The Rare Rides series started off in the early part of 2017 with a concept Ghia that was all Ford underneath. A year later we featured the Quicksilver, which wore Lincoln badges. And more recently, a Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia caught our brougham attention.
Time for some change, and to have a look at a Ghia which is all Chrysler beneath its luxury fittings and beautiful styling.
Believe it or not, a long time ago the Cadillac brand was associated with elderly, moneyed customers. They chose Cadillac for comfort, luxury, and for the stately vulgarity which came standard when you purchased the pinnacle of General Motors. And as the pinnacle personal luxury offering from the Cadillac brand, an Eldorado was the de facto choice for many an American septuagenarian.
But Cadillac desired a younger customer, and a change was due for Eldorado. Presenting the 1983 Eldorado Touring Coupe.
Back in January, we asked you B&B to tell us about the least reliable car you’d ever owned. The stories poured in, amounting to a shocking 240+ comments. It took us days to emotionally recover from the sad tales expressed in your replies.
But today will not be a day of tears. We want to know: what’s the most reliable car you’ve ever owned?
We’ve been on a Nineties streak lately, and our last four editions of Buy/Drive/Burn have all taken place within the decade. Well, ready your baggy beige suit and adjust its extensive shoulder pad region, because today we talk 1992. Specifically, Gtem suggested three luxury SUVs which were very popular with middle-class families across the country.
Ford, Oldsmobile, and AMC Jeep — which makes it to your garage?
This week has unintentionally been all about brougham here on the Rare Rides pages. Kicking things off was the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, followed by a Nissan Gloria in Brougham VIP guise. Broughams from America and Japan, displaying that brougham effect across the globe and across decades.
So let’s try another configuration: a 1970s top-tier brougham from Japan — the Nissan President.
Today in Rare Rides, we’re keeping it brougham. Last time, we examined a grey Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia (as 1970s America addressed brougham).
Now, we check out a grey Nissan Gloria Brougham VIP, as 1990s Japan addressed brougham.
Yesterday, TTAC covered news of the launch of a second-generation K900 model in the United States at the upcoming New York International Auto Show and Mobility Conference. Upon considering the K900 and its potential for success, some questions arose about the three different badges on offer from the Hyundai-Kia conglomerate, and what we might do with them.
Where does Hyundai go from here?
In our last Buy/Drive/Burn entry, we traveled to the heady year of 1995 to peruse a trio of alternative luxury cars. One American and two Swedes vied for a place in the fantasy garage. The comments seemed to indicate a desire for more Japanese cars in the running, and commenter JohnTaurus suggested a trio we might discuss.
The year is 1995 (again). The cars are three unsuccessful Japanese luxury sedans that time forgot. Are you feeling… Vigorous?
Our own Sajeev Mehta pointed out this grey brougham box the other day. He always keeps his ear to the pulse of the Internets for any old Ford, Ghia, or Ford Ghia vehicles which come up for sale.
It’s luxury and elegance on a Grand level! Come have a look.
A special day has finally arrived. It’s the day where we present a Rare Rides that checks the boxes of coupe, convertible, t-top, targa, and wagon all at the same time. There can be only one car in the world that meets all these criteria, and it is, of course, the Nissan Pulsar EXA Canopy.
But you’d know it as the Sportbak. Come check it out.
It has six cylinders, it’s front-wheel drive, and it carries cloth seats and an automatic transmission.
No, we’re not talking about your grandmother’s 1995 Buick LeSabre — today we’re discussing the stylish and French five-door liftback known as the Citroën XM.
Buick has been on my mind lately, ever since reading that the GM division will remove brand lettering on all models starting in 2019. This change isn’t particularly shocking, as Buick is merely catching up with what other premium brands are doing on the badge front (I always prefer more badges to less, brougham-style).
Then, quite literally as my fingers tapped out this post, Mr. Jack Baruth announced Buick must die in short order. But what might General Motors do to save the luxury shield from its own axe?
What would Buick look like for you, in 2025?
Last time, in Part I of this DKW wagon’s saga, we covered a condensed history of the Audi marque. From its inception as Horch, through separation, renaming, and merger into the Auto Union fold, Audi wavered along unsteadily. The company even performed a vanishing act between 1940 and 1964.
In the middle of all this history is our Rare Ride, a tidy DKW wagon from 1962. But all is not as it seems.
The Buy/Drive/Burn series has been stuck in a time warp lately. After tackling domestic minivans from 1994 with luxury appointments, we moved on to 1997 and some nontraditional imported minivans.
Once again, we’re going to keep it in the ’90s and determine which of three imported, alternative semi-luxury SUVs should burn at the stake. Are you ready for gold badges and two-tone? Rhetorical question.
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