1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Sunliner Convertible

 

These comments are from the Wikipedia article on the Google search

 

First generation (1955–1956)

 

For 1955, the Fairlane name replaced the Crestline as Ford's premier full-size offering. Six different body styles were offered, including the Crown Victoria Skyliner with a tinted, transparent plastic roof, the regular Crown Victoria coupe with lots of stainless steel trim, a convertible Sunliner, the Victoria coupe, and traditional sedans. All featured the trademark stainless-steel "Fairlane stripe" on the side. Power options were a 223 CID (3.7 L) straight-6 engine and a 272 CID (4.5 L) V8. The 292 Y-Block was offered as an option and was called the Thunderbird V-8.

Few changes were made for 1956; a four-door Victoria hardtop and two new, more powerful V8 options, of 292 CID (4.8 L) and 312 CID (5.1 L), the latter available up to 225 brake horsepower (168 kW), were introduced. The Lifeguard safety package was introduced.
Second generation (1957–1959)

For 1957, a new style gave a longer, wider, lower and sleeker look with low tailfins. A new top trim level was reversed, the Fairlane 500. For the first time, the lower-level Custom line had a shorter wheelbase than the Fairlane. Engines were largely the same as the year before. The big news for 1957 was the introduction of the Fairlane 500 Skyliner power retractable hardtop, whose solid top hinged and folded down into the trunk space at the touch of a button. Unfortunately, it attracted more attention than sales; the option was expensive, somewhat unreliable, and took up almost all the trunk space when retracted. Even so, it required the roof to be made shorter than the other Fairlanes, and the trunk to be larger. The reason for this was simply that this car was designed, from the ground up, as a Lincoln Continental. Projected losses resulted in a last minute marketing decision to restyle the vehicle, from the bottom of the windows down, as a member of the Fairlane family.

Another facelift for 1958 saw fashionable quad headlights, a grille that matched the 1958 Thunderbird, and other styling changes. New big-block FE V8s of 332 and 352 CID (5.4 L and5.8 L) replaced the previous largest V8s, and a better three-speed automatic transmission was also available.

A new top-level full-size model was introduced at mid-year 1959, the Ford Galaxie.

A Fairlane is featured in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and also briefly in the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day.

 

1931 Hupmobile sedan

                      1931 Hupmobile Sedan  

When I was a young man in Atlanta there was an old lady that had a 1917 Hupmobile that was broke down and I stopped to offer assistance but she said "Thank you but my mechanic will be here soon to fix it." I found out that no one but her mechanic had ever worked on that car. That was in the early 1960s and I did a good bit of mechanic work on other kinds of cars. That was, and still is, the only Hupmobile that I had ever seen. One thing very unusual about that car was that it was chain driven somewhat like a bicycle.

The following information is excerpted from a Wikipedia article on the internet.

Hupmobile History

Robert Craig Hupp (June 2, 1877 in Grand Rapids, Michigan – 1931), a former employee of Oldsmobile and Ford, founded the company with his brother Louis Gorham Hupp (November 13, 1872 in Michigan – December 10, 1961 in Michigan) in 1908. Production began in 1909. In 1910, production increased by more than 5000. Following disagreements with his financial backers Robert Hupp sold his stock in the Hupp Motor Car Company and established the short-lived RCH Automobile Company, later the Hupp-Yeats Electric Car Company. In 1912, Hupp would be one of two automakers pioneering the use of all-steel bodies, joining BSA in the UK.^[1] Hupp's panels were produced by Hale & Kilburn, which was run by Edward Budd.^[2] Carl Wickman, a car dealer in Hibbing, Minnesota, used an unsold 7-passenger model as the first vehicle for what became Greyhound.^[3] In 1913 Frank E. Watts was hired as a designer.
Hupp Motor Company continued to grow after its founder left. A new plant was purchased in 1924 as Hupp competed strongly against Ford and Chevrolet. DuBois Young became company president in 1924 moving up from vice-president of manufacturing. By 1928 sales had reached over 65,000 units. To increase production and handle the growth in sales, Hupp purchased the Chandler-Cleveland Motors Corporation (Chandler Motor Car) for its manufacturing facilities. Hupp advertising began to take cues from the romantic Ned Jordan style of automotive prose. A 1930 Hupmobile advertisement read
"A Hupmobile becomes a little more than just a car. He'll lift the hood as a veteran would, and show Hupp's mechanical fineness. He knows! He's driven Hupmobile since the old outdated out-of-context but still-revered early Hupmobiles with the tall steel spout on its radiator. There's something about Hupp's faithfulness that gets to a man. A feeling that hasn't a name. But it's the same as the feeling a seaman gets for his ship, an engineer for his engine, or a woman for her home. He's got as much use for an adjective as a cowboy for a powder puff. He's rough on claims. Promises of what a car can do. He's the old-time Hupmobile owner. He's seen cars come, seen 'em go. Only he won't talk. He'll act! Give you fact after fact, not in words but in deeds, in bullet speeds and 'Big Bertha' power."

1956 Packard Patrician

                               1956 Packard Patrician
The Packard cars were some of the finest and best built cars in America for several decades of the twentieth century when I was growing up and through my adult years. I owned one Packard for a little while about 1952 or 1953. I saw one car like this one, but I don't remember for certain whether it was a Packard or not, that was fixed up like a small living room with a small bar and whiskey storage, a card table and telephone and maybe some other things in it. I tend to think of this car as one that Al Capone or John Dillinger or "Baby Face" Nelson might have had some 30 or 40 years earlier during the Prohibition Years.

The following pictures and articles are taken from the internet Wikipedia encyclopedia

Packard Patrician 400, 1951–1952[edit]

Packard Patrician 1951-1952
Packard Patrician 400 2552 four-door sedan 1952
Overview
Manufacturer	Packard
Production	1951–1952
Body and chassis
Body style	Sedan
Layout	FR
Powertrain
Engine	Packard Straight Eight 327 cu in (5,360 cm3), 150 bhp (112 kW)
Transmission	Ultramatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3226 mm (127 in)
Length	5580 mm (219,70 in)
Width	1990 mm (78,3 in)
Height	1580 mm (62.2 in)

In 1951 and 1952, the automaker attempted to use a numeric naming structure that designated Packard's least expensive models as Packard 200 and 200 Deluxe while two-door hardtop and convertibles were designated Packard 250 and its mid-range sedan the Packard 300.
The highest trim level available was the Packard Patrician 400. The Patrician 400 replaced the previous model year's Custom 8 model range. The car was easily identified from other Packards by its chrome trim; in 1951 the model featured three chrome ports on its rear fenders and in 1952 the car featured four chrome ports. Patricians and 300s also sported a slightly revised grille which included chrome "teeth" in its oval area in 1951. That change occurred to the 250 series soon after introduction.
The Patrician 400 was available only as a premium, four-door sedan, outfitted with high-grade upholstery and chrome trimming within. For the 1952 model year, Packard retained the services of noted interior decorator Dorothy Draper to bring a fresh look to the interior color scheme. Wilton carpeting and hassock-style rear passenger foot rests were also included with the car. With a list price of $3,662 it also was the most expensive regular Packard offered. The automobile rode upon a 127-inch (3226 mm) wheelbase shared only with the 300 sedan. All other Packards had a wheelbase of 122 inches (3099 mm).
Power for all Packards still came from their venerable in-line eight-cylinder engines. 200s used a 288 cu in (4,720 cm³) unit with 135 bhp (101 kW); all others had a displacement of 327 cu in (5,360 cm³), delivering 150 bhp (112 kW). The Patrician got the best engine Packard had to offer, too. For unequaled smooth operation, its engine featured nine main bearings instead of five as in the other engines without increase in power.
Until 1954, Henney built a few nine-passenger Executive Sedans and Corporate Limousines on a chassis with 148-inch (3759 mm) wheelbase. Derham in Rosemont built very few Patrician Custom Formal Sedans with leather padded roofs, small backlights and elaborate interiors on the standard Patrician frame.
Introduction of the Patrician was, together with most other Packards (250s were delayed), in August 1950. Production totals for 1951 came to 9,001 Patrician 400 units, and 3,975 units for 1952.

The 400 model name was dropped for model years 1953 and 1954; however the Patrician name continued to occupy the premium trim level Packard from 1953 through 1956.

1955–1956[edit]

Packard Patrician 1955-1956
Packard Patrician 1956
Overview
Manufacturer	Packard
Production	1955–1956
Designer	Richard A. Teague
Body and chassis
Body style	Sedan
Layout	FR
Powertrain
Engine	Packard 6.2 1956 V-8 372.5 cid (6135 cc), 290 ps, 211,94kW
Transmission	Twin-Ultramatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3226 mm (127 in)
Length	5580 mm (219,70 in)
Width	1990 mm (78,3 in)
Height	1580 mm (62.2 in)
Curb weight	2075 kg (4551,73 lbs)

For 1955, the entire senior line of Packards received an extensive design update that freshened the last restyling that was done in 1951. Under designer Richard A. Teague, the Senior Packards received a more modern grille design, "Cathedral"-styled rear tail lights, hooded headlight housings and a new exterior trim layout that afforded Packard the ability to offer two- and three-tone paint combinations with the simplest of masking patterns. While Packard could not afford a whole new greenhouse for the passenger compartment, new trim at the base of the rear pillar made it look like it had a redesigned roofline. The cars were also outfitted with a wrap-around windshield, thus bringing it in line with American automobiles of the era. Inside, upholstery and bright work was also freshened and the cars received a new dashboard layout faced with a machined-look stainless steel facing.
For 1955, the Patrician was offered as a four-door sedan only and Packard produced 9,127 of the cars.
Changes for 1956 included a revised headlight housing that exaggerated the front peak further forward. The area around the headlight was painted black to give the effect of greater depth. The car also received a different grille texture. During the 1956 model year, 3375 Patricians rolled off Packard's production line before the model was dropped by the ailing carmaker.
The final Packard built (that was a true Packard and not a badge-engineered Studebaker President) was a black Patrician sedan, and it rolled off the Packard assembly line on June 25, 1956.