Curbside Classic -

Cohort Outtake: 1961 Chevrolet Parkwood Wagon – Last Call for Wagon-Only Names (For a Few Years Anyway)

– Posted on September 5, 2024

(first posted 9/2/2018) Constantine Hannaher, who was at the Baltimore CC Meet-up and posted a raft of great pictures from the event that I haven’t gotten to yet, also just posted this fine ’61 Chevy Parkwood wagon. As was common at the time, Chevrolet gave their station wagons different names than the rest of their car lines/models, but the last year for that was 1961 (until they came back in 1969, oddly enough. That means in 1962, this Parkwood would be just a Bel Air wagon.

Back then, I found it a bit confusing, especially since the wagon names seemed to change over the years (but then the sedans did too, to some extent). What was really confusing though was that in the last few years of this (1959-1960), the Impala-level wagons had different names, depending on whether they were 9 passenger (Kingswood) or 6 passenger (Nomad). At least the Kingswood got axed for 1961, and all the Impala-trim wagons were now Nomads.

Back to this Parkwood:

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Vintage Reviews: 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600SEL, 500SEL And 400SE – Landing With A Heavy Thud

– Posted on September 5, 2024

(first posted 9/5/2018) “More.” The word can be a double-edged sword. “Extra” can easily become “excess.” That certainly was the case with Mercedes-Benz’s W140 S-Class. In 1991, the automotive press set out to chronicle the benefits of the newest, biggest Benz, but there was no avoiding the elephant in the room.

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Auction Classic: 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix – Wide Tracking It Down Under

Jim Grey

– Posted on September 5, 2024

(first posted 9/5/2018) Here at CC we’ve seen lots of American cars, especially muscular ones from the 60s and 70s, now prowling about Europe. But here’s one that made its way all the way to Australia: a 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix with the optional 428-ci high-output engine.
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CC Capsule: 1991 Volkswagen Corrado G60 – Flawed Follow-up

Tatra87

– Posted on September 5, 2024

For a remarkably long time, VW and Karmann did great business manufacturing and selling sporty coupés based on VW’s contemporary bread-and-butter platform. It started with the Beetle-based Karmann-Ghia, then came the Golf-based Scirocco. But the Corrado spelled the end of this great multi-decade run of two-door VWs. What happened?

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Vintage Dealers: A Packard Dealer (And The Predictor Concept Car) In 1956

Rich Baron

– Posted on September 5, 2024

Once again, we’re dealing with Packard’s last days. This time, courtesy of some images of Wendell Hawkins Packard Inc. in Houston, TX. Those who know the marque’s history can probably tell from the image above that the dealer was a favored one in those closing days. After all, in that showroom appears none other than Packard’s 1956 Predictor concept car (at center). A one-of-a-kind proposal that hinted at future models from the marque.

Want a better look?

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CC In Scale: Hot Rods & Customs – Cruising Woodward

Peter Wilding

– Posted on September 5, 2024

If you follow the modified car scene, even as tangentially as I do, you’ll probably have heard of the Woodward Dream Cruise, which was on in Michigan a few weeks back.

I was only alerted to this year’s one by a friend who suggested it as a daily theme for a Facebook model group I’m in. A frenzy of models appeared over the following couple of days, and I discovered there seemed to be a limit to the number of posts I could make to one group in a day! I probably wasn’t the only builder who pushed FB’s technical envelope that weekend. Daryl urged me to break it; it broke me instead.

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Curbside Classic: 1967 Jeep Jeepster Commando Convertible – Four Cylinder F-Head Relic

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on September 5, 2024

(photos by Stephanie N.)

This Jeepster Commando convertible is a rolling relic for more reasons than one. In addition to just being scarce, especially in such original condition, this one lacks the V6 emblems that graced the majority of them. So instead of a 160 hp Buick-sourced V6, behind its traditional seven-bar grille sits the 75 hp Hurricane four, an F-head version of the original 134 cubic inch Go-Devil Jeep four. By the late ’60s, at a time when greater performance was sweeping all corners of the automotive market, this gnarly little four was already a relic then, and the lowest power American car available at the time.

Given that the Jeepster was advertised as being “Racy and Rugged”, that’s what might well be called a half-truth.

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CC Outtake: Dodge Maxivans – Long and Longest (Longer is Absent)

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on September 4, 2024

(first posted 9/4/2018) There are at least three different lengths of Dodge Maxivan/Maxiwagon: Long, longer, and longest. The two bookends are conveniently parked together here. But fear not; I do have a picture of the longer one too. And there’s probably even a somewhat longer one.

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Vintage Road & Track Review: 1976 Fiat 128 3P – Lots of Good Qualities; Not a Lot of Sales

Paul Niedermeyer

– Posted on September 4, 2024

(first posted 9/4/2018) Pity poor Fiat. The 128 was a game changing car when it came out in 1969; its space efficiency and driving dynamics put it heads and shoulders above anything else. The VW Golf was essentially a slightly larger 128 with a hatchback, and the Golf was hardly the only European car chasing the 128 or influenced by it. But in the US, the 128 just never got any serious traction against the inroads of rather dull but dead reliable cars like the Corolla and company.

The 128 3P was a hatchback version of the previous 128SL, the sporty coupe of the family. With its hatchback and roomy cargo area, the 128 3P might well have been serious competition for the Rabbit, Corolla Liftback and such. And it had some great qualities; it tied for the fastest slalom time R&T had ever recorded. The transmission was a joy, as was the steering and handling. The ride was excellent for such a small and light car. But then there were of course shadow sides too…

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Vintage Snapshots: 1956 Cadillac — In Travel And Towing Action

Rich Baron

– Posted on September 4, 2024

There’s much talk in the entertainment world about sequels and prequels; two terms more generally associated with the film industry. But today, I have a prequel of sorts. A few months ago, I posted photos of an Ohio family traveling across the US during the ’60s-’70s in a series of Cadillacs and Airstream trailers. And today’s images do serve as a prequel; featuring the same family back in the ’50s.

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Curbside Classic: 1983 Mercedes-Benz (C126) 500 SEC – Peak Benz?

Tatra87

– Posted on September 4, 2024

I’ve looked, believe me. I searched and searched online – and not just the Anglosphere, either. German-language, French-language, Japanese… Everyone and their cousin seems to agree: the C126 is an absolutely magnificent example of Mercedes at their level best. And it seems CC agrees, judging by past posts on the subject. Such unanimous positivity is pretty rare. Are there any nits that need picking or is this really a case of Benz peaking?

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Curbside Classic: 2003 Hyundai Sonata – The Bridge to a Crescendo

SophieN

– Posted on September 4, 2024

What we see here today is a beater — a cheap car that generally is not well maintained by its owner, who generally cannot afford anything nicer. Our featured car is missing all of its hubcaps, has mismatched quarter panels, and obviously has had some quick and dirty rust repair done. It will be driven by its owner until something major breaks that’s not worth fixing, and they will then move on to their next car. So it goes.

But this car is also something much more than a lowly beater, as it is also one of the last cars marketed by the ‘old’ Hyundai – a purveyor of affordable cars desperately trying to break into the highly-competitive US market. An entity almost entirely unrecognizable to the juggernaut of the global auto industry we know today. But Hyundai’s rise couldn’t have happened without cars like this 2003 Sonata. So let’s appreciate it before it, like all beaters, one day goes to the great big junkyard in the sky.

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My Hobby Car of a Lifetime #16: 1997 Ford Explorer – Curiosity Runs In The Family

Jose Delgadillo

– Posted on September 4, 2024

This consignment lot was my favorite spot to hunt for cars. Unfortunately, they are no longer in business.

I came very late to the SUV game, and I was actually one of those guys that thought that SUVs were over the top and superfluous. “Most families’ needs can be accommodated by a minivan.” I’m sure that you’ve heard that argument before. I’d put almost twenty years of minivan driving before this. Actually the minivan is a better choice if all you are going to carry is passengers and cargo. But if you need to tow, or want, 4WD, then the SUV begins to make more sense.

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Car Show Outtake: 1982 Peugeot 604 STI Automatique Limousine Heuliez – Voiture Extraordinaire

Johannes Dutch

– Posted on September 3, 2024

(first posted 9/3/2018) Yesterday I visited the 2018 edition of La Fête des Limousines, a show focusing on the top models of French automakers. There was this Peugeot that didn’t quite fit in the line-ups of its compatriots. It just had to stand out from the crowd.

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Car Show Classic: 1990-96 Maserati Shamal – The Wildest Biturbo

William Stopford

– Posted on September 3, 2024

(first posted 9/4/2018) Maserati, under the stewardship of Alejandro de Tomaso, introduced the Biturbo line in 1981 with the intention of increasing the brand’s production volume tenfold. Trading on the prestige of the Maserati name and offering a much lower price of entry to the brand, the Biturbo was a promising and modern design that unfortunately suffered from myriad quality and reliability issues. Maserati sales plummeted and with what little capital they had, Maserati was forced to offer countless permutations of the same basic car. The Shamal was the most exciting. Read the rest of this entry »