Laurence Jones 1960's, Chrysler, Coupe, Mopar

(Found In) Potrero Hill (San Francisco, California): 1966 Chrysler 300 2 Door Hardtop Coupe

12305959_10153168570327201_567136321_nThe Chrysler 300 found itself no longer suffering from a split identity by 1966. Gone for good was the ultra sport-lux Letter series version.

Around since 1962, the Non-Letter 300 went toe to toe with mainstream Bankers hot-rods from perpetual cross town rival Buick. With a smidgen more cachet than the Flint offering, the 300 proved a brisk bet in the equally stuffy Chrysler showroom. With far less outre styling compared to the beginning of the 1960’s, these big block brutes gave Chrysler a sophisticated foothold in the upper crust performance market.

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Laurence Jones 1970s, Cadillac, General Motors

(Found In) Arcata Plaza (Arcata, California): 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

12319528_10153166517092201_1413808044_nCadillac, for better or worse, really knew how to do things “big.” By 1976, they were the last Domestic US brand standing with an in house convertible on the sales floor. Following the departure of the slightly smaller General Motors B-body convertibles in Chevy through Buick flavors at the end of 1975, Cadillac had the market all its own.

Equipped with an 8.2 Litre/500 Cubic Inch V8 and spanning more than 18 and 1/2 feet long, the last* Cadillac Eldorado Convertible would kiss the convertible market farewell by exiting the market being among one of the most leviathan open air lounges ever to grace America’s interstates.

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Laurence Jones 1960's, Ford Motor Division, Mercury

(Found In) Lower Haight (San Francisco, California): 1964 Mercury Montclair Breezeway 4 Door Sedan

9319740544_48560d26f0_zFor the life of the brand, the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company struggled to figure out its image within the American Automotive marketplace.

Initially perched as the up-market solution to the vast gap between Ford and Lincoln, Mercury found that pound remarkably deep and wide, full of competition not only from General Motors and Chrysler, but some well-regarded independents as well. Matters weren’t helped much by which season the Mercurial brand was aligned with being a “Fancy Ford” or a “Cut-Rate Lincoln.”
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Laurence Jones 1960s, Buick, General Motors

(Found In) Santa Fe (Oakland, California): 1964 Buick Electra 225 Four Door Hardtop

12242244_10153145153132201_2127920083_n1964 represented the capstone return to restrained elegance that was a long term calling card of Buick products. Swept up in the exuberance of the 1950’s, Buick spent a few seaons of the decade being the #3 volume producer of American Cars, edging out perennial price leader favorite Plymouth in 1955 and 1956. Those boastful totals right behind low priced domestic rivals Ford and Chevrolet were the result of some rather bodacious offerings from Flint, Michigan. Not totally exclusive “Doctor’s Cars” they had been in the past, (especially the price leader Special and hot rod Century) some of the upper crust mystique of Buick lost its luster as the high volume brought a few quality gremlins as well.

By 1960, the true, innately conservative streak that solidified Buick values for most of the brand heritage started to return. An emphasis on the relative restraint compared to upper crust rivals returned year after year throughout the early 1960’s before becoming resolutely entrenched by the middle of the decade.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Foreign Cars, Mercedes Benz

(Found In) Richmond Annex (Richmond, California): 1964 Mercedes – Benz 220S 4 Door Sedan

22532986728_983fb0df46_zIt wasn’t quite the glory years period that Mercedes Benz would experience on the American Market in 1964. The seizing of the desirable luxury throne would take another decade. However, as Cadillacs, Lincolns and Imperials continued their march towards abundance and excess being synonymous with luxury, the Old World craftmanship from Germany started to appeal to a select number of fine goods consumers.

The springboard models for certain shoppers to transition away from traditional American Luxury barges where the redesigned W111 series cars from Mercedes Benz. Although the design process for these cars started in 1956, they incorporated features and technology far ahead of most manufactures for decades to come.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, General Motors, Opel

(Found In) Lower Haight (San Francisco, CA): 1968 (Buick) Opel Kadett Station Wagon

9319809292_59693dfe72_z As omnipresent as the original Volkswagen Beetles continue to be some 35+ years after the last one was sold in the United States, one forgets that it wasn’t always the only import popular with American audiences before Civic/Corolla domination. In fact, the quite often second most popular import in America could be found in your Buick dealer, via Germany.

General Motors had from time to time given its American brands something different to sell. Their were the price gap cars that came at the end of the Roaring Twenties. In fact, Pontiac cannibalized parent brand Oakland during that period. When foreign car popularity took off in the Mid 50’s and more buyers craved more sensible cars, General Motors took to importing their overseas offerings. Pontiac offered Vaxhalls from the UK. Buick offered Opels from Germany.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Ford Motor Division

(Found at) Fort Mason (San Francisco, California): 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 Convertible

12233406_10153136886362201_131286300_nImitation is considered the finest form of flattery. The stylists at Pontiac had the biggest confidence booster in the form of imitations from multiple brands for Model Year 1965. From cars as diverse as the Mercury Comet to Fraternal Luxury brand Cadillac, brands adopted Pontiac’s signature stacked headlamps. Some also adopted the fullness at the ‘hips.’

No brand got flack for it more than Ford. Their mostly revamped under the skin Full Sized Models were derisively called “The Box the 1963 Pontiac came in.” Burned by that assertion, Ford massaged the look to mesmerize buyers and critics the following seasons on sale. From hips sprouting pubescent curves and a bit more rake to the headlamps, The 1966 full sized Ford strived for a unique identity all it’s own.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Cadillac, General Motors

(Found In) Bayview-Hunters Point (San Francisco, California): 1960 Cadillac Series 62 Six Window Four Door Hardtop Sedan

12212196_10153135151467201_1693632014_nAll American Automakers were faced with the daunting task of what to do next as the 1950’s gave way to the 1960’s. If one is to take a meter of aggregate automotive flamboyance, 1959 ranks as the equivalent of Liberace, Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly hosting a Christmas party. Befinned and bejeweled, Offerings from Rambler to Imperial maximized access to costume jewelry like no year before or since.

The splurge on baubles pushed Cadillac in particular to have a full Breakfast At Tiffany’s moment for 1959. In the hangover year that was 1960, a lot of those jewels were sent to the pawn shop. With the same basic body shell, a remarkable sense of restraint and modesty was applied to the variety of 1960 Cadillacs, as respectability replaced rambunctious as the value people coveted in their luxury machines.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Ford

(Found In) Outer Sunset (San Francisco, California): 1965 Ford Fairlane 500 Sport Coupe

12182332_10153114844212201_935779804_n
Success for various Detroit-bred cars wasn’t unlike the track record of another factory in the Detroit Metro area in the 1960’s. Yesterday’s star, in a quick flash of 3 years could become the season bench warmer. Like The Contours of Motown, by the end of 1965, the mid-sized Ford Fairlane was singing “Do You Love Me?” to American Audiences for all the wrong reasons.

In 1962, The Fairlane was the smash hit nobody expected, just like The Contours. Priced cheaper than General Motors’s not as roomy and sometimes trouble prone “B-O-P Luxury Compacts,” the most upsized of Falcons in Junior Galaxie 500 finery walked away with sales victories.  Nearly 300,000 went out the door for the introductory year. With a new, revvy and willing small block V8, it seemed like nothing but hits would follow for the Fairlane.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Chrysler, Plymouth

(Found In) Downtown/City Center Plaza (Oakland, CA): 1968 Plymouth Valiant Signet 2 Door Sedan

12167370_10153094429002201_114606198_n (1)American buyers have always appreciated a reliable “appliance” car. More often than not, Plymouth provided safe and sane reliable transportation as their bread and butter. Perhaps the most refined expression of the wholesome “Peanut Butter and Wheat Germ Sandwich” expression of Plymouth values was the 3rd Generation Plymouth Valiant sold from 1967 through 1976.

For such a humble car, few automobiles have been admired for their all around staid status the way Plymouth Valiants (and to a lesser degree their sister car the Dodge Dart) are. The official ride of High School Chemistry Teachers and Lesbian Librarians of the 1960’s can still be seen in locales that don’t encourage rust to rise on their quarter panels nearly 50 years later.

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