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newVideoPlayer("55_Crown_Vic_476.flv", 506, 423,""); When was the last time you saw a car ad with some geeky intellectual explaining how the styling builds the "feeling of motion" into the shape of the car? It's impossible to imagine a present-day Ford being pitched with the line "When the design of a car expresses its function forcefully and imaginatively, of course we derive more pleasure from owning and using it!" The '55 Ford really was a good-looking car, and it sold in greater numbers than its Chevrolet rival... but which one starred in Two Lane Blacktop ?
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The $10,000 Acura NSX ran away with 62% of the votes in Friday's Choose Your Eternity poll , though the Corvette put in a good showing (and it's unfortunate that the late-in-day timing of PCH made it impossible to give Graverobber Commenter of the Day recognition for this methtastic Inland Empire tale , because he totally deserved it). Today we're going to look at some projects that, if by some miracle you ever managed to get finished, would give you the highly coveted "weirdest car in town" status that true Hell Project aficionados seek. There's no common theme, other than misery obscurity and slippery slope leading straight to the abyss low price of admission, so let's see how a single Bavarian stacks up against a threesome of Brits! Between the Isetta and the 1500 came BMW's 700 , which still had an Isetta-style tiny motorcycle engine in the rear but was shaped more like a normal "three boxes" car. You don't see them around much, since...
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newVideoPlayer("55_Chevrolets_476.flv", 463, 387,""); Most 1950s car ads are full of gibberish and nonsensical feature names, so it's understandable that we tend to tune out most of the hype and focus on the great styling when we see such ads today. However, the 1955 Chevrolet really was an important milestone for Detroit, with the first of millions of cheap, reliable small-block Chevrolet V8s and a profile that even non-car geeks can recognize today. Here's a series of what appear to be dealer promo ads for the '55- quick, in addition to "Motoramic™" and "Glide Ride™," how many trademarked features can you name from these ads?
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Many of you have been kind enough to send DOTS Bonus Edition photos my way, and you're all very good about not raking me over the coals for taking so damn long to get to some of them. Reader Vance, who dwells behind the Orange Curtain , shot this very clean 1955 Ford Fairlane on the streets of Tustin back in October. Now, most houses down in SoCal have garages, so you don't see quite as much old iron on the street... but that desert climate means you just don't get rust. When you're done checking out the Fairlane, make the jump to see the Bonus LTD, with commentary by Vance. galleryPost('DOTSBETustinFord', 9, 'Tustin 1955 Ford Fairlane Convertible'); galleryPost('DOTSBETustinLTD', 6, 'Tustin 1965 Ford Galaxie LTD'); 1965 was the first year for the LTD -- a higher trim level of the Galaxie 500 that competed with the also-new Chevy Caprice (a higher-trimmed Impala) -- offered in a two door or four door hardtop only. Ford sold about 68,000 of...
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Believe it or not, the last time we saw a 50s Detroit car in this series was the '57 Cadillac , way back in November. I've got quite a few of them photographed, but it seems that my recent focus on the Malaise Era has come at the expense of other decades. So, let's take a look at an extra-nice example of the Major Chrome Era: this '55 Mercury Monterey sedan. I believe GM called this type of swimming-pool blue hue "Hawaiian Blue" back in the day; not sure what Ford called it, but it's very much of its time. And take a look at the three-dimensionality of this trim! Good thing cars don't rust here, because this protuberance looks like prime rust territory. This taillight and surrounding area are beautifully intricate. That's why you bought the Mercury instead of its Ford sibling back then- all the little extra decorative touches. You still got those touches 18 years later on the '73 Monterey , but with more bean-counter restrictions on the opulence...
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