Today is the last, official Saturday of summer 2016 in the Northern Hemisphere before the Fall Equinox arrives this coming Thursday, September 22nd. I have to keep reminding myself that the good times won’t end just because this fun, adventurous summer has – a season that included road trips, roller coaster rides, street festivals, a hometown car show, many random car spottings, and lots of beach time. I do look forward to fall, with its crisp air, colorful leaves, bonfires, and just being indoors with folks… but I’m not ready for all that just yet. The driver of this Deuce-And-A-Quarter, spotted just one week ago in my neighborhood on the Lake Shore Drive entrance ramp, has more or less the same idea as I do right now – let’s not throw in the towel on summer until we must. Next week will do just fine.
With prices starting at around $4,200 ($33,500 / adjusted), this Electra 225 was one of just over 7,100 convertibles produced for the model year, actually outselling the base Electra hardtop coupe by almost 3,000 units. Total Electra sales were about 48,000, so the 225 convertible’s showing was a healthy 15% of total production.
The final (eleventh) generation, 2002 – ’05 Ford Thunderbird on the right serves as a good contrast to the Electra, to contemplate a point brought up in a comment on my ’75 Ford LTD post from earlier this week by CC reader MarcKyle64. In response to my question of how a 2016 Chevy Impala might look and function in forty years, he opined: “It won’t make it. Some electronic malady will sideline it and cost as much to repair as a good down payment on a $50,000 2036 Corolla, therefore leading to being recycled. But we’ll still see a lovingly cared for ’55 Chevy being gently driven to a local car show.” MarcKyle64, I think you are 100% on-point in those predictions. All of them.
Between the two convertibles in the featured shot, my choice would be the Buick. This is neither because I am from Flint, Michigan (where the Buick was built), nor because I dislike this generation of Thunderbird, with its playful styling and all of its modern conveniences and safety features. I just simply would opt for the beautiful, artful, actual classic versus a now-fifteen-year-old reinterpretation of an icon of automotive Americana. Will this Thunderbird’s faux-50’s style eventually enjoy a rebirth in popularity in, say, fifty years? Time will tell, but I’m fairly confident this Electra will still ooze at least as much class that far into the future as it did just this past Saturday.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, September 10, 2016.
Finding these 2 rare birds driving next to each other was a great find! Joseph, you have a talent of finding great CC’s driving down the road.
Thank you, 67Conti. I’d actually phrase it that these cars have a way of finding me!
Such a lovely picture. Having recently been steeped in 1961 Electradom, I have concluded that the car’s only really weak styling is in the rooflines. The convertible version eliminates those less-successful parts, and is my pick for the perfect 61 Buick. This is why people own cars like this – to take out on a warm late-summer evening so as to stock up on Summer while they can.
I had my Miata out one evening last week. The weather was simply perfect as the Mrs. and I ran an errand downtown and back. On the way I was heartened to see someone in a nice white 60 Studebaker Lark convertible going the other direction, with the top folded and his ladyfriend at his side as well. Very different cars, but much the same experience. Every time I wonder if I get enough use out of the Miata, an evening drive like that one removes the doubts.
The photo is even evocative of early-60’s Pontiac or Olds ads with smiling, beautiful people having a good time. Excluding the T-bird of course.
What’s funny, Neil, is that I was so frustrated with the Thunderbird moving pretty much in lockstep with the Electra when I was trying to get my shot (which I almost didn’t get). I’m glad I did get this frame, though, and what I had to remind myself is that sometimes, I’ve just got to work with what I’ve got. 🙂
Same frustration as in Interstate driving, where people drive right alongside, neither passing nor falling back, & thus make overtaking slow vehicles in one’s lane more difficult.
Thank you, JP. So glad you got the Miata back out…every time I read about your adventures in that car, it makes me wish I had one, myself.
Your first sentence is a real downer.
But that Buick sure makes up for it! From your picture I can almost hear the burble of the V8 through those dual exhausts, whisking these people off into good times yet to be discovered.
Thank you!
Yes, especially since I’m trying to paint the exterior of my house and they’re calling for a chance of rain the next two days.
Another superb shot, Joseph.
Thanks, guys. Even though today is the last, official Sunday of summer, I plan to chase those blues away this afternoon in Wrigleyville with some Chicago Cubs revelry with friends. Fingers-crossed there will be more car spottings.
Joseph, I admire your quick draw capabilities with a camera. Either that or it never leaves your hands. In either case you do catch some good ones.
Rlplaut, thank you so much. I do, in fact, keep my Canon on me at all times! Just this past Friday after work while shopping at the local grocery store, one of the newer cashiers asked me about my camera. The security guard even confirmed to her that I “always have it on” me. LOL
Here in New Orleans, LA we are still very much in into Summer.
The forecast for today is: high temperature of 86, 75% humidity.
Our Autumn weather won’t arrive until early November…if even then.
It’s a matter of taste, but in my opinion, the retro-bird would look better with little fins, like the ’57s, or at least bladed rear fenders. The rear end looks a bit droopy to me. The ’61 Buick, on the other hand, is a handsome looking car!
You’re right, My issue with the modern interpretation of the 2 seat Thunderbird is, Ironically it’s too modern in the melted butter school. It’s one thing if you’re going to retro-ish styling (PT Cruiser / HHR) to be sorta modern, as both had no heritage of their own., But the T-Bird needed to be more “masculine” (runs for cover) It needs more “edges” like the 1957. It would have been much better! Somewhere I read that the last T-bird looked as menacing as a “mildly curious guppy”. That’s OK if you’re going for “cute” (new Beetle..) But not for a Thunderbird!
Allan, I’ve never seen this slight mod before – thanks for posting this picture. I actually like the stock Thunderbird’s sloping rear deck, and I thought it was a somewhat daring styling feature, given that the trend had started around 2000 or so for ever-higher rear decks.
I don’t think a sloping rear deck works on *everything* – the 1978 – ’80 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, while an attractive car, is not the most graceful example of a sloping rear deck. But somehow, on the T-Bird, it just works for me.
That retro Bird to me is a great example of a car that needs the right color. A guy around me owns one in triple black, very sharp car. Also saw silver with black leather before, very sharp. Problem is that Ford tried to carry the retro look over to the color palate, leading to some really ugly combos.
The other, bigger problem is that they went with that oddball Jag/Land Rover/LS V8 instead of the Mod family. If they would have used the same powertrain combos that were available in the V8 Mustangs, the car could have generated a following.
From that angle, that rear end looks very early-Corvette to me – not an association Ford would be looking for.
IMO the shape itself was OK, just not suited to the 50s style colors Ford chose to make available.
Thanks for the shout out. I need to be less pessimistic, but I can’t see _any_ of today’s cars not having a catastrophic electronic fault after a few years. Heck, the engine control computer on my 1983 Subaru GL Wagon (the ‘Green machine’) died in 1993 with 70,000 miles on it and it was easier to sign the car over to the dealer as a trade and get a last year ’92 Subie for $150 a month rather than fix it for $1,000. Which I didn’t have.
And $50,000 for a Corolla gives me the willies when I think how my income isn’t keeping up with inflation.
$50K for a Corolla?! In what universe? I just built one to be sure and a 2017 SE model with absolutely every option checked came out to just over $26K.
He predicted $50,000.00 for a 2036 Corolla. Actually that’s probably optimistic! ?
MarcKyle64, I hear you, Brother. I’m thankful for my job, but every year if and when the raises are passed out, I have to check the internet to see what inflation is doing. I’m still happily employed, so I consider that a win, in and of itself.
My father had a ’62 Electra 225 convertible, tan, tan top, with brown leather. I hated the car because he traded a ’61 Invicta convertible, medium metallic green, light green top and 3 tone green interior. My father was a Buick man! And if you were 16 in 1961, got your license and then the Invicta became a 225, not exactly the direction that a young man wants to go in! But I did have a ’57 ford, converted 3-speed floor shift, custom tudor 312 V8, still don’t know why he let me buy it, BUT it was fun.
My convertibles have always been daily drivers and, as such, were driven in all kinds of weather. Fortunately we do not get much snow in this part of southern Indiana as there are few things that increase the pucker factor like driving a Mustang GT, with Goodyear Gatorback tires, on a snow covered road. Looking back I can’t believe that I never invested in a set of snow tires for winter use; I guess I was just more stupid back then. In any case I lived to tell about it so water under the bridge at this point.
I can remember driving with the top down on chilly days. The secret is too not go so fast that the wind becomes a factor and make sure the heater is set to full roast. At least once we brought home a seven foot Christmas tree in the back seat of the Mustang, just dropped the top and went on.
There was actually a song about the Electra 225, “Ride In My 225.” Here’s the original by Spyder Turner:
https://youtu.be/8UcxPT7IqEk
And a killer live version by the late Nathaniel Mayer, who co-wrote it, at the 2004 Ottawa Bluesfest:
https://youtu.be/pI2JBRQ2kdQ
Great find! (Not sure if my neighbors dug me blasting that (original version) at 5:00AM!) ? Revised: Just blasted the live version! Pure Rock! ?????
You’ve definitely developed a style for your photos. I can usually tell if it’s your post by the photo before reading the byline.
Nice shot of the Electra, and I love the brochure page showing the other bodies. With those bright colours and swoopy lines they really look exciting – even make me feel as though I’d like to have a Buick.
It’s curious how GM seemed to progressively dumb down the styling of their cars through 1964. They sort of went from exciting looking and youthful to sober and old-mannish, then broke out the excitement again for 1965.
…..Put the Deuce in reverse,and started to curse,… Actually, I have nothing to add as LITERALLY any Electra 225 is a winner with me. The 61-64 have all the restraint of the vaunted Lincolns of the era without being as severely “clinical”. Great capture!
They had a ’61 Electra convertible at Barrett Jackson in Connecticut last June. Unfortunately, I only had $40 with me at the time.
Sweet angle / photo! Sometimes when I’m channel-surfing and the Barrett-Jackson auction is on, I will spend a good 10-15 minutes seeing what’s on there.
Joseph, another wonderful post. The contrast between the graceful, linear Electra and the chubby, slightly pneumatic Thunderbird is as good a metaphor for generational change as any. Having seen this post and a PBS Dave Clark Five documentary in the same week, I find myself longing for happier and more optimistic times–at least until I remember that there were no cell phones, nav systems, ATMs, microwave ovens nor personal computers then. Wonderful times, though, and a great age in American car design.
Now get off my lawn!
CC effect: I just saw a 62 Electra on the way back to Chicago from Wisconsin. It was the same color white as this one, but a 4 door hardtop. I love your Chicago photos, I use to live in Edgewater and recognize many of the locations where you find cars.
The ’61 is poetry in motion, and your shot highlights that quality and how we hold onto summer for as long as we can. Well captured!
The brochure reminded me of a friend’s ’61 or ’62 LeSabre. It was the exact shade of blue as the four-door sedan pictured.
It was a ’61 Buick convertible that future Sen. Blutarsky used to make his bold escape following his sabotage of the Faber College homecoming parade as portrayed in the epic film, Animal House.
how fun! that is me and that is my 61 buick!!