Hello Friends and Family,

Martin Auto Museum, Part 12

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Link to this year's index by clicking here.

1951 Kaiser Special

Kaiser Motors (formerly Kaiser-Frazer) Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, from 1945 to 1953. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland to form Willys Motors Incorporated, moving its production operations to the Willys plant in Toledo, Ohio. They continued to build automobiles in Toledo under the Kaiser marque until 1955, but South American operations continued to build cars well up into the 1960s.  In 1963, the company changed its name to Kaiser Jeep Corporation.


From the first year of a dramatic restyling that would endure for the rest of Kaiser's automaking history, this 1951 Kaiser Special is one of 38,078 four-door sedans produced that year in the entry-level model range. This Special has been in the same family since new, with Caribbean Coral Iridescent paint that is believed to be original. The car still bears access stickers from the Air Force base where the seller's father served as an officer.

The original engine in this Kaiser still runs and has only 60,450 original miles.


1976 Chevy Monte Carlo Landau Custom

The Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1970 model year, the model line was produced across six generations through the 2007 model year, with a hiatus from 1989 to 1994.


But, if you know the classic body lines of the 1976 Monte Carlo, you will recognize that this car has been customized. This modified Monte Carlo has both the front-end and rear-end from a Rolls Royce, giving this car a whole new look. On top of that, this beautiful car has only 2,000 original miles.


Only 100 of these one-of-a-kind cars were made by a small Florida company between 1973 and 1977. This car was featured on the cover of the March 1976 issue of Car and Driver magazine.


1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V

The Continental Mark V is a personal luxury coupe that was marketed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from the 1977 to 1979 model years in North America. The fourth generation Mark series — the Mark V-was derived from its Continental Mark IV predecessor, bringing an extensive update to the interior and exterior design. While only sold for three years, the MarkV is the best-selling generation of the Mark series, with 228,262 produced.


At 230 inches long, the Mark V is the largest two-door coupe ever sold by Ford Motor Company, with the 233-inch long two-door and four-door Lincoln Continental sedans (produced alongside it) as the only longer vehicle ever marketed by Ford. Distinguished by its sharp-edged exterior design, design themes of the Mark V would be adapted onto Lincoln vehicles throughout the 1980s. For 1980, the Mark V was replaced by the Continental Mark VI. As the Mark series underwent downsizing in the interest of fuel economy, the Mark VI saw significant reductions in exterior dimensions.

All Continental Mark Vs were assembled alongside the Lincoln Continental at the now-closed Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan.


1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Coupe "442 W30 Tribute"

The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile Division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model. It began as a unibody compact car but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate. The Cutlass was named after the type of sword, which was common during the Age of Sail.


Approximately 38,000 Cutlass Coupes were built in 1972 and sold originally for about $3,000. This is a 442 W30 Tribute car. In other words, it is closer to a standard 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass that was painted and badged to look like a 442 W30.


1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega

The Chevrolet Cosworth Vega is a subcompact four-passenger automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 and 1976 model years. It is a limited-production version of the Chevrolet Vega, with higher performance. A total of 3,508 Cosworth Vegas were made and were priced nearly double that of a base Vega — and only $900 below the 1975 Chevrolet Corvette.

Chevrolet developed the car's all-aluminum inline-four 122 cubic-inch engine, and British company Cosworth Engineering designed the DOHC (dual overhead camshaft) cylinder head. Only 5,000 of these engines were built.


All 2,061 1975 Cosworth Vegas were finished in black acrylic lacquer with gold "Cosworth Twin Cam" lettering on the front fenders and rear cove panel and gold pinstriping on the hood bulge, body sides, wheel openings, and rear cove. Black was not available on other Vegas until mid-1976. Most Cosworth Vegas have black interiors. All had a gold-colored engine-turned dash bezel, gold-plated dash plaque with build sequence number, 8,000 rpm tachometer, and Cosworth Twin-Cam Vega steering wheel emblem.

Car and Driver magazine chose the Cosworth Vega as one of the "10 Best Collectible Cars" in its fourth annual Ten Best issue, saying: "We're talking about historical significance here."


1969 Buick Skylark GS Convertible

The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, over 46 years, during which the car's design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over the years. It was named for the species of bird called "skylark".

The basic Skylark was available as a two-door hardtop coupe or a four-door sedan. The Skylark Custom came as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, or four-door sedan.


For 1969, a locking steering column with a new, rectangular ignition key became standard on all 1969 GM cars (except Corvair), one year ahead of the Federal requirement. Buick dropped the Skylark model after 1998.


To be continued...

Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com