Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2025 i Classic American

March 26, 2025 1964 Buick Wildcat Estimate: £10-£15,000 Sold: £9406 And from one extreme to another is this absolute cream puff of a car. Classic American featured this car back in the January 2024 issue (CA393) and it was memorable for how original and unmolested it was. In some ways it’s a bit of a curate’s egg, being a sporty four-door hardtop. While just over £9k isn’t bad for a four-door, it would have almost certainly got a lot more as a two-door coupe or convertible. One can only assume that it’s the Buick Wildcat’s ‘unknown-ness’ as a model that resulted in the final hammer figure. That being said, condition is king and you’d be hard-pressed to find a cleaner car that’s obviously been well taken care of its whole…

By definition, concept cars are meant to foretell the future, if only in the imagination of those conjuring them. The vehicle pictured here was created to look after its owner as more than a mere means of transportation. It would, they claimed, assist them in their daily lives, and at all times, hence the 24.7 tag. That said, there was more than one variant. Built in conjunction with technology provider, Visteon, it was packed with then cutting-edge wizardry, some of which has since made the leap to mainstream acceptance. Styled under the direction of Ford’s enigmatic design director, J Mays, the 24.7 emerged at the 2000 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. There were three versions: for adventurous types, there was a pick-up. For urbanites, there was a coupe…

We are all garage voyeurs. Not one of us can walk past an open garage door without stopping and nosily peering inside, just in case somebody might have a lost Motorama show car stashed away at the back. More often than not we are disappointed and see nothing more than some cardboard boxes, a broken washing machine and a lawnmower, but every now and then our curiosity pays off, just as it did for Adrian Ball when he was out walking his dog and saw, through Mick Elliott’s garage door, the alluring sight of a 1972 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Adrian and Mick live on the same cul-de-sac just three doors apart from each other, but Adrian never knew that Mick was harbouring a Trans Am, while it was news…

Pioneering automotive design firm ICON 4x4 was an early exponent of the automotive ‘resto-mod’ category and has just introduced its latest over-the-top build created with expert craftsmanship and design. A 1975 Jeep Cherokee is part of ICON’s exclusive series of one-off builds called The Reformers. The Reformer series seeks to play a bit of revisionist history, transcending and elevating classic vehicles, with a focus on revolutionising their drivability, all the while elevating every detail within the builds themselves. ICON and its founder and lead designer, Jonathan Ward, had an additional mission with this build: to address the negligent errors of the original Detroit designers by correcting the Native American tribal homages that were incorporated into the vehicle’s original design and adding new ones where it made sense. Detroit designers of…

events&cruises Classic American Events, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR April 18 WHEELS DAY The 50th Wheels Day promises to be a biggie at Newbury Show Ground – more details on this to follow. The Surrey Street Rodders’ annual season-opening extravaganza to raise money for charity and kick off the UK car show season takes place on Good Friday, which this year is on April 18. Expect to see Americans, hot rods, custom cars, British classics, VWs – basically anything interesting on four or two wheels. John Price will be on the P/A and there will be many traders and autojumble, with plenty of activities for kids and the whole family, as well as food and drink retailers. For more information and to register to enter, go to…

There’s been a lot going on this side of the Atlantic over the last few months. Since Donald Trump was sworn in as America’s 47th President on January 20, there have been a whole slew of executive orders and actions taken by the new administration to change the country’s direction. These cover everything from energy security, to borders and immigration, to eliminating government waste. A key one revolves around emissions regulations and electric vehicle mandates. On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order that revoked a previous one signed by Joe Biden, that (although not legally binding) targeted 50% of all new vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2030. This new executive order from the Trump administration also took aim at EV mandates…

Most readers of this magazine will remember Steve Miles, who created an unrivalled historical record of American motoring in Britain when he walked the streets of London in the 1960s, photographing every Yank he encountered. He would later publish his pictures in a series of books and Classic American articles entitled ‘Over Here’. Steve was not the only enthusiast with such great commitment and foresight. Allan Bedford and his late friend Barry Magness grew up around Barnehurst, Bexleyheath and Welling, where Kent touches the south-east edge of London, and captured more than 100 American motors living in Britain during the Sixties; some brand new, some beaten up, and some recently rescued for preservation. Allan and Barry’s work wasn’t just restricted to roadside spots; they also documented the beginnings of British…

In the last article I covered some VIN (Vehicle Identification Numbers), their locations and how to decode them. This time, I’ll continue where we left off, then move on to how to identify whether you have a basic numbers-matching car or not. Last time, I looked at a couple of GM cars from the 60s and 70s. To make life easier, there are some websites to check out, and it is best to find the one that’s relevant to your specific make, model and year vehicle. I have found a few good sites which I have used in the past and they work well. That said, I do use my various catalogues of ID numbers as well. For this article, we’ll be checking out a couple of websites and, maybe,…

Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire February 12, 2025 This month we’re looking at two very different vehicles, both in terms of era and condition (and auction format too – one’s a traditional auction, the other an online one…). First up is this rather challenging-looking Cadillac, although it does have great potential in the right hands… 1955 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe No reserve: sold for £8212 We pointed out this rather ratty looking ’55 Cadillac in our March issue before the sale. Despite no reserve, it seems someone was brave enough to bid more than £8k for it – certainly if one can look beyond its rather dilapidated appearance, there’s a lot of originality in this car. Evidence suggests that this Cadillac spent its early life around the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area thanks…

Classic American cars are more than just a mode of transport; they are cultural symbols, ambassadors for a particular time and a particular place. A late Sixties Pontiac Firebird is evocative of a culture of boulevard cruising and impromptu late-night drag races, and the sight of one was powerful enough to carry the 10-year-old Bob Smith’s imagination far away when he saw it rumbling round rural Gloucestershire. “I’ve always loved American cars,” he recalls, “because when I was nine or 10, a fellow at the top of our village drove this Firebird around and he looked rather cool with his slicked-back hair, a check shirt and Levi’s jeans. You can imagine the impression it made in the Forest of Dean in the late Sixties. I thought: ‘That’s better than a…

Chrysler’s Imperial brand has confusingly over the years been a stand-alone marque, competing directly with Cadillac, Lincoln and Packard, as well as just a top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955 however, it was one of America’s premier luxury car brands and easily held its own against Ford’s Lincoln and General Motors’ Cadillac.…

1. We’re back at Rohner’s Auto Parts in Willmar, Minnesota, a sprawling 80-acre yard home to several thousand vehicles. This place boasts a notable collection of AMCs, including this Pacer, just one of several I came across. Dubbed the ‘Flying Goldfish Bowl’ thanks to its expansive glass design, this one appears to have sprung a leak! Manufactured between 1975 and 1980, a total of 280,000 of these three-door compacts were sold. 2. Before you turn the page in disgust, rest assured that it’s not Japanese. Well, not officially, anyway. What you’re looking at is a 1985 Dodge Conquest, a rebadged Mitsubishi Starion. 3. I doubt this one’s high on your wish list. The Plymouth Champ LS is another example of a Japanese captive import, rebadged from the Mitsubishi Mirage. One…