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Author: pinball2k
A Rose By Any Name, Revised
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This is an update to a post made back in 2009. While reading the San Francisco Chronicle this weekend I saw an article that reminded me of this car. It is in a Sunday section called “My Ride” and I read it every weekend. Anyway, this weeks story was about a person who bought a 1975 Rolls Royce and had it overheat on the ride home. In reviewing this post, I see that I wrongly classified the year of this model. This actually looks like a 1962 Silver Clod Salon car.
Rolls Royce is a very special car. It looks so elegant and timeless and is shown here in my neighborhood, just parked at the local grocery store. I think this car is a late 1980 or so, but this is just a guess.
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© Fred Winograd copyright 2009, 2011
1953-1957 Mercedes Sedan
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Less than a decade after WWII, Mercedes introduced the model 180 sedan. This was a precursor to the “C” class introduced in the early 1980s. This particular car was in exceptional shape and had a “Club” on the steering wheel to prevent theft.
The Ponton models were replaced by the W110 “Fintail” models beginning in 1961. The 180 was the first ‘small’ Mercedes, it can be thought as the C-class of that era. Mercedes-Benz would return to this market segment in 1982 with the 190E. The W121 190 was the E-class of the time. All the ‘Ponton’ generation models looked very similar in appearance, one could not clearly identify even a 220SE from a 180, only after seeing its larger size and chrome touches was it possible to identify it as a different model. This was the only generation in which all models looked incredibly similar, though the 300 was exclusive.
The form and body of the car changed little during its production run. However, in 1957, a year after the introduction of the 190 sedan the Mercedes star at the front of the car was made detachable: reports at the time indicated that this was either to pander to the requirements of certain export markets, notably Switzerland or to reduce the risk of pedestrian injury in the event of an accident.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010
1948* Cadillac Sedanette (Fastback)
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If you know more about this car, please post and let us know. This, to me , is an amazing car that’s over 60 years old and still looks pretty good to me.
1979 Lancia Beta Spider Zagato
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Yes, this is a rare car indeed. I have seen a few Lancias in town but none had the convertible roof like this one, it’s a spider. I’m making an educated guess about the year because of the different wheels on this one. I did find some pictures and some stories that made me realize the wheels were upgraded on my picture.
Here is an example of Lacia after the takeover by Fiat.
Lancia was not closely associated with any other manufacturer until the late 1960s. By this time, the company’s expensive, high standards of production had become unsustainable. In aiming to produce a product of the highest quality, company bosses had sacrificed cost-effectiveness and when Fiat launched a take-over bid in 1969, they accepted. This was not the end of the distinctive Lancia brand, and new models in the 1970s such as the Stratos, Gamma and Beta served to prove that Fiat wished to preserve the image of the brand it had acquired.
Click to see the article from Wikipedia
I’m really glad this one was parked just a few blocks from my home.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010
Alfa-Romeo-2000-GT-Veloce 1971
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In 1969 my cousin was working as a salesperson for a Fiat dealer. I was looking for a more reliable car than my 1965 Corvair and went to have a look at the Fiats. I really liked the 124 Sport Coupe’ and since I had a new job that paid more than minimum wage, I bought one. The car came in about three weeks later and I was thrilled. The Fiat ran perfectly for about 18 months and then, almost literally, fell apart. The water pump quit and I had to be towed over 100 miles to get home. Then a series of defects showed up climaxing in the car bursting into flames minutes after the car passed the strict New Jersey Motor Vehicle inspection in 1974.
That’s when I first saw the Alfa GT-Veloce and thought about purchasing one of these to replace my Fiat. As it turned out, reliability was a bigger driver of the purchase than style and so I decided to fix up the burned out Fiat and kept it running until I replaced it with a 1978 Toyota Celica. But I still wonder if I would have been happier with the Alfa? I snapped this Alfa in my neighborhood. It is in great shape.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010
1940 Ford Opera Coupe’
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Click on pictures to Z O O M in.It’s a long time ago but things have changed. This Ford has almost the identical model name as the 1941 Chevy that is also a part of this collection.Click Here to see the 1941 Chevy Special DeLuxeI don’t think Ford/Chevy would do this today. Anyway, this 1940 Ford is in really great shape. It has been restored and is all set to go. I captured this one just outside a custom body shop here in San Francisco. I don’t know if the shop did the work or not but it is well done.
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A “Running” Cougar Convertable – 1969
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This site has been up for over a year and now gets enough traffic to spot some trends. One of the most popular cars on the site is a 1959 Dodge Custom Royal. I don’t know if it’s the car or the photo, but it gets a lot of hits. Today’s picture was taken on I-280 just south of San Francisco, the same place I took the shot of the Dodge. Let’s see how this 1969 Cougar does in the popularity race.
The third year of production, 1969, brought several new additions to the Cougar lineup. A convertible model was now available in either standard and XR-7 trim. These highly anticipated soft tops proved quite popular and today are considered, by many, among the most desirable of the ’67-’70 production run.
Also, below is a link to a 360 degree video of a similar car I found on YouTube.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RYjBXy2oHs&fs=1&hl=en_US]
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010
1953 Studebaker Pickup Truck
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This is a 1949-1953 Studebaker truck. I was amazed to see it just a few blocks from our home in San Francisco. It’s in great shape, given its age. It could actually be a 1949-1952, I can’t tell but I went with the 1953 because it was the newest of the basic design. Note the split windshield.
The fact is the truck division had become stagnant. Though the reasons for this are somewhat unclear, it may have been the result of president Paul Hoffman’s departure, which ironically came just as the 1949 trucks were being introduced in May 1948. Hoffman was a strong proponent of the truck division and without his support and encouragement, it quickly fell on hard times. Additionally, Studebaker was struggling in its automobile division.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010
1964 Chevrolet Corvair
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OK, I blew this one. I did not get a front shot. I was on an urban hike this May and came around the corner and there it was. The group I was with made a quick left and I stopped to take these shots. As I took these, I noticed a Fiat sedan in incredible shape parked just to the left and I moved on to cover the Fiat. I will post the Fiat soon.
Corvairs have a special place in my heart, especially the convertibles. I once owned one of these as my first car. Although this one seems to be a 1964, I had a 1965 convertible that I purchased used from my cousin. My cousin tried in vain to not sell me the car. He claimed it looks great but it seldom ran three days in a row without a problem. He was right but I loved this car.
The car leaked oil, the front-end had to be replaced and those were just the major issues. The lesser issues I don’t even remember. I sold the car after two years and its fan belt broke the day I sold it. But that’s another story. I’ll add that story when I come across a 1965.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010