Guest MattC Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Either they didn't get the credit they deserved, or have become forgotten since their heyday. Which other cars would you add? Ford Fairlane Skyliner Matador X '67 Firebird 400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjamin j Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 1971 ford cortina mk3 with a 250CI inline six and a four speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Cortinas I knew had 1600cc 4's. Skyliner had "unfortunate" rear styling. Was also a Gremlin X, and Pacer X though think only the Hornet did an Astro Spiral. X was a marketting thang. In '67 I'd rather have an OHC sprint 6, The Firebird did have a better rear axle config than the 396 Camaro but also suffered from terminal axle tramp. Won a lot of autocrosses with a 78 Sunbird V8, C&D called it a "rite of passage" Golden Hawk was a beautiful car but then there was the Packard Hawk. Rivals the Daimler SP250 for "world's ugliest sports car". I'd rather have a Studillac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Those flip top Fords are famous and have quite a collector following. The big Matadors and Ambassadors were a good car in their day, I remember a black sedan with all the toys including 401 V8 with dual exhausts that would really move, a Cadillac had nothing on that car. The OHC Firebirds and Tempests were good cars, unjustly forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstatman Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 "1971 ford cortina mk3 with a 250CI inline six and a four speed" "Cortinas I knew had 1600cc 4's" Ford Australia built Cortinas with the Falcon 250ci Six! Also in Oz, Holden(GM) had Four, Six and V8 Toranas while Chrysler Australia made the Six cylinder Centura. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Centura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Who remembers the Willys Aero series (Ace, Lark, Wing) of the early fifties? All car enthusiasts know the prewar Americar and of course, the famous Jeep. But their postwar sedan is forgotten. http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Willys-aero-coupe.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 While not "forgotten" the Chrysler Airflows perhaps "didn't get the credit they deserved." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Cole Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Best forgotten: all the K cars.Mercury Monarch/Ford Granada/Lincoln Versailles Edited July 1, 2015 by Phillip Cole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry W Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Best forgotten: all the K cars. Wow, hold on there! I've owned a few K cars and was quite satisfied with the service and reliability I received from each. They were every bit as good as my Renault Alliance, all of which I'm starting to see appearing at car shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Nothing's really forgotten if it gets mentioned on the AACA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVE A Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Toot my own horn...how about the Crosley Hotshot....Won the first race at Sebring!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky43richard Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Lets look outside the square did somebody forget the SIMCA V8 or the legendary Peugeot 203 ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 With a steel sleeve, the Vega/Astra was very reliable particularly ones with AC that had real radiators. I had an Astre Nomad (still have the fiberglass window covers) and several Vega GTs. And everybody remembers the Cosworth with the dynamic EGR. Along with a HK-500 Facel, I always wanted a Volvo P1800ES (have always liked wagons, GTO Wagon I had in school was great to pull in backwards at a drive-in movie and just drop the tailgate. Also great tow car.). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I think the 57 Skyliner deserves a better photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Cole Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Rick Smith in Virginia has restored several Cosworth Vegas. John Hinkley worked on the original setup for Vegas and was a part of the design team for their rail transportation --stacked vertically. . Wow, hold on there! I've owned a few K cars and was quite satisfied with the service and reliability I received from each. They were every bit as good as my Renault Alliance, all of which I'm starting to see appearing at car shows.Glad for your success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Try this: ps I had a rental Renault Alliance once - overheated before I got out of the airport. Similar expeience with a Pontiac Aztek - could not see out the back when it rained and had no rear wiper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 That's nice too. The 59's were never my favorite Fords but they have grown on me in the last few years.It seems a lot of new cars are like the Aztek. I rented a Chevy Trax recently on a trip and I could not much out the back and it wasn't raining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 (edited) Edited July 2, 2015 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 An unjustly forgotten car is the Dodge Caravan minivan. Everyone forgets how innovative it was. In 1984 there was nothing else like it. It soon proved such a sensation it was copied around the world. Today it is ho hum, another minivan and no one gives credit where it is due. This often happens with Chrysler innovations, like the Airflow, a sensational new design in 1934, by the time they stopped making them in 1937 everyone had their version of the Airflow design with chubbier fenders. The 1938 Chryslers were Airflows in all but name. Compare them to the pre 1934 styles and see. Practically every car made from 1935 on was copied off the Airflow, directly or indirectly. How about Albert Pope, bicycle magnate who tried to build his own General Motors before General Motors. In 1907 he was one of the biggest car makers in the world, but who remembers Pope cars now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Was the '91 Oldsmobile Bravada the first modern SUV ? Others like the Ford Bronco and IH Scout (or the Land Rover) were more rudimentary but the Olds was the first to put passenger comfort first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I'd say the 53 Studebaker Loewy coupe would fit this bill. The styling was copied by many cars years later including the second generation Camaro and Firebird 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Gremlin car... v8 or AMC.. Edited July 3, 2015 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Hornet + Sawzall = Gremlin. 53 Stude + Power = Studillac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 How about a 73 Chevelle SS Station wagon? I know it's "new" but I never see these, and as a wagon fan they always make me drool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 (edited) Yeah Chevellle, Studebaker Loewy coupe and Gremlin, there are 3 long forgotten cars that never got any ink. Give me a break. Frantz is that a 79 Chrysler LeBaron coupe in your avatar? Talk about a forgotten car, that one would be high on the list. Edited July 4, 2015 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 (edited) The Southern 'Spirit of Pride and Importance... Edited July 4, 2015 by nick8086 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Yeah, its a 79. I sold it a few months ago to pay for our wedding.... Great driver. The RWD LeBarons are forgotten. When I told folks about it I often had to sit through boring FWD 80's stories..... Id still stick with the Chevelle SS Wagon as being more forgotten, or perhaps mistakenly assumed to be more common then they were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambarn Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Marmon. The only thing faster than a duesenberg and didn't feel like a truck at speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 How about this '72 GM wagon ? (BB) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry W Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Yeah, its a 79. I sold it a few months ago to pay for our wedding.... Great driver. The RWD LeBarons are forgotten. When I told folks about it I often had to sit through boring FWD 80's stories..... Id still stick with the Chevelle SS Wagon as being more forgotten, or perhaps mistakenly assumed to be more common then they were?. A co-worker had a LeBaron that I had the opportunity to sit in while jump starting my car, one night during a severe Wisconsin winter. I fell in love with it and wished I could've bought one. I believe they had 318 V8's, were they available with standard shift transmissions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I don't know about the LeBaron but the very similar Aspen and Volare were available with a 4 speed overdrive manual trans, or straight 3 speed manual or the excellent Torqueflite automatic. It is possible you could get a manual LeBaron, the trans would fit, but I don't know if they offered it in their luxury model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) quote name="31 Caddy" post="1385348" timestamp="1435768766"]While not "forgotten" the Chrysler Airflows perhaps "didn't get the credit they deserved." I agree, The Chrysler Airflow is still influencing automotive styling today. Before the 1934 Airflow, cars where basically square bodies on heavy frame rails that fought the wind. Applying what they learned about shape, the Chrysler engineers also began looking into new ways that a car could be built, which also used unibody construction to both strengthen the construction of the car while reducing its overall wind drag. The engine was moved forward over the front wheels compared with traditional automobiles of the time, and passengers were all moved forward so that rear seat passengers were seated within the wheelbase, rather than on top of the rear axle. A 3 speed transmission with overdrive in all three gears and freewheeling, powered by a Straight 8 that had plenty of power and torque to propel the luxury ride at speeds comparable with today's Interstate Highways.With over 50,000 miles of rallying in a 1935 Chrysler Airflow, I learned they were really a big tough car that made all others of their vintage seem old fashioned and fragile. To bad that being different and modern was it's downfall with the buying public. The Desoto was a 6 cylinder version of the Chrysler, otherwise very similar. Note: The 1935 Chrysler Airflow that I navigated for 10 years, competed in 13 of the big trans-continental Great American Races, then finish third in class in the Peking to Paris race. I can't think of another 1930's automobile that has had more lasting influence on automobiles than the Airflow. Edited July 22, 2015 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Paul, you are right in mentioning they were tough cars. I'm sure you've seen the newsreel of a '34 Airflow driven off a cliff and then driven away after it reached the bottom.For those who haven't seen it, it's at about 5:00 in the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Was that Chrysler thing a metaphor or a premonition of the management..... or both?Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Rival makers put on a vicious smear campaign against the Airflow because it made their products look as out of date as Ben Hur's chariot. One of the lies was that the all steel body was not as strong as the wood framed composite body they were using. The crash tests demonstrate that this is false. Within a year or 2 these rivals were copying the Airflow design and bragging about the strength of their all steel bodies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I never knew Ford was so far behind on the safety glass. Hollywood must by from low bidders.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Movie makers use "sugar" glass made to fall apart at the slightest touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now