How much has your taste in cars changed over time?

[edinmass]

Orin......From your drawing it’s obvious you were Tom Hibbard fan.........my 1917 White was his first commission. Except for the golf bag door, it’s a reasonable facsimile of you new Packard, too bad you didn’t draw SC Model  J Duesenberg.............😜

[Marty Roth]

19 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Impressive pic, age 8, Orin?? Car also!

Steve,

 

He noted 8th grade, not age 8,

so about 13 or 14 years of age

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, GARY F said:

Beautiful Olds.

Of those full-size B&C body 1971-'76 Oldsmobiles, 1972 is my choice. The bumpers got ungainly after that and that nice, rather formal roofline on two and four door hardtops got spoiled with those silly opera windows.  I never cared for the air extraction vents on the rear trunklid on the 1971 models.  I would take either a two or a four door hardtop, or a Custom Cruiser station wagon without the imitation wood trim.  

 

Craig

[Ed Luddy]

My taste in cars changes daily, but there's so many I've never owned and still want to own I sometimes question my sanity!

I'll always want a 37 Studebaker 8 cylinder coupe but something shows up weekly that I get that "gotta have it" impulse.

 This was last week. 57 Roadmaster. Going to a friend of mine. This week,71 Ghia. Big or small, I love 'em all!

Next is 95 Vette

[Ed Luddy]

[nickelroadster]

From a very early age I always liked the pretty old stuff.  That is still pretty much what I like now, with the exception that I like to look at and understand the engineering behind them.  The odder the better, as there are many ways to find a solution to a problem.  I like to understand how some things change and others stay the same in these last hundred years of so.

[zepher]

4 hours ago, 1935Packard said:

 

Drawing from 8th grade (or around then): 

 

 

Recent purchase:

 

 

 

In light of recent discussions on this board I just have one thing to say about your drawing - the landau bars are upside down.  🤣

[padgett]

and if they are "chromed styling bars" ? (GM speak)

[Dynaflash8]

My taste has had many spurs off of the center to try and "fit in", but my personal taste has not changed at all.  I'm married to 1939 Buicks, and outside of that I love all 1936 through 1941 Buicks.  Nothing has changed since I was nine years old

[Steve_Mack_CT]

10 hours ago, zepher said:

 

In light of recent discussions on this board I just have one thing to say about your drawing - the landau bars are upside down.  🤣

Should have blackwalls also... 🤔😁

[John_Mereness]

13 hours ago, zepher said:

 

In light of recent discussions on this board I just have one thing to say about your drawing - the landau bars are upside down.  🤣

Hate to say it, but I call out every set of landau Irons I see installed improperly - keep in mind they are a carriage thing long before anyone ever thought of putting them on cars (with "rules even then"). 

 

 

 

 

[motoringicons]

My tastes in cars really hasn't changed at all since I first got interested at 10 years old. My first exposure to vintage cars was from a neighbor who restored brass cars and was a former HCCA national president. He was of the mind set that anything built after 1915 was a used car.

 

Now that I am 54 years old, my favorites are still brass cars, followed nickel era high performance, followed by pre-1932 Classics and pre-1935 Fords. I do like some period built (pre-WWII) hotrods. As a kid I got real involved with pre-1932 era speed equipment and I sill like collecting these items.

 

I would certainly love to own a big brass era car, but money has limited my abilities to brass Model Ts. I have owned the one in my avatar since I was 18 and have probably driven it 80,000 (yes, eighty-thousand) miles including cross country trips as well as to the top of Mt. Washington and Pikes Peak. My first Model T was an assembled 1914 speedster which I got running with the help of my neighbor when I was 15. I sold it when I was 18 to buy the 1912 touring. I have always had a soft spot for Model T speedsters and there currently are two in my garage-one original period-built 1915 with an original Kuempel boattail speedster body and the other is an assembled 1915 with a Rajo engine.

 

My modern cars are a 1927 Springfield Rolls Royce PI TIlbury and, of course, a Model A. 

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[Skylark4367]

When GM introduced the "Colonnade" styling on the mid-size cars for the 1973 model year, I hated those cars and their styling.  I was 11 years old then.  Now, when I see these cars at car shows or in photographs, I like them.  It's taken all this time for them to grow on me, but I now think the "Colonnade" cars (Buick Century/Regal, Olds Cutlass, Pontiac LeMans, Chevelle) are nice looking.  I don't know if I'll ever own one, but stranger things have happened.

[alsancle]

9 minutes ago, Skylark4367 said:

When GM introduced the "Colonnade" styling on the mid-size cars for the 1973 model year, I hated those cars and their styling.  I was 11 years old then.  Now, when I see these cars at car shows or in photographs, I like them.  It's taken all this time for them to grow on me, but I now think the "Colonnade" cars (Buick Century/Regal, Olds Cutlass, Pontiac LeMans, Chevelle) are nice looking.  I don't know if I'll ever own one, but stranger things have happened.

 

I had a buddy who owned a Laguna in HS.   We had no 68-71 SS cars,  although a friend from another town had a 66 SS.    I've had my eyes open for a 73/74 Stick car for a long time.

 

[edinmass]

9 minutes ago, alsancle said:

 

I had a buddy who owned a Laguna in HS.   We had no 68-71 SS cars,  although a friend from another town had a 66 SS.    I've had my eyes open for a 73/74 Stick car for a long time.

 

 

 

BARF! 🤢

 

Excuse me..........a car from 73/74??????????????? I get the Shelby thing......and the AC Cobra and Allard. Anything past 71; I just can't get my head around. And yes, I know many people that love and collect them. Once the clean air act got applied to the level it did........just too much junk and worthless iron hanging on the engine. The car above brings back memories of ABBA and The Bee Gees!

 

 

[auburnseeker]

I can appreciate 70's and newer cars in beautiful well kept condition just for surviving and being well cared for, especially being from the Northeast where the life span of most is under 10 years before they dissolve back to the earth.  But that's where my interest in them ends.  I don't see a place in my garage for any of the 70's or 80's cars,  and I drove my Dad's 79 Camaro to school which was 14 years old at the time.  No desire to own one again and there was nothing wrong with it as it was only driven in the summer.  

[8E45E]

15 minutes ago, edinmass said:

 

 

BARF! 🤢

 

Excuse me..........a car from 73/74??????????????? I get the Shelby thing......and the AC Cobra and Allard. Anything past 71; I just can't get my head around. And yes, I know many people that love and collect them. Once the clean air act got applied to the level it did........just too much junk and worthless iron hanging on the engine. The car above brings back memories of ABBA and The Bee Gees!

 

 

Good one!

 

The ONLY '73-'77 A-body GM I ever had any appreciation for is the 1973 Grand Am, which proved the designers were able to effectively conceal the ugly 5-mph bumpers in an attractive way.  And they came standard with the 455.  The Chevelles from those years screamed 'cheap'; especially the interiors and the dashboard.

 

If I want a Cobra from that era, I'll bring one back from Down Unda. https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/classic-wheels/1978-ford-xc-falcon-cobra

 

Craig

[Steve_Mack_CT]

What Ed said on that one...  on a quiet night I swear I could hear that 73 Monte Carlo rusting.  Ran horrible compared to the 350 4 bbl Olds 88, actually a pretty good car.  I think we sold and should have kept that one at least for a while longer...

 

 

[alsancle]

Good to see I’m the open minded man of the people amongst you prewar elitists.

 

forget the 70s,  I’m on the lookout for my College car too.

 

The 350/stick and focus on only two color combos has made this tough.

 

 

 

 

[edinmass]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

Good to see I’m the open minded man of the people amongst you prewar elitists.

 

forget the 70s,  I’m on the lookout for my College car too.

 

The 350/stick and focus on only two color combos has made this tough.

 

 

 

 

 

BARF-BARF, 

🤢 - 🤢

 

That's a double barf............must have owned two dozen of them when I had my used car lot in the early 80's. They were easy sellers to the guys with too much aftershave and the gold chains.........

 

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Like many people( I think) there are a lot of cars I would like to own- have in the garage, But like just about everyone there is only so much space, so much $, and so much time ( ie as in being vertical and breathing and somewhat useful) so we all have to make a choice.  Many cars we look at and desire because they in some small or large way played a part in our lives at one point, and good or bad mechanically or appearance give us that "good feeling" of the memories with a similar machine the first time around.  Some of us get very sentimental as we age - or more so then we have always been ( I admit to being an absolutely sentimental sap)  and the car gives us that "old feeling of past memories" again.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

2 hours ago, alsancle said:

Good to see I’m the open minded man of the people amongst you prewar elitists.

 

forget the 70s,  I’m on the lookout for my College car too.

 

The 350/stick and focus on only two color combos has made this tough.

 

 

 

 

One of my HS pals replaced his 70 SS 396 with a 79 Z.  Graphics!  We were double parked once when an older gent asked if he would kindly move his "228"... 😁

Edited September 17, 2020 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[padgett]

""Colonnade" styling on the mid-size cars for the 1973 model year" '73 was the first year I though the 4-doors were better looking.

 

[58L-Y8]

The 1973 Chevelle two door was the first 'Chivvy' my step-grandfather Dutch, a confirmed 'Chivvy man" hated.  He had had a succession of 'Chivvies" from the 1930's on through the 1967 Bel Air sedan which he loved.  But 1973 was the year he retired from machinist work, my Grandmother Mildred, a forceful person, decided they needed only one car.   He'd always kept an older car for work/commuting.   Off they went to Ryan Chevrolet to look at what was on offer shortly before the 1974 models were introduced.   Leftover was a solid maroon plain-jane Chevelle two door coupe, a come-down in every way from the pretty metallic turquoise 30K miles '67 Bel Air sedan they had.  But six years was six years, so it was time to trade cars. 

 

It didn't take long for them to discover to their dismay how lousy that Chevelle 305 ran with all the crude pollution equipment, with multiple trips to the dealer to try and make it run without hesitation and stalling.   Dutch was of the generation that always still wore a hat in public, could not enter or exit that Chevelle without knocking his hat off.  Worst, no vent windows, fixed quarter windows and no A/C made the interior hot and stuffy all summer.  But worst of all, the cheap thing had no drip molding around the door windows.  On a rainy day, the moment one opened the door, it poured in wetting the driver like he'd pi$$ed his pants!   I wished I could tell you some of the things he said about that Chevelle.  He even thought about trading it back in for their '67 Bel Air sedan, he was so displeased with that '73.   Unfortunately, the Bel Air was already sold so they ended up keeping that miserable Chevelle until trading it for a '80 Malibu, which wasn't much better.

[TerryB]

While this is not a photo of my 1973 Chevelle SS, it is the exact color combo of my car and I did have aftermarket Keystone Klassic wheels on it.  I thought it looked pretty good when I first bought it, that is until the rust started.  It was a huge disappointment for another died in the wool Chevy fan.

 

[Ed Luddy]

How's this for stupid? I sold my 1970 Chevelle Malibu 350 convertible and a 1969 Grand Prix to buy a 1974 El Camino SS 454, loaded, swivel buckets, A/C, full power accesories,etc. This was in 1978 and as I found out by spring of 1979 it was 1/2 rusted! The mid 70's Chevy's are rare to find now, why? Ugly, slower, and rusty!

[JV Puleo]

I don't think my interests have ever changed. In a nutshell, 1897–1930. I don't come from a background where anyone was interested in cars. Only one of my grandparents (all of whom were born in the 19th century) even drove and that wasn't until the early 30s. My early interest was driven by books and I've always been attracted to the very early cars, what the British call "Veterans" - the brass cars and the big classics up to about 1930. Virtually nothing past that date would cause me to cross the road, including the muscle cars that date from my HS years. This is why I do not endorse the idea that car enthusiasm is driven by what we remember from our youth. Certainly some is...but there are other motivations and those are the ones that will be long lasting. My first old car was a '27 Cadillac - it was also my first car that actually worked. I started working on Ghosts and PI RRs when I was in my early 20s and the appreciation for their fantastic workmanship has never lessened. I've never worked on a Pierce Arrow or a Locomobile but I suspect they were made to pretty much the same standards and, perhaps regrettably, that has left me indifferent to most cars. My late grandmother would have said I had "champagne taste and a beer budget". She was right. I'll never be able to afford what I like best but I can come close...

[1937hd45]

I'll be 70 in December, never owned a car that could do a "Burn out", what's the point? Will AACA require burn outs at the National Meets, I just don't understand late model ownership mindset. Bob 

[zepher]

12 hours ago, alsancle said:

Good to see I’m the open minded man of the people amongst you prewar elitists.

 

forget the 70s,  I’m on the lookout for my College car too.

 

The 350/stick and focus on only two color combos has made this tough.

 

 

 

 

 

Don't feel too alone in your desire for a Camaro like that one.

If I had the space and extra cash I would hunt down a '75 Camaro like the one I had in my late teens.

Car was 10 years old when I bought it and had low miles because the previous owner played semi-pro baseball so it sat for months at a time.

Mine was a fairly plain-jane sport coupe with the 350/Auto but it sure drove nice and was pretty darn reliable.

It got sold off after about 3 years when I ran across the '64 Malibu SS Convertible I still own.

[John Byrd]

I have loved cars.... all cars.... since the 1st one I saw apparently... only had a little over 150 of 'em so far, but do lean more toward things from 72 back.  I can NOT leave them alone though, something to make it mine must be done when I get one, wheels, a pinstripe, glass packs, just anything.  I've said before, the manufacturers just finish them to a certain point, then we get 'em to "finish" properly, ha !  Now, to put a confessional seal on my car insanity, if a really nice 1961 Falcon Ranchero came up, well, been there and done that, but I love those little buggers !  My favorite 30s car we've had was a 38 Packard 2 door (110 series I believe), 40's was a little Standard Flying 8 Tourer, 50's is probably my current 55 Studebaker coupe, although when I was 17 years old, my 56 Chevy wagon was numero uno, and Karen's 55 T-Bird is close too, 60's..... too many favorites to pick an absolute winner, 70s was my 72 Pantera, 80s would have to be the MT-5 Taurus we had, 90s..... hmmmm, guess my 94 F-150,.... 2000s ?  So far nothing can match the perfect time and service we had with our super great looking (yes, I "fixed it up") F350 4 door diesel 2 wheel drive pick-up. My wife's favorite cars ever have been her 2006 Mustang GT and her 2008 Miata retractable hardtop fun buggy !  SO, to finish off this boring story, here I am with my Aunt's Plymouth when I was 2, and a few weeks ago with one of my current loves, the Studebaker coupe.   By the way, the little 1963 Austin Mini is BY FAR the most "fun & commented on" car we've had, and we still have it because as Karen says, "it's family", ha  !  ( OOPS, better include Karen's "baby" she loved so much. )

Edited September 18, 2020 by John Byrd (see edit history)

[8E45E]

19 hours ago, padgett said:

""Colonnade" styling on the mid-size cars for the 1973 model year" '73 was the first year I though the 4-doors were better looking.

 

I also liked the four-door.  I remember in a Motor Trend magazine from early 1972 when they were still providing conceptual drawings based on clues leaked out by GM and vendors, etc., they did mention early on, the four doors were going to be a 'six-window' design.  At the time, I thought it was a great idea as that styling feature was abandoned for the most part ten years earlier.

 

Craig

[ericmac]

This is a great thread.  I can probably come up with something to like from every decade but my favorite era is 1929-1934. I always thought I would want one car from each decade but though I appreciate them, with few exceptions, 1900-1910, the 50's, 70's and 80's hold limited to no interest for me. I think the ultimate collection for me would be:

13 Ford touring (own it)

26 Ford sedan (own it)

29 Franklin (open car)

32 Duesenberg SJ Murphy convertible couupe

37 Cadillac Series 70 convertible sedan (own it)

46-8 Nash Ambassador 

Late 40's pickup

60's Checker wagon

93-97 Mazda Miata M-edition

This is the list today.  Tomorrow it will change.

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by ericmac
Typo (see edit history)

[ericmac]

Just now, ericmac said:

This is a great thread.  I can probably come up with something to like from every decade but my favorite era is 1929-1934. I always thought I would want one car from each decade but though I appreciate them, with few exceptions, 1900-1910, the 50's, 70's and 80's hold limited to no interest for me. I think the ultimate collection for me would be:

13 Ford touring (own it)

26 Ford sedan (own it)

29 Franklin (open car)

32 Duesenberg SJ Murphy convertible couupe

37 Cadillac Series 70 convertible sedan (own it)

46-8 Nash Ambassador 

Late 40's pickup

60's Checker wagon

93-97 Mazda Miata M-edition

This is the list today.  Tomorrow it will change.

 

 

[Robert G. Smits]

My initial interest was Cadillacs 1929 to 1938.. When I transitioned from the show field to touring my interests broadened, and I now have cars from every decade from the 20s to the 80's.  My favorite is the 12 Garford and the most fun to drive currently is the LeMans convertible (CLONE)

[edinmass]

Is your Garford a Six? That a big car with very nice lines. Photo of the engine please.

Edited September 21, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[ericmac]

14 hours ago, Ben P. said:

Ok, I have to ask - why 1929? A lot of makes are nearly indistinguishable 1928/29.

1928/29 Cadillac’s have always been my favorite, but I’d almost have to go with a ‘29 because my Buick is my first experience with straight-cut gears and I fear I’ll destroy them before truly figuring it out.

I find that many brands (Lincoln, Cadillac,  Franklin, Pierce, Buick etc.) had styling cues in 29 that was just enough different to make them more visually appealing to me. That year was also ground breaking with the introduction of the Duesenberg J, the Cord L-29 and Ruxton. Almost all the big car manufacturers moved from six to eight cylinder power (for better or for worse). Thus from an engineering perspective it was a turning point. We should probably sit next to a few examples and chat about it!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Eric funny I generally think of 29 to 34 as my favorite stretch as well, or 29 to 39 if looking at a decade.  🙂

[Robert G. Smits]

On 9/20/2020 at 11:54 PM, edinmass said:

Photo of the engine please.

Yes it is a Six.  It has been raining here for 36 hours thanks to Hurricane Beta and I haven't ventured out to the garage.   Should be past in the AM and will get photos of the engine.  I have them backed up on a hard drive but will be quicker to take new ones.  I never seem to get around to organizing my photos.

[BucketofBolts]

1933 is the year that I have always preferred with the lowest production and still classic styling. Worse year of the depression so if you had the money to purchase any car you were in good shape as compared to the 20%+ of the population that was unemployed. Wages were about $125 a month in 1933 so a $2,000 vehicle was not in the cards for the average family. Also Prohibition ended in December 1933 which makes the year 1933 also the last year for the secret bars and nightclubs and the end of many of the bootleggers.   

[Graham Man]

The only reason my Grandfather had money to buy his 1933 Graham in 1936 was because of the WW1 Bonus money.... interesting story the only time in American history American solders advanced on American Veterans.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army