Great color combination. No problem finding that one in the parking lot. =^.^=

I doubt those were the factory colors and yet, they seem appropriate for this vehicle.

That's a classy classic!

Indeed it is. I was a huge fan of the Chevy Bel Air, but those are so commonly found at shows, I found myself growing tired of them. Now, give me a Ford Fairlane or one of its derivatives like this Skyliner any day.

I totally forgot about those corrugated panels.

They're great. And these were in fine shape.

And who can ignore those white-walled tyres? ^__^

Thanks for sharing. :)

Thanks for looking!

Our friend Ursus also caught a quirky detail in this picture that perfectly sums up one of the things I love about 1950s American cars.

In the curved piece of chrome trim below the door handle is a little trap door. You can see the indentation where you would place your finger to swing it up to reveal the key insert to unlock the door.

It's almost as though the automotive designers back then were playing little tricks on the American motoring public. Things like hiding the door key insert under a piece of trim. Hiding the gas-filler opening under the left tail-light. Fun stuff like that.

Cars like this one appeal to my love of colour and detail, my lifelong car-nerd ways, and finally to my Silly Crossfolf love of All Things Silly. Can you believe that America's roads were once filled with cars like this?

That's just it; I really can't! Given how rather bog standards modern autos are, built to safety and environmental standards (which, don't get me wrong, are certainly important), someone has yet to find a way of meeting those standards while adding that same flare, that same soul, to cars of the mid-century. I fear that the era is lost when driving wasn't just a way of commuting, it was an experience in itself. :)

I enthusiastically agree with you that engineering and building cars to the safety and environmental standards that carmakers do today is indeed important. And I, too, wish that the automotive industry could somehow combine the best of the old and the new. It has been attempted; I'm thinking of cars like the new Mini or the VW Bug, not to mention all the American reissue neo-muscle cars. But they're not quite the same.

As a life-lone fan of the Great American Land Yachts, what I really wish is that Cadillac and Lincoln would start offering real Cadillacs and Lincolns again instead of the vulgar, overpriced, glorified Chevrolets and Fords that they've become. If I'm ever foolish enough to spend $100,000 on a Cadillac, it'll have tailfins and a convertible top!

And yes...I also sometimes fear that the era of simply taking a drive for it's own pleasure is becoming lost. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve those day-long Sunday drives to nowhere in particular.

*silly car-geek Crossfolf out*

Awesome combination of chrome & colors.
I'm sooo... tempted to lick the chrome.
Yes, Its a Canine thing...

It tastes like butterscotch

Hooowls..!
A-ha, so I'm not the only one licking shiny chrome.
Thanks for sharing.

back when style counted...

V.

It's something I look for and try to bring out in my photos

Back when little Safety was told off to "go and do the homework" at the entrance to the bar, and mister N.Cap was spanked with a hard dollar, for ruining 'the_Fizz'.

Maybe we need another war, so we could have the post-war engineering back? Hm..

*laughs...

the girl living up the road from me went through the windshield... she lived, but had to have corrective surgery on her face. Last I saw her was in 2000 and she was still going strong...

V.

As a child, i lived thru several crashes (russian-ones, when cars are totalled) in a Lada Riva, so i take it for granted when people tell me they don't need airbags, or mandatory special seats

Oh yes... mankind throughout history has hardly been concerned with safety issues...

V.

Love it!! I believe this is a factory-correct color scheme of Torch Red ( an optional Thunderbird color ) over Raven Black. Pretty!

For me, red-on-black is a tricky combination. Sometimes I think it's dead sexy, and sometimes I think it exudes a creepy "Dracula/Vampire" sort of vibe.

This one is definitely in the first category. That brass panel both compliments and balances the bright chrome trim, and it lends a certain warmth to the overall color scheme. The whitewalls and full wheel covers dress it up even more...very nice!

Ahhh...the days when cars had such color and detail!
I*crossfolf car-geek out*

Thanks for the enlightenment on the color combo.

I loves a two tone. The interesting thing is I'm starting to see two tones again. I wish we had more body side mouldings.

I once owned a 1978 Dodge Omni that was painted pale yellow over creamy white. Looked great. Lousy clutch.