Laurence Jones 1950's, Ford Motor Division, Lincoln

(Found In) The Bayview (San Francisco) – 1954 Lincoln Capri 4 Door Sedan

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Once upon a time in the early 1950’s, all the major American Luxury Brands retreated from reaching for the highly bespoke luxury stratosphere. Informed by World War II solidarity and Korean War rationing, long gone were the days of custom bodied cruisers for the rich and famous.

All Luxury cars proved much more of their worth in terms of tangible features and performance. Notably, Lincoln, like Packard moved slightly down-market, to be considered in choices alongside Oldsmobile Ninety Eights and Chrysler New Yorkers alongside their traditional Cadillac and Imperial contemporaries.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Buick, General Motors

(Found In) The Excelsior (San Francisco) – 1966 Buick Skylark 4 Door Hardtop Sedan

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From the era of General Motors sitting at the top of the world we have what is one of their most solid citizen efforts from 1966. Perhaps this ordinary Buick is the zenith of the American Sedan. Undeniably charming, exquisitely detailed and pretty well assembled are qualities that were part and parcel of any 1966 Buick Skylark.

Credible cushiness and competence helped make the most luxurious of junior Buicks something to pay attention to as the Senior Buicks continued to pack on pounds and even more padding as the 1960’s drew to a close.

Although the least popular of its corporate relatives, the attention these Buicks generated compared to rivals outside of the GM family was genuinely envy endorsing.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, Ford Motor Division, Mercury

(Found In) Inner Richmond (San Francisco) – 1962 Mercury Monterey 2 Door Hardtop Coupe

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Mercury, true to the body in the sky it is named for, never got too far away from the orbit of the (Ford) sun. Sometimes it danced towards being Junior Lincolns, but a majority of the time they spent their existence being nothing but fancy Fords. The one glaring moment counter to that would be the 1957-60 models that did share their body structure with senior Edsels for one year.

Appropriate as we go into Mercury Retrograde, we find one of the finest examples of Mercury appearing barely disguised in its role of “Fancy Ford.” With a smattering of mascara and a burst of blush, make-up was applied to the basic senior Ford body in an attempt to make something special for suburban buyers. Whether that was convincing or not could be summed up by how popular Mercury was compared to its contemporaries.

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Laurence Jones 1950's, Studebaker

(Found In) Lone Mountain (San Francisco) – 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Coupe and 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk

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There can be an amazing price paid for beauty. Studebaker found out far too well when it decided to put a stunning coupe on the market in 1953. Giving the general buying public access to a international flavored fantasy at a fraction of bespoke prices lead to many a headache. Unfortunately, Studebaker didn’t have any expectation of overwhelming success for their new star.

What we behold here are perhaps the most fatal beauties in the history of the American Automotive Industry. In that failure, however, they created an automotive segment that would come to dominate the American Automotive landscape in just over a generation.

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Laurence Jones 1950's, Buick, General Motors

(Found In) Lone Mountain (San Francisco) – 1958 Buick Century Riviera Hardtop Coupe

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There’s plenty that can be said about the 1958 Buick models. This is a given, given how much actual car each 1958 Buick actually is. The massive visual presence of these cars signify the last hurrah of the visual weight that was common with General Motors styling under the leadership of Harley Earl.

Bemoaned for their bric-a-brac at the time, they serve as perfect portraits into the late 1950’s zeitgeist of flash and flamboyance today. No shrinking violet (and how could they truly be?) for better or worse, they’re perfect totems to rampant corporate confidence and the hubris that often brings. Continue reading “(Found In) Lone Mountain (San Francisco) – 1958 Buick Century Riviera Hardtop Coupe” →

Laurence Jones 1950's, Cadillac, General Motors

(Found In) Visitacion Valley (San Francisco) – 1954 Cadillac Series 62 4 Door Sedan

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Perhaps a Solid Gold Cadillac is a bit of a cliché. But by 1954, Cadillac was pretty much the solid gold standard in American Luxury cars. Their value outweighed and outlasted previous prestige players. Lincoln had migrated into being the darling of road races and Ed Sullivan but no necessarily showroom sales.

Packard found itself in a marriage of desperation to Studebaker and the desired feast for more finned beasts that soon would eventually take their Clippers and other confections to an untimely grave. All the while, Imperials were still technically top rung Chryslers, more image aligned with Buick Roadmasters and Limiteds than Cadillacs.
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Laurence Jones 1960s, Dodge, Fuselage, Mopar

(Found in) Islais Creek (San Francisco) – 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 4 Door Sedan

11160290_10152735412347201_1140823247_nOne would look at this swanky “all new” for 1968 mid-sized Dodge and not see an older “full sized” Dodge underneath.

However, Mopar middle children for nearly 2 decades before they were re-visioned 20 years later back to full sized sedan status can all trace their roots back to the infamous shrunken sales failures of 1962.

Each year more and more sheetmetal distance was put between that failed start and a semblance of success. Underneath however, were the main basic goodies that had long proved these to be rather wonderful choices in the intermediate field.

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Laurence Jones American Motors

(Found in) South of Market (San Francisco) – 1967 Mercury Cougar Coupe

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If there’s anything to be said about the Mercury brand of the Ford Motor company is that it seemingly was always the Bridesmaid, never the Bride of the medium price market. Routinely batted around by Dodge, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and even Ford at various stages in their history, they never garnered much in the way of big hits.

The one of possibly two times they stood up on their own two legs and offered a semi-unique product everyone wanted was this swanky coupe to the left. Indeed, the 1967 Mercury Cougar was a surprise out of the ballpark smash that Mercury was very rarely able to repeat again.

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Laurence Jones 1960s, General Motors, Oldsmobile

(Found In) The Bayview (San Francisco) – 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado

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Forward thinking while referencing the past, that’s what the Oldsmobile Toronado wished to do as a new concept in motoring for 1966.

Whether it was fully successful is a question left up to interpretation. As it stands it was a technological tour-de-force, and tempting dead end. Stylish, Suave and Sexy, it was a surprise image leader for Oldsmobile’s Where The Action Is years of the mid 1960’s.
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Laurence Jones 1960s, Chrysler, Convertible, The Forward Look

(Found In) San Francisco, California – 1961 Chrysler Newport Convertible

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Though some parts of the country might be burrowing out of blizzards, it’ll be soon migration season for a particular type of bird. Spring equinox is less than a month away. Soon that special bird of automobile, the vintage convertible, will find its way back into ever-increasing sunlight. This seems like the perfect time to tell the story of a rather rare and odd bird.

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