It stopped raining just long enough to get a couple of shots of this 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 this past June. Pulled into the local Tim Hortons for a couple of reasons (a two-hour drive'll do that!), and there it was! This was the second year that the Fairlane 500 topped Ford's lineup of full-size cars. It would also be its last year at the top of the heap, as the new Thunderbird roof-inspired Galaxie was to show up just a year later.
Chrysler Corporation introduced the new, post-WWII 1946 Dodge pickup in December of 1945. Much (I'd imagine) to the chagrin of buyers, from the outside they looked pretty much like the 1941 models, which were introduced for model year 1939. A few out-of-sight improvements had been made, but it would be two more years before a restyled Dodge pickup would come to market.
It's seems almost as rare these days (or ever!) to see a 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire as it is to see one of yesterday's RealRides (a 1960 DeSoto). Okay, Olds produced almost 35,000 of the Starfire Holiday Coupes (and another 7,149 convertibles), compared to DeSoto's 26,081 1960 models. But still, finding a '62 Starfire is a treat. For a reference point, think "Oldsmobile version of the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Wildcat" — except that the Starfire could also be had as a convertible.
NEW HAMBURG, Ontario
Seeing this 1960 DeSoto Fireflite brought back a flood of memories. Not only of the car (when's the last time you saw one?), but the info sign in the front window told us the owner brought it down from Wasaga Beach (about a two-hour drive). Where's that, you say? Wasaga Beach is a town on the southern end of Georgian Bay, and is advertised as "the longest fresh water beach in the world." We visited there when I was a kid, one of the very few "out-of-the parents' comfort zone driving-wise" vacations that we ever took. Model year 1960 was of course DeSoto's penultimate offering, as they ended production of the 1961 models just before Christmas, 1960.
We saw this one a couple of weeks back at this year's Mopar Fest.
— Jim Corbran
You have to look closely to see the model badge on this 1941 Chrysler Royal. It's there just under the hood ahead of the front door. Chrysler sold a plethora of models back in 1941, including this entry-level Royal, and the Windsor, Saratoga, New Yorker, Town & Country, and Imperial — some of which which would carry them well into the 1990s.
When the 1971 Buick Centurion debuted, it replaced the Wildcat in Buick's full-size lineup. Where the Wildcat seemed to depict sportiness with its bucket seats and all, the Centurion seemed to be going for a more comfortable LeSabre albeit with a bigger standard engine (455cid).
LEWISTON, N.Y.
If the outside styling wasn't your cup of tea, perhaps this brochure blurb might have gotten you to take a second look at the 1953 Kaiser Manhattan: "America's most elegant interiors!... Featuring the World's Safest Front Seat."
We came across it earlier this year in the Town of Lewiston wearing a For Sale sign.
