Top 10 dream cars [Lost in the 50s III & not one from the 1950s or 60s on the list!]

chicagotribune.com ^

[Bender2]

Top 10 dream cars
High-end luxury and sports cars stir the imagination, yet few will ever be able to buy them. This crowd-sourced list of dream cars consists of models frequently viewed at Cars.com but rarely drawing buyer inquiries. Cars.com editors name their dream cars here. What car do you dream of owning?

The Lamborghini $354,000-$450,000 Murcielago & slightly cheaper cousin Gallardo? The Maybach Type 62? The Rolls-Royce Ghost, Phantom & Phantom Drophead Coupe? The Aston Martin V8 Vantage & DBS, Bentley Continental GTC and the oh so cheap Bentley Continental GT at $185K?

[Bender2]

Gadzooks, are those Windy City schmucks serious? Not one car... from the 1950s or 1960s on the list! The pay at chicagotribune.com must be better that I thought--

Well, campers and sport fans, here is my list of Dream Cars and a lot of you young whippersnappers will see and hear about some great, really cool... cars you may have never heard of before:

First off is one of the most beautiful automobiles every designed and built... the Jaguar E-Type (a.k.a. Jaguar XK-E)--

My reason for beginning with the XKE is that I actually owned one once. In the 1970s, I was making more money than sense and bought a Right Drive 2+2 like the green one above and below.

To make a long story short, in the eight months I owned the Green Monster, the tune up bills were staggering-- not just the finicky carburetors and bizarre British electrical system but the real wire wheels also. When you hit one, ten or twenty-six potholes, and Houston in those days had lots and lots of potholes, you eventually knocked the wire wheels out of tune. They had to be tuned back into perfect pitch by a guy with a set of wrenches whose rates were higher than a good Jewish plumber.

The XKE came in many colors and each and every one was a looker:

I must admit if money for repair and tune up bills was not an object... I'd buy another XKE just for the fun of surprising all those young girls when they looked inside and found an old fart like me driving it--

More info at Jaguar E-Type - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Jaguar XKE

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Next on my Dream Car List is the 1957 Thunderbird as shown this well preserved Coral Sand colored one below:

Another one here I am familiar with in having once dated a young lady who owned a pink one like these Dusk Rose [ i.e. Pink] ones below:

My then sweetie's... T-bird, named 'Pinkie,' had not been kept... in the best of shape but it was fun to drive, but once again, the repairs were frequent and costly even back in the days when 'Pinkie' was only 20 years out of the factory.

Most people don't realize how many colors the T-birds came in:

Starmist Blue... Raven Black... Seaspray Green...

Torch Red... Inca Gold... Gunmetal Gray Iridescent...

Bronze Iridescen... Azure Blue... and of course, Colonial White...

And as we all know or should know, the most recognized Colonial White T-bird was driven by the then unknown Suzanne Somers... near... in American Graffiti

More info at Ford Thunderbird - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for 1957 Thunderbird

Again, money is needed for upkeep on any Dream Car, so I... shall not bring it up again until the bar tab comes.

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Next on my Dream Cars List is not technically from the 1950s or 60s... but it is close, close, close as it is the 1949 Cadillac Series 61 Club Coupe:

Once more I am guilty of having an acquaintance with the '49 Caddy Fastback as my Dad's brother, Uncle Frank or 'Blondie' as Dad called him, owned a black one like that above and below with other 1949 examples:

Many '49 custom jobs like this gold one... is choice but if I was going to go whole hog on one, this two-toned custom job would just about fill the bill for me... ...

General Motors had this "Fastback" body style all across their divisions from 1949-1952 such as Buick... Oldsmobile... Chevrolet...

And Pontiac... which I vaguely remember being our family car in 1950... My main memory being there were venetian blinds in the back window and there was enough space back there beneath the rear window for me to lay down and nap.

Heaven knows what would have happened if I was napping back there... and Dear Old Dad had slammed on the brakes or had a head on collision. Evidently that never happened 'cause I am here today to amaze and amuse all y'all--

More info at Cadillac Series 62 - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for 1949 Cadillac Fastback Coupe

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Okay, it is 1954, you are young, rich, well dress and what do you drive?

Why an Nash-Healey of course and Gadzooks... isn't Bill Holden just the coolest up there?

William Holden drove the above one here... in the 1954 film Sabrina co-starring with Audrey Hepburn... and Humphrey Bogart who also drove Audrey... in it.

I can remember seeing the film at the drive in with my Mom and Dad and me asking, "Daddy what kind of car is that?" He didn't know and neither did I until many, many, many years later when I watched the film on video tape and rekindled my interest. I even took photos off the TV screen and took them to several car dealerships before I found someone who knew what it was.

As shown above, they made 2-seat hardtop and 2-seat roadster. I loved the "Champagne" body color that had a greenish sheen to it:

Yellow was not offered... as a factory color and neither were... clowns, but they kind 'a appeal to me--

The Nash-Healey was America's first post-war two-seat sports car that was produced for the American market between 1951 and 1954. Marketed by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with the Nash Ambassador drive-train and a European chassis and body, the product of the partnership between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and British automaker Donald Healey. Later on, the car was restyled by Pinin Farina and sub-assembly begun in Italy.

Now, before we leave the Nash-Healy, there are two other reasons to love them:

One is Tallulah Bankhead... drove one. Don't know her? Well, catch up here because she was really one of a kind, like Dorothy Parker* with an attitude--

“Nobody can be exactly like me, darling... Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.”

Lastly, I offer this photographic proof... of the greatness of the Nash-Healey--

If Clark Kent drove one... it has to be the greatest!

Whenever I cannot fly, I always drive there... in my Nash-Healey--

More info at Nash-Healey - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Nash-Healey

* Gadzooks! You don't know who Dorothy Parker is? I shutter to think... what else you do not know!

“Dear, sweet Tallulah-- That woman speaks eighteen languages... and can't say 'No' in any of them.”

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Just after 1950 started, Chrysler and Ghia got together to offer some of the most stylish automobiles every known:

These beautiful machines were the 1952, 1953, 1954 Chrysler Special and D'Elegance:

More info at Google Images for Chrysler Special and D'Elegance

In 1998 DaimlerChrysler brought out the Chrysler Chronos, a concept car with more than hint of kinship with the 50s Specials and D'Elegance:

More info at Chrysler Chronos - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Chrysler Chronos

Dual-Ghi are Specialty Cars made in the 1960s and 70s for a lot of the Hollywood crowd:

More info at Dual-Ghia - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Dual-Ghia

The body style of the Dual Ghia also shows up as the 1956 Chrysler Diablo:

More info at Virgil Exner - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Chrysler Diablo

And not to mention the 1957 Chrysler Dart:

...

More info at Virgil Exner - Youtube on 1956 1957 Chrysler Ghia Dart Diablo and Google Images for 1957 Chrysler Dart

Virgil Exner and Chrysler offered the 1955 Falcon:

More info at Chrysler_Falcon - Wikipedia Page and Google Images for Chrysler Falcon

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Okay, boys and girls... I will be back after football to take us to the Studebaker portion of the program--

[Bender2]

Until after my Boys beat the Bolts... enjoy!

[tacticalogic]

Long story short, my Dad and I shoe-horned the engine and transmission from a '68 GTO Judge into a '56 T-Bird.

You didn't quite have to pull the engine to change the spark plugs, but it was about a 3 hour job.

[pepsi_junkie]

Nice list but those Dual-Ghias and derivatives are IMHO uuugly. And when will you cover the ‘70s and ‘80s? The Vega, the Escort, the Cimarron, the.... uh, never mind the ‘70s and ‘80s.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Some luxury cars are affordable. Example, my 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D turbo diesel (what would now be called an E-series) can be had at a reasonable price. Features zebra wood interior trim, leather seating, moon roof, power everything and about 25 mpg despite its solid construction. They've been known to regularly go over a million miles.

[Conservative4Ever]

When cars were beautiful machines. Waiting to see if ya got anything on the Packard. That’s the car my family drove back in the day.

[SandRat]

1936 Mercdes 500K SPZIAL Roadster

[Moltke]

‘Living in the Past’ was a 1972 album by Jethro Tull.

‘Catch up to the Present’ was an album by...No One Ever.

[Chode]

friend of mine owned an E-Type back in the 70's, woulda been $1500 to change the rear brakes... inborn and all that, sold it

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Great stuff! Thanks!

[nascarnation]

When men were men
drawn with pencil on mylar
sculpted by tool and die wizards

[Rifleman]

I just have two dream cars.

In no particular order, the XKE (the most practical vehicle ever built, as it attracts blondes) and an early 1990’s Suburban Silverado 4WD diesel. When the 6.5l Detroit Diesel or the 700R4 tranny wears out, replace them with a Cummins 4BT and Allison transmission.

I have never owned a Jaguar but currently do own a 1986 Suburban Diesel. Nice old vehicle that I wish I could afford to restore.

[Baynative]

Thank you for putting so much time into this. I especially enjoyed the Chrysler Ghias, autos I've never heard of. But, then I a simple American Graffiti baby boomer that grew up with Detroit muscle in my blood.

Looking forward to the rest of your exhibition.

[2ndDivisionVet]

[Gil4]

I agree on the Dual-Ghias - hideous.

From the 70s and 80s, don’t forget the Pinto, the K cars, and everything made by AMC.

[martin_fierro]

Hellz yeah. The Old Man had a Caddy Fastback back in the day. Probably without whitewalls, tho. < |:(~

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’ll take a coral pink T-Bird, Please! :)

[Pontiac]

I'd buy another XKE just for the fun of surprising all those young girls when they looked inside and found an old fart like me driving it--

Why would it surprise them?

Only an old fart could afford to buy one these days.

Back in the 70’s they were expensive. Today they are ludicrously expensive.

[Neidermeyer]

Agreed on the truck choice ,, but for the Jag you'd enjoy an XK8 just as much and it has no electrical problems and unlike the E which was notorious for its v12 melting/warping cylinder heads it's V8 is much stronger , sounds great and gets well over 20mpg highway.

[CJ Wolf]

Speaking of Ghia, The ford Granda Ghia was awesome, except for the impossible to keep clean white vinyl roof.