Since their debut for MY 1939, Mercurys were pretty much “fancier Fords” (except for 1949-51) with styling different enough to hide most of the similarities. But when this 1957 Mercury Montclairhit the showrooms, it marked a departure — a longer wheelbase and its own body shell moved it up a notch in the medium-priced field. Of course, this was done mainly so the following year F
A follow-up to yesterday’s RealRideis this 1991 Mercury Tracer, another badge-engineered Ford — this time based on the compact second-generation Escort. From the front the Tracer kinda looks like a shrunken Sable, while from the rear it resembles a smaller Topaz (see below).Surprisingly though, from the side it doesn’t look much like the 1991 Ford Escort from which it was derived
Not sure just what’s going on here with this 1976 Jaguar XJ6L, but the badge lettering on the back has been rearranged to read XLJ6. A one-off? A production error? Or maybe a dyslexic collision shop employee? (see the correct placement below)At any rate, Jaguar told us that the XJ saloon was “An incomparable blend of design, performance, engineering and safety which has become the very
Some, many even, say that badge-engineering is what helped kill-off the Pontiac and Oldsmobile brands at General Motors. Right up there with Pontiac’s G5 and Montana (not to mention the Saturn Relay and Saab 9.7-X) was this, a c1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass. The last to wear the nameplate, this one was nothing more than a thinly disguised Chevrolet Malibu with a slightly revised final-gen Olds Eig
Remember when you could buy a simple family sedan like this 1964 Chevy Chevelle 300? It was basic transportation in the new mid-size segment (a group of cars which were very much the same size as what would have been considered full-size ten years prior). They weren’t all-out strippers though. The brochure reminded us that the 300 came with: “Armrests front and rear plus two handy ash
Regular readers of this space will recognize the name Joseph Galvin, as quite a number of his cars have been featured here as RealRides. This 1956 DeSoto Firedomeis one of his latest acquisitions. Photographed on the West Side of Buffalo(and in West Seneca), this Firedome has something seen on (seemingly) every ’56 DeSoto — a two-tone paintjob (this one’s Crimson & White). I
A comic book/brochure distributed in the UK back in MY 1986 sang the cold weather praises of the little air-cooled sedan often called The Peoples’ Car of Francein homage to its main German competitor, the VW Beetle. “On a cold morning the 2CV6 starts first time,”screamed a headline across one page spread. “Air-cooled so there’s no need for anti-freeze,”proclaime
If you’re thinking that this 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxehas the strangest tri-tone paint job you’ve ever seen, be aware that the reddish color on the roof actually seems to be a lackof paint, as the color chart for the New Yorker doesn’t even list any tri-tones. This car seems to have the two-tone combination of Jade Green for the main color and Platinum for the side insert b
This 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300 Dwas seen last fall in a Tonawandaparking lot. Often spoken of with reverence for their tank-like durability, this turbo diesel sedan was described by M-B as the car which “…accelerates you into the mainstream of modern automotive performance,”going on to describe how “its engine propels 3585 lbs. of technical enlightenment meant to instill driv
So tell me, when was the last time you saw a 1994 Chevy Corsicaon the road? Or anyyear Corsica for that matter — or its two-door stablemate the Beretta (like the 1988 model seen below)?We came upon this one in the parking lot outside of a weekly cruise night at the Texas Roadhouse in Tonawandaa few summers ago, when a lot of people were still regularly going out to eat. Who knows, the owners