1959 Chevrolet Parkwood and friends

The 1959 Chevy is a car that collectors either love or hate, with its distinctive "eyebrows" over the headlights and teardrop taillights. Personally, I think it's the ugliest car Chevy ever made. Few wagons of this era survived, especially as daily drivers like this one.

This car's owner also has a 1951 Chevy which may or may not be drivable. Next door to these cars is a very smart-looking 1961 Chevy C10 pickup that also appears to be an unrestored survivor. And just a couple of doors down is a GMC, possibly also a 1961. Too bad it's wrecked; the frame is probably too messed up for restoration.

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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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1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside Pickup

Engine in the back, ramp on the side. I also spotted one of these at the Greenwood car show.

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1961 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside Pickup

Too many people either love or hate Chevy Corvair cars for them to ever be forgotten, but Corvair trucks and vans have mostly faded from memory. These odd vehicles got pretty good reviews from the car magazines, and copies in good condition command high prices today.

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1961 Comet - For Mercury, This Is as Good as It Gets

Behold: the only product ever marketed by Ford Company's Mercury division that (1) was something more than just a Ford with different trim, and (2) was sold in large numbers. The Comet, introduced in 1960, was based on Ford's Falcon compact but had a longer wheelbase and some parts from the Edsel. Originally intended to be sold as an Edsel, when that ill-fated car was killed in November, 1959 the Comet became a stand-alone model sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers.

The Truth About Cars notes that, "the Comet’s styling was actually ahead of the whole Ford clan in 1960. It almost perfectly predicts the ’62 Fairlane and Meteor twins, as well as Ford’s general styling trend in the first half of the sixties." The Comet also sold about twice as many copies as all other Mercury models combined. And although it had a pitifully-underpowered straight-6 in its early years, by 1963 it was available with Ford's powerful 260 c.i. V-8. And some were sold with a four-speed transmission (a four-speed column-shifter, if you can believe that).

In 1964 the Comet became just a Ford Fairlane with slightly different trim, heralding the beginning of the era when most Mercurys were just Fords with a different name.

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