Classics
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Motoring Memories: Mercedes-Benz 300SL, 1954-1961
Mercedes-Benz is making a mark with its all-new SLS, but its gullwing doors owe their design to the 300SL of 1954-1961. Bill Vance takes a look at a vintage model that is “one of history’s great automobiles,” he says.
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Motoring Memories: Pony cars
The hugely successful Ford Mustang started the Pony Car era in 1964 which soon expanded to include the Mercury Cougar, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda, and American Motors Javelin and AMX.
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Motoring Memories: Marquette – The Forgotten Buick, 1930
Introduced in June, 1929, the Marquette was intended to provide Buick quality at a lower price, but when car sales sagged with the Great Depression, the Marquette was discontinued after only one year.
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Motoring Memories: Lotus Eleven, 1956-1959
Lotus’s coming-of-age car, the Lotus Eleven was meant for competition, not the street. With a weight of just 454 kg (1,000 lb) and a wind-cheating shape, the Lotus Eleven racked up class wins at LeMans in 1956 and 1957.
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Motoring Memories: Lincoln Versailles, 1977-1980
Designed to compete with the new small Cadillac Seville, the Lincoln Versailles was really a thinly disguised Ford Grenada/Mercury Monarch. It featured a Lincoln-like tire hump on the trunk lid, a new grille/headlamp assembly, and the Continental’s Parthenon style grille.
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Motoring Memories: Studebaker Avanti, 1962-1963
In 1961, renowned car designer, Raymond Loewy, was recruited to design an “image” car for Studebaker to help boost sales, but his creation, the Avanti, fell victim to Studebaker’s serious financial difficulties.
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Motoring Memories: Hudson Italia, 1954
This low, futuristic two-door Italian-inspired coupe was intended to improve Hudson’s image, but it was introduced the same year that Nash and Hudson merged into American Motors, and didn’t fit into the new company’s plans.
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Motoring Memories: Edwards America, 1953-1954
Sterling Edwards, heir to a wealthy San Francisco industrial family, was inspired by European sports cars to build an all-American sports car. He built five Edwards Americas before his company folded – all of which have been preserved.
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Motoring Memories: Rover 75 (P4), 1950-1964
Influenced by the Raymond Loewy styled “coming or going” 1947 Studebaker, the Rover 75 was luxuriously appointed in the traditional British manner, and was smooth and quiet but “not very fast”, says auto historian, Bill Vance.
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Motoring Memories: Ford Pinto, 1971-1979
The Pinto was another attempt by Ford to counter rising sales of imported small cars. The Pinto was a success until a well publicized 1972 collision in which a Pinto’s exploding fuel tank caused a fatality and resulting lawsuits.
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