Old cars vs New cars

[vacerator]

The final presidential

limousine of this style of Lincoln was built for Nixon in 1969 at ASC (American Sunroof) in Southgate Michigan.
ASC also did the padded roof custom Landau Cadillac's that were factory ordered.
It's German born founder Heinz Pretcher suffered with severe depression and hanged himself in his Grosse Ille home in the 90's.

 

[johnrk]

I'm Guessing

that you mean the final Lincoln rather than the final one of these unitized Lincolns built on the 1961 body. That was the 1968 built for Nixon by Lehman-Peterson, who were building the Lincoln limousines from 1964 on. It was the first with the flip down rear bumper to make a step and the grab bar built to raise from the trunk lid. They also made a standard '67 Lincoln convertible into a matching SS followup car. The last Lincoln was the one that Reagan used when he got shot in '81, and it was a beauty--based on the 'Mercury' Lincoln that came out in 1970. They put suicide doors on it.

To my eyes, the ugliest of tho limos of that time was the Reagan Cadillac, photo below. They made the door windows so slanted that it looks like it's drunk! There's a shot here also of Clinton's pudgy Impala/Fleetwood based limousine.

There's a shot here also of JFK's SS-100X when it was quite new; you can tell because it has the 1961 Lincoln grille on it, which was replaced in 1962. Remember, Ford owned it and they wanted it updated for marketing reasons. You may notice those beautiful wheel covers on the early SS-100X. They are actually the cast wheel covers for the Continental Mark II. Because they kept getting damaged in transport, they were replaced by the much less expensive 1957 Lincoln covers. Those are the covers on the car when JFK was murdered. Why those? The '61-63 Lincolns used 14" wheels and the last Lincoln with 15" wheels was the '57. And of course after the murder the car went back to Hess & Eisenhart, who stripped it and added over a ton of armor plating, and the bulletproof greenhouse, along with a trunk a/c unit. It remained in service until 1977.

LBJ never liked riding in that car, and I don't blame him. I'm not superstitious or anything like that, but the idea of riding around in the same place where another guy got murdered would give me the creeps!

 

[vacerator]

I can remember the photo

and the caption description out of a new Michigan history book in 1970. I was in 6th. grade. The limo looked like the one in photo #5. Maybe the book was incorrect, or maybe ASC only made or fitted the roof. My high school was just down the road from ASC, and the factory as was then was in the photo also. Pretcher died in 2001, but was well connected to the republican party, and Detroit is on the way to D.C. via I-94 or rail from Chicago. Also just a 20 minute drive from either Detroit Int., or Willow Run airports. Lots of large military cargo planes used to land there.

 

[johnrk]

The Book

was in error. If you look at photo #7, Mr. Lehman and Mr. Peterson, the owners of the company that made Lincoln limousines from 1964-69, stand in front of the limousine (#5) that they made for the government.

 

[ovrphil]

Favorite older cars

I don't ever get tired of reading about the cars people own, owned and/or drive currently. I love those old Caddy's When I worked for NCR in Detroit, at the corner f W.Grand Blvd. and the Lodge Freeway, I would walk a short distance to look at the new GM cars displayed in the lobby of the Albert Kahn designed GM Building., completed in 1923. The lobby was massive wih huge escalators and the enormously tall ceilings. Unfortunately, photos of this lobby are difficult to find that match my description; the one included here is away from the lobby. But one day, taking my NCR lunch break, GM had all the new 1985 cars on display. I checked out a 1985 Cadillac Biarritz convertible (similar to the one here). sitting behind the wheel, admiring the dash and white interior, choking on the $30K+ sticker price. I picked up a color chart which sadly I can't find anymore,but the choices filled two pages You had an amazing array of colors, something today's cars are sadly missing.

While modern cars are better in some ways, I like the older cars , as the caddy's, and some of my own that I wish I hadn't sold. Here are two of my favorites, the other being a 1968 Cougar five-speed(custom installed at the dealership and used as a demo car). I loved that Firebird 350...remember following a Panera across the Mojave, when moving out to California ( at too high of speed). That was a great engine!

 

[vacerator]

Phil,

in 1985, I worked on W. Grand blvd. also.
The GM building is now city offices, etc. called Cadillac Place.

 

[ovrphil]

MIKE,

Hi. What are the chances, eh? That was such a great place - sorry they had to move to the Ren Cen but everything changes in time. I'd like to see if they kept the elevators in the lobby, but I'm guessing ...it was totally reconfigured to maximize space, right? Mike, if you have ANY photos of the lobby when the cars were there, or anything of that lobby, I would love to have a copy. Also, I haven't tried contacting GM and just see where that goes.

Great times. I haven't been to the RenCen though my niece works for Blue Cross Blue Shield; I'd have a double excuse to see the GM lobby(?) at the RenCen.

Um...what did you do there in 1985 and did you too also enjoy the lobby and car exhibits one could "try on for size"?

Phil

 

[vacerator]

Phil,

I worked for Borman's inc. foods (FJ) at W. Vernor and the blvd. as a produce manager at the time. A friend of mine worked for EDS in the Argonaut building, and we met for lunch on occasion in new center. I did see the cars on display.
I left that store shortly before it closed and to the east suburbs where we were opening new stores.
I remember when your building said Unysis on it.
We don't go downtown much anymore, but there are positive things happening. A new high rise is going where JL Hudson's used to be.

 

[foraloysius]

This is the website of a German Mercedes Benz classic dealer. They have some beautiful classics for sale in their "museum". Lots of pictures of most models.

https://alltime-stars.com/fahrzeuge/

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Remembered how about 30 years right across from my grandparents house who live near the street corner (James St./River St. Flat Rock, MI) that a small '80's Pontiac Sunbird station wagon spun around in countless circles, even bending the stop sign post...

Finally the car with that frightened man and woman who'd you could seen the very pale look on their faces gained composure and could continue driving back on the main rd. (River St.) and I just didn't know what to do watching all that on their front porch...

So minutes later a police car stops by the scene to straighten the stop sign pole, then head off in the direction that car drove towards, apparently the driver and passenger were probably just doing a quick turnaround, only for most-likely the one cop in his car to make sure they were both alright and recommend them going to nearby Seaway Hospital around that way (where my grandpa died at, probably months or a year or years later)...

-- Dave