1963 was really Studebaker’s last full year as a full-fledged automobile company. Sure, the marque would go on through the 1966 model year, but ’63 was really the last chance for the South Bend, Indiana-based company’s relevance in the auto market.
Tag: 1963
1963 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country: The New Shape Of Quality
In Autumn of 1962, the high water mark of American Motors Corporation was arguably reached. Between 1958 and 1963, the Rambler lineup, in its frugal American, mid-priced, family-friendly Classic and deluxe Ambassador lines, hit a sweet spot in the domestic market that it never really recaptured.
When the all-new 1963 Classic and Ambassador debuted, AMC was at the top of its game, with appealing, well-built, sensible cars. After that, save the brief spark of the AMX, Javelin, Hornet and Eagle, it was mostly downhill.
1963 Cadillac Convertible – Luxury Jet
Finding this fine Bill Mitchell-era Cadillac was all due to a battery failure. Not to get too deep into it, but I wear a cochlear implant, as I lost my “factory” hearing back in 1996. It uses rechargeable batteries, and when it goes out, I can’t hear. Really. You could fire a shotgun behind me, and I wouldn’t hear it. I’d probably feel the vibrations in the ground, but I’d perceive exactly zero sounds. So you can thank my forgetting a spare battery for this topless luxocruiser.
I was at my parents’ one weekend, and we decided to go see Lincoln (sorry, no Continentals in this flick; good, nonetheless). About ten minutes after we got to the theater, my battery went flat. I normally carry a spare at all times, but for some reason, I didn’t grab it when I left my place that day. Murphy’s Law, had to have happened after we got there, and not on the way! So, I borrowed my parents’ car, left them at the theater to get tickets and seats, and dashed back home for a fresh battery. But as I was returning to the theater, sitting at a red light, I spotted a 1963 Cadillac at a distance, parked at K-Mart. Movie or no movie, I had to stop.