Category: Klockau Classics

1960 DeSoto Adventurer: The Forward Look was DeLovely

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If you don’t remember DeSoto, no worries. They’ve been gone for almost sixty years. If you do, you’re probably a car nut. Once a significant part of Chrysler Corporation’s hierarchy, slotted in between Chrysler itself and Dodge in the lineup, the 1958 recession caused the marque to stumble, and stumble badly. Final DeSotos were built in an abbreviated 1961 model year. And that was that.

As recently as 1957, DeSoto had a great year, with over 117,000 finny Forward Look motor vehicles produced. Things came to a sudden stop in 1958. Thanks to the aforementioned ’58 recession, all car sales took a hit. But DeSoto still fared worse than the average bear, with sales dipping down to under 50,000 units.

1959 DeSoto-06-07 (800x513)

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Summer Approaches: The 2019 Shirey Cadillac Show

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Yesterday marked the fifth year I have attended the Shirey Cadillac show in Oak Lawn, Illinois. It is unique in that most of the cars there are interesting and not common show fare. Sure, on occasion there is a hot rod, Mustang or 1957 Chevrolet, but they are a small fringe element to the Broughamage that is usually on display.

1977 Cutlass Supreme Brougham. All original with 24,000 miles.

And it’s always nice to see my fellow Chicagoland Cadillac club friends. I interact with them all the time online, but only see them 2-3 times in person per year.

Oh, and the dealership grills lunch for everyone, gratis. So. I get to eat, yak with my fellow Brougham aficionados, gawk at the cars, and take approximately 250-300 photos each year. What’s not to like?

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SC Johnson

Summer In Racine: The LCOC Visits S.C. Johnson & Co.

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During the Spring of 2018, I received my monthly newsletter from the Lake Shore Region of the LCOC-the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club. I’ve been a member since 2015. From April through October, there are many club events for the region, which consists of greater Chicagoland, and adjacent parts of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. What caught my eye was a planned June 16th trip to the S.C. Johnson Company’s headquarters, famously designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed between 1936 and 1939, and its adjacent Tower, completed in 1950.

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Quick Look: 1957 Cadillac Series 62

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As you know, my friend down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Jayson Coombes, attends many, many car shows around those environs. Several posts I’ve written on this fine site have come from his camera.

It helps that we like the same kinds of vintage rolling stock! Namely, 1930s-1990s big American cars. So today, here’s a nice example of 1957 Cadillac he spotted last month. For further reading, you may want to check out my post on a 1957 Coupe de Ville. Which, coincidentally, was also photographed by Jayson!

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1974 Volvo 164E: Goteborg Goes Brougham

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Good morning, ladies and germs! On this fine day we’re going to delve into one of my favorite classic Ovlovs, the six-cylinder 164. It was the luxury Volvo from 1969 through 1975, and a long line of luxury models succeeded the classic 140-based six-cylinder sedan: 264GL, 760GLE, 940SE, 960, S80, S90. Other than the 1800ES, this one’s my favorite. Well, growing up in the ’80s, these cars were uncommon in my city. So it was always cool to see one on the road or sitting in the service bay at Lundahl Motors, way back when, when they were still in downtown Moline, IL.

There was just something about that grille and that beautiful leather trim. As a fourth grader in about 1989, I knew nor cared one whit about British styling influences on the plushest Volvo. I just knew I liked them. As most of you fine folks know, save a few persistently negative persons of interest, love has little to no basis in rationality.

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1966 Ford Galaxie 500: Yep, It’s Got A Four-Speed!

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I’ve always liked the 1965-68 Fords. Perhaps because of family history, as my Grandpa Fred bought a daffodil yellow 1965 Galaxie 500 four-door sedan brand new. Perhaps due to my science teacher, Mr. Spilker, who was still driving a 1967 Galaxie 500 hardtop in the late 1980s. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because they simply look good.

The 1965 Ford was a big change from the 1960-64s, with pretty much everything new except for engines and transmissions. And this same basic chassis, despite major stylistic changes in 1969, 1971 and 1975, essentially carried on until the fall of 1978 when the Panther-chassis LTD and Marquis appeared.

Quite a run! And while Ford couldn’t quite beat GM in the sales race when it came to full-size, bread and butter cars, they still put out some attractive machines.

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Quick Look: Once, Twice, Three Times a Landau…

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You may remember Jason Bagge, he of the Brougham Whispering. The 1974-76 “Glass House” Caprice coupe, so named due to its huge, fixed quarter windows, is probably his favorite old car. Many of his cars have been written up here on RG, including a ’76 Bonneville, ’76 Ninety-Eight and 1978 Marquis. You may also recall he’s had two different 1976 Caprice Classic Landau coupes.

One triple black…

And one triple burgundy.

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1954 Lincoln Capri Coupe: Road Race Car

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This morning, let’s talk about the 1952-55 Lincolns. They replaced the first all-new postwar 1949-51 Lincolns, and while were much more modern looking and finally came in that hot new bodystyle, the two-door hardtop, they also were a little less distinct that Lincolns of the not-so-distant past.

Of course, most gearheads today remember these primarily as the “Road Racing Lincolns” due to their achievements in the Carrera Panamericanas of the early to mid-’50s, but there was more to them than just that. Despite their power and handling prowess, they were, for most well-heeled buyers, good-looking, plush, modern luxury cars. There was no more Continental, no more long-wheelbase limousines. And for many, Lincoln seemed to be chasing Olds and Buick instead of Cadillac. But there’s no denying their clean good looks.

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Classics in Burleson Park!

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My friend and fellow car nut, Jayson Coombes, recently attended a most excellent show put on by the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society.

The most recent soiree was held April 27th in University Park, Texas. And he went wild taking lots and lots and lots of photos. So many in fact, that there will probably be more posts on this in the future, including a full writeup on what had to have been the rarest car in the show, and as seen in the top picture on this post: a Facel Vega Excellence.

Since this is just a virtual tour, it’s going to be heavy on the photographs and light on the text. Enjoy!

1947 Cadillac Series 62 convertible coupe.

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This Is What The Old Car Hobby Is All About!

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Finding a cool old car you love is great, but do you ever wonder about who first owned it? What they were like? Why they bought that car? Most of us will never know. But for Jason Bagge, AKA, “The Brougham Whisperer”, it’s just another day at the office. For today, he met the original owner of his recently acquired 1973 Buick Regal. And isn’t that cool?

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