Category: Klockau Classics

A 1975 Mercedes-Benz 230 In A Very ’70s Color Combo

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This morning I was perusing the FB group Finding Future Classic Cars and ran across this survivor, a ’75 230 sedan. This was the car all the Ford Granada ads alluded to, when they claimed (likely after several gin and tonics or martinis at the Grosse Pointe Inn) that the new formal-lined Ford compact looked just like a Mercedes.

It didn’t really, no more than a 230 like this looked just like a Volvo 244DL. Sure there were some similarities, but nothing to really fool people who were interested in cars. But I digress. I always had a soft spot for these, because as a kid one of my favorite Corgi Toys was a 240D of this same generation, silver with tan interior and opening doors and trunk.

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The Cars of The Mary Tyler Moore Show

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I’ve always been a big fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Although the classic sitcom ended its run three years prior to your author entering the world, I discovered it in the early ’90s thanks to Nick at Nite. Since most of the action took place either at Mary’s apartment or at WJM-TV, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for car spotting, but there were a few.

Who could forget Mary’s white ’70 Mustang hardtop? For at least the first two seasons, it appeared in the opening credits of every episode. And who could forget Mary?

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1985 Ford Escort 3-Door: Pizza Dude!

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Earlier this week it was a ’78 Regency, today it’s a rare surviving Escort, espied on Dallas-Fort Worth Marketplace. What can you say about the Escort? It replaced the old Pinto, was front-wheel drive, they sold a ton of them, and like their contemporary brethren, the Chevette and Colt, probably eight survive to the present day. This is one of them.

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eBay Find: 1978 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency

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Look what I spotted today on ebay. A 403-V8 powered, opera-lamped luxocruiser. I’ve always liked these freshly downsized late ’70s C-bodies, and this one appears to be a really nice example.

You know I love Oldsmobiles, in fact this is at least the fourth Ninety-Eight I’ve written up since last summer. But I had to share this one; it’s so nice. Continue Reading →

1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V: Really Red

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Another day, another Mark. This is likely the 6th or 7th Mark related post I’ve done here at RG, and definitely the 2nd Mark V post this year; the earlier was an impressive triple turquoise ’79, with the optional turbine alloys. In fact, I spotted this one soon after the first V was published, but held back awhile.

The Mark V ran from 1977 to 1979. Unlike the T-Bird, which was newly downsized on the Gran Torino/Elite midsize chassis, the V was essentially a rebodied Mark IV with more razor-edged lines and a somewhat reduced curb weight. It was primarily styled by Don DeLaRossa.

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Update: 1980 Olds Ninety-Eight Diesel Back on the Road!

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Back in April I did a post on a green 1980 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency with the 350 CID diesel V8. At the time it was available on Craigslist. Well, it sold. During this past summer the new owner, Ed Kelly, dropped me a line via FB. He’d seen the original article while doing a web search, and went, hey, that’s the same car! My car!

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1980 Ford Granada Ghia: Here I Am

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The Granada, like many ’70s cars that once were everywhere and now are rarely seen, gets its share of hatred, fear and loathing from some quarters. But I’ve always had a soft spot for them. Why? Well, as a kid growing up in the 80s, there were still tons of them around, with approximately 50% rusty, 40% decent and 10% mint, little old lady driven time capsules. But they are few and far between these days, because like most popular cars, most were purchased and unceremoniously traded in 2-3 years later, or driven into the ground and junked. Oh, and they liked to rust.

Jim’s car was just about identical to this one inside and out, but was a two door.

Around 1995-97, our neighbor down the street, Jim Carlson, got a very well kept base 77 Granada coupe as a daily driver. They also had a then-new Town & Country minivan, but that was the ‘good car’ and Jim’s new acquisition was basically a work car. I remember he took me around the block in it, and it had a blue vinyl bench seat and pretty much zero options. Later, when he got rid of it, he gave me the mint condition owners’ manual and certicard; I still have it somewhere. As I recall, he replaced it with a nonmetallic tan 1977 Caprice Classic sedan that was slightly rough but nice, and had functional A/C, a big plus.

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1950 Nash Statesman Super Two-Door and Custom Four-Door: Wisconsin Bathtubs

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Smooth, round bullet-shaped (or bathtub shaped, if you prefer) automobiles were the wave of the future in 1949. While US automakers were still selling every facelifted prewar car they could make-at an EXTREMELY healthy profit-it couldn’t last. While no cars had been built during WWII outside of a select few for Army staff cars and such, stylists, having a lot of free time, were coming up with all sorts of wild creations on paper and in clay. New! Futuristic! Streamlined! Modern, all-brand-new cars of the near and not-so-near future. The redesigned 1949 Nashes took streamlining perhaps as far as it could be taken at the time.

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1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car: Triple Aqua Cabin Cruiser For The Win

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I’ve always had a thing for 1950s to 1970s domestic land yachts finished in aqua. Whether the bright turquoise of a 1955 Thunderbird or the light-metallic aqua of a 1966 Olds Ninety-Eight Luxury Sedan or ’61 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country, I will go out of my way to check it out once spotted at various and sundry cruise nights, car shows, craigslist ads and ebay auctions. And if the car has a white or aqua interior, well fuggetaboutit. So when I saw this lovely boat of a Lincoln on eBay about eight years ago, I was immediately hooked.

According to the long-gone auction listing, this car is all original and only had 67,000 miles on the clock. Being a ’79, it does have the 400CID V8 and not the more desirable 460, but still–what a car.

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