General Motors downsized its mid-size cars in 1978 in response to the need to squeeze more miles out of a gallon of gasoline. That included the popular Oldsmobile Cutlass which became shorter and lighter and could get the job… more»
Fancy Estate Wagon: 1974 Chevrolet Vega Kammback
Chevrolet built more than two million copies of its subcompact Vega between 1971 and 1977. And yet you see so few of them on the road today because of some infamous quality control issues. But if you were to… more»
Running Fishbowl Project: 1977 AMC Pacer
American Motors was the little company that wasn’t afraid to try something different to succeed. One such initiative was the 1975 to 1980 Pacer compact, which was somewhat round in appearance, resembling a “jellybean”. The car’s big claim to… more»
39k Mile Time Machine: 1961 Ford Galaxie 500
From 1959 to 1974, the Ford Galaxie 500 did battle with the Chevrolet Impala. In 1961, the Galaxie was a step up from the Fairlane, which would become a mid-size car in 1962. The styling was revised in ‘61… more»
Family-Style Muscle Car: 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Remember the old sales slogan, “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile”? Cars like this might have inspired those words if such a configuration was available in 1967. This Cutlass 4-door sedan probably left the factory with a 330 cubic inch V8… more»
1964 Plymouth Fury Project (“Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’)
After an ill-fated downsizing that saw full-size Plymouth sales slump to 43,000 Fury’s in 1962, the make had bounced back by 1964 with a tally of more than 115,000 cars (though still far below that of Chevy or Ford)…. more»
Too Many Doors? 1971 Plymouth Fury III Project
Plymouth used numerical designations to differentiate their full-size cars from 1965 to 1974. The Fury I was the basic entry, sort of like the Chevy Biscayne. Next up was the Fury II, not unlike the Bel Air. And the… more»
Rat Rod Wagon? 1958 Pontiac Chieftain Safari
From 1955 to 1957, the Safari was Pontiac’s equivalent to Chevy’s Nomad, a “sport wagon”. That concept didn’t go over from a sales perspective. So, when that body style was dropped, the Safari was added as a tagline to… more»
Drive While Fixing: 1971 Pontiac LeMans Sport
The LeMans Sport may be a nameplate only remembered by Pontiac gurus. It was a sub-model offered by Pontiac in 1970 and 1971. It might be considered a bridge between the ordinary LeMans and the GTO muscle car. Bucket… more»
Once-Plum Crazy Project: 1970 Dodge Super Bee
The Super Bee muscle car had a short life span compared to some of its competitors. It arrived in 1968 as a variant on the B-bodied Coronet and was gone after the 1971 model year. It was Dodge’s version… more»