There have been a few “best of” CC posts the last couple of days, and it’s been neat to see all the other writers’ finds. But this post is a bit different; it’s interactive! For all of the following cars have not yet been written up by me, despite some having been photographed quite some time ago. So for you fellow Broughamites, check out these fifteen Broughams I have here, and let me know in the comments the ones you’d most like to see on CC. Using careful, scientific procedures and criteria, I will decide which ones to run based on how much I agree with you!
I’ve already done a ’77 Caprice coupe, but that was a mint show car. I was very happy to see this more traditionally CC Caprice a couple months later.
Another B? You bet! This ’77 Royale has been in this neighborhood a long time, but is usually partially hidden behind a garage. One day it just happened to be on the street, and my camera was ready.
As a card-carrying Panther owner, of course there will be a selection of them here. This sky-blue LTD Crown Victoria was in really nice original shape, and for sale.
Who doesn’t love a Caddy? This Basil Green Firemist ’79 was spotted on the way home one night, and the next morning I got up extra early to get some pics before going to work.
“Oh no Klockau, ANOTHER post on your Town Car?” No, this is an elusive Cartier L, spotted on Strieter’s lot well before I purchased my own Panther. The long-wheelbase Town Cars deserve a post of their own–a lot of engineering went into the stretch, and both Crown Vics and Grand Marquises received a variant as well, though the Mercury version was never available in the U.S.
How about another Imperial. This one has been sitting in this spot for over fifteen years. It finally disappeared earlier in 2013, but not before I got a nice set of pictures.
My uncle clued me in to this Mark III, as it is apparently driven by someone who works at the big mall in Coralville. Fortunately the day I was in town it was present and accounted for.
And here we have a basket-handle T-Bird. I will always have a soft spot for these, as both my Grandma Ruby and my Aunt Candy had one. Grammy’s was bought new, a ’77 in black with white bucket seats, console and red carpeting and dash. It was really a looker and I wanted it for my first car, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
I stumbled into yet another 1977-79 Bonneville last summer, a beige ’79 coupe. These look so much nicer without the Landau top. I especially dig the razor-edge quarter window and stainless trim on the B-pillar.
Any early ’80s Ninety-Eight is rare, but this one was even more interesting in that it had a factory steel top. It is the first one I’d ever seen without the vinyl roof, and it was in really nice condition to boot!
This second-gen Riviera was sitting in a little used car lot in Rock Island last spring, when I got these pictures. Rally wheels, no apparent rust and those cool hidden headlights were all in its favor. I just wish it wasn’t in white with a black interior–one of my least favorite color combinations. If only the interior had been red or white…
Wait, we need a Buick B-body too! This ’82 LeSabre Limited was in 1982-only Light Redwood. It was in really nice original shape, Oldsmobile wheel cover notwithstanding.
I have to include this ’70 CDV, as I loved the colors–aqua inside and out, with a white top! I love the 1970 Cadillacs.
Finally, a first-gen Toro, this one was at the Coralville cruise night. While not quite as attractive as the first-year ’66 in the nose and tail, it was still a great car to see.
And for those of you not so fond of Broughams who have stuck it out this far, here are five decidedly non-Broughams for your viewing pleasure!
Let’s start off with a real oddball, a Vespa 400. That ’66 Studebaker next to it looks like a Fleetwood Brougham or Electra 225 in comparison!
I saw this 1991 Volvo Coupe at a K-Mart. This was the last year for Volvo’s Bertone-designed flagship, and was simply called “Coupe.” You may know it better as the 1985-90 780.
This generation of Accord is getting scarce in nice presentable condition–a wagon even more so. Other than the telltale Honda Quarter Rust™ this circa-1991 LX was cherry.
For you SUV fans, I need to write up this big, red Suburban. It was a plain-Jane version so may have originally been a fire department vehicle. Most of the Suburbans I saw back then were fully loaded, two-toned luxury liners.
And last but not least, a frickin’ Chrysler Laser! So vote with your keyboard, and I’ll see what I can do in the coming year!
I’m partial to the B’s having an Olds 98 and Caprice myself but that ’70 Cadillac is gorgeous. I had an ’83 Bonneville with the same opera lights that Olds has, GM sure loved them back then. They are cool to see lit up in the side views at night, it kind of gives a warmth to the whole driving experience with them lit outside and when you approach the car in the dark. As far as I know GM was the only one still using them on their intermediates in the 80’s, on my ’83, even though I was born the same year, it seemed so ’70s to me! The Cutlass Brougham got them as well. I was about to try de-yellowing them prior to selling the car. I ended up buying a spare pair and painted them white to freshen the look of the car.
Tough call. As the son of a GM dealer, at one time or another most of those have sat in the driveway. When the old man switched to Iacocca’s team in the 80s, I had a couple of Laser/Daytonas. Later, as a Volvo retailer myself, I drove a 780 for a while. So while any of those might be a pleasant trip down memory lane, they wouldn’t necessarily be a learning experience. However, outside of those ubiquitous and inescapable Panthers, my Ford knowledge is weak. And since I only ever briefly experienced one as a rental, I’ll vote for that interesting-looking specimen of a T-bird.
Fuselage Imperial or the Basket Handle T-Bird Please!
There is an identical Imperial that has been sitting for at least the past 15 years on a lot in Tifton, (SW) Ga, so the Imperial gets my vote! . 🙂
I’m late here, but what I’d most like to see is each and every one of them featured. Go on Tom, you know you want to…!