Classic Cars From America

GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY

 General Motors was founded by William "Billy" Durant on September 16, 1908. Durant had become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, Michigan before making his foray into the automobile industry.
 At its inception, GM held only the Buick Motor Company but in a matter of years would acquire more than 20 companies including Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland, today known as Pontiac.
 In 1899 a German company named Opel entered the growing automobile market and only 30 years later, became a part of General Motors.
 Adding Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Opel diversified GM's offering. During these years GM also opened more than a dozen new plants outside the United States. The milestone Cadillac LaSalle, with curves rather than sharp corners, and a long low stance, made people see cars as more than just a mode of transport.
 During World War II, GM supplied the Allies with more goods than any other company. In 1940, GM President William Knudsen was chosen by President Roosevelt as Chairman of the new wartime Office of Production Management. By 1942, 100% of GM's production was in support of the Allied war effort. 
 GM played a lead role in developing the guidance and navigation system for the first moon landing aboard Apollo 11, and designed and manufactured the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) for Apollo 15. (*1)
 The company is now the second largest car manufacturer in the world employing approximately 266,000 people around the world.
The entire history of GM and of all its acquisitions are too much to be repeated here.
One of the best all round histories can be found from my normal source. (*2)

1). The Buick Motor Company.
 
The company was formed in May 1903 and 37 Buicks were built during 1904. David Dunbar Buick became the largest car manufacturer in America by acquiring smaller manufacturers and shortly formed a company known as General Motors.
This 1916 Buick model 45 (*3) pays tribute to the styling that helped bring GM to where it is (make that "was"). Production numbers are unknown but this was one of the early "closed-in" cars whereby Buick headed Ford in that design by as much as 4 years.


This 1924 model 41 offered a window between front and back seats. This model is reported to be built in Canada.
 There are so many genuine classics from the early days of Buick, it is difficult to exclude any. Your attention should be drawn to any of these older models between 1916 and 1932 when the classic lines of Buick were readily distinguishable from other cars of the same era. These can only appreciate in value.

The Buick Wildcat Coupe of 1967 is definitely a classic. The Wildcat began as a concept car in 1950 and it was not until 1962 that it was fully developed and commercial production begun. From 1962 to 1970 some of the best coupes in America came with the Buick badge. They were offered in 2 door convertible or coupe and 4 door sedan or convertible, with 401cin V8 and later a 425cin V8.

2). Oldsmobile was phased out in 2004 and production ceased. Sadly, some beautiful creations in automotive design cannot be shown here. One day, I will create a web site for classic cars by companies no longer operating.

3). Cadillac Motor Car Division
 
was begun in 1902 and purchased by General Motors in 1909. Since its creation, Cadillac has always been the top of the range from the General Motors stable.
Needless to say, external design, dimensions and interior decor has also always been uniquely American. It might seem that despite the interaction with European manufacturers and the wide range of European cars imported into America, local manufacturers held strongly to their unique creations.
Cadillac was no exception, being known as some of the longest cars in the world, accentuating the rear "fins" which were really never adopted in Europe, and because of the relatively low cost of fuel, American motors continued with V8 power while Europe moved quickly towards smaller engines with either V6 or straight 4 cylinders.
My choice of classics may therefore seem irreverent.
The 1941 Cadillac Model 6229D Convertible was one of the better looking productions. While most coupes and convertibles look better than a sedan, this one stands out. Otherwise known as the Series 75, it was produced between 1938 and 1941 with a 346cin V8.
Exact production  numbers are unknown.

The Eldorado has always been a favourite among Cadillac owners and collectors. Not surprising; it was in production between 1953 and 2002 being the longest running American luxury car. During the 49 years with 8 so-called generations, they came only in 2 door coupe or convertible and with engines ranging from a "small" 331cin up to the huge 6.0L, and all V8. This 1956 model (left) is my selection.

The deVille was another name synonymous with the spectacular Cadillac lines. The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe also called the Series 62. In years of production they actually defeated the Eldorado running for 56 years to 2005. Created as the top of the line Cadillac, all later models came with 4 doors and V8 power while coupes and convertibles were offered in the early series. The 1971 model (left) is hard to beat. (*4)
 So popular was the deVille series that their name and badge were copied for the locally produced Holden Statesman series in Australia.

 4). The Pontiac Motor Division
 
  was born in 1932, after GM dropped the Oakland name from the company it had bought in 1929. Pontiac only produced for the US, Canada and Mexico markets beginning production in 1926. The first of their real classics was this 1932 series 402 and 302, 6 and 8 cylinders respectively. There were 45,340 produced although separate figures for this 402 model (*5) cannot be found.

Though some may argue, I wait until the famous GTO is produced between 1964 and 2006 when almost every model can be considered a classic.  The Catalina name was quickly dropped in favour of GTO which GM chief engineer DeLorean admitted was prompted by his admiration for the Ferrari 250 GTO.
 The annual updates and design changes produced some stunning engineering, least of  which could have been this 1969 beauty (top left) or even the more stunning 1966 model (top right) (*6). Again, early models were all V* and 2 door.

Not long after the introduction of the GTO, Pontiac introduced the Firebird in 1967 which proved equally popular with the speedheads of the day. After only 2 years, the name was changed to the now famous Trans Am. V8, 2 door was the norm although an entry 6 inline was offered in all years. This 1974 Firebird Trans Am has got to be one of the best.

  5). Chevrolet Division.
 
The Bel Air range followed from the Styleline in 1950 and production continued through eight 'generations' until 1981. Many of these Bel Airs are genuine collectibles today.  Such is their popularity, it makes sense to record several of the range - the 1956 Convertible from the 2nd generation;  The front end particularly bears a striking resemblance to the "Australian designed" Holden of the time.

The Impala badge was first used with Bel Air although production of the separate Impala badge ran during the same years. While the Bel Air was the top of the Chevrolet range at the time, Impala quickly became better known and more popular. For anyone who knows anything about American cars, Bel Air and Impala are names synonymous with ultimate American automobile styling. This is a 1958 Bel Air Impala Convertible. (*7)
The Impala was produced as a separate name between 1958 and the present day although a few short interruptions to the production occurred. It was one of the greatest production successes of all time with numbers setting annual, national and international sales records in several years. Not the least successful was this 1966 Impala SS Convertible.  
You thought I would never get around to it. The Corvette. One of my favourite American sports cars. Actually, the first sports car produced. Between 1953 and 1965, these models began as competition to the European sports cars being imported by returning servicemen from WWII. The C1 from '53 to '62. Over 61,000 were produced in all with this 1962 model (*7) being the biggest seller at 14,531. Despite many complaints about them being underpowered, poor breaking, poor transmission etc etc, my preference is for this 1953 Corvette. They definitely look better in white. (*8)

While we are in a sports car mode, the Camaro was another popular model although no more than 235,000 cars were produced between 1967 and 1969. That should to my mind, make them also a good value collectible. They were produced in coupe and convertible form with 6 and 8 cylinders. Here is the 1969 SS model. (*2)

Despite some self admitted problems with bodywork, the Chevrolet Vega and its cousin, the Pontiac Astre was the first sub-compact models from the GM stable and the Vega alone, sold over 1 million units winning many awards in the process. Many different models were produced and while some collectors may be shy of mechanical and body problems, I can't help thinking this 1974 "Spirit of America" special edition hatchback would be worth a good concours job.
Following the earlier C1 Corvettes, the C3 was produced between 1968 and 1982 with annual production ranging from only 17,316 in 1970 to 53,807 in 1979. Those figures appeal to this collector. Once selected as a Pace Car for the Indy 500, these were one of Chevrolet's better sports cars and somewhat revolutionary for American design engineers.  This is a 1975 C3 Convertible (*10)
The Corvette was sub-branded the Stingray between 1969 to 1976.

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References
*1 - General Motors
*2 - Wikipedia
*3 - America's Classic cars
*4 - rrrlc
*5 - Oldtimer Picture Gallery
*6 - Dallas Dance Music Forum
*7 - SeriousWheels.com
*8 - Automotive History Online
*9 - The Super Cars
*10 - Classic Car

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