More and more of these early-50's Chevys are showing up at car sales and meets. They were good, solid cars; they just got overshadowed when the memorable '55 with its small-block V8 was introduced. Even so, this one sold for $34,250 plus buyer's commission fee.
A sharp 1947 Studebaker into which a modern Ford V8 and automatic transmission has been fitted. Bidding reached $23,000, but no sale.
This 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom with body by Brewster was built in America, at the Springfield, Massachusetts factory that operated 1921-1931. Bidding reached $300,000 but that wasn't enough to buy it.
This is why we call the luggage compartment a "trunk."
Ford's greyhound.
And Cadillac's, um, bird. Pedestrian safety? Don't even ask.
Ah, a  s u p e r - c  h a r g e d  Cord. Actually, the supercharger was a sign of weakness: the company's engine division, Lycoming, couuldn't afford to introduce a more modern and powerful engine. Cord, like its stablemates Auburn and Deusenberg, was on its last legs.
1940 Cadillac Imperial Limousine. Yes, it says V 16. Luxury makes engaged in a cylinder race mostly for prestige and partly for more power. But the real advantage of V-12s and V-16s was the great smoothness and torque range. In the days before automatic transmissions, such a huge engine reduced the need to shift gears.
Interior of the Cadillac V-16. Simple but elegant and of the highest quality materials. A glass partition provided conversational privacy for the back seat occupants. The little round object above the driver's head is a speaker whereby instructions could be given to the chauffeur. Sold for $73,500. (Plus auction fees.)
1935 Packard Super Eight Phaeton. In those days, Packard still had more prestige than Cadillac. Bidding on this one peaked at $135,000.
This odd creation looks like it was designed for Batman or, perhaps, the Joker. It started as a 1955 Thunderbird. Most of the modifications were intended to make it resemble a special T-Bird that set speed records. Bidding reached $15,000 but it didn't sell. If the owner had restored it to original condition, the car would have been worth two or three times as much.
A great '55 Dodge. No sale at $15,000.
Remember "continental kits"? The claimed advantage was more trunk room, but it was a pain to reach around the tire and the extra foot or so of bumper made parallel parking even harder.
Would you like to buy a Hummer? Oh. Guess I shouldn't have bothered to ask. It was a no-sale.
2005 Chrysler Crossfire. Only 7,900 miles and still under warranty. It cost $42,000 new, but sold here for $19,750 plus commission. Well, if you want one, it's nice to get 'em like new for half-price.
1965 Shelby Cobra CSX4000. Bidding reached $65,000.
A great example of a tail-finned DeSoto, the car memorialized in the comic strips Piranha Club and Shoe. Stylist Virgil Exner put fins on Chrysler Corporation cars, and by the late 50's the appendages reached caricature proportions. I prefer to remember how Groucho Marx would sing "It's delightful, it's delovely, it's DeSoto!" This '59 sold for $28,000.
Oh no, they installed the seat crooked! GM and Ford also offered swivel front seats for a time, but they never caught on.
Nice job of customizing a '53 Mercury. The chrome side strip is from a Pontiac.
An honest-to-goodness race car. This '63 Ford is "the original 1974 AHRA Stock Record holder owned and raced by Bill Samuels from 1967 to 1976." And get this: it's completely street legal. Impress the kids hanging out at the Sonic Drive-In. Inexplicable, a no-sale at $28,000.
There sure were a lot of '55-57 Chevys painted in turquoise and white. My '57 four door hardtop was in those colors.
Not so many '59s in orange. Somehow, bidding got to $60,000 before it was declared a no-sale.
There was a time when GM was so big, powerful and rich it could afford to give Chevy an all-new design for 1958--then scrap it for another all new design the next year. Incidentally, 2008 is the 50th anniversary of the Impala. High bid: $55,000.
Here's a neat '62 Buick custom. The owner's sign conceded  "Green may not be your color, but I believe you'll change after seeing this gorgeous sedan. ... Dare to be different." Bidding reached $45,000 (!) but it was a no-sale. Good grief, what reserve was the guy insisting on??
And speaking of green, here's a splendid '41 Packard Convertible Sedan in bilious tones. A very nice car, though, and it sold for $77,000.
1961 Ford Starliner hardtop. Sold for $29,500.
For those who eschew flamboyance and glitz, instead preferring understated elegance that affirms one's good taste, an '82 Excalibur. Someone took it home for $28,500.
This little '62 MG A is so appealing, even if it is a coupe. I had a roadster, and learned too late that MG still used wood in its bodies: floors didn't just rust, they rotted. It sold for $16,500.
You say you're an accountant, and you'd like a car that's appropriate for your profession? No sale; bidding ended at $2,100.
Oh boy, a '47 Buick Super convertible like the one my brother owned, except his was black. This car was a "barn find" that had been stored since 1972. The seller had cleaned it up but when you took a close look you found the car was in rougher condition than the picture suggests.
A wee bit of wear and tear.
Just the thing for a top-down cruise on a summer evening.
Attention to detail: note how even the "Buick" and the "fast / slow" adjustment mimic the look of the speedometer and odometer.
When you can stick a quarter into cracks on the side of a tire, it's time to get some new rubber.
Handsome lines. The car sold for $21,000. It'll take that much or more to bring it back to like-new condition.
Speaking of handsome lines, I think Pontiacs of this vintage (a '61 here) were GM at its post-war best. Sold for $19,000.
Pontiac called the three carburetors "tri power," and that 389 cubic inch engine was one strong powerplant. Gas mileage? No one cared very much back then.
Mopar had muscle, too. Yeah, it's a Hemi.
Cadillac's billion-dollar bungle. Allante bodies were handcrafted by Pinin Farina in Italy, then flown to Detroit to be matched with chassis and drive train. They didn't sell well originally, and don't command high prices today.  This '91 sold for $3,900. Maybe I should disregard my rule, "there is no such thing as a cheap luxury car." It wouldn't cost all that much to fix and maintain, would it?.
$22,000 bought this pretty '51 Chevrolet Bel Air Deluxe hardtop.
Owner testimonial.
Everyone should own a red Cadillac convertible at some point in their life.
A hundred yards away, you could be sure it's a '59 Chevy. Even though a "total restoration," it sold for $13,100, a rather modest amount nowadays for such a car.
One should also have a yellow Corvette at some point in life. And you can buy a pretty nice one for less than ten grand.
Bidding ended at $11,100 on this fully restored '65 Ford Falcon Ranchero Sport Custom Pickup.
Back in high school days, a '53 Ford coupe could be bought for a few hundred dollars. This fine original (57,000 miles) V-8 with stick shift cost $7,000.
Lands sake, it's a ... Lands! Actually, a 1986 "Lands Precedent [or do they mean "president"?] Sports Wagon Concept Car." Only two were built, unsurprisingly. It has a Ford engine, a fiberglass body with steel doors from Citroen, and an electric liquor dispenser (for those who enjoy electric liquor). Well, the buyer--who paid $11,000 plus commission--will almost certainly be the only one on his block with a Lands in the driveway.
An older restoration, but still a handsome car that'd be fun to take for a spin. This '30 Model A coupe with rumble seat sold for $13,400.
Millions of VW bugs were sold, but how often do you see one now? It only took $2,000 plus commission to buy this '70 Beetle. I think I'd pay that much for it.
And now for something completely different. Only a few hours on this demo model '06 Branson. High bid: $13,000.
Any car looks better with a flame paint job, don't you think? Supposedly it cost $10,000 to put the special paint on that '83 Rolls-Royce four door convertible  in the middle. Apparently it didn't impress the auction crowd much; bidding petered out at $8,600.
Some admirers call Buick Rivieras modern-day classics, but these cars are still affordable. This '67 got a $5,200 high bid.
Need to haul some stuff? You could have bought a '62 Corvair van for $14,100. Hope the new owner doesn't mind driving in crosswinds.
A '54 Chevy Bel-Air. It sold for $9,400.
Chevrolet was at the bottom of GM's price tier, but it still exhibited a flair and style that left Fords of the era in the shade.
Hey, I want one of these! This diminutive roadster is a 1950 Crosley Hotshot. Bring an umbrella if you want protection from a rain shower. Someone got it for $6,000.
The Crosley fits within the wheelbase of the '65 Lincoln next to it.
Wearing its patriotism on its fenders, a '50 Mercury evokes the spirit of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.
Raymond Loewy's brilliant design for the Studebaker coupe was five years old in '58, but still distinctive and dashing. This Silver Hawk sold for $6,200. Say, those tailfins weren't Loewy's idea, were they?
Nope. Just tacked on in a futile effort to keep up with the Big Three.
Edsel Ford was the father of Lincoln's Continental, so named because it was supposedly inspired by European design.
1954 Kaiser Manhattan. That round object visible under the hood is a supercharger, an attempt to give the car's feeble flathead six some zip to match its racy looks. Bidding reached $3,500 before the car was declared a no-sale. Its rough interior was a major negative factor.
The kind of Cadillac an executive or well established doctor might use for commutes to the office or country club. This classy '41 series 62 coupe brought $47,500.
A fully-automatic transmission was an exciting option for 1941 Cadillacs. (It had been introduced only the year before by Oldsmobile.) Note that on these early Hydra-Matics the choices are N, Hi, Lo and R. There was no "park" back then.
1953 Mercury Custom Monterey. Last year for the venerable flathead V8. In those days, if you paid for whitewall tires, you got tires with white walls. High bid: $34,000.
From the era of flappers and bathtub gin, a fine 1927 Willys-Knight. The "Knight" was a tipoff the engine employed a sleeve-valve design; the pistons moved inside tubes that also moved up and down to open or close valve ports. Sold for $13,100, a modest price considering its condition and rarity. Too many collectors want 60's muscle cars instead.
There has been a sad decline in rear seat legroom. A bumpy ride back there, though.
Before cars had coolant temperature gauges on the dashboard, there was the Moto-Meter. This one is combined with some artistic decoration.
GM used a lot of chrome in the 50's, and this '57 Olds Super 88 hardtop is one of the most attractive examples. Proof: it brought $41,500.
Tailfins first appeared on Plymouths in '56; by 1960 they had assumed the proportions of a Buck Rogers creation. Guess it seemed like a good idea at the time. High bid was $17,000.
If I recall correctly, Plymouth called this "Space Command" styling. Note the push buttons at the left, which control the automatic transmission. Chrysler introduced the mechanism in the '56 models, and by 1960 buttons were almost passe. No one mourned the loss. Note the elegance and craftsmanship of the aftermarket radio installation in the pod on the right.
The iconic tailfins of the '59 Cadillac.
1936 Ford Model 68 Convertible sedan. Sold for $51,000.
1963 Ford Thunderbird. A fellow I worked with in Tulsa had one of these. Kind of a boat, really. (The car, not him.) It brought only $6,300, so it might turn out to be a good long-term investment.
Two appealing T's; one for work, one for play. The '27 pickup brought $7,600; the '22 that was converted into a speedster sold for only $4,850. Gosh, it seems the Shriners would pay more than that just to get a neat parade car. 1908 is the hundredth anniversary of the introduction of the Model T, the car that put the world on wheels.
Here's a 1959 Morris 1000 Minor, a very sucessful car for the British mass market.. The "1000" refers to engine displacement, which actually was only 948 cc or 57 cubic inches, so by American standards the Minor was indeed rather minor. There was no Major, by the way. Sold for $6,600.
They called them "trafficators." When a driver actuated the turn signal control, a slim paddle popped out of a slot to inform other motorists of the plan to change direction.
A very rare 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham pillarless four door hardtop. The roof is stainless steel. Incidentally, the slang term for rear-hinged portals like this car had is "suicide doors." Sale price: $127,500 plus commission.
A Chevelle SS and a Camaro. Muscle cars of the 60's dominate the collector auction business nowadays. For example, this year's Leake Auction offered nine Camaros just from model year 1968.
One of the great classic cars: a 1937 Cord Supercharged Phaeton. Original design drawings for this memorable creation are on display at the Auburn Cord Deusenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana. These Cords were front wheel drive, as hinted by the projecting housing at the base of the grill. No sale; high bid was $190,000.
What!? You looked at all those great cars and didn't buy a single one? What are you, weird?