I don’t imagine there are too many people around of a certain age who didn’t either own one of these or know someone who did. This particular example is a 1979 VW Beetle, which marked the final year the venerable old Bug was offered in the US and Canada. It was also the last year worldwide for production of the convertible. Came across this one last year in Tonawanda.Jim Corbran, RRofW
The first thing that struck me when I came across this 1972 MBG GT a short while back in Tonawanda, was how few of these you ever see anymore. And its color. Okay, the TWO things that struck me when… all right, enough for my Monty Python moment. The color is striking. I wasn’t quite sure if it was a black, a blue, or a green, until the trusty internet gave me B-L’s color swatche
Today we have a 1999 Ford Escort SE, still doing duty in Tonawanda. I guess I have a fondness for these old Ford compacts, having owned five of them over the years, including the white one which sat on the floor of the 1981 Buffalo Auto Show. Today’s wagon example must be especially valuable, as a peek inside revealed another old classic: The Club, attached to the steering wheel.Jim Corbran,
No, this isn’t a military parade, but instead is the annual Canal Fest Parade, held each summer in the Twin Cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda. As you can see from the sign, this is a 1953 Willys Jeep, model M38A1. This particular model was in production from 1952-71, and they were equipped with inline four-cylinder engines and three-speed manual transmissions. Total production came to
This 1991 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham represents Cadillac’s past, at the same time it was trying to move into the present (for 1991) with a showroom full of down-sized luxury coupes and sedans. The Brougham however, was still a huge, rear-wheel-drive sedan powered by (surprisingly) a rather small 305CID V8 (a 350 was optional). Cadillac moved over 27,000 Broughams for 1991, and the big Fleet
This 1987 Chevy Camaro Z28 is one of four models offered that year: the IROC-Z, which Chevy called the ultimate Camaro; the Z28, which Chevy boasted as holding up the definitive statement of the Camaro philosophy; the LT, the finest riding environment with the driving excitement that is uniquely Camaro; and the Sport Coupe, Camaro at its most elemental. Minus the stickers. Less the ornaments. With
While Ford may have been the “Wagon Master” back in the day, Chevy was busy selling a fair number of wagons themselves, plus a slew of all the other body styles, keeping them atop the domestics’ sales leaderboard for years. This 1989 Chevy Caprice Estate was one of the bowtie’s nicer-looking offerings IMO. Still, Ford sold over three times as many wagons for model year 1989
The hood on what looks here to be a Ford F-250 pickup would tell me it’s a 1968 model, because of the newly-federally-mandated reflectors at the front edge, but the grille seems to be from a 1967 model. This bed of course, wasn’t available from the factory either year, but it’s certainly distinctive. My wife noticed this parked in Tonawanda over the weekend, and we got these shot
The two-tone combination on this 1962 Ford Fairlane isn’t factory (see illustration at bottom for the factory’s offering), but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. This was the first year for Ford’s new mid-size entry, which slotted between the compact Falcon and the bigger Galaxies. Only four models were offered: Fairlane and Fairlane 500 two- and four-door sedans. T
I’m assuming this 1983 Datsun 280ZX isn’t someone’s winter driver, as it’s been sitting in pretty much the same spot in Tonawanda since the snow started to fall. The 280ZX is from the original Z-car’s second generation (the first being the 240Z, introduced in the US for model year 1970). The 280ZX is larger than the 240Z (and subsequent 260Z & 280Z), and under the