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Detroit, 10:02 PM
Sat Nov 21
14 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/15/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
Clearly, it's the exceedingly rare Malibino.
Or maybe an Elcamibu. #1969
11/14/09
El Camimalibumino. #1969
11/14/09
Let's change Jesse's name from "What Would Jesse Do" to "Jesse Makes Me Sick with Envy." #1969
11/15/09
11/14/09
As for its identiy, if you were going to put this into a syllogism, it would be--
All 1969 El Caminos are Chevelles;
Some Chevelles are SSs, some are Malibus, which are only trim levels in 1969, and mean nothing about engines and such;
Therefore, it's perfectly possible that this is in fact an El Camino which is a Chevelle with the Malibu trim level.
This is only by memory. I shall arise now and Google "Malibu trim level." #1969
11/14/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
11/14/09
Added points for -as Murilee pointed out- having kept the original powertrain #1969
11/14/09
11/14/09
the reason i've heard for putting that bed-liner stuff on the roof of an el camino is to carry long ladders/stuff that would end up resting on the roof instead of leaving the tailgate down/stuff hanging out the back.
10/25/09
I love big-block land-yachts. #1969
10/25/09
What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you take pleasure in making us cry!?!?
Love,
Tomsk #1969
10/25/09
10/25/09
10/25/09
The Marauder was Mercury's on-the-cheap attempt at a big personal coupe similar to the pre-1969 Grand Prix. It looked better than its Ford counterpart, but 1969 production didn't top 15,000 and in 1970 it dwindled to 6,000.
I like the Chrysler 300 better. This year was arguably the high point for the big Chrysler styling-wise, and the 300 was the coolest model even though it didn't have the performance of the departed 300-letter series. #1969
10/25/09
Aw, man - this is so sad. Both cars are collector-worthy. They're amongst the last attempts by Detroit to make sporty full-size coupes before the malaise set in. I particularly like the 300 - long, lean lines with front-end styling that should be in an art museum. Worth a picture, I'd say. #1969
10/25/09
10/25/09
@Ralph Wiley Is Poised: Yeah, full-size muscle cars were on their way out beginning in 1965 or so. Ponycars and intermediates became the favorites for performance, with souped-up compacts becoming popular a little later. The very last of the hot full-size breed was the 1971 Plymouth Sport Fury GT (see picture) with only 375 produced. #1969
10/25/09
In a way it made sense that the Big Three downsized their performance coupes -- smaller cars had a much better power-to-weight ratio. They also just plain looked the part better than increasingly baroque full-sized cars.
Exhibit A: The 1969 Marauder looks bipolar because designers attached Mercury's upright, Continentalesque front sheetmetal to a fastback bodystyle adorned with racy, bescooped hips.
The Marauder didn't work a whole lot better than the Sport Fury, whose pool table-sized hood and "donut" front bumper looked ungainly next to the taunt and curvy new mid-sized Road Runner. #1969
10/25/09
10/25/09
@DrLemming: As stephdumas says elsewhere in this thread, Plymouth had a VIP from 1966 through 1969. Plymouth may not have had a true luxury line for 1970 (though the Sport Fury somewhat made up for that role), but they did a very curious thing mid year. A low-line Fury II pillared coupe was given Sport Fury trim, had just about every option thrown at it, and was re-christened Gran Coupe with a price that was exceeded only by the Sport Fury GT. It sold pretty well and the experiment was repeated for 1971 as an option package for hardtop coupes. By 1972, a full line of luxury Gran Furys replaced the Sport Fury. #1969
10/25/09
I barely remember my folks' '70 four door sedan.
Green and huge. I recall the A/C being positively frostbite cold. Plus it had turn signal indicators on the fenders. Bonus points for a very smart design which has gone away.
...of course it's not like people use turn signals anymore, anyway. Hell, I feel like I should replace my rear bulbs because the amber is a little burned off the glass. #1969
10/26/09
10/25/09
...no, actually, there really isn't. Can't even blame it on smog, or CfCs, or the other usual culprits. #1969