that has clearly been loved, as it looks in outstanding condition; as well preserved as an early 1980s GM product can be.
After the extended bike pack trip across the province in Part 1 there remained a last logistical issue. I had abandoned my truck 650 km along Highway 3 with the kind people in Princeton. The original and sensible plan was to ride in the comfort of Rod’s CR-V to retrieve it. But I kind of knew before I even started the bike trip that was way too rational a plan for a man going through a change of life. Four days later, the tent and gear were strapped to the somewhat less than mighty Honda Trail 125 which I wrote about last year.
While it wasn’t as fanciful as the show cars of the 1950s, Ford’s 1968 Techna concept car was an elaborate, earnest attempt to envision the automobile of the ’80s, 1960s style: still big, thirsty, and low-slung, but roomier, more convenient to get into or out of, and (gasp) easier to work on. Few of its predictions came true, but the Techna remains a fascinating, sometimes bizarre time capsule from an automotive alternate universe. Let’s take a look.
(Updated 11/13/2025) Utterly clean, straightforward and well-proportioned. Even after more than four decades, the second generation of the Euro Ford Granada still doesn’t look hopelessly outdated or downright ridiculous. How nice it was to come across one of my favorite classic Euro Fords in such a good condition.
Even better, there was a contemporary competitor of this six-cylinder Ford in the same classic car parking lot. Also from Germany and also in a shade of beige.
(Updated 11/13/2025) You can hail till you’re blue in the face, none of these will be taking you home. This is where taxis come to rest and rust, no longer fit for purpose, after a long an arduous life of servitude. They sit in the weeds, immobile parts donors for their many brethren still hard at work on the highways and byways of their country of birth. Only two families of cars are represented here – the toughest in the business. Let’s get closer and pay our respects (exact change only).
It was a full-on freak-out moment when I saw this 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT in traffic while walking to work from the Red Line last Tuesday. To say that I swooned would be an understatement. Seeing this childhood dream car was more potent than a shot of espresso. Before that day, I think it had been literally decades since I had seen any Fiero moving in the wild. Decades. The Fiero will always be tied in my mind to that time in my elementary school education where our class had grown so large that it had split into two separate classrooms (albeit connected) with two teachers.
Text by Patrick Bell.
Station wagons really hit their stride in the 1950’s, and today we have a good variety of them to view. Without any further delay let’s take a look.
