March 2010 – CARS-YDSE.com

1971 Mercedes-Benz W114 – 2 Door

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According to the logo on the front of this car, it is related to Argentina. Either it came from South America or the owner did. They did not make many of these two door sedans and this one is in great shape. I think it’s a 1971.

A coupé variant of this model was introduced in 1969 with a ‘C’ designated after the model number. Where the saloon would just have ‘280E’ written on the boot lid, the coupé would have ‘280CE’. The exclusivity of the coupé was reflected by a longer boot hood, and the 250C was fitted with a 2.8 litre 6-cylinder engine, whereas the saloon was fitted with the 2.5. It is considered by some to be one of the finest classics of the 60’s and 70’s, although this is not reflected in the prices of these cars which is generally less than its more popular contemporaries the Mercedes SL R107/C107 roadster and coupe (1971–1989), and a fraction of price commanded by the Pagoda models[7] (1963–1971). While a ‘hard-top’ unlike the fully convertible SL, the pillarless design allowed all the windows could be wound completely away for “summer motoring”. Only 67,048 coupés were made from 1969 to 1976 against 1.852,008 saloons. Of these 24,669 were “280C”, “280CE” (top of the range) and 42,379 “250C” and “250CE”.
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More Information on the Mercedes, click here

1968 Citroen DS21 or so.

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It’s timeless, at least within decades. I think this car is a 1968-71 but I really can not tell. The interesting thing is that it really does not matter that much as the engineering for this car took about thirteen years to evolve.

I found this information about Citroen DS21s.

The Citroën DS21 Pallas

An Automotive Anomaly

Late in 1956, CU tested one of the first front-wheel-drive Citroën DS sedans to come over from France. We remarked at the time: “To say that a car is new and different is only to say that it is interesting, not necessarily that it is good. … The Citroën DSl9 is essentially a connoisseur’s item.” Thirteen years later, some 27,000 Citroëns having since crossed the Atlantic, we tested a 1969 DS21 Pallas sedan. (The 1970 Citroëns won’t come on the U.S. market until spring.) It’s not new (it differs only subtly from the 1956 car), but it’s still interesting – as much an automotive anomaly as ever. Its major advantage – very comfortable seats, a very good ride, good handling in normal driving and good fuel economy – come at a fairly high price, at least in the model tested. And to judge by our test car, problems of repair and upkeep may constitute a major headache for Citroën owners.

More Information, click here

1947 Chevy, Needs A Little Work

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Walking in The Castro District near our home, I spotted this gem. I believe it is a 1947 Chevrolet which was made right after WWII. This car looks to be in pretty good shape and given the age of the picture (November, 2003), it is probably restored or has gone to dust.

I found this bit of information on a website that seems to fit this car’s appearance. So, until corrected, this car will be known as a 1947 Chevrolet Stylemaster. If you know better, please post a comment.

BUSINESS COUPE
5-passenger, 2-Door,
5-window coupe with luggage compartment
in rear deck

More Information, click here

Some Year Checker?

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I was listening to Car Talk on NPR a few weeks ago and actually answered the Puzzler they have on many of their shows. The question, to make a long story short, was what US brand name car had the same body style from the ’50s through the ’70s? The answer was Checker. So, I have no real knowledge of the year of this particular car I photographed near Tucson Arizona. It was sometime from 1958-1975 or so. Any ideas are welcomed. Please leave a comment if you know.

I found this information about Checker.

ace it: From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, American automobiles hardly changed at all. Sure, designs gradually evolved toward sleeker, lower cars; safety equipment came around; a few economy cars shook things up here and there; convertibles disappeared for a little while. But by and large, the slab-sided, carbureted, rear-wheel-drive, perimeter-framed coupes, sedans and station wagons remained just as big, just as chiseled, just as Neanderthal in their design for those three or four decades. The rest of the world called them Yank Tanks and we Americans never once thought of that as an insult.

Checker might as well have taken that phrase as its slogan and worn it proudly. The company took that lack of change during this period seriously, almost to the level of religious zeal. When the hottest trend in automobile design was glitzy chrome and sky-high fins, Checker didn’t change. When square headlamps replaced round ones, Checker didn’t change. When high horsepower and then lower emissions had the automobile industry in a frenzy, Checker hardly changed. But when the automobile industry began a wholesale change toward unibody, front-wheel-drive, fuel-injected econoboxes, Checker looked at its options and shut down the assembly line.

More Information, click here

1987 Cadillac Allante

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This car was unique. It was built in two places in the world, the chassis was built in Michigan while the body was built in Italy at the Pininfarina plant. Here is a quote from Wikipedia.

The body of the Allanté was designed and built in Italy by Pininfarina (of Ferrari fame)[1]. The completed bodies were shipped 3,300 miles from Italy in specially-equipped Boeing 747s, 56 at a time[1], to Cadillac’s Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. The bodies were then mated to the chassis[1]. This led to a few interesting nicknames, such as “The Flying Italian Cadillac” and “The world’s longest assembly line.”

More Information, click here

Also, I found another article with a conflicting story.

Interestingly, the Allante chassis was put together in Detroit, Michigan and then flown to Italy where the body was then mounted to the chassis! After this was completed the cars were put back on planes and shipped back to Michigan to be completed. Of course, being a luxury automobile made the Allante expensive, but the price tag rose because of the long assembly to about $54,000 the first year. This was the most expensive Cadillac ever. Because the Allante had to make two trips just to be put together there were only 21,000 units ever built.

More Information, from a Allante club click here

Either way, this seems like a lot of trouble to build a car.