1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible with automatic rain sensor

The Greenwood Car Show was this weekend, and here's the coolest car I saw. This all-original '55 Bel Air has every available option, including the incredibly rare automatic rain sensor for the power top. A few drops of water is all that's needed to activate it. The owner was kind enough to do a demo when I asked him about it. Scroll to the bottom for this amazing video.

Tweet

1978 Pontiac Sunbird (Chevrolet Vega). Ladies and Gentlemen, the Worst American Car Ever Made

Since I started this blog, it's been my privilege to photograph in Seattle many still-running examples of notoriously bad cars. Yes, in the Emerald City there are people whose disregard for their own personal safety and lack of self-respect is so complete that they will actually take to the streets in a Ford Pinto, Chevy Chevette, Chevy Citation, Plymouth Volaré or Cadillac Cimarron. How these cars are still in operable condition, even in a city free of road salt, is equally remarkable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I have taken snapshots of many of Detriot's most notorious bombs, I have often wondered if I would ever spot the Holy Grail of bad American cars. Would I ever see a Chevy Vega?

By 1978 the original Vega had been reworked as the Monza for Chevy, while the old Vega wagon, dating all the way back to 1971, was dumped on Pontiac. The Vega represented everything that was wrong with General Motors in 1970 and its cynical response to the challenge of small, fuel-efficient imported cars. From a Popular Mechanics article by John Pearly Huffman entitled, How the Chevy Vega Nearly Destroyed GM:

"Of course, no one car and no one moment set GM on its downward path by itself. But the Vega embodied practically everything bad that was about to consume the corporation and, decades later, send it into bankruptcy."

The Vega, "was a small car developed not by the Chevrolet Division, but by a corporate team assembled by GM's president Ed Cole during 1968. Rushed through development in only two years, the Vega was delivered to (Chevrolet President John) DeLorean and Chevrolet as a fait accompli; a nearly complete vehicle over which Chevrolet itself would have only minimal engineering and design input. It was Chevrolet's and DeLorean's job to sell it."

"(T)he lack of engineering focus and the drive to keep the price low resulted in a car with notoriously thin sheetmetal only haphazardly covered in anti-rust primer. Soon the Vega was earning a reputation as a rust-prone bucket. It wasn't uncommon for rusted Vega front fenders to need replacing after only one or two seasons driving in the salted slop of northeastern winters. Even in states like California or Arizona where rust was almost unknown, Vega owners would see corrosion eating away at their cars.

The engine also had a barely adequate cooling system that combined with the delicate engine block for horrible results. When the engine got hot, which wasn't uncommon, the cylinders distorted and the piston rings wore off the exposed silica that was meant to provide a tough wall surface. Then, at best, the cars burned more oil. At worst, the distortion compromised the head gasket, caused the coolant to leak and eventually killed the engine."

"Since the Vega sold so strongly (almost 2 million were built before it left production after 1977), the result was that literally hundreds of thousands of buyers were having awful experiences with the car. Some were merely disappointed. Many were incensed. And a lot of them felt betrayed by General Motors, Chevrolet and the American auto industry as a whole. Surely, those customers were then far more willing to consider the Japanese alternatives that were starting to arrive."

Final note: This car does not have the notorious Vega engine; that's probably why it's still running. Instead it has Pontiac's 4-cylinder. While that motor has little going for it, at least it didn't blow up after just a few thousand miles.

Tweet

1965 Mercury Econoline van

Yes, I said Mercury. In Canada, many towns had a Ford dealership or a Lincoln-Mercury dealership but not both. Ford addressed this by letting Ford dealers sell the upscale Mercury as the Monarch. Mercury dealers sold Ford trucks and vans as Mercurys and Ford cars under the brand name Meteor. Ford wound down the separate branding after the US and Canada signed a free trade agreement in 1968.

This is the first Ford cab-over van. It's based on the Falcon chassis, which seems like a daft idea to me considering what a wimpy vehicle the Falcon was. Ford's inline 6-cylinders were the only engines available; you can see the motor mounted over the front axle between the seats.

Tweet

1974 Ford Bronco

Like the Jeep CJ, only a lot nicer. A great idea, but the Ford Bronco never really caught on while it was around. In 1966, Ford sold 26 Mustangs for every Bronco it sold.

If it ain't broke don't fix it: The 1977 Bronco is virtually indistinguishable from the original 1966. Beginning in 1978 Ford applied the Bronco name to a full-size truck. The Bronco compact SUV was just too far ahead of its time.

Tweet

1969 Cadillac Eldorado

When you're behind this Eldorado in traffic and you catch a whiff of its exhaust, you know you're behind a 472 cubic-inch V-8 made before pollution controls.

Tweet

1951 Diamond T Model 222 truck

The Great Depression killed off a lot of the independent automakers. But two of them survived by finding a niche market: building premium-quality trucks with features unavailable in trucks built by the Big 3 in Detroit. Diamond T dated all the way back to 1905, and R.E.O. (maker of the famous Speedwagon) was founded that same year by Ransom Olds after selling Oldsmobile to General Motors. These two companies would eventually merge, making "Diamond Reo" brand trucks until 2010.

How good was the Diamond T? In the 1940's, it had a drivetrain that made other trucks look like something from the Dark Ages, and an interior as comfortable as most cars. The Model 980, made for the military during the war, dwarfed other big trucks like GM's famous "Duece-and-a-half".

Tweet

1967 International Harvester Scout 800

There are quite a few of these in Seattle. Growing up in the midwest the few Scouts I ever saw were very rust-prone, but that's less of a problem out here.
* One of the few vehicles ever offered with choice of 4, 6, or 8-cylinder engine.
* No top - that's a bold choice in Seattle, no matter the time of year.

Tweet

Sunset in Seattle - in traffic behind a '57 Nomad

Tweet