quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
And the Chrome!! There's no chrome these days.

Silver colored stickers over plastic parts is what presents itself as chrome nowadays.

One of the things that I love about my 68 Mustang is taking out the can of Nevr-dull and making that real chrome shine. Hopefully it'll be nice enough next week to take her out and stretch her legs. It's been a long winter.

I took some tires to the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty Ohio. Cool place. I saw a small suv or crossover that had disguise panels on it and no badges of course. I laughed. What’s the point? They all look alike anyway.

If I were buying, I'd be hunting for a clean first generation Nova.

A 66 GT350 is in my top 5 too

I learned to drive in a 1963 Galaxie 500. But my dream car in 1965 was a white over red 2-door Impala.

My first car, bought in 1962, was a 1955 Pontiac convertible. That car was beautiful, I still consider looking for another. I traded it in 1964 for a 1957 Chevy convertible, then I was drafted and that put a hold on cars for a while.

Later I owned a 1962 Corvette, 1968 Chevy Nova with a 327, 1970 Cutlass and the list goes on.

My first car as a senior in High School was a white with blue stripes 66 Shelby GT350.Paid $2400 for it in 1969.I delivered Pizza in it to pay for it.
I took the engine out and had the 306hp 289 built with 12-1 pistons, Crane solid lifter cam, Shelby street tunnel ram with 2 Holley 435cfm carbs, who cared about the cost of gas, Sunoco 260 gas was about 42cents a gallon ( carbs were mounted at a diagonal), Hooker headers, crane roller rockers. I eventually bought a spare Boss 302 Trans-Am racing engine from a guy who was changing racing platforms.I put the short block in but never finished the build, sold the car several years later with both engines. I sure miss that car, and will always wonder how it would have performed with the Boss 302 engine. 6S269 serial number Shelby American, Venice Calf. on the rocker panel. That will be my "RoseBud" moment when I die.
While I had the Shelby tore apart I bought a 70 Vette 454 4spd coupe and a 71 DeTomaso Pantera. I had 3 different engine builds in the Pantera. My first wife got the Vette, I kept the Shelby and the Pantera.

I always drove a beater because I always had my "good cars" tore apart. Many 65-66 Mustangs, a 57 4dr Chevy,1958 Chrysler Imperial convertible with a 392 Hemi, black with Red leather interior.
I wish I could have all of them again. I will always remember each of them and the times I had in them.

I would alter the premise a bit, to limit the model years from 1965-72. A few exceptions on either side exist, such as the '57 Chevy, but by and large this was the high point of American car styling. After that, the government forced emission controls (early emission controls drastically reduced performance) and (from the standpoint of styling) the 5 mph bumpers on them. I agree there is kind of a "sameness" to new cars. It is hard to tell until you get up close what make they even are.

A 1968 Ford Custom 500 ("stripped" version of the Galaxie, later the LTD) like this one (even the same color and pie pan hubcaps) was the family car, later the one I learned to drive and got my license in, circa the early 70s.



I always thought that was a good-looking car. I didn't have to hide when my dad drove me to school in it. The later LTD, the Mustang, the Torino and the Mercury Cougar, Montego and Marquis (Steve McGarrett's car in the original Hawaii Five-O) were also nice. I also liked GM styling from the era, for example the Chevy Impala and Camaro, Pontiac LeMans/GTO, etc.

My real favorites, however, came from Mopar. Dodge Charger, 1968-70 (1970 model in these images And the mechanically similar Plymouth Road Runner. My brother has an antique and muscle car collection including a 1970 Charger, '70 Road Runner Super Bird and '69 Road Runner convertible.

The full-size Chrysler, Imperial, Dodge and Plymouth cars were also attractive. 1969 Dodge Polara shown They may have been 25 feet long, but you could look out of the greenhouse-like windows and see over the hood/decklid exactly where the corners of the car were. You can't do that with any modern car that I've seen. I don't even try to parallel park my Toyota Corolla.

I like Buicks*. I've owned quite a few. (but I respect almost all American iron of my youth.)

Down to two, and trying to avoid five...

If I run across a '67 Wildcat Coupe or 1959 any "Angry Car", I'll hafta buy it.


*
Cuz, Torque....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigmonkey,

In the 1980s used to beep around San Antonio in a 51 Chevy sedan that was a pretty cool bulgemobile. Seats like a living room sofa. It had been updated to a 235 Blue Flame Six from the original babbit pounder.

My biggest issue with modern cars is the sameness of most of them, they all look so similar to each other anymore and there’s no more “look” of a certain make that really stands out like in the past.

Case in point: was leaving baseball practice one evening and started checking out the vehicle next to me: “Oh nice, it’s one of the new generation Honda HR-V’s” I thought. Nope, it was a Toyota C-HR.

They may as all come from the same designer and manufacturer

Fuel economy regulations have forced a significant improvement in aerodynamics, which has resulted in most cars having the same basic shape, with just minor design details to differentiate then. The silhouettes are all the same, especially all the small to medium sized crossover SUV's. Cars and manual transmissions are dying but that's what I still buy.

To someone that didn't grow up in the 50's, cars from that era all look the same - tail fins and miles of chrome. But is it a Fury or a Bel Air, or a Ford of some kind? Sacrilege I know, but people know the cars of their adolescence and early adulthood most. In high school I knew every new car on the road along with engine size and power. I read the car mags and just knew. And in the 80's and early 90's cars weren't THAT great. But I remember them.

This is similar to jet airliners. Before the 707 there was a lot of variety in design, since then almost all commercial airliners have the same basic shape amd look. Only significant differences are where the engines are, on the wing or in the back. It's the most aerodynamically efficient shape and that's all there is to it. Even in the 70's and 80's you had the 747, DC-10, L1011, and 727 which were a little different. Now it's mostly one engine on each wing, 737, 757, 777, 787, most Airbuses, or two on the tail, EJR-145, EJR-170, etc.

My favorite for the last 60 years, 62 Corvette

Lets see, from the fifties I'll go with a 57 Corvette. From the sixties I like the 60'Impala, 65' Pontiac GTO, 66' Mustang Fastback, 68' AMC AMX, and all of the 60's Vettes. That's just the short list, I like a lot more.

The car I learned to drive on:
1961 Chevrolet Biscayne. 6 cylinder. 3 on the tree. No power brakes. No power steering.
My favorite 60s car is my very first car:
1966 Chevrolet Impala SS. Power Glide. 327 / 300.
And I bought my new Challenger for its "modern retro" style and performance.

It’s not American, but Dad had a 1970 Toyota FJ40. Man I loved that thing. From the front grill, to the shape of the hood with the latch-down windshield, to the spare tire carrier, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Still do.

My favorite is the 1959 Impala convertible in my garage. Now if I only could afford to put gas in it.

sky blue 57 chevy

Oh no, cars from the 70s are eyesore to me. Just like 70s music. They mostly sucked.

Disco cars... suck.

Back in the 1950's I always looked forward to the new cars coming out and seeing the changes they made. You could tell a Ford from a Chevy, a Buick, a Studebaker and others a mile away. Today, the all look the same.