A few years ago SpeedTV used to air a show called Dream Car Garage. It was sponsored by Legendary Motorcars of Ontario, Canada and catered to everything from high end exotics, to big block muscle cars. One of the best segments they ever put together was a match up of the baddest muscle cars from the 1960′s and 1970′s. What you have to remember before you press play on these videos though, is that the American muscle car was and is, a mythical beast. Names like Cuda, Chevelle SS, The Judge and Boss made European sport sedans of that era quake in their boots. Not because of how fast, or how well they did (or did not) handle, but because of their in-your-face, take no prisoners, power house attitudes. I own two muscle cars and while I love them with all my heart and soul, I’m always amazed at how fast people think they are. Like I said, these old sleds are mythical beasts, and while other cars out there may out perform them, there will never, ever be anything as cool as an old school American Muscle Car. Click through for a whole bunch of awesome!

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Maybe it’s got something to do with me being 6’4″ and 240 lbs. Maybe it’s the fact that my size 15 feet don’t like teeny tiny little spaces, or maybe it’s just that I absolutely LOVE the way that big cars look and feel. America was built on big cars. They took families across the country, to the beaches and got them to work and school everyday. There were no mini-vans or SUVs, just big ass comfy cars that were built in Detroit and as a whole, everybody loved them. I remember as a kid that my parents used to have this 1971 Chevy Chevelle station wagon. It was kind of a mustard color with fake wood paneling down the side and the thing was a downright canoe. Back then I didn’t know a damn thing about cars, but I knew that the back seat was big enough for me to get far away from my sister when we went on family trips.

We then had a green 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass that used be my Grandfathers in Brooklyn. It was also big, but in my book the Chevelle wagon still got the nod – I think I just liked the wood paneling. Back in the 1970′s and early 1980′s all you could get were big cars. Sure there was the fuel crises early on and yes there were a few Japanese imports, but that didn’t stop Americans from going out and getting those big 16 foot road tanks that everyone knew and loved.

The first small car my Dad ever bought was a 1984 Datsun (not Nissan) 300ZX 2+2 with a five-speed. Back then this little thing blew me away. It looked great, had t-tops, a digital dash and hell, it even talked to you. The problem was that it was just really really small and something that we weren’t used too. I remember being crammed in those little back seats with my sister for two hours at a clip on Sundays when we headed back into Brooklyn for Grandma’s Sunday dinner. Dinner was always outstanding, but man did that car ride suck. How I then longed for the big car days.

Now as an adult (well kinda’) I’m honestly not a fan of small cars as I find them very confining and uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, when driving spiritedly smaller cars are great as they perform superbly, on long trips however, hell… stick me in something like a 1970 Plymouth Fury and I’ll be in seventh heaven. Ya’ll know I love cars of all shapes and sizes, but I truly do miss the days when those big dinosaur sized cars roamed Americas highways. I know they’ll never come back, but with three cars in my driveway that are over 16 feet long I feel as though I’m doing my part in helping to keep the big car dream alive.

Every year the folks over at Hemmings Muscle Machines ask their readers to extend a helping hand and assist them in picking their Muscle Machine of the Year. The chosen candidates have all graced the pages of the magazine over the past one year period, and while the Hemmings editors are more than capable of making their own decisions, they kindly rely on diplomacy and let their readers make the final decision as to who takes home top honors. Every car in this years running brings something special to the table, and while all the cars are not bone stock machines, each car represents a section of the muscle car spectrum to which all muscle car hobbyists can relate to. Let’s meet the contestants and remember to cast your VOTES!!

• 1965 Buick Gran Sport: Brian Stone, July 2010

• 1967 Mercury Comet 202: Pete and Sandy Robinson, December 2009

• 1968 AMC AMX-R: Darryl Salisbury, November 2009

• 1969 Chevy Camaro SS/RS Z11: James Germann III, December 2009

• 1969 Chevy El Camino SS 396: Bill Rose, September 2010

• 1969 Dodge Charger (Daytona Tribute): Mike Musto / Todd Ford, January 2010 (That’s right – this baby belongs to your very own Editor-in-Chief!)

• 1969 Pontiac GTO: Tom Schlauch, May 2010

• 1970 Chevrolet Camaro: Amanda Waligora, June 2010

• A pair of 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429s: John Scalfani / Gino Lucci, April 2010

• 1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350: Jim Giacalone, March 2010

• 1970 Pontiac Trans AM: Dan and Susan Dansberry, February 2010

• 1970 Shelby G.T. 500, Fred and Sheri Reichert, July 2010

• 1971 Dodge Challenger 340, Mark Shaw, August 2010

I have no idea how Autoblog found this before I did, but here’s one RV that is so full of retro kitsch that it’s actually wrapped the dial back into cool again. Up for grabs on eBay is this custom built, one-of-a-kind 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado GT motor home. From the beige exterior to the dark paneled, plaid-clad interior (complete with faux marble panels), this camper is a time capsule of 1970s tacky goodness. Break out your BTO 8-tracks, squeeze yourself into those polyester bell-bottoms and get ready to hit the road in style. Trust me on this, you won’t be sleeping alone very often, especially if your rocking a serious moustache.

The camper was factory built for an RV industry executive, then sold to a mechanic who replaced the 455 motor with a new short block just 4,000 miles ago. Unfortunately, that was done back in 1986, so the camper hasn’t been used much in the last 24 years. I’d expect it to need a little work and some TLC, but the whole thing is based on ‘70s technology, which means you can repair anything with hand tools and duct tape. It’s also sold without a title since that’s how the last owner registered it in Georgia, so just make sure your state DMV can still issue plates.

With a buy-it-now price of just $15,000, this baby won’t last. If you want exclusivity, this rig is your ticket to the big time. It’s one of one, baby! Even Ferrari 599 GTO owners don’t get that kind of cred. Besides, you can’t sleep, shower or give your disco queen a Samoan piledriver in a Ferrari 599 GTO. I say 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado GT Camper for the win.

What’s better than a 1966 Olds Toronado? A 1966 Olds Toronado with TWO engines.

Tycoon Grant McCoon of the Grant Piston ring company built this insane prototype in the late ’60s. It has two Olds 425-ci. V-8s, one in its original position powering the front wheels and one in the trunk for the back wheels. The thing supposedly has a combined 770 horsepower and can hit 100 miles per hour in 11 seconds.

McCoon’s plan was to sell twin-engined Toronados to other tycoons who needed a little extra oomph for their daily drive. Needless to say, it never happened and this brown monstrosity is the only surviving example of his mad genius.

Via: Grant Piston Rings, CarPictures.com

Original high res image at Shorpy

In Wilmington, North Carolina, Alliance Credit Union will be rewarding the egregious aesthetic taste of Mr. Saintard at the awards ceremony for the first Ugly Car Contest. Aimed at helping one lucky driver ditch his jalopy in the charitable spirit inspired by the Cash for Clunkers program, Alliance opted to bestow one lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) winner to receive a $5,000 cash prize to be put towards the purchase of a new car or a gallon of Bondo and a few cans of spray paint.

While it doesn’t seem to be in miserable enough shape to warrant a five grand prize – especially not when compared to the other truly hideous contestants – Mr. Saintard’s scratched up Saturn apparently offended the senses of enough voters to earn him the crowd favorite and Alliance’s Grand Prize. Hit the jump to check out photos of few of the more, ah, deserving vehicles.

Source: PRNewsire

Texas grown Edward E. Whitacre Jr. knows plenty about telephones. He spent 43 of his 67 years building AT&T into a multi-national telephone giant. That takes some quality wrangling, my friends. But what about cars?

It’s no secret that our very own stumbling bull, General Motors needs some reeling in. A smart, business-savvy, go-git-em’ Texan behind the reins could steer the company out of chapter 11 bankruptcy. So the U.S. Treasury Department, who are dishing GM a sum of $65 Billion, reached out and touched the retired Whitacre, presumably in his happy place. Yee-haw!

Things should start looking up for GM, they’ve now got a bona fide ‘man of action’ atop their golden shitter. If anybody can figure out how to get the bastard to stop flushing billions of dollars every year it’ll be a man in a Stetson.

“I don’t know anything about cars,” Whitacre said yesterday in an interview following his appointment as chairman of General Motors.

Wait… What?

According to the fine folks at Bloomburg, Whitacre has vowed to ‘learn about cars.’ An entirely fictitious RideLust staffer under deep cover in Detroit has reported that Whitacre’s web browsing history includes a June 7th google search for ‘how cars go,’ and several June 9th viewings of howstuffworks.com’s automobile pages.

“A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m not that old, and I think the business principles are the same,” Whitacre stated.

It takes some serious low hanging spheres to accept a leadership position in a bankrupt international corporation and then announce very casually to the media that same day that you know essentially nothing about the corporation’s product and livelihood. So, a small part of me is clapping for you, Eddie, but damn, you better get your game together fast. First thing you should know about GM cars: they don’t really transform into giant, sentient robots from outer space whose only mission is to aid you into Megan Fox’s panties. I was pissed, too.

As part of its Hail Mary play to avoid bankruptcy (or its first post-Chapter 11 recovery move, you decide) GM has announced it will close over 1,000 underperforming dealerships. The bloated dealer network is plagued by low volume independent dealers housing several brands under one roof. In addition to forced closings, hundreds of dealerships are expected to either consolidate or exit the market voluntarily.

As of the end of 2008, GM had over 6,000 dealerships nationwide and another 1,100 in Canada and Mexico. The target figure is now under 5,000. For comparison, Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships number just over 1,700 within North America. Ford dealers total 4,600.

When General Motors closed Oldsmobile five years ago, the total cost in dealer buyouts and transfer and consolidation fees exceeded $1 billion. Lawsuits raged as the decision came just weeks after GM reiterated support for the struggling brand. Chapter 11 protection would certainly soften the blow this time around, but will they win the PR battle that comes with the big B?

Source [Freep]

Buick has been getting a rough rap lately for producing a bunch of bland, boring cars. But I think we need to remember where they came from. So, without further ado, let’s look at some amazing old Buicks from years past.

For starters, SeriousWheels has a gallery of photos of an amazing 1955 Buick Roadmaster belonging to none other than Jay Leno. It’s pretty hard to argue too hard against the Buick brand when you’re faced with photos as beautiful as these. We’ve picked a couple that stand out, but if you like them, please head over to SeriousWheels and take a closer look — and see if you can guess which one is our wallpaper right now! Perhaps we should also mention that he’s stuffed a new 572-cid crate motor in there? Yeah. Nice car.

There’s something elegant and clean about the lines, something slightly classier, slightly smoother than your typical ’50s cars. And by smooth, we mean smooth like a Vegas lounge singer. Smooth like Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. Smooth in that way that you just feel privileged to be in their presence.

It’s hard for some of us who have had a soft spot for Buicks over the years to hear all the criticism and critique that’s being leveled at the brand of late. They’ve got a long, proud history, but it’s been lost over the decades. They were beautiful American luxury cars — until they somehow became rebadged Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles with softer suspension setups.

It’s coming back, somewhat. The Enclave is a very nice looking crossover-thing, and it drives remarkably well, particularly considering how large it is. It’s much bigger than it looks, and the interior is surprisingly beautiful. (And not even “surprisingly beautiful for GM”, but actually just a really striking, stylish design.)

But I’m not here to defend them. Let’s just spend a few moments drowning ourselves in nostalgia, and have a look at some Beautiful Buicks.

This comes from the Old Car Manual Project, and it’s worth viewing. In fact, it’s worth downloading, taking to Staples, and printing in a nice big high resolution print to put on your wall.

In fact, go ahead, you go do that, I’ll wait. It’s okay, I don’t mind.

Back now? Okay, great. This is a brochure of the 1952 Roadmaster lineup. I’m not sure what else I have to say, other than just look at them! The vent-holes, the huge chrome “C” on the flanks, the character line on the flanks. They’re gorgeous, even for their day. This was the kind of car that you drove if you were a celebrity, a dignitary, or an executive. This was the sort of car that told your neighbours you were doing very well, thank you. This was a car you were very proud to own indeed. While you’re admiring, take note of the kink in the line of the flanks, just behind the B-pillar.

In the later ’50s, that line was even more pronounced. In fact, if you trace it back, it can be seen as far back as the 1940s. Why do we care? Because it appears to be a natural progression from that Buick line to the tailfins of the late 1950s that we all admire so much. It’s impossible to say for sure, but one can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t actually Buick whose styling inspired so many manufacturers throughout the 1950s. If so, that’s a pretty significant contribution to automotive history; most true car fans consider 1954-1957 a period of some of the most beautiful car designs we’ve ever seen. Could we have Buick to thank for that?

(While we’re still admiring the Caballero above… look at that C-pillar! A continual curve from the A-pillar to the rear fin, with a matching character line in chrome on the doors and fenders below. Personally, I’d take that car over a tri-year Chevy in a heartbeat.)

This 1966 Riviera, again heavily modified, shows the same kink. Anyone who tries to tell me that isn’t a beautiful car can just leave. Now. These were muscle cars, proper ’60s sport coupes with a luxurious side as well. If we were back in the ’60s right now, I’d be standing in a Buick showroom, drooling over a Riviera or a Wildcat.

But we needn’t go that far back to find things of beauty from the Buick lineup. The late-1960s were kind to Buick as well, although they had already started to lose their position as the highest-end of luxury brands, as that spot was snapped up decisively by Cadillac. Still, despite their slip in stature, they were still highly-regarded, and still beautiful:

This modified 1969 Riviera looked good when it was new, but looks even better now, at least to my eye. With clean, simple lines, and a quiet sense of restrained aggression, it’s a beautiful car. And it shows its heritage in the kink just below the minimalist B-pillar. That line has embodied Buicks for decades.

Why do I mention this character-line kink? It’s been a design characteristic of Buick for decades, and it’s characteristic of the problem with new Buicks today. On the Allure/LaCrosse and the Enclave, the kink is there. They know it belongs there, so they put it in, but they did it in a half-hearted, uninspired manner. On the Lucerne, it doesn’t show up at all!

Buick has an amazing design heritage to draw on, but they have to be willing to do it. “Half-hearted and uninspired” defines much of what has been done with Buick for decades, and defines much of what GM is doing across its entire line. 

There have been some that said that Buick should be next on the chopping block, or that Pontiac and Buick should be merged into one brand. (Pontiuack? Buiac?) While I’m not a passionate fan of any domestic brand, the loss of Buick — particularly after the loss of Oldsmobile a few years back — would be a tragedy, when all they really need are some people on staff who really understand where the brand used to be, and where it could be again.

Okay, enough nostalgia. A gallery of photos of some beautiful Buicks follows. You enjoy those, I’m going to go have a stiff drink and toast the Buicks of yore.

Cheers, everyone.

Big hat-tip to Sean for the photos and inspiration.

Image credit: Net Car Show, Desert Gardens Cars, Serious Wheels, Hobby Car, and of course The Old Car Manual Project