Calling all cars!

[GoldenEraFan]

The cars my paternal grandfather owned before 1955 are a mystery. My dad recalls him owning a Plymouth or something related in the early '50s. He was also said to have had a car during WWII that he kept on blocks and under heavy tarp for the duration, most likely another Chrysler product. When he started buying new cars in 1955 he would tend to trade them in every 2-3 years because he didn't want to deal with maintenance issues. He owned a 1955 Dodge, 1957 Oldsmobile 88 (my dad remembers this one quite well), 1960 Oldsmobile, 1962 Oldsmobile, 1963 Buick, 1964 Pontiac Catalina, 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass (the latter 2 would later become my dad's cars), and several more Oldsmobiles through the '90s, I think including a 1979 Oldsmobile 98. My family also had a retired 1955 Ford police car for some time in the '60s. If I had my pick of the bunch I'd say give me the '55 Dodge and '57 Oldsmobile!

 

[FountainPenGirl]

A 1964 Pontaic Catalina was mentioned. I couldn't resisting posting a picture of mine. I bought it from the original owner years ago with a little over 26,000 miles on it. That's the closest I ever got to having a new car. I've now had the car the larger portion of it's life and put most of the miles on it.

 

[Big Man]

A 1964 Pontaic Catalina was mentioned. I couldn't resisting posting a picture of mine. I bought it from the original owner years ago with a little over 26,000 miles on it. That's the closest I ever got to having a new car. I've now had the car the larger portion of it's life and put most of the miles on it.

Very nice car.

 

[rjb1]

I had an involuntary "Wow!" when I saw that Pontiac.

 

[GoldenEraFan]

A 1964 Pontaic Catalina was mentioned. I couldn't resisting posting a picture of mine. I bought it from the original owner years ago with a little over 26,000 miles on it. That's the closest I ever got to having a new car. I've now had the car the larger portion of it's life and put most of the miles on it.

That's a very nice Pontiac you have there! My dad had a 4 door model.

 

[FountainPenGirl]

Thanks all for the nice remarks. 4 doors were probably the most popular. These 2 door sedans were one of the rarer models. There were even more 2 door hardtops. I think the fewest were wagons which are getting more popular now.

 

[Smithy]

Not vintage but classic, I picked up a 1970 Mercedes 280S three months back and I love it. It's only had one owner since new and was serviced every 6 months even over the last few years where it's hardly been used. Beautiful to drive, the ride is like a magic carpet. Our digital camera packed up just this last week so can't take a photo but here is one which is similar to ours (although ours has the chrome wire guards over the fog lights).

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Not vintage but classic, I picked up a 1970 Mercedes 280S three months back and I love it. It's only had one owner since new and was serviced every 6 months even over the last few years where it's hardly been used. Beautiful to drive, the ride is like a magic carpet. Our digital camera packed up just this last week so can't take a photo but here is one which is similar to ours (although we have the ivory hubcaps which match the ivory paintwork and has the chrome wire guards over the fog lights).

Cars 25 years or older are considered vintage in the car world.

 

[Smithy]

Cars 25 years or older are considered vintage in the car world.

Not where I come from.

Your definition is the US definition of "classic" and "vintage" motorcars. The UK and Commonwealth definition tends to be Classic (older than 15 years), Vintage (built between 1919 and 1930) and Veteran (pre-1919).

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Not where I come from.

Your definition is the US definition of "classic" and "vintage" motorcars. The UK and Commonwealth definition tends to be Classic (older than 15 years), Vintage (built between 1919 and 1930) and Veteran (pre-1919).

I did not realize that, thanks for letting me know.

 

[vitanola]

I did not realize that, thanks for letting me know.

Here in the 'States, these terms were once well defined. A "Horseless Carriage" or "Brass Era" machine was built before 1916, a "Vintage Car" was made between 1916 and 1929 (in some contexts 1932), a "Classic" car was one of a select few Marques of the highest quality, built between 1925 and the War certified by the CCCA, and a "Special Interest" car was one of the few post-war machines which were worthy of collectible status, such as the Continental Mark II, the Corvette the two-seat Thunderbbird, or the Willys Jeepster.

I remember those days quite fondly.

In the late1970's and early 1980's, these formerly well-defined terms were appropriated by hucksters for their own purposes, and have since become nearly meaningless, though in some circles a gink who calls his 1975 Pacer a "Classic" will still be asked just where it appears on the CCCA list.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't consider my '41 Dodge to be "vintage" or "classic" in any way, any more than I do my '97 Toyota. Both of them are well-used used cars.

 

[Foxer55]

vitanola,

Here in the 'States, these terms were once well defined. A "Horseless Carriage" or "Brass Era" machine was built before 1916, a "Vintage Car" was made between 1916 and 1929 (in some contexts 1932), a "Classic" car was one of a select few Marques of the highest quality, built between 1925 and the War certified by the CCCA, and a "Special Interest" car was one of the few post-war machines which were worthy of collectible status, such as the Continental Mark II, the Corvette the two-seat Thunderbbird, or the Willys Jeepster.

In the state of Maryland, and most other states I am aware of, the DMV licenses cars older than 20 years as 'classic.' I believe that's by request but it has to be 20 years old.

 

[rjb1]

In TN the cutoff date is 25 years. Anything older than that is considered to be an "antique" for legal purposes. It can be 1908 or 1968 - no difference in legal status. The #1 legal constraint is that once you get antique plates, you can't use the vehicle for "general transportation". A lot of people don't get antique plates, even if eligible, because they don't want to live with the driving restriction.
Car clubs and such may have more categories, but they are all the same as far as the State goes.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Not vintage but classic, I picked up a 1970 Mercedes 280S three months back and I love it. It's only had one owner since new and was serviced every 6 months even over the last few years where it's hardly been used. Beautiful to drive, the ride is like a magic carpet. Our digital camera packed up just this last week so can't take a photo but here is one which is similar to ours (although ours has the chrome wire guards over the fog lights).

A 280S? Meaning it's carbureted, rather than fuel-injected?

 

[LizzieMaine]

The #1 legal constraint is that once you get antique plates, you can't use the vehicle for "general transportation". A lot of people don't get antique plates, even if eligible, because they don't want to live with the driving restriction.

That's nominally the deal here, although it's not enforced -- and it's very common to register an older car with "antique" plates to avoid having to get an annual inspection sticker. The streets here are lousy with late-'80s rustpile-and-bondo pickup trucks being used to haul lobster traps and fishing gear while bearing "Antique Auto" plates. Such things as that render the whole idea of "antique" meaningless.

My own categorization is simpler. If I can remember seeing a car on the street on an everyday basis at any point in my life, it isn't an "antique," no matter what the plates say. I make an exception for the Stanley Steamer I see around town every summer, but that's the only one.

 

[rjb1]

I wish we could get away with that here. Even though it's a State law, it's enforced by city cops. You could probably get away with it for a while, but there are too many of them (cops) to escape detection for very long.
One sort-of similar thing here is that if a car is older than 1974 it doesn't have to go through emissions inspections. You get the same license plates with no driving restrictions so it's a nice benefit. I have a 1972 240Z which I bought at last partially to avoid that inspection nonsense.

As an ego thing, I tend to agree that if I have seen it on the road myself, or if my friends' parents had one, then it's not an antique. (to some extent that is to prevent me from being considered an antique...)

 

[Smithy]

A 280S? Meaning it's carbureted, rather than fuel-injected?

You got it Paul. Goes bloody well although a tad on the thirsty side

 

[Talbot]

Here in Melbourne we have a simliar process. You can get a limited registration for qualifying vehicles for either 45 or 90 trips a year.

You carry a log book and are required to record details of your journey.

You can still get full registration for general use however the costs are much higher.

I used to drive my 'early' every day, but now I prefer to enjoy it on weekends, not the daily commute.

 

[Smithy]

Here in Melbourne we have a simliar process. You can get a limited registration for qualifying vehicles for either 45 or 90 trips a year.

You carry a log book and are required to record details of your journey.

You can still get full registration for general use however the costs are much higher.

I used to drive my 'early' every day, but now I prefer to enjoy it on weekends, not the daily commute.

As Talbot says, here in Melbourne there's similar options, you can also register the car on club plates which means you're far more restricted in how often you can drive, and (as Talbot says) you keep a logbook which has to be present with you whilst driving, but the annual registration fees are much cheaper. I toyed with the idea on putting the Merc on club plates but I didn't want to be heavily restricted.