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The sight of a modern limo usually suggests that behind the tinted windows there is a group of people who are either rich, important, or going to high school prom. More »
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It wasn't ever designed to be more than a disposable people hauler, and the 1959 Oldsmobile is rarely included in a conversation of the most attractive designs the late 50s had to offer. Even so, to us it's hard to imagine anyone would argue that this 1959 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Fiesta station wagon, wearing the same shade of "Russet Poly" paint it left the factory with, is anything but beautiful. More »
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Even though "barn finds" have long been the holy grail of the collector car world, we're amazed at some of the cars that are still sitting covered in dust waiting to be discovered. More »
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The Wall Street Journal published an article this past week showcasing one of the most innovative and interesting uses of prison labor we've ever heard about—restoring classic cars. More »
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Drag Week is an event put on by Hot Rod Magazine that takes unbelievably fast drag cars on a 1,000 mile road trip to five drag strips. The result is an event that must be seen to be believed. More »
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53 years ago today, Chevrolet introduced the1959 El Camino to the automotive world and it hasn't been the same since. In direct response to the popularity of the Ford Ranchero, Chevrolet had decided it needed to stake a claim in the world of the automotive based utility vehicle. More »
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What if you could trade the vehicle you drive every day for absolutely any vehicle in the entire world? Before you figure out where you are going to keep your (insert dream car here), even in this extremely hypothetical situation there is a catch—you have to use your new vehicle to do absolutely everything you currently use the car you drive everyday for, all year long. What car would you realistically trade your current daily driver for? More »
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Who says they don't make cars like they used to? Certainly not this serious Mercury spokesman. According to this vintage ad 1959's best selling six passenger car (it's a Ford) and the 1971 Mercury Montego were around the same size and the same price. More »
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From the wide open hood and trunk to the busted out glass, this 1959 Pontiac has all the tell tale signs of an extended stay in a junkyard. When it was captured earlier this year in Alberta, Canada it looked like this late 50s sedan still had quite a few useful parts left to give. More »
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From the looks of it this old (1959 or 1960) International Harvester Travelall saw some serious work duty before it ended up in this Alabama Junkyard. Without any remaining signage to give us a clue we can only wonder what trade this rare IH was employed in before it retired. More »
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Although Chevrolet didn't introduce the El Camino until 1959, what if they had decided to unleash their unique utility vehicle on the world one year earlier? Behold the El Nomado, a well executed custom vehicle currently listed on Ebay that answers that exact question. Even with a lot of modern custom touches, this one of a kind vehicle does a pretty good job illustrating what a 1958 El Camino might have looked like. More »
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Spotted on the edge of a field in Indiana, this 2 door '59 Ford Custom 300 looks like it might still has some life in it. From the angle shown the body appears to be in better condition than most ‘50s project cars in the North East. More »
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Welcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars usually found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a special Found off the Cape 1959 Cadillac. More »
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If you foolishly thought Boating was the great American sport for 1968 this Pontiac Firebird commercial from the same year was quick to correct. The great American sport for '68 was actually "wide-tracking". More »
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When it came time to introduce their redesigned for 1959 model, Desoto called upon movie star Rock Hudson to give a convincing "off screen" endorsement. Between the styling, swivel seats and "back lot" off road testing in this vintage commercial, we think the 1959 Desoto might have been okay selling itself. More »
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We aren't sure how this 1959 Cadillac found its way into a shopping center in Turkey, but even half a world away there is no mistaking the car's very American fifties style. More »
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Ever wonder what Porsche 356Bs looked like coming together in Stuttgart? Here is some excellent factory footage showing various stages of manufacturing the little sports cars. Click through to see the second part of the video as well. More »
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Last month we told you Neil Young's 1959 Lincoln turbine-charged electric hybrid was damaged in a fire it may have started. Determined to rebuild the LincVolt, we saw Young on webcam this week visiting the remains of his charred dream. More »
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1959 was a year of change for Buick. Buick's new cars were very different from the 1958 models they replaced. Watch as brand-new Buicks with new model names and updated styling come together and roll off the assembly line. More »
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Welcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie. More »
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Harley Earl created the first concept car, conceptualized the Corvette and authorized the first tailfin ever put on a car during his time at GM. The 1959 Cadillac was his swan song, and remains one of his most iconic designs. More »
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Welcome to Down On The Mile High Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the City That Rust Sorta Ignored: Denver, Colorado. DOTS has left Alameda, but that doesn't mean the series has to stop! More »
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This may not be a real Ferrari, but no matter — it's still one of the most gorgeous things we've ever seen. Pontoon-fendered 250 Testarossa body, you had us at hello. More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Sometimes the best DOTS finds are right under your nose; I found this Benz in my neighborhood. More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. You've all heard my "Real Trucks Versus Pretend Trucks" rant, so consider it delivered again! More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. You know what's missing from modern trucks? Fins! More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! As you saw in last week's episode, we love Italian Hell Projects! More »
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The Aston Martin DBR1 is worthy of a post all on its own, but leave it to Scroggzilla to prowl the internet tubes and find us some great vintage film of Le Mans '59. More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. The streets of Mexico City are tough on cars… More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and most hellish! Last round, PCH Superpower Britain crushed PCH wannabe Germany, but today it's an all-Superpower affair. More »
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The ghost of Fulgencio Batista won't allow Americans to visit Cuba, but those commie-lovin' Canadians are free to doff their tuques and enjoy the presence of the world's largest concentration of pre-1960 Detroit iron. More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! We had as close to a tie as you're going to see in the Hell Garage, last time around, with the '77 911 Turbo just barely beating the '78 911 Turbo in the poll. Now it's time to return to some mano-a-mano PCH Superpower action, and not only that- it's time to look at crazy orphan cars from across the ocean, cars that will make passersby shun you like the freak you are admire your rebellious spirit. France versus Britain! Simca versus Humber!
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Alameda is definitely a VW Transporter sort of town; you can find all the major Transporter-loving groups here, from original-owner curmudgeons to Spicoli-grade surfers. Yes, even though Alameda is inside San Francisco Bay and thus gets waves better measured in inches than in feet on its beaches, we still have plenty of surfers here. Windsurfers and kite surfers, that is, crazies who think nothing of braving the 50° water, howling winds, and vicious currents on their boards. And when they're done flirting with death for the day, they need a proper vehicle to store their bongs haul their gear back home.
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In the late 1950s, legendary San Jose-based customizer Joe Wilhelm started work on a project based on a 1936 Ford coupe. It started out fairly simple, with handmade grille and fenders on a still-recognizable Ford body, but became far more radical within a few years. By 1965, the car- called the Mark I Mist- sat on a Jaguar XK140 frame, with quad-carbed Buick nailhead and a wild European-influenced body. It was a big hit at the car shows and made the covers of Car Craft, Rod & Custom, etc. Then the car disappeared, not to be seen again for decades... when Black Metal V8olvo crew chief Hellhammer (aka Junkyard Dave) tracked it down. More »
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You guys who tear your hair out when you see a nice, easily restorable old car heading to The Crusher in this series... think you can work up any tears for this beyond-basket-case '59 T-Bird? I spotted it at the same East Bay wrecking yard that gave us the '69 Renault 16, and it looks like you might be hard-pressed to find many usable parts on it. Still, the engine is still there, and the front bumper looks like it might be salvageable. More »
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We all miss the inimitable POLAЯ, but at least we've got some DOTSBE photos that he shot on the streets of his native Toronto before running off to become Maximum Warlord of the Trilateral Commission. First up is this remarkably unrusty '59 DeSoto; make the jump to see the entire gallery and read some classic POLAЯisms More »
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You may think you've experienced a planned community in which every last detail was carefully designed by lab-coated scientists in 1956 to elicit Maximum Upscale Suburban Ennui in its residents, but only Irvine, California, gets it down perfectly. Well, almost perfectly, because Al Frente has spotted these street-parked relics shattering Irvine's soothing vehicular harmony of BMWs and Tahoes. We've got an original-looking '59 Edsel Ranger, a mid-60s forward-control Chevy G-series van, and a '68 or '69 GMC pickup in L.A. School District colors. Make the jump to see all the photos and read what Al Frente has to say about these vehicles. More »
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It would appear that our readers are Lamborghini purists, given the 82/18 shellacking the V12-powered Espada issued to the Chevy-powered Espada in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. Either way, who would have imagined owning a genuine, almost-running Lamborghini for the price of a new base Camry? Project Car Hell beckons! As we say so often here: what could go wrong? Today we're going to leave PCH Superpower Italy and head to a nation not so well known for maddeningly difficult Hell Projects; yes, we're feeling so inspired by the vintage Japanese steel at the Motoring J Style show that we have no choice but to descend into the fiery furnace of Vintage Japanese Car Hell. More »
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The extremely cheap, extremely sketchy (putatively) NSX-engine-powered Acura Legend obliterated the dime-a-dozen turbo Civic in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which is about what we expected. So what if we could find not just an NSX engine but an entire car for cheap (well, maybe entire isn't the right word here, but you get the idea)- what then? Well, then we have quite a dilemma when trying to find something to stack up against the Acura, a car that's equally cool, in spittin' distance of the NSX's price range, and hideously expensive when it comes to part obtainment. Perhaps it's an impossible task, but let's see how things sort out in today's Detroit-versus-Japan matchup! More »
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The Pederson family may have taken inspiration from the case of the 8-fingered Skyline thief, and have turned to the web to try to recover a stolen 1959 Corvette once owned by their late uncle. After saving his whole life and finally purchasing the red and white 'Vette, the uncle discovered he had cancer and died in late 2007. Only two months later the car was swiped from its Ronkonkoma, NY garage and hasn't been seen since. A VIN search turns up registration in Florida, but you know how accurate those thing can be these days. So, just in case you're in the market for vintage Corvettes (Junkman, we're looking right at you) keep your eyes peeled for a car with the following description: More »
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