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The Lincoln Capri was introduced as the automaker’s upscale offering in 1952. The Capri was one of the finest cars offered in the 1950s and outsold its stablemate, the Cosmopolitan, until the latter’s end in 1954. The Capri would have a large following through 1955, remaining Lincoln’s best-selling model until the Premiere (which was very similar to the Capri) was introduced in 1956. The two sedans here were available in the December 1977 issue of Hemmings Motor News.

From the sellers’s descriptions: 1954 Capri, 4-door, all options including air conditioning, milestone national first prize winner in 1976, 39,000 miles, all original, $5,500.

1955 Lincoln: This is one of those nice old original cars you hear about and always miss by one day. Here is your chance! All original black and white paint, excellent chrome and stainless. The interior is like new, all original red and black leather; power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seat, 61,000 miles, automatic light dimmer. $1,250 drives it home.

Lincoln stayed away from the glitz and glamour that the other car companies were adopting in the mid-1950s. Much of Detroit was going to new bodies, fins and excessive brightwork while Lincoln stayed muted compared to the competition. The Capris pictured looked much like those from 1952-’53, aside from minor differences in styling, but all of the 24,322 Capris produced in 1954-’55 were fine cars with a dedicated following. The asking price of the 1954 today would be $21,500 and the 1955 would equate to $5,000.

With its handsome lines, the Capri sedan is a desirable yet affordable Fifties Lincoln with average examples selling for a little over $10,000, while top examples can command around $30,000. The Capri would make it to the end of the decade but would be dropped from Lincoln’s lineup after 1959. We’ve featured a few Capris in other issues including two 1955 hardtops in the July 2011 issue of Hemmings Classic Car, and the May 2012 issue of Hemmings Motor News.

You know you’re a certifiable car nut when you start buying parts for vehicles that you don’t even own, but would like to…someday. Like purchasing a pair of jeans two sizes too small in the hopes of losing the weight required to make them fit, some of us will buy a car part for a model that we’d like to own, so it can serve as inspiration for the future.

Such is the case for this Pontiac gauge cluster that was standard in 1964 Grand Prixs and Bonnevilles. I’m a fan of all of Pontiac’s early to mid-1960s Big Cars, but especially Grand Prixs, with my preferences leaning toward the 1963 models, but I also like the ’64s…and the ’65s, ’66s and so on.

As soon as I saw this cluster, I instantly felt like I was in a 1964 GP—or a ’63 since it’s similar, though not the same as the cluster in that model. I quickly surmised that, at the very least, it would make a good display item and its price was right.

I also reasoned that since this cluster was standard in multiple Pontiac models (unless the optional accessory gauge package—same bezel different gauges in it, or A/C—bezel replaced with a different one for the vent, were ordered), there are plenty of them out there, so I’m not buying a really rare part and keeping it out of circulation for those who need it to finish a project. Some validation of my reasoning lies in the fact that the cluster didn’t garner much attention while it was for sale.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my purchase. There’s some light pitting and streaking on the chrome bezels—it’s certainly a “driver” piece—but the fuel, clock and battery gauge faces still look great. Thanks to its all metal constriction, it has aged well and is quite heavy, especially when compared to clusters that were installed in Pontiacs just a few years later.

It will serve its purpose well as a display item and an example of how, many components were really built to last in the 1960s. Maybe it’ll even lead to a ’63 or 64 GP when I hit the lottery-someday. That’s after I get the ’73 GP I’ve promised myself for years.

Have you ever purchased a part for a car that you didn’t even own yet but hoped to in the future? Tell us your story.

Spend enough time, and one could probably compile a complete set of photos of the Las Vegas strip from every month of every year in the latter half of the 20th century, all through individual tourist photos found on the web. Or one could do like Vintage Las Vegas and find a complete set of photos from one end of the strip to the other, all shot in January 1969 by an unidentified photographer. From that series we’ve selected the four with the most traffic. What do you see here?

1966 Dodge Charger. Photos courtesy FCA.

If ever there was a car with an identity crisis, it was the B-body Dodge Charger. Introduced in 1966 as a sporty personal luxury car, the Charger would evolve to become a legitimate performance standard-bearer for Dodge before ending its life, in 1978, as a rebadged Chrysler Cordoba. In 2016, the B-body Charger marks its 50th birthday, and given the car’s impact on the American landscape, it’s one worth celebrating.

As the 1960s reached the halfway point, Dodge dealers were impatiently pressuring the automaker for a response to the Ford Mustang. At Chrysler headquarters, the challenge was to market the Barracuda more effectively in an effort to counter Mustang sales, which did nothing to help the Dodge brand. The compromise was to create a new car, on an existing platform, that would drive traffic into Dodge dealerships without pirating customers away from Plymouth showrooms.

The 1965 Charger II concept car, which bore a remarkable resemblance to the 1966 production version.

Instead of focusing its attention on a Mustang-fighting pony car, Dodge looked to counter the AMC Marlin and the Ford Thunderbird with a sleek fastback two-door hardtop, perched atop the Coronet’s 117-inch wheelbase platform. A Charger II show car was displayed at auto shows throughout 1965, but the public wasn’t told that a car remarkably similar to the concept had already been approved by Chrysler management.

426 Street Hemi, available in Chargers from 1966-’71.

The production Charger made its public debut on January 1, 1966, in a television commercial aired during the Rose Bowl. Viewers were introduced to the “Leader of the Dodge Rebellion,” and the 1966 Charger immediately garnered both criticism and praise from the public and reviewers alike. Some panned its fastback styling for being too similar to the AMC Marlin, while others questioned the value of its $3,122 starting price, which was over $400 more than the Marlin’s $2,707 base. Detractors even complained about the car’s “electric shaver” grille, with its hidden headlamps, and its radical, full-width taillamp assembly, both unconventional design elements.

1968 Dodge Charger R/T, with the 426 Hemi.

Inside, the Charger was designed to stand out from the crowd. A full-length console split seating into a 2+2 configuration, while the rear seat backs folded flat to provide additional cargo room. The trunk was carpeted instead of just lined with a vinyl mat, a subtle nod to luxury that would also be mirrored in the Charger’s electroluminescent gauges, set in aluminum bezels and powered by a 200-volt AC transformer.

The base engine for the 1966 Charger was a 318-cu.in. V-8 topped by a two-barrel Stromberg carburetor, which produced 230 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque. Buyers could also opt for a two-barrel 361-cu.in. V-8, rated at 265 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque; a four-barrel 383 V-8, rated at 325 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque; or the top dog in the range, the legendary 426 Street Hemi. Topped with a pair of Carter AFB four-barrel carburetors, the 426 V-8 was good for a conservatively rated 425 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque.

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, built for NASCAR homologation purposes.

In 1966, buyers took home 37,344 Dodge Chargers, but sales fell off to 15,788 units for 1967 as buyers turned to smaller cars like the Mustang and the newly introduced Chevrolet Camaro. To counter the slide, Dodge debuted a newly styled Charger for the 1968 model year that did away with the earlier model’s fastback roof in favor of a more conventional flying buttress design with a recessed rear window. The Kamm-style rear opted for four taillamps over a full-width panel, and to give the car an even sportier look, Dodge moved the racing-inspired fuel filler cap to the left rear fender.

1970 Dodge Charger R/T, the last year for the second-generation model.

Though the base engine was now Chrysler’s 225-cu.in. “Slant Six,” buyers of the second-gen Charger could opt for no less than three performance-centered V-8s, including the four-barrel 383, rated at 330 horsepower; the four-barrel 440, rated at 375 horsepower; and the 426 Hemi, rated at 425 horsepower. The Charger’s new emphasis on performance over personal luxury helped land it a starring role in the 1968 Steve McQueen film “Bullitt,” and consumers once again gave the car a second look. In 1968, Dodge sold 96,100 Chargers; in 1969, the division moved another 89,200 units; and in 1970, the final year of the body style, roughly 49,800 Chargers were built.

1971 Dodge Charger R/T, showing the available color-matched bumper.

The second-generation Charger went racing, too, first in Charger 500 guise (which featured flush rear glass to reduce rear end lift and a flush grille to reduce drag) and later in Charger Daytona form, with its distinctive aerodynamic nose and massive basket handle rear wing. Both variants were offered for sale in limited numbers to the public (to meet NASCAR homologation requirements), and remain among the most collectible of B-body Charger models.

1972 Dodge Charger.

A new Charger debuted for 1971, and though it still carried a familiar shape, the trend away from performance and (again) towards personal luxury became apparent by the 1973 model year. The 426 Hemi was discontinued after 1971, and by 1973 the most powerful engine available was the 280 horsepower (net) 440 V-8, topped by a single four-barrel carburetor. The third generation ended with the 1974 model year, and while sales peaked at 119,318 units in 1973, they struggled to reach 37,000 units in 1974.

The final generation of B-body Chargers appeared in 1975, wearing sheetmetal that was remarkably similar to the Chrysler Cordoba. Gone were any real nods to performance, and while a 440-cu.in. V-8 remained available, output was down to 215 net horsepower. Even NASCAR teams avoided the new body style, which was deemed too blocky to be fast or stable at high speed; instead, NASCAR allowed the third generation Charger body style to be raced up until January of 1978, when the Magnum replaced the Charger in competition.

1975 Dodge Charger SE, the first year of the final B-body generation.

Compared to earlier generations, sales of the fourth-generation Charger were disappointing, peaking at 65,900 units in 1976 but falling to 36,204 in 1977 and 2,735 in 1978 (a carryover year in which the last Chargers were built from remaining parts inventory). Perhaps the B-body Charger had exceeded its shelf life, or perhaps Chrysler intentionally removed the car from life support to focus on smaller and more fuel efficient models. For a storied model that once brought racing glory to the brand (on street, strip and oval tracks), it was, perhaps, an ignoble end.

In 1971, Chevrolet introduced a new trim level into its C/K pickup series. Though hardly luxurious by today’s standards, the Cheyenne trim included things like additional padding in the seats; more attention to noise, vibration and harshness control; carpeting; chrome trim; and lower side molding. Perhaps most significant to buyers was that the Cheyenne (and its cross-brand equivalent, the GMC Sierra) didn’t look like a bare-bones work truck, allowing suburbanites to park pickups in the driveway without raised eyebrows from neighbors. This 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne, for sale on Hemmings.com, is clearly a K-series four wheel drive model, but what lurks beneath the glossy hood is anyone’s guess. The base engine for Chevrolet trucks in 1971 was 250-cu.in. six, followed by the optional 292 six, the 307 V-8 and the 350 V-8, so we’d want to clarify that before making any kind of offer. Overall, the truck appears to be in solid condition, ready to work or play for its next owner at a significantly lower price than a modern rig. From the seller’s description:

1971 Cheyenne extended bed pick-up for sale. 4 wheel drive/granny gear

New: Front suspension rebuilt

Transfer case drive shaft renewed

Vintage old air system installed

Electric cooling fan installed

Hi-Flow water pump/electric water pump installed

New Edelbrock Carburetor installed

New brakes

New tires

New trim

All photos are frame grabs from video below.

Slightly off-topic, but hey, it’s a Kinograms silent newsreel that leads with a three-engine Ford, so we think it qualifies.

Here’s a scenario we can all relate to: You’re James Dole, of pineapple fame and fortune, and you’d like to spread the word of the Territory of Hawaii – oh, and eating more tropical fruit in general. The Charles Lindbergh trans-Atlantic flight had certainly gotten everyone’s attention, and trans-Pacific crossings had been successfully accomplished. But in the summer of 1927, James proposed the Dole Air Race, a.k.a. the Dole Derby — an Oakland, California-to-Honolulu, Hawaii race for fixed-wing aircraft, and backed up his challenge with a $25,000 cash prize for first place and $10,000 for second. That’s 2,400 miles, give or take, non-stop. Game on!

This was back when a pilot really looked the part — sporting a leather helmet, goggles and a scarf around one’s neck — all the better to filter out some of the airborne dirt, fuel and grit while looking rather dashing in the process.

We’d love to put a light-hearted spin on this, but viewing the takeoffs — with aircraft struggling mightily to lift their massive loads of fuel — is a scary proposition. Given its California roots, Red Crown gasoline was a logical choice, though hand-cranking a thousand gallons of flammable liquid would have been no picnic, either.

It gets worse: according to Wikipedia, “Of the 15-18 airplanes entered, 11 were certified to compete but three crashed before the race, resulting in three deaths. Eight eventually participated in the race, with two crashing on takeoff and two going missing during the race. A third, forced to return for repairs, took off again to search for the missing and was itself never seen again. In all, before, during, and after the race, ten lives were lost and six airplanes were total losses. Two of the eight planes successfully landed in Hawaii.”

1914 Regal Lil’ Old Timers model; image by author.

Pininfarina badge on a Ferrari 330. Photo by Stephen Hennessey.

Over its 85-year history, Italy’s Pininfarina has been on the cutting edge of automotive design, penning memorable automobiles for the likes of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Cadillac, Opel, Peugeot, Nissan and others. On Monday, news broke that Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra, both divisions of India’s $16.9 billion Mahindra Group industrial empire, signed an agreement with Pincar S.r.l. to purchase a 76-percent controlling interest in Pininfarina for 1.1 euros ($1.21) per share in a deal reportedly worth 25.3 million euros ($27.8 million).

The long-rumored deal came as good news for Pininfarina, which has struggled to return to profitability over the past decade. A downturn in the demand for external design services, coupled with a global recession, forced Pininfarina to tighten operations and undergo a series of restructuring moves, ultimately ceasing the production of automobiles and bodies in late 2011, though its joint-venture plant with Volvo in Uddevalla, Sweden produced its last Volvo C70 in June of 2013.

Over its eight-and-a-half decade history, Pininfarina has designed nearly 1,000 automobiles. Best known for its relationship with Ferrari, dating to a 1951 meeting between Battista “Pinin” Farina and Enzo Ferrari, the company has styled or constructed models ranging from the 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter to the 2012 Ferrari F12berlinetta. The instantly recognizable shape of Ferrari models though the 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the 365 GT4 BB and carrying through to the 308, the 328, the 288 GTO and the 348, all began life on a Pininfarina drawing board, but the company also produced rolling sculpture for those of more modest means. Both the Alfa Romeo Spider and the Tom Tjaarda-designed Fiat 124 Spider were created by the Turin design firm.

The stock purchase gives Tech Mahindra, a division specializing in IT and engineering solutions, access to Pininfarina’s long-established European customer base. In exchange, Pininfarina will benefit from Tech Mahindra’s established presence in over 90 countries, potentially giving the design firm access to new customers and entirely new markets in industrial design. In addition to its automotive business, Pininfarina’s portfolio includes high-speed trains, buses, trams, yachts and airplanes, and the firm offers consulting services on everything from graphic design through architecture.

As penned, the deal will give Tech Mahindra a 60-percent ownership and Mahindra & Mahindra a 40-percent ownership, and once finalized, an offer will be made to purchase the remaining outstanding shares for the same price paid to Pincar. For Pininfarina, it will be business as usual under the new ownership, as the firm will retain its current listing on the Milan Stock Exchange and Paolo Pininfarina will retain his role as chairman of the board.

From Facebook reader Rich Kohr comes today’s carspotting photo, which depicts the former Rosensteel Museum in Gettysburg, sometime in the 1950s. Also known as the Round Top Museum, it appears the building has been demolished and the artifacts relocated to the National Park Service’s Gettysburg Museum (and Google’s Street View has yet to pass by the location), but of course we’re more interested in the packed parking lot. What do you see here?