Curbside Classic -

Vintage Review: 1965 Buick Riviera GS – The Ultimate Riviera; In Looks And Performance

– Posted on November 15, 2024

Yes, I know it’s an endless point of debate, but let’s face it, the original (1963-1965) Riviera is the greatest of them all. It was an absolute styling sensation when it arrived, arguably the best-styled American car not just of the sixties but even the whole post-war era. And it wasn’t just a pretty face; its performance was outstanding, and not just in a straight line. The Riviera was a world class gran turismo.

In 1965, Buick upped the ante with the Riviera Gran Sport. Standard equipment was the ultimate 360 hp dual-quad “nailhead” 425 Super Wildcat V8, a reduced backpressure oversize dual exhaust system, a 3.42:1 Positraction rear axle and a few other goodies. CARS magazine wrung one out and was duly impressed.

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Vintage 48,000 Mile Test: 1976 VW Rabbit – How VW Handed Over The US Import Market to the Japanese

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on November 14, 2024

(first posted 11/10/2018) Here’s the final installment of Road and Track’s long term test of a first year 1975 Rabbit. The plan was to test it only to 24,000 miles, but since the car required extensive upgrading to 1976 specs (by VW) and then suffered a major failure (broken crankshaft) along with numerous more minor maladies, the test was taken all the way to 48,000 miles.

And it shows just why VW lost its grip on the US market to the Japanese.

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Car Show Classic: 1972 AMC Javelin Pierre Cardin – No, Really…

J P Cavanaugh

– Posted on November 14, 2024

(first posted 7/31/2014) We here at CC simply don’t do things part way. Maybe we have all been schooled by the Teutonic discipline of our founder, but we just can’t stand to see a job left unfinished. Which is why we have been in such anguish on the topic of AMC’s designer cars from the 1970s. After we brought you a 1974 Oleg Cassini Matador and then a 1972 Gucci Sportabout, we have been wringing our collective hands over the incomplete status of our collection of these most fashionable Kenoshans. Of course, we have Curbside Correspondents in SoCal, the PNW and other areas of old-car spotting heaven who continually delight us with their rare finds. But when the chips are down and heavy lifting is required, it’s just time to come to the Midwest, that’s all. Which is where we found the car that completes our set: the 1972 Pierre Cardin Javelin.

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Curbside Classic: 1987 Cadillac Allante – Apple Pie In An Italian Suit

Jason Shafer

– Posted on November 14, 2024

(first posted 6/9/2018) Everyone has different theories. My theory is the creation of the Allante goes something like this….

…One day back in the early to mid-1980’s, Somebody in Charge at Cadillac awoke with a hangover. Too much rum and dancing with foxy brunettes while dancing to Donna Summer can have bad consequences. Read the rest of this entry »

Vintage Ad: Continental Kit With Trailer Hitch For Bugeye Sprite – “Want To Haul A Trailer?”

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on November 14, 2024

I stumbled into this ad from 1961 and just had to share it with you. The continental spare mount is bad enough ($29.95), but it’s also available with a trailer hitch ($39.95) so that your 42.5 hp 948 cc powered Sprite can haul your boat or Airstream. I’d love to see it pulling the boat up the typical steep boat ramp. Do I smell a smoked clutch?

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Curbside Musings: Bringing Color Back – There’s Actually A Lot Out There, Curbside and Otherwise

Jeff Sun

– Posted on November 14, 2024

Doesn’t that lovely line of Volvo 140 butts make you want to say “Man, I remember when cars came in so many different colors!”? That’s been my comment on that scene ever since I took the photo earlier this fall. I mean, look at that! Two kinds of blue, two kinds of yellow (is Butterscotch yellow?), and a deep green. Those were the days, eh?

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Junkyard Classic: 1987 Nissan Stanza – Mini Maxima

Gray Walters

– Posted on November 14, 2024

Nissan’s former reputation for sportiness, dating back to its days peddling Datsuns, is all but gone today. The Maxima died in 2023, but the manufacturer still maintains a well-rounded lineup of sedans with the Versa, Sentra, and Altima, albeit with most traces of sportiness removed.

Now the top dog by default, the current Altima took over from the Stanza as Nissan’s mid-sized model back in 1993. If the state of 5-year-old Altimas around me is any indication, this segment of cars tends to get ridden hard and put away wet by many of its owners. Without the reputation or resale value of, say a Toyota or Honda, to stave off repair bills equaling the value of the car, a mainstream Nissan sedan showing up in a junkyard in such excellent condition 37 years after it rolled off the assembly line is genuinely remarkable.

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Curbside Find: 1990-1991 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue – Playing To The Established Crowd

Rich Baron

– Posted on November 14, 2024

Photos from the Cohort by Slant Six.

In recent years, I’ve developed a habit of checking on old rock bands to see what they’re up to, especially those I never cared much for and yet were awfully popular. This often occurs after listening to playlists with my wife.

Hey… what happened to those guys?

And more often than not, I’m always surprised when they’re still around. Not only touring but with a bunch of releases I never heard of. Not that I’m gonna check out their new tracks (or old ones), but I always find it nice to see how there’s a space in this world obsessed with newness for an old act playing to an established crowd.

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Vintage Snapshots: Two Dockside Classics With Mopar Photobombers

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on November 13, 2024

(first posted 11/13/2018) I’ve been perusing another trove of vintage snapshots, and these two, presumably shot on the same day, rather grabbed me. It took me a couple of minutes to identify this splendid superliner, as initially I thought it was the Queen Elizabeth. It’s the SS France, which was launched in 1961, and was the pride of its country. But like all of these liners, it fell on hard times and she was laid up in 1974, and sold Norwegian Cruise Lines, and renamed the Norway. After a long career as a cruise ship, she was sold and resold, with the designs for either refitting or scrapping, but the liner was laid up eventually over environmental concerns. She was finally scrapped in 2008.

And how long did this 1960 Plymouth survive?

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Curbside Classic: 1968 Ford Fairlane GT – The Unexpected Wallflower

Jim Grey

– Posted on November 13, 2024

(first posted 3/23/2013) Ford may have been first to the intermediate dance (among the Big Three, anyway), but GM came fashionably late and better dressed. Styling, they say, sells cars, and GM’s mouthwateringly crisp, taut lines across its new 1964 A-body line suddenly made Ford’s fast-selling Fairlane look frumpy. Annual freshenings of the 1962 body did no good, and a 1966 restyle helped only a little. So Ford tried again for 1968, presenting this fresh, clean result.

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Obscure Rebadges From Around The World: Part 5

William Stopford

– Posted on November 13, 2024

(first posted 11/13/2018) It’s been a little while since I did one of these. Click the links for Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.

Obscure rebadges can result from many different scenarios. Sometimes an automaker needs to fill a hole in their line-up and they don’t have a suitable in-house product. Sometimes a rebadge is the result of a misguided joint venture. Other times, corporate acquisitions give automakers access to product that’s worth keeping around. Today, let’s look at four examples of how these scenarios led to obscure rebadges. Read the rest of this entry »

Vintage Dealers: Pontiac Dealers 1950s-1960s

Rich Baron

– Posted on November 13, 2024

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Curbside Clueless Outtake: Get A Load Of That Road Hog

Tatra87

– Posted on November 13, 2024

Whether it’s obscure ancient European racers or one of the myriad JDM sub-models I’ve never seen or heard of before in my life, CC hunting in Tokyo never fails to surprise and, occasionally, delight. Piggy-in-the-middle here, however, has me well and truly stumped.

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CC In Scale: A Gallery Of Japanese Car Models

Peter Wilding

– Posted on November 13, 2024

One of my favourite regular CC posts is Tatra-san’s random monthly sightings where he shows us vehicles many of us have never heard of. With that in mind, let’s turn to some Japanese oddities, such as cars you may not be familiar with. No Skylines this time; even if they are my favourites, they’ve had their day. As always, there are more out there; these are just the ones that have taken my fancy.

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My 1984 Ford Escort Wagon & 1980 Ford Fairmont – More Dearborn Pains

Harry Case

– Posted on November 13, 2024

1984 Escort wagon photo from the web.

The new Escort was perfectly sized for our growing family and the upright seating position was a vast improvement over our old Pinto. The 1.6L four-cylinder front wheel drive experience was a new one for me. The Escort was much better in the snow than any car I had ever driven –I had even high-centered the Pinto on the drifts in poorly plowed roads more than once, its low ground clearance and light weight over the rear wheels proved unsuited to Upstate NY winter roads.

Initially, we were very pleased with the Escort, it was more comfortable overall and Barbara drove it with the two children. That is until the driver’s seat collapsed when a bolt holding the seat to the frame sheared off unexpectedly while she was driving on the interstate. It was a terrifying experience for her.

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