1956 Lincoln Capri, Franklinville, N.Y.

I know, I know… I’ve been involved in an ambitious house painting job these past couple of weeks, and the spare time is scarce. But yesterday when I saw this 1956 Lincoln Capri sitting in the back row of a small used car lot in Franklinville I had to stop.

...from the brochure

Not the top of the line, the Capri was overshadowed by the more expensive Premiere, but they both had the same styling which was all-new for 1956. This particular car still looks to be in pretty good shape on the outside, but the interior looks as if someone has (or had) a restoration in mind, as it’s quite disassembled. Still, not too bad for its age!

Quick — call me a tow truck!

I think you can guess the next line, so I won’t bother. This abandoned 1957 Ford tow truck is currently parked next to what appears to be an equally abandoned service station in Silver Creek, N.Y.  Judging from the six-lug wheels I’d guess it’s an F-350. And also judging from the lack of a V-8 badge on the grille (and the lack of holes which may have indicated there was once a badge there), I’d also guess it’s packing Ford’s 139-hp six-cylinder engine. V-8s were optional in 1957, the first year for this new body style. If you wanted to jazz-up your ‘57 Ford truck, you could add such nicities as an electric shaver (!), an oil filter, or turn signals! My, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

1957 Ford F-350, Silver Creek, N.Y.	...from the brochure
optional radio - whoo-hoo!	restored 1957 F-350 in Denver, CO

...from the 1968 Yellow Pages

Paul Wilson Chevrolet, located at 27 Main St. in North Tonawanda, was just one of many automotive users of the building over the years… Begole, Leiphart, Joe Basil (yes, that Joe Basil), and finally, Flanigan Chevrolet were some of the names to adorn the facade before Flanigan abandoned the joint for new digs on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst — which eventually became Amherst Chevrolet before turning into another abandoned building a few years ago. The building in North Tonawanda, after sitting empty for what seemed like forever to its neighbors, recently was bought and refurbished and is now home to Ridege Furniture Warehouse.

27 Main St., N. Tonawanda today

Back in 1968 when this ad was running in the Yellow Pages, you could buy a new Chevy Caprice 4-door hardtop like the one pictured for $3,271. Or if you were a bit more thrifty, the 6-cyl. Bel Air 4-door was a mere $2,723.

...from the brochure, 1968 Caprice

...from the brochure, 1968 Bel Air

If you’re the adventurous type, with deep pockets, there’s an Impala convetible on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price of $64,950! It has the Super Sport option (the SS ceased being a separate model in 1968) with the 427 engine. And the guy is only asking about 20 times what it cost new in 1968. Happy bidding! Click here to see it.

1968 Impala SS427 on eBay

1980 Chrysler LeBaron, Olean, N.Y.

This somewhat rare 1980 Chrysler LeBaron two-door was spotted in a front yard on one of the numbered streets of Olean’s west end. It looks pretty good for its age, doesn’t it? The license plate frame reveals it was purchased at Marra Bros. Chrysler in Olean, one of the stores which closed in Chrysler’s recent dealer cutback. Back in the old days, when even I was young, the nameplate “LeBaron” on a car meant its owner had arrived. In the late 1970s and on into the ’80s, the LeBaron’s owner may have gotten to where he was going, but it had nothing to do with having arrived. The new LeBaron, a name once reserved for the top-of-the-line Chrysler Imperial, was now Chrysler’s entry into the mid-size sedan market. In four-door form these Chrysler LeBarons, from 1977-81, were a mainstay of police departments all over the U.S., albeit mostly in the very similar Dodge Diplomat guise. By 1982 the LeBaron had morphed into the somewhat gaudy Fifth Avenue.

How about a little BLING, Scarecrow? The 1980 Chrysler Lebaron LS Limited

...from the brochure

...from the 1965 Yellow Pages

What in 1965 was Del-Ton Buick, at 363 Delaware in the City of Tonawanda, is now home to Awnings Plus,  FiveWest Enterprises, and FW Signs. In later years, Del-Ton (on DELaware in TONawanda, get it?) would go on to become Skill Buick, and in 2005 Keyser Buick — where I got my first job in the car business. Keyser closed in 2007 in the great GM paring down of single-brand franchises; it was sold and moved to Don Davis Pontiac-GMC on Niagara Falls Boulevard, where it remains today.

In 1965, when this ad ran, Buick had 27 different models, ranging from the Special Thin-pillar Coupe at $2,343 on up to the Electra 225 convertible at $4,440.

363 Delaware St. today

...from the brochure, 1965 Buick LeSabres

...from the brochure

1966 AMC Ambassador 990, Olean, N.Y.

What you’re looking at is a 1966 AMC Ambassador 990, parked in the dirt of a used car lot in Olean, N.Y. It’s significant in that it was the first year that Ambassadors weren’t badged as Ramblers any more; the Ambassador (along with the Marlin sports coupe) was marketed in 1966 as a separate AMC make, even though you’d be hard put from a block away to tell a ‘66 AMC Ambassador apart from a ‘65 Rambler Ambassador. This was pretty much AMC’s last gasp effort to keep up with The Big Three. AMC tried to pretend that they could match them model-for-model, but when you came right down to it, many of its cars were cut from the same cloth — and the buying public wasn’t fooled. In a further effort to stretch the number of different badges, the ultra-luxurious new DPL hardtop, conceived to compete with the Ford LTD and Chevy Caprice, wasn’t officially an Ambassador — but was just an AMC DPL.

1966 AMC DPL - not an Ambassador!

In 1968 the Ambassador made news when it became the first volume car to make air-conditioning standard across the board — something not even Cadillac or Lincoln could boast of. Alas, it didn’t help much, and the Ambassador departed from the AMC lineup after the 1974 model year.

...from the 1960 Yellow Pages

As you can see from the photo, 1570 Main St,. near Ferry, was last occupied by Crest A/V Electronics, but at one time it was home to Erhart Motors.

1570 Main St., Buffalo N.Y. today

In 1960 Erhart sold the Volvo, Jeep, and Studebaker brands. This was back when Jeeps were still made by Kaiser-Jeep, and were branded under the Willys name, before being bought out by American Motors.

...from the brochure 1960 Volvo 122

Erhart Motors eventually ended up also selling the Checker, remembered mostly for their taxi cabs.

...from the brochure 1960 Jeep CJ3B

1966 Dodge Polara, Lakewood, N.Y.

I’ve been eyeing this 1966 Dodge Polara for more than a year now, and figured I’d better snap a photo before the weeds get too high. It’s resting comfortably in the midst of what some might call a collection (which I’m sure others just consider an accumulation) down in Lakewood, N.Y., just across the road from Chautauqua Lake. You don’t see many mid-60’s full-sized Dodges around much anymore. Even eBay at present has a dearth of them — two to be exact

'66 Polara 2-dr hardtop on eBay

The one in the photo (with ‘65 Pontiac wheel covers) has 162k on the odometer, and is sitting in California with a bid of $1,675 as this is written. It certainly looks in better shape than the one in the grass!

...from the brochure

2009 Chevrolet Caprice (Dubai)

Well, you can sort of get it here, but not exactly… and not for long. I’m talking about the 2009 Chevrolet Caprice. What? You didn’t know Chevy still made the Caprice? Apparently you haven’t been to Dubai lately (next time you’re in the neighborhood, stop in at Liberty Automobiles Company LLC.  Located in Sharjah on the King Abdul Aziz Road, they’re the local authorized General Motors dealer for Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer, and Opel). The Caprice is a re-badged Holden, much like the Pontiac G8 sold in North America.

Last week GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, who recently announced his un-retirement, told the press that GM wouldn’t be turning the Pontiac G8 into a Chevy Caprice for the 2010 model year after Pontiac goes out of business. Lutz said that with budgets being what they are, GM’s money could be better spent elsewhere. There were stories going around that the Caprice might go into production as a possible police car, perhaps breaking the stranglehold that Ford seems to have on that market.

So it looks like, for now anyway, if you want one of these full-sized, Australian-built rear-wheel drive V-8 sedans here in the U.S., it’ll have to be a Pontiac G8… but time’s a’wastin’, as once those 2009s are gone… they’re gone!

...from the 1970 Yellow Pages

I’m sure when you think “French car” you probably have in your mind a Citroën “D” series, either the earlier ID (1955-65) or the later DS (1966-75), which was imported to America through the 1972 model year. In 1970 Citroën also imported a handful of the Mehari utility vehicles, in 1971 a few of the compact GS, and in 1972 and 1973 you could buy a Maserati-powered SM (’73 being the last official year Citroën imported its cars to the U.S.).  And here in Buffalo you could buy one at the French Car Service, located at 17 Clyde Ave. just off Kensington Avenue near the expressway. It was probably tough to make a living selling Citroëns in Buffalo, so the FCS also serviced other French makes, such as Renault and Peugeot, both of which were sold in Buffalo at other dealerships.

...from the brochure

1970 Citroën DS Pallas

In 1970 one could buy a Citroën DS for about the price of a Cadillac — which is why many Americans who could, didn’t.

Today the dealership site, according to Edmunds.com auto repair shops’ reviews, is occupied by Elite Auto Repair, although the sign above the door reads

1970 Citroën Mehari

“Better Bilt Security Steel Doors of WNY.” At any rate, the French Car Service has been gone for some time now.

17 Clyde Ave today