1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

In the same spot at the same time as another GM product from a while ago. This was the second time I've seen this car, and it's owner -- a nice guy.

Love the formal roofline, the way the vinyl in the roof traps dirt & moss into patterns, and gradually peels from the metal, the very long rear overhang. And how there needs to be a thin chrome strip surrounding everything. The door that covers the fuel cap is behind the licence plate. I thought that sort of detail disappeared in the '70s for safety reasons.

1954 DeSoto Firedome

Now the mystery car visible in the previous post.

Those giant chrome molars in the grill! And a miniature secondary maw with it's own little teeth in the bulbous extravagant hood, flanked on either side by those malevolent eyes. A dinosaur on wheels. Then there are the more moderate details -- the peculiarly modest tail lights, the odd shape of the "C" pillar, the deeply recessed front wheels, the great bulge of the rear fender to engulf the wheels. The chrome setting for the door pulls, the little cover for the keyhole (to keep it clear of ice?), plus continuous chrome at the base of the windows. This was the era of moderate fins and imagined stream lining to communicate speed.

Unfortunately could not properly capture the noble portrait of de Soto in the center of the steering wheel.

1965 Valiant 100 Hardtop

No Plymouth markings on this car, making it the Canadian version.

Interesting items: The merest suggestion of fins leading to the vertical tailights, the barely visible front turn signals, the bulges in the rear fenders which reach out to integrate with the rear bumper, the chrome on the door frames and rain gutters surrounding the windows, the way the rear fenders hide the upper part of the tire. And then the humorous additions to the interior.

But what is that black car lurking in the background? Some may already guess from the tailight in #1. But you will have to wait until the next post to be sure.

1970 Pontiac GTO

A little too shiny and polished for me, though this does provide interesting reflections. The GTO is a great car, one of my favourites from when I was a kid.

Interesting fenders with straight lines contrasting curved surfaces, the deeply recessed grilles bordered by squarish headlight surrounds, plus the ever important hood scoops & tachometer bulge.