Tag Archives: 1960s

1967 AMC Marlin

Before the American Motor Corporation came to control this classic car’s destiny under the AMC name, that is, the Marlin was known as the Rambler Marlin. In order to make more consumers feel like they could ride in style, the company incorporated a “personal luxury” style, which not only gave potential buyers a sizable list of standard features, but also provided several additional features to better suit the needs and wants of a diverse culture. With the combination of the standard and optional equipment, buyers could customize the look and feel of their new car. The Marlin itself was officially introduced to the public in 1965. In the beginning, the car received mixed reviews and had a troubled lifespan. When the 1967 model year Marlin was introduced, it was larger than it was in previous years. 2,545 units were sold, and they were more expensive than the earlier models.

English Invasion

As one of the most prestigious car companies in classic car history, Jaguar rolled out a car in the 1960s that certainly stood out among its competitors. One particular model was given the honor of topping the list of Sports Car International Magazine’s “Top Sports Cars of the 1960s” in 2004, and was later also named one of the “100 Most Beautiful Cars” by the Daily Telegraph in 2008.

The People’s Car

Picture a warm summer day, the sun shining bright, with a perfect light breeze to keep the sandy beach just cool enough to walk on. As you take in the waves lapping at your toes, which wiggle happily in the shallow water, you turn to see your closest friends unloading their surf boards and a cooler. It’s the summer sometime in the 1960s, and you couldn’t be happier to be on a tour of the West Coast in your Voltswagen Beetle.

The Yenko Camaro

The Camaro has long been associated with speed, power, and respect on the road, however, there was a time when it simply could not compete with the Ford Mustang and Plymouth Barracuda. At the time that the Camaro was first produced, General Motors had a limit which prevented using an engine larger than a 400 cubic inch V8, much unlike its competition, which had no such restriction.Things changed under Don Yenko, who understood that there was a market for more powerful cars, and so began the story of the Yenko Camero, a modified version of the famous car line, produced under Yenko Chevrolet.

 

The 1962 Studebaker Lark

As America began a new era in the early 1960s, the Studebaker Corporation was desperately tweaking a model which was losing steam. The Studebaker Lark was first introduced in 1959, but by 1961, its sales were already declining. The compact car was missing an iconic American car feature of the time: tail fins. Its design lent itself more to European style, making it difficult for the car to continue competing against other car companies such as the Big 3, which had better adapted to the fickle preferences of the American consumers.

Early Muscle: 1961 Pontiac Ventura

It is hard to pin down the first actual muscle car; some have asserted that it is the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which was built with speed in mind, with an overhead valve V8 placed in a mid-size car with a relatively lightweight body. A lot of observers cite the next big step in the evolution of the early muscle car to be the introduction of the 1955 Chrysler C-300 with its 300 horsepower Hemi engine that could go from zero to sixty in 9.8 seconds and reach a top speed of around 130 miles per hour.

The Ford Mustang and the 1960s

When you take a look at the changes that take place decade to decade, you generally see a rather gradual alteration of the national landscape. However, the pace of the changes that took place during the decade of the 1960s in particularly profound, and they occurred across every aspect of society. From civil rights, women’s liberation, the Viet Nam war and a shifting economy to fashion, art, and music, the sixties were a quantum leap out of the attitudes of the previous decade.

1969 Camaro Z28

When you talk about late 1960s muscle cars you have to mention the Camaro Z28, and many people think that the 1969 Z28 was the best of them all. The Z28 may not have been the fastest car on the road, but it could hold its own and it sure was a beautiful looking motor vehicle.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3Yju1_WD9Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

The 1969 Camaro Z28 featured the cowl induction hood option and the Rally Sport package with the hidden headlights. The ’69 Z28 came with front disc brakes as a standard feature, and four wheel disc brakes were also offered in 1969 for the first time. This option is interesting to note because the all-wheel disc ’69 Z28s are rare–only 206 of them were sold and half of those were in full blown race cars.