#1950s
Rare Rides Icons: The History of Imperial, More Than Just a Car (Part VII)
Today’s installment of the Imperial series is our seventh and coincides with the seventh generation Imperial. Officially it was the second-generation car under the new Imperial marque, an independent arm of Chrysler launched in 1955 to compete with the likes of Lincoln and Cadillac. The move to independence brought with it a resurgence of interest in the brand, as the Exner styled ’55 and ’56 Imperials stood out from the rest of Chrysler’s offerings visually, and in terms of quality and luxury. We pick up in 1957 when it was time for another new Imperial.
Rare Rides Icons: The History of Imperial, More Than Just a Car (Part VI)
Our Rare Rides Icons series on the Chrysler Imperial picks up today at perhaps the most pivotal time in Imperial’s history. As the model’s fifth generation concluded in 1954, Chrysler was also concluding development of its big secret plans for Imperial: A new luxury brand of exclusivity and prestige.
Rare Rides Icons: The History of Imperial, More Than Just a Car (Part V)
Our history of the Imperial series continues today, as Part V coincides with the dawn of the Fifties. Imperial wasn’t in the best place after its long-lived fourth-generation model was parted by the cruel reality of World War II.
But Chrysler was determined to launch the Imperial of the Fifties in a big way, with more body style availability, the return of two wheelbases, and new technology.
Rare Rides: The Very Obscure DKW Schnellaster Elektro-Wagon
Recently Rare Rides featured a very clean example of the DKW Schnellaster van from 1956. The front-drive and transverse-engine layout of the Schnellaster previewed in the Forties the basic format of the family minivan that would arrive over three decades later.
Among the standard Schnellasters produced, there was an even rarer variant: An electric version, as DKW experimented with the possibilities of early EV tech.
Rare Rides: A 1956 DKW Schnellaster, Very Old Van Time
Rare Rides has featured a DKW vehicle only once previously, in a little Brazilian-made version of the mass-market 3=6 wagon. Today’s DKW van also occasionally wore 3=6 badging, but was known as a Schnellaster or F89 L.
Rare Rides: The 1959 Goggomobil Dart, Tiny Roadster Sans Doors
Today’s Rare Ride is an obscure variant of an already obscure microcar. The Dart you see here was an Australian-designed and built version of the Glas Goggomobil.
Rare Rides: A 1951 Pegaso Z-102 GT Berlinetta, Prototype Luxury Coupe
Today’s Rare Ride hails from a Spanish company that made some very fast sports coupes for a very short while. Let’s find out some more about Pegaso.
Rare Rides: The 1951 Muntz Jet, First-ever Personal Luxury
Did you ever wonder which vehicle is credited with being the very first personal luxury car? Wonder no more, as it’s today’s Rare Ride, the Muntz Jet.
Rare Rides: The Very Rare 1964 Alvis Graber Super Coupe
A small British firm headquartered in Coventry, England, Alvis faded from the automotive memory of most long ago. But for over 50 years, Alvis produced quality, hand-made British cars for the moderately- to very-well heeled.
Today’s Graber Super Coupe was one of the more luxurious ones.
Junkyard Find: 1959 International Harvester AM-80 Metro-Mite
Looking at my Junkyard Find posts for 2020, I find that I’ve been neglecting American trucks for much of this year (I don’t consider the PT Cruiser to be a true truck, despite being categorized as one by the federal government). For that reason, I’ve decided to share this thoroughly used-up IHC Metro-Mite stepvan before the year ends.
Rare Rides: The 1954 Woodill Wildfire-Buick, Fiberglass and Fun-sized
Today’s Rare Ride was formerly unknown to your author. A brief boutique brand in the Fifties, Woodill went away long before most of you were even born. Let’s see if we can learn a bit more about this American take on the classic British roadster formula.
Rare Rides: The 1953 Chrysler Special, by Ghia
Though Rare Rides has featured many examples of vehicles which wore Chrysler badges and Ghia designs, there’s never been a single car which represented both.
That changes today, with this very rare 1953 Chrysler Special.
Rare Rides: A Luxurious Lancia Aurelia From 1953
Rare Rides recently featured this car’s successor — the lovely Zagato-built Flaminia coupe from 1965. Today we’ll jump a decade prior and take a look at Lancia’s flagship offering from the Fifties.
Rare Rides: The Grandiose Cadillac Eldorado Seville, From 1960
A light dew suspends itself on finely manicured lawns as you glide past. Lucky Strike in hand, Miles Davis plays on the radio as you adjust the six-way power seat. At the office, the space in front of the door has your name on it.
The year is 1960, the winner of capitalism is you, and your car is the Cadillac Eldorado Seville.
Rare Rides: The 1948 Willys-Overland Station Wagon - the First SUV?
Rare Rides has featured a classic Jeep previously, with the Kaiser-Jeep-produced Jeepster Commando. While that model was eventually succeeded by the Jeep Cherokee, today’s Rare Ride was predecessor to the Wagoneer.
Let’s learn about a seven-seat SUV from 1948: the Willys Overland Station Wagon.
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