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Curbside Classics Archives
Automotive Histories Archive
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![We tend to think of four-door hardtops as a mostly American phenomena, but this body style was also popular in Japan for many years. From 1988 to 1992, Mazda even […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1991-Mazda-Persona-right-side.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1988–1992 Mazda Persona: A JDM Four-Door Hardtop Version Of The Mazda 626")
1988–1992 Mazda Persona: A JDM Four-Door Hardtop Version Of The Mazda 626
Posted on April 10, 2025 | 26 CommentsWe tend to think of four-door hardtops as a mostly American phenomena, but this body style was also popular in Japan for many years. From 1988 to 1992, Mazda even […] -
![(first posted 3/30/2019) Welcome, one and all, to the Grand Finale of this edition of Italian Deadly Sins. And I’m not using the term lightly. This […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ita_DS2_dT.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 3) – De Tomaso, The Serial Sinner")
Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 3) – De Tomaso, The Serial Sinner
Posted on March 31, 2025 | 35 Comments(first posted 3/30/2019) Welcome, one and all, to the Grand Finale of this edition of Italian Deadly Sins. And I’m not using the term lightly. This […] -
![(first posted 3/29/2019) This one is a real tear-jerker. A lovely little sports car with a sweet-looking body, orphaned from birth, fights for its life amid competitors […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ita_DS2_asa.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 2) – ASA, A Tra-GT In Three Acts")
Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 2) – ASA, A Tra-GT In Three Acts
Posted on March 30, 2025 | 30 Comments(first posted 3/29/2019) This one is a real tear-jerker. A lovely little sports car with a sweet-looking body, orphaned from birth, fights for its life amid competitors […] -
![(first posted 3/28/2019) Bienvenuti a tutti! The European Deadly Sins caravan is touring Italy for the second time to glance at three Deadly Sins from three […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ita_DS2_isotta.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 1) – Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa: The Tatra That Came From The Dolomites")
Italian Deadly Sins (Peninsular Peccadilloes, Part 1) – Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa: The Tatra That Came From The Dolomites
Posted on March 29, 2025 | 20 Comments(first posted 3/28/2019) Bienvenuti a tutti! The European Deadly Sins caravan is touring Italy for the second time to glance at three Deadly Sins from three […] -
![The sixties was the decade of the four-door hardtop. What had been the exotic hot new thing in American automotive styling in the fifties—along with fins, of course—was now increasingly […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/a-cad-61-6w-crop-vert.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "All Those Glamorous Four-Door Hardtops, Part 2: 1960–1964")
All Those Glamorous Four-Door Hardtops, Part 2: 1960–1964
Posted on March 27, 2025 | 45 CommentsThe sixties was the decade of the four-door hardtop. What had been the exotic hot new thing in American automotive styling in the fifties—along with fins, of course—was now increasingly […] -
![(first posted 3/7/2019) Unlike Invicta and Standard, the incredible story of Reliant Motors is one that stretches to living memory for most people over 30, especially if […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GB_DS3_rel.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 3) – Reliant Kitten, The Discreet Charm Of The Toiling Masses")
British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 3) – Reliant Kitten, The Discreet Charm Of The Toiling Masses
Posted on March 26, 2025 | 58 Comments(first posted 3/7/2019) Unlike Invicta and Standard, the incredible story of Reliant Motors is one that stretches to living memory for most people over 30, especially if […] -
![Take a close look at the car above – what’s missing? There’s no center pillar. All non-convertible 1961-69 Lincoln Continentals have a B-pillar between the front and rear side windows; […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CGHIYRXWEAAzFNF.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Missing 1961 Lincoln Continental Hardtop – It Was Cancelled At The Last Minute")
The Missing 1961 Lincoln Continental Hardtop – It Was Cancelled At The Last Minute
Posted on March 26, 2025 | 29 CommentsTake a close look at the car above – what’s missing? There’s no center pillar. All non-convertible 1961-69 Lincoln Continentals have a B-pillar between the front and rear side windows; […] -
![Given the immediate popularity and glamour of the 2-door hardtop that was first introduced by Cadillac in 1949, it was just a matter of time—five years, precisely—before the first four […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/a-chev-56-sfq-vert.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "All Those Glamorous Four-Door Hardtops, Part 1: The 1950s")
All Those Glamorous Four-Door Hardtops, Part 1: The 1950s
Posted on March 22, 2025 | 49 CommentsGiven the immediate popularity and glamour of the 2-door hardtop that was first introduced by Cadillac in 1949, it was just a matter of time—five years, precisely—before the first four […] -
![If you read a lot of automotive histories, you’ll frequently encounter the contention that the growing popularity of factory air conditioning on American cars in the 1960s and early […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1964-Pontiac-Bonneville-convertible-RM-Sothebys-front-3q.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Did Air Conditioning Kill The Convertible?")
Did Air Conditioning Kill The Convertible?
Posted on March 21, 2025 | 37 CommentsIf you read a lot of automotive histories, you’ll frequently encounter the contention that the growing popularity of factory air conditioning on American cars in the 1960s and early […] -
![Americans of a certain age may remember the original Ford Fiesta, a popular European subcompact that was sold in the U.S. from 1978 to 1980. The Mk1 Fiesta was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1982-Ford-Fiesta-XR2-Collecting-Cars-front-3q-reflection-crop.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1982 Ford Fiesta XR2 – Sportier European Cousin Of The Early U.S. Fiesta")
1982 Ford Fiesta XR2 – Sportier European Cousin Of The Early U.S. Fiesta
Posted on March 14, 2025 | 18 CommentsAmericans of a certain age may remember the original Ford Fiesta, a popular European subcompact that was sold in the U.S. from 1978 to 1980. The Mk1 Fiesta was […] -
![Hoods and trunk lids that go for days were par for the course for full-size American cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. For that extra dimension of extravagance and […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1975-oldsmobile-delta-88-convertible-press-photo.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Last Full-Size Convertibles – The End Of An Era")
The Last Full-Size Convertibles – The End Of An Era
Posted on March 13, 2025 | 22 CommentsHoods and trunk lids that go for days were par for the course for full-size American cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. For that extra dimension of extravagance and […] -
![(first posted 3/4/2014) The car business sometimes creates strange bedfellows. When an automaker lacks the knowledge or expertise to build a car in a previously unexplored segment, they will often […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/800px-SsangYong_Rodius_270_Xdi_rear_20100719.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Obscure Rebadges From Around The World: Part 2")
Obscure Rebadges From Around The World: Part 2
Posted on March 12, 2025 | 68 Comments(first posted 3/4/2014) The car business sometimes creates strange bedfellows. When an automaker lacks the knowledge or expertise to build a car in a previously unexplored segment, they will often […] -
![Once upon a time, factory air conditioning was one of the most (if not THE most) expensive automotive options you could buy — rarely seen at all, and then […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1959-Ford-Galaxie-Barn-Finds-Select-Air-badge.webp?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Air Conditioning On Low-Priced Full-Size U.S. Cars In The 1960s")
Air Conditioning On Low-Priced Full-Size U.S. Cars In The 1960s
Posted on March 9, 2025 | 58 CommentsOnce upon a time, factory air conditioning was one of the most (if not THE most) expensive automotive options you could buy — rarely seen at all, and then […] -
![The demise of Standard is a puzzle. It came out of the blue, in the summer of 1963, a time blessed by relative peace and prosperity throughout the Western world […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GB_DS3_sta.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 2) – Standard: Raising The White Flag For Britain’s Car Industry")
British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 2) – Standard: Raising The White Flag For Britain’s Car Industry
Posted on March 6, 2025 | 50 CommentsThe demise of Standard is a puzzle. It came out of the blue, in the summer of 1963, a time blessed by relative peace and prosperity throughout the Western world […] -
![(first posted 3/5/2019) Greetings, fellow CCurbivores, and welcome to this third salvo of British Deadly Sins. The pickings are rich, in this land of entrepreneurial inventiveness […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GB_DS3_inv.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 1) – A Blue-Blooded Sin Called Invicta Black Prince")
British Deadly Sins (A Touch Of Class, Part 1) – A Blue-Blooded Sin Called Invicta Black Prince
Posted on March 5, 2025 | 49 Comments(first posted 3/5/2019) Greetings, fellow CCurbivores, and welcome to this third salvo of British Deadly Sins. The pickings are rich, in this land of entrepreneurial inventiveness […]
