Are You a Classic Car Expert? Guess These Vintage Cars
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Name That Car
1. This make was known for the silver streak that ran the length of the hood.
2. The car originated in 1926 as a lower‑cost model offered in tandem with the Oakland.
3. This model was a step up from the Special Six economy line.
4. This was the last model year that cars of this make came with convertible tops that had to be lowered by hand.
5. General Motors ended production of this make in 2010.
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1940 Pontiac Deluxe Six Cabriolet
In October 1939, my father traded in a troublesome 1936 Packard convertible for a new maroon cabriolet. It was very snazzy indeed, with a red leather interior, a black top, wheel trim rings, a deluxe front bumper, and fender skirts. I arrived the following March and happily recall the car from my earliest days.
Eventually, the maroon paint faded, and the front-seat leather split at the seams. Dents marred the fenders, the white Tenite steering wheel cracked, and the differential whined. Late in 1950, my father traded in the convertible for a maroon station wagon. I saw the convertible again only once, at an intersection one rainy night, and later was sad to hear that it had been badly smashed up.
As years passed, I grew nostalgic for the old convertible and longed to find my own. Eventually, in the fall of 1979, an antique-car dealer on Cape Cod offered one—but it had been totally dismantled. I had no capacity to refurbish the car myself, but luckily I had met a superb restorer in central Massachusetts. He finished the project in 1982.
My car is much like my father’s but with a tan top and whitewalls. Most convertibles of this make had straight-eight engines, but like our original, this has a six, with a three-speed manual transmission. It has the same rare, elegant elliptical rear window as my father’s car. On the road, it inevitably evokes happy horn toots and enthusiastic thumbs-ups. Unlike its owner, it looks terrific at 75 years old! — Christopher Morss
There used to be a thought that it’s more efficient to let the car idle instead of shutting it off if you’re waiting for a long time, here’s why you should shut it off.
Credit: Reminisce February 2015
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Name That Car Clues
1. The car’s manufacturer has its corporate headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
2. The model name is a stylized version of a term for a vast assembly of stars.
3. The manufacturer added a “1/2” to the model year of its revamped midyear lineup and unveiled the changes in the European principality of Monaco.
4. This car has the fastback “sports hardtop” roof that was added in the middle of the model year.
5. The manufacturer introduced its iconic Mustang a year later, also as a midyear model.
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