Sadly, EVERYTHING nowadays have bucket seats..even pickups..so that reduces the seating down to 4 or 5...I have never liked bucket seats, one of the reasons I never bought a Camaro or Mustang...when looking for used vehicles, I used to always rule out anything with bucket seats..I always found them dreadfully uncomfortable, plus I don't like consoles, junk collectors, and everything falls down and gets lost between the bucket seats and the console. Can't find anything without them now, one of the MANY reasons I won't buy any remotely modern car(or truck)...
My first car was a white 1960 Ford Falcon. 6cylinder 3 speed stick shift on the column. I moved the shifter to the floor, redid the seats and headliner, jacked up the rear, and painted it competition orange. It was 1966 and in So Cal so, as a surfer, I had to have surf racks as well. I never touched the engine except for plugs and points and general maintenance. I loved that car, but let it go a few years later. I’m 74 now and would love to get that car back. Cheap car but boy did we have fun with it.
My first car was a white '60 Falcon Tudor, 144 cubic inch straight-six, three-on-the tree, in late '82, in Camarillo, California. I got it going again in the late '90s, made interesting changes in the early 2000s, and finally sold it as an almost rolling project in 2012.
I'm 75, my daily driver earlier in mid 1960's was the 'sub compact' Jetfire: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jzw5W1rRMog.html Did my surfing on family vacations in Florida when a hurricane was coming in...
@@dicksanders8206 one trip to the beach we came back to the car and some not nice person stole me surf racks. Have you ever tried to tie down 3 10 ft. surfboards to the roof of a Falcon? 🤦🏼♂️
In other parts of the world, these cars were considered "large," referring to the Ford Falcon, Studebakers, Pontiacs, etc. Cars like Mini and Anglia were small.
A cousin drove American cars, as he could afford them. There was a Chevy sans side window frames, with a burbly V8. Huge hood, the boot (trunk) was impractical and basically useless. Americans never knew how to build a car with a practical spare wheel, nor suited to long distance travel. To them, it was PanAm or AmTrac, but road travel wasn't foremost in design. A wastage of materials and especially fuel. We preferred Mercedes-Benz Heckflosse or the rebadged Opels we knew as locally built Chev or Holden, and Aussie Fords, also locally built in South Africa.
@@thehopelesscarguyI get what he's saying about the difference in size, but the whole thing about American cars having little space or not being suited for long distance travel is a bit off. Having been an army brat in the '70s, and the son of a gearhead, and having traveled across the U.S. and Europe, I'll take a Falcon over an NSU Prinz anyday. That being said, I would drive the snot out of a Prinz!
My Father used to Drive a 1963 Ford Falcon to Work every day. Then Drive a 1964 Plymouth Valiant. He got Tired driving Small cars, So He went Big Time driving around in 1965 Ford Galaxy 500. So he gave my Mother the other 2 Cars I mentioned.RIP Mr Calvin Bealer Sr. and Mrs Martha Jane Bealer. I Love Ya and Miss You Very Much.
great show. it's amazing how times have changed. beautiful cars and every designer did their best to find something that worked in their market. great pride in everyone who tried. that's called courage
In 74 my first car was a 62 Mercury Meteor. I loved it! Later my Dad made me sell it and gave me his 68 Ford Custom. It was a good car, but the Meteor looked cooler to me.
The BMW 700 at 13:54 really saved BMW from disappearing as their old fashioned but expensive large cars then found few buyers even in Germany. The affordable 700 was much more profitable partly by sharing the 700 motorcycle engine but having good interior space and class leading performance. Likeky no BMWs today without this car.
My first car was a 1964 Plymouth Valiant with the small V8 and push-button auto transmission. It was a darn good car and could go pretty fast. My second was a '64 Falcon Ranchero. iI was great, too.
That Plymouth Valiant slant 6 engine was the base engine and was tough as nails and reliable, and produced for years, though not a powerhouse motor, they made it for years. That valiant was featured in Steven Speilburgs first movie 'Duel' made in '71. A good movie starring Dennis Weaver. It's on U-tube in its entirety. You won't be bored. Robert at 68.
I remember quite a few of these cars. Had a 1960 Covair 4door and drove it everywhere, also Oldsmobile 1963 Jetfire. Last was 1967? Fiat 850 coupe and drove for several years. Friends had Ford Falcon, Valiant, Saab, and other cars. I really enjoyed those cars back in the sixties.
I had one of the first 700 Flat 850 sport coupes in the US after they changed the design of the body. It was a 69 and was positano yellow. I got it in Dec of 68. I took it in for its 25,000 mile service before the dealer had even seen one.
I didn't get to ride them, But I do recall seeing quite a few of these marques in the 60's, & being a child growing up just outside of Washington D.C. I did own a 1960 Chevrolet Corvair in the mid 80's to early 90's, & still own 3 Corvair's 64,65, & a 67.
I had a '62 Olds Cutlass. It had the 215 alum block V-8 engine with a 4 bbl. Skipped hi school & went to the city impound car auction with Jeff Brix. Car had a 4 speed w/ a Hurst shifter. Bought it for $75... It needed rod & main bearings. I jacked it up took off the oil pan, & put them in from underneath. It ran 14 sec 1/4 mi at Cordova drag strip.
The main reason that 3 wheelers were popular here in the UK was due to the fact that you could legally drive them with just a motorcycle license as they were classed as a "Motor Tricycle", the same as a motorcycle and sidecar. So they were ideal for bikers who hadn't got their car license yet. The only condition was that the reverse gear HAD to be disabled or blanked off. To start the Bond Minicar, you had to open the bonnet (hood) and use the Kickstarter on the engine.
3:48 Mercury Comet was first a planned small Edsel, complete with discreet vertical grille. Then Edsel shut down. One designer recalled the clay model being rolled into the Mercury studio.
The flathead six that Rambler Americans offered in the late 1950s, into the 60s, was a little jewel. very quiet, smooth engine. I could balance a nickel on the top of my 1959 Rambler American's engine block, at idle...My 3sp got 20-28mpg. The right car at the right time, it kept AMC from going bankrupt during that recession. That little flat six was offered through 1965, although by then, most folks opted for the OHV engine, that made about 35 more hp. Unfortunately, these cars would only last for maybe 100,000 miles, and then would fall apart. You get what you pay for!
It always amazes me just how much smaller and underpowered were the overseas cars compared to the U.S. market. As usual, excellent research and great photos, HCG. Cheers! 👍👍👍
Gas is outrageously expensive in other countries, I lived in Germany in 1967-69 and again in 1971-73 and spent the summer of 1979 and 1980 there, most people did not own cars and the few that did were driving very small cars, their streets are much narrower and on some people would have to park with the passenger side wheels on the sidewalk on certain streets. They are able to live without cars much easier than Americans
I grew up in the 60s driving one of those small cars, and a convertible, no less! 1964 Rambler American. My dad sold it to a collector in '73, so I expect it's still rolling around somewhere.
How could you forget the Isotta-Francini? Opening the front of the car with a swing out steering wheel was one of the most endearing memories of my childhood.
When I was living in Paris in the late '50s they were called 'suppositoires d'autobus' or 'bus suppositories' because they were small and normally painted white.... They were ubiquitous on the streets of Paris, you couldn't turn around without seeing one.
I like how you bring out what the car could do in the quarter mile. We used to go to the drag strip in Oswego, IL and I would enter my 57 Olds with a V8 and 4 barrel carb. About 324 cu in, I think. Regardless of all that power, my location was in the 18 second range. Some of these little things, like the Corvair , could blow my doors off by 2 seconds! Love the slant 6. Always started in the cold weather winter. Always. Lots of great pictures. Thanks!
My aunt bought a 1960 Simca while working at The Chrysler Engineering center in Highland park Michigan. It was a 2-door hardtop with the 1300 engine & a 4-speed manual on the column. I still remember my dad driving it & saying it swayed side to side like crazy & couldn't get out of it's own way it was so slow. She remedied owning the Simca in '64 by trading for an exec lease turn-in '63 Dodge 330 B-body 2-door plain Jane that had a 383 4-bbl push button Torqueflite. It weighed less than 3K lbs & would flat out fly. It was used at the Chelsea test & proving grounds. She said that she would only own cars with "zip" from then on. Great memories, fun times.
Superb presentation. When I was a youth in community college without a family to fall back onI had a chance to purchase a Dodge Dart say about 1968 from the original owner. Instead I bought a Healey Bug Eye Sprite to impress my girlfriend. We drove it to the Hearst Castle and came back on a bus. The next weekend I took a bus up there along with tools. Many stories like that with that car. I learned: Skip sexy and exotic and go straight to dependable and practical. Later I bought another Bug Eye and kept it running for 34 years as a second car - until I retired and sold it to a New Zealander who moved to America. Thank you for reviving such memories of many of these cars I used to see around. :)
@@thehopelesscarguy Sidebar: I once saw a photo of a Maserati exotic type car that had a beautiful woman with as I recall a foot up on the nose of the car. The caption read - The Car is Cheaper. :)
You could buy a brand new Ford Falcon back then for $1999, 160 cu in six with a stick on the column. It was a great beginners new car to own. I bought the 1967 version of the Falcon for $2100, it had a 200 cu in straight six with three on the column shifting. Maintenance was easy and cheap. The oil change and tune up done by the owner owner was $50. Gas mileage was 20 Mpg. Only daily turnpike traffic was the short coming for this car.
Fascinating video. Thank you. My experience included a 1956 Simca Versailles, a 4 door sedan with a small V-8 and about 80 hp., and a German Ford Taunus with an inline 4. Both had 3-speed manual transmissions. I recognized many of the cars, but this was my introduction to many others.
Two of these cars, the Falcon and Valiant, were transferred to Australia and became the large car staples for Aussies for over 50 years (in the case of the Falcon, more like 20 years for the Valiant), in competition with GM's Holden, which is rumored to be a development of a "small" car GM planned during the war years, but never launched in America.
Interesting that the Ford Falcon was the base for 1964 Mustang. The Falcon was the longest lasting single generation in Argentina from 1962 to 1991. By the 1980’s they looked very outdated with modernized large rectangular headlights. It looks weird, but Argentinians loved the Falcon.
@@thehopelesscarguy , Well, well, the truth is not the consumers like so much the 1st gen Falcon that they kept building them until 1991 in Argentina. There are basically 2 reasons. The first one is that Argentina and its neighbor, Brazil had a closed market for imported goods. That was done to stimulate the car industry in both countries and also to maintain commercial surplus of export against imports. Yes, it did worked, but as car manufacturer established in these countries worked more like cartels than true competitors, there were very few interest in launching updated new models every few years. So, the Ford Falcon was not only example in Argentina. Renault 12 also lasted from 1970’s to the 90’s. Dodge had a version that Hillman Avenger that last until the 90’s. Peugeot 504 was another model. Fiat 128 same. All these models were quite popular. So, if you visit Argentina in 1980’s, you quickly got the conclusion that most of its fleet looked about 15 years old. Although, some of models were actually made recently.
Unfortunately a lot of the non US cars cisen were not the mass market cars, even outside the US, but oddballs. Three wheel cars just a UK low tax niche car.
Here in New Zealand, my father had a 1966 Valiant super 225 , manual 3 speed on the column , prior to that he had a '58 Holden for a short time, and before that an old 1950's Ford Prefect .When he got the Valiant we went out for a restaurant meal to celebrate the new car , it was so superior to what he drove before , plenty of power , plenty of interior space , absolutely reliable,it was a great car 'and not viewed as a small car here. Iv'e since had a succession of Valiant's myself ,and at present own an automatic version of the '66 Valiant.
well i can say something about both the Ford Falcon and the rambler first in the 60,s Ford motor company actually gave a damn about the working man and his family think model T here unlike today where your choices are over the top expensive trucks with lackluster quality the same with the suv,s. Cars?haha the only car ford now makes is the electric mustang ,both my parents worked and my mothers first car was a 59 rambler wagon then the ford falcon i remember my farther taking his drill to drill holes later his saber saw to cut the hole in the dash for an AM radio Fm was not yet discovered the car was great she had it for years until they traded it in for the Rambler classic as for the rambler american i had one 11 years old and i had no problem getting up to expressway speed back then the big three cared about the buying public and did try to make their lower end car affordable unlike to day where both FORD and GM don't give a dam about quality or affordability as long as they can pay their CEO,S upwards of 2,3 million a year in salary not counting bonuses neither Ford or GM give A Damn they know the federal government will bail them out with taxpayer money they already did that for GM and GM continued to lie to the consumers !
I learned to drive and took my first driving exam in a 1960 Comet. It had 90 HP, 3-speed on the tree. An AM radio in a steel dashboard. Just about the best car to learn on. Many, and perhaps most new drivers do not know how to drive using a manual transmission.
@@thehopelesscarguy I did not know that. I'm trying to remember the last time I drove a stick shift. It's been years. Mid 1990s. But I drove nothing but stick shifts for over 25 years. I have no doubt that I could drive one again, no practice necessary.
WOW! Extremely comprehensive, great job. I'm going to have to bookmark this puppy and do my homework, I thought I knew a lot about cars but this video has brands I've never even heard of before! Thank you.
You covered them all it seems. I was day behind watching the video. I do not know how you do it ever week. Great information and detail. I saw GM featured as well and smiled when I saw the brands. Thank you for your efforts and sharing the many small cars of the world.
Thank you for showing those Dodge Darts, I owned one, it was a 1964 and I love driving it and if I could I would get another one. I got it in 1986 I was 25 and I just got my license. Love from Marysville, California
Would love another of my daily driver earlier in mid 1960's, the 'sub compact' Jetfire: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jzw5W1rRMog.html
A few of the photos are the Aussie versions. 2:20 is a right hand drive Australian Chrysler Valiant. First sold here in 1962 as the R series. All with the 225 slant six. The 170 unknown here. All as four doors only but the 1000 made from US body kits sold out very quickly and there was quite an unsatisfied demand until the next S model arrived. In the meantime Chrysler dealers might steet you to the last of the Simca Vedette V8 car also assembled by Chrysler and sold by there dealers. Both Falcon and Valiant started as looking near identical to US four door models but moved away with each new model. The 1965 XP Falcon looks quite unlike any US Falcon and saved Ford Australia from ceasing manufacture by addressing the strength limitations of the US first models. Ford did a crazy multi day endurance run to prove the XP cars were good. Henry Ford 2 could not believe what the cars were going through when he specially visited the event.
I liked the way The Big Three made their compact cars. The Falcons were exactly what American drivers wanted. Falcons were the best selling compacts out of all of them. Therefore it made sense that the Falcon would evolve into the perfect next major hit, the Mustang. The Stang hit the streets running, and is still the American standard for which all "Pony cars are based. The Mustangs fit what us Boomers wanted before we ever knew we wanted them. I love everything about American cars. And I always will
I loved this. The styling was SO diverse. I had no idea the Corvair with the turbo was that fast. I drove an early 60’s one with an updated suspension. Shockingly nimble car. That Isuzu was ridiculously handsome compared to its rather cartoonish counterparts.
A freind had one he took it to automotive engineering for a new engine. They kept giving him the standard corvair engine. They blew up. One didn't even make it a block. He finally gave up and parked it in his father's garage. The turbo had less compression than a standard engine. Sooo using a turbo on a standard engine is no bueno.
I remember being small enough to sleep on the back dash of your thumbnail black falcon on a trip from Arkansas to Ohio .....Looking up to see the stars was dizzying .....Great memory .....still one of my favorite cars 🎉🎉🎉🎉
There was a black`61 or `62 Ford Falcon Futura with a red interior, bucket eats and a small console on my block.It always reminded me of a small T Bird of that era. Very cool looking little car, the owner loved it.
my favorite smaller sports car of that era is either the Austen Healy Sprite or the MG Midget small cars always have smaller engines than their full size counter parts for example the Oldsmobile Cutlass started as an entry level compact luxury car my dad got much of his early driving experience in a 1974 Cutlass Sport Coupe believe equipped with a 403 CID or 6.6 L v8 engine where as a 2024 Toyota Camry goes to 60 MPH in 5.8 secs and a 1/4 mile time of 13.5 sec while the 74 Cutlass took 10.4 secs to reach 60 and 17.5 for 1/4 Mile though most Cutlasses were powered by V8 engines while the Camry is powered by either a 4 Cylinder with 208 HP or a V6 engine with 301 HP in its modern form mind you a Camry is 13 in shorter than an 442 was. and a similar length to the front wheel drive version of the Buick Skylark though the new version scheduled for release in mid 2024 is likely going to be powered by the same supercharged 6.2 L V8 as in the Corvette Camaro and the Cadillac Blackwing super sedans though most of the specs haven't been announced yet though the expected MSRP is $70,000 which is 1400% what the MSRP was in 1953
By 1970's, cars were made into weak gas hog emissions slugs by the Democrats in the Govt... My daily driver earlier in mid 1960's was the Jetfire: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jzw5W1rRMog.html
Wonderful 👍👍, but your next version should include the MG 1100 (starting in 1963 and also sold as Morris, Austin, MG, Riley, Wolseley, Vanden Plas, & Innocenti versions). And the Triumph Herald, introduced in 1959. Two very popular cars that were exported in small number to the US. The Falcon became a different beast with the option of 260 & 289 V8, two-door hardtop and convertible models. And without the Flacon there would have been no Mustang. I was in Junior High when the American compacts were introduced and it was interesting to see how they evolved in just a few years.
13:37…My favorites were those early 60s VW bugs. I owned four of them back in the day, two of them with the ragtop sunroof, one of which I decked out like Herbie.
I got a '67 Falcon, in '69, 3 on the tree, drove it for 10 years, finally got a '76 Maverick, drove it for 2 years, got a new C10, Chevy, 3 on the tree, drove it for 6 years, got a new Merc Grand Marquis, drove it for 11 years, best riding car I ever had.
I owned, over a decade, or so, three different Honda 600 Z Coupe's! They were so small the gearshift lever came out of the middle of the dashboard. They had 595 CC Twin cylinder over-head cam engines and would get 63 MPG if driven gently and go over 75 if not! But in all cases, more fun than you could beat with a stick!
In our family we had a Ford small pickup based on the Falcon. I was too young to drive at the time but I believe it was labeled "Ranchero". That would have been about 1965. Eldest sister had a Corvair. My first car only had a four cylinder engine, but I was plenty thrilled to have it. Seems like we got along just fine on less power. Really enjoyed your video.
My father had a 62 XL ford Falcon wagon 170 pursuit. I think the Australian version was tame compared to the US. The Plymouth was a Chrysler Valiant in Australia. These compact cars in the US were considered a large sedan in Australia. We also had a lot of British cars in this era. During this time, Ford, General Motors Holden, Chrysler were all manufacturing in Australia making a local version of US compacts. All makes went on eventually to make fully Australian designed models.
My pop brought me into the world of small cars with Fiat after they merged with Ferrari. He used to commute from Laramie, Wy to Cheyenne Wyo multiple times a week as Union Pacific Train Engineer . It was a 48 mile trip up over the Laramie Range thru grapevine canyon.up hill curvy highway . The Fiat 128 4 Dr was his choice to save gas. It was amazing as I believe he was getting around 30 mpg . Sometimes more depending on the head wind or tail winds. The 124 sport coupe twin overhead cam 5 spd manual was my second car. Gas shortage back then kinda brought big car era to slow down in big vehicles. Great little cars those Fiats!
Honestly I'd love to have a smart car. Around town would be awesome. An electric bike or motorcycle would work but in Minnesota, so would be a bit to cold for 5 months.. they want way to much for a smart car. I inherited my dad's GMC pickup and I love it. But too much car for just running around town , V8s are thirsty 😂
@@theboyisnotright6312 Smart cars weren't particularly efficient given their minuscule size. I could see how fitting into half a parking spot would be a feature in a major metro, though.
Great content and memories. Three-wheeled vehicles in the UK paid a motor cycle road tax as opposed to the hefty 4 wheel tax. I knew of the Studebaker / Mercedes collaboration but did not realize the style similarities of the the period. Narragansett Bay
The American small cars of the 60s, that were then considered to be cheap and bland, now look brilliant when compared to the boring, one shape fits all, sedans of today. With a few exceptions it’s hard to determine one brand from another.
This guy is worth listening to, unlike the youngsters with the child's voice that looked everything up on the internet!🤨 It's refreshing to hear a knowledgeable man who doesn't hold a phone at his face haphazardly that nobody wants to see! But I digress. 🤭
When I was a kid, my parents had a Renault 4, very popular in France. Like many French people at that time, my parents were careless drivers and the car soon had many dents and scratches. The main thing was that it drove.
My family bought a 1961 Valient, standard (smaller) slant-six engine with a manual three speed transmission, floor mounted shift. It was better engineered and built than its Ford or Chevy alternatives. It handled well, and it cruised easily at 70 mph, getting 21 mpg all day. The mpg might seem indifferent today, but back then, that was huge gas economy. The bench seats were okay, but my mother insisted that they be covered with plastic seat covers from Fingerhut. (That's what Fingerhut did back then. The plastic covers were dimpled, really corrugated, making them both uncomfortable and sticky on longer trips.
I'm one of 10 kids. In the '70's my siblings and I drove a mind-boggling array of cars, including: Volvo PV544, 122, and 1800S; MG 1100 Sedan; Austin America 1300 Sedan'; BMW 2000 and 2002; Alfa Romeo Berlina; Nash Metropolitan; Datsun Bluebird; and even a Simca (but not for long). Gas was expensive and Dad didn't want anything to do with Volkswagens and Japanese cars in general. We'd have been well served to drive more conventional cars but we all learned to use a wrench. Most of these cars, of course, dated from the late '50's to mid '60. With regard to your video, I saw plenty of Renaults, Fiats, BMW 700's in Argentina. And the Ford Falcon was a luxury car of sorts there.
That first Falcon was a great little car. Bottom line was no money down and $58 a month for three years. Insurance was way cheaper and the car was basic transportation. A stick six 200 cu in thee speed off the column, 14” wheels optional 13” wheels stock. It eas a great 1st owner car. Easy and cheap to maintain. Held 6 people but only 4 with comfort. The trunk was decent size. It was not a turhpike cruiser though ,but closer to a real sports car than a sports car. Handling was good as was acceleration. I loved mine !
