1969 Jaguar XKE Series II

Ever see one on the street? No? Sadly, the world's most beautiful car is also one of its least durable. Even those who own and love them describe them thus: "XK-Es used electronics from the dark prince, overheated even in Alaska and their bodies turned to Swiss cheese within two years of purchase."

But if you had the mad courage to own an XKE, this is the one to get. Many of the shortcomings of the first series were overcome, including an improved transmission, cooling system and seats. On the other hand, the Series II lacked the supercool glass-hooded headlights of the earlier cars. In 1971, Jaguar introduced the Series III, with the impressive but ill-fated V-12. That car found a whole new set of problems to make "XKE" synonymous with "unreliable".

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1960 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé Pinin Farina (Chevy Powered)

You can pick up one of these in restored condition for around $700,000. So what is this Ferrari even doing on the street at the Greenwood Car Show? Someone might breathe on it! Well I don't know how much this car is worth, because it's been repowered with a Chevy V-8. I'm informed that "dozens" of old Ferraris received this treatment back in the day. Certainly its value is still way up in the six figures.

From drive-my.com: "The concept of ditching Ferrari’s glorious V12 for V8 iron may be hard to digest in today’s world, when ‘matching numbers’ authenticity is all-important. Back in the 1950s and ’60s, hot-rod culture was second nature to kids in America, when virtual wrecks could be ‘chopped’ and tuned to become the fastest things on the road. The most straightforward way of achieving that was by transplanting a bigger-capacity engine from an American car. When your Ferrari engine went terminal, or couldn’t easily be fixed, the pragmatic move was to whip out the V12 and install a Chevrolet or Ford unit. Hey presto, your gorgeous Italian stallion was up and running again – at a stroke, going from 3.0 litres to 5.7 litres, with 100 extra horsepower to boot. The Chevy’s advantage was its compact – ‘small block’ – size and short stroke, which reduced piston speed at high revs. It was reliable, too."

Ferrari built 353 copies of this car between 1958 and 1960. That's a lot of cars by old-time Ferrari standards. The previous 250 GT coupe sold 138 copies between 1955 and 1958.

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1966 Triumph TR4

"Most machines that have been on and off the road for the better part of 50 years are going to have some issues. The TR4A was simply built with more of them to potentially address." That's the polite way that Hemmings describes the pitfalls of owning a Triumph. This is a fun car; sportier than an MG and a lot cheaper and simpler than a Jaguar. If you can get past: (1) you can practically hear it rusting, (2) it takes genius to tune a Triumph's valves and sidedraft carburetors and (3) I don't think even the guys who designed this car understood its electrical system.

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1956 Ford Parklane

In the 1950s Ford and Chevy were selling just about the same number of cars every year, and whatever one did the other had to copy. Chevy had the Corvette, so Ford created the Thunderbird. Ford had the Ranchero, so Chevy brought out the El Camino. And so on.

In 1955 Chevy introduced the Nomad, its premium two-door wagon. Although the Nomad was expensive to make and barely sold, Ford had to bring out a copycat car for 1956. Like the Nomad, the Parklane is a "hardtop" wagon with sliding windows in the cargo area. In 1957 the Parklane was rebranded as the Del Rio. But the two-door wagon was falling out of favor; 1957 was the last year for Nomad, and 1958 the last for Del Rio. The Parklane pictured here outsold the Nomad nearly two to one (15,186 Parklanes were produced in comparison to 7,886 1956 Nomads). But Chevy got the last laugh. Car collectors love the Nomad, but who remembers the Parklane?

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The Blog Has Reached a Tipping Point: 1987 Suzuki Samurai

Suzuki was selling this vehicle around the world long before it arrived in the US, and still sells it today. It was marketed here from 1985 to 1995; Suzuki pulled out of the US entirely in 2012. We remember the Samurai for Suzuki's lawsuit against Consumer Reports after that organization rated the vehicle as unsafe due to its tendency to rollover in certain situations. The lawsuit was settled, with Consumer Reports not shown to be wrong really, but because they exaggerated the Samurai's problems, sort of.

From Wikipedia, "A Suzuki memorandum dated July 14, 1985, stated: "It is imperative that we develop a crisis plan that will primarily deal with the ‘roll’ factor. Because of the narrow wheelbase, similar to the Jeep, the car is bound to turn over." Over the years, over 200 Suzuki Samurai rollover lawsuits have been settled, and Suzuki's own expert witnesses testified the automaker was aware of 213 deaths and 8,200 injuries involving Suzuki Samurai rollovers." "The dispute and eventual lawsuit stemmed from the CR statement easily rolls over in turns, which CR attributed to the sudden swerve test and was not meant to generally apply to the Samurai in respect to other tests that CR undertakes to simulate normal routine driving such as 0-60 mph acceleration and stopping."

The Samurai's defenders usually say things like, "Hey, it's unlikely that you'll swerve like that, and the the Samurai is no more prone to rollover than other similar SUVs." Reminds me of the old joke:
Patient: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this."
Doctor: "Don't do that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1959 Jaguar XK150S

In 1959, the car magazine The Motor described a car as, "the fastest closed car the magazine had ever subjected to a full road test". Was it the fuel-injected Corvette? Perhaps a hemi-head Chrysler with dual-quad carburetors? Maybe the supercharged Studebaker? Nope. It was a Jaguar XK150S with a 3.7 liter, six-cylinder engine.

The car pictured was the final, and most powerful iteration of the XK120/140/150 cars introduced in 1948.

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1970 Citroën DS

Sold from 1955 to 1975, the DS was decades ahead of its time. Its curious to me why its many innovations did not appear in American cars a lot sooner.
* A hydro-pneumatic suspension. By creating a sphere of liquid with compressible gas above it, the ride was such that many still regard this to be the best riding car ever built. The spheres used for the suspension also controlled the brakes.
* The roof is made of fiberglass to lower the center of gravity and save weight.
* The DS introduced swiveling headlights that turn with input from the steering wheel.
* Citroën had been using radial tires since 1948, while American cars were still using inferior 'bias ply' tires into the 1970s!

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1971 Honda N600

I've never seen one of these before, not even in a museum. The N600 was the first Honda imported into the US. According to californiaclassix.com, "Informed sources claim that of the circa 35,000 Honda N600s sold in North America, there are fewer than 1,000 extant, and most of those do not run." The N600 was succeeded by the slightly sportier Z600 (I've never seen one of those on the street before either). Then in 1973 the first Honda Civic arrived, and the rest is history.

You have to stand next to this car to appreciate how truly tiny it is. Then engine is 598cc (hence the model name '600'). In today's dollars, this car cost about $9,700.

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1965 Saab 96

Seems like a good time to write my first ever post on Saab, as Saab was in the news recently (although not in a good way).

Made for two decades, the Saab 96 is a curious vehicle with a two-stroke engine, front-wheel drive, column-shifting transmission and a 'freewheel' overrunning clutch, allowing the engine when coasting to reduce its speed to idling, thus requiring only the small lubrication available from the closed, coasting, throttle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So where did the company go? In 1989, (from The Guardian), General Motors, "panic-bought Saab... ­after losing out in bids to acquire Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar." GM had actually bought 50% of the company at that time, and purchased the remaining 50% in 2000. That year, Saab sold a record 133,000 cars worldwide. Following GM's bankruptcy, it sold Saab to Swedish sports car maker Spyker. That tiny company's attempt to keep Saab going was a failure from day one; and because GM wouldn't allow Spyker to include the GM technology in Saab cars as part of any sale of the company, Saab filed for bankruptcy. 

Saab's assets were then purchased by a Chinese company who announced the brand name National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). That company's plan was to restart production of the Saab 9-3, first as a gasoline powered car, then switching to electric. Long story short, after producing a handful of electric cars, the NEVS project is over and the company is trying to sell its Saab assets. While in theory the Saab brand could rise from the ashes yet again, it seems unlikely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The logo above represents that Saabs are the cars "born from jets". The car company was started in excess factory space by Saab Aviation.

 

 

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1946 Dodge WF32 1.5 Ton Dump Truck

The 1939-47 Dodge is absolutely my favorite truck. Observations:
* This truck is parked in the same spot I saw an unrestored 1937 Plymouth a while back. This owner must have some interesting stories.
* Also sold as the Fargo in Canada. You may remember the Fargo from Mad Max: Fury Road.
* Trucks sure had tiny cabs back in the day.
* Just open the bottom of the windshield for free air conditioning.

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1995 Jaguar XJ-S convertible. The V-12 Supercar You Can Afford (To Let Sit In Your Garage).

The XJ-S convertible with V-12 engine had an MSRP of $82,550 in 1995; that's just about $150,000 in 2021 dollars. Yet it's no big deal to pick one of these up in good condition for about $15,000. How can that be? Well, Jaguar made some of the most beautiful cars of all time. But they don't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to long-term reliability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From carbuzz.com: "Even though these cars are cheap to buy, they are notoriously expensive to own. Even the youngest XJS is now a 22-year old car, and parts are going to need to be replaced. If you fancy the idea of owning a gorgeous grand touring car with a V12 engine, here are some issues you should watch out for. Fuel hoses in the engine are known to deteriorate over time, causing engine fires. The upper shock bushing are prone to failure resulting in a rattling noise over bumps. If you do decide to own one of these cars, you'd better be very handy and resourceful or know a very good mechanic. The good news is, the XJS is so plentiful, it isn't too difficult to buy a spare one to use as a parts car."

Uh sure, just buy two of 'em and keep the second one for parts.

From driving.ca: "Where do we even begin with this one? The Jaguar XJ-S and XJ-12 might be the most affordable V12 cars you can buy, but that affordability comes at the expense of reliability. The Jaguar XJ-12 has two radiators fed by two coolant tanks, with two fuel tanks, two fuel pumps and a battery that has its own thermostatically controlled cooling fan. If that isn’t enough to terrify you, these cars are filled with a mind-boggling maze of infamous Lucas wiring, with fuse boxes at seemingly random intervals along the fenders inside the engine bay. And when things do break, engine access is worse than anything except a twin-turbo 300ZX (look it up, it’s spooky!). Opening the hood on a V12 Ferrari reveals gleaming cam covers and polished intake manifolds, whereas the underhood view of a V12 Jaguar is dominated by a mess of vacuum lines and wiring that resembles the Windows “pipes” screensaver. This is not a car for the faint of heart or slim of pocketbook."

 

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A Lot of Land Rovers

There's a stretch of North Aurora that's mostly car dealerships and repair shops. There you'll find the Land Rover guy.

The trucks pictured above are the Type II from the 1960s. They typically had a 2.4 liter gas engine that produced 72 hp. So not exactly a lot of power to get a two-ton vehicle moving, but then the Land Rover was never about getting from point A to point B quickly.

The above is a Type III from the 70s. If it really did drive from Morocco to Cape Town, that's over 11,000 km. Which sounds boring and terrifying at the same time.

Land Rovers from three different eras.

In the 90s, the classic Land Rover was called the Defender. They were only sold briefly in the US before lack of airbags forced them out. The Defender pictured above is right-hand drive and is probably in the country under the rule making it OK to import anything over 25 years old.

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Sucking in the 70s: Three Cars from America's Most Tasteless Decade

Stop by 15th Ave West and Dravus, and you'll find the gas station where the 70s survived. Both cars pictured below were very successful. The Chrysler B-body coupe, pictured here as the 1976 Dodge Charger but also sold as the Chrysler Cordoba, Plymouth Fury and a bunch of other names, was a big hit at a time when the company was staggering toward bankruptcy. And the 1978 Mercury Cougar, which was the same car as that year's Ford Thunderbird, sold an unbelievable 565,000 copies for Ford and Mercury combined.

On the one hand, these cars are remembered as gas-guzzling land yachts from an era when Detroit was increasingly losing market share due to its inability to compete with smaller, more practical, higher quality and less garish-looking cars from Japan. On the other hand, at least these cars tried to add a little artistry to their design, unlike today's world of identical gray SUVs.

The 1974 Maverick pictured below is parked around the corner; I suspect it also belongs to the gas station. Love the vintage stereo receiver in the back seat!

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1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, 1973 Volkswagen 181 Thing

It was not a coincidence that these VWs were parked together; turns out it was a family picnic of VW fans. The Karmann Ghia was built virtually unchanged from 1955 to 1974. I think this is the oldest one I've seen. The 181, known as "The Thing" in the US, was only sold in the US in 1973-4 before safety regulations killed it here.

 

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1957 Ford Fairlane convertible, 1961 Ford Thunderbird and other clean used cars

 The '77 Malibu from my last post was from the Shoreline used car dealer who happens to sell a lot of vintage cars. Don't know where he gets them.

 

Ford sold more cars in 1957 than Chevy, but a '57 Bel Air convertible is worth three times as much as the Fairlane convertible from that year.

 

There's no mistaking a Thunderbird for any other car.

 

More from the bigger is better era: 1962 Chevrolet Impala with 283 v-8.

1977 Chevrolet El Camino. If the classic car-truck is your jam, and you're on a budget.

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The Dinosaur lumbers on: 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic

 

 

There's a good article on curbside.com comparing this car to that year's Honda Accord: "GM’s mega-mid-sized cars of the seventies were the perfect embodiment of why cars like the Accord started (to) take the country by storm. The Colonnades were longer, wider and heavier than full-sized Chevys not that many years earlier. Their arrival in 1973 on the eve of the energy crisis didn’t help, but it’s not completely fair to say that GM didn’t have any idea which way the wind was blowing. Small cars were already booming, and GM launched its own Vega just two years earlier." "The real shocker was space utilization. These two-ton coupes had little if any advantage over the tiny Accord, save for width. The rear seat was a veritable cave, lacking visibility, light or adequate leg room."

As the author above notes, GM wasn't just building gas-guzzling behemoths. It was trying, in a half-hearted way, to join the smaller car revolution. Two problems. One, the company didn't really want to build compact cars and those they offered to public were just terrible (the Vega, the Chevette). This of course led the next generation of American buyers to be even more open to imported makes. Two, yeah, GM was also getting ready to join the movement to lighter, more space-efficient front-wheel drive cars. But that of course led to the infamous 1980 Chevy Citation, another terrible car that, like so many of GM's products from the 80s, eventually led buyers by the millions to abandon the brand.

Note the above car is for sale. I'll cover this particular used car lot in my next post.

 

 

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Where the 70s Survived: 1978 Chevy Van

It's hard to wrap your mind around American culture of the 1970s. What to say about the forgotten phenomenon of the custom van?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From flashbak.com: "There were no minivans in the 1970s.  This was a time before the van had been tamed, before it had been neutered into the soccer-mom machine that it is today.  In the 1970s, vans didn’t carry spoiled kids drinking juice-boxes and watching Spongebob…. quite the contrary.  Vans were basically a bedroom on wheels.  No Spongebob, no juice boxes, no trips to organized sporting events in the suburbs…. just lots of sex and recreational drug use.  You might say the 1970s full size van was the crazy uncle of the modern minivan – the uncle that lived dangerously in the 70s, then flamed out at decade’s end.

In the 1970s, many van owners took their shaggin’ wagons seriously and tricked them out to the limit: Big shiny sidepipes with mellow sound, plush interior carpeting for maximum fornication, duals to amp up the horsepower,…. and, perhaps most importantly, the artwork on the sides….

The vans of the 1970s were decorated with airbrushed psychedelic wizards, doobie smoking dragons, naked slave girls, flaming unicorns… the trippier the better.  I reiterate – this was not your mom’s minivan.  This was a place where “bad” things happen, and the designs were warning signs.  Get into the back of a van with an airbrushed Grim Reaper in a land of mushrooms and naked fairies, and you should know what your (sic) getting into."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1975 AMC Pacer X

March, 1975: Good times in Kenosha: From the New York Times:
"The American Motors Corporation announced today it would increase production of its new Pacer model by 32 per cent to 700 units a day because of stronger than expected demand."

You might say it was all downhill from there. AMC had a great year in 1974, and it looked like their huge investment in the new Pacer was paying off. Unfortunately, after a strong first year-and-a-half, Pacer sales took a dive along with everything else AMC was making. By that point the company had little money to invest in new platforms. The good news was that AMC had purchased Jeep in 1970. But the dream of a car company that would compete with Detroit's Big 3 was reduced to a flicker that finally burned out when Chrysler purchased the company in 1987.

The car on the left has the 'X' sport package. If you bought a Gremlin X, you could get a V-8 engine. In this video, Jeff Dunham refers to the Gremlin X as 'the poor man's Corvette', to which Jay Leno replies, "Well, maybe the homeless man's Corvette." The Pacer X didn't even have a V-8, although a few Pacers did get one late in the production run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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