The Bad Economy is Good News For Car Collectors
How has the bad economy been affecting the classic car hobby?
On the upside, certain classic cars - especially muscle cars from the '60s and '70s - have suddenly become more affordable.
Though...
Good Car Names Gone Wrong…
The good thing about a bad car name is you've got no expectations; nothing to live up to - and so, little to disappoint you. But wasting a good name on...
Oldsmobile Regency sedan, 1971-1984
Oldsmobile, like Anne Boleyn, probably never actually felt the blade.
By the time the end came in 2002, Oldsmobile was already effectively dead. GM had moved on to other tarts such as...
Pontiac Safari, 1957-1989
GM's Pontiac division was sent off on its own version of the Trail of Tears in 2009 - after years of broken treaties and forked tongue-talking with the corporation's upper management.
Part...
The last real Trans Am – and the end for Pontiac
Let's dial back the clock a quarter century and return to the early days of the Reagan Era - when Pontiac made a last-ditch effort to keep the Trans-Am from becoming...
Pontiac GrandVille convertible, 1971-1975
The sudden demise of the Catalina convertible in 1972 left Pontiac with just one capital ship convertible in its inventory - the mighty (but short-lived) GrandVille.
It was basically a two-door version...
Buick Estate Wagon, 1970–1987
Historically, Buick was GM's "discreet Cadillac"—a high-end car without the high-end ostentation. For many years, Buicks were known as "doctors’ cars" for just that reason. Ownership indicated you had money, but...
Five Ford Fails
America's Big Three have had more than their share of bad ideas over the past 20 years.
Let's look at Ford's flops first.
* Lincoln Mark VIII (1993-1998) -
This car snuffed what...
Chrysler 300 convertible, 1969-1970
The largest, most powerful battleship ever made was the WWII-era Japanese Yamato and her sister ship, Musashi. They came late to the war and didn't survive it - in part because...
Chrysler New Yorker, 1955-1982
There's a reason it's known as the Empire State.
New York is outsized and audacious - not a place for the timid. So is the car named after the Big Apple. It's...