A couple of days ago on this page we mentioned how General Motors cars of 1958 were a bit, ahem, heavy-looking and chrome-laden. This 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Specialpretty well puts that in perspective. Cadillac called it “…a culmination of the refined techniques and styling genius of Fleetwood craftsmen.”Well, that doessound better than heavy-looking and chrome-laden. I h
Saw this Ford Coupe, c1948, a couple of weeks ago at a Cruising on the Qcar show on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. There wasn’t much of a difference between the ’47 and the ’48 Fords — designers & engineers were busy gearing up for the all-new 1949 models. Ads for the ‘48s claimed that “… Ford’s the only car with your choice of V-8 or S
Day 5 of Compacts Week…This 1965 Plymouth Valiant Signetwas seen in 2017 in Niagara Falls, Ontarioat a Cruising on the Qweekly car show. The Valiant started out life for model year 1960 as a stand-alone nameplate. It was sold at Chrysler-Plymouth dealers in the U.S., where it would gain a Plymouth nameplate for 1961. In Canada however, the Valiant was marketed as the Valiant by Chryslerand
Day 2 of Compacts Week…Before American compacts from Detroit started showing up in the late 1950s, there were a few others which tried (and failed) to get buyers to drive smaller, American-made cars. This Henry J, c1953, is one of them. Named after aluminum and real estate magnate/automotive executive Henry J. Kaiser, the Henry J was produced by Kaiser Motors as a companion to its larger Ka
Day 3 of Wagon Week…Is this 1960 GMC Custom Suburbanreally a station wagon? Well, a full complement of side windows and three rows of seats would seem to say, yes. (It was also available as a panel van, sans all the windows save those in the doors.) Based on the GMC pickup, the Suburban (or Model 1001) was available with a choice of two different rear door configurations: the typical statio
Day 1 of Discontinued Marques Week…This 1967 Mercury Cougarwas found last June at a weekly Cruising on the QTuesday night event on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This was the Cougar’s first year, and it was based on Ford’s popular Mustang. Bigger, more posh, and costlier than its Ford cousin, the Cougar helped spawn the upper crust pony car category, along with Dodge&rs
Day 2 of Buick Week…When we first encountered this 1951 Buick Custom Deluxea couple of summers ago at weekly Cruising on the Q event on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario, we hadn’t figured that it was a Canada-only model. But our research department (me) over the weekend found an April 1, 2007 article on wheels.catitled “Canada only cars: Part III,”which told us that
Came across this 1953 Hudson at a weekly Cruising on the Qevent one Tuesday evening last May on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Judging bythe faux hood scoop, this one appears to be a Super Wasp, although the usual chrome side trim isn’t on this one. Hudson advertised the Wasp as “The Lower-Priced Running Mate to the Hornet.”The Super Wasp was a step up from there, having
Although it’s not a chiseled-in-stone rule that every car featured here has to be a classic, for years now it’s been the norm. But when I came across this Black VW Beetleover the summer I knew I wanted to feature it here. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the old Bugs, and was quite torn about the newer ones when they bowed for model year 2012. This one has the optional
Hard to look at this 1966 Ford Galaxie 500and not think family car. Nothing fancy — although it wasn’t the cheapest big Ford sedan that year, as the Custom and Custom 500 models were a bit more plain. Ford, in its Buyer’s Digest of New Car Facts for 1966, told us that Families like its roominess and convenience, the luxuriously solid, smooth and quiet ride, the economy and total