The 56 Packards were so ahead of their time. They were beautiful, true works of art and super comfortable. The torsion bar ride was truly innovative! Another great video :)
Friends of my parents bought a brand new 1958 Edsel. One subsequent Sunday afternoon, while on his third martini, my Dad made an off-color joke about the Edsel front grill, which I was way too young to understand. Mom was not pleased. From what I recall, their Edsel was a very reliable car but was not worth much when they wanted to trade it in a few years later.
I'm not surprised to see so many Ramblers on the list as they are so forgotten about. Most people see my American and think it's either a Chevy nova or a Dodge dart.
What year American do you have. AMC made some great cars that unfortunately because the cars wasn’t under gm Chrysler or ford umbrella are forgot about. This channel is a push to keep them alive. Best wagons amc made in my opinion 1958-1961 the 60 has really grown on me the 58 and 59 are Pretty much the same the only difference being where they put Rambler script in front grill. The fins are the same the 59 just paint scheme is different the fins almost look like 56 savoy fins that Chevy copied for 57 just saying look at a 56 savoy then look at 57 Chevy fins
@@What.its.like. I have a 65 American, It's the one in my profile pic. It's been my daily driver since the day I got it. I wanted my first car to be something special, so I got a classic and it's taught me a lot about cars.
The 50s is my favorite era =) early amc are all underrated I love the cross country wagons and I don’t think Nash made a car I didn’t like in the 50s I want to drive one I was curious about turning radius. =)
5:40 A buddy in North Carolina has a 58 Edsel convertible and every time he pulls into an Interstate rest stop, gas station, etc., it's an instant car show and a surprising number of teenagers will dash over to take a look and gush over it. It helps a lot when the top's down and you can see the innovative/sometimes crazy dash panel. Underrated in the 1950's: in my book: 1954 Kaiser Darrin just for the beauty of the thing. 1958 to 1959 Rambler American Station Wagon - Cutest wagon ever
I totally agree =) I’ve been a 58 edsel fan for a long time since a teenager, it also amazes me how things change how things back then or once not cool or suddenly cool..
@@What.its.like. I agree with you on the 57 Chevrolet...never like the styling vs the 55 and 56. Funny about how you first thought the 58 Edsel was ugly, then she grew on you. I think the ugliest American car of the 1950s was the Hudson Jet...just frumpy! How could the stylists who gave us the Hornet give us that and add also give it that sexy model name? No wonder the Jet is super rare today. The 1958 Packard sedan is 2nd runner up to the Jet for those double tail fins.
The last Edsel (1960) was more conventional than the first 2 years. It eliminated the horse collar shaped grill of the 58-59 models. Edsel discontinued production during 1960 year.
@@What.its.like. I think that is because in 1958 it was a new car and people were excited about it. 1959-60 was after the new wore off and people saw that it wasn’t such a good car after all.
58 was different and ford put up a ton of money to sell the car and paid people like bing crosby to promote it and honestly if it came out it 56/57 it might have worked 410 cid 345BHP 475lb-ft that was unheard of in 58 there was only a few cars that made more power
Entertaining video. My 2 cents worth; It's hard to understand why the hot rod Rambler didn't get more attention at the time. Cars like that probably require at least 1 unit for every dealer and get it out on the street to drum up interest. For a few years Rambler was 3rd or 4th best selling brand. The Studebaker Golden Hawk still looks very attractive. Too bad the 4 door didn't look more like it. Years ago I read that in one of the 50's years there was a big demand for the new 4 door Studebaker, but there were mismatches between the 4 door body and frame. Lost sales at the wrong time. The T-Bird seat is low, strangely only a few inches above the floor. I wonder if anyone complained about it at the time? No offense intended, but you are bigger and heavier than people were in the '50's
Thank you so much not offended lol I said that in a video I shot today 20s Citroen I loved the car didn’t fit in it, people must have been smaller back then =)
@@What.its.like. , They were. Plus back then we didn’t have kitchen cabinets full of junk food. I promise, decades ago we didn’t eat anywhere near as much as we do now and very little junk food and sugary pop. Tea, water, milk. Most food was REAL food. For dinner you ate salad, meat, 2 vegetables and a moderate piece of desert. Family income was less and everyone was careful with spending. Waist size ? Probably in the low 30’s.
The infamous or notorious but definitely "Designed For Disaster" the car that would be synonymous with Failure was the 1958 Edsel. In 1955 the Automotive Industry production jump 44 percent topping at 7.9 million cars--it was a new record. Ford had only 3 divisions of models: Ford, Mercury and Lincoln while their competition GM had 5 divisions: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac, while over at Chrysler they also had 5 division they were: Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto, Chrysler and Imperial. Ford was always very jealous of GM and Chrysler in that they had 5 divisions to Ford's 3. Ford in 1958 was planning to have 5 divisions also they were going to: Ford, Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln and Continental but fate had other plans. In 1958 a recession arrived with a vengeance to the dismay shock to Americans grown accustomed to prosperity. Inflation dipped below two percent, but unemployment approached and passed the seven-percent barrier. By June 1958, 5,437,000 Americans were out of work--the highest figure since 1941. In the worse economic setback of the postwar era, car sales dropped 31.4 percent for the model year. One of the ad campaign's for the Edsel was showing the coming through iron gates that open magisterially width the voice over, "They'll know you've arrived when you drive in an Edsel. The Ford family did not want the new car to be called the Edsel they said, "It sounded too much like pretzel." But Ernest K. Breech told the Ford brass that he would handle. David Wallace, manager of marketing research, and coworker Bob Young unofficially invited freethinker poet Marianne Moore for input and suggestions. Moore's unorthodox contributions (among them "Utopian Turtletop," "Pastelogram," "Turcotinga," "Resilient Bullet," "Andante con Moto" and "Mongoose Civique") were meant to stir creative thought and were not officially authorized or contractual in nature. Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation on January 17, 1956, and thus was no longer entirely owned by members of the Ford family. The company was now able to sell cars according to current market trends following the sellers' market of the postwar years. Ford's new management compared the company's roster of makes with that of General Motors and Chrysler, It was concluded that Lincoln was competing not with Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile, Buick and DeSoto. Ford developed a plan to move Lincoln upmarket, with the Continental broken out as a separate make at the top of Ford's product line, and to add a premium/intermediate vehicle to the intermediate slot vacated by Lincoln. Marketing research and development for the new intermediate line had begun in 1955 under the code name "E car", which stood for "experimental car." Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name "Edsel", in honor of Edsel B. Ford, son of the company's founder, Henry Ford (despite objections from Henry Ford II). The Edsel offers several of what were then considered innovative features, among which are its rolling-dome speedometer; warning lights for such conditions as low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engine overheating, and its push-button "Teletouch" transmission shifting system in the center of the steering wheel (a conventional column-shift automatic was also available at a reduced price). Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on Thursday, November 19, 1959. However, production continued until late in November, with the final tally of 2,846 model year 1960 cars. Total Edsel sales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company's projected break-even point. The company lost $350 million, or the equivalent of $2,800,000,000 in 2016 dollars, on the venture. Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced in Ontario, Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, these production figures were dismal, particularly when spread across a run of three years. . Historians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain the Edsel's failure. Popular culture often faults the car’s styling. Consumer Reports has alleged that poor workmanship was the Edsel's chief problem. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of the corporate culture’s failure to understand American consumers. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product inside Ford’s executive offices. According to author and Edsel scholar Jan Deutsch, the Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time." "The aim was right, but the target moved" The principal reason the Edsel's failure is so infamous is that Ford had absolutely no idea that the failure was going to happen until after the vehicles had been designed and built, the dealerships established and $400 million invested in the product's development and launch. Incredibly, Ford had presumed to invest $400 million (well over $4.0 billion in the 21st century) in developing a new product line without attempting to determine whether such an investment would be wise or prudent. Not only was the Edsel competing against its own sister divisions, but model for model, buyers did not understand what the car was supposed to be-a step above the Mercury, or a step below it. One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late 1957. Compounding Edsel's problems was the fact that the car had to compete with well-established nameplates from the Big Three, such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Dodge and De Soto, as well as with its own internal sister division Mercury, which itself had never been a stellar sales success. To make matters still worse, as a new make, Edsel had no established brand loyalty with buyers, as its competing makes had. Ford Motor Company had conducted the right marketing study, but it came up with the wrong product to fill the gap between Ford and Mercury. By 1958, buyers had become fascinated with economy cars, and a large car like the Edsel was seen as too expensive to buy and own. When Ford introduced the Falcon in 1960, it sold over 400,000 units in its first year. This was also the beginning of the end for De Soto when in 1957 De Soto came as close to Chrysler production as as they ever had of 117,000 by late 1958 sales for De Soto dropped to less then 49,000 and kept dropping within 2 years they would be gone too.
I can't argue with you on any of your choices. I agree with you on many of your choices. Maybe for different reasons but still 💁🏼♂️ Thanks for your channel, style and the sharing of your facts, figures and personal opinions. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 👌👌👌👌 🤩🤩🤩
The Packard isn’t underrated today. They’re common at concours shows. Edsel suffered from a number issues, circumstances, quality, recession, etc. but the vertical grille was outdated. That echoed the ‘30s-‘40s.
The 57 Rambler Rebel had terrific acceleration and was a car I wanted as a young man. I do think the Chrysler 300 was faster, however, given the room for that big engine to push it to top speed. I agree that the 57 Chevrolet is "overrated." It is popular and was a well made car for its day and time. I don't care for the emptying of JC Whitney gewgaw bins that proved necessary to clutter the front end with various, incongruous, and un-harmonious shiny bits. Over time I have come to understand that Chevrolet is not a car maker. It's a religion. I have owned more Chevys than any other make and own one now. I don't buy them just because they are Chevrolets. Frankly, I could understand fully anyone buying a 57 Chevrolet because it was a good car and better in many respects than others on offer in the same price range. I have long said that there was nothing wrong with the 58 Edsel that wasn't already wrong with the Mercury. 58, for most US manufacturers was not a high point! In any case, most automaker failures are more closely related to business decisions than to product decisions. The Hawk - a favorite of mine also - does have quite a bit of room for a sports car. It also has a very long wheelbase to allow for the style and space. Sports car? Maybe not.
58 Edsel is a car everyone said was ugly but those same people like bmw 507 Bugatti veyron and Chiron with the same design in the front anytime I see a Alfa I’m like that could be the new version of an Edsel…
My uncle had a 56 Packard Caribbean, his was white red and black, top to bottom, it was a hard top. One summer we took a family trip to Russian River and I got to ride in the Packard, back in those days 116 was two lane black top. The tires talked the whole way, but the Packard never leaned over and my uncle knew how how to drive. Mom and dad had a 59 Ford Galaxy, the Packard got there 20 minutes ahead of mom and dad, they wouldn't let me ride back to San Francisco in the Packard.
@@What.its.like. I would think that there are not many of us that got to ride in a 1956 Packard Caribbean. I think it was the best riding car I have ever been in, I just wish I could have drove it.
It had to be on this list because it was priced at over $100,000 equivalent $105,000 I see them all the time in my area for around $25,000-$50,000 for a good ones. Ohio and Indiana seem to have really good deals on cars as well as Michigan but rust is always an issue Pennsylvania there are some good deals for depends on what part of the state you’re at if you go over there to the eastern side things are generally a lot more money
I found a guy who has a lot of edsels problem is he is 6.5 hours away... and gas is expensive. I want to hit Edsel so bad I plan on doing all the models eventually.. that’s the goal I know where there is a really nice pacer that’s going to try and get to sometime hopefully soon.. =)
Good job, very interesting. I think you've learned that the primary vintage cars being saved are tri-five Chevy's, Mustang's, Camaro's, and the Chrysler Corp., muscle cars. And just about everything else is being forgotten about unless museums pick them up. It's sad to me because we're losing genuine custodians for all the other vintage cars, save for some rich guys that can afford a collection. The tri-five Chevy and muscle car guys don't care about vintage other than to go fast and buy modern speed parts out of glossy catalogs, because that's easy. Ask them to find a clock for a for a '46 Dodge and first thing is that they're at a loss, because they don't know how. And then they'll tell you nobody cares about a '46 Dodge. Fact is we need young people to gain interest into the real vintage cars, as they came from the factory, or we'll lose history to having only photographs. I can see you building a collection someday and that would be great, but right now it would be really good if you could work in various avenues available to you toward the recruitment of getting young people to join vintage car clubs, and ultimately buy and save all versions of vintage cars. Right now, there are still many older guys with vast knowledge to pass on and many of these men belong to a club. It's so important, because the muscle car guys aren't going to do it. It's people like you and your viewer's that get it and are the ones who can save historic cars and ultimately pass them forward.
Yeah I like all of it I owned a 67 mustang, but I’m not a muscle car guy per say I really enjoy the different and unique cars.. I agree Mustang camaro firebirds can be lumped in there too.. maybe make an over rated underrated cars of 60s. This channel I’m hoping will be a way to get younger guys into this hobby it’s also great hearing the memories and stories it’s great I love reading all the stories =)
@@What.its.like. I don't know if you miss understood but my comment wasn't a story. It's about that we're losing people to carry on authentic vintage cars and their care. It's probably a useless plea in the age of smartphones that are making us dumb, lazy, and uncaring.
Yeah I totally agree, but good news I met a guy who was in his late 20 he has 10 model Ts so there are younger ones that want to get in this hobby. But I see it too it sucks, I was born way to late wish I was alive when these cars were new =)
Completely disagree with your list. The early Vettes are gorgeous and I’m 6’4”, and fit in my dads 56 and 57 Thunderbirds. Adjust the steering wheel! Go buy a station wagon if you’re anti sports car. Vettes and early Thunderbirds are 100% about style. They’re meant to be country club/golf course cruisers/banker/doctor cars not meant to be practical family sedans. And what delusional world are you getting your info on the price of a T-bird? $25k for a small bird? Maybe one with all fiberglass fenders, bondo and the wrong engine that needs a complete restoration. A new fender costs around $6k. A solid driver 55-57 bird is around $40k. A nice one is around $70k. The rare ones or nice restorative are $100k+ and E and F Codes are way more even easily pushing $100k + for any E and $250k for an F
Price has a lot to do with market and time that coral 56 t bird that reviewed was a jk galleria they took $25,000 for it. Something I forgot to mention price depends on where one is selling. In my area that’s what they are selling for but in say California where everything is more money will bring more and auction houses bring more generally. The steering wheel only telescopes. My friend is restoring a 55 and still have to do a 57 on the channel but I’ve been in al three and the 57 might be the most cramped. Next one I’ll do I’ll measure the foot well section. $25k is the going rate where I’m from.. most of the time it’s cheaper like $19k but that was also winter prices around here prices get high spring and summer because demand for these cars and having a fun summer car goes up. But if fall and winter not the best time to sell but best time to buy. Some people don’t want to store or have a place to store or don’t want to pay to store their classic car so they try and sell them before that in the summer but winter those cars go cheap I live in the rust belt. For example I bought 1967 mustang in 2010 with 351w big cam FMX 3 speed auto for $5k 1973 vw karman Ghia $2,800 1952 Chevy 1 ton just the way you saw it for $7,500 (had to put motor and trans and rad and some other miscellaneous parts, found a 350v8 for $400 that was running , 1959 SM420 4 speed for $250 bucks aluminum rad on eBay $100) two months ago there was a runner or Survivor car it wasn’t the best of shape but it didn’t have any rust on it and it was faded in the interior was faded but they were asking $10k for it Facebook market place. The one I’m kicking myself for room 57 to the studebaker Silverhawk showed up on Facebook marketplace for $5k. A lot of times show up on Facebook marketplace because I loved one passed away too many people in the family fighting over the car for the people in the family don’t even know what they have. Thunderbirds have been all over the place when I get home I’ll see if I can find listings i’m currently on vacation but if I type in 56 Ford Thunderbird for sale all the Thunderbirds around in the area in which I’m staying come up. I think they are great cars just weird driving position it doesn’t match the car. What cars do you think are overrated/underrated? From the 1950s
@@What.its.like. 55s are always the cheapest…a lot has to do with the 6 volt. $25k is a garbage quality bird that requires a full restoration. A simple search on hemmings and you can see them more or less in the $60k to $70k range
@@What.its.like. that car is a mess. Air cleaner is wrong, not sure if that’s even the right engine, what is the rust situation and are the fenders even solid or fiberglass. It needs $20k to get it in decent shape just looking at the photos let alone in person. My dad was one of the leading T-Bird restorers in the US for 30 years. He’s bought and sold dozens of cars in addition to working on thousands and owning tons of his own. You aren’t going to convince me.
I liked your list, I see your point on most of them, and for the most part I agree. But it is a subjective piece. I will disagree with the 57 Chevy, it’s to iconic to be overrated. 😉👍
Yeah it was hard to say that because I think they are cool, that is the car that started the classic car passion. But I’ve been to car shows or out and once you see one you see them all for the most part. I’ve been to show were there might be just 55-57 Chevy and corvettes...
I was in one recently that review is coming I will say there is more room in the 57 it’s not as tight I did a seat comparison I would gently measure the seat from floor ratio and compared it with four cars 56 thunderbird seat is 6 inches 57 is 7 inches, I compared it to the 58 Thunderbird which was tubbed out and it’s sitting on a seat base if I remember correctly the 58 seat is 11 inches tall.. 66 mustang seats 12 inches off the ground The foothill has a more aggressive slant in the Mustang that’s why it works so great in the car. The thunderbird slants but not that much.. but I agree 57 is the best of the try fives for seating position it’s still kinda hard to get in the car though all things considered.. I may have been in a 54 Corvette as well Corvette is super tight I compared it with a 55 Belair
I might do it two different ways I’ll do that episode I’m not entirely sure when that one’s gonna go up I did four cars the other day.. I might cut out the comparison part because the comparisons between a 56 Thunderbird of 57 Thunderbird 55 Ford custom line 1966 mustang I even measured the seat of a 54 Corvette and a 55 bel air lol if my memory serves me correct the 56 Thunderbird has the shortest seat of all of those and that is why the car is so hard to get in and out of if you’re tall you wouldn’t think 1 inch would make that much of a difference but it really does plus I think the door opens up more on the 57 minutes on the 55 and 56.. 54 Corvette is really hard to get into the seating position is really upright and steering wheel is almost in chest. I try to show everything that nobody else shows some cars are really hard to get in and out of and nobody shows that if you can’t get in the car you can’t drive it. People were smaller back then and I just love showing all of that because nobody else does. The next time I do a supercar I’m gonna show how hard it is to get them
@@What.its.like. you are right, the Thunderbirds are hard to get in. One reason for that is the big steering whel which also forces you to have a weird but kind of casual seating position with spreaded legs. There is an aftermarket 15 inch wheel available for the 56 and 57 which looks exacly like the original 18 inch. Especially with power steering this may be a good upgrade, but i have never been sitting in a tbird with the smaller wheel. And i kind of like the car to be original with its flaws to feel like beeing in the 50s ;)
The 58 seat in great but I honestly should’ve measured the steering wheel because the steering wheel is too big if your waist is any bigger than 36 that steering wheel is in your thighs (everyone is built different so it is possible) it’s just interesting that. In time for your trying to figure out stuff there’s no seats set up high like in the family haulers they didn’t sit in the car they sat on it.. but yeah interesting. 54 vette is the hardest 50s car I’ve been in to date.. The doors don’t open up wide enough to allow one in and they don’t stay open they always want to shut or at least the one I was looking at did that on both sides lol =)
Good list! The Packards in particular are awesome cars, and I'm glad they've been getting more love lately. My votes for most and underrated, in no particular order. Overrated- 1957 Chevy, 57 Fords, early C1 (pre 1958) Corvettes, and the two seat T-Birds. All are awesome, but I think they're so common, it's hard to get excited. In the case of the 57 ford and Chevy, I think both were downgrades from the extremely handsome 55 and 56 cars. Underrated- 55 Hudson, 51-53 Buick, 54 Buick, 55-56 Plymouth and Chrysler, 56-57 Lincoln and an honorable mention for 49-51 Mercury sedans when left stock! So many have been hot rodded over the years that the stock examples are more rare and interesting to actually look at!
I love your list Hudson in general are being forgotten it’s cool that Disney used Hudson hornet in cars movie. That was a great movie even as an adult I have kids chloe was watching it the other day. Both your lists are great =) 50s lots of great cars and lots of cars that were great, that no one knows about, well people outside car community.
The 55-57 Thunderbird pricing. It seems that at auction $25,000 was the hammer price for decades. An Amos Minter restoration has brought premium pricing in the $80,000 range. Another $25,000 at auction car the DeLorean. An underperforming sports car when new. Any color as long as it’s stainless steel. I sat in one at a local Spitzer dealership. The interior roof had a depression in the roof lining to accommodate the taller driver. Lousy ergonomics.
So in 57 the Chevy looked ancient vs the Plymouth. I think the 57 is so loved because it was the last car to evoke nostalgia. The Chryslers were rust buckets that are hated as much as the Chevys are loved.
The 56 Packards were so ahead of their time. They were beautiful, true works of art and super comfortable. The torsion bar ride was truly innovative! Another great video :)
To me this and the clipper 55/56 is the best looking post war packards =)
Friends of my parents bought a brand new 1958 Edsel. One subsequent Sunday afternoon, while on his third martini, my Dad made an off-color joke about the Edsel front grill, which I was way too young to understand. Mom was not pleased. From what I recall, their Edsel was a very reliable car but was not worth much when they wanted to trade it in a few years later.
I'm not surprised to see so many Ramblers on the list as they are so forgotten about. Most people see my American and think it's either a Chevy nova or a Dodge dart.
What year American do you have. AMC made some great cars that unfortunately because the cars wasn’t under gm Chrysler or ford umbrella are forgot about. This channel is a push to keep them alive. Best wagons amc made in my opinion 1958-1961 the 60 has really grown on me the 58 and 59 are Pretty much the same the only difference being where they put Rambler script in front grill. The fins are the same the 59 just paint scheme is different the fins almost look like 56 savoy fins that Chevy copied for 57 just saying look at a 56 savoy then look at 57 Chevy fins
@@What.its.like. I have a 65 American, It's the one in my profile pic. It's been my daily driver since the day I got it. I wanted my first car to be something special, so I got a classic and it's taught me a lot about cars.
I'm with you 100%. I've always loved the 55-6 Packards and definitely love that you added the 57 Rebel - the very best car no one knows about.
The 50s is my favorite era =) early amc are all underrated I love the cross country wagons and I don’t think Nash made a car I didn’t like in the 50s I want to drive one I was curious about turning radius. =)
Edsel Is dope!
One of my all time favorite cars want to drive one
5:40 A buddy in North Carolina has a 58 Edsel convertible and every time he pulls into an Interstate rest stop, gas station, etc., it's an instant car show and a surprising number of teenagers will dash over to take a look and gush over it. It helps a lot when the top's down and you can see the innovative/sometimes crazy dash panel.
Underrated in the 1950's: in my book: 1954 Kaiser Darrin just for the beauty of the thing. 1958 to 1959 Rambler American Station Wagon - Cutest wagon ever
I totally agree =)
I’ve been a 58 edsel fan for a long time since a teenager, it also amazes me how things change how things back then or once not cool or suddenly cool..
@@What.its.like. I agree with you on the 57 Chevrolet...never like the styling vs the 55 and 56. Funny about how you first thought the 58 Edsel was ugly, then she grew on you. I think the ugliest American car of the 1950s was the Hudson Jet...just frumpy! How could the stylists who gave us the Hornet give us that and add also give it that sexy model name? No wonder the Jet is super rare today. The 1958 Packard sedan is 2nd runner up to the Jet for those double tail fins.
The last Edsel (1960) was more conventional than the first 2 years. It eliminated the horse collar shaped grill of the 58-59 models. Edsel discontinued production during 1960 year.
1958 was the best year
@@What.its.like. I think that is because in 1958 it was a new car and people were excited about it. 1959-60 was after the new wore off and people saw that it wasn’t such a good car after all.
58 was different and ford put up a ton of money to sell the car and paid people like bing crosby to promote it and honestly if it came out it 56/57 it might have worked 410 cid 345BHP 475lb-ft that was unheard of in 58 there was only a few cars that made more power
Entertaining video. My 2 cents worth; It's hard to understand why the hot rod Rambler didn't get more attention at the time. Cars like that probably require at least 1 unit for every dealer and get it out on the street to drum up interest. For a few years Rambler was 3rd or 4th best selling brand. The Studebaker Golden Hawk still looks very attractive. Too bad the 4 door didn't look more like it. Years ago I read that in one of the 50's years there was a big demand for the new 4 door Studebaker, but there were mismatches between the 4 door body and frame. Lost sales at the wrong time. The T-Bird seat is low, strangely only a few inches above the floor. I wonder if anyone complained about it at the time? No offense intended, but you are bigger and heavier than people were in the '50's
Thank you so much not offended lol I said that in a video I shot today 20s Citroen I loved the car didn’t fit in it, people must have been smaller back then =)
@@What.its.like. , They were. Plus back then we didn’t have kitchen cabinets full of junk food. I promise, decades ago we didn’t eat anywhere near as much as we do now and very little junk food and sugary pop. Tea, water, milk. Most food was REAL food. For dinner you ate salad, meat, 2 vegetables and a moderate piece of desert. Family income was less and everyone was careful with spending. Waist size ? Probably in the low 30’s.
I have a 34 inch waist =)
The infamous or notorious but definitely "Designed For Disaster" the car that would be synonymous with Failure was the 1958 Edsel. In 1955 the Automotive Industry production jump 44 percent topping at 7.9 million cars--it was a new record. Ford had only 3 divisions of models: Ford, Mercury and Lincoln while their competition GM had 5 divisions: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac, while over at Chrysler they also had 5 division they were: Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto, Chrysler and Imperial. Ford was always very jealous of GM and Chrysler in that they had 5 divisions to Ford's 3. Ford in 1958 was planning to have 5 divisions also they were going to: Ford, Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln and Continental but fate had other plans. In 1958 a recession arrived with a vengeance to the dismay shock to Americans grown accustomed to prosperity. Inflation dipped below two percent, but unemployment approached and passed the seven-percent barrier. By June 1958, 5,437,000 Americans were out of work--the highest figure since 1941. In the worse economic setback of the postwar era, car sales dropped 31.4 percent for the model year. One of the ad campaign's for the Edsel was showing the coming through iron gates that open magisterially width the voice over, "They'll know you've arrived when you drive in an Edsel. The Ford family did not want the new car to be called the Edsel they said, "It sounded too much like pretzel." But Ernest K. Breech told the Ford brass that he would handle. David Wallace, manager of marketing research, and coworker Bob Young unofficially invited freethinker poet Marianne Moore for input and suggestions. Moore's unorthodox contributions (among them "Utopian Turtletop," "Pastelogram," "Turcotinga," "Resilient Bullet," "Andante con Moto" and "Mongoose Civique") were meant to stir creative thought and were not officially authorized or contractual in nature. Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation on January 17, 1956, and thus was no longer entirely owned by members of the Ford family. The company was now able to sell cars according to current market trends following the sellers' market of the postwar years. Ford's new management compared the company's roster of makes with that of General Motors and Chrysler, It was concluded that Lincoln was competing not with Cadillac, but with Oldsmobile, Buick and DeSoto. Ford developed a plan to move Lincoln upmarket, with the Continental broken out as a separate make at the top of Ford's product line, and to add a premium/intermediate vehicle to the intermediate slot vacated by Lincoln.
Marketing research and development for the new intermediate line had begun in 1955 under the code name "E car", which stood for "experimental car." Ford Motor Company eventually decided on the name "Edsel", in honor of Edsel B. Ford, son of the company's founder, Henry Ford (despite objections from Henry Ford II). The Edsel offers several of what were then considered innovative features, among which are its rolling-dome speedometer; warning lights for such conditions as low oil level, parking brake engaged, and engine overheating, and its push-button "Teletouch" transmission shifting system in the center of the steering wheel (a conventional column-shift automatic was also available at a reduced price). Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on Thursday, November 19, 1959. However, production continued until late in November, with the final tally of 2,846 model year 1960 cars. Total Edsel sales were approximately 116,000, less than half the company's projected break-even point. The company lost $350 million, or the equivalent of $2,800,000,000 in 2016 dollars, on the venture. Only 118,287 Edsels were built, including 7,440 produced in Ontario, Canada. By U.S. auto industry standards, these production figures were dismal, particularly when spread across a run of three years. . Historians have advanced several theories in an effort to explain the Edsel's failure. Popular culture often faults the car’s styling. Consumer Reports has alleged that poor workmanship was the Edsel's chief problem. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of the corporate culture’s failure to understand American consumers. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product inside Ford’s executive offices. According to author and Edsel scholar Jan Deutsch, the Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time." "The aim was right, but the target moved" The principal reason the Edsel's failure is so infamous is that Ford had absolutely no idea that the failure was going to happen until after the vehicles had been designed and built, the dealerships established and $400 million invested in the product's development and launch. Incredibly, Ford had presumed to invest $400 million (well over $4.0 billion in the 21st century) in developing a new product line without attempting to determine whether such an investment would be wise or prudent. Not only was the Edsel competing against its own sister divisions, but model for model, buyers did not understand what the car was supposed to be-a step above the Mercury, or a step below it. One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late 1957. Compounding Edsel's problems was the fact that the car had to compete with well-established nameplates from the Big Three, such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Dodge and De Soto, as well as with its own internal sister division Mercury, which itself had never been a stellar sales success. To make matters still worse, as a new make, Edsel had no established brand loyalty with buyers, as its competing makes had. Ford Motor Company had conducted the right marketing study, but it came up with the wrong product to fill the gap between Ford and Mercury. By 1958, buyers had become fascinated with economy cars, and a large car like the Edsel was seen as too expensive to buy and own. When Ford introduced the Falcon in 1960, it sold over 400,000 units in its first year. This was also the beginning of the end for De Soto when in 1957 De Soto came as close to Chrysler production as as they ever had of 117,000 by late 1958 sales for De Soto dropped to less then 49,000 and kept dropping within 2 years they would be gone too.
I can't argue with you on any of your choices.
I agree with you on many of your choices.
Maybe for different reasons but still 💁🏼♂️
Thanks for your channel, style and the sharing of your facts, figures and personal opinions.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 👌👌👌👌 🤩🤩🤩
Thank you so much =)
The Packard isn’t underrated today. They’re common at concours shows. Edsel suffered from a number issues, circumstances, quality, recession, etc. but the vertical grille was outdated. That echoed the ‘30s-‘40s.
Studebaker golden hawk vs 57 corvette
@@What.its.like. As an investment it’s a no brainer. But the Hawk is more practical, and fast if it had the supercharger.
The 57 Rambler Rebel had terrific acceleration and was a car I wanted as a young man. I do think the Chrysler 300 was faster, however, given the room for that big engine to push it to top speed.
I agree that the 57 Chevrolet is "overrated." It is popular and was a well made car for its day and time. I don't care for the emptying of JC Whitney gewgaw bins that proved necessary to clutter the front end with various, incongruous, and un-harmonious shiny bits. Over time I have come to understand that Chevrolet is not a car maker. It's a religion. I have owned more Chevys than any other make and own one now. I don't buy them just because they are Chevrolets. Frankly, I could understand fully anyone buying a 57 Chevrolet because it was a good car and better in many respects than others on offer in the same price range.
I have long said that there was nothing wrong with the 58 Edsel that wasn't already wrong with the Mercury. 58, for most US manufacturers was not a high point! In any case, most automaker failures are more closely related to business decisions than to product decisions.
The Hawk - a favorite of mine also - does have quite a bit of room for a sports car. It also has a very long wheelbase to allow for the style and space. Sports car? Maybe not.
58 Edsel is a car everyone said was ugly but those same people like bmw 507 Bugatti veyron and Chiron with the same design in the front anytime I see a Alfa I’m like that could be the new version of an Edsel…
My uncle had a 56 Packard Caribbean, his was white red and black, top to bottom, it was a hard top. One summer we took a family trip to Russian River and I got to ride in the Packard, back in those days 116 was two lane black top. The tires talked the whole way, but the Packard never leaned over and my uncle knew how how to drive. Mom and dad had a 59 Ford Galaxy, the Packard got there 20 minutes ahead of mom and dad, they wouldn't let me ride back to San Francisco in the Packard.
What a great memory and story thank you so much for sharing =)
@@What.its.like. I would think that there are not many of us that got to ride in a 1956 Packard Caribbean. I think it was the best riding car I have ever been in, I just wish I could have drove it.
That’s one that I’d like to drive hopefully one day
Totally agree on the Continental Mark 2. Nice but horribly overpriced when new.
It had to be on this list because it was priced at over $100,000 equivalent $105,000 I see them all the time in my area for around $25,000-$50,000 for a good ones. Ohio and Indiana seem to have really good deals on cars as well as Michigan but rust is always an issue Pennsylvania there are some good deals for depends on what part of the state you’re at if you go over there to the eastern side things are generally a lot more money
Back in the seventies my buddy had a 58 Edsel Citation that to this day I think was the coolest car ever!!! 😁
I found a guy who has a lot of edsels problem is he is 6.5 hours away... and gas is expensive. I want to hit Edsel so bad I plan on doing all the models eventually.. that’s the goal I know where there is a really nice pacer that’s going to try and get to sometime hopefully soon.. =)
Good job, very interesting. I think you've learned that the primary vintage cars being saved are tri-five Chevy's, Mustang's, Camaro's, and the Chrysler Corp., muscle cars. And just about everything else is being forgotten about unless museums pick them up. It's sad to me because we're losing genuine custodians for all the other vintage cars, save for some rich guys that can afford a collection. The tri-five Chevy and muscle car guys don't care about vintage other than to go fast and buy modern speed parts out of glossy catalogs, because that's easy. Ask them to find a clock for a for a '46 Dodge and first thing is that they're at a loss, because they don't know how. And then they'll tell you nobody cares about a '46 Dodge. Fact is we need young people to gain interest into the real vintage cars, as they came from the factory, or we'll lose history to having only photographs.
I can see you building a collection someday and that would be great, but right now it would be really good if you could work in various avenues available to you toward the recruitment of getting young people to join vintage car clubs, and ultimately buy and save all versions of vintage cars. Right now, there are still many older guys with vast knowledge to pass on and many of these men belong to a club. It's so important, because the muscle car guys aren't going to do it. It's people like you and your viewer's that get it and are the ones who can save historic cars and ultimately pass them forward.
Yeah I like all of it I owned a 67 mustang, but I’m not a muscle car guy per say I really enjoy the different and unique cars.. I agree Mustang camaro firebirds can be lumped in there too.. maybe make an over rated underrated cars of 60s.
This channel I’m hoping will be a way to get younger guys into this hobby it’s also great hearing the memories and stories it’s great I love reading all the stories =)
@@What.its.like. I don't know if you miss understood but my comment wasn't a story. It's about that we're losing people to carry on authentic vintage cars and their care.
It's probably a useless plea in the age of smartphones that are making us dumb, lazy, and uncaring.
Yeah I totally agree, but good news I met a guy who was in his late 20 he has 10 model Ts so there are younger ones that want to get in this hobby. But I see it too it sucks, I was born way to late wish I was alive when these cars were new =)
Completely disagree with your list. The early Vettes are gorgeous and I’m 6’4”, and fit in my dads 56 and 57 Thunderbirds. Adjust the steering wheel! Go buy a station wagon if you’re anti sports car. Vettes and early Thunderbirds are 100% about style. They’re meant to be country club/golf course cruisers/banker/doctor cars not meant to be practical family sedans. And what delusional world are you getting your info on the price of a T-bird? $25k for a small bird? Maybe one with all fiberglass fenders, bondo and the wrong engine that needs a complete restoration. A new fender costs around $6k. A solid driver 55-57 bird is around $40k. A nice one is around $70k. The rare ones or nice restorative are $100k+ and E and F Codes are way more even easily pushing $100k + for any E and $250k for an F
Price has a lot to do with market and time that coral 56 t bird that reviewed was a jk galleria they took $25,000 for it. Something I forgot to mention price depends on where one is selling. In my area that’s what they are selling for but in say California where everything is more money will bring more and auction houses bring more generally. The steering wheel only telescopes. My friend is restoring a 55 and still have to do a 57 on the channel but I’ve been in al three and the 57 might be the most cramped. Next one I’ll do I’ll measure the foot well section. $25k is the going rate where I’m from.. most of the time it’s cheaper like $19k but that was also winter prices around here prices get high spring and summer because demand for these cars and having a fun summer car goes up. But if fall and winter not the best time to sell but best time to buy. Some people don’t want to store or have a place to store or don’t want to pay to store their classic car so they try and sell them before that in the summer but winter those cars go cheap I live in the rust belt.
For example I bought 1967 mustang in 2010 with 351w big cam FMX 3 speed auto for $5k
1973 vw karman Ghia $2,800
1952 Chevy 1 ton just the way you saw it for $7,500 (had to put motor and trans and rad and some other miscellaneous parts, found a 350v8 for $400 that was running , 1959 SM420 4 speed for $250 bucks aluminum rad on eBay $100) two months ago there was a runner or Survivor car it wasn’t the best of shape but it didn’t have any rust on it and it was faded in the interior was faded but they were asking $10k for it Facebook market place. The one I’m kicking myself for room 57 to the studebaker Silverhawk showed up on Facebook marketplace for $5k. A lot of times show up on Facebook marketplace because I loved one passed away too many people in the family fighting over the car for the people in the family don’t even know what they have. Thunderbirds have been all over the place when I get home I’ll see if I can find listings i’m currently on vacation but if I type in 56 Ford Thunderbird for sale all the Thunderbirds around in the area in which I’m staying come up. I think they are great cars just weird driving position it doesn’t match the car.
What cars do you think are overrated/underrated? From the 1950s
@@What.its.like. 55s are always the cheapest…a lot has to do with the 6 volt. $25k is a garbage quality bird that requires a full restoration. A simple search on hemmings and you can see them more or less in the $60k to $70k range
facebook.com/marketplace/item/1013816915934985/
facebook.com/groups/707697117215381/permalink/730753238243102/?fs=e&s=cl
@@What.its.like. that car is a mess. Air cleaner is wrong, not sure if that’s even the right engine, what is the rust situation and are the fenders even solid or fiberglass. It needs $20k to get it in decent shape just looking at the photos let alone in person. My dad was one of the leading T-Bird restorers in the US for 30 years. He’s bought and sold dozens of cars in addition to working on thousands and owning tons of his own. You aren’t going to convince me.
I liked your list, I see your point on most of them, and for the most part I agree. But it is a subjective piece. I will disagree with the 57 Chevy, it’s to iconic to be overrated. 😉👍
Yeah it was hard to say that because I think they are cool, that is the car that started the classic car passion. But I’ve been to car shows or out and once you see one you see them all for the most part. I’ve been to show were there might be just 55-57 Chevy and corvettes...
Please drive a good 57 Thunderbird with Manual seats. I am sure you would fit much better in it that than in the 56 with power seats.
I was in one recently that review is coming I will say there is more room in the 57 it’s not as tight I did a seat comparison I would gently measure the seat from floor ratio and compared it with four cars 56 thunderbird seat is 6 inches 57 is 7 inches, I compared it to the 58 Thunderbird which was tubbed out and it’s sitting on a seat base if I remember correctly the 58 seat is 11 inches tall.. 66 mustang seats 12 inches off the ground The foothill has a more aggressive slant in the Mustang that’s why it works so great in the car. The thunderbird slants but not that much.. but I agree 57 is the best of the try fives for seating position it’s still kinda hard to get in the car though all things considered.. I may have been in a 54 Corvette as well Corvette is super tight I compared it with a 55 Belair
@@What.its.like. wow, thank you! I am really looking forward to that review :)
I might do it two different ways I’ll do that episode I’m not entirely sure when that one’s gonna go up I did four cars the other day.. I might cut out the comparison part because the comparisons between a 56 Thunderbird of 57 Thunderbird 55 Ford custom line 1966 mustang I even measured the seat of a 54 Corvette and a 55 bel air lol if my memory serves me correct the 56 Thunderbird has the shortest seat of all of those and that is why the car is so hard to get in and out of if you’re tall you wouldn’t think 1 inch would make that much of a difference but it really does plus I think the door opens up more on the 57 minutes on the 55 and 56.. 54 Corvette is really hard to get into the seating position is really upright and steering wheel is almost in chest.
I try to show everything that nobody else shows some cars are really hard to get in and out of and nobody shows that if you can’t get in the car you can’t drive it. People were smaller back then and I just love showing all of that because nobody else does. The next time I do a supercar I’m gonna show how hard it is to get them
@@What.its.like. you are right, the Thunderbirds are hard to get in. One reason for that is the big steering whel which also forces you to have a weird but kind of casual seating position with spreaded legs. There is an aftermarket 15 inch wheel available for the 56 and 57 which looks exacly like the original 18 inch. Especially with power steering this may be a good upgrade, but i have never been sitting in a tbird with the smaller wheel. And i kind of like the car to be original with its flaws to feel like beeing in the 50s ;)
The 58 seat in great but I honestly should’ve measured the steering wheel because the steering wheel is too big if your waist is any bigger than 36 that steering wheel is in your thighs (everyone is built different so it is possible) it’s just interesting that. In time for your trying to figure out stuff there’s no seats set up high like in the family haulers they didn’t sit in the car they sat on it.. but yeah interesting. 54 vette is the hardest 50s car I’ve been in to date.. The doors don’t open up wide enough to allow one in and they don’t stay open they always want to shut or at least the one I was looking at did that on both sides lol =)
Good list! The Packards in particular are awesome cars, and I'm glad they've been getting more love lately. My votes for most and underrated, in no particular order.
Overrated- 1957 Chevy, 57 Fords, early C1 (pre 1958) Corvettes, and the two seat T-Birds. All are awesome, but I think they're so common, it's hard to get excited. In the case of the 57 ford and Chevy, I think both were downgrades from the extremely handsome 55 and 56 cars.
Underrated- 55 Hudson, 51-53 Buick, 54 Buick, 55-56 Plymouth and Chrysler, 56-57 Lincoln and an honorable mention for 49-51 Mercury sedans when left stock! So many have been hot rodded over the years that the stock examples are more rare and interesting to actually look at!
I love your list Hudson in general are being forgotten it’s cool that Disney used Hudson hornet in cars movie. That was a great movie even as an adult I have kids chloe was watching it the other day. Both your lists are great =) 50s lots of great cars and lots of cars that were great, that no one knows about, well people outside car community.
Agree 😎👆
=)
excellent
The 55-57 Thunderbird pricing. It seems that at auction $25,000 was the hammer price for decades. An Amos Minter restoration has brought premium pricing in the $80,000 range. Another $25,000 at auction car the DeLorean. An underperforming sports car when new. Any color as long as it’s stainless steel. I sat in one at a local Spitzer dealership. The interior roof had a depression in the roof lining to accommodate the taller driver. Lousy ergonomics.
So in 57 the Chevy looked ancient vs the Plymouth. I think the 57 is so loved because it was the last car to evoke nostalgia. The Chryslers were rust buckets that are hated as much as the Chevys are loved.