Rugd1022

They certainly were, as were / are some of the two and four door versions of the Pontiac Parisienne, Catalina and Bonneville and similar models from Chevrolet or Buick - last night I started watching series 2 of 'Streets Of San Francisco' which is full of stuff like that in the background, I kept pausing the DVD just to ogle them! I made a point of double checking the internal dimensions of my garage at the weekend to see what the biggest yank mobile is that will fit, alas it's about a foot too short for those graceful Pontiacs etc but will comfortably take a Mustang, Mercury Cougar, Pontiac Firebird or Chevy Camaro. Pity really as I really fancy one of those floaty old land yatchs…. what's crazy about these cars is that even the better examples cost less to buy than a '60s Mini Cooper or Cooper S...

Correct Mike - it only wore the 'T-stripe' for two days, it was photographed outside 'A' Shop in the snow in January '63 whilst awaiting inspection, approval for the experimental yellow end treatment was not given and it went straight back inside to have it painted over to match the other end. Even then the small yellow panels weren't standard, all four corners were radiused and the yellow didn't go down to the bufferbeam lip.

Another dose of Americana.... in the mid '60s Pontiac went full steam ahead with their new 'wide track' chassis frame idea (one of John DeLorean's most successful during his time there) and the launch of the GTO series which meant a whole new range of cars appeared in one go requiring the publicity department to step up their already prolific rate of producing some beautiful advertising imagery, the two principal artists were Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman who's drawing styles managed to match perfectly...

Cape Kennedy, 16th July 1969...

A few more...

More random Americana...

The 56 shot on MGRs is definitely not Daw Mill, I used to sign it and it didn't / doesn't look like that, the topography is all wrong, it's more likely to be Drax or Eggborough…

The Ballad Of Easy Rider - The Byrds

Rock On - David Essex

A few nuggets from Stoneleigh this morning...

Ah the early Firebirds... this lovely example is for sale, although it's a '69 without the full width chrome treatment at the front or the opening quarterlights in the doors that the '67 / '68 cars had... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1969-Pontiac-Firebird-350-V8/173852662388?hash=item287a6d1a74:g:c9sAAOSworNcOHtG Just found this photo of an early one, to me it oozes the essence the muscle car era and makes me think of the Mattel 'hot-wheels' racing track set I and some of my mate's had as a nipper, we'd often get all our sets together and fill my back garden with the orange track sections in loop the loop fashion...

Down on the Glos & Warks yesterday...

Some more random yankee nostalgia, I love the graphic style of this period...

Alone Again Or - Love

The American car 'scene' has always been pretty big in this country but I'd love to know how big the owner's garages are...

Thanks for that Alastair, most informative - half way through reading it I was going to ask you what the straight six version was like but you managed to pre-empt me! I've been looking into various Mustang specialists this week who seem to have a regular turn over of quality examples of all the body styles (not so many genuine Shelbys about though). YouTube has come in very handy in this regard too and the number of options available in period is staggering for a mass produced car, mind you Ford were always very goods at this on both sides of the pond. Essex and parts of Yorkshire seem to be the hot spots for dealers in Mustangs, Dodges and Pontiacs etc. I've never really fancied a convertible but the notchback coupe and fastback have always been high on my 'list'. All this talk of muscle cars has had me digging out certain cult films of the period from the dvd cupboard too, 'Vanishing Point', 'Two Lane Blacktop' and 'Bullitt' have had an airing this week, no surprise there really. Another one is probably not on that many US car enthusiast's radar but is well worth a look, namely 'Un Homme et Une Femme' from 1966, which has Jean-Louis Trintignant driving two Mustangs - a red convertible as his daily hack and a white coupe in the '66 Monte Carlo Rally, plus a GT40 in Eccurie France racing trim, the footage of these cars is beautifully shot. I've also been watching the first series of 'The Streets Of San Francisco' from 1972 which has a Mustang or Camaro of some description parked on almost every street corner (and half a million Beetles or so it seems). There's a big American car fest coming up at Stoneleigh this month which will be a good chance to have a gander at some choice machinery and hopefully chat with a few owners. Found some more nice period Americana...

I was rear ended in my '73 P6 2000TC at a T-junction in the Cotswolds back in 2006 by a large Vauxhall (Senator I think it was), the tow bar the previous owner had fitted saved my bacon with no damage to the trusty Rover whatsoever, but the poor Luton-mobile had a gaping hole in the front valance and a very surprised and apologetic driver! Going back to the recent NEC restoration show - this gorgeous '68 Mustang Coupe was on display at the time and it turns out it's for sale, it's very tempting (and I must admit it's a million miles away from the Citroen SMs, Alfas and Lancias I've been pondering over lately), recently restored, it's one of 122 'Rainbow Of Colour' limited run examples made in this colour, I believe only 500 cars were sold through this particular promotion in early '68, spread across ten non-standard bright colour options... it's probably the only type of American car that will actually fit in my garage...

Newfangled old fashioned plates have arrived for the purple peril... bought from 'Numberplates4u' at the NEC show and came well packaged, very good quality and service too, I made a point of asking for the black border and 'square cut' typeface...

Another one from Rick McCloskey, the archetypal 'GT Man' with his trusty steed on Van Nuys Boulevard in the Summer of '74...

Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - The Korgi's

Some more Americana from the lens of Rick McCloskey, Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, June '72...

Love The One You're With - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Nice clip here of the Paddock parade at last year's Le Mans Classic : E-Types, MGBs, Big Healey, Porsche 911s and 908s, Ferrari 250GTO and 275GTBs, Cobras, GT40s and no less than five Bizzarrini 5300s, rare enough beasts as they are but two of them are RHD... turn the volume up a bit and enjoy...! https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+ac+cobra+LE+MANS&&view=detail&mid=057DF9145AAD8245D4C1057DF9145AAD8245D4C1&&FORM=VRDGAR

Lovely selection there Pete, thanks for sharing them. Nice Cobra replica next to the E-Type, not over done on the bling front with massive wheels and low profile tyres like some are, and I notice it's an auto! Nice simple dash in it too . Just found this, looks like a recently taken posed shot but it's from 1972, taken on Van Nuys Boulevard, Los Angeles...

A Town Called Malice - The Jam