Sixty years ago, all of these cars had unique styling and therefore personalities. Fast forward to now when, with few exceptions, everything looks the same and the goal seems to place as much separation between the driver and the road as possible. Thanks for reminding us when driving was actually fun.
I had a 1962 Ford Fairlane 4 door, Red and white. It was my first car when I was twenty years old. I was always driving somewhere, Now i'm seventy seven years old and I never want to go anywhere.😂😅
The mid sized car - the 62 Fairlane and then follow up 64 redesign of the GM Chevelle, Tempest, Special and F-85 turned out to be basically the 1955 Chevy/Ford; especially the Chevelle - others stretched a bit. At least in dimension. Chrysler was off wandering in a sales and styling desert. The 'standard' car had massively upsized itself, see GM - first in 58 and then even more in 59. (Many of those US performance figures are wildly optimistic)
I love your videos , from all kinds of cars , all kinds of country’s . Very well detailed . You must be busy doing all that research. Do you sleep at night? Well done , don’t give it up !❤
They weren't always gas guzzlers , for example you can get 24mpg out of a 289 ci Ford Windsor V8 in a Fairlane , that's as good as a Chrysler slant 6. Although I suppose some might still consider that to be guzzling.
@@thehopelesscarguy And something that I think would surprise a lot of people, is how heavy modern cars can be , for example a '55 Chevy may look like a big heavy lump, but compared to say a late model Dodge Challenger, it's a lightweight.
It is interesting what passed for midsized in the 1960's. That later became fullsized in the 1970's , 1980's and 1990's and now. What was also interesting was the length that later became fullsized and the wheelbases that later became fullsized. What was interesting was the Oldsmobile Cutlass of the early 60's was the same length or near the same as the one of the 1990's. The lines are now blurred between midsized and fullsized in 2023. You only need to look at Toyota Camry and Honda Accord to see that in 2023 because they have grown with each generation. I know a new Honda Accord is as large as a downsized 1986-1990 downsized Oldsmobile Eighty Eight/ Buick LeSabre. The other interesting thing is the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are classified as fullsized when they are actually midsized. The G body Bonneville 1982-1986 was 200 inches long and classified as midsized and yet the 1987-1991 Pontiac Bonneville was classified as fullsized at 198.7 inches long. Explain that one. They had different wheelbases. Another two cars that defy the definition of midsized were Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. They were classified as midsized, but had fullsized interior dimensions and trunk space. What they were selling as midsized in Europe was seen as compact in the United States. Thank you for including Japan and Australia( Holden). This was another interesting video and it makes one think. I think you have done another great job as well. Thank you again.
@@thehopelesscarguy This is true. I know the Camry in Japan and the Honda Accords around the world came in different sizes. The United States has the bigger versions. I know one generation of Cadillac Seville where the United States version was longer and the European version was slightly shorter.
You forgot the 1962-64 Studebaker Lark and Lark types. 6 or V8 with the high performance models with a 0-60 times of 7 seconds. Roomy, easy driving and comfortable cars. Ask me how I know!
Ah, when cars were more than just an A to B vehicle, but almost behind the family pet as the next family member, unlike now where a car is basically the equivalent of a microwave burrito from 7Eleven.
@@thehopelesscarguy I burned the top of my mouth off after a Dead show in 1989 on acid cooking a 7Eleven microwave burrito for TEN minutes like an idiot.
Another quality presentation. Joke: A woman sees a young blond boy bagging at the end of her market checkout line. Feeling arousal she decides to try and seduce him. Playing innocent she asks if he could help take her groceries to her car. Once alone walking together in the parking lot she says to him "I have an Ichypussy." Puzzled he looks about and replies, " Well - you'll have to show me which one it is. These JAPANESE CARS all look the same to me." :)
: 13 Hilarious! Ford begins producing a new "mid-size" car for customers who don't want a huge boat, so the marketing guys produce advertising illustrations that exaggerate the car's proportions, making it look like a huge boat!
well take into account that a mid size car weighed between 3,500-4,000 LBs in the 1960s my parents grew up then and Peugeot and Citroen were never really popular as us imports. and it wasn't until later in the 60s and in the Early 70s that Japanese imports started to gain a toehold in the US market yeah we had some domestic small cars like the Chevrolet Corvair or the Nova Europe got the Ford Escort several years before the US did Europe got it in 1974 the US did in 1980 model year and was sold here for 24 years until 2003
In New Zealand we always called the 1962 to 1965 Fairlane,s , "Fairlane compacts " when , in reality they weren't as compact as a Falcon. And , after me having a good look at a nice black '64 Fairlane 4 door ( beautiful cars) I realized it was much bulkier than my '66 Valiant.
Sixty years ago, all of these cars had unique styling and therefore personalities. Fast forward to now when, with few exceptions, everything looks the same and the goal seems to place as much separation between the driver and the road as possible. Thanks for reminding us when driving was actually fun.
As always, I am amazed at the high quality photos you source for these videos. Thanks, HCG. 👍👍👍
I try
You’re videos are all fantastic. Details are much appreciated !
I appreciate that.
Born in 1960 I remembered these cars, i still love them, can't believe it's that long ago.
The only Channel I watch completely beginning to end. Not just great engineering though also great history.
I'm flattered.
I had a 1962 Ford Fairlane 4 door, Red and white. It was my first car when I was twenty years old. I was always driving somewhere, Now i'm seventy seven years old and I never want to go anywhere.😂😅
I hear that.
Congrats to the owners of those so well mantained cars!
Great run through this size of American and European models. 👍👍
Thank you, and have a good weekend.
The mid sized car - the 62 Fairlane and then follow up 64 redesign of the GM Chevelle, Tempest, Special and F-85 turned out to be basically the 1955 Chevy/Ford; especially the Chevelle - others stretched a bit. At least in dimension. Chrysler was off wandering in a sales and styling desert. The 'standard' car had massively upsized itself, see GM - first in 58 and then even more in 59. (Many of those US performance figures are wildly optimistic)
In my opinion, cars manufactured before 1970 had more class than the newer computer designed cars of today.
Certainly more style.
I had the 61Ford Tanus when stationed in Heidelberg Germany..Fun car with 4sp on the column..
I love your videos , from all kinds of cars , all kinds of country’s . Very well detailed . You must be busy doing all that research. Do you sleep at night? Well done , don’t give it up !❤
Italian styling was great in the sixties - pity they dissolved while you were admiring them!
I like the quirky French styling.
These sixties 'mid size' American cars would be considered gas guzzling behemoths in Europe.
They weren't always gas guzzlers , for example you can get 24mpg out of a 289 ci Ford Windsor V8 in a Fairlane , that's as good as a Chrysler slant 6. Although I suppose some might still consider that to be guzzling.
They were quite large by European standards, but base models were as economical as many of their European counterparts.
@@thehopelesscarguy And something that I think would surprise a lot of people, is how heavy modern cars can be , for example a '55 Chevy may look like a big heavy lump, but compared to say a late model Dodge Challenger, it's a lightweight.
@@barrycuda3769 Exactly.
My opinion exactly. Great minds…😬
What about the Studebaker Lark? Wasn’t that a midsize car? 🤔
One could certainly argue that it was, but I included it in my small car video.
It is interesting what passed for midsized in the 1960's. That later became fullsized in the 1970's , 1980's and 1990's and now. What was also interesting was the length that later became fullsized and the wheelbases that later became fullsized. What was interesting was the Oldsmobile Cutlass of the early 60's was the same length or near the same as the one of the 1990's. The lines are now blurred between midsized and fullsized in 2023. You only need to look at Toyota Camry and Honda Accord to see that in 2023 because they have grown with each generation. I know a new Honda Accord is as large as a downsized 1986-1990 downsized Oldsmobile Eighty Eight/ Buick LeSabre. The other interesting thing is the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are classified as fullsized when they are actually midsized. The G body Bonneville 1982-1986 was 200 inches long and classified as midsized and yet the 1987-1991 Pontiac Bonneville was classified as fullsized at 198.7 inches long. Explain that one. They had different wheelbases. Another two cars that defy the definition of midsized were Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. They were classified as midsized, but had fullsized interior dimensions and trunk space. What they were selling as midsized in Europe was seen as compact in the United States. Thank you for including Japan and Australia( Holden). This was another interesting video and it makes one think. I think you have done another great job as well. Thank you again.
I don't recall if you saw my videos on the various size classifications, but in the end it is all just following regional trends.
@@thehopelesscarguy This is true. I know the Camry in Japan and the Honda Accords around the world came in different sizes. The United States has the bigger versions. I know one generation of Cadillac Seville where the United States version was longer and the European version was slightly shorter.
The early 60s Midsize cars... The basis of the first 60s Muscle Cars...
My 62 Fairlane now has a 289 with 4spd..Someday I'd like to drop a 351 in it,but it's quick enough for me😎.
You forgot the 1962-64 Studebaker Lark and Lark types. 6 or V8 with the high performance models with a 0-60 times of 7 seconds. Roomy, easy driving and comfortable cars. Ask me how I know!
They were in my small car video.
I can guess how you know.
The Chrysler slant 6 was a great engine. It suffered from the introduction of the anti smog system that the government mandated though.
I remember when full sized cars had wheelbase of 115 inches. Like the 1953 Chevy cars.
In Europe what we call a midsize car would be a full sized car.
@@glennso47 And that would come around again.
Great video but you have not mentioned Peugeot and citroen
But they were in the small and large videos.
Ah, when cars were more than just an A to B vehicle, but almost behind the family pet as the next family member, unlike now where a car is basically the equivalent of a microwave burrito from 7Eleven.
Or something you could use to microwave a burrito from 7 Eleven.
@@thehopelesscarguy I burned the top of my mouth off after a Dead show in 1989 on acid cooking a 7Eleven microwave burrito for TEN minutes like an idiot.
Great vid!!!!! 👍👍
This great! (Now do the compacts. lol.)
I did that last month.
What about the Plymouth Valiant!.....not mentioned!
That was in the small car video.
THAT was great.
Thanks.
Aren't most of the British cars considered full size in Europe
FIAT straight up copied the Corvair. Mercedes-Benz and Lancia were truly ahead of thier time in design. Those are practically modern cars
I think that high belt line with wrap around trim was a popular look in Europe in the late 50s and early 60s.
Another quality presentation.
Joke: A woman sees a young blond boy bagging at the end of her market checkout line. Feeling arousal she decides to try and seduce him. Playing innocent she asks if he could help take her groceries to her car. Once alone walking together in the parking lot she says to him "I have an Ichypussy." Puzzled he looks about and replies, " Well - you'll have to show me which one it is. These JAPANESE CARS all look the same to me." :)
No Studebaker??
Was going to put it here, but instead included it with the smaller cars.
: 13 Hilarious! Ford begins producing a new "mid-size" car for customers who don't want a huge boat, so the marketing guys produce advertising illustrations that exaggerate the car's proportions, making it look like a huge boat!
13 inch weels made it look bigger ..
Jeez, cars were slow then. "0-60 in whatever..."
well take into account that a mid size car weighed between 3,500-4,000 LBs in the 1960s my parents grew up then and Peugeot and Citroen were never really popular as us imports. and it wasn't until later in the 60s and in the Early 70s that Japanese imports started to gain a toehold in the US market yeah we had some domestic small cars like the Chevrolet Corvair or the Nova Europe got the Ford Escort several years before the US did Europe got it in 1974 the US did in 1980 model year and was sold here for 24 years until 2003
In New Zealand we always called the 1962 to 1965 Fairlane,s , "Fairlane compacts " when , in reality they weren't as compact as a Falcon. And , after me having a good look at a nice black '64 Fairlane 4 door ( beautiful cars) I realized it was much bulkier than my '66 Valiant.