“The first by far with a postwar car!” the ads trumpeted. It was pretty much true, although the cars didn’t actually get into customers’ hands until very late in the year and they housed mostly…
Posts tagged Junkyard Cars
French Flathead: Simca Vedette Trianon
The Simca Vedette began life as the Ford Vedette – and its history is as complex as a Château Latour red. This Vedette Trianon, the base model at the time, dates from 1955, a period…
Arachnophobia: Fiat 850 Spider
Fiat intentionally designed the 850 Spider to be a “first” sports car for buyers who wanted something cooler than a 600 or 850 sedan, but were still on a tight budget. Being tiny and cheap…
Rough and Rare: 1979 Ford Ranchero Squire
Ford’s Ranchero was the first modern North American “coupe utility,” but it never sold as well as anticipated – rarely more than 23K units a year through its early variations until it was tied to…
AMC and Renault’s Alliance
Word of a potential merger between FCA and Renault can’t help but evoke memories of the long ago tie-up Renault-AMC tie up; which began in 1978 as both parties were struggling in North America and…
Detroit via Dagenham: The Ford Consul Capri
The Ford Capri is no stranger to these pages – but this is a very different type of Capri. Eight years before it’s famous successor Ford of Britian debuted the Ford Consul Capri, a more…
Early Days: Y2 Hyundai Sonata
In these days of the Genesis G90, the early days of Hyundai feel very, very distant, but 30 years ago this month Hyundai USA expanded beyond basic economy cars for the very first time with…