1956 Packard Four Hundred

"It's better to burn out than to fade away." - Neil Young

The last cars to roll off the line for a car company that's about to go about of business are usually pretty sad. The 1954 Hudson, the 1966 Studebaker, the 1987 AMC Eagle - these were all models that were long out of date because the companies that built them were out of money.

Packard Motors of Detroit, Michigan built its last car in 1956. A car of superb quality that was better looking than rival Cadillac, the final Packards built 1955-6 featured a new V-8 engine, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, and power windows.

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1989 Buick Skylark

What do people remember about General Motors' small cars from the 80s? Not much that's good. Most conversations about GM cars of that era take the form of, "Here's another car that made more Americans switch to imports and never look back." This Skylark is not remembered as a particularly bad car. By the time it was introduced GM has cured most of the faults common to its early front-wheel drive vehicles. I'm more curious as to why this car is still enjoying regular use in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. What person living in a area where the homes are over $1 million would be seen driving this car?

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1966 Ford Mustang convertible

Ah, the miracle of west coast living. You can drive a car and park it outdoors for decades and it still looks great. The original owner of this Mustang ordered automatic transmission and the center console, but was content with the straight-6 motor. Here's another pristine '66 Mustang photographed nearby.

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